When Protective Styling is NOT Protective: 10 Reasons

"Want long hair? , do protective styling!" many hair gurus would recommend. But hold up, before you call up your stylist, make sure you read these 10 reasons why protective styling may not give you long hair. Protective styling can be a hit or miss; it could also be beneficial or detrimental depending on the individual and/or style chosen.

So when is protective styling not protective? 

1. You don't take care of your hair while it's being "protected". 

I can say that the main reason why MOST Black women wear synthetic hair is simply out of convenience. "I'll rather wear a wig or weave because I don't have to deal with my hair for the next 3 months" many will say. I'm sorry but your hair still needs care (wash, deep condition, and moisturize) while it's being protected. 

2. Your REAL hair takes a back seat so your synthetic hair can shine. 

It's not uncommon for women to purchase all sorts of products to help with the maintenance of their style and almost nothing for their own hair. They think as long as the weave or braids looks okay, then their hair is okay. Again, sorry to break it to you  but the weave on your head is not YOUR hair, the hair that's growing out of your body should take precedence over what's wrapped around it or what's worn on top of it. There's no reason why you shouldn't wash, condition and moisturize your hair while it's under a weave. The end result of failing to do this is dry and weak hair which will easily break off when the style is being taken down. 

3. Your stylist trims the hair that's sticking out of a braid (corn rows, singles, twists e.t.c) to give  your style a more polished look. 

Please DO NOT let your stylist do this to your hair! Instead, tell her to take her time to braid the hair so she wouldn't have to fix it later on. When your stylist trims the hair that's sticking out, what she's really doing is giving you a messy haircut which may be noticeable after you take the style down. She's also putting the aesthetics of your style over the health of your hair. To avoid this, you could stretch your hair out with African threading or do a blow out so your hair is less frizzy and ready to be styled. 

yay or nay?

4. Your braid is too heavy. 

I still don't understand why anyone would carry a 20 pound hair on their head and think it's stylish. When the hair is parted very tiny and braided with a heavy piece of synthetic hair, your hair will end up being pulled from your scalp, thus resulting in bald spots.  Long box braids are okay if your hair is parted very big. The reason for this is because a thicker chord is more stronger than a thinner one, and so, your hair will have more support when the braid hairstyle is shaped into a variety of up-do styles. And if you must do long and chunky braids, I suggest you opt for lighter hair such as Marley hair. 

5. Your braid is too tiny

Again, who needs a million braid? Personally, I've never found the style stylish, but quite frightening. Hair that is parted very tiny and braided with a heavy braid can be easily pulled and uprooted each time the braid is manipulated and put into different styles. Also, depending on how long the braid is kept in for and the amount of care you give your hair while it's braided, it might be difficult to detangle the hair and remove build up when it's time to take down the style. 

6. Braid is too tight

We all know the consequences of tight hairstyles, so I don't need to elaborate on this. 

7. You cut off your hair when taking down your braid

*Source*

I can still remember the time one of my sisters gave herself a messy haircut when she cut off her hair with the braid, so as to reduce the time spent on loosening her braid. If you don't know the length of your hair, it's best to probably cut only a few inches of the braid off and spend the extra time loosening your hair. Besides, you've saved so much time dealing with your hair during the weeks you had your hair put away. So don't be lazy :)

8. You have an Impatient and Ignorant Stylist

There is nothing more detrimental to the hair than an impatient and ignorant hair stylist who insists on combing dry coily hair with a fine tooth comb, or thinks it's ok to do a blow out on dry hair with the wrong tool and without a heat protectant. How about when they are so impatient with our coils that they would rip through the hair when parting and styling it only because we choose to wear our hair in its coily state.  To avoid any hair tragedy, its best to AVOID these type of hair stylists. And if you are visiting a stylist for the first time, even with a reference from another natural, I recommend you stretch your hair before going so it's easier and faster to work with. 

9. You do the same style each time

While there's no scientific proof for this, I however believe that installing Ghana cornrows, box braids, million twists, and any other type of braided hairstyles every single time you braid your hair can weaken the hair strands. Cornrows don't pull on the hair or weigh it down as much as single braids does, so its best you rotate between these type of hairstyles.

10. You keep the style in for way too long!
Hair kept in braids, particularly heavy and tiny ones for a long period of time will eventually be weakened and thus shed in chunks or even break. This is especially true when cleansing,conditioning and moisturizing is not performed whilst the hair was in braids. The length of time your hair can handle a protective style will vary from person to person. I have found that I achieve the greatest benefits with protective styling when my hair is left in braids no longer than 5 weeks. Anything after this time frame often results in excessive breakage, regardless of me being diligent with cleansing and moisturizing. 

Take Home Point

While you protect your hair in whatever style you choose to protect it in, be sure to give your hair a break in between styles. These breaks will allow you to properly wash and deep condition your hair while it's out and free, try out different hair care recipes, techniques, styles and products in your hair. And most importantly, it will allow you to get to know YOUR hair at the current length it's in. It wouldn't make sense to finally achieve your hair length goal and not know what to do with it. 

What other reason would you add to this list? 

Got other thoughts, ideas and comments about this post or other posts? I'd love to hear from you. Don't be too shy to leave your "footprint" in the comment box below :)