5 Ways To Determine If Low Manipulation Styling Is For You

Who are your favorite ladies to watch for hair tutorials? I have way too many subscriptions to name, but I love to watch all kinds of hair tutorials to increase my hair care and hair styling game for my own mane.

I absolutely love protective styling (hiding or tucking your ends away in braids, twists, bun or other styles to avoid heavy manipulation), but I itch for low manipulation styles from time to time as well. I wonder if low manipulation styles are better for me than protective styling.

Low manipulation styling requires minimum to no manipulation to upkeep throughout the time you are choosing to wear the style, which is usually 4-7 days. A simple style is done and the most you would do is wrap (pineapple, bantu knot, use bonnet/scarf etc.) your hair at night and fluff in the morning.

Low manipulation styles consist of: twist outs, braid outs, roller sets, wash n gos, flat ironed hair, etc. Although, these styles allow the ends of the hair to be out, low manipulation styling allows you to side-step unnecessary damage to your hair in order to keep your hair healthy and to retain length.

You may be thinking, “That seems so backwards if you want to retain your length! The ends should be protected…” Well, protective styling is not for everyone.

Although, protective styling seems like a great tool to keep the hair protected for a short or long period of time, low manipulation styling can be a great asset to use for some ladies on their healthy hair journey as well.

As long as you know your hair and what your hair can do, low manipulation styles can work for your benefit. If you want to know if low manipulation styles are for you, see if you fit into any of these categories.

You prefer to wear your hair out

That’s just a fact for you! You love the way your hair bounces and blows in the wind. You love how big your hair gets as your day progresses.

You want to show off your length and the hard work you put in for your hair. Your effort is really important to you and your hair out is just the result of you loving your hair. If you are this girl, then low manipulation styling might just be for you.

You cannot keep a style for more than a week

You really just love to switch it up and you constantly look up styles to try for the next week, and the week after the next.

There is nothing wrong with changing your styles weekly, as long as you care for your hair during your wash regimen on day 6/7. This will help you to effectively prepare your hair for your next low manipulation style.

You co wash or cleanse your hair a few times a week

You love rinsing your hair, especially after you put in an hour of hard core exercising 4 times this week. Sometimes protective styling is not the way to go with this healthy regimen.

Make sure you are using the appropriate products for washing your hair well. Using a sulfate shampoo daily may not be the best idea for your hair, especially if you have dry scalp issues.

If this condition applies to you, try a co wash instead to not only keep your scalp clean, but keep your hair moisturized as well. But other than that, you really just love having clean hair and low manipulation is your thing!

You like to keep things simple

No matter how many times you watch that certain hair tutorial, your fingers just won’t do that flat twist or cornrow. You really have trouble pinning your hair in a bun or a ‘simple’ updo like the girl from YouTube.

Frankly, you don’t have the patience or the time to even do a protective style so you stick with what’s simple for you and your own skill set. Doing wash n gos and twist outs are right up your alley #lowmanipulationforlife!

You are just not into protective styling

And there is nothing wrong with that! You may love the Marley twists and the crochet braids on others, but that’s just not your style. Again, you just love your hair out!

Stick with styling options that will reduce the time you have to really manipulate your hair on a daily basis. As long as you know how to preserve your low manipulation style by wrapping your hair at night and fluffing in the morning, you are good to go!

Choose styles that do not require too much combing or manipulation to maintain during the style’s duration. Ultimately, your goal is to do a style that can reduce the damage it can undergo; that’s the point of limiting manipulation for a few days.

But if you find that you are constantly detangling, combing, brushing, or keeping your hands in your hair, it is time to re-evaluate your hair care regimen and styling options.

Do you prefer low manipulation or protective styles? Dish below!