Protective styling is a crucial aspect of maintaining healthy natural hair. Let’s dive into why it matters and how it benefits your delicate locks:
1. Ideal for All-Weather
Protective styles shield your hair from the elements, regardless of the season.
Whether it’s scorching hot summer heat or ice cold winter winds, these hairstyles provide a protective barrier.
Warm weather brings humidity, which can be harsh on natural hair. Protective styles help combat this.
2. Low Maintenance:
Once you’ve styled your hair, it becomes low-maintenance.
You get to roll out of bed without fussing over daily styling routines.
The initial effort pays off by giving your hair much-needed rest.
3. Length Retention:
Breakage is a common enemy of hair growth.
Protective styles minimize breakage, allowing you to retain length.
When your hair grows faster than it breaks, you’ll notice visible growth!
4. Moisture Maintenance:
Weather conditions impact your hair’s moisture levels.
Tangling, dryness, and breakage occur when your hair isn’t protected.
With protective styles, you lock in moisture and maintain healthy strands.
5. When to Remove Protective Styles:
Styles have an expiration date, varying based on factors like hair growth rate.
While some stylists recommend 4 weeks, others suggest up to 12 weeks. I have to be honest though, I've never kept a protective style in more than 4 weeks.
A standard duration is 6 to 8 weeks. Keep an eye on new hair growth as your cue to remove the style.
Things NOT to Do:
1. Use Non-Water-Based products!
Water-based products penetrate hair effectively without causing buildup.
2. Forget to wrap hair at night when sleeping!
Just like without a protective style, wrap your hair to prevent friction and maintain your style.
Remember, protective styling not only preserves your hair health but also allows you to experiment with beautiful hairstyles while keeping your curls safe!
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