Tips To Get An Outrageously Natural Looking Weave - Part 2

Yesterday I posted the first part in this series of posts on how to get a natural looking weave. Now I’m no weave* queen myself in that I don’t wear them month in month out but when I do, I want my own mother to ask me for the umpteenth time ‘Is that your hair?’ and I enjoy being stopped by a complete stranger at the supermarket telling me that my hair is beautiful and how did I grow it so long only to have them drool when I tell them it’s a weave.

Here are some more tips to getting an outrageously natural looking weave.

Match your color – Pretty self explanatory, if your hair is natural black, don’t wear a jet black weave or if you have highlights like I do, then find a weave with a color to closely match your leave our hair. Many of us who have black African American hair can have trouble finding the exact shade as ours. Most weaves* are made from the hair of Indian donors who tend to have much darker locks to African Americans. The simple solution is to apply a black semi-permanent rinse to your leave out hair. Semi permanent color lasts 6-20 washes depending on the brand so it should have faded sufficiently by the time you are ready to take down the weave. You can always clarify and deep condition with heat to get rid of any remaining color residue.

Wear Believable textures – I know you like the feel of silky smooth high lustre shinier-than-a-mirror hair but does it match your leave out hair? If not then leave it on the shelf. The same goes for curly textured weaves, if you cannot convincingly match the wave pattern of the weave with little effort then forget it. There are many companies out there that can create custom textures of hair. They start with good quality virgin hair and are able to recreate African American hair exactly. From 4a kinky* locks to relaxed hair textures or kinky* straight weaves* to match blow dried African American hair there’s no end to the possibilities and you will be able to find that perfect weave* to match your own texture.

Tone down the volume – This is the single most important tip and can be the dealbreaker that gives you away even when everything else is right. Many ladies get pretty decent looking sew ins but sometimes, something that you cannot quite put your finger on makes it look unnatural. If you don’t want your weave to look ‘off’ then stick with 2 packs of hair or less (about 200 grams) . Curly weaves tend to have more volume so you may find that you only need 150 grams or a pack and a half  of hair. I’ve seen some ladies walk around with three women’s hair on their head and it’s not a good look. Less is more!

Use quality hair – This is where a lot of ladies differ but I will say this, the differece between brand name beauty supply store hair and genuine virgin hair is like the difference between a smooth burgundy wine and the cheap plonk labelled ‘table wine’ at the bottom shelf of the supermarket. They are both wines but they ain’t in the same league! I will also say that the only times I ever get compliments from random strangers on my hair is when I wear my virgin Indian or Chinese hair. Good quality hair moves naturally, doesn’t tangle and looks ‘right’ somehow. Not to mention that good quality virgin hair can be worn again and again (mine lasts 2 years at a minimum) so you will be saving money in the long run.

Like most people, I’ve had my hits and misses when it comes to sew ins, but with each new install it gets better and better. Although I believe that wearing your own hair majority of the time is the best way to promote healthy hair habits, I am partial to a good sew in every now and again and with these tips, I’m sure you will be well your way to an outrageously natural looking weave!