african braids?

[lesbia]

I was wondering about the summer: if I make african braids to my hair, can i reduce damage? Or they are damaging for my fine ends?

Anyone have tried? Opinions? advices? :)

[Juneii]

you mean cornrows? sorry I can't help you with that :(

[squee]

Not sure about the preventing damage part, but as long as they are not super tight your hair should be fine.

[Copasetic]

If you are referring to cornrows, then yes I think they will prevent damage as long as they are put in well. I know a lot of people that do this with their hair in order to give it a bit of a break.

[Fractalsofhair]

Corn rows can prevent damage, but if you mean braiding it tightly and working extensions into it, it can cause a bit of damage. Cornrows,the only thing that's VIP to know is that you shouldn't have them put in as tightly as is common for African Americans, and you likely won't get more than 1 week out of them. They take a while to get put in as well. If your scalp hurts, it's a bad sign.

[coscass]

I had them for a while once, my friend put them in for me. I liked them, but when I washed my hair, they stayed wet for hours. They even started to smell musty, after a while, so I just took them out. I didn't know how to care for them, nor was I used to them. I'd assume they prevent damage, though, as long as they aren't super tight or anything.

[DakarNick]

Like these? I braided Kari's hair last August. She liked it but they started to irritate her.

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/43130/2994050730064685427S425x425Q85.jpg (http://family.webshots.com/photo/2994050730064685427YlHkrQ)

[GlassEyes]

Corn rows can prevent damage, but if you mean braiding it tightly and working extensions into it, it can cause a bit of damage. Cornrows,the only thing that's VIP to know is that you shouldn't have them put in as tightly as is common for African Americans, and you likely won't get more than 1 week out of them. They take a while to get put in as well. If your scalp hurts, it's a bad sign.
I disagree.

With proper care, you can get a month or more out of a good set of cornrows, and for MICROBRAIDS, you can get even loner--about 8 if you sleep in a satin cap.

If your hair is long enough, you don't need extensions either. Braids that are too tight in ANY instance can cause damage, so be sure to get them done by someone who won't pull. Most black hair tends to be on the finer side--if done properly, you should be fine.

[Quixii]

When we went to Jamaica, my mom got some cornrows from a Jamaican hair salon type place. She liked them, but they were not used to working with white-person hair, so they did them as tight as normal and her scalp hurt about after. They started getting fuzzy after a week, and generally unappealing after two, so she took them out.
It sounded semi-damaging just putting them in, so I don't know how much they'd prevent damage.

[GlassEyes]

When we went to Jamaica, my mom got some cornrows from a Jamaican hair salon type place. She liked them, but they were not used to working with white-person hair, so they did them as tight as normal and her scalp hurt about after. They started getting fuzzy after a week, and generally unappealing after two, so she took them out.
It sounded semi-damaging just putting them in, so I don't know how much they'd prevent damage.
They'd do them that tight regardless. A black person's scalp (typically, barring issues) is no different than the scalp of a white person. Like I said, you have to be careful about who you get them done from.

Also, you should really sleep in a satin scarf with them, or on a satin pillowcase, otherwise they get messy quickly.

[Leena7]

I had cornrows once. I was about 8. They were done very tightly and neatly and I left them in for a month. I lost a lot of hair when they came out.

[Renbirde]

The braids themselves aren't damaging, but if they are put in too tightly, the pulling on the scalp can cause traction alopecia-- permanent bald spots. Not good! Pick your braider carefully, and if your scalp hurts, tell her! If she keeps pulling, go somewhere else.

[JaneinMarch]

Dianyla has a pic of herself with many individual braids, and in the caption she says she wore them for a month-long walking trip.
Maybe message her about the wear on her ends?

[GuinevereMay]

The braids themselves aren't damaging, but if they are put in too tightly, the pulling on the scalp can cause traction alopecia-- permanent bald spots. Not good! Pick your braider carefully, and if your scalp hurts, tell her! If she keeps pulling, go somewhere else.
Alopecia isn't permanent bald spots. In many cases, the hair grows back.

[Jordan S.]

I've had cornrows. They make me look like a boy, I had to take several doses of advil for a couple weeks, plus the itched(they are so friggin tight). I prefer bunning to braids for protecting my ends.

[Twil]

When I was a little girl, my dad would put my hair in braids for the entire summer. It's the ultimate protective style, you can wash hair while it's braided, and smooth on some shea butter/hair butter down the lengths to prevent frizziness.

[Gumball]

Alopecia isn't permanent bald spots. In many cases, the hair grows back.

Alopecia can be permanent, or it may not be. It's a general term referring to hair loss. The type/cause of alopecia is the important bit.

For cornrow type braids the only worry I would look for is the braider. Like others have said if it hurts going in then it's probably not going to be very fun for your hair/scalp. If it doesn't hurt then it's just like any other braid, but smaller and more of them.

There will undoubtedly be more hair loss than you may consider "normal" when you take them out. A big chunk of that is because your normally shed hair (on a day-to-day basis) isn't freeing itself from the rest of your hair and is remaining woven into the braid. When you undo the braids those get released, too.

If you get them just treat them well, and like GlassEyes said maybe find a satin cap/pillow to sleep on to try and maximize the time you can get out of them before they begin looking fuzzy.

[Beesweet]

Like these? I braided Kari's hair last August. She liked it but they started to irritate her.

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/43130/2994050730064685427S425x425Q85.jpg (http://family.webshots.com/photo/2994050730064685427YlHkrQ)

These are simple box braids. I can only imagine cornrows, two-strand twists or box braids lasting less than 1 week on anything other than type 4 hair.

I have a type 4a daughter and a type 4b daughter -- biracial, so they have the supercurls, but still a little slip in hair.

I no longer ever do cornrows due to pain ratio being higher than time the style stays in. I cannot get ten days out of my type 4a daughter because of slippage.

I am really not sure you will get much protection out of small braiding because they will have to go in super tight in order for it to last a while. Like the others said, that could be really damaging.

I am thinking if you want to protect your hair for some length of time -- camping, walkabout, etc...then do some french or dutch braids and cover head with bandana. You might could get two days out of some good french braids, and the point of it being up and out of the way is what protects it.

[Heavenly Locks]

I had cornrows once. I was about 8. They were done very tightly and neatly and I left them in for a month. I lost a lot of hair when they came out.

From my experience with long term braiding (for my horses) the hair that you saw falling out when you removed the braids was just the normal hairs that shed, but could not escape the braids. :)

[ItalianFlower]

I REALLY want micro braids again. I LOVED them when I had them.

[lesbia]

Like these? I braided Kari's hair last August. She liked it but they started to irritate her.

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/43130/2994050730064685427S425x425Q85.jpg (http://family.webshots.com/photo/2994050730064685427YlHkrQ)

yes, i mean this braids. I want only try to protect my hair in the summer, i'd keep them for about a mounth, so it isn't a problem if after many times some hair come out of the braids.
I'd make them from myself, in this way I don't hold my hair too much :p
thanks for the advices, i think i'll try i the summer:cheese:

[loyaboya]

These are simple box braids. I can only imagine cornrows, two-strand twists or box braids lasting less than 1 week on anything other than type 4 hair.

I have a type 4a daughter and a type 4b daughter -- biracial, so they have the supercurls, but still a little slip in hair.

I no longer ever do cornrows due to pain ratio being higher than time the style stays in. I cannot get ten days out of my type 4a daughter because of slippage.

I am really not sure you will get much protection out of small braiding because they will have to go in super tight in order for it to last a while. Like the others said, that could be really damaging.

I am thinking if you want to protect your hair for some length of time -- camping, walkabout, etc...then do some french or dutch braids and cover head with bandana. You might could get two days out of some good french braids, and the point of it being up and out of the way is what protects it.

Slipperiness and curl pattern don't necessarily correlate. You can have fine, wispy curly hair just as you can have fine, wispy straight hair. I'm a 4a, my hair tends to be pretty slippery, and I can't get a week out of two-strand twists. But I can get more out of braids (and probably a lot more out of box braids). I'm planning on getting micros later this summer (to last the course of a vacation) and I'll talk to the stylist about getting a style that will last with my hair (probably micros with extensions).

Also, as someone said before, braids don't have to hurt. Whether it hurts or not depends entirely on the braider. As a kid I learned that when my babysitter cornrowed my hair, it hurt for days. When my aunt did it, it didn't bother me at all. Both seemed to make braids that were equally neat. I think some braiders feel they need to pull hard when they really don't.

Lastly, as someone else said, maintenance is really important if you want them to last.

Good luck, op!

[girloctopus]

I have always always wanted to do this to my hair, like Bo Derek in 10. Anyway, I think you have received some good advice, but I do warn you that it is going to take a long long time to put in yourself, but it is a good idea in order to prevent them being braided too tightly! Good luck!

[Anje]

Honestly, when I've had my hair in braids, the ends were pretty frazzled from the little bands. Knowing what I know now, silicone bands would have been better, but I suspect that the braid enders still would have messed with my ends.

For me, it's not a particularly good look, because my hair's only a low ii in thickness. I get a lot of scalp showing, and the contrast between dark hair and pale scalp makes this really obvious.

Mine lasted about 2 weeks, without anything satin to put my head on at night. I suspect braids hold better in 3 or 4 hair than they do in mine. I've had it done twice by a friend in my dorm, and she was both gentle and quick. I never had scalp pain.

[Twil]

true, if you're rubberband sensitive (if you have brittle ends) you might just forgo rubberbands all together and just use a twist and loc cream. It's not damaging.

[Renbirde]

Honestly, when I've had my hair in braids, the ends were pretty frazzled from the little bands. Knowing what I know now, silicone bands would have been better, but I suspect that the braid enders still would have messed with my ends.


true, if you're rubberband sensitive (if you have brittle ends) you might just forgo rubberbands all together and just use a twist and loc cream. It's not damaging.

If Twist and Loc cream is anything like a superhold hair gel, it is damaging. Not of itself, maybe, but trying to separate the hairs afterward can actually tear scales off the cuticle. :)

Has anyone tried to secure minibraids with ribbon, string, thread, or the like? I've had good luck on small braids with 1/8th inch satin ribbon, but I haven't ever done my whole head or left them in for more than a few days.

[spidermom]

Small braids last about 2 days on me. Hairs squiggle out all over the place; soon I have braided fluff. PS - to protect the ends, I suggest you take a 1-2 inch long strip of ribbon, wet it, wrap it around the end of the braid, then put the poly-band or rubber band over the ribbon. Like this:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/tools.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/agedbraid.jpg

That way you can get the band on very tight but still protect the hair. The ribbon also gives the band something to grip. They slide right off the ends of my hair without the ribbon, or kink my hair and make the ends stick out oddly. PS - these are freshly done braids, and one of them is getting fluffy already!

[GoddesJourney]

Yes, but... honestly, they're meant for kinky hair because they stay really well. Straighter hair starts to stick out pretty quick and just looks, I don't know, fuzzy. Some people have good luck with them but I hear they're pretty uncomfortable for the first couple of days. You know, try it and see how you like it. If you don't like it, you can always take them out. Also, you can probably oil them and use it to keep your hair oiled for awhile. They might stay better that way anyway. I don't think one shot would be too damaging if it were to be damaging at all. Maybe this could be your new summer style. Let us know how it goes.

[Armelle]

Small braids last about 2 days on me. Hairs squiggle out all over the place; soon I have braided fluff. PS - to protect the ends, I suggest you take a 1-2 inch long strip of ribbon, wet it, wrap it around the end of the braid, then put the poly-band or rubber band over the ribbon. Like this:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/tools.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/agedbraid.jpg

That way you can get the band on very tight but still protect the hair. The ribbon also gives the band something to grip. They slide right off the ends of my hair without the ribbon, or kink my hair and make the ends stick out oddly. PS - these are freshly done braids, and one of them is getting fluffy already!

Ok, that's brilliant! I never thought of using scrap ribbon to protect my hair from hair ties and I really need it! Thanks!

[Fractalsofhair]

GlassEyes-I suppose it depends then. Really straight fine hair often has a very hard time staying in a braid(if it's not damaged), rather as similarly fine curly hair will more easily stay in one, often, though not always. The one time I've had them done on me once, they fell out within 2 hours. This was being done by a friend who knew what she was doing, but didn't put rubber bands at the end, so my hair was like... "Escape time!!!!" xD And yes, making sure they're properly done is important! However, I've noticed that some people do think that braids must be pulled tight because African American hair is "coarse" and will "escape" otherwise, which doesn't make any sense to me, nor to many of my African American friends.

Extensions are often put into them to add thickness, because it can show bald spots on the scalp unless the hair is very thick with microbraids.(With anyone.)

[Shicurls]

I used to put cornrows in my hair all the time as a kid.

1) I grew up in an ethnically diverse area and everyone had them.

2) They are super easy to care for with an active person.

Some tips:

Use gel, but I wouldn't recommend a super super strong hold.
Do CO scalp washes
I used to smooth some gel over the braids if they got a bit fuzzy

The braids would hold for a month or so. Good luck!

[Twil]

If Twist and Loc cream is anything like a superhold hair gel, it is damaging. Not of itself, maybe, but trying to separate the hairs afterward can actually tear scales off the cuticle. :)


I don't think it's like gel :hmm: It's not in a gel form (the kind I use), but I never used hair gel so I can't compare it. Twist and Loc gel is sort of like an uber-thick hair butter. When I did it, it was like wearing a permant deep treatment, it really helped when my hair was recovering from repeated strippings.

Though it spectrum for braid confiniment ranges from 'Twist and Loc Gel' to 'Braid Butter', so it's definately something to watch out for. :o