How Long Do You Ladies Keep In Braids/twist?

I plan on getting Marley Twist soon to help me with my relaxer stretch and I'm not sure how long to keep them in.. I know a lot of people say you should ONLY wear them for 6 weeks but if I'm gonna pay $180+ for them I wanna wear them for as long as I can lol. The guy who will do my twist said if I take good care of them they can last 8-12 weeks

trueimage. said:

I plan on getting Marley Twist soon to help me with my relaxer stretch and I'm not sure how long to keep them in.. I know a lot of people say you should ONLY wear them for 6 weeks but if I'm gonna pay $180+ for them I wanna wear them for as long as I can lol. The guy who will do my twist said if I take good care of them they can last 8-12 weeks

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8 weeks maybe, but anything longer and you're asking for trouble. Don't listen to folks who tell you this stuff because if they don't have your hair growth goals in mind like you do, they don't care what damage happens to your hair later. So do the cautious thing and only go as long as 8 weeks.

I've worn mine for longer but I always redo them one by one as they grow out so that I avoid a lot of build-up and breakage.

I have done 8 weeks and I have done 12. My nape can only handle 2 to 4 weeks b9fore they need to be redone.

My hair has done fine with 8 to 12 weeks but my scalp requires several washes during that time. I also have to make sure I keep my hair moisturized. Because of this I do my own so I can take them out every 4 weeks.

I would say shoot for 8 weeks but really pay attention to what is going on with your hair and scalp. Losing your hair is definitely counterproductive. You need to find a time frame that gives you a healthy hit and scalp despite the price you pay.

I wear mini braids for most of the year, I usually leave them in for 6-9 weeks

I'd say a good gauge of how long you could possibly go is maybe 2-4 weeks than your longest hair washing stretch.
If your scalp is normally feeling icky, sweaty, caked with product/sebum etc after 3-4 weeks, you know 5-8 is your max.
The other thing is everyone's hair grows at different rates, sometimes at different times of the year. Have you ever dealt with 12 weeks of buildup/lint/shed hair? I'd say it's not for the faint of heart, and while it can be done with relative scalp safety and hair retention, I would definitely not recommend you shoot for that on the first go.
But like others have recommended, different steps can help out with making your stretch as bearable as possible. Probably the best of the recommendations for a long stretch: redoing a few rows every week after maybe 4 weeks. For example, if you've got 12 rows of twists, do the first 4 rows on weekend 4, the next 4 rows on weekend 5, the next 4 rows on weekend 6 until you've redone your whole head, then redo again.

4 to 6 weeks MAX

kxlot79 said:

I'd say a good gauge of how long you could possibly go is maybe 2-4 weeks than your longest hair washing stretch.
If your scalp is normally feeling icky, sweaty, caked with product/sebum etc after 3-4 weeks, you know 5-8 is your max.
The other thing is everyone's hair grows at different rates, sometimes at different times of the year. Have you ever dealt with 12 weeks of buildup/lint/shed hair? I'd say it's not for the faint of heart, and while it can be done with relative scalp safety and hair retention, I would definitely not recommend you shoot for that on the first go.
But like others have recommended, different steps can help out with making your stretch as bearable as possible. Probably the best of the recommendations for a long stretch: redoing a few rows every week after maybe 4 weeks. For example, if you've got 12 rows of twists, do the first 4 rows on weekend 4, the next 4 rows on weekend 5, the next 4 rows on weekend 6 until you've redone your whole head, then redo again.

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I too agree 110% with the bolded.

I've had box braids in since July (transitioning), but I wash and condition every week, moisturize every day, and redo them every few weeks as they grow out. No issues at all with build up or lint. My hair is actually really moisturized and soft when I take the braids down. My edges are pretty much left alone, I just wear hairstyles that hide my edges when they get too bushy. I redo my hair in quadrants (left front, right front, back left, back right, top middle). So every 3-4 weeks I redo one section each day for a week.

Casarela said:

4 to 6 weeks MAX

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This is why I avoid them.

My hair can only handle 4-6 weeks. Anything past that point, I'm asking for trouble.

I've worn mine 8 -10 weeks if I can wash them. 10 weeks was pushing it.

I just took out my braids yesterday that I had installed on 9/24 (14 weeks).

But...I redid my braids close to bi weekly especially my edges (I would also coWash and deep condition at this time). My entire head has probably been done about 3x with all of my touch ups. I would agree with the others that unless you have the ability to redo your braids/twists I would not keep them in longer than 6-8 weeks.

For those of you who wear braids for 6 weeks and longer, do you do protein treatments while in them?

I do. My normal routine is to alternate moisture and protein so I keep up with that schedule.

Sosoothing said:

For those of you who wear braids for 6 weeks and longer, do you do protein treatments while in them?

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Sosoothing said:

For those of you who wear braids for 6 weeks and longer, do you do protein treatments while in them?

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No. Braids are typically not stressful enough to warrant protein for me. I would do protein before and then a week or 2 after if I needed.