Self Braiders-I need your help!

[FtrDrO]

I want to take control and braid my hair on my own with extensions. I'm planning on using Kanekalon to do do box braids. I want to make it pencil size. I think it is a great thing to be able to do your own extensions and I'm looking forward to it. But I have a couple of questions before i start. Could you talented ladies please help me?

1) What is the best way to start off the braiding? I know some people start off with the extension piece looped over the strand of hair that will be braided so that there are three pieces of hair-for this some just start immediately braiding while some twist then braid. Others do two intertwined pieces of extension hair against the actual hair so that you have four strands. Which way do you start your hair?

2) How do you make sure that the actual hair to extension hair isn't too much or too little? I know that Robin on growafrohairlong.com says not to make the extensions to heavy for your hair. How do you go about figuring how much extension hair you need for your actual hair?

3) Does anyone know of a link to a video that demonstrates hair braiding well? Or does anyone have a copy of the Growafrohairlong video? The link to the video hasn't been working for some time now.

4) What is the best way to part? Box or diagonally?

5) Is there a part of your braid regimen that you think everyone should incorporate? Certain way to wash, moisturize etc?

6) How should I finish off my braids? Braid half way and dip it in water, burn, tie, etc.


Thanks ladies!!!

 

[runwaydream]

1. i do it so that there's three pieces, i intertwine the 4th piece (my hair) w. the weave
2.trial and error, you'll get a feel for it. also it depends on how big or small u want the braid so i think its better to do it urself and soon you'll understand how it feels in ur hands when its just right.
3.no...sorry. i learned how to do it by myself after my sisters made me go thru hell begging for them to do it for me.
4.diagonally first and once u got that part down do the boxes as u go along.
5.eh...i find that diff things work for diff ppl and it also depends on the type of hair u put it.
6.it depends on the look that u like. burning is ok but its a bit dated (IMO) and it snags ur clothes, i usually dont do anything to it but boiling the ends keeps it from looking worn after awhile.

anyhow thats my advice HTH

 

[LongHairDreams]

Look at this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Nuz1fEJkWQ by lyndaespratley

 

[Monigirl]

This is the video that thought me on GroAfroHairLong.Com & BraidsbyBreslin Video: www.growafrohairlong.com/videoplaits.html (sorry it's not working) But youtube.com might have some.

What is the best way to start off the braiding? I fold over the extension over my hair. My hair in the middle of the extension hair. (Making 3 lines) Plus I start in the back of my head.

2) How do you make sure that the actual hair to extension hair isn't too much or too little? I try to make the braid hair a little thicker than my hair so when I braid pass my hair the braid doesn't change in thickness to much.

3) Does anyone know of a link to a video that demonstrates hair braiding well? Or does anyone have a copy of the Growafrohairlong video? Dang, the video link is down. Youtube.com may help or braidsbybreslin.com sometimes offer free tutorials at time.

4) What is the best way to part? Box or diagonally? I do mine diagonally and box. Or sometimes I braid real fast and correct later. LOL!!

5) Is there a part of your braid regimen that you think everyone should incorporate? I love infusium and braid spray mixed together. I use a sponge to apply this moisture to my braid and avoid my scalp as much as possible to avoid build up.

6) How should I finish off my braids? I dip it into boiling water and that seals it.

 

[FtrDrO]

Thanks for the tips you guys.....And that video clip was very helpful

 

[Nonie]

1) What is the best way to start off the braiding? Others do two intertwined pieces of extension hair against the actual hair so that you have four strands. Which way do you start your hair?

This is how I do it, only one of the two pieces is usually thinner than the other, so that after folding them over each other, I hold the two thinner ends together so I have 3 strands. I then hold the three strands against 3 strands of my own hair and braid them together.

2) How do you make sure that the actual hair to extension hair isn't too much or too little? I know that Robin on growafrohairlong.com says not to make the extensions to heavy for your hair. How do you go about figuring how much extension hair you need for your actual hair?

I always make sure that the thickness of the extension hair folded over the way I will be braiding will be slightly smaller than the section of my hair that I will be adding it to. This ensures that my braids aren't too heavy and also they look realistic. I usually use just less than two packs of human hair, and the braids I have in now only used 1 and 1/8 packs. I always cringe when people say they used as many as 6 packs.

3) Does anyone know of a link to a video that demonstrates hair braiding well? Or does anyone have a copy of the Growafrohairlong video? The link to the video hasn't been working for some time now.

Sorry I don't. I learned to braid from watching hairdressers braiding other people, then practiced on my dolls and my baby sister and finally on myself. Where there's a will, there's a way. So just know that no one is born doing it and if we can get where we are, you will too.

4) What is the best way to part? Box or diagonally?

I prefer to part diagonally, but when I first started, I parted box-wise. I think I explain why (maybe in a not so comprehensible way) in this thread.

5) Is there a part of your braid regimen that you think everyone should incorporate? Certain way to wash, moisturize etc?

I would not recommend my "no leave-in product or sprays" regimen because except for the fact that I never have build up, I don't know how I could justify it. But I do think that not applying conditioner to the hair closest to your scalp is good practice as I believe it does help prevent knotting/matting. That hair needs less TLC than the older hair so I focus more on the hair an inch or so above my scalp, focusing mostly on the ends. I also believe that touching my braids up as soon as they start to feel loose is why braids don't damage my hair. By doing this - not all in one sitting but a few braids at a time as I watch TV, doing one at a time - I not only take the strain off the previous starting point of the braid relieving that spot of my hair, but also I attach to new stronger hair. Also the firmer the braid is, the less painfully it swings. Veterans braid wearers can confirm that loose braids especially along the hairline swing painfully. Since I don't apply leave-ins and sprays, I keep my hair moisturized by frequent washes, CW and weekly DCs. I think braid-outs on box braids do a good job of disguising messy braids, and I will usually wear my hair as a braid-out after a wash. That's all I can think of. I keep meaning to try Robin's sponge Infusium trick. I just haven't had hair covered in products touching my face, neck, shoulders in years so I don't know if I will be able to stand the feel.

6) How should I finish off my braids? Braid half way and dip it in water, burn, tie, etc.

Since I use human hair, I don't do anything special to the ends. They tend to unravel a bit when the hair's new, but I usually wear my braids for months on end so there comes a time when I can braid to the end and the braids don't unravel. (Example)

 

[FtrDrO]

Hey you guys. I have another question.I took all of your advice and the braids I'm doing are coming out good for the most part. So thanks!! However, I am encountering one problem: pieces of hair sticking tout from the braids. Is there anything I can do to lay them down? Some pieces are definitely the kanekolon hair, but closer to the base i'm not so sure, and don't want to cut my hair. I don't know why there is hair sticking out. I braid with my fingers close to the braid, rather than far, and I'm smoothing down each braid as I go along. Is there a technique to not getting frizz? And is there something I can do to lay the spokes of hair down?

 

[kellie7777]

i do what the ladies have said about your questions on self braiding so there's not much to add there.

for the hair sticking out after braiding i had the same issue. So what i do is i flat iron my hair to stretch it. then i put the braids in. this helps to get the ends in there as much as possible. Afterwards when i am done braiding i wash my hair and do the regime of moisturizing and sealing.

with this process i find that i don't have as much hairs sticking out the braids as i normally would if i didn't flat iron it. I don't flat iron on high heat, i do it just to get some of the hair to lay flat. But this works for me...

 

[Nonie]

I don't ever press or blow dry my hair before I braid because it'll just mean that when I do wash my hair, the braids will scrunch up as my hair shrinks and look frizzier than they normally would.

What I find works to prevent my hair from sticking out is smoothing out the hair as I braid and making sure my fingers are close to the crossover point so I really tuck all the hair inside the braid. I try to explain/delmonstrate this in this thread. The hold should be as in pic#10 not pic#9.

 

[FtrDrO]

I don't ever press or blow dry my hair before I braid because it'll just mean that when I do wash my hair, the braids will scrunch up as my hair shrinks and look frizzier than they normally would.

What I find works to prevent my hair from sticking out is smoothing out the hair as I braid and making sure my fingers are close to the crossover point so I really tuck all the hair inside the braid. I try to explain/delmonstrate this in this thread. The hold should be as in pic#10 not pic#9.

Thanks Nonie. I'm actually have been braiding close and smoothing, but I'm still having hair stick out. I don't know what it could be....Maybe the type of h air im using or something?

 

[tyte curlz]

Hey you guys. I have another question.I took all of your advice and the braids I'm doing are coming out good for the most part. So thanks!! However, I am encountering one problem: pieces of hair sticking tout from the braids. Is there anything I can do to lay them down? Some pieces are definitely the kanekolon hair, but closer to the base i'm not so sure, and don't want to cut my hair. I don't know why there is hair sticking out. I braid with my fingers close to the braid, rather than far, and I'm smoothing down each braid as I go along. Is there a technique to not getting frizz? And is there something I can do to lay the spokes of hair down?

Make sure you comb through the ends. i apply some gel (IC polisher) to smoth out stray hairs

 

[Monigirl]

Hey you guys. I have another question.I took all of your advice and the braids I'm doing are coming out good for the most part. So thanks!! However, I am encountering one problem: pieces of hair sticking tout from the braids. Is there anything I can do to lay them down? Some pieces are definitely the kanekolon hair, but closer to the base i'm not so sure, and don't want to cut my hair. I don't know why there is hair sticking out. I braid with my fingers close to the braid, rather than far, and I'm smoothing down each braid as I go along. Is there a technique to not getting frizz? And is there something I can do to lay the spokes of hair down?

You are probably finished with your braids by now. I hope they came out great!!! What I do to keep strays from sticking out is apply a leave in conditioner and styling gel to my hair before I add the braid to it. And if the kanekolon hair is sticking out pass my hair hot water smooths those pieces sticking out down.

 

[FtrDrO]

Hey everyone! I forgot to report that I successfully finished my first self done braids and I'm really happy with the results! Thanks to all of you for the tips I applied leave in on the top of all of the braids and tied it down with a scarf for the braids that had frizz sticking out and that seemed to work. Along the way, I incorporated and modified all of your suggestions and combed through the hair and applied shea butter or aloe to the braids and they all seemed to make a difference.