All Boxed In: My New Do

Have you ever gotten so fed up with your hair that you need to do something you've never done before? Well, I did! This past Saturday I woke up and decided that I needed a change. I had been thinking about a good protective style that could also be versatile and cute. While I love my two-strand twists, I get bored easily and they are not wash- friendly. I also felt like I had been doing too much to my hair too often- too much combing, twisting, blow drying, etc.

I have seen many fotki and You Tube vids showcasing naturals with lovely sets of box braids. Big ones, skinny ones, long ones, and short ones. The women wearing these styles say that it can take anywhere from 4 hours to 2 days to complete a set! I was a little hesitant to spend that kind of time and then not be happy with the result. So on Saturday, I got up and lightly blew my hair out, sectioned and braided about six large braids and made my way to the nearest African World of Braids shop. The last time I had my hair done at a braid shop, it was in Greensboro to get my lovely twists. I had hair added that time around. This time, I decided I wanted to try box braids on my own hair, without the added extensions.

I got to the shop and explained to the lady what I wanted to do. She sat me down and began undoing my braids, one at a time. I purposely blew my hair out and brushed it well so there would be no snags. All the experiences I've had at braid shops in the past included them ripping through my hair with a fine toothed comb! So I tried to prevent too much of that kind of damage on the front end.

She worked for four hours straight, braiding away like a champ. By the time 2pm rolled around, I walked out with a head full of mini braids. The whole time, all the ladies in the shop were speaking in French and some of what sounded like an African language. I never asked where they were from but it was cool to hear the languages being tossed back and forth across the shop.

When I got home, I realized she had made the parts kind of big and the braids were a little larger than I would have liked. So a few hours before bed, I decided to take some down and split them in half- partly to make them smaller and partly to see what it would look like if I did them myself. I was pleased on both counts, I think next time I can do them on my own and save the money.

So here are the pics of what my hair looks like today. I have been playing around with it and I can wear ponytails, pin-ups, and more. I am hoping to keep these in for at least 5 weeks...we'll see. This morning I co-washed them with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and when I got out of the shower I took a small amount of the HEHH and raked it through my braids. After that I raked through some Fantasia IC aloe gel. I melted a small amount of coconut oil in my hands and applied it to my scalp. Take a look at the results:

This was from the first day before I wet them. It is nice to see my length without having straightened my hair.

These next pics are after I co-washed this morning. It was so nice to wash and go without tangles, snarles, 30 minutes detangling sessions, etc. You know.

I have not split the ones on the top yet to make them smaller but I'm thinking I will later.

The right side of my braids. She made them so tight and neat.

Side view:

My curly curly ends! The ends did not look like this until I showered this morning. Until then, the braids were slightly stiffer and the ends were fluffy. Now the braids are not as tight at the scalp, they have more movement, and the ends coiled right up.

Back View- The parts were like small diamonds and the braids are not as small as I'd like. I will probably gradually take them down and split them in half.

So, I hope I can keep these in for a long time. This is not so much of a growth challenge for me but a break and a health challenge. I figure, if I'm washing, conditioning, combing, twisting EVERY WEEK, I am losing a heck of a lot of hair and probably snapping some strands out of sheer frustration. Even with the best conditioner and the best tools, there are parts of my hair that are just a challenge. I'm sure like many of you, to detangle my hair in the gentle, careful way that my hair requires in order to not break, it takes time and energy and patience. Did I mention time? I just want to go a few weekends without worrying about my hair and I hope this will do it. Also, since I don't have hair added, I don't think I will encounter issues around where the knot usually is at the base of the braid. When I took my twists out, I had some major snags where hair had gotten tangled around the knot.

So what styles are you trying to get you through? Have you experimented with box braids or another protective style lately that you just love?