Microbraids- any reviews??
- Thread starter LexiDior
- Start date
nickmack
New Member
Just about any kind of added hair can jeopardise the health of your hair if you're not careful. The two main things to avoid (so that you don't run into breakage issues) are making sure that there's not too much extension hair added to your hair, and to make sure that the extension hair isn't braided in too tightly. You also want to make sure to moisturise your hair while in braids... Then you should be good to go! HHJ!
ravenhairedcharm
Well-Known Member
The last time I had them in, I wasn't into healthy hair practices. Knowing what I know now, I would never choose to get any type of extensions put in my hair again. Very small braids like micros can wreak havoc on your edges if you're not careful.
Here are some past threads...
NEED ANYSWERS QUICKLY-TO MICROBRAID OR NOT!!!
Are MicroBraid a LHCF no no?
Microbraids...Love \'Em or Hate \'Em?
Here are some past threads...
NEED ANYSWERS QUICKLY-TO MICROBRAID OR NOT!!!
Are MicroBraid a LHCF no no?
Microbraids...Love \'Em or Hate \'Em?
It all depends on the state of your hair and who you have put them in. The last time I had micros was before I decided to go natural and my hair was very damaged. No one told me that braiding up damaged hair would only lead to more damage, but I found out the hard way. I don't think there's anything wrong with the style itself, but just like a glue-in weave there are a lot more cons than pros to the style as far as the health of your hair goes. PhillyDiva is one of the people I look to for info on all things hair extensions, micros being one of them. She has a lot of experience in this area.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuyfIVod2WA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvRF92K-jWk&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuyfIVod2WA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvRF92K-jWk&feature=relmfu
lamaria211
Well-Known Member
aa9746 said:
Ditto
its a style not a protective style
Nonie
Well-Known Member
@aa9746, that's not necessarily a must for microbraids. What you describe is BADLY done microbraids. Microbraids can be created by using LESS hair per section of your own. So that you are not exerting stress on a few strands. I once shared the difference here:
(Source of quoted post: Micro Braid Wearers...What's Your Growth Experiance Been Like? )It all depends on how the micros are done and cared for.
To me, micros are really skinny braids. But there's two ways to get skinny braids. You can use less extension hair on a not-so-small section of your hair so the resulting braid is skinny. Or you can take two hairs of your own and attach a good size of extension hair to make a skinny braid. So in the first instance (red being extension hair and black your hair), each braid is made up of
|||| ||
And in the second scenario:
|| ||||
The resulting braid is of the same size, but the second scenario shows a lot of extension hair per section of your own, which means it exerts a lot more extra weight on your hair and scalp. THAT is the type of micro that is a disaster waiting to happen.
After you get micros, maintenance is important. Your head is carrying more hair than it's used to so that in itself is quite a feat. But then if you're pulling your hair back all the time, you further exert strain on your hairline. And when you have some growth or the extension hair moves away from your scalp due to sliding so that the braid is dangling instead of being firmly rooted at your scalp, that's an accident waiting to happen. Your first warning is the braids swing painfully. This is particularly true along your hairline, so that MUST be redone...as soon as the braids get loose.
I sometimes take the extensions out and just wear my own hair in twists as bangs to give my hairline a break. Or I may cornrow my own hair back a bit to give the same effect you'd get if you wore a headband and pushed your hair back.
To close, I'll use a picture that was on another topic but that shows you how much extension hair I use per braid section and you can see the resulting braid is truly skinny, but it's not being held to my scalp by two hairs:
Also notice in the above braids, you can see the base of the braid (the square that was parted) because the sections are much bigger than the resulting braid since less extension hair than the section is used.
Now below are the micros that can cause damage:
Notice you can't really see the real hair at the base of the braids because very little hair is used per extension hair so it's completely buried by the larger amount of extension hair. That would exert too much strain on the scalp and a tug could easily lead to traction alopecia.
ETA: @LexiDior, as you might've guessed from my post, I've had good results with microbraids. The secret being *I* do them myself, so I'm careful to do them right: firmly w/o pulling hard at the scalp; and also using less hair per section of my own, and redoing them one by one as my hair grows--particularly along the perimeter--so I move the strain from the previous starting point of braid to new growth. Redoing braids one at a time, means I am never overwhelm and I also get to remove shed hair and prevent knotting at the base. I do not apply products to scalp, so no matting at base of braid. When I condition, I skip the one inch close to my scalp and only apply conditioner from there to ends of my hair--not extension hair. Braids are the way I grew my hair after my BC to under 3 inches to Full SL in 14 months as I shared in this post: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=5418791&postcount=2
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LexiDior
Well-Known Member
seeing all the responses make me very nervous about getting these in my hair. I dont want to undo all the work ive done. I've had box braids that were medium size and broke off my hair. I have a feeling that the people who do these braids in my area wont be gentle with my hair. Im going to look for another style this winter, thanks ladies.
charmtreese
Well-Known Member
I have my hair micro braided on the top with a sew in in the back. My hair really thrives with this style. I posted pics about a month ago. For daily maintenance i use 50/50 African Royale braid spray & Joico kpak reconstructor leave-in.
SoopremeBeing
Well-Known Member
LexiDior I think an alternative to micro braids is getting box braids. You have a more versatility in the size of the braid. Here's a few pics:
I was big on sporting micros before I found LHCF. I didn't take care of my scalp or hair very well, so it was one of my reasons for BCing. A lot of damage. I'm in the process of installing some box braids myself. You should also check the blog on Tumblr called "I LOVE Box Braids."
http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com
HTH!
I was big on sporting micros before I found LHCF. I didn't take care of my scalp or hair very well, so it was one of my reasons for BCing. A lot of damage. I'm in the process of installing some box braids myself. You should also check the blog on Tumblr called "I LOVE Box Braids."
http://iloveboxbraids.tumblr.com
HTH!
sckri23
New Member
I had this one lady who used to do mine and my sisters braids in the same day but she moved. So I tried the "africans" near by.
They braided sooo tight I thought I kept goin asleep but really I kept passing out from the pain!!
Then a week or 2 later my hair fell out like I was goin thru chemo. I havent gotten braids since.
Make sure they dont braid tight and if they do make sure your hair can handle it
They braided sooo tight I thought I kept goin asleep but really I kept passing out from the pain!!
Then a week or 2 later my hair fell out like I was goin thru chemo. I havent gotten braids since.
Make sure they dont braid tight and if they do make sure your hair can handle it
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LexiDior
Well-Known Member
SoopremeBeing I love those pics!! thanks for the info
sckri23 that is what im afraid of. The African would be braiding my hair and im afraid they will break my hair off just by braiding it. i need a protective style but it does me no good if it breaks my hair off in the process.
sckri23 that is what im afraid of. The African would be braiding my hair and im afraid they will break my hair off just by braiding it. i need a protective style but it does me no good if it breaks my hair off in the process.
Ivonnovi
Well-Known Member
The Africans are not good at taking care of hair, they are way more concerned with the final look.
In the past I found it very difficult to get them to braid my hair with less tension. VERY! That is the problem, THEY DON'T want to listen, so you have the most to loose; and it's your decision and $.
Consider yourself warned. (find a college teen that does braids)
In the past I found it very difficult to get them to braid my hair with less tension. VERY! That is the problem, THEY DON'T want to listen, so you have the most to loose; and it's your decision and $.
Consider yourself warned. (find a college teen that does braids)
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Southern Belle
New Member
I'm a frequent braider, and I love micros, but they are murder on your edges. 
I've switched over to box braids and I get good growth from them, but even those start to damage your edges after awhile.
I think I'm gonna start getting mini braids with my own hair. That way if I don't like it, I could always throw on a wig and use it as a PS.
I've switched over to box braids and I get good growth from them, but even those start to damage your edges after awhile.
I think I'm gonna start getting mini braids with my own hair. That way if I don't like it, I could always throw on a wig and use it as a PS.
LexiDior
Well-Known Member
im really conflicted. i remember when i had box braids and i didnt like them too much because of the stress it put on my hair- and they were medium size. i really need need a PS for the winter without using wigs. i think ill look around for more braid styles and continue to strengthen my hair to prepare for all this.
QueenAmaka
Live, Love, Laugh :)
I luv the look of micro braids but have NEVER had good ending results with them.
LexiDior
Well-Known Member
ive never heard of these. they look big enough that they wont damage my hair too much. ill look into this.
Nonie
Well-Known Member
@LexiDior, I don't think it's SIZE of braids or twists that protects edges. Additional hair will be hard on edges whether the hair is added to large sections or small sections. If that is a concern, then you can always NOT add hair to the hair near the edges and do bangs with your own hair as I did here (I wore twists instead of braids coz braids on my hair w/o extensions would be a recipe for locs. Twists don't lock up on my hair like braids would):
Or cornrow back w/o additional hair so that there's no strain on edges from a weight that your hairline isn't used to:
If you think about it, by the time your hair grows long and gets heavy, your scalp has been gradually prepared for that weight because it didn't happen in a few hours--which is why the same head that couldn't handle SL braids is able to handle WL hair w/o a problem. Adding hair to a head that isn't used to carrying that weight is hard on the inexperienced scalp and the edges are most vulnerable. So even if you do big braids, they will be carrying heavy hair and could still pull on your edges.
LOL @ The Africans. I'm not offended because I know and have witnessed those Africans braiding. Sadly there's an African in Kenya called Susan who could braid a baby to sleep. I wish there was an exchange program that allowed good skilled braiders to come here for the summer and give a lesson to all. Seriously, it doesn't take pulling on hair to get a good braid done, so the excuse that they do it for results is BS. The truth is they are incompetent. What makes a good braid isn't pulling at the base but weaving firmly so the "rope" is neat and holds.
Nonie
Well-Known Member
The front of my hair in the images I posted does not have any additional hair to it. In the pic showing bangs, I did twists instead of braids because if I braid my hair w/o additional hair to keep the three strands somewhat separated and then wash my hair, it starts to turn into locs. So the bangs you see are similar to these:
In the images with the cornrows in the front, again that is my hair w/o extension hair added, but only in the front. Right behind them I'm wearing extension micros. I just blend the "tails" of the cornrows in with the extension braids.
What I usually do is initially I have all my hair braided with extensions. And then after a few weeks or months, I undo the braids in the front and either make them bangs or if my hair isn't long enough with shrinkage to make decent bangs, then I do the cornrow style. In both cases, my hair line doesn't get any exertion it isn't used to.
PersuasiveBeauty
New Member
Don't get micro braids.
Nonie
Well-Known Member
LexiDior, for most people who have bad experience with extension braids, there is usually one common factor: someone else (not themselves) braided the hair for them. Someone who could not possible love their hair or head or care for their comfort as much as they themselves do. So why not learn how to braid your own hair. Self-sufficiency in that department is really one sure way of having a good experience with any sort of braids. It means you can redo them as often as you want and therefore keep your hair from matting. It is also cheap in the long run. Most importantly, because you care about the health of your hair, you will do it right. Also there's Robin's website to help you with a tried-and-true extension braids regimen.
LexiDior
Well-Known Member
im trying to learn how to braid. im bad at it now but hopefully by winter ill be to the point where i can cornrow my own hair and use it as a PS. I want to learn how to do many styles so i no long have to have to depend on a stylist. Thanks for the info, ill check out that website you mentioned.
aa9746
New Member
The very reason i stopped getting braids.
