5 Essential Tools Needed to Maintain a Protective Style & Natural Hairstyle

Current PS, Twists

The type of tools you use on your hair while in a style could help to extend the length of time in which your hair would normally hold a Protective Style (PS) in for. I find these 5 Tools have been very helpful in helping to maintain a PS and so I've outlined how and when I use them.

5 Tools

1. Scarf: This is to hold your hair in place while you sleep so that there's less friction and less chances for your hair to get frizzy quickly. You can also wrap your hair with this silk scarf when you're home so you don't end up playing with your hair while watching TV or going about your business (e.g. cleaning) at home. Scarves also acts as a protective barrier against strong cooking odors which can settle in your hair.

2. Satin Bonnet: This is often used for sleeping, but you can also use it in a similar way you would use a scarf. And if you happen to be an "active" sleeper, you will need to secure the scarf in your hair with the bonnet. 

3. Shower Cap: Aside from using it only while you take your shower or engage in water related activities, you can also wear it to sleep at night in the same way you would when doing the green house effect (GHE). The green house effect traps moisture in your hair while you sleep so that your hair doesn't feel dry in the morning. Please note that this practice may not work for everyone, so please practice with caution. I say this because my scalp use to feel itchy when I started doing the GHE but I recently noticed that it's been OK in the past few times that I used this method. 

You can also substitute a commercial shower cap with an old plastic grocery bag

4. Spray Bottle: This allows you to spray products into the hair in a generous manner without disturbing the hairstyle. It also prevents you from rubbing the products in with your hands which can result in friction and premature frizzy hair.

5. Toothbrush: This is used to brush up your edges in the morning or when needed. Please make sure you use a soft toothbrush as we all know how fragile our edges are. 

Depending on the hairstyle, other optional tools which you can add to the list are bobby pins and hair ties.

What other tools do you use to maintain your protective style? I'd love to hear your thoughts

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 :)