Box braids look good. They can be styled as you please. Maintaining box braids might seem a lot of work especially if you want them to last for a while. You don’t want to be the lady with the box braids that repel people because of the smell and how untidy it looks. This is why you should care for your box braids. The following tips would help you maintain your box braids:
1. Style with care
Just like your natural hair, box braids can experience wear and tear. If you are rough with them, that can create those ugly fly-aways. For those with shorter hair, you could end up pulling the box braids—and sometimes your own hair—out. So you need to be careful and style them with extreme care. Use your fingers to style; styling tools will just pull the braids strand by strand.
2. Trim fly-aways
Some hairstylists use lighters to “seal” the ends of their braided hair, others use hot water and remove fly- aways with a pair of scissors. The key is to make sure that you know where your natural hair ends and where the extensions begin. Otherwise, what you will end up doing is cutting your natural hair in the process.
3. Use water-based mousse
Make sure that the mouse is water-based (to reduce build-up) and that you apply a little grapeseed or jojoba oil to your hair once you take your scarf off. Otherwise, you could end up having a white, flaky mess on your hands—and hair.
4. Pamper your edges
Good hairstylists can “catch your hair” without you feeling like it’s all being pulled out. At the same time, pulling on hair is pulling on the hair, so it’s important that you pamper your edges. Apply a little coconut oil on them and, if you want to lay your edges do. Make sure the product you use is alcohol-free and that you don’t apply the product every single day.
5. Spritz your scalp
Some people wash their box braids just as much as they do when they don’t have them. Focus more on your scalp than anything else by adding witch hazel, tea tree oil and lavender oil. If you put a little grapeseed oil and distilled water into another spray bottle, it can add sheen to both your scalp as well as your braids.
6. Wrap it up at night
Yes, your braids are fabulous. But they are also still hair. Your extensions will only fray more when the friction of your bedding hits them. Something that can significantly reduce both of these things is tying your hair down at night. Use a big silk or satin scarf to keep your hair intact.