Protective Style Experiment

I’m somewhat new to the whole protective styling wave in the natural hair community. I say somewhat because my go-to is to either throw on a wig or add in some tracks. This time I decided to do something different and stick with my own hair.  If you’re not familiar with the term, protective styling means to keep your ends tucked away (i.e. protected) and well moisturized in order to retain hair length. Bantu knots, twists, braids and buns are all examples of popular styles.

After watching countless YouTube videos I was convinced that I would try my hand at small twists (since I don’t have enough patience to attempt mini twists). It took me about 2.5 hours to complete, after my regular co-washing and deep conditioning regimen. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that bad, only about an hour more than it normally takes to do my twists. 

I had every intention of keeping them covered with my handy dandy beanie but hubby surprised me with dinner reservations on New Years Eve and I had to come up with something cute and creative instead. After a few trial and errors I found a winner! In the end, he was very pleased with my results 😉

Friday will make one week since I’ve been rocking the twists. My plan is to see if I can make it a full two weeks but I’m not sure if I can. Wish me luck!

Have you ever tried protective styling before? If so, what worked best for you?

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3 Comments

  1. smikaperry2002
    January 4, 2012 / 4:12 pm

    Cute!

  2. Shelly G
    January 4, 2012 / 4:24 pm

    You did a great job! Small to micro-twists are next on my protective style list also.

  3. Luvie Hart
    January 4, 2012 / 7:33 pm

    Good Luck with that! LOL. I love the style, it's very cute and sophisticated. I like to do yarn braids or single box braids with my hair. Those are the only two styles that will protect my hair from "me"….other than that, I'll change my hairstyes every other day. I love caring for and pampering my hair.