Quick question about braid extensions length

[anon123]

I've decided to braid my hair myself for the first time. I just can't take other people doing it. I've already successfully (?) done 5 whole braids! The question I have is, I cut the hair to 12" (half the length of the hair in pack). When I braid it into my hair, my hair ends only a couple of inches before the end of the braid? Is this a problem? I'm particularly concerned because the hair I bought is a bit slippery so I think I'm going to have to burn or dip the ends in really hot water and I'm nervous about damaging my real hair.

Also, the reason I chose straighter slippery hair is because the other choices feel so rough, like straw. I'm thinking about going back and buying the straw hair just so it stays better at the ends because one braid will be unraveling even as I'm doing the next braid. What do you guys think?

 

[msa]

I've worn braids my whole life and I wouldn't suggest burning the ends. I've always dipped my hair in hot water (the whole head, not just the ends). I wouldn't suggest that now that I'm into healthy hair. Last time I got my braids done I only dipped the ends and made sure my hair wasn't getting wet. Now, the idea of boiling water on my hair does not sit right with me. As long as you have a couple inches of the fake hair at the ends you should be fine. Just be careful when you dip your hair.

The straight/silky hair never worked for me because after I washed my braids, my hair would be an afro and stick out of the silky hair. I always used the regular kind.

 

[anon123]

I've worn braids my whole life and I wouldn't suggest burning the ends. I've always dipped my hair in hot water (the whole head, not just the ends). I wouldn't suggest that now that I'm into healthy hair. Last time I got my braids done I only dipped the ends and made sure my hair wasn't getting wet. Now, the idea of boiling water on my hair does not sit right with me. As long as you have a couple inches of the fake hair at the ends you should be fine. Just be careful when you dip your hair.

The straight/silky hair never worked for me because after I washed my braids, my hair would be an afro and stick out of the silky hair. I always used the regular kind.

Thanks. I will go get some rougher kind. Maybe it's been a while since I've touched extension hair, but I don't remember it being this rough. They have different brands here. The one I wanted to get was out of stock.

Okay, so you think 2" will be enough? I'm thinking about rolling the ends on rollers and dipping, but in that case I think I might need more than a couple extra inches to be sure my hair doesn't get dipped. But if I stay at 12" that means I can get twice the use out of each bag of hair, if you see what I mean.

 

[Radianthealth]

I agree with using the boiling water. I only use human hair when I braid my hair. I read somewhere that it doesn't rob your hair of moisture as much as synthetic hair.

It looks like you are natural, natural hair or textured hair seems to "hold" onto braids best.

Good luck, I love the convenience and cost savings of braiding my own hair

 

[anon123]

Okay, I went to a nicer store and found some better quality hair. 3 times as much, but that's still just $1.50/pack. It says it curls with hot water and they have pictures on the back of braid-outs, twist-outs, and straw sets done with it. I wonder if it will do it with just hot water like in the shower, not boiling. Anyway, it's got a little kink to it even out of the pack but still separates easily unlike the kinky hair I bought for twist extensions in the States. Hopefully I can still do it at 12" and not need to dip in boiling water. I just don't trust myself to dip enough of the end to keep it from unraveling but not so much that it reaches my hair. I think we're in business.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[temfash]

Okay, I went to a nicer store and found some better quality hair. 3 times as much, but that's still just $1.50/pack. It says it curls with hot water and they have pictures on the back of braid-outs, twist-outs, and straw sets done with it. I wonder if it will do it with just hot water like in the shower, not boiling. Anyway, it's got a little kink to it even out of the pack but still separates easily unlike the kinky hair I bought for twist extensions in the States. Hopefully I can still do it at 12" and not need to dip in boiling water. I just don't trust myself to dip enough of the end to keep it from unraveling but not so much that it reaches my hair. I think we're in business.

Thanks for the advice.

Its got to be boiling water or the hair won't seal the ends or set the curls. Another option is braiding all the the way to the ends and but pull out a few strands of the hair so the ends taper that way even if you don't seal with hot water it doesnt look like an amateur braid job.

 

[anon123]

Okay, thanks. I think I'll buy a mug and fill it with water from the tea pot thingy. No easy access to boiling water for me right now.

 

[ebonylocs]

One way the get the braids to hold easier is to kind of "stagger" the hair.

I mean, you grab a tuft of fake hair to braid into your hair, and the ends of the fake hair are lined up at each end of the tuft. You don't want that. So what you do is to pull some of the stands to the left, pull some strands to the right, so you're creating something like layers in the tuft of hair. This means that when you plait it in, at the end of the braid there will be fewer hairs, so the ends will hold tighter. It will also effectively make the tuft of fake hair "longer" so that on braiding you will have more ends left out to dip into the hot water.

I tried to illustrate below.

 

[anon123]

One way the get the braids to hold easier is to kind of "stagger" the hair.

I mean, you grab a tuft of fake hair to braid into your hair, and the ends of the fake hair are lined up at each end of the tuft. You don't want that. So what you do is to pull some of the stands to the left, pull some strands to the right, so you're creating something like layers in the tuft of hair. This means that when you plait it in, at the end of the braid there will be fewer hairs, so the ends will hold tighter. It will also effectively make the tuft of fake hair "longer" so that on braiding you will have more ends left out to dip into the hot water.

I tried to illustrate below.

Thanks for the illustration. This is what I've been doing. But I'm afraid I still cut it too short. I cut the hair in half. The new hair I got was a little shorter, so it ended up meaning that the hair was only 11 1/2" if blunt, but by staggering the hair I could get a little more. Still, my hair was almost at the end of the braid in some places. I forgot to take into account that the hair I did the first test braids on is a little shorter. Other parts of my hair are longer. So long story short, I think I ended up dipping my own hair. erplexed What will happen to the hair that got in the hot water?

So I guess in the future I need to find my longest length hair, measure it, and make sure the hair is at least 2" longer than that before staggering. Right now my braids are apl and my hair is a little longer than that stretched, so you can see the problem. I'm dumb.

 

[loolalooh]

I've decided to braid my hair myself for the first time. I just can't take other people doing it. I've already successfully (?) done 5 whole braids! The question I have is, I cut the hair to 12" (half the length of the hair in pack). When I braid it into my hair, my hair ends only a couple of inches before the end of the braid? Is this a problem? I'm particularly concerned because the hair I bought is a bit slippery so I think I'm going to have to burn or dip the ends in really hot water and I'm nervous about damaging my real hair.

Also, the reason I chose straighter slippery hair is because the other choices feel so rough, like straw. I'm thinking about going back and buying the straw hair just so it stays better at the ends because one braid will be unraveling even as I'm doing the next braid. What do you guys think?

Girl what are you doing with 12"? Get something longer ... maybe 14+. (Gives you 4+ inches lee-way.)

So long story short, I think I ended up dipping my own hair. erplexed What will happen to the hair that got in the hot water?

As for the hot water, I think you will be okay. Just try to avoid that the next time (IMO).