Summer is in full swing and right about now many of us are over battling the humidity and its effects on our hair and wanna tuck it away for a bit in a lightweight low maintenance hairstyle.
"protective hairstyles" are made to aid in your longterm hair health and length goals. Please be sure not to keep your styles in longer than 4-6 weeks. Just because your style can last much longer doesn't mean it's in your best interest to keep it in that long. Protective styles are a luxury and should be treated as such. Here are a few things I feel we all tend to neglect when wearing these styles.1. Tension- You should never have or keep a style in that is compromising your hair/scalp. Many times styles are done extremely too tight. Make sure while you are getting it done that you express to your stylist you prefer the health of your follicles over the style. It's better to have your edges in tact at the end of your style versus having bald spots and/or permanent damage.
2. Proper Cleansing - This is where I see many people drop the ball. At no time should you have a style in your hair for 2 months and never wash it! Whether you have in braids, a sewin, or any other style, their are effectve ways of cleansing your scalp. If you are too afraid to wash your style you should book an appointment with your stylist. If you are willing to try at home a very popular method is diluting shampoo with water and using a cotton swab or warm damp cloth to go in between and wipe your scalp clean. There are also some "black girl" dry shampoos on the market like ORS Herbal Cleanse that make the job quick and easy
3. Hydration - The synthetic hair and fibers generally used for protective styling tend to rob the hair of moisture. To avoid a big dehydrated mess at the end of your style, it's a good habit to rehydrate your strands and scalp at least 2-3 times a week. You will find that not only will your hair feel better when removing your style; you will find that you have less breakage, tangles and shedding. Keep in mind oils do not moisturize! You can opt for a water based spray or cream moisturizer. I prefer sprays for ease of application and gently mist your hair and scalp. You can then follow up lightly with an oil if you deem it necessary.
4. Proper Removal - After it's a said and done and you are ready to remove your style make sure you take the proper precautions to ensure you dont cut or pop your hair. It's also essential to properly detangle before you wash. All the dirt and shed hairs will lead to massive tangles of epic proportions if you dont thoroughly detangle before you shampoo.