I think I messed up my braids.........*sobs*

[ilah]

As a few of you may know I've recently gotten some micro braids put in. (1b human body wave) They're only a week old at this point but I think I've been doing some wrong.

It no longer looks the way it did when I got it done. It's got more of a "crimpy" look to it now. Don't get me wrong it doesn't look bad at all but I got the body wave because i wanted that curled look. Not crimpy.

What i've been doing is making one big briad and covering it with a silk scarf at nite. In the morning it comes off and I undo the braid....I've only used mosse on it 3-4 times to keep the fly aways down...Should I have used something else?

Can I get the body wave back?

Can I curl hair with rollers or something? And if i can what do i need to do with my hair at night to keep the curls?

Can I save my micros? Please help.....erplexed

 

[mscocoface]

You may need to show pics in order for others to help. I can discernt the difference betweent the crimp and the wave.

Would you not get a more wavy look if they were on rollers versus brading them together which normaly gives hair a crinkled look depending upong how many bulk braids you put in your head and how tight you make them at night?

Just a thought.

 

[jamaraa]

PM Aggie and Nonie...don't despair. I wish I could help you.

 

[Nonie]

If you've got human hair (I think that's what you got IIRC), then when you wash it, it will probably return to it's original big curl look. What kind of human hair did you get?

The crimping is because that's the setting pattern of braids. When I had Wet N Wavy, the hair had waves that looked a bit like crimping only slightly deeper as seen at the ends:

To get bigger waves, I would braid it while wet and let it dry.

Braiding worked for me here coz the pattern of my extension hair was made of smaller waves to braiding forced it to set in big waves.

Since you hair is already made of large curls, if you braid them, you're basically changing the shape of the curl. If I were you, I'd not braid. I'd either pin curl (wrap around my finger in the size of the curls and use a bobby pin to hold it to my scalp and then put on a scarf), or just wear a loose bonnet or net after somewhat "contracting" the hair like you would a spring. <---This can be achieved by bending down so the hair hangs down (crown facing the floor), then I put on the net by catching the dangling hair as if catching fish while still holding head down and letting the cap "contract" the coils as you lift it to cover your nape and reach your hairline. Having the curls up on top of your head as this will achieve also ensures you don't sleep on the coils and mess them up. If you decide to do pincurls, bring them to your crown too so you're not squashing them by lying on them as you sleep.

HTH

 

[purplepeace79]

I agree with PP. Dont braid your hair at night. I never do.
When you wash, it will go back to where it should be.
I recommend just putting braids in a loy ponytail at night and wrapping with a scarf.

 

[Nonie]

Just wanted to add, worst case scenario, the cool thing about human hair is that it behaves like relaxed hair and so you can rollerset it or use a curling iron to get the style you want if washing it and letting it airdry doesn't quite nail it for you.

 

[ilah]

I think i'll do my first wash and curl it using some - I think they're called flexi rods....Not sure if I need to use product or not - do i?.... (I had never used any kind of curlers before...i'm a bun girl.)

 

[Nonie]

I think i'll do my first wash and curl it using some - I think they're called flexi rods....Not sure if I need to use product or not - do i?.... (I had never used any kind of curlers before...i'm a bun girl.)

If I were you, I'd wash, condition and ACV rinse (very dilute ACV) and then lightly towel dry and see if the hair doesn't take shape without you doing anything. I would not try to curl it until I've confirmed it was not going to get curly on its own. I think not using product is best. I don't.

The reason I'd be hesitant to curl is unless you can be sure you are following the same direction of the hair's natural curl, you may undo it, especially if using heat. So just wash and condition using a gentle squeezing motion so you're not manipulating too much. I'm pretty sure it'll return to the wavy shape.

I think human hair usually behaves like the type of natural hair it's based on. If it's type 2 wavy, when you wash it, it returns to type 2 wavy. If it's type 3 curly, then it returns to that when you wash it. If it's type 1 straight, even if you had curled it with a curling iron, when you wash, it returns to type 1 straight.

 

[shunemite]

My understanding is that "body wave" was baked into the hair at the processing plant so you don't have to do anything to it. At all. Don't braid it up at night. I agree with the above ladies, if you wash it (don't agitate it while you wash it) it'll spring back into the shape it was baked into. Really, you just need to put it up at night so it doesn't get tangled, and in the morning, finger style and go. A little sheen and you're done.

 

[diva24]

A light wash should bring the texture of the hair back. Braiding it will only give you a braidout. There are tons of braid sprays to refresh braids and give them moisture. Since it is human hair it will need moisture to retain its look. I would definitely leave the mousse alone or use it very sparingly. Remember your hair is underneath those braids and mousse is not all that great for your hair either.

 

[ilah]

I will leave the mousse alone from now on. What do you suggest for "fly aways" if not mousse?

 

[Desarae]

Spritz it with water

 

[Shananyganz]

I've braided my hair with human hair, deep wave to be exact. To keep the wave pattern, I would bantu knot the hair every other night (so as to not have such a tight pattern). Other nights I'd just do a loose pony and cover with my bonnet. To reduce the big friz, I'd lightly spray with braid sheen and go over that with a dime size of oil or moisturizer (whatever I had handy); I did this in the morn and/or whatever night I did the bantu knots. It worked well for me. HTH.

-S-

 

[ilah]

Yay! - I washed it when I got home and the wave came back!!!!! It's not exactly the way it was when i got it done but it's as close as it's gonna get and I'm more than pleased.

I'll wait till it's fully dry to deal with the frizz and slight poof i've got going on right now

Ladies, thank you... My hair thanks you too