I don't want my edges to go bye bye...please help!!!

[itsjusthair88]

Hey ladies...so, I am in HYH 2011 and I have learned to braid and twist my hair with extensions (I am working on cornrows) this year, so those have been my protective style of choice. However on MTO (I know, I shouldn't be on that crappy site) and I saw this:

ohwell:ohwell:
The title on MTO is:
NUH UHHHHHHHH!!! AN MTOER'S FRIEND HAD BRAIDS CONTINUOUSLY FOR 7 YEARS . . . LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO HER HAIRLINE!!!"


SOOOO my question is, how can I avoid this? I like wearing braids and twists because I am protecting my hair and it's simple and easy, but I am afraid my edges will end up like this, I am scurred

For all my braid/twist wearers: do you take breaks in between your sets? How long of a break do you take? Most importantly, what do you do during the break?

TIA LADIES!!!!

 

[NicWhite]

The biggest, probably most important, thing is to make sure that braids are not tight or too heavy.


If by some chance this happens...take the braids out immediately or even better stop the person after the few are put in.

 

[iri9109]

OP, i am SOOOOO glad that pic is not you...i was just gonna have to exit this thread silently...

 

[iri9109]

but you should definitely make sure they're not too heavy or tight esp around the edges...ideally i would wait atleast a week or 2 before putting in a new set...during the break nourish/baby, wash, DC etc...depending on the length of your hair you could rock buns/ponytails/puffs/rollersets/twistouts etc.

 

[ms.blue]

When I use to get individual braids no matter how much I said don't braid they edges tight, they still did so I always ended up re-doing the edges myself making the braids less tight. Also I would redo the braids every 2-3 weeks so the braid was not hanging on to my hair.

 

[itsjusthair88]

The biggest, probably most important, thing is to make sure that braids are not tight or too heavy.


If by some chance this happens...take the braids out immediately or even better stop the person after the few are put in.

I think I am doing them too tight in the front b/c I like them to look neat...I am going to take the front two rows down tonight and do them looser...thanks!

OP, i am SOOOOO glad that pic is not you...i was just gonna have to exit this thread silently...

LOL...if that was me, I wouldn't want to show my umm...edges on this board, or anywhere for that matter.

but you should definitely make sure they're not too heavy or tight esp around the edges...ideally i would wait atleast a week or 2 before putting in a new set...during the break nourish/baby, wash, DC etc...depending on the length of your hair you could rock buns/ponytails/puffs/rollersets/twistouts etc.

That's the problem, my hair is still in TWA mode and I am really trying to Hide My Hair through 2011...I'm at a loss about what to do.

 

[nik83]

I have never had real problems with my edges when it came to braids, thank god the braids tend to slip of my hair rather than rip my hair out with them. However I will say if you do twist, don't split you hair into the two strands (as in keep your hair in one lock so hopefully it will slip off as opposed to ripping out one side). I had my hair twisted at an African shop over the holidays, and that is what they did with my hair. Subsequently I had a lot of hair lose around my edges. Could have been worse except I took them out around the edges and put on a head band.

 

[Tiye]

NUH UHHHHHHHH!!! AN MTOER'S FRIEND HAD BRAIDS CONTINUOUSLY FOR 7 YEARS . . . LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO HER HAIRLINE!!!"

Don't pull your hair in the same direction for 7 years and you'll be fine.

 

[Nonie]

OP, you've been given good advice. You can also take the extension off the front and wear you own hair as bangs or cornrow your own hair back w/o extensions to give your hairline a break. Most important thing: ALWAYS USE LESS EXTENSION HAIR PER BRAID SECTION THAN YOUR OWN HAIR. I hear people using bags of extension hair. I only use 2 max and the last time I had extensions, I used only 1 and 1/8 of a bag. And that is human hair--and we all know it's usually less than synthetic. I am able to do this because I use less extension hair than my own per section. And so I keep the extra weight hanging off my scalp from being way more than my scalp can handle.

Example of wearing bangs (I twist my own hair for the bangs):

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Examples of cornrowing my hair w/o extensions in the front and having extensions only further back:

 

[itsjusthair88]

OP, you've been given good advice. You can also take the extension off the front and wear you own hair as bangs or cornrow your own hair back w/o extensions to give your hairline a break. Most important thing: ALWAYS USE LESS EXTENSION HAIR PER BRAID SECTION THAN YOUR OWN HAIR. I hear people using bags of extension hair. I only use 2 max and the last time I had extensions, I used only 1 and 1/8 of a bag. And that is human hair--and we all know it's usually less than synthetic. I am able to do this because I use less extension hair than my own per section. And so I keep the extra weight hanging off my scalp from being way more than my scalp can handle.

Example of wearing bangs (I twist my own hair for the bangs):

​

Examples of cornrowing my hair w/o extensions in the front and having extensions only further back:

Thanks for advice Nonie (and the other ladies) about the bolded...how is that possible? I am still learning so I find that I have to use a good amount of the braid hair to do the twist/braid "right", my hair is very thick (or should I say, voluminous) so when I try to use less hair, my hair literally sticks out of the braid/twists. How do you remedy that?

 

[mariefof]

OP, i am SOOOOO glad that pic is not you...i was just gonna have to exit this thread silently...

bwahahahahaha At least you were really polite. I cannot stop laughing. I almost see you opening the door quietly and leaving.
As for the damage,you had some really good advice. Extension hair amount has to be way less than the hair it is attached to so it will not create a weight issue that will pull individual hair until only one is hanging.

 

[Nonie]

Thanks for advice Nonie (and the other ladies) about the bolded...how is that possible? I am still learning so I find that I have to use a good amount of the braid hair to do the twist/braid "right", my hair is very thick (or should I say, voluminous) so when I try to use less hair, my hair literally sticks out of the braid/twists. How do you remedy that?

@itsjusthair88 I have fine hair and a lot of strands. If I were to straighten my hair, the pony tail I would get would not be as big/full as the puff I get with my hair not straightened. That considered, two packs of hair would be way more hair than I have on my head, and would look very fake.

If you were to braid your hair w/o extensions, you'd see how "not full" your hair would look--kinda flat to your head. THAT is the realistic look. And it's easy to achieve if you use hair that is the same or less than what you have.

I am not sure what you mean by your hair sticking out. When I braid my hair, I don't surround my hair with the extension hair so that my hair isn't showing. I just put them against each other and braid. If you're holding your hair with fingers close to the cross-over point, then you can braid in a way that your hair is well tucked into the braid, and while a close observation would show there's two different textures, it isn't obvious unless someone is right up in your personal space.

I remember someone worrying about textures looking different if they didn't straighten their hair. Not so. I took this pic back when I didn't have such a great cam to show that my hair is kinky and that the extension hair I used was not only straighter/silkier but also a different shade. But when all was said and done, the difference wasn't obvious:

This is a close-up of the braids showing how well the blending is even with less hair per braid section:

Here is a photo of a ponytail of my straightened hair to show you the sort of pony I hope to be able to make with my extensions:

This is how much hair there is in one pack of human hair I use:

So if I'm to create a realistic look, I can't have too much more hair than I have normally. And this was the finished look after using 1 and 1/8 of that^^

The next series of photos show why my micros do not leave me bald. The resulting braids are tiny (which is why I call them micros) but the sections to which they are attached are not tiny. Another way to gauge how much hair to use is to twist the braid section of our hair and see how thin it is, then grab extension hair that is less than that. (BTW, I do fold my extension hair in half--I should've mentioned that. I forgot that it makes a difference in how many packs I need, but I still make sure that the folded thickness is less than the hair I'm braiding.)

Look at the bottom row of pics: the middle one shows you the section I'm getting ready to rebraid. The far right, still bottom row, shows the resulting braid.

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Notice how skinny the braid I got is, but it is not attached to 3 hairs like say the micros below. And you can tell that because the base^^ of the braid does show a thick section of my hair. You can't see that below:

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My braids may be almost as small as hers, but they're attached to thicker sections. Close up of the braids I did with the 1 and 1/8 hair:

And below (top left) you see how the bases of the braids have some width to them showing I attached the extension hair to a thick section not 3 hairs like the lady above:

So you see, if I were to use four packs or so like some people use, I'd be going from haivng a head with hair that makes a pony tail the size I posted to hair that makes a ponytail this size:

And that not only would look so fake but would also exert way more strain than my scalp is used to.
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