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Box braids which are a type of protective hairstyles, helping you to retain your hair’s natural glow is the hair updo this summer. Even though it is a fashionable way to save yourself from daily styling and combing, it still requires care of your scalp as much as you take care of natural hair.
You might not need to style and comb your box braids every day, but it still requires the nutrients from oiling and other scalp-care methods to retain the moisture. Since not washing your hair for a long time can cause dandruff and fungal growth due to dirt and product build-up, it is essential to keep them healthy.
Here are some Top Tips to Take Care of Your Box braids. Let’s have a look.
7 Tips to Take Care of Box Braids
Ensure Moisturizing
While your natural hair is in braids, you still need to make sure you keep them moisturized and healthy always. Your scalp and roots require adequate moisture to survive and grow, respectively.
One way is to fill up a spray bottle with water. Yes, you read that right. Just water! Spritz the water perfectly on your scalp and braids. This process only takes 5 minutes and is super easy.
Another way is to use a moisturizing product, such as shea butter, essential oils or just normal coconut oil. Take a generous amount of product on your palm, preferably organic, and smooth it on your scalp. Avoid using artificial and unnatural hair products over box braids.
Cover Them Up
Don’t forget following your night time hair regimen. Many ladies might feel lazy by the end of the day and usually sleep without wrapping up the braids, but that’s the biggest mistake you could make.
Covering the box braids with a silk scarf not only protects your edges, but also keeps the roots moisturized and does not dry them up. It helps in preventing hair breakage and makes your hair and edges look healthy and fresh like never before.
Some might feel uncomfortable wearing a cap, scarf or a bonnet to sleep, so tying up a silk scarf or sleeping on a silk pillowcase can keep you covered and your hair protected!
Wash Your Hair Bi-Weekly
It is important that you make sure of not over-washing your box braids as it makes your hair dry and rough. It also disturbs the even distribution of moisture across all strands of braids, which results in breakage and slow & inconsistent hair growth. Therefore, washing the hair only twice a week is the best method to maintain the box braids.
But how to wash them properly? If you want your braids to look fresh, have control over your hair by cleaning the braids in sections. Always use a lightweight shampoo without any residual effects for the cleansing process.
Avoid using a shower to wash your box braids, rather use a hand shower or wet flannel to wash each section thoroughly and to easily glide between the partings. At the end of wash, use the spritzer with a mix of water and essential oils and spray it all over the scalp to avoid any itchiness or fizziness.
Re-Touch is Important
Retouching means re-dipping the ends of your braids in hot waters, every couple of weeks, to get rid of the dull matte look. Make sure you do not re-twist your hair roots as they can cause damage.
To re-touch the braids, use a lightweight mousse or a styling gel that will help in taming away the stubborn fly-away edges, especially on the front. Using a water-based mousse avoids your scalp to get flaky and dry.
Start with re-touching the front, then the edges and loose sections of the braids using products similar to those used while styling the braids at the beginning. By adopting this practice, you can easily increase the life span of hair box braids by almost two weeks and it will also help save your extra bucks and efforts.
Do Not Over-Style
Even though it is easy to style the box braids in a million different ways, make sure you do not over-style your braids as it can be tempting. Pulling your braids up in a high ponytail or a top knot might make you look stunning, but the end results are not worth it.
The constant changes lead to looser breads and faster takeout time. If also affects your natural hair by increased shedding and hair loss as the braids get pulled. There is no harm in styling, but keep it lowkey for most of the times.
Trim Fly-Aways
The key to follow this process correctly is to understand where your natural hair ends and where the extension begins. Once you know its time to chop off the uncontrollable fly-aways, is where the difficult process begins.
Use a shear or a scissor or maybe a lighter (with proper experience), to cut of the fly-aways of the extension and not your natural hair.
Know When Its Time-Up
If you want to keep your scalp healthy and avoid breakage, do not keep the box braids for too long. On an average, one sheds from approximately 50 to 100 strands, and once accumulated, these strands tangle and form knots. The knots lead to hair breakage and strain the scalp when you try to detangle the hair.
It is advised to take off the braids between 6 to 8 weeks and before you go for your next braid fix, remember to let your natural hair breathe for about one to two weeks.
Conclusion
Follow these above Hair Care Tips and Tricks for Box Braids to make them last longer and to maintain a fresh and healthy look even after trying different styles with different looks and outfits.
Go ahead and try these!
