I want to do this! Any advice?

[Igor]

I always regretted I never tried having dreadlocks or something similar before I shaved it all off. Lately I have been considering coconut oiling my hair and then braiding it all in little braids. I saw this “magic braid tool” in a toy store that twists treads together (It came with colourful beads too :lol: ) so I’m seriously considering making around 40 little braids like that in a mix of real braids and those twists and using coconut oil to “set” it

Any advice on how to do it the most hair friendly way?

[missfortune9335]

no I've never tried anything like that before so I don't have much advise, but if it's the braiding toy thingy I've seen it looks as though it may rip your hair out or something in the process.... any chance of getting a friend to help you put in little braids instead?

[enfys]

I'd be inclined to do it by hand too.

Do you mean doing it without and hairbands or anything? So you mean set the ends so they don't unravel?

Sorry I seem a bit thick, I just don't think I'm picturing it right.

I've put loads of little plaits in my hair when it was very long, but tied the ends off. I found as I did a three strand plait especially on that scale with so few hairs, the ends plaited themselves seperately so got a bit tangled. That would happen with any braiding, gadget or not, but I think that'd be the most damaging aspect.

[Starr]

I think you would absolutely stunning with individuals. . . I've seen the hair twisting machine and to be honest I think you should stick with good old fashioned braids.

[iris]

I've done that before, both braids and twists. I braided in some fake hair because it would look too thin otherwise, but I doubt you'd have that problem.

Twists are very easy to do, much faster than braids. I could do about 40 twists on my whole head, twisting in TB length fake hair, in about an hour by hand - braids would take more like 3-4 hours.

To tie the ends off, you can get these beads that open - you clip them closed over your braid/twist, they're not damaging and they look cute. Ethnic hair stores have them.

Using something like oil to keep the braids or twists from fuzzing out is a good idea. My favorite product for doing that was not an oil but an oil-free wax-type product (except without wax :lol: - I'm doing a great job describing this - I think it was called a styling cream or something like that).

Overall I don't think it's particularly damaging to do small braids or twists. Have fun! I always liked taking them out, too - you do get itchy scalp after a while and it's a great relief to take them out at some point and just comb your hair. Also cool to see all the sheds that come out then.

[yellowchariot]

I regret to say that I don't have any advice due to being "hair-challenged" :toofers: lol

However, I say do it! I bet it will look very awesome! I do agree with the previous posts though, make sure you do it "safe" or gently, keeping it from damaging your hair!

[SimplyLonghair]

I did those little braids for my oldest dd and I did her whole head and it looked great. The coconut would be good for it, but the main thing is do not do it too tight. I threaded little pearls on it too. I would definitely oil after you did it, when you take them out. I would be afraid of the machine, but I like the idea of twists, just not the machine. :shrug: Too many round brushes caught in hair over the years. lol
Have fun.

[paperwhite]

I've seen bar soap used to keep the ends of very small braids from unraveling. Just braid like you normally would, as far down as you like, and then take a dampened corner of Ivory soap (it's the gentlest I can think of, and I'm pretty sure that's what was used) and draw it downwards from a little bit of the braided portion and onto the non-braided portion (on both sides of the braid). Once it dries, or sets to semi-solid solid, it holds extremely well. The added bonus is that it can be washed right out. It's also a good way to secure the braids if you're just trying them out for a little while. If you use something damaging to hold the ends and then shortly thereafter decide you don't like the look of a bunch of little braids, you'll still have damaged your hair.

[dernhelm]

What about using shea butter? It's a little waxier than the coconut.

I think you should try it with a friend's help, by hand. I like the idea about the beads on the ends, too.

This past summer I was so fed up with my hair that I did some temp dreads with shea butter.

[Peter]

Do I understand correctly that a "twist" is simply a bunch of small rope braids?

I've been wanting to do this for a while now as well but I could never figure out how to secure such thin braids. I like the idea of the beads that open and close. :)

[Lamb]

Aren't there any "braid artists" in your area? I seem to remember a few little shops, mostly ethnic ones, which specialize in braids - ask around!

[JamieLeigh]

I've never tried the twist machine-thingy. It looks scary! :p

When I did my little braids last fall, the only real trouble I had with them was my ends being somewhat damaged after the elastic bands were removed. I can probably blame this on my own limited knowledge, since I knew no other way to secure the braids. I used the teeny-tiny clear plastic ones, so they wouldn't be so visible. And I used a nail clipper to cut them off of my hair at the end of my time in braids.

So really the only thing I could advise is to watch what happens with your ends, and try to find a better way to secure the braids.

[Darkhorse1]

as a child, with bra strap length hair, I had my hair corn rowed. All I can say is UGH. Keep in mind, I was a child and I wanted to feel the growth of my hair. But, the damage from corn rowing hair was pretty bad. Taking out those little braids was a pain in the butt--I ended up taking out the beads/elastics, then I went swimming to get the braids out. I only last 3 days because they were so itchy at my scalp.

The twister thingy makes rope braids, which I think would a) look great in your hair and b) when removed, would create amazing curls!!

I would just read the package/instructions because it may not work with hair as long as yours. Do you have any friends that would be interested in braiding your hair for you? Or are you up for the daunting journey of multiple little braids :D

[LaFlor]

I would be careful about leaving the braids in to long because it can get tangly and hard to get out. For a temperary style I think it's alright.

I've had real dreadlocks and it didn't damage my hair too much. There are some salons that specialize in temperary dreadlocks (they even weave in fake dreadlocks to add length or more hair) so maybe you might want to look into that too if you really want the dread lock look instead of braids/twists. One salon I know of is Dollylocks. They have a few salons in major cities on the eastcoast. They probably know where you can find salons in other places too.

[Anje]

I had little braids in a few times my freshman year of college. (Not the greatest look for me. You can see scalp all the way to the nape. But you won't have that problem.) I wasn't as good about haircare then, didn't know about oil and such, but I can tell you that the places where the little bands were tied made for some unhappy, frazzled ends for a while. I'd be inclined to recommend using something other than little silicone bands to end the braids, because hairs tend to get bunched up in them in weird ways. One thing that might work is temporarily clipping the braid with a tiny jaw clip or one of those springy barrettes, then tie it with thread, perhaps. Otherwise, look into those beads -- they sound cool!

ETA: I haven't ever tried one of the twister devices, but I need to say that if they work decently, rather than eating hair, it would definitely speed the process. You may go through a few sets of batteries, though.

ETA2: Here's one site that offers snap beads (http://www.snapaholics.com/index.html). There are probably a lot more. I'm not sure I'd wrap hair around the hinge the way they suggest, though, if I wanted to keep my ends.

[yogachic]

I had one of those tools, that does the rope braids, It works. I think got rid of it. Good luck, awesome idea.

[Naluin]

Your hair would look awesome this way! (I think, anyway. :)) Though, it might take a very long time to do. Do you have any friends you can trust to help you part and braid? I had a friend that would help me part my hair in the back when I did my mini braids. It made the whole process a lot less tedious.

[Vivien']

Hmmm, I don't have any advice on how to do it, but personally I wouldn't trust anything except human hands :s
I did see one girl in my school who had a lot of little braids, mixed with "twists" (the twists were... green !) and she kept it for some months.