10 Tips For Those Getting Braids For The First Time

Before my healthy hair days, the days when I didn’t know that deep conditioning* existed, I decided to get braid extensions* in hopes that they would magically help my overly processed barely neck length hair “grow” (not retain length), notice how I cared less about health… health whaaaat?

Anyway, when I finally got them installed on my unhealthy hair here was my…ahem…”regimen”:

• Keep them in for three months sometimes four.
• Clean them once within those three months (this was usually the day before I got them redone).
• No moisturizing and conditioning allowed.
• Let the braids around my edges hang on for dear life.

On top of that I did not give my hair a break and got the braids installed back to back without even allowing my hair to sigh.

Needless to say that after a year, my hair was barely an inch past neck length and within a month went straight back to being neck length again.

These days we know that with a great hair regimen, braids are an excellent protective styling choice that allow your hair to retain length like crazy and finally make your long hair dreams a reality.

So with that said ladies here are 10 tips to help both the natural and relaxed among you get the opposite results of what you have just read above:

1. Do your research on the braid style that you want to achieve

Whether you want tree braids or poetic justice braids or micro braids, it is important to look up the pros and cons of the braid style that you want to see if it fits your lifestyle and hair goals.

This step, in my opinion, allows for you to be equipped with info about your braid style and confident that your choice will not affect the health of your hair.

2. Make sure that your hair is locked and loaded (with health that is) prior to getting braids

While it is super important to take care of your hair while in braids, it is even more important to make sure that your hair is spic and span before your installment.

If your elasticity is nonexistent and your porosity is off, make sure to address these issues before hand. To help correct these problems try this mini regimen a month before installing braids:

► Clarify your hair with the first wash of the month

► Deep condition weekly

► A week before the installment do a medium to strong protein treatment.

3. Make sure that your hair is well detangled and stretched the day before

Unless you have stumbled upon a braid shop that is sensitive to healthy hair care or if you are installing braids yourself, you need to make sure that your hair is well detangled and in a stretched state (via braids, blow dry, banding, etc) before installing braids.

Why? Because most stylists will tend to run through your hair with a fine tooth comb before braiding and you don’t need me to tell you that this can cause serious damage to your hair before the benefits of protective styling can even occur.

You can ask your stylist politely to use a wide tooth comb* instead but by detangling beforehand, you are protecting yourself from damage and a really bad headache.

4. Don’t get your braids done too small

When braids are done to the point where you cannot see all three strands even if you squint, then they are entirely too small. While small braids can give the look of bigger hair, they can cause untold damage to the roots and especially the edges of your hair resulting in possible balding.

Mini micros may look beautiful but they are very difficult to take down and you are more likely to suffer major hair damage leading to a setback in your hair journey. Medium to large braid sizes are always preferred where length retention is concerned.

5. … but don’t get them done too big!

When done too large, such as Patra large, they can also cause your edges to suffer damaged. This is due to the weight of the braiding hair casing tension on your follicles and resulting in breakage or balding.

Further, if you have fine hair, large braids can cause split ends on your delicate strands resulting in a major setback to your length goals.

6. Make sure that the braids at the edges aren’t causing you to have botox-like facial expressions

YES. I had to go there. Tightly installed braids are a bad idea in the first place for obvious reasons and when it comes to those edges it should not even be in question.

Too many of us have the belief that if every baby hair is not in a braid, that our braids will not look “neat”. This is so far from the truth! If you feel that your hair braider is installing them in too tight, speak up and let them know that they need to loosen them up a bit. Again, this will avoid another headache and a bad braiding experience from occurring.

7. Try to reduce the chance of buildup as much as possible

When you have braids or any kind of hair extensions* in your head, you have a high chance of getting build up on the base of your braids. Why? Because due to daily release of sebum from your scalp as well as frequent moisturizing, dust and lint get attracted to those oils* and the chances of buildup occurring increases.

To avoid this, make sure that you wash your braids at least every two weeks and that you apply the moisturizer at least an inch away from your scalp, this way the buildup can be reduced and you can keep a clean scalp sans itchiness.

8. …and speaking of moisturizing… Keeping your braids moisturized is a MUST!

This, in my opinion, is one of the most important steps of this whole post. It is so important to make sure that you keep the moisture balance of your hair in check while in braids.

This is what makes the difference between hair that breaks between installs or hair that retains every inch.

When braid extensions* are involved, it is easy to forget about your actual hair under there, but you must make an effort to remember and care for it.

A great product to keep your hair easily moisturized is a hair spritz. We have a couple of recipes here for protein or moisturizing braid sprays but for now here’s a quick spritz recipe to get you started.

For a 2 oz. bottle take 10 drops of glycerin, ¼ oz of aloe vera juice*, ¼ oz of your favorite conditioner and ½ oz of water. Pour all the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake. This spritz mix should keep your hair nice and happy.

Deep conditioning* is also part of keeping your hair moisturized so be sure to deep condition your braids at least every 2 weeks while you have them installed.

9. Make sure to not keep them in over eight weeks

I know, I know…you paid good money for your hairstyle or you took 15 hours to get them installed yourself and you want your money’s worth! But 4-8 weeks should really be the maximum period for any extension style.

In most cases, any more time than that can possibly spell disaster for your precious hair underneath because of increased sebum build up as well as your curly new growth causing tangling and matting. So make sure to keep track of the due date for the removal of your braids.

10. Replenish your hair after take down

This is another really important step as well; make sure to have a wash day full of both protein and moisture to bring back a good balance into your strands after the take down.

Here’s a good rundown for a good after-braid wash routine:

► Cleanse hair

► Apply a medium to strong protein treatment according to instructions

► Follow up with a moisturizing deep conditioner*

► Apply your moisturizers and sealers.

With this simple routine, your hair should be in tip top shape and after giving your hair a week or two rest, you can be ready to install the braids again.

So that’s it guys, if you plan on using braids as part of your protective styling regimen in the near future, be sure to have a copy of these tips around to help guide you through!