If you’re worried about your hair damage and seek suggestions from the salon or friends, they may introduce you to box braids as a protective hairstyle. But are box braids a protective style? What are the benefits of box braids?
Yes, box braids are a great protective hairstyle worn by women worldwide. This hairstyle requires you to wrap your hair with extensions that minimize hair’s exposure to environmental damage.
But do box braids help hair to grow faster? Is a white girl can wear box braids? Is it hard to maintain box braids? Let’s discover the answers.
What Does It Mean To Have A Protective Hairstyle?
A protective style refers to a hairstyle where the ends of your hair are tucked and prevent manipulation. In short, putting on a protective hairstyle means you’re giving your hair a break from the polluted weather of the environment.
Especially people with textured hair are more benefitted from protective hairstyles. These hairstyles limit their hair exposure to the sun, cold, heat, or excessive manipulation and prevent them from damaging.
Does Box Braids Protect Your Hair?
Yes, box braids are a protective hairstyle that protects your hair from nasty weather and damage. When you wear box braids, you wrap your hair with hair extensions.
This way, it prevents you from applying heat to the hair and minimizes exposure and over-manipulation, which are responsible for damage over time. Box braids also ensure a healthy environment for your hair to thrive and grow. However, this protective style shouldn’t be kept on head for over 8 weeks.
Who Are Box Braids For?
There is no specific hair type or skin color that can’t wear box braids. It means no matter whether you have long or short hair, or you’re caucasian or African, you can opt for box braids.
However, if you want to make box braids on short hair, you need to have at least 1.5 inches of hair. In the case of hair type, curly and textured hairs are mostly suitable for box braids, but you can also make it on straight hair.
Again, you should avoid box braids if you have any scalp condition and your hair is too fragile at the moment.
Do I Have To Use Protective Styles?
A protective hairstyle is an excellent option for maintaining healthy hair. You can wear your protective style any time of the year.
During the cold season, protective styles will shelter your hair from frosty air, snow, and rain. And in summer, prevent damage from wind, heat, and water.
Generally, weather conditions impact hair fibers negatively and make them weaker. Hence, your hair gets damaged and thin eventually. But if you use protective styles, it can help you to minimize damage and keep your hair healthy.
What Are The Benefits Of Having Box Braids?
Here are some key benefits of wearing box braids:
- It wraps and protects your hair from damage by weather conditions.
- Requires low maintenance.
- Versatile enough to put on most hairstyles.
- Attractive and long-lasting protective style.
Does Hair Grow Faster In Box Braids?
This hairstyle doesn’t help your hair grow faster. Box braid is a protective hairstyle that prevents your hair from damaging by environmental pollution. Hence, it gives your hair a pollution-free environment to grow healthy on its own.
When Wearing A Protective Hairstyle, Can I Leave My Natural Hair Alone?
You still have to take care of your natural hair when wearing a protective hairstyle. Unfortunately, protective styles like box braids, micro braids, or cornrows can dry your natural hair and lead them to breakage.
Hence, you need to ensure moisture and hydration to your real hair to prevent them from damaging. Besides, scalp care is the key to maintaining healthy hair, so ensure you take proper care of your scalp.
What Is The Best Way To Maintain A Protective Hairstyle? What Upkeep Is Required?
Though box braids need less maintenance, upkeep is still required. Here is the best way to maintain your protective hairstyles:
- Always use sulfate-free shampoo and deep moisturizing conditioner to wash your braids.
- Apply hair masks once a week.
- Keep your scalp clean and get rid of product buildup.
- Apply essential oil massage on your scalp.
- Always air dry your hair instead of sitting under direct sunlight.
- Wear a silk bonnet at night.
Top 7 Protective Styling Tips
Here are the top 7 tips for your protective hairstyle:
- Make sure you install the protective style in the right way.
- Don’t wear tight hairstyles frequently, and don’t keep them on for a long time.
- Place your hair in the opposite direction of the pillow before bed to reduce tension.
- Use hydrating leave-in conditioner at night.
- Ensure you take care of your scalp by applying oil.
- Receive touch-ups from the salon or refresh the braids once in two weeks.
- Keep your protective style for 8 weeks, then take it off.
FAQs
Are protective styles good for my hair?
Yes, protective styles are good for your real hair. But installing it the wrong way and keeping it for a long time can damage your hair.
Why do you dip the ends of box braids?
You dip the ends of box braids in hot water to melt the fake hair and seal the ends to lock the braids.
Can you use hair dye on box braids?
You shouldn’t dye your hair after getting box braids as it can increase the damage. Instead, you can dye fake hair that you gonna use for box braids before getting the hairstyle.
Are box braids painful?
Box braids sometimes cause headaches and neck pain as the braids are heavy. However, you can reduce the possibility of pain when you braid hair without too much scalp tension.
Do braids protect white people’s hair?
Box braids are a versatile and great protective style. It doesn’t matter whether a black or white woman wears them; box braids will protect the real hair from damage.
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- Where Did Box Braids Originate
- Who Invented Box Braids
- Can You Swim With Box Braids
Conclusion
So are box braids a protective style? Does it help your hair to grow faster? You now have the answer.
When it comes to protective style, box braids always come first as the best protective style. And it doesn’t help hair to grow faster but healthily on its own. To ensure healthy growth, you must take proper care of the braids.
