Yarn Braids Reviewed

Oh.My.Gosh! Removing the yarn braids was the worst process ever! I can not even pretend that it was not that bad. It took me 2 evenings and 1 day to put them in and it took about the same amount of time to take them out. I saturated some sections with Suave Tropical Coconut conditioner and when removing those braids, they would slide out when I got close to the roots. For the braids that I did not saturate with conditioner, I would have to un-braid carefully all the way down to the root. I opted to use conditioner all over just to make the job go a little bit easier.

Final Thoughts

Other than the installation and the removal I absolutely adored the yarn braids. The ease of being able to get up and go in the morning was lovely. 

On Long Hair
At this point, I assume that yarn braids would be a lot easier for someone with a shorter length because you could cut off the excess yarn and will not have to un-braid much of the length. The length of my hair did not allow me to cut off much for fear of accidentally slicing off some hair that I actually want to keep.

Maintenance
I have a satin pillowcase so I did not wrap them up at night, I just pulled them into a high ponytail so that they would not interrupt my sleep.

At least twice a week I would sit under the hair steamer for 15-20 mins to restore moisture to my hair and scalp. Once the braids were removed I noticed that my hair from the roots down to about 8 inches was very soft and had a nice sheen. The last few inches felt kind of hard and dry. I did not do a good enough job with keeping the ends of my length moisturized. Note: Keep the entire length moisturized to prevent breakage.

I washed the yarn braids with no problem and to decrease the chances of that dreadful mildew-like smell I washed my scalp and rinsed the braids early in the day. I used a nozzle on the top on my shampoo bottle to ensure that I only got the shampoo on my scalp and lightly massaged the scalp under running water. Then I let the suds run down the length when I rinsed. Basically, I did not shampoo the length. I cared for the braids similar to they way I care for my husband's locs.

Styles
I did not expect my style options to decrease with the yarn braids because I sought out the styling options of ladies with locs like BronzeGoddess01 & Chescalocs. The only thing that kept me from doing more styles was time. After installing the braids my scalp was sensitive to movement of the braids for about 1 day. Any longer than that and that would have been a sign that I braided to tightly. I did not have any redness and no "hair bumps" from tension so I did them just snug enough.

So, will I do them again?  Probably not, because of the amount of time that it took to put them in and take them out. If I ever cut my hair shorter I will definitely do yarn braids again.

If you are transitioning, have a TWA, or just a shorter length and you are looking for something affordable and lasting to do to your hair - I recommend yarn braids. It cost me a total of $2.50 to achieve this style that lasted a little over 1 month and could have possibly lasted even longer.





Hmm,......Did I miss anything?