Hi Beauties!
I absolutely loved Emijaa’s braids when I saw her in Brooklyn a couple weeks ago. I was super happy when I saw that she did a FULL post about her box braid experience. I had to share with my fellow, beauties! Check it!
Ever since I saw Solange with those ever so lovely “Janet Jackson Poetic Justice Braids”, I wanted them. I was intrigued and in love with how urban yet sophisticated she looked with them. Myself, I often tend to get extremely bored with my hair – changing it up quite often. I finally went ahead and got them done after a few months of contemplating… and I must say I enjoyed having them although after a month of heavy extensions –
I was ready to reunite with my curly fro!
Styling My Box Braids
After doing a little research on the net – I saw several ways I wanted to try my braids. But I realized after a few stints in front of the mirror, that my braids were rather HEAVY and the ideal styles I wanted to try were just going to cause me to have a headache… so I improvised…
Below are most of the ways I wore my braids…
I absolutely loved rocking some Head Gear…
Using a scarf gives you a ton of ways to rework your braids!!
Box braids can be a bit much when they are all just left loose to run
around free on your head – so I often tied the front up in different
ways to keep them off my face.
The high bun was the main reason I wanted these braids – but I realized
shortly after trying it for the first time – it weighed my head down
because they were too heavy. So try the third look if you still want a
cute bun without the heaviness of ALL your braids.
Maintaining Your Braids
I am the worst person when it comes to PROPER maintenance of hairstyles.
I often fall victim to laziness which prevents me from properly taking
care of my hairstyles BUT I’ll give a few tips on SOME of the things I
did when I wasn’t being lazy.
Always wrap your braids up
– either with a satin bonnet, pillowcase – SOMETHING. The same worries
you have about your hair when it’s not braided is the same worries you
should have when it is braided. Friction is no good PERIOD – so keep it
on the Satin!Try to wash your braids with a diluted shampoo mixture once a week.
{DO NOT totally immerse your braids in water, they will weigh TONS}.
Your hair WILL get dirty which may cause it to itch and flake – which
brings me to…Keep your scalp oiled at ALL times. A dry scalp is an itchy scalp which is NO good. I learned that the HARD way.
You are the ONLY one that knows your hair. Don’t keep braids in longer than necessary. When your hair calls your name – respond. Braids can be a lot of stress on your scalp. It’s great to give your hair a break but ALWAYS listen to her when she
tells you she has had enough.
I’m by far no expert in hair but I can say I enjoy experimenting and
learning new things. I have always been one to do my hair myself {minus
such styles like box braids} just because I’m not interested in paying
someone else money to care for my hair when I’m perfectly capable of
doing it myself. As I said before, ONLY YOU know your hair – what it
can take, what it wants and how it feels. Learn what works for you and
stick to it. I tried Box Braids and I loved them. I did realize they
were A LOT of stress on MY hair/scalp but I don’t regret getting them.
It was awesome trying a new style and being able to share with you all
my little journey. If you’re contemplating braids – I say try it one
time – you will never know how you or your hair likes it until you try
it. And if you don’t know what to do with it – go to the net – there’s
always loads of inspiration there!!
Thanks for allowing me to feature your fabulous post, Emijaa!
Check out more of Emijaa at http://www.emijaajaaemil.com. Her style is FIERCE!!
How fly are these braids? I CANNOT get enough!
xoxo,
