scarf braid tutorial ( for protective styling )

 SCARF BRAID



MY MOTIATION?

Pocahontas braids have always been my second go to style. I consider it more of a low manipulation style rather than a protective because the ends are not tucked away. For those of you that don't know, a low manipulation style is one where your hair requires little handing and keeps the hair from tangling, like braids, where as a protective style is one where your ends are tucked away. I really like braids as a low manipulation style, my only problem is that, especially when my ends aren't thick, seeing my ends loose always bothers me for some reason. Sometimes I braid down my ends and loop them before using a hair tie. Would this be considered more of a protective style? Maybe, kinda. But than I worry that the tension and friction from the hair tie directly on my ends isn't good. Am I worrying too much? Maybe, probably.

So this is how I came up with this idea of using a silk scarf so I could tuck away my ends. This, I would definitely consider a protective style. I've been using this as a protective style very often this month. Usually I have to redo it in the morning or every other day, but because it's also a low manipulation style I don't have to comb. I also sometimes do my hair in a single side braid using a scarf, but here is how I do pigtails.

TUTORIAL


• step 1- make sure you have a good sized scarf, the scarf I use is 60 inches long and 12 feet wide.
• step 2 - I fold the width of the scarf once or twice and place it on my head. I make sure the ends of the scarf are even and clip one side so the scarf stays put while I braid the other side. the clip in this picture is a little hard to see, it's pink.
• step 3 - I take three strands of hair, one of the sections will be braided with the scarf. I've tried only using two strands of hair and the scarf to braid, but didn't like the outcome. the result was too much scarf and not enough hair showing.
• step 4 - I braid my hair like normal. when reaching the part where I would normally end the braid with a hair tie I stop and envelop my ends with the scarf.
• step 5 - I twist half of the leftover scarf like shown so it's easier to ties into a knot.
• step 6 - I tie it off with a knot. you can also envelop your ends and use a hair tie, but I like the look of the knot better.
• step 7 - now you just un-clip the other side and redo the process... and you're done! 

japanese straightening ( my 2nd touch up results )

MY PROCESSED ROOTS

So I realize I never made a clear update on my Japanese straightening results. To see my first post explaining what Japanese straightening is, click here. Above are pictures of my roots more than a month after the processing. I have a little new growth. these pictures are after clarifying and letting my hair dry without any product (Remember! you should always let your hair dry with product. I did this so you guys could see). As you can see, they didn't come out dead straight like my results from Hair's Talent. The top layer of my hair turned out straight, not dead straight, but straight. However, under there are some texturized pieces. When I put my hair in a bun as it air dries it straightens. I realize several mistakes and things that I probably did wrong, and won't do if I home Japanese straighten next time.

1. It's important to correct porosity after the process, not before. after clarifying my hair I should not have done a plan apple cider rinse. Not because it would have created a barrier, as it had no oils and I rinsed it out thoroughly, but because higher porosity hair processes better.
2. At Hair's Talent, they would lightly blow dry the new growth before applying the solution. I'm not sure whether I should have done this. It would have enabled me to apply the solution faster, but it might have also stressed my hair more.
3. Before applying the straightening solution, though I didn't record it, I recall lightly applying aphogee green tea throughout my hair. This was a careless move as it probably made a barrier on my new growth.
4. I didn't do a patch test due to the time I thought I had to do the process being shortened.
5. The girl that was suppose to help me do my hair and sometimes did my relaxers in the past couldn't make it. I have done relaxers on others before, but not on my own head. To try to compensate I had two girls help me. They were use to dealing with afro textured hair before, but never applied a straightening solution.
6. While applying the solution, I'm not sure if my hair was being stretched and smoothed enough. I also realized half way through that not enough solution was being applied. I feel this, and using aphogee green tea, were the main contributors to my texturized strands. My hair is very thick and coarse and only 60-70% of the jar was used when all of it should have been used.
7. Before, in my first post about Japanese straightening, I had stated that I realized I was not sure how my processed hair was suppose to look. Apparently my hair was suppose to already look straight, and not have a texturized look.

TECHNIQUE & TEXTURE

Japanese straightening, like sodium hydroxide relaxing, takes skilled hands. proper results depend more on technique. I learned from this, I knew from the start I might get a little wave trying it at home for the first time. On sallybeauty.com's reviews on the product, many girls of other descent and with looser curls noted that their hair didn't become perfectly straight like at the salons. While a girl I know with a texture similar to mine was able to get the dead straight results. So again, technique really counts. Even the kinkiest hair texture can get the dead straight look if they go to an expert.

I also want to go a little more into how to decide how strong your Japanese straightener should be. Curliness, density, and cuticle size needs to be put into consideration. I realize that before I only mentioned curliness. My hair is very thick and coarse, but my hair texture somewhere in the 3b-4a range, not sure. This is why I used One n Only, one of the milder brands, but got its resistant formula. Here is a list of recommendable Japanese straightening kits, which I tried to list from weakest brand to strongest, but this could only be based on reviews I've read as I haven't actually tried all of them: One n Only, Matrix Opti-Smooth, Bio Ionic Retex, Loreal X-Tenso, and Yuko or Liscio (the originals that most salons use). Note that a stronger brand doesn't necessarily mean more damaging to your hair.

WHAT WILL I DO NEXT?

I've really been debating whether I should keep my roots the way it is, or should try to fix it. Like sodium hydroxide relaxers, you can do a corrective. After much thought, I've decided it's not too curly to bother me. I rather have it healthy and wavy than over processed and straight.

I did decide that, unless I change my mind for some reason, I'm going to go to a salon next time. I decided to do this because it might take a few more times to learn to do Japanese straightening and get dead straight results. I'm not sure if I want to go through the trial and error. I would use a stronger Japanese straightening brand, but I'm afraid of negative effects on my sodium hydroxide relaxed length. I also decided to go to a salon because I found a super cheap one that is much closer to me! There price is $170, they Japanese straighten on afro textured hair, and previously relaxed hair! I will be emailing them before going there to test them. The salon is called Organics Hair IB. They also have a helpful page that compares all the different straightening treatments they do.

While blog lurking I found an post written by Nadege from Relaxed Hair Health, regarding her first encounter with Japanese straightened hair. Here is a girl whose hair is an example of how fully Japanese straightened hair looks like! The next time I talk about Japanese straightening will probably be before going to Hair IB, so if there are any questions regarding this subject that I did not mention, please ask!