How to ensure that your favorite style respects the health of your curls and frizzy hair? Contrary to some popular beliefs,braids or weaves are far from making hair grow faster .They can cause alopecia and damage!
Here are five tips to avoid breakage and hair losswhen doing protective hairstyles for your afro or curls.
1. Adopt a " curl-friendly " protective style
Protective hairstyles are essentially used to protect ends and lengths, and to avoid daily manipulations that break the hair. In fact,you don't have to use extensions , which often dry out synthetic hair. Opt as often as possible for a style with your own hair (twists, cornrows, buns...) or good quality extensions. Our extension suggestions are crochet braids, yarn braids, clip-ins, wigs or scarves.
2. Choose a professional who respects your hair
If you go to an afro salon for the protective hairstyle, choose who you pay!90% of the time damage from extensions occurs during installation: a hairdresser who does not like natural hair, aggressive brushing, dryingtoo hot, locks that are too tight or too thin at the root, questionable products... Above all, don't hesitate to share your needs before and during the hairstyle! Because afterwards, the damage could already be done...
3. Prepare the scalp and hair
Make sure your skin is clean and fresh, shampoo it at least a week before, followed by a deep moisturizer a day or two before, so that your hair stays as supple and hydrated as possible even without it. steady in water. If your hair is already dirty, dry and damaged before installing your hairstyle,you risk damaging them further.
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4. Don't keep the protective hairstyle more than one month
How long to keep a protective hairstyle? There is no set rule! It depends on the style, your schedule, but above all on the condition of your hair. Some manage very well to keep braids for a month, others barely support 10 days.Take the time to monitor the condition of your scalp: nobody likes having dust crusts at the root! Beyond a month, keeping a protective hairstyle can be problematic, as the hair begins to be very dry, tangled and poorly cleaned. Result: a phenomenal breakage when removing them.
5. Not doing extensions constantly
If you're so into extensions that you're not sure what your beautiful hair looks like anymore, maybe it's time to take a break! Constant use of braids and weaves is the biggest contributor to traction and breakage alopeciahair in black and mixed-race women. Try spacing out extensions by at least two or three weeks. Plus, you'll save money!
And you, what is your favorite protective hairstyle?
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