Written by Leah Sinclair
Keep your box braids, faux locs and twists looking fresh a little while longer with these tips.
There’s nothing more frustrating than looking in the mirror and seeing that your hair is a complete and utter mess.
Feeling the tufts of hair at the nape of your neck where a few micro braids, twists or locs used to be and noticing the fuzz poking around the once meticulously-styled strands of hair that no amount of gel or hair wax can fix.
While the easiest option would be to take your hair out and get it redone, the cost of living pinch that many of us are experiencing means we don’t really want to spend upwards of £200 getting our hair done right now – which means we must make do with what we have. But how?
There are a few ways to give your protective style a refresh, even if you are unable to redo it at the moment.
To give you (and me, let’s be honest) the much-needed haircare tips we’re all craving, I spoke to Natalya Moosa, a qualified hair practitioner and founder of The Organic Afro and Keshia East, hair and beauty expert and founder of No Knot, and asked them for their best advice when it comes to refreshing protective styles – so your hair doesn’t have to suffer until money hits your account at the end of the month.
Oil is your best friend
One of the key aspects of maintaining a fresh protective style from start to finish is by maintaining moisture – especially if you are a low porosity gal like me.
“It’s important to continue to moisturise your hair regularly, especially the longer you have your braids in,” says Moosa. “This will help the hair to be less dry and brittle when you take the style out.”
East says that moisturising your scalp with oil in particular is essential to care for your natural hair underneath. “It also keeps the scalp fresh as you may avoid washing it as often. Luckily, most scalp oils have an applicator tip, making it easy to apply when wearing protective styles,” she says.
“Be sure not to over-oil your scalp though – two or three times a week will suffice.”
Wash your scalp with stockings (yes, you read that correctly)
Washing your hair when it’s in braids, twists or locs can be tricky. It’s important to keep your hair as clean as a whistle after the amount of product used over the weeks, but the idea of getting the hair you spend time and money on wet is enough to make the whole experience rather frightening. But washing your scalp with stockings could be a helpful way to keep your braids neat in the process.
“All you need to do is gently wash your scalp by cutting an old pair of stockings, tie a knot in one end and wash your hair through the stocking cap,” says Moosa. “This will keep the style neater.”
Keep focusing on your scalp
The scalp really is the key to the refreshing process. East recommends investing in scalp treatments, because a healthy scalp equals healthy hair.
“I’d recommend investing in a scalp/root rinse or dry shampoo that’s made especially for protective styles,” she says.
Mousse it up
Mousses will be your best friend when your protective style starts to get messy. East says a water-based mousse will help rid you of flyaway hairs and “keep your scalp looking brand new without leaving residue”.
Keeping wrapping it up at night
It might be easy to think that as your braids get messier, you can get lazier with wrapping your hair – but this is a key thing you won’t want to slip up on.
“Wrapping your hair up at night is still a must,” says East. “If you don’t have one already, get yourself a silk pillowcase. A durag or silk hair turban can also do the trick.”
Another benefit of wrapping your hair is that it prevents your hair from drying up and frizzing.
“Depending on your style, tying your hair up in a pineapple before you sleep works too. Try using a silk scrunchie also for maximal effect,” adds East.
Image: Getty
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