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HappilyLiberal

HappilyLiberal

Well-Known Member
OK... My natural hair is at the post-BC "I can't do anything with my hair at this length" stage. I called around and the cheapest price I could find for a braids/twists install was $150 and up (not including hair). This one lady told me she was going to charge me $200 + hair because my hair is long (my hair is ear length to neck length after my BC in May). Including tip, it was going to be pushing $300! Not the kid!

So, I am going to attempt an install myself. The Kanekalon hair is soaking in vinegar as I type this. Friday after work is D-Day~:blush:
 
Good luck. There are lots of ladies that do their own and it turns out beautiful. Watch tons of youtube videos and go for it. Come back with b4 and after pics.
 
Not sure what type of twist/braids u are looking for but YouTube helped. Me learn to do my kinky twists! (pic in my siggy)
 
Girl go for it!! I recently learned how to do my own twist extensions with the help of youtube videos. It's so liberating and cheap!! :lol: #teamdiy
 
You can do it and you will get better as you go. Just stay patient and take deep breaths. And give yourself plenty of time.
 
Go go go go go! Like you right after my BC, I didn't want to deal with my hair being so short so I put braids extensions in myself. Turned out pretty good so go for it!

And think of it, you saved over 200 dollars!
 
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You'll be fine, hun!!
I betcha it'll turn out cute. :)

i'm actually doing my own yarn twists right now.man....praise the Lawd for Youtube, cause getting my hair done at these shops is def not in my budget right now...
 
You'll do just fine!

Practice makes perfect. I didn't know how to do my hair until I took control of it a few years ago. Now I braid my own hair regularly and it looks nice and my hair has improved dramatically. I think you'll do ok =)
 
PSA

I soaked the hair in vinegar and water and had an allergic reaction to whatever that chemical was when I put my hand in the water to let the water out of the sink. I also had to scrub the sink down because the film was sticking to the sink. I know some people--from reading other threads on this--say the hair never bothered them. However, that chemical cannot be good. So, as a precaution I advise everyone to just go ahead and soak the hair first. It's better to be safe than sorry.
 
HappilyLiberal said:
I've been looking at YT tutorials all day. I think I am going to use the one for twists where the lady separates the hair top to bottom... that one looks best.

This one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLW0tIcN1c&feature=feedf

Sorry... no pictures will be forthcoming... The nature of my work makes that inadvisable!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this vid!!! It made it seem so simple. I think I will go ahead and attempt to do my twist myself.
 
You can do. Since I started installing twists myself, I refuse to let anyone else do it. Make sure you pick a color that goes well with you. They way you twists them will determine how natural they look. I like mine small when i can do a bun and do an up sweep.
 
Tamrin said:
You can do. Since I started installing twists myself, I refuse to let anyone else do it. Make sure you pick a color that goes well with you. They way you twists them will determine how natural they look. I like mine small when i can do a bun and do an up sweep.
Click to expand...

I picked the hair color that is about a shade darker than my hair. I am planning to make the small. This is why I am starting on Friday--in case I need Saturday to finish them.
 
HappilyLiberal said:
I picked the hair color that is about a shade darker than my hair. I am planning to make the small. This is why I am starting on Friday--in case I need Saturday to finish them.
Click to expand...

If you are going to curl your ends, buy some small perm rods. Wrap the ends around the rods and dip in boiling hot water. Please cover your shoulders with a thick towel. Have another thick towel available to catch the hair int he roller when you pull it out the hot water.
 
Tamrin said:
If you are going to curl your ends, buy some small perm rods. Wrap the ends around the rods and dip in boiling hot water. Please cover your shoulders with a thick towel. Have another thick towel available to catch the hair int he roller when you pull it out the hot water.
Click to expand...


I looked at the curl rods when I picked up the hair. I am going back and forth on whether or not I want to curl the ends.
 
congrats. its a liberating experience! i wouldnt pay someone to box braid my hair when i can do it on my own!
 
UPDATE

My cousin said she wanted to learn how to do Senegalese twists, so she came over to my house and did them for me. I was having a whole lot of difficulty with the technique. They looked nice for about two days then my hair started popping out of the twists and now, a week later, my hair looks horrible.

I am going to live with these for two more weeks. Then the weekend of December 10th I am going to take them out, wash, protein condition, deep condition, and spend a week co-washing and babying my hair. The weekend of December 17th I am going to braid my hair this time. Thinking back, the last time I had twists put in, my hair did the same thing, so I don't think twists work for me with my hair at this length.

This time I am also keeping my mouth shut about my plans because part of what I didn't like is that she didn't make the parts small enough. Since she was doing it for free I didn't say anything. But if I do it myself, I can control things like that.
 
HappilyLiberal, cool thing is, even when they get untidy, you can rock hats to cover the messiest parts or bandanas like Brandy is doing here:
Brandy10-vi.jpg


Or you can put them up in some do and if you baggy, it makes the fuzz shrink and lie flat against the fake hair so it looks neat. Saran wrap also helps lay the hair down:
Brandy7-vi.jpg


Finally, when you do put in braids, please be sure to use LESS EXTENSION HAIR PER BRAID SECTION so you're not exerting too much weight/strain on a narrow section of your scalp, which can lead to damage. It may seem to you as if that'd not make your hair look full but it will. I have always used less hair per braid section and I've never had any problems. You can see from this image below (bottom row pic to the right) that the braids I make are pretty thin but if you look at the section of my own hair (bottom row middle pic) to which I attach the hair, it's not that small:
Afterawash-vi.jpg


I use human hair whose packs are usually smaller than synthetic hair but I only use one pack and a bit of the second. I always expect to use 2 but I never finish the second pack. And still my hair looks pretty full:
BraidsApril2007-vi.jpg


It's a good thing you'll be doing your own braids because then you can maintain them, by redoing the edges especially as soon as they get loose. Redoing the braids one at a time means it'll never feel like a chore and you can prevent hair matting and remove shed hair regularly so your hair remains free of tangles. In this clip you can see me undoing a microbraid. Notice how easy it is because I maintain the braids by redoing them as needed and thus keep hair from knotting up at the base and shed hair from getting so caught up in there that it creates a nest: http://youtu.be/j68_fk46rNk

I think you'll have a blast once you master doing your own braids. Don't be discouraged if it doesn't look that great first time around. We all started that way--except for some freaks I've seen on the forum who got it right the first time. Us normal folk got it loose at first and then with time we got better.
 
^^^ Nonie... thanks for the tips. When you say use less hair, do you mean use less hair than my natural hair? So, if I am doing quarter inch squares of my hair use less than a quarter inch of synthetic hair?
 
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HappilyLiberal said:
^^^ @Nonie... thanks for the tips. When you say use less hair, do you mean use less hair than my natural hair? So, if I am doing quarter inch squares of my hair use less than a quarter inch of synthetic hair?
Click to expand...

HappilyLiberal, :yep: Exactly. You have to consider that your scalp will be carrying longer hair than it has gotten used to carrying so you don't want it to be too heavy. So err on the side of caution.

There was a discussion about whether microbraids damage hair and I think the tips I shared there may be useful. I hope it helps you understand better what it is I'm trying to share.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=417854
 
Nonie said:
@HappilyLiberal, :yep: Exactly. You have to consider that your scalp will be carrying longer hair than it has gotten used to carrying so you don't want it to be too heavy. So err on the side of caution.

There was a discussion about whether microbraids damage hair and I think the tips I shared there may be useful. I hope it helps you understand better what it is I'm trying to share.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=417854
Click to expand...

Thanks Nonie... yes... that other thread was very helpful.
 
Goodluck Lady!! I'm sure it will be nice.

$300 for ANY hairstyle is a big NEGATIVE.
 
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