Hey dearies!! I'm back with an interesting topic... Protective styling!
Protective hairstyles are hairstyles that help reduce daily or weekly manipulation of our hair. It plays a big role in length retention as there will be less breakage due to restyling. If you are on a healthy hair journey its very much advisable that you use protective styles. However One should be cautious when choosing the protective style... This is because some protective hairstyles may damage the hair if not properly or correctly done.
Protective hairstyles are hairstyles that help reduce daily or weekly manipulation of our hair. It plays a big role in length retention as there will be less breakage due to restyling. If you are on a healthy hair journey its very much advisable that you use protective styles. However One should be cautious when choosing the protective style... This is because some protective hairstyles may damage the hair if not properly or correctly done.
*protective hairstyle using just your hair.
*protective styling with wigs and sew ins.
*protective styling with extensions
What to consider when choosing a particular protective style
*How long you plan to wear the hairstyle
*your ease of maintenance
*if the style would place much tension on a portion of your hair as in the case of buns and updos
*How long you plan to wear the hairstyle
*your ease of maintenance
*if the style would place much tension on a portion of your hair as in the case of buns and updos
Protective styling with extensions
Tips to remember!
*make sure the braids and weaves are not done so tightly because too much tension will be placed on the hair strands causing it to forcefully shed.
* ensure the braids are not pulling tightly at your nape and edges
*Don't keep the hairstyle for too long without washing or moisturising because it will cause your hair to dry out.
*After take down, gently but thoroughly separate the clumped strands with your fingers and then detangle.
*Do a protein treatment to strengthen the strands and follow up with a moisturizing leave in.
*if you washed your hair while in extensions, a quicker method to dry the hair faster is by using a blow dryer set on cool air.
*Give your hair resting intervals of about 1-2weeks between hairstyle installations
Tips to remember!
*make sure the braids and weaves are not done so tightly because too much tension will be placed on the hair strands causing it to forcefully shed.
* ensure the braids are not pulling tightly at your nape and edges
*Don't keep the hairstyle for too long without washing or moisturising because it will cause your hair to dry out.
*After take down, gently but thoroughly separate the clumped strands with your fingers and then detangle.
*Do a protein treatment to strengthen the strands and follow up with a moisturizing leave in.
*if you washed your hair while in extensions, a quicker method to dry the hair faster is by using a blow dryer set on cool air.
*Give your hair resting intervals of about 1-2weeks between hairstyle installations
Protective styling with sew-ins
Tips to remember!
* how long you plan to wear the sew ins (i do not recommend keeping it more than 3wks).
*make sure the braids underneath are not done too tightly.
*don't pull your sew ins into updo's that would cause tension on any part of your hair.
*if you oil your scalp regularly sew ins are not the best for you because they do not allow ease with scalp oiling.
*deep condition with a protein deep conditioner after take down to add strength to your hair and follow up with a moisturising leave in.
Tips to remember!
* how long you plan to wear the sew ins (i do not recommend keeping it more than 3wks).
*make sure the braids underneath are not done too tightly.
*don't pull your sew ins into updo's that would cause tension on any part of your hair.
*if you oil your scalp regularly sew ins are not the best for you because they do not allow ease with scalp oiling.
*deep condition with a protein deep conditioner after take down to add strength to your hair and follow up with a moisturising leave in.
Protective styling with wigs
Tips to remember!
*Do not wear a wig all day or to bed
*wigs allow easy access to moisturise and seal your hair as many times as you want.
* Remember to wash the wigs often
*use styling products, serums and wide tooth combs on your wigs to prevent frizz.
*trim off damaged ends to make your wig look nice.
Tips to remember!
*Do not wear a wig all day or to bed
*wigs allow easy access to moisturise and seal your hair as many times as you want.
* Remember to wash the wigs often
*use styling products, serums and wide tooth combs on your wigs to prevent frizz.
*trim off damaged ends to make your wig look nice.
Protective styling using just your hair
Tips to remember
*don't do the styles too tightly
*it should be easy to do
*don't pull on your edges and nape too tightly.
Tips to remember
*don't do the styles too tightly
*it should be easy to do
*don't pull on your edges and nape too tightly.
Note: Hairstyles that leave your hair flowing in the wind or brushing your shoulders are not considered as protective styles because your hair is not tucked away and so defeats its purpose which is mainly to 'protect' the length and ends of your hair.
My protective styling
I mainly use wigs. I love that i can take it off whenever i want to. I can moisturise my hair as many times as i feel necessary and do my scalp massages. Wearing wigs is just the simplest thing that helps my length retention. I just put my hair in small twist and wig-it whenever i have an occasion to attend. When I'm not wearing wigs i do different protective hairstyles like flat twists, small twists and buns.....with my hair alone. I do not use extensions anymore.
I mainly use wigs. I love that i can take it off whenever i want to. I can moisturise my hair as many times as i feel necessary and do my scalp massages. Wearing wigs is just the simplest thing that helps my length retention. I just put my hair in small twist and wig-it whenever i have an occasion to attend. When I'm not wearing wigs i do different protective hairstyles like flat twists, small twists and buns.....with my hair alone. I do not use extensions anymore.
benefits of protective styling
*it reduces too much manipulation of hair
*it helps you stretch your relaxer touch ups
*if done correctly and consistently protective styling is a life saver as it helps with length retention.
*it reduces too much manipulation of hair
*it helps you stretch your relaxer touch ups
*if done correctly and consistently protective styling is a life saver as it helps with length retention.
Disadvantages or cons of protective styling
*the only con is that if done wrongly or left for too long as in the case of extensions and sew ins, it may lead to severe breakage and set back. This con doesn't usually happen if you use wigs or your real hair.
*the only con is that if done wrongly or left for too long as in the case of extensions and sew ins, it may lead to severe breakage and set back. This con doesn't usually happen if you use wigs or your real hair.
Below are pics of protective styles...first one is a short wig and the rest are done with just my hair. If you follow me on instagram you may have seen the picture already.... if you haven't, be sure to follow me on instagram @juditherese to view some protective style ideas you can make with just your hair.
*much love*
I ave not really been doing protective styling, tanks for the post will have to start dat.
ReplyDeleteHello Ifeoma! yes you do need protective styling.... happy to share:-) thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteProtective styling is great. It helps so much while stretching a relaxer. However, I can't really do longer term protective styles like braids and weaves because my edges are too fragile. It doesn't matter how gently it's installed. So I just stick to buns for the most part. What's your favorite protective style?
ReplyDeleteDon't Touch The Hair
Thats right! long term protective styles are a no no for fragile hair. When i'm not wearing my wig my favourite protective style is a half up half down faux bob. I put the top half in a donought bun and tuck the lower half as a faux bob. I have a similar picture on my instagram page.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I love your twists, shows off your healthy hair. Indeed, many of us appreciate the growth we see when we have left our hair in peace. Don't touch that hair, permit me to share my favourite protective hair style, it's crochet braids and I'm glad Dabs of Naija Hair Can Grow offers this service. I usually start all my braids away from my fragile hairline. I guess I learnt the lesson too late but it's growing back. You also get to moisturise your real hair as you wish with crochet braids.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Sisimi... i have seen pictures of crotchet braids and its a really nice protective hairstyle. Good to know your hairline has recovered... thats a nice tip for those who choose to braid their hair.. save your hairline and start the braids away from your hairline. Thanks for visiting and sharing your favourite protective hairstyle :-)
ReplyDelete