The point of a protective style is to maintain the health of your hair. How healthy do you think it’ll be with constant stress put on your edges or other parts of your hair if that style is done too tight?
You’ve seen it: your girlfriend comes skipping out of the braid shop with a fresh set of box braids or cornrows that look AMAZING! You go to take a closer look and she winces “no, no… don’t touch!” Upon further investigation, you can tell that your buddy has just gone through a face lift via super tightly braided baby hair. *sigh* Hold on, maybe this “friend” was actually YOU! *gasp* “Neat” ≠ tight ladies and gentlemen!
But wait, I’m not just talkin’ braids! I mean weaves too… sew-ins to be exact. Think about it: your stylist wants to make sure your Remy lays nice and flat so she may give you a nice set of cornrows throughout your head. NEWSFLASH! If those cornrows are tight, guess what that weave sewn onto them is gonna do? That’s right chicas, it’ll make it even tighter, pulling and tugging on those bad boys resulting in a little gift in the form of a throbbing headache. But you look cute though… that’s all that matters, right?! {insert blank stare here} All that “beauty is pain” stuff is for the birds. You can’t even blink without getting chills! LOL!
Look, I’m just tryna help. You don’t wanna end up like this…
dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!!!
YIKES! Traction alopecia {a form of gradual hair loss which is caused primarily by a pulling force being applied to the hair} is no joke!
Listen, for the love of all that is healthy and lush, save those edges! Make sure your stylist understands that they SHOULD NOT braid every single hair that lay on your forehead. I’m not against weaves- they can be a great way to transition or even be used as a protective style- but you MUST take care of the hair underneath. Make sure your stylist is gentle with the installation and let your hair breathe every once in a while. Everything in moderation. 😉
Luv,
Toia B.
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