I got my hair braided by this lady who used to braid my hair a couple of years ago.This braider and I had established a friendship and she braided my hair CHEAP (although her prices were already reasonable) and I know the work she put in is should be a lot more $$. However, she refused my paying the normal price after several attempts to give her the full price. She just mentioned you help me a lot, and because I'm mainly caring for an ill family member at this point in time, she just said to keep some of the money, but I really didn't want to do that and guess I'll just have to repay her another way (she loves food), but the gesture was nice:) But, I had walked into two salons to ask how much they would charge me for this style prior to braiding ( I had printed a copy out) and the prices were at least $160 and one lady had the nerve to say $240 w/o hair included, I don't think so. Thank goodness here in Boston, I know a few people who braids for very decent prices.
Honestly, while her prices are much more affordable w/ the quality of work she does, I was hesitant in going to her due to the additions of her twins (now 7 months), along w/ a 3-year old who's also also a handful and was contemplating going to another person, but she convinced me to go to her so we could catch up. I had my hair braided by her a couple of times before when her first born was a baby and whooo it was a long process. So, with two extra little ones who loves theire mother's attention, you could just imagine what I went through to get my hair braided, I don't even want to let you know how many hours it took to complete. But, because I like the braider I guess it was okay as I already knew what to expect. I just don't think I'll have the patience to sit that long again to get small braids (been a while since I done that). I guess, I really have to start looking in possibly getting a wig/weave or make twist-extensions my staple styles because getting my hair in singles just takes a long time and the braider braids fairly quickly. But for now, I'm going through this phase where I'm just tired of my hair right and just need a break from it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't even take pics (pics are forthcoming) as I once again never have my charger w/ me when I'm doing something major or different to my hair to show the process. What I did notice after washing and stretching different my hair after washing/moisturizing/stretching, my hair is a but longer than I thought even in the pics I took the week prior. I.
***My intent was to get regular medium-sized braids, but it turned out to be much smaller as she really likes to braid small even if you tell her big or bigger for the most part, and it took FOREVER do to many in-between breaks/feedings with the twins , but helping her out w/ the kids sped things slightly.
About my braids:
A bit Less than 4.5 package of #2, 100% synthetic kanekalon hair were used. Initially, I thought the braids were small, but they're more on the medium size. The hair sticking out were not "cleaned" which doesn't give my braids that "neat" look, but it's absolutely fine with me. Also, once braided, the ends of the synthetic hair were dipped into hot water to seal the ends.
I like these braids, they're a bit long ( 2-3 inches past bra strap in the back) and I really don't like long hair on me too much. However, there's not much I could do about that as the back esp. is on the longer side and I wanted my braids to look more even. But, I'm glad that my braids were not braided tightly and they're more on the lighter side. Because my hairline is still rather weak, I'm trying to massage them as often as possible and hope to gain some growth there too by the time I take them out. I'm hoping this time around, my hair will be/feel more moisturized upon removal and hopefully, my edges will fill out more too. For the weaker edges, I never braid them, I simply cover it up with the braids and always either keep my hair down or style in a very low/loose ponytail and loosen any areas that feel tight. Thankfully, if I were to wear my natural hair out you would never see the weak edges because once my hair's fizzes up, the other parts of my hair covers the weaker areas. But, I'm determined to grow these areas out too. I'm not just aiming for hair length, I really want a head-full of healthy/thick hair throughout (ends included).
Braid Regimen:
I haven't washed these braids and haven’t washed for almost 1.5 months. But, my scalp looks/feels very clean and smells quite nice too if I must say. I accredit this to adding 7-10 drops each of tea tree, peppermint, lavender and rosemary essential oils to my jojoba oil and/ or mixing these w/ ORS fertilizing balm or Queen Helene stimulating oil to massage my scalp esp. my weak temples. I’ve been trying to massage my scalp w/ the oils daily and/or nightly. Also, I alternate w/ spraying the length w/ African Royale or Infusium 23 (not as much) at least every 3 or 4 days. I know I should try moisturizing daily but I still haven’t gotten to the point to do it faithfully just yet. Also, I know my hair probably could use a wash, but it’s really not necessary to me at this point because there are no itchies, very little to no build-up and simply looks VERY clean to the eye, you would not see any dandruff if you looked in between my parts, so I will continue this regime until I feel like a wash is needed.
Update (6/9): After the 1.5 weeks of the braids, I had stepped my game up with the moisturizing and sprayed my hair daily or anywhere from 1-3 days ( mainly daily). I started spraying my hair with a mix of African Royal and Infusium leave-in, 50/50 in a bottle, other times with Mane 'N Tail Leave-in (not as much as I believe this breaks my skin out). Then, sometimes I ran some jojoba oil or ORS lotion to the entire length length of the braids (where my hair stops). After the two months doing this regimen or slightly improving it, I'm not oiling my scalp as much, mainly every 3-4 days (which explains why I'm getting some tiny flakes more so than before- I think the oils really help keep the dandruff at bay due to their antiseptic properties). But, I spray my edges/ add moisturizer esp. in the front edges every day or every other day. I find that my hair/edges responds very well when kept moisturized, I had very little broken hairs when I removed the braids during the retouch and I was very happy about that.
6/9
So far, I've worn braids for 9 weeks and rebraided the six rows in the front, along w/ the back and side edges after two months on 5/31 and 6/1. I really should have retouched at least every three weeks to a month at the very least because build-up are likely to occur for me in these areas more so than the other sections of my hair, I just neglected to do this due to nothing other than pure laziness.
Thankfully, my edges did not break from the overdue touchup, but from the buildup around these areas, I can very well see how it could have been an issue and could have matted in some areas, but my hair was so soft from the proper moisturizing I had given it that all I needed was to massage the buildup and run my fingers through it and out the lint came. However, please don't be like me as this really could have left me with broken eges .
I am relieved my eges have grown a bit, it's just that the growth is much finer/not as dark. In fact, I am very pleased w/ the way my hair felt overall, and because I now moisturize anywhere from 1-3 days, my hair was very, very, well moisturized/dewy like when I removed the braids. I will try my hardest to always keep my hair moisturized esp. when wearing braids because just touching it alone speaks volumes.
I think I'll be taking all the braids out either on 6/13-6/15 or 6/20-6/22. I have an upcoming wedding on the 29th, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing with my hair yet. I was thinking of braids again, but braids are starting to bore me and I'm starting to miss my hair again. Also, I'm really not looking forward to keeping my hair braided for another three months as that's how long I would be keeping it in for most likely, which would mean the entire summer. I am still leaning heavily on trying a full sew-in weave, I just have to find someone/a salon who can do it reasonably and right.
Note: I forgot to mention when I retouched my hair, I took some of the synthetic hair out, the hair on my head while not heavy could have been lighter. Come to think of it, I probably could have gotten away using much less synthetic hair and perhaps a pack less (really pushing it ).
6/30 I took my braids out on the week over a two-day span, 6/23-6/24. I undid the middle portion on my head first for cover when I went back to work. It was a very long process taking out the braids, but I was very, very, happy with the condition of my hair overall-very well moisturized (dewy/wet-like), with minimal breakage-Don't get me wrong, my hair's not perfect but it was the first time in a long time I remember my hair feeling that way. Also, detangling was a breeze, all I had to was dampen my hair for detangling, detangled with my fingers first, thencombed from the tips to the roots. I think the misting of the braid sprays and applying Suave natural coconut conditioner (when I had worn a puff on wednesday, 6/25) helped reactived things so just a little water was all I needed for detangling.
On wash day (6/26) I had washed with regular shampoo ( clarifying is too harsh on my hair), followed-up with cream of nature-this shampoo works really well on my hair but I don't use it too often as it can leave this sticky film on your hair if used too much. I then used ORS conditioner mixed with Mizani moisturefuse under the hooded dryer. After rinsing that out, I deep conditioned again for moisturzing again, but after the first deep conditioner my hair was still satisfactory softness-wise. The icing on the cake was a mixture I made with Aubrey Organics Island Natural Conditioner mixed with, shea butter, castor and olive oil to get the consistency that I like. I used a decent amount of the of the conditioner which was pretty heavy on my hair when I applied it (better on my strands) and left my hair pasty white. But, after sitting under the dryer for about 30 minutes I think, the results was mind-blowing...my hair was soft. The next morning, I was shocked and very pleased with the condition of my hair which was very, very soft and moisturized-wow, maybe I've finally figured out something that works for me:) My hair felt so good and behaved so nicely I didn't have to apply and products to it when styling.
Note: I went to a wedding on 6/29, I thought I would have gotten a sew-in weave, but decided against it-for now. I was going to get braids, but I'm still concerned about my edges which have grown, but still too week. What did I do? I twisted my hair and styled in an up-do which I was very pleased with.
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