Protective Styles-Part 2: braids

Image Source-I love these little girls' braids, I think that they are very pretty

Hello there my lovelies,

As winter nears in (and I don't know about where you all are, but it is already SUPER cold here, that's right COLD in Columbia) it is becomming increasingly important to add extra moisture to your hair and to protect it as much as possible.  Colder weather, for most of us, brings with it dryer hair and skin.  Therefore, it may be necessary to turn up the amount/frequency of daily moisturizer use (for hair and skin) and to play around with more protective styles.  One very good choice for a protective style is braids.  Braids are nice for a number of reasons, one of which is that they can be so versatile.  You can braid your own hair or have extensions added, you can have cornrows or box/loose braids, you can have small, medium or large braids, and while your hair is braided, depending on the type of braids, you can often create various styles with the braids.  In addition, braids often last for a good amount of time, require little maintenance (hence it being a protective style ;-) and gets us back to our roots because you know most of us rocked braids as little girls, I know I sure did.  So, a few things to consider if you do decide to wear braids in your hair

• Do still moisturize your hair and scalp- just because your hair is braided doesn't mean that you van skip on the TLC
• If you want to have extensions added, it may be best to seek a professional to braid your hair
• Do make sure that the braids aren't super tight-now this one is hard for many people, because we feel like if the braids aren't tight they won't last and we want our money back, but they should not be so tight that your scalp is in serious pain a week after you get your braids put in, this will pull your hair out
• Do be careful around the edges.  Many women who often wear braids can attest to the fact that if worn too tight too often braids are a sure fire way to pull the hair around your hairline (edges) out
• Consider what types of braids will be best for you-if you can not sit still long enough to watch a 30 minute sit-com you may not want to opt for small braids
• Avoid micro-braids- often micro braids have a tendancy to pull the hair out
• Don't keep your hair braided for longer than about two months

That's all I have to say about that, let me know what you all are doing to adjust your hair to be winter ready.  For more protective style options check out this post

Tootles for now,
Me