preferred state of hair for braiding and high manipulation styles

[DollyDagger]

hey guys and gals,

Which state of hair do you most prefer and find easiest to work with when you are doing braids, particularly french/dutch as well as any other elaborate or high manipulation styles.


Wet, dry, damp, freshly-cleansed, with product, without product, oiled, a little on the natural sebumy side, alot on the natural sebumy side..or any variation thereof ? Do you inevitably shed a few hairs, some hairs or no hairs?

T.I.A
DD
:blossom:

[Seeshami]

Second day after wash and dry. He's happiest and most behaving.

The naughty mess says, "I would be happier everyday if I didn't have to take baths. Baths are pointless"

......sure okay Mess.

[hennalonghair]

About the 5 th or 7 th day after wash day otherwise I'm just fighting with it.
I can't braid my hair when it's wet or it just doesn't dry. It has to be dry and slightly oiled first.

[Frankenstein]

Freshly washed, wet (but not soaking wet) to damp hair seems to be easiest for me. And I do shed quite a bit of hairs.

[spidermom]

I most like braiding on wash day when it's damp if not wet because then I can have gorgeous braid waves the next day. Any time in the cycle is fine for braiding, though, as long as it isn't hot and humid, which makes my hands kind of sticky, and my hair clings to them.

[HintOfMint]

Dry and on the slightly dirty to extremely dirty side. Freshly washed or damp hair is a nightmare to braid. Damp hair ends up sticking to itself, and freshly washed and dried hair tangles up as well.

I'm not huge on braid waves, so I have no real incentive to put them on recently washed hair.

[Groovy Granny]

I don't braid damp/wet hair....just can't stand the feel and it takes forever to dry.

2nd day hair on is fine to braid, with no products, and is my go to style when my hair is slippery.

I do a single center english braid for bed now.

Daytimes I prefer French Braid...with a pony tail, the braid flipped or bunned.

[ravenreed]

Damp, clean hair works best for me.

[AutobotsAttack]

Dry hair that's been a day old prior to washing. Lightly moisturized and oiled.

[cadencesday]

Any hair for me, damp, dry and wet if it's warm outside.

[missblueeyes]

I prefer my hair to be really well oiled or on the sebum-y side when I braid it or else the braid shreds like crazy. But: I when it comes to seperating strands, I prefer my hair to be completely clean, which means: braiding is easier on clean hair but it holds better on dirty hair. For buns, it honestly doesn't matter.

[Arctic]

Freshly clean and either dry or slightly damp. I also like to use some product to give grip (latest big fav has been Yves Rocher's volume spray :inlove:), but don't do that always. I also do work with wet hair too, I'm not very demanding on how my hair should be, other than that it needs to be clean. My hair does not behave at all when oily, and I hate to work with it then.

[Klaudia]

My favorite is braiding on damp hair, but I can do it on any day. Sometimes I add some product, oil, etc., sometimes I don't.

[Hairkay]

I'd have it damp with a little oil and sebum.

[Nique1202]

I prefer not to braid my hair damp because not only is wet hair more prone to getting damaged when it's being worked with, but my hair is at its most prone to tangles when I try to work with it wet. Also, I find that braidwaves make my hair act frizzy, while air drying and bun waves don't for some reason. My hair takes about 24 hours to dry fully, it feels not-damp after about 4-5 hours but for 24 hours after I wash it my hair will be "set" into whatever style it holds the longest. Usually that's my overnight cinnabun.

So, my favourite kind of hair for braiding and stuff is any time from 24 hours after my last wash (with only my usual conditioner and oils in it, I don't use any other products) until my roots start to feel greasy.

[Saproxylic]

I like my hair clean and just slightly slightly damp, on second or third day hair I start to have issues with roots already wanting to lay in a certain direction, and I get root bumps and odd scalp cleavage.

[Anje]

I prefer to braid dry. My hair tends to stick to itself a bit when damp and doesn't section easily. And when I do get it sectioned, it doesn't lie smooth without coaxing. Ditto when my scalp has started getting oily. How long that takes varies considerably, because my scalp's output of oil isn't consistent and I prefer to wash based on when it's dirty rather than elapsed time.

I do like to braid when I've got my hair totally over-oiled, because it stays so neat.

Frankly, since I started having an hour+ commute earlier this summer, I find myself wearing a braid most days without regard to when I've washed it. Bun it when I arrive, or not.

[surruh]

I'd prefer dry, and maybe day 3 after washing. Right after a wash it's doable but my hair is soo slippery. And if it is too long after washing it's harder to get my hair to lay perfectly, it tends to want to clump into sections more. So I think day 3 is perfect.

[Madora]

Preferred state: dry and fully detangled.

[hannabiss]

Wet hair is favored. Otherwise my hair just slips and falls out of place.

[NorthernLorelei]

Wet or even damp is very difficult for me, since all the hairs seem to stick together.

I tend to oil fairly heavily on the length, and I prefer a slightly oily scalp as well. I find the braids tend to become less fuzzy that way.

[meteor]

I prefer braiding on thoroughly detangled dry but oily hair... as far away from last wash as possible. This always gives me shiny, smooth results. I often add oil to hair right before braiding and get even more shine. With braids I find, the more oil, the better. ;)

Freshly washed and dry hair is the worst for me: too poofy and voluminous, and it doesn't take shapes too easily, and I get lots of hairs sticking out of braids. I prefer sleeker braids.

Braiding on wet hair is doable for me, but only if I do one simple loose English braid without much detangling - I tend to braid at this point just for braid-waves and/or to keep hair contained as it's drying while I'm out and about. Anything more complicated than a simple and messy English braid doesn't work on wet hair for me, because wet strands stick to each other too much and can re-tangle.