Would braiding hair daily cause splits?

**blackgothicdoll** · November 26th, 2018, 03:23 PM

I've been reading around in the natural hair community, and some say doing braid-outs causes split ends if you re-do the braids daily to maintain the style, perhaps from touching the ends of hair too much. This caused me some concern, as I've taken to keeping my hair in some form of braid one way or another, but regardless of the type I do need to rebraid them in the morning. Mostly I wear two dutch braids, and I rebraid them once or twice a day depending on how much my hair wants to expand.

But I've seen in this forum that a lot of people wear braids as protective styles too, and rebraid hair everyday.

So what do you all think? True or false? I've really taking a liking to braided styles, I'd hate to stop.

**Ylva** · November 26th, 2018, 03:27 PM

For me personally, braids do cause split ends due to friction from my clothes as the hair is still down. It prevents tangling to a large degree, but definitely causes me more split ends than just having my hair loose would, as the braid is heavier than individual strands and thus causes heavier friction. I think as long as the hair is down and in contact with something, it won't be beneficial in terms of split ends, but of course some people's hair could just be so strong that it remains largely unaffected by it.

**MusicalSpoons** · November 26th, 2018, 03:31 PM

I think you'll just have to monitor your hair really closely to find out whether it's true or false for you, to be honest. The theory of touching/manipulating it so much does make sense, but if your hair is sufficiently moisturised to withstand it then you're probably okay

(I personally find wearing a braid is damaging for my hair, but I'm not sure the actual braiding causes any damage - but our hairtypes are so different that my experience is basically irrelevant to you

)

Edit: Ylva makes a good point (didn't see her post before I started typing mine) and that's largely the problem I have with braids too.

Edit 2: keeping the braids secured up and out of the way would help to prevent a lot of friction damage for wearing them. My hair doesn't like the ends of hairs throughout the length being exposed to the elements, but again you may not have that problem due to differences in hairtype.

**spitfire511** · November 26th, 2018, 03:33 PM

Kudos to you for even being able to sleep in a braid - it causes me too much neck pain!

I'd say yes - it definitely can cause damage for some people based on my experience and what I've read here - it can also cause damage at the ends depending on how you're fastening the ends. I don't do braiding much personally for this very reason!

**lapushka** · November 26th, 2018, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by blackgothicdoll

I've been reading around in the natural hair community, and some say doing braid-outs causes split ends if you re-do the braids daily to maintain the style, perhaps from touching the ends of hair too much. This caused me some concern, as I've taken to keeping my hair in some form of braid one way or another, but regardless of the type I do need to rebraid them in the morning. Mostly I wear two dutch braids, and I rebraid them once or twice a day depending on how much my hair wants to expand.

But I've seen in this forum that a lot of people wear braids as protective styles too, and rebraid hair everyday.

So what do you all think? True or false? I've really taking a liking to braided styles, I'd hate to stop.

Do you have split ends, a lot?

Braids as protective styles, are "big" braids, so with all of the hair, not cornrows or braid-outs (lots of tiny braids). I don't think they "cause" split ends, though! I think that's OK.

**cjk** · November 26th, 2018, 04:08 PM

Oh jeez, I hope not!

I vary my braids, but redo them often. Mechanically styling my hair is the only thing that can contain it.

**Ligeia Noire** · November 26th, 2018, 04:26 PM

Most of the splits I get are from detangling. I wear braids every single day. I think if you wear the braid down then it defeats the protective purpose. The rubbing on the clothes and whatnot would damage the strands anyway but if you bun your braid, it is much better than wearing your hair down. I mean, there is no perfect way. You will always have some degree of friction and therefore damage but my experience tells me braiding it and putting it up or just putting it up in a bun is way more effective than wearing it down. I am at calf now anyway but even when I was at waist that was the deal.
Of course I speak for my type of hair. I don't know how other types behave. My hair is very very prone to tangles therefore splits. So I just cannot wear it down without getting it tangled in five minutes...and I do sleep with my hair braided too and it is what I find most comfortable and protective. I do buns too and sometimes down because it is drying but it is surely not comfortable. Too big.

**lithostoic** · November 26th, 2018, 05:39 PM

Just be careful. Use an oil or something when you take them down and keep them moisturized. When I skip these steps I see/hear breakage, even on my straight hair.

**blackgothicdoll** · November 26th, 2018, 06:02 PM

Thank you all for the replies. I usually try to keep my braids either tucked under with a satin scrunchie, or each tucked around the other with bobby pins. I don't like the let them loose. I have been concerned about the hair ties I've been using and I ordered these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

Would those be safer than your standard black rubber band?

Originally Posted by lapushka

Do you have split ends, a lot?

Braids as protective styles, are "big" braids, so with all of the hair, not cornrows or braid-outs (lots of tiny braids). I don't think they "cause" split ends, though! I think that's OK.

I have splits, but not a lot. I do maybe 8-10 braids after washing my hair to get it all stretched out so that it can dry without tangling, then the rest of the week it's the two dutch braids or sometimes just one that goes all the way around my head. Or buns, of course. I have more ssks than splits, by far, but ssks cause splits for me...

Originally Posted by lithostoic

Just be careful. Use an oil or something when you take them down and keep them moisturized. When I skip these steps I see/hear breakage, even on my straight hair.

Yep! I've been keeping up with making sure they are oiled when I take them down and then adding a bit of oil to the ends when I put them back up. I pretty much baby them.