1. how do you avoid the thinned edges when you braid?
I use very little extension hair per section of my own so that very little weight is added on. Sometimes I do not use any extension hair along the hairline and just wear my own hair as bangs. I redo the edges as soon as they need it. The minute my hair starts to swing painfully, I undo the braid and redo. My hairline is never untidy because I am constantly relieving the stress at the previous starting point of the braid on my own hair and reattaching the extension hair on newer stronger growth hair, so there's no weakening of my hair from extended weight-bearing at the same spot.
did you personally experience thinned edges?
No. I have worn braids for years and haven't experienced thinned edges.
2. do you cornrow? box braids? any particular style?
I box-braid. I have done horizontal then vertical parts to create squares, but I have also done diagonal parts to create diamond parts so that each consecutive row of braids falls over the spaces between the braids in the previous row giving a look of fullness.
3. how do you wash your braids without walking around with drenched braids?
I wash my braids the way I'd wash my hair in any other form. Under a shower head. I don't get drenched because I wrap a towel around them till most of the water is absorbed. Then depending on what I plan to do with my hair, I can either cornrow it to get waves (braid-out) or put it up in a cross-wrap or a messy French roll derivative to get it to dry straight. Or I could put it in a pony braid and tuck it under.
- does it take a long time to dry?
Not that I notice. I have never timed it but I have never been concerned with it being damp or wet, so it can't take that long to dry.
- do you use any special shampoo and condish for braids?
No. Same products I use any other time are the ones I use with braids. And no, I don't dilute any of them.
4. how often do you wash the braids
Twice a week; same as when I'm not in braids.
5. what's the best kind of hair to braid with?
I personally like human hair because it doesn't prick my scalp and make me itch and also it gives me versatility to style my hair with a curling iron or not.
6. do you have alot of breakage when you take the braids out?
No. I actually get the best retention with braids.
7. does it weaken your hair at all?
No, because I continue my usual weekly regimen throughout my spell in braids. I DC with a reconstructor weekly to keep my strands strong. Since I do my own braids, I am always looking for braids that need redoing and thus moving the extension hair from previous starting points that have been bearing the most strain to newer stronger growth hair. I also make sure to always use less extension hair per section of my own.