Protective Styles: Do you wear them?

[Radianthealth]

I baggie my hair with Silk Elements Creme under a phony pony right now. The key for me is to moisturize my hair while it is dry or moist. I use to moisturize wet hair then baggy. This made my hair mushy. Dry hair with creme works best for me.

 

[LovelyZ]

I do protective styles (buns, french braid, updo) to help me reach my goal length--bra strap-- faster. I credit protective styles for my rapid growth this year.

 

[peacelove]

I am so torn on this because nothing wrecked my hairline more than buns. No matter how much I try with no brushing, french rolls, etc. - I just don't seem to do that well with protective styles. I also tangle a lot from air drying/ no heat styles. But logic tells me that these would be the best methods to gain growth. So I am torn.

Now that I think about it, my hair did its best when I got roller sets and wore it out. I am going back to that method, at least until my front grows back out. But I will continue to do very loose protective styles where I use hair clips and don't brush the front of my hair.

 

[princesmich]

it's funny this topic came up, I've been re-evaluating what got me to brastrap yrs ago, In addition to gueye's I also did protective styles once a month, I haven't been doing them enough recently, I was considering going back to them.

 

[macherieamour]

I mean, sometimes. I dont do protective style to "protect" per se. When my hair is dirty, up it goes. Or Ill put it up when it gets in the way. I have tried doing stricly protective styles in the past and didnt see much difference. I enjoy wearing my hair down and rollersetting allows me to keep my hair healthy and remain versatile.

 

[Ayeshia]

yes...My hair is getting to the point where it is taking too long to dry and drips like a jherri curl...not cute I can deal with it now but not in the wirnter. So now that I can pull my hair back, I am experimenting with phony pony's and baggying my ends...I want to see if it works for my hair.

 

[Tayw29]

I have incorporated protective styles into my daily care and IMHO it has helped a lot in preserving my ends, up until i found LHCF i phoney ponied to death and i think thats why i was able to keep a decent length to my hair, although the baggie method was not used, which i am now extremely fond of because as much as i bunned and phoney ponied my ends suffered terribly. Not anymore though thanks guys .

 

[Poohbear]

yep, i love my two strand twists! keeps the tangles and knots away!

 

[Jadacrys]

RE: Protective styles (such as braids, twists, flat twists, etc.)

Yes but not all the time. My scalps sweats alot, and I can't go very long without at least rinsing. Then, the style gets fuzzy and I want to take it out. I like to switch up a lot too, and don't want to spend that kinda time each weekend on my hair. So I alternate braidout, twistout, puff it, etc.

My hair is not long enough to phony pony yet (It's about 6", but the front is not really long enough). I will experiment this winter, I will have a little more length then. I will also try cornrows.

 

[guesswho]

I wear protective styles basically all the time except when I'm going out clubbing or something but 99% of the time I wear protective styles my goal is waistlength so I gotta do what I gotta do I even have a step by step in my fotki for those who wanna take a peek

 

[Mars_Reiko]

I was on the "protective styles" train for a while when I first started my hair care regimen. But I got bored with wearing buns everydays. When I start to wear my hair out, I didn't see much difference in the growth, than when I wore buns everyday. So, shoot, I decided then that I was gonna enjoy my hair while I reach my goal

 

[tkj25]

i wear protective styles all the time -- basically twists, braids & buns. i've noticed that protective styles allow me to keep every inch of growth, and my hair retains moisture better. also i don't get knots as much because i'm not styling/detangling/combing my hair daily. the few i do get are taken care of with occasinal dusting. also with protective styles (plus no heat) my ends don't split. so it's a win situation all around.

 

[aurora3140]

I love the look of chignons on longer-haired ladies. They're so beautiful and elegant. But when I do them with my own hair, it's just...pathetic. I have too much head and not enough bun, if that makes sense.

I've been co-washing, airdrying loose, and bunning at night for the past two weeks (instead of nightly wrapping which was my MO for years) and my hair loves it. It's so soft and full of body .

But in the morning instead of leaving my hair bunned, I've been finger-combing my hair into a high, wavy ponytail. I feel this is a nice compromise. It's not quite a protective style, but my hair is up too high to brush my clothes, and I think it looks cute.

However, I look forward to rocking sexy buns once my hair gets longer and thicker .

 

[imstush]

I wear buns or a french braid, interested in twisting my hair...but not sure and too lazy to do it myself.

 

[asiaticlily]

I plan to wear protective styles all the time until I reach a length to wear a decent ponytails or buns.

 

[AwesomelyNappy]

Would wearing scarves in/on the hair be considered a protective style? because i rock scarves all the time over a bun, pony, phony pony, or with hair down underneith, over braids whatever. I feel like the silk or satin scarfs help protect against the elements.

 

[LovelyLionessa]

I do like to wear protective styles. I wear buns a lot, sometimes I do a side bun or occasionally I'll wear a French twist. Buns look cute IMO, its a classic look that doesn't go outta style. I am all for styles that save my ends.

 

[MizAvalon]

Yes, I do. They are boring as all get-out but boy, do they work!

 

[Tee]

Yes, I do. They are boring as all get-out but boy, do they work!

Yes, boring but works!

 

[Mom23]

I have been wearing them alot more lately since I am on the hide your hair challenge.

 

[LovelyLionessa]

Yes, I do. They are boring as all get-out but boy, do they work!

To spice them up a bit, I change my parts. I either do a middle or a side part, or no part with a headband. On occasion I'll wear a side bun. I do like Tim Gunn says on Project Runway, "I make it work!"

 

[amwcah]

Yes! I wear scarves, wigs, braids, buns, and updos.

 

[*Michelle*]

I wear my hair up at least half the time...well before I started these challenges last month. I gettin' tired of it now! I should have done this during the winter time, now the weather is warming up and I wanna wear my hair down!

 

[deejoy]

Sometimes. In undergrad, a girl I knew did protective styling. She had her hair in cornrows for a long time and she went from shoulder length to bsl. Her hair was very thick and full.

 

[Energist]

Mmm hmm, I do! I put my hair into a low ponytail with a satin scrunchie and make it so that my ends are protected in the bun. I also part down the middle, so that my edges aren't exposed (they can be prone to breakage from time to time is why). This all works very well for me.

 

[Gryphyn]

I do protective styles now. I used to do them while I was transitioning, but after I went natural I thought my hair was too short for a protective style to look good on me. I really really regret not keeping my hair protected last year. Even though I made a lot of progress, I know I could be so much further by now if I was doing protective styles sometimes. I've learned my lesson though. My hair retains so much more length when it's protected!

I love cornrows right now. My hair is finally at a length where I feel they actually look good. And as my hair gets longer they'll look better and better so I can't lose

 

[Mahalialee4]

I wear a bun nearly everyday............ Ive retained tons of growth that way.

KIninkakes is that you in your Avatar pic back shot?
I am the Cornrow Queen right now till Christmas and then I will switch to CORNROWS!!!LOL i I have been a protective styler since 2000 and I am glad I did. bonjour

 

[Shima01]

I love wearing protective styles because they allow my hair to grow as long as I want it and keep it healthy. It does take patience but it works WONDERS!!

 

[krissyprissy]

Yes I do protective styles very often. I do buns and french rolls. The key from getting bored is to use accessories. When I get bored or if my BF is complaining, then I will wear it down for the weekend only.

 

[Bellavita6]

No. I hate wearing protective styles (don't stone me). But I am realizing if i want to make it to APL this year i may break down and start wearing them.