If your hair is in braids make sure you follow these 9 essential maintenance guidelines.
1.Protect Your Hair At Night.
It is common practice to cover your hair when you sleep but people tend to neglect this when they braid. Covering your hair with a hair net or a satin scarf does not only make your edges stay dry but it also prevents your roots from drying out.
2.Keep Your Scalp Moist.
Get a spray bottle and put some water in it. Spray your hair with the water regularly. The hair needs moisture as any other part of the body
3.Apply moisturizing and sealing product to hair.
Make a point of applying your favorite sealing product to your roots at least once a week. Shea butter is preferably. The shea butter sooths the scalp.
4.Don’t pull too tightly when styling the hair. It weakens the hairline.
5.Avoid unnatural products when keeping hair moisturized. Do not use any unnatural oils. Opt for oils such as coconut oils etc. It soothes the scalp without clogging the pores.
6.Wash your braids once every two weeks. The buildup of sweat, dirt, others can be damaging to the hair. Dry wash your hair with shampoo.Part your hair and wash roots.No one likes braid that smell.
7.Avoid constant up-dos. Constantly styling your hair into high ponytails pulls at your hairline. This constant pulling weakens the hair along your hairline. Be gentle with your hairlines.
8.Extend your style time and redo your edges. When your roots have grown out look rather than rebraid your entire head, let your hair stylist rebraid your edges. After you take out the braids along your edges, take extra care to detangle and deep condition before reinstalling your braids again.
9.Don’t leave your braids in for too long. Protective styling is meant to be short-term temporary. Stylists recommend protective styling for a month at a time , 2 months maximum. Any longer than that and your new growth will stretch and damage.
