PDA

View Full Version : is braiding hair when wet OK?



christiner
March 20th, 2012, 01:32 PM
i have been braiding my wet hair lately because i'm too lazy to let it dry. deep in the braid it stays wet until I take it out. will it damage hair if i continue to do this? i feel like its better this way because it doesn't get all dried out or tangled, but i never thought about any potential issues with perpetually damp hair.

joflakes
March 20th, 2012, 01:37 PM
Good question. I often french braid the front section of my hair when wet as I don't want to blow dry it. I've never experienced any problem with it but I might be mistaken! I'll be watching this thread :)

nobeltonya
March 20th, 2012, 01:38 PM
I hope it's not bad, because I do it all the time... :) But I only leave it in for like an hour or so, then put it in a bun for a few hours, then leave it loose to finish drying. Otherwise, it'll be wet all day..

Amber_Maiden
March 20th, 2012, 01:40 PM
As long as it isn't too tight and not pulling on your hair, I would think it would be fine.

katsrevenge
March 20th, 2012, 01:41 PM
Honestly... mine stays damp for days in a braid/bun if the humidity is high enough.

And I've asked this question before, myself! I tell you what I was told. It won't bother your hair (assuming it is clean of course). Apparently someone who was living in a subtropical region did once manage to grow some mildew once... but that was wet from sweat, 100% humidity in very hot conditions. Not likely..in other words.

It can and does bother my scalp a bit.. but I have perosis back there. ACV rinses (not rinsed out afterwards) do wonders for me if that acts up though.

I do braid a bit looser and bun with less/no twist if I know it will be up for a long time.

MegaMystery
March 20th, 2012, 01:42 PM
Just make sure you don't braid too tightly, wet hair is slightly more stretched and it will shrink a little when it dries so if you braid too tightly when it's wet it might cause tension for your hair.

knux
March 20th, 2012, 01:43 PM
I have no 'science' to support my theory here only personal experiences, but I do this all the time as well, and when I finally take out the braid for whatever reason, and allow it to dry, its the wet parts that are the softest.
I think since hair is it's most delicate when it's wet that as long as you are not tugging on the braid I can't see why it would hurt it. :shrug:

heidi w.
March 20th, 2012, 01:51 PM
Chances are it's fine. But as a purist, I would never braid or do much with wet hair. I have found a great conditioner that also acts as a detangler and allows me to detangle my hair while damp, not sopping wet. I do it in stages, this detangling, while it air dries.

I would say if you would like to not braid while wet and yet not go to work with wet hair that takes the majority of the day to dry, you can instead scalp wash. I don't know how long your hair is. There is a way to do an amended scalp hair wash that doesn't really get a lot of hair on the back of the head wet.

Full scalp washing tends to get the hair wet down to approximately the shoulders. Beyond that, the hair doesn't get overly wet.

I find that if I wash my hair the scalp related hair dries fairly rapidly, maybe around an hour. It's the back of the neck hair that takes the longest to dry, somewhat down the back too.

Hopefully you find this info helpful.
heidi w.

heidi w.
March 20th, 2012, 01:53 PM
Honestly... mine stays damp for days in a braid/bun if the humidity is high enough.

And I've asked this question before, myself! I tell you what I was told. It won't bother your hair (assuming it is clean of course). Apparently someone who was living in a subtropical region did once manage to grow some mildew once... but that was wet from sweat, 100% humidity in very hot conditions. Not likely..in other words.

It can and does bother my scalp a bit.. but I have perosis back there. ACV rinses (not rinsed out afterwards) do wonders for me if that acts up though.

I do braid a bit looser and bun with less/no twist if I know it will be up for a long time.

Hair when wet for a really long time can indeed under certain conditions develop mould. Whether it's on a person's head or not.

Just ask Locks of Love. They receive a lot of hair that is mouldy because they wet the hair before cutting, then put it in a plastic bag and mail it. Ripe conditions for mould to develop.

I'm not a huge fan of LoL for a variety of reasons. But this is a fairly common issue they have.


heidi w.

Ishje
March 20th, 2012, 01:54 PM
I think braiding your hair when wet has the same effect as damp bunning.
I have heard that it helps to put more moisture in the hair, or keep more moisture in.
it might be better do braid damp though, and not soaking wet :)

melusine963
March 20th, 2012, 02:15 PM
I do this all the time. It's the only way I can get my hair to dry without tangling, so as far as I'm concerned braiding when wet actually keeps my hair from getting damaged.

rainbowslinky
March 20th, 2012, 02:15 PM
i've been wondering this too, lately. i'll usually do my hair before work and by the time i get home and take it out 10 hours later, it's still pretty wet in the middle, and it dries while i sleep and then i get up and repeat the whole process. i try not to get it wet on the days i'm off so it can have a breather, but i have to shower before work. :|

fridgee
March 20th, 2012, 02:16 PM
My hair is regularly plaited while wet as I don't have time to let it dry (as in I leave within 15 mins of getting out of shower and hair takes at least 2 hours to fully air dry down). Its still wet at the end of the day, but when I get home I let it loose and finish air drying.

I think as long as it does fully dry at some point its fine. Its only if its perpetually wet that it might possibly ever be an issue. I like to think it does the same thing as damp bunning, I don't see why not! (other than not protecting the ends as well obviously)

gracenotes
March 20th, 2012, 02:19 PM
I do this pretty often, since I tend to get some frizz otherwise. Braiding it while wet seems to "train" the baby hairs that would otherwise frizz. I haven't noticed any damage or problems from it--my hair seems to love it, and dries feeling very soft.

Chamomile betty
March 20th, 2012, 03:20 PM
I sleep in a braid on occasion. I think if you wear it loose and not too tight you'll be fine. You'll notice if your hair reacts negatively.

Firefly
March 20th, 2012, 03:41 PM
I do this sometimes, but I don't pull to hard and keep the braid loose. I haven't noticed any damage.

white.chocolate
March 20th, 2012, 03:41 PM
Just make sure you don't braid too tightly, wet hair is slightly more stretched and it will shrink a little when it dries so if you braid too tightly when it's wet it might cause tension for your hair.

This is what I agree on, as stretched hair is a known fact. But I can't say to what extent braiding is damaging. If I may ask, why do you braid wet hair in the first place? Do you wait for it in braids until it dries? I have always assumed that keeping hair down is what is preferred when air-drying.

PixxieStix
March 20th, 2012, 04:03 PM
if I am doing a french braid I will usually do it with my hair damp so it stays nice and tidy. :) I haven't noticed any ill effects. And the volume/waves the next day? Amazing! :D

Anje
March 20th, 2012, 04:31 PM
As others have said, I don't think it's a problem as long as you braid fairly loosely. Don't stretch the hair.

(Incidentally, I recall hearing that you should never braid a horse's tail when it's wet due to hair stretching. This makes me wonder whether they assume you'd braid very tightly, or if horse hair is stretchier than human hair.)

lunalocks
March 21st, 2012, 04:56 AM
2 things that caused breakage that I will never, never do again: putting an elastic (even a scrunchie) on the tail of my damp/wet braid and using a scrunchie to bun wet hair. Wet hair is super fragile. I learned to french braid on wet hair as it is so much easier to do. it a great way to learn, but once you learn, it is a snap to braid it dry.

Johanna
March 21st, 2012, 06:03 AM
Before I wash my hair I de-tangle, then once out of the shower I do a simple loose plait and try not put too much stress on the hair. I really like putting my hair in a plait while wet, once it's dry its so much fatter than when it's dry plaited. I can pretend to be an iii/iiii for a few hours.

summergreen
March 21st, 2012, 06:49 AM
I damp braid my hair every night and sleep on it, haven't noticed any problems (although now you have me worried!)

Kinkycurlygurl
March 21st, 2012, 08:15 AM
I braid my wet hair every time I wash. I let it dry braided in 8-10 braids. It takes a few hours to dry completely (4-6) depending on the size of the braids.

racrane
March 21st, 2012, 08:19 AM
Well, I braid and bun my hair when it's damp, not soaking wet, and I've never had any problems. I do *occasionally* bun when slightly wetter if I'm in a rush, but again, I've not noticed an issue for me with breakage.

beautifulending
March 24th, 2012, 02:34 AM
I let mine dry before I braid but some times I have braided when it was wet....I wouldn't do it everyday.