I've only had one weave in my life and that was last year. I used it to grow out my above ear length hair. I knew that if I didn't do a weave or hide my hair I would be tempted to cut off any progress...lol..so I went with the sewn in.
My hair grew very well. I had it taken down every 6 weeks for wash, deep conditioning. I also made sure that I kept it moisturized while I was in the weave with a spray on leave in. I would use something like Giovanni Direct (I would put it in a spray bottle with rosewater and some essential oils of my choice) and then spray my scalp and cornrows underneath the weave with the solution.
I had virtually no breakage from the weave. I only lost shed hairs (which is normal) when she took the cornrows down and even the shed hair wasn't a lot.
According to my stylist..some people can take a weave better than others. Some have strong hair and some do not. I was paranoid about my hair falling out....lol..Trust me. I was in the mirror each and every time she took it down looking for ANY sign of breakage or balding...lol. I had none thank God! I had the weave in for a year
. I never got a relaxer the entire time. Instead had my stylist cut off the relaxed ends as my hair grew because I was thinking of going natural. I ended up completely natural but decided to go with a relaxer again once the weave was taken out finally.
My hair is very healthy now...but it's always been healthy pretty much. So I'm thinking that's why my hair did so well with the weave. I also had my entire horseshoe and perimeter out the entire time--except in back and that hair thrived as well..no breakage..no damage.
