Going to Give Braids Another Try...Questions

[hairfanatic]

For those of you that are long time braid wearers please tell me.

1) How long have you been wearing braids
2) Do you use synthetic or Human Hair?
3) How often do you wash?
4) What moisturizing spray do you use?
5) Do you braid back-to-back or let your hair breath for a month or two (very important question)
6) What problems have you had wearing braids, if any?

 

[Faith]

Hi hairfanatic,

1. I have been braiding for 3 years now. But off and on for about 15 years now.
2. I use synthetic, I used to use human hair but I discovered the synthetic hairs were being made just as soft so...
3. I wash 1x a week with Better Braids shampoo spray
4. I moisturize with my glycerin/water mix (4oz glycerin: 12oz h20)
5. I do braid back to back sometimes.
6. I find that I can't seem to escape dirting clumping in the braids around my hairline (front and back).

 

[hairfanatic]

Hi Faith,

Thank you for the reply. I love the length of your hair. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Where did you start (in length) to reach where you are now. So you just use glycerine and water and no oils? Do you spray everyday? Sorry for all the questions

 

[Faith]

Hey hairfanatic,
No problem ,ask away.
I started with 1/2" of hair November of 99. And as of October 12th 2002 my hair is about 1/2' past the top of my bra strap...about 24' from front hairline. I use the glycerin/water mixture and I oil my hair and scalp Sun, Tues and Thursday. I wash every Saturday.

 

[thatscuteright]

Faith do you braid your hair by yourself?

 

[Onyx]

1)I've been wearing braids for 2 years this Nov.
2)I've used both types of hair. Currently I use synthetic (kanekalon or toyokalon) and will until I finish growing my hair out with braids
3)I wash every 2 weeks
4)When I do use moisturizing products, it's braid spray and that might be once or twice a week (occasionally) and I usually mostly put it on the length of the braids and not the scalp
5)I usually braid back to back- but you have to take into consideration if your hair is relaxed or natural. Mine is natural. I do take some breaks (like 2 weeks) here and there because my scalp is sensitive and I get bumps on my head if I don't
6) Problems- Bumps on my head and a very itchy scalp(usually from braids that were too tight or braiding consistently back to back)
Hard Knots-which was solved by me cutting back on braid spray and not putting oil on my scalp with braids. The less I do to my hair the better it turns out.
Micro slowed my growth. I probably would have more length now if I didn't get micros as much as I did (like 3 in)

*I'd really recommend you find a good braider who doesn't braid your hair too tight because you can lose/shed more hair and have scalp issues if it's too tight
*when you take out your hair make sure there are no type of knots or detangle as much of your hair as u can before washing...a dry knot is easier to get out than a wet one

HTH

 

[Faith]

Hi Tamala,
Yeah I braid my own hair (I have been doing so since 1998) I'll post new pics at picturetrail for you to see next week. BTW I replied to your question on the other post.

 

[hairfanatic]

Wow, a 1/2 an inch, that's fantastic! Oops, sorry I asked the starting length, I see you had already included it. That also sounds like a livable regimen for the braids. I'm curious, how come you didn't use braid sprays, did you try them and didn't like them?

 

[hairfanatic]

Hi Onyx,

Thank you so much for that information. I had sores that last time I tried braids and my hair was chewed up so bad that I had to cut a lot. What length did you start at and where are you now in length? I see a lot of women with those micro braids. I actually thought those were healthier. Why did the micros slow your growth?

 

[Faith]

Hi hairfanatic,
Well I did use the braid sprays and I found some of the smells too overpowering (they start of nice but then end up hurting my nose) so one day I was talking to Adrienne and groaning and moaning about buildup and dry hair, etc. she suggested just glycerin and water and I haven't looked back since. Plus it's cheaper to just get some glycerin at the health food store and mix it with water (and IT"S SMELL FREE).
BTW, I just added the starting length to my signature. It wasn't there when you asked me the question. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[adrienne0914]

1) How long have you been wearing braids
i wore braids on and off for eight months

2) Do you use synthetic or Human Hair?
Black & Gold kanekelon hair

3) How often do you wash?
once a week

4) What moisturizing spray do you use?
S-Curl No Drip Activator

5) Do you braid back-to-back or let your hair breath for a month or two (very important question)?
i let my hair breathe, but usually for about 2 weeks

6) What problems have you had wearing braids, if any?
just scalp issues, which weren't really braid related

adrienne

 

[legs71]

1) How long have you been wearing braids

For about 12 years on and off, but consistently within the last 3 1/2 years

2) Do you use synthetic or Human Hair?

I use human hair only. When I used the synthetic braids when my hair was relaxed it tore my hair up. Also once I had an allergic reaction to the hair and my face broke out badly. I find the synthetic is too harsh on my hair. Also human hair is more versatile

3) How often do you wash?

I cleanse my scalp with ORS herbal cleanse and I wash the actual braids separately. I do this probably every 2 weeks. I just brought some braid shampoo. I'm going to try to wash at least my scalp every week. I think my hair may benefit from this

4) What moisturizing spray do you use?

I cannot use the moisturizing sprays because they leave my hair feeling so gooey. Also they make my dandruff problem even worse. I use ORS Olive Oil to my scalp whenever needed

5) Do you braid back-to-back or let your hair breath for a month or two
(very important question)

I braid back to back. When my hair was relaxed braiding back to back caused damage. Now that my hair is natural I can braid back to back without any damage.

6) What problems have you had wearing braids, if any?

I believe wearing the braids has somehow caused the horrible dandruff problem I have. Otherwise, I haven't had any major problems.

 

[legs71]

Faith,

Wow, I think I've found my "partner in crime". I thought I had wore braids a long time, but you've got me beat. Last year in Oct. '01 I cut the last of my relaxed hair off and went natural with braids. I used to braid my own hair also, but it was too time consuming and besides I found an African Braiding Salon in NJ that can braid. Anyway, you need to let me in on some of your braid care secrets.

 

[TBC72]

Hello to all!! I've got a few questions. My hair is due for a touch up next week. I would liek to try using human hair since I had such a hard time with my ends. I did put wet and wavy in my hair before but I put mousse in it and it made it really hard. what can I use to make the hair wavy? Is there a certain brand that I should buy? Thansk for answering my questions!!!

 

[Onyx]

Hey Hairfanatic,
I cut my hair to start natural after a bad braiding incident. So it was about 1 inch all over. Now it is about 9 inches. My hair grew with micros but they thin your hair out more and if you keep them in too long your hair could really break. Micros are stressful on your hair too, time consuming to take in and take out, and they eat at your edges. Individuals are much healthier. I honestly believe that if I had individuals these two years I would have 11/12 inches now. Two of my sisters grew their hair out longer with individuals in a faster period than I did. About the sores, really make sure they don't braid too tight, when I had them I scratched so much hair out and I bled too...that was before I made the cut...my scalp is much healither now and so is my hair. Find a routine that works for you and everything will workout.

HTH

 

[kasey]

I wore braids from fall 97 to fall 99. I used Kanekalon bulk. The braids were a little bigger than a pencil. When I took them out my hair had grown to a couple of inches past my shoulders. But I didn't get to keep the hair. I moved to a new city and it all got damaged when I started shampooing it with some heavily chlorinated tap water.

I put the braids back in fall 2000 and wore them through December 2001.This time I used kanekalon silky.

During the second period of braid wearing I was in a different city and had a different braider. This braider put in smaller braids, about half the size of a pencil, and she braided each braid down maybe three turns, as you would if you were doing a french braid. The braids still looked "individual" but there was much more support for the braid since it was held a more securely to the scalp.

The problem I had with braids was full losing strands near the hair line. I think this part of my scalp is the driest and I should have given that area more care. My hairline wasn't completely "jacked" but I have had to give it some TLC this year.

The other problem I had was dryness at the crown. I realize now that the crown area was still weak from the chlorine damage.

I would braid the hair back to back, every three months. Also, when I had braids I never shampooed and I spent a lot of time in the sauna. This probably dried out my hair and scalp.

If I get braids again I would leave at least a two-week period to deep condition. Also, if I get braids again, I'll at least wet my hair weekly, and instead of the sauna, I'll use the steam room.

When I took my braids out in January, my hair was very, very dry and weak. If I get braids again, I'll probably follow Robin's method of soaking the hair in Infusium 23.

During the last set of braids I started using a hair and scalp rinse with witch hazel and herbs. This really helped with the scalp dryness and reduce the build up on the braids.

 

[Kitkat]

1. I wore braids for a year. I had them sporadically before then.
2. I used human hair during my sporadic stints. For the year in braids, I chose synthetic hair - seemed to stay neat longer than human hair & was less flyaway.
3. I washed once a month.
4. I used Sta-Soft Braid Spray and African Pride spray. I liked the Sta-Soft better because it was not as watery as the African Pride & was more moisturizing to my scalp.
5. I braided back to back, and would devote an entire weekend to removal, washing, deep conditioning, combing out (took a very long time the longer the hair got) and re-braiding.
6. I had no problems, thankfully, from the braids themselves. The problems arose from what I did after braids were removed. I didn't trim the split ends and used a curling iron daily.
Good luck, and I hope braids work out for you. They really helped me to achieve some length.

 

[hairfanatic]

Thank you Ladies!!! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

I put my braids back in last night and I also e-mailed Robin. I will use the Infusium 23 along with the braid spray and see how they work. I tell you, I am going to have to do my braids again in a month. I have french braids in the front but I think I want the individual braids in the front also.

 

[Faith]

Hey legs,
I would be happy to share all the secrets I have and have learned. Ask away.
P.S. I plan on going to get my hair braided cause my nails are too long to get a good grip. Check out my pics at picturetrail. Go to www.picturetrail.com and type in Swttng in the search box. I'll post more pics later. Ciao! /images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[hairfanatic]

Hi Faith,

I can definately see the growth within your three pictures. I love the color of your braids. By the way, what color is that?

 

[Faith]

Thanks, it was a 1b/27 and a 1b/33 (color on bag) and it's by Golden Queen. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Nessa]

good advice , yall.