New braid technique...banana braids(long,kinda)

Soul♥Flower

Well-Known Member
I would like to share a possible new braiding technique that I discovered in a moment of laziness.

I'm hiding my hair until 6/07, so I wanted my hair in braids for a beach trip. I like to see exactly how many braids I have left to do when braiding because it makes it seem to go faster, I hate braiding my hair b/c it takes so long.

Anyhow, what I did was, I braided my own hair in 2inch sections (b/c I wanted big braids)....then I went back a little later and braided in the kanekalon while my own hair was still in braids.

B/C I am not a professional braider, one of the extentions fell out so I just quickly rebraided it the regular way (another lazy moment). I wore my hair like this for a month and when I took my hair out it was VERY strong, shiny, moisturized, and there was little to no shedding. My hair grew 1.5 inches that month and I retained all the length except for the piece I had rebraided the regular way, that piece was a little less than an inch longer than before I had braided my hair....that means I would have lost a 1/2 an inch of length if I had braided all my hair the regular way!

My hair wasn't dry, natty, breaking, thin, or dull...like when I normally take out my braids..and the real proof was how the piece of rebraided hair compared to the rest of my banana braided hair.

This techniques also works with weaves(banana weave) and cornrows. I'll be using this technique from now on because it works really well. The only set back is that I forgot to comb out my hair BEFORE I pre conditioned and washed.....what a tangled mess! I should've known better than that:mad:

 

Soul♥Flower

Well-Known Member
No I didn't take any pictures because I didn't think this technique would do anyting special, but I'm going to cornrow(or weave) my hair next week using this technique. I'll make sure to take pics and post an update.
 

punchinella

New Member
So let me see if I got it right. After you made your braid you took the Kanakelon hair and folded it over the braid and made the original braid one of the three strands of the new braid? Or did I just complicate it?
 

Soul♥Flower

Well-Known Member
yeah, I just braided the extension in the normal way...except my natural hair was braided first then used as the middle strand to start the braid.
 

punchinella

New Member
rinygirl6 said:
yeah, I just braided the extension in the normal way...except my natural hair was braided first then used as the middle strand to start the braid.



I can see how that would reduce tangling and matting when you take the braids out, because the kanakelon is not really intwined in your hair. And it probably covers the top of your braid to keep the build up off of your (real) hair. I would like to try this. Thanks for the tip.
 
I think I understand it. It sounds like it would protect your hair. But how would you cornrow like this. That is confusing me. I'm thinking of cornrows or french braids - the braids that stick to your scalp. I'm not getting a mental picture of how you would banana braid a cornrow. Thanks for the tip.
 

hotshot

Well-Known Member
^^^^^^^^^^
what she said.

this does sound really cool though. what did you use to moisturize when you braided your real hair?
 

Soul♥Flower

Well-Known Member
well, if you cornrow your hair this way, it will look more like a design....kind of like how Allen Iverson used to wear his hair with the cornrowed plaits. But since you braid in the synthetic hair the actual braid will be smooth...:perplexed
Ok so I think in this case pictures are worth a thousand words. So I'll give you guys an update next week, and Ill make sure to take some before and afters so you can see how much gentler this technique was for my hair
 

fancypants007

Well-Known Member
rinygirl6 said:
yeah, I just braided the extension in the normal way...except my natural hair was braided first then used as the middle strand to start the braid.

Girl you got me so excited about this new technique that i want to do my braids right away. I'm planning to put braids in my hair around the first of the year and leave them in for about 6 months. Getting 1.5 inches in a month is awesome. I'm hoping to achieve at least 3 inches in the 6 months I will leave my hair in braids. Please keep us updated with your pics and instructions as to how you did it.
 

Faith

New Member
This was the same technique I was advising some to try especially for the hairline. It really helps/works :)
 
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