Best protective style for natural hair!

When it comes to natural hair, there are many factors that put stress on the hair. Factors such as: physical manipulation from daily styling, high heat, environmental pollutants in the air, excessive moisture from swimming or sweat, and environmental factors such as dry air.

Over time this stress can cause noticeable damage; resulting in limped curls, dryness, and excess breakage. Protective styles allow your hair a break from daily physical manipulation. They also keep the majority of hair strands away from environmental damage.

There are two main types of protective styles, no-manipulation styles and low-manipulation styles. No-manipulation styles don’t require daily attention. A great example of a no-manipulation hairstyle are box braids and weaves. They can take a few hours to install, but once they are installed, your real hair is virtually out of sight. Low-manipulation styles are usually easier to install but require some attention on a day-to-day basis. Twists and buns are an example of low-manipulation hairstyles. They don’t take much time, but they require a low amount of manipulation on a daily or weekly basis.

As the title states I will be talking about the best protective style for natural hair. If you want

to grow your natural hair, quickly I would recommend box braids or cornrows, essentially no-manipulation styles. These styles are by-far superior in retention of length, healthy new growth, and elimination of pesky single strand knots. Braids can last a long time, up to 1-2 months. These braids give you a break from styling your own hair—a much needed luxury at times. The hair strands are also tucked away and hidden from environmental factors which results in better length retention. If you’re looking to keep your ends healthy and grow longer hair, braids are a no brainer choice. With the variety of braid styling options, you can find a style that suits your tastes, from box braids, to Ghana braids, and even cornrows.

Let us delve deeper into box braids, one of the most popular braiding style. Box braids are plaits or three-strand braids that are divided into square-shaped sections. These braids can be done solely with natural hair or with extended hair for extra length, thickness, and fullness. The cost of box braids depends on a few different factors such as style, size, and length of your box braids. You can expect to spend anywhere from $100-$250 for your box braids, remember however, that this is spread over 1-2 months of not having to manipulate the hair. Making it a very cost-conscious option when you think of all the other products and time that would have been spent if you opted for a different option. To continually avoid damage to the hair it is necessary to treat the hair properly before and after the braids. You can check out my online bookings to book a braiding service. Also stay tuned for my blog post where I go into preparing hair for braids and braid take down after care.