WHY is protetive styling so important?

*Picture of damaged hair follicle.

 It may not look like much when you see your hair in the mirror,

 but under the microscope its much worse then you may have imagined!

Many women in the natural community have reported hair breakage, dry hair, uncontrollable split ends, and the list goes on! Could there possibly be a connection between a failure to practice protective styling and damaged hair? I am going to conclude that there is a distinct positive correlationg between the two.

While wearing your hair out and curly is very fun and cute when you first go natural, there are all types of damage your hair will endure. Therefore we must know how to avoid these types of damage the best we can.

Sun and Wind Damage: 

If you know you will be in the sun for a long period of time, plan ahead.

Bring a colorful scarf, or a floppy hat. In addition, be sure to moisturize your

hair and tuck all of your ends under. If I know I'm going to the beach, I generally

 braid my hair and load it up with moisturization (if that is a word! lol)

Heat Damage:

No need to overload your hair with heat! Take the time to braid, air dry

 and undo your hair instead of blow drying. Flat iron very seldom

 (1-2 time a year max for me). Avoid hot curlers, hot sticks and curling irons.

Instead opt for roller sets, foam rollers, bantu knot outs, pin curls and twist outs.

Excess Manipulation Damage:

 You have to be very careful how often you are combing, brushing and

styling your hair. If you have twists one day, twist out the next, puff the next,

blowed out fro the next and high bun the next, there is a big problem. All of the

 combing, tugging, pressure on the hair, brushing, etc, leads to breakage. Pick a

 style and keep it for 5-7 days. If your hair must be out, limit it to twice a week!

Lack of Hair Moisture = Damage

If you are not moisturizing your hair daily or every other day at least,

you are damaging your hair. Our hair is very thirsty and we have to make sure

we are giving our hair the adequate amount of moisture. WATER is the best way

to moisturize your hair. I use a spray bottle of: purified water, aloe vera juice, tea tree

oil and carrot oil. I spray it on my hair every night before I tie it up. It makes my hair

verymoisturized and quenches its thirst! Moisture is a MUST! A MUST!!!

 So WHAT do you do to overcome all of these damages and still have beautiful hair? No one wants boring hair and no one wants to wear the same styles!! Well.....

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Protective Styling!
It isn't boring!!! Here is a list of MANY different protective styles you can try along with 2 featured protective styles. I have included 6 style ideas to keep you stylish for the rest of the week. No one will ever know you are "protecting" your hair :)

• Twists on dry or wet hair: from large to small
• Monday: Wear your twists in a pin up style

• Tuesday: Pull your twists into a low bun. Tuck the ends under.
• Wednesday: Put your twists into bantu knots overnight, wear curly and down
• Thursday: Pin up your twists in curly pin curls all over your head. Play with the texture
• Friday: Wet twists completely in the shower and allow the ends to curl, wear down and pinned back
• Saturday: Rock a twist out!
• Braids: from medium to small
• Monday: braid the braids into two french braids or french twists
• Tuesday: undo the french braid or french twist after being in overnight. Wear hair out to show off crimpy/wavy texture
• Wednesday: dampen hair, put foam rollers on the ends and leave over night. Wear in a low pony tail to show off curly ends
• Thursday: Pin up in a french braid with curly ends out at the top. Take out a small amount on the top and put into a pin curl
• Friday: Wet hair in the shower and wear down and pinned back

  

• Saturday: Rock a braid out!!

Many other styles (all featured  on my blog):

• Cornrows
• Flat twists
• High bun
• Bantu knots
• Pompa-Poof
• Pixie Twists
• Halo-Inspired

 

In the words of a little boy from my church,

"Kendra wears her hair A LOT of ways!!"

Do YOU have any style ideas or pictures??

Please share!!!!

Saving one nappy head a day

I am going to propose that there is definitely a positive correlation and a distint link between the two.