Do you wash your braids !?

[Kamilla16]

Just curious to see if everyone washed their hair while wearing it in human hair or synthetic braids? I am currently wearing braids and I haven't washed them for fear that they will either unravel or get frizzy. What are the pros and cons of not washing your braids if their are any!!

Thanks in advance

(I am so sleepy right now!)

 

[Nonie]

I do wash my braids. I have human hair extensions. The only advantage I can think of for not washing your braids is that they might stay as neat as when you had them done. But I love washing my hair. And if I was a little more organized I'd probably wash it more often than twice a week. So I don't mind that sacrifice. Although I am also quite a cheat coz I do my own braids so it's easy to repair any unsightly ones after the wash.

When you wash human hair extensions, they do get slightly loose. If you do not ruffle them all over the place they shouldn't unravel too badly. Sometimes the braided part starts to look less tight after a wash and the extension hair may slide down the braid and even fall off if your hair is short.

Perhaps a good suggestion is to put rubberbands at the end of your braids. Say, five at a time. You can use rubberbands coz it's not your hair you'll be putting them on. I'm hoping you've got quite a big part of the extension beyond your hair braided. So the rubberband is to keep the braided part braided. In other words, you put it at the end of the braided part. Make sure it's tight enough not to fall off during the wash. Then as when you shampoo, use a squeezing motion keeping your hair straight. Use the same motion when you run water through for rinsing. When you apply conditioner to your hair, squeeze again so it soaks into the hair well. (I usually then put on a cap and go under a dryer for 15-20 mins.) Then rinse for quite a while to get the conditioner out. But I have read of people who like to leave a bit of conditioner in their hair, so perhaps you could use a moisturizing conditioner or one like Nexxus'...is it Humectress?... which doubles as a leave-in and so might be safe to leave in your hair. And then if you haven't ever done so, practice putting in extensions on a sibling or even a doll. It's such a blessing to be able to do them yourself. Then you can always redo any that look bad after a wash.

But I believe there are people who don't wash their braids. I think I read of someone using witch hazel on the scalp and... I forget how they kept the hair clean. Maybe she will post again or someone could give the link to the post, and you can see if you like that better. Good luck in finding what works for you.

 

[ineedmoney]

i try to but i'm scared about geting any frizz. if i wash them i put holding gel on them then wrap them up immediately. oh and i use sythetic hair.

 

[adrienne0914]

i always washed my braids when i wore them. at first i was washing once a week but ended up doing it every other week. that was enough. the reason i wash them is because i think it's important to keep the scalp as healthy as the hair.

 

[Mufasa]

I wash the cornrows of my braids. I use the Dr. Bonner's pure castille soap for the itching and the Cream of nature for the hair itself. The shower head from the shower filter blasts my scalp and feels sooooo good! I exercise too so going without washing isn't an option for me

 

[Peachez2503]

Someone once told me that they wash their braids with a stocking cap on, and it doesn't frizz up as much, but everytime I've seen someone wash their braids it comes out very frizzy.

 

[sbg4evr]

I washed my hair with a stocken cap. When I did not use a cap my hair would frizz a bit. I always wore synthetic hair.

 

[debyjay]

I didn't wash my braids for 2 whole months -- that was before joining this board, now I know that was bad. I did get a lot of growth during that time and am still convinced it's due to the lack of water (I cleaned my scalp with herbal cleanse). I remember my mom could not wash her hair for a month and got a lot more growth than normal and that stuck with me so I decided to "dry clean" and spray my hair. Bad I now know but boy did my hair grow. Of course it was winter time, I can't imagine doing it in any other season.

 

[Kamilla16]

Thanks for all the responses you guys... I will probably wash my hair this weekend cause I will be swimming. I've had my braids in for about a month and I am planning to take them out in August before school starts back. I will get the edges touched up this week as well.

 

[azul11]

I have a question: when you take the braids out and wash and condition what conditioner would be good for hair straight out of braids. i dont want to try aphogee because the last thing i want out of braids is having some stinky hard stuff on my head. what deep conditioner will give hair back the strength it needs and can be used right out of braids? God bless you all.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

I do daily conditioner washes on my braids and wash once weekly with shampoo.

Azul, you can use Lekair Cholesterol for after your braids. It works wonders for restoring strength and elasticity.

 

[azul11]

thats good to hear since i bought some last week. thanks. God bless you all.

 

[butterfly7]

I used synthetic hair and started off washing my braids about every 5 days, but I became addicted to the way my braids looked and felt after washing to I ended up washing/rinsing like every other day. I would advise you to rinse more than wash, however.

Azul, I used AB hair mayo and Aphogee moisture balance when I took my braids out.