The truth about micros

[Suri]

Can someone who's had micros please tell me how damaging they are honestly? How long should they be left in, how should they be taken out, etc. Do you advise them? I just want a different style for awhile and I like braids. Thanks.

 

[baglady215]

I think it depends on your own hair. I wore micros for years (off and on) and I didn't get any damage. I used to leave mine in for 3 months. I never washed my hair because I was scared they would slip out. Taking them out is a pain. That's mostly why I stopped getting them. What I would do is grab a small section, cut the braid as high as possible without cutting my real hair, wet the section and slather it in conditioner, and use a small comb to basically comb them out. It still took forever.

If you think you're hair can handle them, I say go for it!

 

[naptrl]

I love micros. I use them to grow my hair. I have never had damage. I kept my last set for 3 months. I just took them out last week. Check out my album. You can see that I had no damage, but a lot of growth. They have always benefited me.

 

[Suri]

Thank you very much. I hear bad things and so I formed a bad opinion about them, I am still a little scared to try them but 1 positive note is that I am not capable of leaving braids in my hair for longer than 2 months. Taking them out sound like hell, but I may give them a try.

What about washing them?

 

[*ElleB]

They are not damaging unless they are TOO TIGHT and left in TOO LONG..Other than that, just care for them, keeping your scalp moisturized and you should be fine... I wore micros and braids for years, (ppl didn't see my real hair until I was like 12) lol

 

[poetist]

If you get micros, make sure they dont use glue or knots to secure the ends. I was mortified when they tried to use glue (super glue at that ) but I did let them do the knots because with wet and wavy hair, I was scared the braids would slip out. However, I noticed breakage where the knots were, but when I stopped using the knots my hair was fine.

I also dreaded taking them out, so I started weaving the back/middle and using micros at the very top. It took no more than 2 hours to get them done and taken out. It limits styling options, but I always wore my hair down or in a low bun, so it worked for me and was cheaper.

 

[HoneyDew]

I used to get them and never got damage, except over time my temple area got thinner, I think.

But, that is when I started getting braid touchups every few weeks to prevent that.

But, still, I think the very very small ones are harder to remove and the manipulation to take your hair down can be bad.

 

[MiWay]

I had some for 3 months and experienced very minimal damage. My hair grew, which was my main goal, but about 3 to 5 did come out (from the root ) . I didn't know about this board back then, so I didn't take care of them the way I should've (i.e., washing, moisturizing, etc.), but overall I had a positive experience. Would definitely get them again.

 

[beyondcute]

My philosophy is that anything can be damaging is used incorrectly. They are just liek anyother braids. They must be maintained and not kept in too long and not too tight or you will lose hair. Period. I think with a good regimine micros can be safely used to grow your hair out.

 

[Phoenix]

I've had pretty good experiences with them, but I still think it's better to get bigger braids. At the very least, have them braid larger sections of your hair and use less extension. That way you get the look of micros, but they aren't braiding tiny sections of your hair. I also have them leave hair out along the hairline. All in all, I don't think they're worth it. Slightly bigger braids cause less damage and they're easier to take out.

 

[Plenty]

I love them!! I achieved hair growth to my sholders. I was my hair like 10 in the period of 2 years. I grew my hair from scatch to past sholders, in the back, in 2 years. I started off with about 4-6 inches of relaxed hair. Then it grew I cut off the rest of the relaxed hair. I had mediam size. I never got anything smaller.

 

[SocialWorker29]

I wore micros on and off for about 5 years, however I was natural. My hair did grow, but I'm nervous about getting them again now that my hair is tex/laxed. I did have a few here or there pop right out of the root near my temples, but that was because they were too small and too tight. If I go back, I will make sure that they don't try to braid my "babyhair".
I will prob. get them again, 'cause summers-a-coming and I will be stretching.....
Also, good tip on keeping them moisturized; I think that's key.

 

[baglady215]

I'll be getting some this summer when I go away on vacation. I love to do braidouts on micros... So cute!

 

[kristina]

I'm done with them personally. Last time I had human hair micros I found that my natural hair formed nasty little knots at the ends where the coils wrapped together and fused. I had to cut off a bit of my real hair to take them out. But that never happened before (when I was growing the texturizer out).
I'm not saying that I wasn't at all negligent but I think my experiences shows hair doesn't like braids much-the hair (fake especially) dries out my real hair and while I have length, it's seriously prone to breakage because it's so darn brittle. It goes away with conditioning but I just want to keep that from happening in the first place.

 

[atlien11]

I had micros one time and it was a disaster. They took way to long to put in and even longer to take out. I only had them in for 2-3 months and i didnt take them out properly ( i was frustrated after about 8 hours of tangles). If you get them be very careful. I have some african friends who braid hair for a living. They admitt that they wouldnt even get micros because it eats up your hairline. I say that to say, be careful of who you let braid your hair.

 

[PretteePlease]

all i have to say is beware of thinning edges