Hi, Ladies,
Long time no post! After a disaster with Phyto this summer, I decided to wear braids for awhile and transition that way to natural. I wore Senegalese twists during the summer, like the look of braids and the health of my hair while in them, and decided to do a modification of the crown and glory technique. I haven't worn micro braids since high school so I decided that I would try those again next. I bought Outre New Yaki from the BSS as I was not able to get Lugo's on my new work/school schedule. I was actually sold the hair by a woman who claimed to have worked in Lugo's and she said the Outre was exactly the same quality hair only it came in a shorter length.
So I take the hair and myself to an African braider in my hometown of Philly. Now, there were three of us getting our hair microbraided in there and since I came in later, they got done earlier than I did and the thing I noticed is that the hair ends looked ratty and to be honest, I've seen a lot of sisters rocking that microbraid with the ratty ends look in Philly and New York. I always thought it was because the hair installed was cheaper hair. But when I got done, I had that same ratty ends look! The braiders said that it was "supposed" to look like that. I spent the rest of the day cutting off as much of the straggly ends as possible so it looked presentable. It looked a little better when I curled it with my ceramic curling iron, but it still feels and looks like Barbie hair. Now I remember the last time I got micros, I also got BSS hair, I went to a round the way braider though and my hair looked fantastic, it flowed, and did not look plasticy. My suitemates, one of whom is Ghanaian, said that African braiders don't really know how to work with human hair because it's not readily available in Africa, so their work with micros can be iffy. They said that's why pony hair is becoming popular because not only is it cheaper but it mimics the sort of synthetic hair they work with in Africa. My Ghanaian suitemate told me to try to find the type of look in micros I want, I'd be better off finding an African American braider.
But then again, when I was in Miami one summer I went to an African braider with Lugo hair and she hooked me up, so I'm wondering if Outre is just a bad brand of BSS hair or if there is a different technique being used. I'm also considering buying loose Remy hair, but one of my suitemates who has a sister in cosmetology school told me it would be a waste of money because doubling the strands would result in it being a tangled mess.
So I guess my question after all that craziness is if it makes more sense that my hair came out jacked because I used bad hair or is it that some African braiders don't know how to "work" with human hair? And if anybody has a good braider in the New York or Philly area they recommend, PM me. I have already tried Lela's and Dion Gama's in Philly and really wasn't that impressed with either of them.
Long time no post! After a disaster with Phyto this summer, I decided to wear braids for awhile and transition that way to natural. I wore Senegalese twists during the summer, like the look of braids and the health of my hair while in them, and decided to do a modification of the crown and glory technique. I haven't worn micro braids since high school so I decided that I would try those again next. I bought Outre New Yaki from the BSS as I was not able to get Lugo's on my new work/school schedule. I was actually sold the hair by a woman who claimed to have worked in Lugo's and she said the Outre was exactly the same quality hair only it came in a shorter length.
So I take the hair and myself to an African braider in my hometown of Philly. Now, there were three of us getting our hair microbraided in there and since I came in later, they got done earlier than I did and the thing I noticed is that the hair ends looked ratty and to be honest, I've seen a lot of sisters rocking that microbraid with the ratty ends look in Philly and New York. I always thought it was because the hair installed was cheaper hair. But when I got done, I had that same ratty ends look! The braiders said that it was "supposed" to look like that. I spent the rest of the day cutting off as much of the straggly ends as possible so it looked presentable. It looked a little better when I curled it with my ceramic curling iron, but it still feels and looks like Barbie hair. Now I remember the last time I got micros, I also got BSS hair, I went to a round the way braider though and my hair looked fantastic, it flowed, and did not look plasticy. My suitemates, one of whom is Ghanaian, said that African braiders don't really know how to work with human hair because it's not readily available in Africa, so their work with micros can be iffy. They said that's why pony hair is becoming popular because not only is it cheaper but it mimics the sort of synthetic hair they work with in Africa. My Ghanaian suitemate told me to try to find the type of look in micros I want, I'd be better off finding an African American braider.
But then again, when I was in Miami one summer I went to an African braider with Lugo hair and she hooked me up, so I'm wondering if Outre is just a bad brand of BSS hair or if there is a different technique being used. I'm also considering buying loose Remy hair, but one of my suitemates who has a sister in cosmetology school told me it would be a waste of money because doubling the strands would result in it being a tangled mess.
So I guess my question after all that craziness is if it makes more sense that my hair came out jacked because I used bad hair or is it that some African braiders don't know how to "work" with human hair? And if anybody has a good braider in the New York or Philly area they recommend, PM me. I have already tried Lela's and Dion Gama's in Philly and really wasn't that impressed with either of them.
