Caring for braids
Oil your scalp
This one is probably a no brainer lol. Even without braids it is important to oil your scalp, with braids you should definitely oil your scalp more often than you normally would. Any style that involves applying some tension on your hair can make your scalp very itchy, this occurs when the hair strands on a relatively dry scalp are tugged on. Even the lightest of tension on a dry scalp would cause incessant itching. To avoid this, ensure your scalp is thoroughly moisturized before you braid/protective style. After braiding, oiling your scalp 2- 3 times a week should do the trick. Coconut oil would be especially effective in this regard as it is deeply moisturizing, but if it is not your cup of tea, any oil of your choice works as well. Mixing in castor oil as well would allow your hair to get a lot thicker and healthier while it is protective styled.
Olive oil, Image by wix.
Moisturizing spritz
Due to your hair being braided/twisted into the synthetic hair, it will not dry out as much as it normally would. It will however, get progressively drier as time passes. Just how dry it can get is most evident when you experience breakage and tangles as you take down the braids. It is therefore highly recommended to moisturize your hair even when it is protective styled. This is a very simple process that involves mixing water & leave in conditioner in a spray bottle, (you can add hair oil as well to seal the leave in-in, but that’s totally optional.) You may then spritz this all over the parts of the hairstyle that are intertwined with your hair. Be sure do this to the top of your braids as well; spraying from the sides as opposed to directly above in order to avoid getting your scalp wet.
Silk scarf
You can run, but you cannot hide from The silk/satin scarves. It is a good idea to cover the roots of your braids/twists with a scarf for the same reason you do when your hair is out; keeping it moisturized. You certainly don’t want the oil on your scalp and product you spritzed on soaking into your pillow. Wearing a scarf also helps prevent the annoying fly aways that occur at the roots of each braid/twist (otherwise known as bomokaring)
Silk scarf, image by wix.
Wash your braids
Yes; you need to wash your hair even when it is within a protective style. The idea of washing box braids or twists might sound strange, and Many people do not do this as they feel their hair is not getting ‘dirty’. The truth is, it is. Maybe not as much as if it were exposed, but it still does get dirty. Chances are you’ll be keeping your style in for a minimum of four weeks; during this time a considerable amount of buildup would develop on your hair. From dead skin to hair oil, plus the natural oils your scalp produces. all of this would make it harder to effectively oil your scalp. Worst of all, this build up will most likely end up sitting at the point the braid/twist meets your hair. Not very cute.It is important to keep in mind that the washing technique you would use is very different from what you would normally do. For starters you would need to massage your scalp very gently while shampooing; scrubbing your scalp in the usual manner would loosen your braids/twists. You also shouldn’t apply shampoo directly onto your scalp, but place it in a spray bottle with water instead. All this sounds really weird if you haven’t tried it, but I highly recommend you add this to your protective style routine in order to maintain healthy hair underneath. You can get a demonstation of how to wash braids here.
That's it for this post guys, thank you so much for checking it out, hope you found some of the info on here helpful.
xo - Alex.
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