So you love wearing protective styles like braids, crochet, twists, cornrows, sew-ins, etc. Right? You absolutely love giving your hair a break from the everyday maintenance. Right? You also love the freedom and flexibility to hit the gym and not give one thought to “what am I going to do with my hair!?!?” You are not alone.
I’m guilty of all the aforementioned. Nothing is wrong with wearing these protective styles, BUT (yes, there’s a BUT), you have to be extremely careful that these styles aren’t causing damaging results to your hair follicles.
Getting braids, sew ins, wigs, lace fronts, (etc.) too tight can not only damage hair follicles, but will guarantee a result of hair not growing back. I see this often as a stylist. A client will come in for a healthy hair maintenance in between their protective styles and all of their hairline and edges will be slim to none. They would ask my opinion on what was the cause and my answer would be always the same. Protective styles work well with maintenance in between. Braids can be secure without being tight! You should never have your braids pulled so bad you have headaches and bumps.
When getting these styles consult with a conscious braider that believes in healthy hair care. Be weary of run of the mill braid shops with questionable hair practices. In some states you don’t have to be licensed to do braids or weaves. This may mean some braiders and stylist never had to learn the theory behind hair care. The fact is they really may not know any better!
Like with anything, always … I repeat … ALWAYS research first.
Speak up! Have an open dialogue with your stylist about your expectations and concerns with your service. Communicate you don’t want to encounter hair loss or damage when you take out your protective style. After all these styles are called protective for a reason.
Hear Hear to full edges and healthy hair.