I thought I'd share some information that I was asked about on sew-in care from a LHCF subscriber who saw my earlier post. It is a follow up to a post I made earlier in this forum and it pertains to taking care of a sew-in while in bootcamp. For those ladies who will be going to bootcamp soon, such as myself, I recommend experimenting with the two styles I will be mentioning, this summer since summertime is the time for sew-ins, braid styles, and wash-n-go/ wet-n-wavy looks. See which one of these styles is easiest to maintain in the shortest amount of time and then you'll be ready for bootcamp. Also, make sure to ask your recruiter about what hair products you will be allowed to take since most of them (non-black) don't know too much about ethnic hair care and how we sistas actually use and need at least one basic type of hair oil for our scalps, but any way here it is...
Sure, I have no problem answering your questions about a sew-in especially since you are going to bootcamp this year, I also have an alternative hairstyle you could consider for bootcamp and since summertime is the time to experiment with braids and sew-ins, you can and should experiment with both of them to see which one is the quickest to maintain, and which one looks the freshest after 8 weeks (bootcamp time) of exercising, shampoos, and everyday wear.
For maintaining a sew-in, you are going to have to start out with some good hair. I recommend Indian Remy, a great human hair brand that can be worn straight or wet-n-wavy for the times you don’t have enough time to straighten your hair with a flatiron or blowdry it straight. It also looks incredibly natural as a wet-n-wavy look even if you wear a full head sew-in or a half sew-in if you have natural hair or if you have relaxed hair and your new growth starts to grow out. Also, remember when your stylist is braiding your own hair for the base of the weave, make sure she reinforces the braids by adding extention hair (100% Kanakelon Fiber and a string of yarn). This way your tracks won’t become loose as fast and the yarn with help retain oil and moisture so your braided hair and scalp won’t be dry.
To shampoo and moisturize the braids underneath the sew-in and shampoo and detangle the hair tracks on top of the braids you are only going to need three products which are 1) African Royal Braids & Extension Shampoo spray, 2) Giovanni VitaPro Fusion Protective Moisture Leave-in Hair Treatment or Jane Cater Solution Revitalizing Leave-in Conditioner (you only need 1 of these) , and 3) Parnevu T-Tree Braid Spray (it will say Medicated or Therapeutic in small words on the bottle). You can find the Leave-in conditioners at The Vitamin Shoppe or online. You can find African Royale Braid Shampoo and Parnevu T-Tree Braid spray at any beauty supply that sells mostly black haircare products.
To shampoo your sew-in, stand directly under the shower spout wetting your entire head, spray the African Royal braid shampoo on the braided tracks and a little on the weave tracks, massage the entire head especially massaging as best as possible the braided tracks underneath the weave gently, then rinse and repeat if you feel it’s necessary (if your scalp really itches). Next, spray the Leave-in conditioner on your weave tracks and on the braided tracks underneath. Next, use the Parnevu Braid spray on the braided tracks underneath (a generous amount), then detangle your weave tracks with your paddle brush starting from the ends and working your way up. This way is really quick and the right way to detangle hair fast without breakage, but you won’t even have to do that much work because Indian Remy hair does not tangle and draw up like other cheaper brands of human hair.
Afterwards you can either let the entire head air dry which will take a while because the braided hair underneath takes the longest to dry. Or you could cut your drying time in half by using a hand held dryer to dry as much of the braided tracks underneath as much as possible then blowdry the weave tracks on top if you want a straight look or let the weave tracks on top dry naturally for a wet-n-wavy look if you are pressed for time.
Normally, to dry a sew-in, you would simply paddle brush the hair down then sit under a hooded dryer which is the quickest way to dry your hair, but I mentioned using a hand held dryer because you will not be able to pack a portable hooded dryer for bootcamp, I think you are only allowed a hand held dryer so make sure you take a really good one and since you are only using 3 hair products which is really minimal, I’d ask your recruiter just to be on the safe side about all the personal hygiene products you can take because I’m going to Coast Guard bootcamp at Cape May, NJ and I am asking my recruiter the same questions.
Another hairstyle you can experiment with is the Crown & Glory method which are simply individual braid extentions using 100% Kanakelon Fiber (don’t use synthetic fiber because it’s really rough on human hair). These individuals are not too big like the dookey braids back in the day, but are not as small as micros either. They are medium sized braids which are only to be kept in for 2 months which is 8 weeks worth of bootcamp. You can shampoo and moisturize them with the same 3 hair products I mentioned for the sew-in every week depending on how dirty your scalp gets but I recommend shampooing the braids every 2 weeks to keep them looking fresher and from getting less fuzzy and too loose so fast.
And I almost forgot one more important thing, Please, please, please deep condition your hair really well for at least 30 to 45 minutes before putting in your sew-in or braids and deep condition your hair after the 8 weeks are up for the same amount of time. Remember braids and sew-ins are not to be kept in your hair longer than 2 to 2.5 months. You can stretch it to 3 months in emergency cases only, but no more than that.
Good luck with bootcamp! If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me. I’ll be more than happy to answer them.