I want micro braids again, but I'm hesitating...

[Tracionera]

So summer is practically here and I'm finding the outdoor activities in Atlantic Canada to be endless. Because it can get so windy here, I'm looking for a style that will be a bit less maintenance than my loose, TB-length hair. Even if I plait my hair or bun it I'm always finding fly-aways that get tangled too easily.

In 2003 I had African/micro braids put in and I loved them, but after taking them out 3 months later, I suffered from a lot of damage (thinning and breakage). My friends from Zimbabwe spent about 14 hours braiding and we used 13 bags of extensions. I'm pretty sure that the damage was caused from the braids being put in much too tightly at the scalp and the ratio of extension hair being much more per braid than my own hair. At the time, I also didn't know how to properly care for not only my natural hair but also braids, so I'm sure that was a contributor as well.

I just called a local salon that could braid my hair with or without extensions and the woman seemed to know what she was talking about, for the most part. She understood that I would not want them braided too tightly, but thought it would be best to have more extension hair than natural hair to protect my hair. I argued that this would become too heavy for my roots to hold, but I'm not sure she understood. We also talked about braiding just my hair and she said that they would seal the ends with lock-in gel, which she claimed would be easy to wash out when I wanted to unravel the braids but not come out with washing (huh?). I've also heard that this type of gel can cause damage to one's hair upon removal because it holds the hair like glue. She said that wouldn't be the case.

I would love to get them again because I really liked how they looked and feel that if they're done right they could potentially give my hair a break, but would hate to take them out to find my hair damaged. Does anyone have advice for me?

[hmmm]

Why don't you try doing them yourself, using only your own hair? A few members here have done multiple braids on their hair, I'm sure they could give you more information. They won't be as micro as true microbraids, but they serve the purpose in the same way (as far as I know). You can do as many as you like, redo them if you want to, and don't have to worry about breakage or thinning.

[Tracionera]

If I could find someone who knows how to braid well to help me I would probably do it myself, but none of my friends know how - boo! The salon that I called wouldn't charge much at all to braid it and they would to a much nicer job than I could (especially at the back). My concern, however, is the way they would end the braid and what type of damaging effect it could potentially have.

[hmmm]

Oh okay... How do they normally do it? Is it possible that you could cut off the band or whatever instead of take it out of your hair?

[vanity_acefake]

You could either sew the ends of the braids or use those tiny snag free elastics designed for hair. I have had micro braids with extensions in the past and loved them but i agree about the damage. And when you take them out and lose all the extension hair your hair feels so thin. On the plus side you can do some amazing hairstyles with them.

[Tracionera]

Oh okay... How do they normally do it? Is it possible that you could cut off the band or whatever instead of take it out of your hair?

The stylist that I spoke with said that she would use a lock-in gel that won't wash out through shampooing, but would easily come out when it was time to unravel the braid. I don't think that I like the sound of 'gluing' my hair together!

If I had a minimal amount of extension hair braided in with my own so that the ends could be sealed without touching my hair, I might find it to be less damaging. There's no way to say without doing it though - that's the scary part!

Has anyone had braids like these and found their hair to come out feeling like it's had a break?

[eternallyverdan]

Another issue is that if they're a bit loose at the top they tend to get frizzy more quickly. I think you might end up having to remove them sooner.

I think that maybe if you did it with bits of fake hair at the end, had them a bit loose, and made slightly bigger braids your hair might fare better than it did the last time. However, there's really no way to know until you try. I'd give it a go, and the worst that will happen is that your hair will need a bit of a trim and some deep conditioning by the end of summer.

I do have a question, though: if you leave them in for 2-3 months, what does it look like with all of the new growth? I'd imagine that 1- 1/2 inches would be fairly obvious.

[Tracionera]

I do have a question, though: if you leave them in for 2-3 months, what does it look like with all of the new growth? I'd imagine that 1- 1/2 inches would be fairly obvious.

The new growth does become obvious around the 2nd or 3rd month, depending on how fast one's hair grows. That also has to be watched because the roots will start to dread if they get too long!

Thanks for the advice! I agree with what you're saying and will suggest it to the two different stylists this week and see what they think.

[Quixii]

My mom likes to braid her hair herself in the summers. She'll make 10-15 little braids using just her own hair and secure them with the little elastic bands, and redo them every couple weeks when they start to look fuzzy. She says she feels like her hair grows faster this way - she actually keeps two braids in all the time, and those braids are longer than the rest of her hair. Maybe it's actually because it limits the damage?
I don't know personally, but I don't think it would be too hard to do the braids yourself with minimal damage. :)

[Tracionera]

That reminds me of some friends who keep a one or two dreadlocks in their hair - I can't imagine how annoying that would be to avoid brushing!

That's interesting that her braids stay neat for a couple of weeks when she has so few in! Does she do anything to lengthen the life of the braid? I've done them before and found that they'll last less than a week if they're not very small...:shrug:

Maybe I can teach one of my friends to braid! :)

[Quixii]

She puts them in her mouth to avoid brushing. :p

Well, with just the two she redoes them every Friday. I don't think they always need it on the Friday, but that's the day she has the most time and I can imagine it's nice to have a schedule instead of squeezing in time when they really need it. I can't remember if she does it differently when she has more than the two.
As far as I know she doesn't do anything differently. She's always been an every-other-day washer, everyday brusher - though obviously she doesn't brush with the braids.

That could work. :D
Gosh, this thread makes me want to have my hair in little braids...

[TiaKitty]

She puts them in her mouth to avoid brushing. :p

Well, with just the two she redoes them every Friday. I don't think they always need it on the Friday, but that's the day she has the most time and I can imagine it's nice to have a schedule instead of squeezing in time when they really need it. I can't remember if she does it differently when she has more than the two.
As far as I know she doesn't do anything differently. She's always been an every-other-day washer, everyday brusher - though obviously she doesn't brush with the braids.

That could work. :D
Gosh, this thread makes me want to have my hair in little braids...

It makes me want little braids, too! But I wonder, I have a pinhead and would they make it even more exagerated?

Quixii Where does your mother place her braids? At the front, like to keep her bangs out of her face?

[Quixii]

It makes me want little braids, too! But I wonder, I have a pinhead and would they make it even more exagerated?

Quixii Where does your mother place her braids? At the front, like to keep her bangs out of her face?
As to the first question... I have no idea. I wouldn't think so, but you never know.

Her two static braids are on the middle of each side. She also has two short little braids that used to be part of her bangs, but she thought her bangs were too thick so she put a bit of each side into a braid for the growing out process. (I forgot about those.)

[Quixii]

Wasn't sure if this should be a new post or not, but anyway:
I dug up one of my old pictures. My mother and I can't remember if it's my hair or my sister's, but here's a couple years ago one summer when my mom braided our hair into little braids for the summer.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/young_artist/Hair/mini-braids.jpg
All three of us girls had our hair like this. :)

[Tracionera]

It makes me want little braids, too! But I wonder, I have a pinhead and would they make it even more exagerated?


I think that it would totally depend on how the braids were done and how thick your hair is. You might find it to be less noticeable if you had extensions hair weaved into the braid because the small knot at the scalp to hold the hair in gives the braids a fuller look. But then you'd be looking at the same concerns that I'm having...

That's awesome, Quixii! I have two sisters as well and my mom loved doing interesting stuff with our long hair when we were young.

I spoke with two of my friends about my wanting to have micro braids and one of them being a barber and the other also have really long hair both expressed concern about the damage it could do to my healthy hair. I've read such conflicting information. Some say that the braids would give the hair a great break from the elements, especially in summer and others say that the braids dry the hair out so much that unless one's hair is in great condition prior and the braids are oiled everyday, the dryness will cause the stressed hair to snap. Maybe it's not worth it? I'm still meeting with a braider tomorrow, so we'll see what she says.

I would consider braiding it myself if I could avoid the 'blank' spots between each braid and knew how to part the hair evenly in the back or had help. Too bad we all didn't live closer! ;)