How do I avoid braking my hair when im unbraiding cornrows?

[Saida]

Ive always had this problem, and I know I need to be more gentle when I unbraid my hair so that I dont brake alot of hair of, since my hair is pretty fragile from being in braids for a long time. is there any tips on what I can do to make the process easier for my hair?? I was thinking about washing them while in the braids so that they will be wet while I unbraid them. this is simple cornrows with no hair extentions

 

[nappity]

spritzs the hair with braid spray and unravel your cornrows while your hair is damp. Do not use a comb to comb through the length.Use your finger.

 

[glamazon386]

Slather the hair with conditioner.

 

[CurliDiva]

I have better luck when I use OIL (rather than water-based products) to unravel briads.

Being natural, the oil helps my strands to slide apart versus water which causes my hair to curl and wrap together.

 

[mzhotniz86]

I have better luck when I use OIL (rather than water-based products) to unravel briads.

Being natural, the oil helps my strands to slide apart versus water which causes my hair to curl and wrap together.

omg, i was gonna say the EXACT same thing. oil helps a lot. they unravel like nothing.

 

[JustKiya]

It depends on how your hair reacts to oil vs water. Oil makes my hair hard and brittle, so I have to use water based (dampness, spritzer, or conditioner) to get my braids out. My moms hair, on the other hand, gets really tight and curly with water, so she used oil or grease to take hers out....

 

[patient1]

Nothing to see here p1, all the bases have been covered.

I have cornrows now....I'll be using the oil method when I take these down. I'm trying to keep these parts though....took me too long with too much strain on the neck and arms to get em right!

p1

 

[PureSilver]

Patience and TLC goes a long way in getting it right. I've had pretty such the same trouble as you and what i do it dovote my time and patience to taking them down gently. Oil works better for than a water based product. In fact i'm in cornrows now and i've been using WGO on my scalp every other day. It has helped me tremendously in the past, even when i'm in weaves for 5-6wks.

Good luck to you

 

[sonce]

I was thinking about washing them while in the braids so that they will be wet while I unbraid them.

Whew, if your hair is anything like mine then this is a NO NO. If I wet my hair and then tried to take down braids, I'd be in for a long week (and much of that would be spent dealing with the tangles caused by massive shrinkage--wet hair = shrinkage--while I was trying to unbraid).

Use your fingers, be gentle, and use an oil-based leave-in when you braid in the first place (makes take down much easier).

 

[gmw]

I agree with everyone who said OIL. It will help your hair to slide apart. You can just sort of separate the cornrows. Get one of those little applicator bottles at the BSS and soak (as much oil as you can take) the cornrows individually. Maybe let it sit, or massage it through your dry cornrows, and then begin to separate them. It should be pretty easy.