Home Hair I Braided My Hair.

I Braided My Hair.

by Evenes Ruth Mafupa

Hey! Here is an update on what I have been up to with my kinks. I have plaited my hair into braids with my own hair and no extensions. I now have some length to my stresses so extensions are not that necessary. I do not hate against people who use extensions on their hair but I just prefer my own hair to extensions. While I think there is a time when extensions, wigs or weaves may be necessary, with my real hair, I believe I continue to exhibit the real me and also not neglect my own hair while it is hidden away in hair extensions or a weave.

I have used hair extensions and weaves as protective styles before when my hair had broken off so badly especially at the nape of my head when I used to relax my hair. I also used them when I was transitioning from relaxer to natural hair mainly because my hair was so uneven with much longer hair on my crown and a third of that length at my nape. I was also dealing with two textures since I did not big chop but transitioned for a full two years. My styling options were so limited that most of the times I would get so frustrated and just have my hair hidden in hair extensions or a weave. Yey! All that is over now. My hair is almost even, as in the differences in lengths are not anything to write home about and I have about 25.5cm length which is about 10” of hair on most parts of my head. This is a good length to work with so I am not complaining. Hey, I was supposed to do a post on the length of my hair thus far. Will post it in asap I promise.

So, back to what I did with my hair. I said I put it into braids and this time I did with my own hair. I don’t normally braid my hair, I twist it. I love twists but they don’t stay that long before they unravel on their own. I can only keep them in for two weeks at most. This I find is counter productive because the time taken to twist hair is almost the same with the time it takes to braid it and I have to re-twist my hair in two weeks time while I can keep braids in for double the time. However twists are much easier to undo (well mine unravel on their own) than braids.

Now here is what I did before braiding my hair.

  • Shampooed my hair to make sure my scalp and hair is clean.
  • Deep conditioned with a regular conditioner by bagging it and leaving it in for 45 minutes before rinsing it off.
  • After rinsing off, bloated the excess water with a T’shirt and then did some chunky braids, about eight of them to stretch my hair while it dried.
  • The next day was Sunday and it was quite humid so my hair did not dry completely so I put it in an up do style that usually doubles as a way to stretch hair as well. I did my braids that same Sunday afternoon when we came back from church and into the night because I had to break to go somewhere but it usually takes about 3 to 4 hours to braid my hair.

Now that my hair is braided, I spritz it with my spritz mixture twice a day. I try and concentrate on my ends to make sure they are well hydrated. I then seal in the moisture with Shea butter and coconut oil. I still shampoo or co-wash my hair once a week with my hair in braids. Actually I usually take this time to really give my scalp a proper cleansing since it will be more visible and easier to shampoo. I wear my braids in an up do style most of the time so that my ends remain tucked away and protected.That’s it. That simple.

If you have any questions, post them in the comments section below or join us on Facebook.

Here is to healthy hair.

Till next time.

Two days old braids

Two days old braids

Updo

Updo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 comments

mr maruza 5 February 2013 - 16:37

wonderful bt what is a napp, help my ignorance

Ruth Mafupa 6 February 2013 - 07:50

Thanks. Napp normally refers to the back of the head where the hair ends just before the neck. I hope that has helped.

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