Braids back to back

keke

New Member
I was wondering if any of you guys do that? Meaning, do you get braids back to back or have u seen people like that where you will see them saturday in cornrows, about a month or 2 old so its time to take them out, but then by sunday u see them in a whole new doo. basically im saying for about 6-12 months u do not see their hair EVER cause it is always in braids. I almost did that but didnt have the money and now i feel that maybe its a good thing i didnt do that. I think its kinda bad to have your hair constantly being pulled like that. I think its good to let the hair rest and breath. Give it 2 weeks at the least and at the most a month or so. Any1 else does/seen this
 

Wanda

New Member
I am living proof that that is not a good thing. Most of my life I had very thick hair. A few years ago I wore braids for a little over a year(just getting them redone), And I tell you it has really ruined my hair. My hair was paper thin when I decided to stop getting braids. Since I have been getting advice from the ladies on this board and taking care of my hair, I do see a significant difference in the health of my hair. I am now using follicle booster for a bald spot that I still have due to braiding. HTH
 

adrienne0914

Well-Known Member
my best friend wore individual braids back to back for about a year, despite my objections.
when she stopped, her hair was really healthy. i think it's because she was doing what i told her to... well almost everything besides braid back to back.

anyway, she used curl activator to moisture them and washed them every other week. she's Neet in my picture trail. i just updated her photo. it didn't result in a disaster for her, but everyone is different.
 

Serei

New Member
I braid back to back sometimes. I did it for six months last year. I think it depends on the individual. Some women's hair don't suffer. This year I had braids from April to August back to back, then I took a break in September and now I have braids again. I do it because I am lazy and because I don't even want to try to style my hair in between relaxers. I am going to leave this set of braids in until December, then rebraid and keep the braids in until March. So far, my hair hasn't suffered. I do conditioner washes in between time to strengthen my hair for the next round.
 

Serei

New Member
Oh, I forgot, my hair didn't suffer either during the time I had braids. It was actually very thick after I removed them, even after I relaxed again.
 

Chipmunk

Well-Known Member
I've worn braids for years back to back and have not had any problems.

My mother used to wear braids back to back, but it caused her hair to thin. My mother always would pull hers up and back, and her real hair would get twisted.

I guess it depends on your hair type, how you take care of your braids, and how you wear your braids.
 

Nonie

Well-Known Member
I think I wear my braids (micro extensions) back to back... No wait... I wear them...uhmm...
... (what do you call it if you keep them in all the time and redo one at a time?
Sort of like 24/7 for a year or more...till everyone's so bored and sick and tired of seeing you in braids???)
Yep, that's me.

Well, I have no problem with this practice and my hair was doing OK before I found this board and is still doing OK, so I have no plans of changing my ways. I'll admit that I believe the secret to my success is I am constantly redoing my braids so no section of my hair gets over-strained by the weight of the extension hair.

Now if we are talking just braiding your own hair over and over with no extensions, then braiding back to back TO ME is as healthy as going to bathroom when nature calls. It's the easiest way I can think of for growing and taking care of natural hair, and it's the way that all the kids in my neighborhood wore their hair. Granted we didn't all have "bra-strap" length hair. But that had nothing to do with the back-to-back braids. We just didn't know the harm heat causes (We couldn't wait to press our hair when it was out of braids). We didn't know about the importance of moisture or conditioning for strength... (Conditioner? What's that?)... The list is endless. But if you wanna cornrow you hair back to back with no extensions, as long as your hair isn't being pulled so tight that you induce alopecia, then I see no harm whatsoever in doing it.

Extensions are a different story. I think they have to not only be light (weightwise) enough so as not to break your hair (the size of the braids being important), but you can't have them sitting in your head untouched for months on end with the same part of your hair bearing their weight. And micros especially are more of a headache to undo so unless one is very patient, you could cause your hair undue stress.
 

jemini

New Member
I get braids a lot but I also wear my own hair out a lot too(pressed) to give each one a break and my hair's still thick. It always has been. sometimes I wonder why b/c I use to do some bad things to my hair in the past
.
 

Serei

New Member
Tell me more Nonie. You say you braid each braid individually? You mean spot retouching? Sounds interesting.
 

cybra

New Member
I go through periods, such as now, where I do "back to back" braiding in cornrows. One reason I think I don't experience damage and I achieve massive hair growth is because I braid them myself and I DON'T pull them tight, so as to break my hair. Becauuse of my hair texture, I simply put on a creamy conditioning leave in on each sectins before adding extentions and breading it. I do put beads on my hair and always have, however, at night, I have to use 2 satin scarves to tie my hair up. The first, I tie on my head, leaving the braids hanging out the back. Then, I wrapt the beads in the second scarf, and then slightly lift it and securly tie it to my head too. I guess I should take pics of this and post it on my site so you can see what I mean. But, by doing this, I don't stress my hair and it grows really well.

Also, I tend to take my braids out every 2 weeks, and when I do, I put on hot oil and sit under the dryer, then wash it with CON, use a protein conditioner (without heat), and rinse it completely out. I then put in serum, followed by letting my hair dry until just slightly damp, to which I add biosilk. I let it thoroughly dry and I try to go one complete day without the braids or doing anything to my hair. Once I braid my hair, if I feel any pulling, I take it down and redo it. Because I use large beads and "washers" I have to make sure when they're added I still don't feel any stress on my scalp. I plan to continue braiding my hair until summer of next year...then I'll probably relax it again and take more pics so you can see the amount of growth.

BTW, I have seen people get braids back to back and have their hair thin, so I know it's possible. I just happen to be one of those people who doesn't experience this...not yet (she says as she knocks on wood)
 

Nonie

Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Serei said:
Tell me more Nonie. You say you braid each braid individually? You mean spot retouching? Sounds interesting.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly, Serei. That's my HIH disease. If I am not using my hands for anything, then I'm looking for a braid that I haven't got to that has some growth or is just in need of redoing. Who needs popcorn during a movie when I can indulge in "spot retouching"?
(You notice I've fallen for your nice way of phrasing my habit.
)
 

ngaa

New Member
well i sort of do this...last yr i wore braids, took them out for a week and had them put back in for a whole and my hair didnt seem to suffer a lot. like chimunk said, it all depends on hair type, how you take care of your braids, and how you wear your braids.
 

karezone

Well-Known Member
I was thinking about doing this just to extend relaxer time. I was wondering has anyones child hood hair line ever came back with braids? Right now I am experiencing a period of growth where my old childhood hairline (widow's peak) is coming back. I have never experienced this and to tell the truth I thought that it was gone for good.
 

LABETT

Well-Known Member
KAREZONE

I braided my hair back to back for the first time this year
without any problems to extend my relaxer time and my hairline grew back in
to my surprise but I was also using nioxin follice booster
and doing scalp massages daily.
 

Ire_manzi

New Member
I do know somebody who wears her braids back to back. There is a time when she went for two months without washing her hair. When she took out her cornrows, she had a lot of dandruff and itches which I believe were caused by the dryness on her scalp. The day after she took out her cornrows , she came to my house and asked me to relax her hair. I told her that I was not into relaxing but caring for our natural God given hair. Anyway, I ended up just oil treating her hair with olive oil, shampooing, deep conditioning etc. Boy was I shocked at how thin her hair was. It was tearing all the time. She combed her hair as though she was brushing a horse ready to compete. To cut a long story short, the next time I saw her, she was in braids again. At that point I felt like
her. On top of all this, she gets her braids done so tight all the time and has a receding hair line.
I personally think that braiding back to back braids are not bad as long as they are not braided too tight and when you take care of your hair before, during and after braiding.
 

Nessa

New Member
That's me, I do that all the time I have been braiding my hair back to back for about 8 years. Now I know how to take care of my hair, so It's growing, plus I love to get new hairstyles and keep my hair looking neat.
 

asha

New Member
Hey Nonie, I do the spot retouching aswell when I have braids. I once wore braids for a whole year straight...I would spot retouch, sometimes just because I wanted to see my real hair. I would take out one braid and wash it and moisturize it and leave it out oohing and aahing over it and then put the braid back in. This was when I was natural. I never had a hairline or breakage problem. I also removed all the braids and put a fresh braid style in 3 times during the 12 months. That was me, raggedy old head on saturday, fresh new braids on Sunday.
 

keke

New Member
Allandra, did she use it more than once a day? did she make sure it was really covering all of her head and did she use anything else on her hair while using it? Cause i only use the s-curl and at night the s-curl w/water, thats all i use unless i feel soreness then i put on some S-8 or some ORS carrot oil
 

keke

New Member
so serei, you had your hair permed and then put braids in them? Hmm wow. i hear that some women can get away w/it and some cant so i dunno im not gonna try imma leave it at having my hair natural cause i wanna go that route for now and see how things go. I know of one lady who i've seen for like i dunno 8-10 years and she has always had braids in her hair the whole time, like Brandy who is now in2 wearin weave. I guess the rumor bout her having some kinda hair disease is true.
 

keke

New Member
well yes i see what every1 is saying about how u can do that and still have nice hair and it IS on how u do your hait. since i have finally learned how to lock the hair in2 my own hair im going to start some things on myself. I dsont use 2 strands of fake hair to lock it in just one and thats it and im braiding it. I guess it would be ok , i'll try that, maybe after these rows are out.
 

Serei

New Member
Keke I removed my braids in August, then relaxed it after two weeks then I put the braids back in October. I thought that was a sufficient amount of time, no?
 

keke

New Member
Oh well yes it is cause i had did some perming of myself in May then i got braids in June and took them out in Aug and got them again in Oct so ...hmm sounds like we got our hair done same time. LOL
 

keke

New Member
I think im going to get me some thai zillions again, curly kind or so if i get the money to spend for it since im readin things here, esp from allandra bout her friend, keeping it in like that and using s-curl in it worked out good for her. I'll only keep it in about 2 months or maybe less.
 

karezone

Well-Known Member
I mean I was seriously shocked. My Mom pointed it out. I just thought that those hairs had slipped out of the cornrows.
 

dontspeakdefeat

Hair Coach
[ QUOTE ]
keke said:
Yeah u right. it was allandra. Lol. ok sorry on that.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hey Keke, you've got Alandra on your brain! lol
 

aikaa71

New Member
i currently have braids and plan to keep them for 3 months, then unbraid and rebraid for another 3 months. Im transitioning and this is the best way for me to do it.

Three important things for me when having braids are:

Braids must not be tight(when i go to bed on the night after i have had my braids, i should have no pain, maybe just a stiff neck from sitting down for 10 hours to get my braids in !!)
Leave hairline unbraided
Moisturise daily.

I always insist on the lady who does my hair to not put them in tight and i also ask her to leave about 1/4(quarter inch) of my hairline unbraid. I wear my braids in a center part , so the braids falling on each side cover the unbraided hairline. I use a bit of s-curl gel to keep those hairs flat.
 
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