Are Braid Extensions For You? Some Tips From My Own Experience

Summertime is here, the temps are high and so are the dew points. Some of us may seek a style that will defy shrinkage and give us a break from styling our hair on a regular basis.

From wigs* to weaves*, there are many options of protective styling, with braid extensions* being one of them. Unfortunately, no two heads are alike when it comes to the ability to rock these styling methods.

Before you dash off to the nearest braider or have a friend install your style, be sure to properly assess your hair to determine if this style will wreak havoc on your tresses.

Do you have fine strands?

If you have fine tresses, you may want to forego micro braids. The smaller the braids, the more susceptible your hair is to tangling.

Havana Twists are a nice styling option, but you’ll never know how much your strands can withstand until the hair is actually installed.

I have fine medium strands that love to wrap themselves around each other. The first time I went to a braider, she asked me if I combed my hair. I did before I left the house that morning but you would have never thought I did when she started combing my hair.

Are you comfortable with having someone else handling your hair?

Our hair is pretty darn special, and the last thing we want is for someone to rip through our strands with little or no regard for the wear and tear their raking may subject our strands to.

Trust me, fine-toothed combs on natural hair can wreak havoc. The first time I went to a braider, I didn’t know any better and should have walked when she insisted on using a fine toothed comb instead of my wide toothed comb.

Don’t be afraid to speak up

As the braider combed my hair, I winced and had flashbacks of my mother combing my hair as a child. At first I was reluctant to speak up, but after a couple of times I had to ask girlfriend to take it easy on my strands and switch combs. This made me doubt my decision of having the twists installed and reluctantly, she used my comb.

Are you allergic to braiding hair?

I had absolutely no problems with having my Ombre Nubian Twists installed in 2012, minus the fine toothed-comb incident. After the installation, I was thrilled to have an exciting new look.

I wore this style for about six weeks and when I removed them, my hair had grown a lot. My second time around a year later I didn’t have much luck with the twists. I used the same brand of hair, but it was black.

During my vacation, I started having problems with my scalp being irritated. It subsided and we carried on with the vacation. A few weeks later, I had another flare up.

I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what went wrong. I washed my hair once a week even with the extensions in, so that couldn’t be the problem. I thought maybe it was the color? At first I wasn’t sure.

Ladies, I cannot stress enough the importance of washing or soaking the braiding hair before installation. Now, I know many of you probably haven’t experienced scalp irritations.

I know I didn’t my first time around. Braiding hair is treated with chemicals and we don’t know where it’s been shipped from. When I took them out I swore I’d never wear braiding extensions* again because it took a lot for me to calm my itchy scalp.

Third time’s the charm

There are many styling options available, but are they for you? I’ve been eyeballing Havana Twists for some time now, but was wary of having someone else install them.

My hair is growing nicely and I didn’t want any more setbacks nor did I want excessive pulling and tugging on my tresses by someone who is not used to handling hair gently, so I did the next best thing.

I installed my own. It took me months to figure out how to perfect the invisible root method. Once I perfected it, I purchased seven packs of hair and installed them several nights ago.

Well, after not sleeping I checked them out in the mirror. Now, I had my twisting method down and they looked awesome. The parts weren’t perfect, but the twists were not as full as I would have liked them to be. Which leads me to the next question.

How dense is your hair?

This should be a very important question for many of us, especially if you have fine hair. You can have fine hair and have medium strands.

Some of us may have thick hair, but only in certain areas. My hair has thickened a lot since my relaxer days, but there are some areas that are iffy.

I had to compensate for those areas and add a little more hair to gain the thickness I desired which was probably a mistake. But then again, the braider probably would have had to do the same thing or part my hair in smaller pieces?

Needless to say, I took them out in less than 45 minutes. For one, my tastes have changed since the last two times I rocked Nubian Twists.

I’ve actually decided that while Havana Twists and other braiding styles are great, sadly; they’re just not for me. They felt uncomfortable and it just irritated me having something attached to my hair and you know something? I really missed my fro.

Once I removed the hair, I was happier and decided to use the rest of the unused hair to create crochet wigs*. I’ve used wigs* off and on during my natural hair journey and I guess I just enjoy the ease of taking the darned thing off whenever I choose to. So how about yo; have you figured out if braids are for you?