@2discrete: I think it's African Pride Braid Shampoo. You wet your hair, spray it on, and *gently* work it into a lather between your braids. Once I've worked up a nice lather, I let it sit for about ten minutes. You dont have to, but I like to get my hair CLEAN. After that you rinse it out, dry your hair with a towel and go. You should be able to find it at any beauty supply store, but I have seen it at CVS, Ekerd, Rite Aid, etc.

1LeadingLady: I got the straight hair, and am able to style it however I want. And I've only lost ONE braid due to "extracurricular" activities. :D

I usually wear my hair in a pony tail or in a large clip. I play with it at night (curl it, braid, whatever) I just dont have the time or desire to "do " it just yet. I am enjoying the convenience of throwing a scruchy on it and going.
:cool:

Sounds interesting
 

I have to try that hot water trick b/c those braids sure do mess up your shirt! I ususally try to re-burn pointy ends to round them out and clip stray ends to minimize the mess on my shirt. There are some types of materials that are not affected. though.

I wear...
 

Kinky twist and I've had them for about 2 months and love them.

I wear my hair in braids at least 65% of the year and love them. I have a wonderful braider who has been braiding my hair for the past 3 years, and everyone I know also go to her. She is wonderful, works from her home and is not as expensive as some folks I've heard about. so if anyone needs a braider let me know.
She is in the DC Metro Area and her place is not far from Metro.
And she will help you take down your briads.
She does almost any style you want, from human to micro, to kinky twist, to weave braids, to cornrows, dreds..she even does the kinky twist with this special kind of yarn...yes yall..yard, it looks like you have dreads, but it's twist...they are

FIERCE!!!!! :D

Re: I wear...
 

Can you PM me to put me on to her. She sound pretty good.

Me Too ( I'd like her info please!)... I like my braids, and would like to keep them in for at least a year to let my perm grow out...which is healthier, perming or pressing?

It all depends who is doing it. Pressing I think is better b/c if you want go your hair a rest you can w/o worrying about breakage. However, if the person pressing your hair does not know what they are doing your hair will done. (like FRIED chicken!):eek:

First time...
 

I have never gotten my hair braided before, but I am considering getting some stylish conrows for an upcoming beach vacation so I wont have to worry about getting my hair wet or styling it in 90-100 degree weather.

My concern is that I recently got highlights about 3-4 months ago, and I havent had any breakage thus far, BUT Im worried that the braids my cause some hair breakage. Does anyone have any advice about how I could prevent any potential breakage? :(

Re: A spin off question
 

I want to know where in florida do you live...girl I just took my micro braids out about a week ago...I only paid 45 for mine...and my WHOLE head was braided. Of course, I got one of the little high school girls to do it for me(and she did a wonderful job), but still.....

Most people I know who get it done in the salon pay about....80-90 dollars.

A cheaper alternative is to get everything except the middle braided.....and get some tracks sewn in the middle. It takes less time, but the downside is that you are limited in the styles that you can put in your hair.

I just got cornrows today. I was/am REALLY nervous about my hair breaking because I have tried so hard to get it in this good condition. However, I feel that my hair should be strong enough to withstand. I will be exercising ALL summer and part of the Fall (I have an October 13th goal set), so I needed something to do with my hair. I don't have the patience to sit and get micros (or the money) right now, so cornrows will have to do. I have to get them re-done every 3 weeks to a month. That's cool. Anything to control the mane while I sweat this summer. Let's hope the hair angels are keeping an eye on me!

I have been wearing micros for about five years now. I get the best results when I go to the African Braiding Shop here. They do my whole head, braid to the end of my hair (which is a little bit past my shoulders) and style it for me when I'm done. They charge $180 for the straight hair micros including the hair. I don't think the curly hair looks good on me. But, the best part is, I'm done and out the door in four hours. That's not small feat because I have a big head and a lot of hair. I could get them done cheaper, but I'd rather pay a couple of extra bucks so that I can have my whole day ahead of me.

I have only had my hair braided in micros outside of the African shop twice and I was not happy with either. The braids were either too large to style or not put in tight enough so that they were grown out and ragged within a few days.

I used to wear different cornrow styles but I have stopped that. My sister does them really well and she'll do mine for free, but she grips my edges so tight that they break off. It's really not worth the trouble because the point of wearing the braids is to help my hair grow.

Next, I think that I am going to try pony hair micros. The hair is straight like human hair but it is synthetic. It comes already curled at the ends so you don't really have to do anything to it. Everyone who I have seen who's had pony hair micros has looked really good with it.

Has anyone washed human hair braids...i'm just worried about the ends getting tangled and matted. Also, anyone know any other good braid shampoos

I hope this helps you!
 

Yes. The key is to not focus so much on the ends, but on the SCALP, where all the dirt is. I was told not to agitate the ends so much and to gently work the shampoo inbetween each braid. The African Royale Spray on Braid Shampoo is good for this. (Yeah, I know cheap plug). But I also used some Biore astringent on my scalp last week, and that works Wonders!! Tingly scalp all day.

I just wanted to say that....
 

Re: I just wanted to say that....
 

Yeah, I got my hair braided in micros about three weeks ago. They are already starting to look a little "scruffy" and that's really my fault. I have already washed them twice and a lot of nights I don't tie them down. I plan on getting them done again, probably next week. But, I have to deal with getting these ones out first and I honestly don't feel like taking them out. I'll have to find a poor fool to help me with my hair.

COLLEGE JOY
 

Ladies,

This is where the beauty of living on a college campus comes into play. You may spend like $10 max on 3 packs of hair ( usually Kankelon) and then spend $10-20 getting your hair cornrowed or $30-$40 getting the box braids.

MY SORORS DO THEM FOR FREE ( ps. they hate my hair looking a mess more than I do...I can only keep my braids in 1-1 1/2 months and my cornrows maybe 2 weeks)