During the winter months many curly girls and naturalists chose to wear their hair in braided styles.

Braids are excellent for several reasons. Firstly, they can provide your hair with great protection from the harshness that’s caused by the cold.

Secondly, they provide versatility by allowing you to create multiple hairstyles and looks without having to constantly manipulate your real hair and they also prevent you from putting heat on your natural hair. When used correctly, braids can be amazing!

The problem with braids however is that many women simply don’t know how to look after them and this can cause breakage, damage and even traction alopecia.

So how do you look after your hair when it’s in braids?

Here are some tips to help.

Keep them clean.
Your scalp can get particularly dirty when your hair is in braids and this can clog up your follicles and restrict hair growth.

To keep your scalp clean shampoo your hair every 2 weeks and use a sulphate and silicone free shampoo.

Another way to keep your scalp clean is to use a toothbrush. It sounds crazy but one of the best ways to get a clean scalp while your hair is in braids is to put some of your favourite shampoo on a toothbrush and use the brush to clean your scalp. This little trick does wonders and it really cleans out the parts of your scalp that you might otherwise miss. Of course make sure you rinse out the shampoo after washing your hair.

Keep it moisturised.
Keeping your hair moisturised prevents dryness and breakage and it will massively help to keep your hair in top-notch shape whilst it’s in braids. To keep it moisturised, do two things:

• Firstly, use a hair spray or hair mist that’s enriched with oils like jojoba and olive oil. This will add moisture to your hair and scalp.
• Secondly, apply oil directly to your scalp so that it doesn’t dry out.

Watch those edges.

Finally, make sure that you re-do the edges of your hair every 2 weeks so that you significantly reduce hair breakage whilst also ensuring that your hair looks great whilst it’s in braids. By edges, we mean the parts of your hair that are closest to your face. The edges just so happen to be the most delicate part of your hair and they’re prone to breakage and damage.

Are you rocking braids this winter? Leave a comment below telling us what type of look you’re sporting.

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Have a wonderful week!

Victoria x

www.mycurls.co.uk