Protective Styling?'s

I am totally confused on the subject of protective styling. I had for months been wearing my hair in a (ballerina) bun and then changed with henna to a twist out. After wearing my hair in a bun for such a long time and almost never out, my ends were crap. Now with henna and DC treatments + shea butter they look great and I didn't chop them off.

My question is - can anyone tell me about protective styles that I can use in the corporate world besides a bun?

When reading the blog and forum chats, I am totally confused, should hair be off the shoulder, in a bun, worn out in a twist & curl. I'd really like protective styling broken down for me.

Thanks in advance!

When I bun I always take my hair out at some point in the day to allow it to "breathe". Still, a bun is protective and should not have caused damage. What products were you using?? Maybe you needed to seal the moisture on your ends or do a baggy. I've never had an issue with buns, and I've worn them for months at a time in the past (which kept my ends extremely healthy) so I'll be interested to see what everyone else says...

Anyway, some ladies like a natural version of a french twist (there are examples on youtube). Braids pinned back in certain ways look classy also. How about experimenting with headbands and looser versions of a bun??

This is all pre-CurlyNikki and Curly tightly discovery. I haven't tried my bun again. But in the past I would have worn it all day while at work and taken down once home at night.

Now I know more about conditioning, shea butter, coconut oil and loose hairstyles. I just want to make sure that I am keeping hair healthy and be aware of any potential dangers. Thanks!

i like to use twist for my protective styles. Did you protect you ends when you put them up in a bun.

truet - Ok I'm going to plead the 5th - honestly no - but that was before I found this site, so I am on top of that now. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I really want to pay more attention to my hair and it's needs now so lookign for new styles and ways to care fr it properly.

Great question, and like always, it depends on the head

A good example is baggying--many women swear by this. They wet their hair, load up with conditioner, and put on a plastic cap for extended periods of time (sometimes just over night...some women actually will baggy their pony, and hide it under a weave bun!). I tried baggying several nights and my hair was UNHAPPY. It was a dry, brittle mess, while others hair thrived on this routine.

Protective styling is the same. Some women experience great length retention with PS...while others get thinning edges, and broken ends.

My hair does well in a slightly stretched out state...out or up, as long as its moisturized, it doesn't matter. I do make sure to keep my hair off my shoulders...which is why a chin length bob is my idea of perfection

My suggestion (as always): try a routine out for 3 weeks, assess the situation, and proceed as necessary Do what works for you!

hth!

p.s. people define PS all kinds of ways. Some claim its any low mani style, others say your hair has to be hidden away, others say a bun will suffice (because your ends are hidden away).

My hair is short right now because I big choped three times since my journey. This time I plan on letting my hair grow, so for my protective style I flat twist after wash day tuck the ends of my twist under ( like inside the twists) put on a satin wig cap each day and don one of my many wigs, like here.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Sometimes I'll just flatt twist the back forward and the front backwards and make a high pony using my satin scrunchie, the each day I'll plop on one of my afro textured phony pony like here[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]]I can say that I've seen growth in my hair since I stopped combing it every day and night. I only comb once a week now.

My new favorite protective style is the braided bun. I part my hair into 8 sections (front and side part to make quarters, then part each quarter in two), then braid each section. I make sure that I angle the braid so that it naturally lays towards the middle of my head. Then I pull the braids into a topknot, similar to Sasha Obama's topknot. At night I loosen the bun, so that braids are still held together but aren't tight and wrap a satin scarf around my head. In the morning, I shower with just the scarf on my head, so that my hair gets moisture from the steam. When I take off the scarf right before I leave the house, my edges are perfectly smooth and laid down without any product. I add a double looped ouchless headband (don't try the double loop without stretching first unless you like headaches!) to keep the edges in place, then go on my way. It's quick, easy, and looks great!

I found that just bunning on it's own didn't work as well for me because my hair would shrink throughout the week and get tangles. The braids prevent my hair from shrinking or tangling while still retaining the bunned effect. I'll post a picture once I have access to my digital camera again.

afroness wrote:My hair is short right now because I big choped three times since my journey. This time I plan on letting my hair grow, so for my protective style I flat twist after wash day tuck the ends of my twist under ( like inside the twists) put on a satin wig cap each day and don one of my many wigs, like here.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Sometimes I'll just flatt twist the back forward and the front backwards and make a high pony using my satin scrunchie, the each day I'll plop on one of my afro textured phony pony like here[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]]I can say that I've seen growth in my hair since I stopped combing it every day and night. I only comb once a week now.

cute wig and cute natural hair [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

i am on my 2nd week of wearing a wig for protective styling. it's cold here and i was tired (and cautious) about coming outside every morning with wet styled hair. i'm going to try and make it thru the winter with wigs. i miss touching my hair so much [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]