Braid Take Down...Phew!

After 7 weeks of my wonderful braids, I decided they had to go for a couple of reasons. For one, they were getting really furry at the roots, beyond what I was comfortable with. The actual braids themselves were not frizzy one bit because they were so tight but the roots started to look a little bad. Second, my scalp would not get clean. Debris would get trapped under the base of the braid and that made me upset! I hate not being able to effectively cleanse my scalp so I felt it was time. Third, I simply missed my hair. I must be crazy to miss all the detangling but hey, it happens.

So I thought I would be able to do this method for taking down my mini braids but that did not go as planned. I ended up having to take down each braid, one at a time, over the course of a few days. They were simply too small to comb out, even doused with conditioner and starting at the very tips. It took for-ev-er!

So, I began by jumping in the shower to do a short wash with castille soap. Then I loaded my hair up with a slippery conditioner (I used a combo over the three days of Pantene and Herbal Essences), and got out and began to unbraid. Having the conditioner on my hair made it a thousand times easier to undo the braids. It kept the ends slick which prevented tangles as I worked my way up.

After I took out a small section, I coated the hair with castor oil and two-strand twisted it up. The castor oil turned out to be a wonderful addition to this routine and I will share why in a sec.

As you can see, I started at the front. I only got this much done on the first day and knowing I had to go to work the next day, decided to leave in the twists so they could dry overnight. So... I undid the twists the next day, pinned them up in the front, and left the back hanging down. It was actually kinda cute and I got some compliments. Unfortunately I did not get any pics but it was functional for that day.

Each night before I went to bed, after spending a couple hours with my hair soaked and conditioned, I would rinse out the twists. The castor oil left my hair feeling sooooooooo soft and moisturized. You can see the shine in the pics and I really attribute that to the castor oil. I will be using this oil from now on after I detangle with conditioner and before I rinse.

Over the course of the next few days I repeated this process until last night when I got the last braids out.

There was no real growth goal with this style but I know I gained an inch pretty much all around. I will definitely be doing this again this summer so I can swim and enjoy the heat without worrying about my hair!

In the end, I would say this has been the best protective style I have ever had. I could wash and go, literally, and my hair was protected all the time. I went from combing and styling weekly to having about a month and a half of no manipulation. I think my hair really thanked me for it.So what are some of your fave protective styles? Do you prefer them in the winter, summer, or all year round?