If it’s one thing Black women don’t play about, it’s our hair. Like, at all. Keeping our hair maintained and healthy is definitely a top priority for us, and there’s absolutely no shame in our game! Summer is quickly approaching, so that means sun, water, outings and all the other good stuff. Summer is the perfect season to get a protective style/braids because of the convenience and low maintenance.
Protective hairstyles are a win-win situation for us Black women. You look and feel good while the protective style is super beneficial to your overall hair health. Your hair’s health can be compromised if you’re not properly taking care of your hair. Protective hairstyle will help you do just that, take care of your hair.
What makes a hairstyle, protective:
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- Protects/conceals the ends of your hair
- Protects your hair from potential damage
- Promotes hair growth
Benefits of protective hairstyles:
- Prevents breakage/split ends
- Reduces tangled/matted hair and knots
- Minimizes pulling and tugging on your roots/hair
- Helps to keep your hair healthy
- Helps your natural hair to retain length
- Enhances new hair growth
- Protects your roots
- Protects your hair from heat that can result in damaged hair
- Protects your hair when sweating/working out or exercising
- Limits damage to hair caused by exposure to the sun, heat and extreme weather conditions and environments
- Limits damage to hair caused by over-manipulation (pulling/combing and brushing your hair aggressively)
- Protective styles last longer
- Protective styles require way less maintenance every day
While there are so many different protective hairstyles to choose from, here are a few of my go-to favorites to inspire your next hairstyle.
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Try these protective hairstyles if you’re looking for a sexy summer look:
Traditional cornrows are the most popular, I would say. Simply because they are easy to do, and very manageable. You can cornrow your natural hair or opt to add extensions. With traditional cornrows, you braid from front to back, feeding more hair into the braid as you go.
Knotless braids don’t use a knot at the scalp to attach the extension. Instead, the hair is fed into the braid. This creates a more seamless look and reduces tension on the scalp.
Feed-in/stitch braids, the natural hair is braided like a traditional cornrow but in a horizontal pattern. Feed-in/stitch braids use a super cool “stitch-in” technique with the extension. It’s a finger technique where you use the nail on the pinky finger to create the clean lines of the stitch braids.
Faux locs are temporary locs that can be styled on natural or relaxed hair. You part your hair into sections, then do a simple plat (three-strand braid). You then use the crochet tool to hook the faux locs onto the root and weave the braid into the extensions.
Two-strand twists are a quick and easy way to protect your hair. It’s a simple technique; you part your hair into sections, then divide each section in half. You then twist both pieces, from the root to the ends.
Fulani Braids are inspired by Fulani people of West Africa. Fulani braids are cornrows/stitch braids in the front and sides, and box braids in the back. This for sure is a sexy summer look.
Tips to go along with your protective hairstyle:
- Oil your scalp / moisturize regularly
- Use natural moisturizing products
- Protect/wrap your hair at night with a silk scarf
- Be gentle on your scalp / don’t scratch too much
- Wrap your hair and use a shower cap when you shower, this will keep your hair nice and neat.
I hope one of these sexy protective hairstyles inspires you this summer.
