Protective styles like braids, weaves, and twists have long been popular among people looking to protect their hair from damage and promote growth. While protective styles can actually help you achieve those goals, if not done right, they could be doing more harm than good.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore three things you aren’t doing right that are not allowing your protective styles to work for you.
Reason 1: Your hairstyles are too tight and heavy
If your protective style is not installed correctly, if it’s too tight or too heavy, it can cause tension and stress on your hair and scalp, leading to breakage and damage.
When your hair is constantly under tension, it can lead to a condition known as traction alopecia. This is a form of hair loss that occurs when the hair follicles are damaged by repeated pulling or tension. Traction alopecia can cause hair thinning, which can be difficult to reverse.
To avoid this issue, it's important to choose a protective style that is not too tight and to ensure that your stylist is gentle during the installation process.
Additionally, be mindful of how long you keep your protective style because leaving it in for too long can also contribute to tension and damage.
Reason 2: You are not taking care of your hair in your protective style
The fact that you’re in your protective style doesn’t mean you should neglect your hair. It's important to continually care for your scalp and hair while wearing a protective style to ensure that they remain healthy.
Here are a few things you should do to take care of your hair when it’s in a protective style;
- Use a hydrating hair mist to keep your hair from getting dry then seal in the moisture with a softening hair cream to ensure your hair stays soft and moisturized for days. This process should be repeated at least 2 times weekly.
- Use a lightweight and nourishing ayurvedic hair growth oil to keep your scalp healthy and also prevent itchy scalp. We say lightweight because thick oils will make buildup occur faster on the scalp which can be super uncomfortable and force you to take your style down early. It’ll also help if the oil contains soothing agents like tea tree or peppermint oil. Ayurvedic herbs nourish the scalp and promote hair growth so an oil that combines all this will do plenty for your hair.
- Use a satin bonnet, scarf or pillowcase to cover your hair when you go to sleep to protect it from friction and breakage. Satin also prevents moisture loss from your hair and helps you preserve your protective style so it doesn’t get rough quickly.
Reason 3: You’re not taking down your protective style gently.
The aim of installing protective styles is to retain as much length as possible by reducing manipulation. If your takedown process is bad, you can lose all the hair you grew during the weeks of keeping your protective style and even more.
It's important to take your time and be gentle when taking down your protective style to minimize the risk of hair loss and retain as much length as possible. Using the right tools and techniques can make a big difference in preserving the health and length of your hair.
Follow these steps when taking down your protective style to ensure maximum length retention;
- Never Take Down or Detangle Dry Hair: Apply a conditioner with slip to your hair before taking down your style. This can help reduce breakage and make the process smoother.
- Be Gentle: Avoid rushing the take-down process. Use your fingers to gently detangle and remove any knots or tangles.
- Detangle as You Go: As you take down your style, make sure you are detangling each cornrow, twist or braid as soon as you’re done taking them down. This will make the detangling process easier as opposed to taking down your whole head of hair and wondering where to start detangling from.
- Start from the Ends: Always start detangling from the ends of your hair and work your way up to the roots. Doing this will prevent breakage by allowing the easy removal of shed hair so they don’t cause bad tangles and knots.
- Be Patient: Taking down a protective style can be time-consuming, especially if you've had it in for a while. Take your time and be patient to avoid breakage. You can watch a movie or catch up on your favorite shows to help you relax and pass the time.
Conclusion
By choosing a protective style that is not too tight, maintaining your scalp health, moisturizing your hair regularly, and taking down the style gently, you’ll be sure to see all the hair health and length benefits that protective styles offer.
You can get the Shanyi Organics Protective Style combo, which consists of a hair mist, cream and oil that will help you level up your protective styles, on our website by tapping here. Use code COMBO10 at checkout to get 10% off.
We can’t wait to see your hair flourish❤️