Question about braiding when air dried or blowdried...

[growingbrown]

I am in the process of transitioning. I am getting braids next week. I want to know should I get the synthetic individual braids braided in on airdried hair or blowdried hair? I plain to keep them in for 2 months. Or do you think human hair braids are best on airdried or blowdried hair? Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[shasha8685]

I typically blow dry my hair. I find that it makes the parting process a lot easier and prevents a lot of potential problems.

I have no problems with synthetic braids (I take care of my hair like a maniac when it is braided). However, I hear that human hair is better. I wish I could offer more advice when it comes to that....

 

[NaturalEnigma]

I would say blow-dried hair too. You won't encounter as much tangles if you blow-dry because your hair will be stretched out. You can also ensure that the hair is 100% dry, braiding partially wet hair could be disastrous, and could result in lots of breakage.

 

[ms.blue]

blow dry b/c it will be easier for you and the braider. Synthetic individual braids imo are heavier than human hair.

 

[PPGbubbles]

I say Blow dry only because the braider may not be as gentle/ patient to deal with air dried hair.

I personally get away with air dried hair in plaits, but that is because I do my own hair. And while I know it is "healthier" I recognize that it takes a lot longer to style that way.

 

[growingbrown]

Thank you ladies. It seems like blowing is winning. I just felt air dried was healthier! However I do understand ppg0069 when it comes to the braider. It might cause many more problems!

 

[growingbrown]

:bouncegreBump Bump

Anymore suggestions?

 

[Nonie]

I am against blow drying. I think hair should be stretched coz it's easy to part and braid, but I think it should be stretched in braids and airdried. When hair is blowdried, yes, it's straight and yes it looks neat when you braid, but wait till it gets wet (in the rain) or coz you wash it, and POOF!

When hair is airdried, it is like having prewashed jeans (Am I overusing the analogy?) There's no more shrinkage when you wash and there's no accordion effect when you wash due to your previously straight hair shrinking and gathering the extension hair into a poofy braid.

My hair just washed about to be airdried in braids before I braided:

My hair after I braided:

This is an old photo but I am using it to show you how the part of the braid that contains my hair looks after a wash, and it's because it's already preshrunken that it isn't affected by moisture. Only a handful of braids need redoing because most look just the same:

 

[growingbrown]

Nonie, I understand your point. If I blow dry my hair is straight. Its then braided. When I wash, my hair shrink. What will happen to my hair then because it was straight when I braided it! :-|

 

[growingbrown]

Anybody else!!!

 

[yodie]

Airdrying is hard on my ends. Learned this the hard way. So, I vote for blowdrying.

 

[ycj1]

I oppose to both. Just from my own experience with braiding. I use neither human or synthetic but yarn. I also braid when my hair is semi dry/wet!

Since I braid my own braids I find that braiding this way for me that is, is easier, and the ends are covered better. Blowdrying to me is too parching for the hair and air drying although is much more healthier, it just takes me longer to braid. I don't braid too tight but tight enough so it's uniform at the base.

I prefer yarn over the others simply bc it's faster for me and easier and the yarn is more flexible and pliable from my experience.

But to ea his/her own. It really all depends on yr own personal preference.

 

[Tiye]

I say blow dry. It makes parting and braiding easier. Yes it may not be a bother for diy'ers to braid on air dried or even wet hair but consider that commercial hair braiding is different than chillaxing in your bedroom or living room or bedroom for hours doing your own hair. Someone who has to stand over your hair for hours installing braids may not do her best job if she has to spend a lot of time prying through it and detangling as she goes. You should also ask your braider what she prefers. Some will say blow dry or press - and some don't care. A blow out with a good blow dryer takes all of 5-10 minutes and is not harmful anyone's hair. Your hair will bulk up a little bit when you first wash it (or when water hits it) but not much coz it's encased in extension hair.

 

[Rocky91]

i say blowdry-it's much easier.

 

[Nonie]

I say blow dry. It makes parting and braiding easier. Yes it may not be a bother for diy'ers to braid on air dried or even wet hair but consider that commercial hair braiding is different than chillaxing in your bedroom or living room or bedroom for hours doing your own hair. Someone who has to stand over your hair for hours installing braids may not do her best job if she has to spend a lot of time prying through it and detangling as she goes. You should also ask your braider what she prefers. Some will say blow dry or press - and some don't care. A blow out with a good blow dryer takes all of 5-10 minutes and is not harmful anyone's hair. Your hair will bulk up a little bit when you first wash it (or when water hits it) but not much coz it's encased in extension hair.

When hair is stretched in braids, it is not hard to part. The strands are almost straight and lie parallel, so there's no prying necessary. When I airdry in braids, I part my hair with fingers with ease. Maybe it's just some commercial braiders that can't work with braid-stretched hair, but when I was in Kenya, my stylist used to braid our braid-stretched hair w/ no problem. You would fall asleep while she did your hair coz she was so gentle. She started braiding my sister when she was about 2 years old and even she would sleep. We hated how fast she worked coz just when you were getting comfy, it'd be time to get up.

Even when I charged people to do their hair, I never asked them to blowdry or straighten their hair. Braiding was enough. In fact, I would part the hair into sections and braid them, and then undo each section to part into smaller sections as I got to it. That ensured the hair stayed detangled and didn't slowly curl up on itself before I got to it.

I guess you're right about asking the stylist what would work for them.