The Downside of being able to do your own extensions....

[Shatani]

i was feeling great! cuz i decided im not going pay anymore for something i can do myself....i did my own kinky twists and they looked great!!! so, whats the downside, you say??

NO GUILT!!!! im tired of my braids and its only been three weeks....before when i used to pay upwards of $100 (sometimes WAY upwards! ) for a style, i would make it last as long as possible!!! i would keep braids in for 3 months! and part of that was because i felt like, shoooot, i paid all that money, im gonna get my money's worth!!!

now, im like....meh, i want something new....and theres nothin stopping me!! i know i should keep them in longer, and really they dont look bad...i just want something new...

i got issues ya'll (as if you didnt know!)

 

[asummertyme]

i do the same thing girl, i take them out in 3 wks..but i get tired of braiding my own hair..it takes sooo long..but i will prolly braid it 2nite.......whaaa..whaa..

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

The downside for me is that it takes to ___ long! Especially the human hair microbraids.

 

[Netta1]

I need to know, how did you guys learn how to braid your own hair? I need to invest in another hair video or a "practice wig head". Anyway I think I have a good idea of how to do individuals but I can't keep my braids from "slipping".


I need help.

 

[Shatani]

oh yeah, that would take long lanelle! i dont like to do mine so tiny...im trying to baby my hairline you know?

 

[kristina]

LOL. I felt the same way. 2 months felt like eternity. I'm off the extensions but my braids are only staying for 3-4 weeks at a time.

 

[Shatani]

I need to know, how did you guys learn how to braid your own hair? I need to invest in another hair video or a "practice wig head". Anyway I think I have a good idea of how to do individuals but I can't keep my braids from "slipping".


I need help.

ive been braiding since i was a child...all them barbies and whatnot used to get their hair did...and i used to (and still) braid my mom's all the time. i actually have no idea how or when i learned....i have to assume that practice makes perfect though

ive never seen the braid videos, so i have no idea if they work or not....

 

[Neroli]

ive been braiding since i was a child...all them barbies and whatnot used to get their hair did...and i used to (and still) braid my mom's all the time. i actually have no idea how or when i learned....i have to assume that practice makes perfect though

ive never seen the braid videos, so i have no idea if they work or not....

DITTO. Never really "learned" how to braid, just kinda did since I was a child. I used my braiding skills to work out of a shop braiding hair during undergrad -- very very lucrative for a student on zero budget.

The downside doing my own hair is like the others said, takes a looooong time . . . but it's dirt cheap, or as we say here in GA, red dirt cheap . . .

 

[kristina]

I need to know, how did you guys learn how to braid your own hair? I need to invest in another hair video or a "practice wig head". Anyway I think I have a good idea of how to do individuals but I can't keep my braids from "slipping".


I need help.

Netta- I bought the crown and glory tape from www.growafrohairlong.com. Since I'm off of wearking extensions, I can sell it to you if you'd like. Braiding is really easy but I think the slipping is why self done braids don't last very long- I think it takes practice.
BTW- I love your bun! how in the world are you getting your hair to lay so flat and smooth????

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

I've been braiding since a child also...I learned to do the kinky twist extensions by looking at someone's fotki album with instructions. For human hair braids, its easy...after paying everyone else a ton of money for the mediocre results...I learned a new "trick" and started doing them myself, the way I wanted them. @Shatani: I did mine smaller than normal the last time around but it did not take my hairline out...I used a mix of 1/2 African Royale BRX Braid Spray and 1/2 Surge to moisturize.

P.S. I want to get "Tree Braids" next with human hair but I need to find someone who can do them {very limited braiders in my area} since I have not mastered that technique yet {I never even heard of them until I saw posts on this forum}.

 

[Shatani]

I've been braiding since a child also...I learned to do the kinky twist extensions by looking at someone's fotki album with instructions. For human hair braids, its easy...after paying everyone else a ton of money for the mediocre results...I learned a new "trick" and started doing them myself, the way I wanted them. @Shatani: I did mine smaller than normal the last time around but it did not take my hairline out...I used a mix of 1/2 African Royale BRX Braid Spray and 1/2 Surge to moisturize.

P.S. I want to get "Tree Braids" next with human hair but I need to find someone who can do them {very limited braiders in my area} since I have not mastered that technique yet {I never even heard of them until I saw posts on this forum}.

*writes down two new products*

i SO want to have tree braids!!! i wish i knew how to do it!

 

[carmend]

Funny thing you should start this topic, b/c I just braided my own hair about a month ago and now I want to try a sew in weave. And you are totally correct if I had paid to get it done I would NEVER be thinking about taking it out this soon b/c I would be trying to get my money's worth. But on the downside it look me what seemed like FOREVER to finish. But in the end its worth it I guess b/c it costs me approx $160+ to get it done by someone else. That is enough money savings to buy a couple of new pairs of shoes

As with others I never learned how to braid somehow I just knew how to do it. I guess from practicing on black barbie when I was little

Someone asked about tree braids... I do my own. In fact that is what I have in now. If you look in my fotki you will see some pics that may help u figure out how to do it. I do the individual tree/lace braids. But I can also do the cornrow ones. Im not as good at the cornrow ones b/c I just started doing those plus they are a little harder to do IMO b/c you have to "add" hair as you go whereas w/the individuals you add all the weave hair in the begining....

Here is my fotki w/the pic of how u do the lace braids...
http://public.fotki.com/carmend3/braids-1/lacecloseup.html
pw = africa

 

[Shatani]

Funny thing you should start this topic, b/c I just braided my own hair about a month ago and now I want to try a sew in weave. And you are totally correct if I had paid to get it done I would NEVER be thinking about taking it out this soon b/c I would be trying to get my money's worth. But on the downside it look me what seemed like FOREVER to finish. But in the end its worth it I guess b/c it costs me approx $160+ to get it done by someone else. That is enough money savings to buy a couple of new pairs of shoes

As with others I never learned how to braid somehow I just knew how to do it. I guess from practicing on black barbie when I was little

Someone asked about tree braids... I do my own. In fact that is what I have in now. If you look in my fotki you will see some pics that may help u figure out how to do it. I do the individual tree/lace braids. But I can also do the cornrow ones. Im not as good at the cornrow ones b/c I just started doing those plus they are a little harder to do IMO b/c you have to "add" hair as you go whereas w/the individuals you add all the weave hair in the begining....

Here is my fotki w/the pic of how u do the lace braids...
http://public.fotki.com/carmend3/braids-1/lacecloseup.html
pw = africa

oooooh, girl you done did it now!

 

[carmend]

Go for it. If you already know how to do regular individual braids then you can get the hang of it w/a little practice. I learned from watching the girl do mine and also from spot replacing ones that would fall out myself instead of paying her to replace. Then eventually I got brave enough ... or crazy enough ... or CHEAP enough to do a whole head myself....

oooooh, girl you done did it now!

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

Someone asked about tree braids... I do my own. In fact that is what I have in now. If you look in my fotki you will see some pics that may help u figure out how to do it. I do the individual tree/lace braids. But I can also do the cornrow ones. Im not as good at the cornrow ones b/c I just started doing those plus they are a little harder to do IMO b/c you have to "add" hair as you go whereas w/the individuals you add all the weave hair in the begining....

Here is my fotki w/the pic of how u do the lace braids...
http://public.fotki.com/carmend3/braids-1/lacecloseup.html
pw = africa

Thanks for the link. This technique seems easier, I can definitely do this...like you..the cornrow tree braids seem harder.

 

[Shatani]

Go for it. If you already know how to do regular individual braids then you can get the hang of it w/a little practice. I learned from watching the girl do mine and also from spot replacing ones that would fall out myself instead of paying her to replace. Then eventually I got brave enough ... or crazy enough ... or CHEAP enough to do a whole head myself....

okay, lemme see if i get the technique....

so, you take some hair and start to braid a section, then you just start leaving out some of the extension hair until youre just braiding youre own hair??? are you able to brush it when youre all done??

 

[carmend]

Yes. That is almost it. You will start just like you would any ole individual braid w/extention. Then as soon as it is secure (1st or 2nd braiding cyle) you are gonna start pulling extention hair out. You will need a clip or something to help you secure the pulled out hair while u continue to braid. You repeat the braid/pull out process until you end up with just ur hair and a little bit of extention hair. You dont want to pull out ALL of the extention hair b/c u need it to help secure the end. You MUST continue to braid down to at least an inch or 2 past the length of ur real hair. Otherwise ur ends WILL BECOME DAMAGED AND FALL OUT - TRUST ME This is why u need to have some extention hair left in the braid. Then once u have braided past the point of ur hair and are left w/just exentions hair you can tie a little knot or use a lil dab of nail glue to secure the braid. Another reason why u need to braid down past ur real hair b/c u dont want to either knot or glue your own realy hair . With curly hair I find that tieing a little knot is enough to secure but w/the straight hair u will probably want to use some nail glue b/c str8 hair comes unraveled MUCH MUCH quicker than curly hair and u will be replacing too many braids. You can brush/comb ur hair but u have to do it carefully so that you dont get the braids caught in the comb. When I have curly I dont use a comb/brush at all. I just finger comb. When I had str8 I used a large/medium tooth comb. I will say that I dont do the str8 hair ones myself b/c it is harder to do the str8 yourself and have it look neat.

HTH

okay, lemme see if i get the technique....

so, you take some hair and start to braid a section, then you just start leaving out some of the extension hair until youre just braiding youre own hair??? are you able to brush it when youre all done??

 

[Shatani]

im on it girl!!!! thank you!

 

[ThursdayGirl]

I've been braiding since a child also...I learned to do the kinky twist extensions by looking at someone's fotki album with instructions. For human hair braids, its easy...after paying everyone else a ton of money for the mediocre results...I learned a new "trick" and started doing them myself, the way I wanted them. @Shatani: I did mine smaller than normal the last time around but it did not take my hairline out...I used a mix of 1/2 African Royale BRX Braid Spray and 1/2 Surge to moisturize.

P.S. I want to get "Tree Braids" next with human hair but I need to find someone who can do them {very limited braiders in my area} since I have not mastered that technique yet {I never even heard of them until I saw posts on this forum}.

Where did you find the instructions to do Kinky Twists? I would like to try that .

 

[Shatani]

heres one....
http://public.fotki.com/Jamericakink/december_updates/

 

[ThursdayGirl]

Thanks!

 

[Ipanema]

I love being able to do my own braids. I don't see any downside to it! It is so cheap & my hair always looks good. And it doesn’t take me very long at all because I only do half of my head at a time. After about a month, I’ll wash & re-do the top half, and then wash & re-do the bottom half a couple weeks later. That way they always look good. And I never have a slippage problem because I figured out how to get the braids close to my scalp by using a sleeper clip on each section. Also, I leave my hairline free & just braid it without extensions. I blends in just fine & looks like long bangs.

 

[Shatani]

I love being able to do my own braids. I don't see any downside to it! It is so cheap & my hair always looks good. And it doesn’t take me very long at all because I only do half of my head at a time. After about a month, I’ll wash & re-do the top half, and then wash & re-do the bottom half a couple weeks later. That way they always look good. And I never have a slippage problem because I figured out how to get the braids close to my scalp by using a sleeper clip on each section. Also, I leave my hairline free & just braid it without extensions. I blends in just fine & looks like long bangs.

wow, thats cool! if i ever do the really tiny ones i may try your hairline technique!

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

Where did you find the instructions to do Kinky Twists? I would like to try that .

This is the tutorial I used. The type of hair is important. If using synthetic hair {I did} use perm rods on the ends and dip in hot water. Here is the link:
http://public.fotki.com/Delushious/how_tos/twist_extensions_101/

 

[Shatani]

This is the tutorial I used. The type of hair is important. If using synthetic hair {I did} use perm rods on the ends and dip in hot water. Here is the link:
http://public.fotki.com/Delushious/how_tos/twist_extensions_101/

ooooh!!!! hers is really cool!!!

i dont do mine like that, hers were really cute!! maybe if i could find that kind of hair it might work...

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

ooooh!!!! hers is really cool!!!

i dont do mine like that, hers were really cute!! maybe if i could find that kind of hair it might work...

What is your technique and what kind of hair do you use?

 

[Ashee]

That could also be a good thing.... You begin to do styles that take less time to take out & be able to switch up whenever ready!!

 

[Shatani]

What is your technique and what kind of hair do you use?

this time around i used marley hair and this other stray pack of red afro kinky...it didnt look like the hair she used, and it didnt that plump....granted i didnt use a lot of hair in each braid, but still...they didnt look like hers....

i did it just like that...excep i didnt clip the ends...i just wrapped them around some small perm rods and dipped it in hot water...

 

[Dare~to~Dream]

this time around i used marley hair and this other stray pack of red afro kinky...it didnt look like the hair she used, and it didnt that plump....granted i didnt use a lot of hair in each braid, but still...they didnt look like hers....

i did it just like that...excep i didnt clip the ends...i just wrapped them around some small perm rods and dipped it in hot water...

I didn't clip the ends at first either...ha...didn't turn out right! I stopped twisting them and it was really thick at the ends...so I was like "well I guess the hot water will take care of that...not! Lol...so then I twisted the ends to the length I wanted then clipped the rest off...used the perm rods...and it turned out great..for my first try.

 

[asummertyme]

this is a great thread..i done learned how to do tree braids......alright.i got myself a style for my vacation.thnx yall..i will do my tree braids with lugo's spanish wavy ..whe i take that out..ima do some kinky twists..i had an idea of how to do them nad that confirms it.........thnx yall for the great how too's...!