question on braids & hair growth

[coolsista-paris]

Hi to all, i hear people say "nno question is stupid, all questions should be asked"... I stille find mine kinda stupid but im asking anyway

When extension braids are in, well done and reasonably tight, they start to detach from roots (on me this happens quick sometimes).
There is then space between the roots and the begenning of the braid.

Is this hair growth (in 2 weeks sometimes) or is it just the braids getting old and detaching???

I need to know this in order to focus better on my retention.seems like my hair grows at roots, but then maybe brakes and the ends , EVEN WITH THIS PROTECTIVE STYLE? ok before i didnt moisturize my braids enough.

HELP ! need your answers

 

[Nonie]

I think it's a mixture of both...but mostly it's the extension hair sliding. I've worn extensions for years and I do them well because I wash my hair twice a week and still sport fairly neat looking braids. So I can confirm the base would look looser than I expected making it seem like I had a growth spurt, but the growth would still the same as always. What would look like an inch of growth would be 1/2 inch growth and 1/2 inch sliding.

 

[coolsista-paris]

all right then. even if your havent washed for the first 2 weeks? this still is sliding?
As i moisturize more it may then me the extension slipping + some growth.

Ok so id say 50/50
thanks a lot

 

[Nonie]

all right then. even if your havent washed for the first 2 weeks? this still is sliding?
As i moisturize more it may then me the extension slipping + some growth.

Ok so id say 50/50
thanks a lot

@coolsista-paris, the weight of extension hair is enough for it to give that illusion. There's one way to confirm what it is. You can undo one of the braids say in the back and braid it w/o extensions and see if in two weeks you have the same amount of "growth" as in the extension sections. There's also the fact that braids get loose with time. That's why cornrows can look so nice on day one and then not so great in a couple of weeks when no one washed them.

Here's an example of my braids with what looks like a lot of growth. My guess is that was within two or 3 weeks.

If my hair was growing about 3/4 of an inch every 3 weeks meaning 1/4 inch a week, I'd be getting an inch a month and should've seen over a foot of growth in the 14 months I wore the braids. Let's even subtract my 1/4 inch trims every 2 months, I would have trimmed off under 2 inches in that time which would put me at one foot of growth. I can tell you that's never happened. In those 14 months, I did go from 3 inches stretched to this, but that was not an increase of a foot. A foot would've put that hair section past BSL; I was just at full SL coz I needed to dust those ends.

 

[kokodiva524]

I think it's a mixture of both...but mostly it's the extension hair sliding. I've worn extensions for years and I do them well because I wash my hair twice a week and still sport fairly neat looking braids. So I can confirm the base would look looser than I expected making it seem like I had a growth spurt, but the growth would still the same as always. What would look like an inch of growth would be 1/2 inch growth and 1/2 inch sliding.

Sorry, I know this is OT but how are you able to wash your braids 2x a week and keep them neat looking. Specifically, can you give me your washing process step by step. I would like to try this with my DD this school year. TIA!

 

[Nonie]

Sorry, I know this is OT but how are you able to wash your braids 2x a week and keep them neat looking. Specifically, can you give me your washing process step by step. I would like to try this with my DD this school year. TIA!

@kokodiva524 A few braids may unravel as seen in the photos below, but usually when freshly done, the area beyond my hair may unravel because human hair is slippery, but the sections containing my hair stay neat except for a few as shown below:

As the extension hair gets older, it doesn't unravel much as shown in the photo below taken Feb 2010 of braids which were put in April 2009:

I think the secret is to not start off with straightened hair. My hair before putting in extensions is not blowdried or straightened, but rather it's just stretched in braids. I wash in braids and let it airdry in braids. This way the shrinkage I get when I wash my extension braids doesn't create an accordion effect due to shrinkage. It's like prewashed jeans; they don't shrink much when you wash them.

I do my own braids and when braiding, I hold my hair close to the cross-over section so that I am careful to tuck all my hair and also to ensure a nice firm braid. I tried to show what I mean in #10 in the lousy pics shown in the post below:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=194781&postcount=10

I don't really do anything special when I wash. I don't use rubber bands or braid my extensions but you could if you find this easier. Like put the braids in big plaits but not firmly at base because you need to be able to fit fingers through them to feel your scalp. What I do is after wetting my hair, I pour shampoo onto fingers then feel through the braids to my scalp and apply the undiluted shampoo to my scalp. I massage well to clean w/o really disturbing the hair. I then start rinsing and as shampoo runs down the length of my hair, I start squeezing the braids in steps along the length. I do not pile the hair up on my head but I leave it hanging down. If you have the braid put in plaits you'd squeeze the plaits in steps along the length to encourage shampoo to enter the strands and clean. If the suds look dirty, I'd rinse and repeat the pooing, but coz I wash so often and don't use any leave in, my hair is usually not dirty so one shampoo suffices. Once I rinse that off it's time to apply conditioner.

I put all the braids in a pony at the crown of my head using a scrunchie, then pull out a row of braids at the back and apply conditioner relaxer style on that row. I don't like to get conditioner to the base of my braids because I think that causes the knotting and breakage...so I skip about an inch from my scalp and smooth condition to the ends of my hair--not the extension hair. I then hold the braids I just applied conditioner to and squeeze them to encourage conditioner penetration then braid them to put them out of the way while I work on another set. I leave the braids hanging down so conditioner can drip toward ends where it is most needed and not toward my scalp. Once all my hair has conditioner on it, I put on a plastic bag (bag coz it's big and so I don't have to pile hair up on head), then complete my shower. When I rinse soap off my body, I lean forward and rinse my hair under my shower head and squeeze the braids to ensure I get all conditioner from inside strands. I also massage scalp in the stream of the water to remove conditioner that may be on my scalp.

I then mix 1/4 cup of ACV in 2 gallons of water in a basin and dunk my head in it where I further massage my scalp to remove any conditioner residue and improve circulation while letting my hair soak up the goodness of closed cuticles from the ACV solution. Usually I will also add 20 drops of lavender EO and 20 drops of rosemary EO.

The photo below show freshly done braids:

The photo below shows the same braids a few days later after a wash:

I do braid all the way to the ends--another thing that helps my braids last long. But as you can see after the wash, there is a loosening near the ends:

When human hair is new, it will unravel even when not washing. But I just redo the ends as I find time--usually while watching TV. In time they "learn" to stay braided. This pic taken Dec 2009 shows the same braids from April 2009, but notice the ends are holding better. (This was a Curlformer set):

I should also mention that how I'm able to wear braids for a year straight is because I redo one at a time as I feel like it. So in time I get to redo all of them, but my hair is never left out. By redoing them this way, I move the strain of the braid's starting point onto new growth so that I don't create a weak point that will break. I also get an opportunity to remove shed hair so I don't get locs at the base or tangles from hair having been shed and not removed for months. I think not using products and just baggying nightly as well as washing twice a week makes sure my hair isn't sticking together but strands unravel with ease as shown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j68_fk46rNk

I think not using products also keeps the hair looking fresh.

 

[WyrdWay]

Wow Nonie that was a lot of info! This should be made a sticky.

 

[kokodiva524]

Nonie: Gurl, you are a lifesaver! My DD is on the swim team this year and will be swimming 5 days a week. This summer her hair was in mid size box braids w/out extensions. So, I washed daily with diluted swimmers shampoo and conditioned with diluted cheapee condish. Her hair is soft so it always looked "fuzzie". For the school year I'm going to add some hair to her braids (synthetic) and follow your process. I'll probably have her braids redone every 6-8wks.

If anybody has any additional suggustions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks again Nonie!

 

[coolsista-paris]

thanks a lot Nonie ;-)

 

[nappystorm]

@kokodiva524 A few braids may unravel as seen in the photos below, but usually when freshly done, the area beyond my hair may unravel because human hair is slippery, but the sections containing my hair stay neat except for a few as shown below:

As the extension hair gets older, it doesn't unravel much as shown in the photo below taken Feb 2010 of braids which were put in April 2009:

I think the secret is to not start off with straightened hair. My hair before putting in extensions is not blowdried or straightened, but rather it's just stretched in braids. I wash in braids and let it airdry in braids. This way the shrinkage I get when I wash my extension braids doesn't create an accordion effect due to shrinkage. It's like prewashed jeans; they don't shrink much when you wash them.

I do my own braids and when braiding, I hold my hair close to the cross-over section so that I am careful to tuck all my hair and also to ensure a nice firm braid. I tried to show what I mean in #10 in the lousy pics shown in the post below:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=194781&postcount=10

I don't really do anything special when I wash. I don't use rubber bands or braid my extensions but you could if you find this easier. Like put the braids in big plaits but not firmly at base because you need to be able to fit fingers through them to feel your scalp. What I do is after wetting my hair, I pour shampoo onto fingers then feel through the braids to my scalp and apply the undiluted shampoo to my scalp. I massage well to clean w/o really disturbing the hair. I then start rinsing and as shampoo runs down the length of my hair, I start squeezing the braids in steps along the length. I do not pile the hair up on my head but I leave it hanging down. If you have the braid put in plaits you'd squeeze the plaits in steps along the length to encourage shampoo to enter the strands and clean. If the suds look dirty, I'd rinse and repeat the pooing, but coz I wash so often and don't use any leave in, my hair is usually not dirty so one shampoo suffices. Once I rinse that off it's time to apply conditioner.

I put all the braids in a pony at the crown of my head using a scrunchie, then pull out a row of braids at the back and apply conditioner relaxer style on that row. I don't like to get conditioner to the base of my braids because I think that causes the knotting and breakage...so I skip about an inch from my scalp and smooth condition to the ends of my hair--not the extension hair. I then hold the braids I just applied conditioner to and squeeze them to encourage conditioner penetration then braid them to put them out of the way while I work on another set. I leave the braids hanging down so conditioner can drip toward ends where it is most needed and not toward my scalp. Once all my hair has conditioner on it, I put on a plastic bag (bag coz it's big and so I don't have to pile hair up on head), then complete my shower. When I rinse soap off my body, I lean forward and rinse my hair under my shower head and squeeze the braids to ensure I get all conditioner from inside strands. I also massage scalp in the stream of the water to remove conditioner that may be on my scalp.

I then mix 1/4 cup of ACV in 2 gallons of water in a basin and dunk my head in it where I further massage my scalp to remove any conditioner residue and improve circulation while letting my hair soak up the goodness of closed cuticles from the ACV solution. Usually I will also add 20 drops of lavender EO and 20 drops of rosemary EO.

The photo below show freshly done braids:

The photo below shows the same braids a few days later after a wash:

I do braid all the way to the ends--another thing that helps my braids last long. But as you can see after the wash, there is a loosening near the ends:

When human hair is new, it will unravel even when not washing. But I just redo the ends as I find time--usually while watching TV. In time they "learn" to stay braided. This pic taken Dec 2009 shows the same braids from April 2009, but notice the ends are holding better. (This was a Curlformer set):

I should also mention that how I'm able to wear braids for a year straight is because I redo one at a time as I feel like it. So in time I get to redo all of them, but my hair is never left out. By redoing them this way, I move the strain of the braid's starting point onto new growth so that I don't create a weak point that will break. I also get an opportunity to remove shed hair so I don't get locs at the base or tangles from hair having been shed and not removed for months. I think not using products and just baggying nightly as well as washing twice a week makes sure my hair isn't sticking together but strands unravel with ease as shown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j68_fk46rNk

I think not using products also keeps the hair looking fresh.

These braids are fabulous, Nonie! As a fellow braid wearer, I co sign with everything in this post.

They are definitely a PS, OP. I've been wearing them for years and they are a saving grace for my retention. I just got a set Wednesday.

Bonus tips: Do not and I mean do NOT pull your braids up into buns and ponytails when they are new. You will like like Naomi Campbell by the hairline. And wash and DC your braids prior to removing. It will make your braids slippery and make the process easier.