What is a Protective Style and is it Right For You – The Truth
A protective style is any hairstyle that tucks the ends of the hair in a way to protect it from harsh
weather conditions it damage. Protective hairstyles include braids, buns, wigs, locks, and twists. These
hair styles can last two weeks to two months.
The aim of protective hairstyles are, just as the name implies, to protect the hair from damage, breakage, or anything that could cause negativity to the hair while allowing it to grow. There are two types of protective hairstyles.
There are styles with extensions or attachments and there are some without extensions or attachment, just your natural hair. Box braids, Ghana weaving, Senegalese twists etc… are examples of protective styles with extensions.
There are so many things a naturalist must put in to consideration when looking for a protective style to make. The type of hair however, is the most important factor to consider. Thicker and stronger hair has lesser chances of breakage in protective styles like box braids. Whereas people with finer hair or less density need not consider this kind of braid. Others factors to consider include, budget, time of the season, duration etc…
Protective hairstyles seek to limit the stress of environmental factors that is weather conditions, on
natural hair by keeping the ends of hair tucked away in order to discourage tugging, pulling,
etc…
Protective styles are an important part of healthy hair care. They should feature in your hair
rotation scheme, no matter the season. In the winter, they protect hair from icy winds, rain, snow and
frosty air. During the summer, protective styling prevents sun, wind and water damage.
Different weather conditions cause the hair to expand or contract, making it weaker. This leads to damage and often loss of length. The importance of protective styles cannot be overemphasized. It is important because it helps to keep hair healthy and allow for noticeable hair growth, It encourages length retention, it reduces tangles and knots and it gives your hair a break from tugging, pulling, and combing.
Protective styles require daily and weekly care. Leaving your weave or braids in without any
maintenance is counterproductive to wearing a protective style. When you neglect your hair in a
protective style, it may result to damage, shrinkage and even breakage. So, the whole essence of the
protective style will be useless.
The protective style will seem not so productive enough. Some of the reasons why protective style may cause damege to the hair include: Tension and strain from pulling of
the braid; Adding hair or hair extensions that causes friction in the hair; Tangles and single strand knots
from the styling that may cause hair to pull out; limited ability to clean your hair which may result to
dryness of scalp and eventual breakage.
Protective styles are best efficient when they are properly taken care of. A regular hair routine of
shampooing and conditioning addresses the issues on dryness. Avoid wearing styles with so much
tension on the hair and don’t wear them longer than two weeks. Have a regular adjust on the type of
braid you make as a protective style in order not to apply pressure on just one area regularly. Also, get a
professional to style your hair, apply mosturizers as regularly as possible and always wrap your hair up
at night.
However, it is important to know that not all protective styles actually protects the hair. There are some
styles that tend to damage the hair even with proper care. So, it is best to choose a style that not only
looks good but protect the hair as well. Just keep it simple, well mosturised, not too tight or too small or
too long.
Also, there are some things that should not be done with a protective style. The first of it is not to use
products that create build ups or flaking, secondly, do not try to make your braids last by rigging it or
trying twist the new growth to the original ones to make it look like a fresh one. Also, do not rush while
dismantling your protective style, don’t miss out on your trims, do not immediately get another
protective style on after taking off the other. “Once you take off your braids, wait at least one week
before putting on another.
So you can give your scalp time to heal and breathe” says Edith Marcellus, a
Natural Hair Consultant. Others advice that a time frame of 2- 3 weeks should be given in order to allow
the hair relax. During this time, proper care and treatment should be given to the hair in order to sustain the growth. However, the rate at which one’s hair grows directly affects how long a style can last.
This is because, once the new growth becomes visible the style is good to be taken off to avoid a rough look.
Although, protective styles like wigs hide natural hair, so it is easier to keep the style longer because the
new growth is not exposed.
The question whether protective style is right for you, is one that is particular to individuals. Most
naturalist prefer to always tuck in their hair because of the added hair it causes to grow and the time it
saves. While others do not. They prefer to rather style the hair whenever it pleases them without
assembling it in a braid.
So, whether protective styles are right for you is dependent on what you want for your hair. What kind of growth do you desire? How do you intend to maintain your growth process?
What techniques have you put in place to sustain your hair growth process? All these are questions that
determine whether a protective hairstyle is your way or not.
Protective styling is basically a choice. It is not very necessary for natural growth as their are other means through which a naturalist can grow their hair. So, the choice of a protective style as a technique for hair growth is based on the naturalist views.