@
soldier4hair, I grew my hair from one inch to 11 inches in two years in extension braids which I did myself (and that was with dusting every 6-8 weeks w/o fail) so I feel very at home when it comes to having good success with extension braids.
1) That Kanakelon hair makes my head itch.
I used to have that problem too with artificial hair. I've heard that soaking them in ACV before use can help, but I personally love the versatility of human hair as I can do anything one can do to relaxed hair to it and rock many styles. From curling with a curling iron in the longer part that doesn't contain my hair so that it doesn't matter how often I do it,to doing braid-outs, to do doing a WNG, to wrapping so the braids hang straight, to using a curling iron to turn the ends under, to using Curlformers...,The styles are endless. Can't do all o' dat with artificial hair. Also human hair I find is lighter and if I make sure to use less hair per section of my own, breakage from traction alopecia is less likely with lighter hair. (I usually use one pack of hair and a bit).
2) I don't like Let's jam or any product that i have seen used on my hair.
I do not use any products on my braids. I shuddered to think that anyone would use Let's Jam (Isn't that a gel?). To me that's glue that will mat up your hair and cause breakage when you try to undo the braids.
By not using leave-in products, my hair never mats. Redoing the braids one at a time regularly also helps with removing shed hair and thus preventing mats. When I wash my hair, I aim to apply undiluted shampoo to my scalp and massage it well. Then I spray water on my head to get the suds moving and as they wash away through my hair, I squeeze the length to get them to clean it. When I apply conditioner, I skip about an inch close to my scalp so there's no chance of conditioner residue getting stuck inside the base of the braids and knotting my hair up.
You can see how my hair is clearly unmatted in this clip where I undo a braid to redo it. Doing this one braid at a time also takes the strain off the original braid starting part of my hair and moves it to newer stronger hair. Loose braids along the hairline hang painfully and feel as if they will break off. Redoing stops this from happening. Also redoing one braid at a time can be done when relaxing and watching TV so it's never a chore. I honestly don't think anyone should get braids unless they can redo them regularly to keep hair in good condition.
3) My hair is natural and I'm not sure how to have my hair when I get it braided.
I do not believe in straightening hair before braiding. Stretching with braids is all I ever do. If you straighten it, the day you wash your hair, shrinkage will have an accordion effect on the braid and make the hair messy. Starting off with hair that is just braid-stretched is like buying prewashed jeans. The hair will just be in the state it was in (braid stretched) within the braids and shrinkage when you wash won't affect it. The pic of the WNG above was of my hair after washing. Notice only the ends not containing my hair unraveled. The part with my hair stayed braided.
4) In regards to tightness I don't want them to be tight at all.
Only someone who doesn't know how to braid would braid tightly. I don't braid tightly. In fact when I used to braid people (I stopped before I ended up doing time for murdering someone coz it's no minor feat doing over 200 hundred braids on a head that isn't yours and you can't stop when you've had enough for the day!) I would have to bring a mirror for clients to believe the braids were firm coz they didn't feel a thing. I used to put babies to sleep while braiding them. A good braider can braid firmly w/o pulling. I suggest you look for someone who does children's hair w/o causing tears.
5). Can the hair look neat with ought the lighter or scissors at the end if the process.
Of course! Only a bad braider would have hairs sticking out of the braid and
DO NOT EVER LET ANYONE BURN OFF OR CUT FLY AWAYS!!!!! That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. What part of your hair do you think is being burned off or cut???? Only someone who doesn't give a damn about your hair would ever suggest such a crazy thing.
In the pic below (I wasn't taking it to show braids but to show how small my coils are, I undid a braid then wet the section so shrinkage can occur. But my album is missing lots of photos thanks to Fotki's shenanigans so I have to make do with what I have access to now)...anyway, you can see how neat my braids are. No fly aways or hairs that need to be cut off.
A braider who doesn't hold the hair close to the cross over point so as to ensure to tuck all hairs inside the braid is the one who'll have a need to tidy up braids after doing them. As a said, an incompetent braider.
