by
Black Girl With Long Hair
This post was prompted by the following post sent by reader Sherica (pictured above) called “I Miss My Kinks”
Hey dolls *long sigh*. It’s been a long 1 mth and 1 week since I put in these kinky twists for protective styling. I really hope that I see some improvements in my hair’s health or I’m gonna be reaaaally disappointed. I know they dont look bad. Its not how they look that’s making me sad…I JUST MISS MY AFRO * bursts into tears*. I just really hope I can make it out to my 2 mth mark. This is torture!
Girl I feel you! While braid extensions were a tool that I used frequently at the start of my natural hair journey, I quickly grew tired of them. When they were in, I really missed having access to my hair. Plus, the weight of the extensions wreaked havoc on my hairline, and made it really tough to keep my scalp clean. Still, they can be an effective length retention tool for some naturals.
Do you still use extensions? Why or why not? How do you deal with ‘fro withdrawal’ while extensions are in?
54 Responses
I decided I will do braided updos with just my real hair for now on . I had got twist and braid extensions a couple times . Right now I’m rocking twist extensions but I’m taking all of it out in a few weeks . It’s been in for 2 months now . I miss my hair . I hate extensions . I took a few out and I got many tangles and breakage ! I dread taking them all out in a few weeks . Oh yea and i moisturized my hair everyday and washed every two weeks but still got alot of tangles and a little breakage . I’m going to have to detangle and trim when I take this hair down . Then I’ll do my braided updo .
IMO twist/braid extensions are great as protective styles, especially those of us with ‘hand in hair’ syndrome, ha ha. Its rewarding if you do right by your hair’s health(moisturizing, cleansing, cowashing etc while rocking the styles) my hair likes LOW manipulation, so yay me.
first let me preface this by saying that love my hair. making the decision to go natural nearly 20 years ago was and still is one of the best hair and health decisions i’ve ever made. that being said….i hate hate hate doing or anything related to doing hair. it is so time and energy consuming. OK I ADMIT IT I’M JUST LAZY. this is why i’ve had locs, a cesar and now rock almost exclusively braids, extensions, twists and headwraps etc and will be venturing into weavedom soon. while my hair is thriving with protective styles and a healthy hair regiment i so envy women that can rock a fro, twist out etc regularly. so i understand your phlight i hope that you can find a balance between the two.
i try to balance it by wearing my hair out for special occasions and for a day or two before a wash day. that enables me to have my hair out without causing me to becoming frustrated with “doing hair”.
Hey guys! I stumbled upon this totally by accident. I need some assistance. I have been transitioning to my natural hair. Was natural before. My hair reached past my shoulders when combed. Stupidly put the relaxer back and I have regretted. I am now wearing Kanekalon Expressions and I have never itched so much in my life. I swear that I scratch my scalp even in my sleep. My hair has some length but to me its not yet long enough to be cut. I want my hair back but I can’t stand the itch…SIGH. I can’t wait till I’m back to my natural hair and can abandon those braids!
You could try oiling the scalp with whatever is your prefered oil. But some people do react to synthetic wigs etc and you could be one of them.
Usually when I have my hair plaited and the scalp itches, its due to dryness. When I oil/grease it, the itch dissapears after some hours. Try it.
I love my natural hair. i can’t stand cremed hair, extensions are ok but after two weeks of long heavy braids I don’t like when I can’t wash it properly. When i wash it i don’t use shampoo as i use to i shampoo once, an condition twwo times. And it’s been great. I LOVE MY NATURAL HAIR AND WONT GO BACK TOO CREMED HAIR FOR NOTHING.
I been transitioning for almost 5 months and in aug i decided to cut my hair short so when i BC the shock would be less lol but i was flat ironing my hair to much because thats all i could do with my haircut so i put kinky twist in and its been 2 weeks my hair is growing like crazy so it looks bushy and i have seen so much on how to care for my scalp but i feel like im neglecting the rest of my hair….and I cant stand not being able to experiment because im just so excited about being natural!
Ahhhh… I discovered this site last year, but this is my first comment..lol.. I’ve been natural four months (woot!) and I got these HUGE braids like 2weeks ago. I’ve been thinking about taking them out b/c 1. I can’t wash them, it’d take forever, and 2. I really miss my TWA.
And y’all ain’t helping! Lol.. *sigh*
I feel like you guys have totally read my mind. I can’t deal with these kinky twist! My boyfriend loved them because he has never seen me with single braids so he liked the look. It’s driving me crazy to have them in cause I feel like I can’t moisturize my scalp enough and I’m scared of losing my edges besides I’m really in love with my afro! That’s it I’m taking it down right now at 5:30am so I can feel free! BEING NATURAL IS ADDICTIVE.
So i have decided Twist extentions and braid extentions are just not for me. About 5-6 months ago I do what are called spring twists extentions but the literally did not agree with my scalp, i have no idea what happen!!! After 3 wks of wearing these twists my scalp developed these dark dry pathes around the hairline that to this day i havent been able to get rid of or self diagnose. Soon as i couldnt take the itching and the patch formation any more i YANKED them bad boys out my hair, once again feeling freedom. LOL. But anyway, i used to wear baid extnetions when i was younger and the same irratated scalp issue would happen.
I promise MY SCalp must be bourgeois or something because it does not like forgein things in it for too long other wise it goes crazy!!!
I attend college in Hawaii. I keep hair in braid extensions during the fall and spring. I also transitioned in braids my first year. I am exactly 4 years natural and approaching BSL thanks to Braid extensions. Believe me, I don’t mind the break from my big hair. It keeps me from playing in it everyday.
I love just being able to spray leave in conditioner in it and then just go to school. sometimes i mix my own spray. I also like carol’s daughter black vanilla spray for my scalp while in braids.
I love all the styles I can do. I am freqently rockin’ some beads in my hair. I always wanted beads and finally wearing them in my 20s.Ha!
I am very confused. Are two strand twists by themselves considered a protective style even if they are left out without tucking or pinning the ends? I was told that a style isn’t considered a PS unless the ends are tucked away. Is this true?
I do not wear extensions. I wore them when I was “relaxed” but I will never wear them again. Why?
1. They are rough on the hair.
2. They are expensive.
3. They take too much time.
4. I’d miss my kinks and coils.
5. I’d feel “fake”.
I felt so stupid last year because I had braids in for about 3 years non stop, and had a fresh head of good virgin hair after a really bad relaxer I had a couple of years back. I had a strong long healthy afro, and what did I do? My dumb butt got another relaxer. But a couple of nights before I got the relaxer, I washed my hair, and cracked up at the fact that it had literally been years and years (maybe 7) since I had seen my whole head of hair in its kinky coily state. I had so much fun playing with it in the shower, and thought maybe I should keep it natural, but I relaxed it anyway. Not for me, but for everyone else. I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to work this way, I had just started dating my now fiancee about a week before, and had the assumption that he would prefer my hair straight. I learned a couple of days too late that he didn’t love me for my hair, he loves me for me, and completely supports my transitioning stage to be natural (again). My mom just cut off most of my hair, and braided it in wet and wavy braids (which currently hurt like hell) last week. this is going to be a very interesting two months.
above comment to sherica, not MC..sorry
I am currently doing a 2 years braid extention challenge and I am surprised to say i am 1 and half months in and do not miss my hair, i have found that i can still wash and condition my hair the same way i did when my hair was out. Its all about discipline and technique, i plan to take 2 week breaks in between taking out and puttung un braids. Its all worth it in the long run
Since I cannot stand the way my natural hair looks now (way too short for my liking), braids are perfect until my own hair is much longer.
It is messing with my hairline though — receding a little, but hopefully that won’t get worst.
i couldn’t agree more. this protective styling thing is hard. For your next giveaway can you PLEASE have your readers submit pics their protective styles. Hopefully some new ideas will help
I “went natural” after many many many years of wearing braid extensions (I mean back to back to back. Out on Saturday in on sunday). It never had an effect on my hairline or anything (I have a HELL of a lot of hair I guess). But eventually my hair became dry and brittle. I never learned how to do my hair without it being chemically straightened or heat straightened. I never knew how damaged my hair became after rocking braids. Once I learned from blogs and message boards and natural haired friends how to actually take care of my hair… I haven’t put braids in. I did rock twists tho because it kept me from having to cut my hair in order to take them out quickly and that’s only been twice in about 2 years. I did miss my hair while it was in twists but it was hella convenient and I only left them in a few weeks. Not a super long time.
I stopped using extensions while I was still relaxed. I hated the lengthy process involved in braid installation and removal. It wasn’t worth it. Now that I’m natural my feelings haven’t changed. I’ve thought about it, but then I know I would miss my curls/fro. I miss it when I do twists with my own hair (I go from twists to twist out very quickly).
i dont lol… i wind up taking them out
I swore by Kinky Twists through most of my transition, but now I feel like I can do mini twists on my own hair and have that for a week, then when I get bored, I can take them out, wash, and do something new. The money and time aren’t worth it to me any more.
I do a sew in with a really curly texture instead. It’s something I can do myself with ease and I know I won’t braid my own hair too tight.
When I was relaxed I rocked the curly fro sew in so much I even had some hair sent to me right before I big chopped! lol.
It is in the closet waiting. I just big chopped about a month ago so I’m not ready to protective style yet but by January I plan on going back to the sew in until my husband and I renew I vows in May! Yay!
I think for some it may be easier to deal with to do a curly sew in (I use synthetic because my hair does not have a prob with it and it’s cheaper). Individual braids and twist might not be for everyone. You can still do some fierce things with a curly sew in! And it makes for a great head cover during the winter months
I agree with Kanisha
I miss my hair but I needed to get braids because I notice my hair grows much better and retains length when I don’t do anything to it and since I’ am in college braids work wonders for me. Secondly, I’ am newly natural so the braids is helping me transition while I explore what works for my hair, what should I try and do to it once they are out, etc. so I ‘am thinking about leaving them in there for about a year (while getting my relaxed ends cut each time I get them redone)
I’m sitting here forcibly restraining myself from picking up a pair of scissors and cutting off the bulk of the braid fiber I have plaited into my hair! I put it in for my brother’s wedding just two days before this blog entry was posted, and I’ve been hating it since I put the first plait in. it’s a nice, neat braid job; I combined two colors that were only a few shades apart so it looks like the darker color is highlit (or at least that was the intent, and it actually looks pretty good in pictures that were taken of me). Because I wanted it to be in an updo, I left a lot of the braid fiber attached without cutting it.
My problem is, and always has been, to one degree or another, that I am sensitive to braid fiber. Different fibers make me react to different degrees, and the yaky seems to be the least offensive to my skin. Kanekalon is pretty bad, and this toyokalon, arrrrrggggghhhhhh :-(!!!!!!! I have literally been sick with symptoms of sinusitis since I got it home and opened it. It itches my back through my clothes. I have to spray tons of braid moisturizer spray to keep from digging the proverbial hole all the way to China from scratching my head. It traps heat like nobody’s business. I paid $21 and change for five packs, and I have one whole pack of auburn and a half pack each of auburn and dark strawberry blond. At roughly $4 a pop, it’s a waste to have this in for less than a month, but come Sunday, the take-down is going to begin! I can’t do this any longer.
I did it so my mom and I wouldn’t fight about my hair, but my hair is getting long enough now that it almost isn’t worth putting the extensions in anymore. For this past summer, when I haven’t had extensions in, I’ve worn my hair plaited in individual braids which I kept in for 3-4 weeks at a time, cowashing my hair with the plaits in as it was needed. I used Nature’s Gate Daily Conditioner for this; it’s light-weight and has a wonderful smell, I think. I originally intended to leave this current extension job in until mid-October, take it down until right before Thanksgiving, then put it back into extensions for the holidays so, again, my mom and I won’t fight about my hair. But after this experience, I’m done!
No more braids! I’m taking some friends with me to check for esthetics and I’m investing in a wig!!! It’s only hot for the little amount of time I’ll have it on my head, then I can take it off. No more feeling like I’m wearing a hat I can’t remove! No more irritated face and eyes! No more allergies! If there’s anyone out there who has a desire to experiment with varying shades and textures of #30 braid fiber, I’m your girl; let me know and you can have it!
I wore braids/weaves for the first 10 months of my transition. I loved it cause it gave my hair a chance to grow out. However I had to most def cut my perm ends because it was too much hair for me to deal with. One time it took me 5hrs to wash condition and comb out!When i finally cut it i havent gone back to braids or weaves yet because i really LOVE my natural hair.I will have separation issues if i go back anytime soon… sad but tru… so i know what you guys are talking about.My hair is thick and maybe i wont miss it but who know…
same here for me…I’ve only had these in for 3 weeks and im ready to take them out this weekend.I do braids my self so its cheaper, but these kinky twists are getting raggedy but i dont feel like re braiding the edges and re twisting them like i would normally do. I miss my natural hair although i have trouble styling it sometimes
I’m in the same situation now as well!
I’ve had my current set of braids in for almost three weeks now. But I’ve technically been wearing braids/twists extensions since July. Once I take the set out, I give my hair a rest and then put another set in. I’ve been doing this a) because I’m in colleg & I don’t have the time to deal with my hair but also b) because I’m trying to gain some length.
I miss Ana (my hair) A LOT! BUT I stick through it because it’s always totally worth it when I see how much my hair has grown! I notice the growth way more after I’ve put my hair away for awhile than if I’m wearing it out day to day. I just try to do different styles with the braids to keep myself from getting bored with the style.
Still, I miss my hair like crazy. This set will be my last for the rest of the year.
I still occasionally wear clip-on ponytails or clip-in half wigs. The reason I use the extensions that have clips is because I know I will want to wear my natural hair out again SOON. These extensions are easily removable; as opposed to a sew-in or braid extensions.
This is how I avoid “fro withdrawal”…
HGHG
I too am going through the same exact thing at this time. I have senagalese twists with extensions in my hair down my back. I’ve had them for 1 month now, and I have 1 more month to go with them for the 2 month mark. I am trying so much but I’m soo curious about how long my hair has grown.
Funny thing is I’ve never missed my hair this much when it was permed and I would have the senagalese twists done to my hair. Now I just always have my hands in my hair, and want to see my curls. I love them!
When I decided 2 go natural I thought I would b able 2 use braids 2 transition but after a month I took them out my transition only last 4 months cuz I couldn’t deal wit braids or the 2 diff textures. I want 2 try them again 4 the winter hopefully I can keep them in longer this time.
I have had this weave in for 1 month and I’m cringing. For the money spent I need to ride it out for 3 months. Call me cheap, but when you buy something you want to put it to good use too….although I miss exploring my natural hair and building a regimen to keep it healthy, I’m learning how to accept things. Like the fact that this weave is not me, but an extension of the beauty god already put there. (sorry I needed some affirmation!) I’m also seeing how excited I am to be 100% natural. Never thought I’d do the BC but all I can think about is being able to wake up, wash my hair, and get out of the house on time. All this “blending my natural hair in with the weave” has given me, is heat damage and a nasty headache. My curls are no longer “Lyed To” and far beyond resilient when it comes to humidity.
I’m glad though.Just 2 more months and I can actually start showing MYSELF the greatest expression of self love by embracing me…all of me. The way I was made!
I love this blog,whenever I feel like I’m the only one feeling a certain away a article pops up with encourage and great advice. 🙂
I did kinky twists for 4 weeks in Jan 09. I missed my hair sooo much and I couldn’t wash it as often as I wanted to. Last month I started to get tired of my hair again and wanted a long term protective style with extensions but I don’t think I can do them anymore because my hair is too long. (I’m glad I’m able to say that :))
Oh my goodness, I’m glad I came across this post. I put in lock extensions 2 wks ago! I must say they look very good but, I so miss my fro. I keep goin back and forth with leaving them in and just locking again, but I so miss my fro. I am trying to go to the end of October, but I don’t know if I’ll make it. Now I don’t feel so bad for wanting to take them out. I’m not the only one.
Thanks for the tips EbonyPearl! I will try this soon. I hope to see a tutorial on this.
I can’t survive more than 4 weeks with my braids, after that it drives me crazy! I love the look of a straight weave and having extensions that give length but when I take them out, I’m just so glad to have my hair back!
I’ve worn braid extensions while transitioning. My most recent extension experience was the spring of this year with afro twists. I loved how they looked and they were so much like the texture of my hair that lots of people truly thought my hair had grown that much.
The bad side was that since the hair was soooo much like mine, when it came to take them out, it was hard to tell the difference. I ended up snipping some of my hair in the taking out process. I washed on a regular, moisturized, and oiled my scalp, so I feel it wasn’t from poor maintenance, but a combination of wearing them for the time allotted and the similarity in hair textures.
Would I do it again? Yes, but maybe only once a year during the difficult months due to the weather and my time constraints.
I had kinky twists twice last year and said I would never get them again. Now, I’m set in a great regimine, but just getting tired of doing my hair. So, I’m thinking about doing them myself here in the next month. I only keep them in for a month or 6 six weeks, so although I do long for my hair, the extensions give my hair time to rest and do it’s thing!
I’ll try 🙂
When I do my 2-strand twists with extensions, I use Kinky synthetic hair – it just holds better and is the best mimic so far to my hair’s natural curl pattern.
First, from the extension hair I section out the same thickness of hair as the sectioned portion of my own hair. Second, I spritz my hair with water (I always do this on newly washed hair, but if it starts to dry I have a pray bottle ready) and begin twisting my own hair. When I get halfway down (just about the time when the thickness of the twist starts to get thinner), I grab the synthetic hair, align it to my untwisted natural 2-strands, and loosely incorporate it into my twisting motion. My hair’s natural shrinkage, as well as the synthetic hair’s ‘spring’ hold the natural and extension hair into place and the blending is so smooth that you wouldn’t notice the difference unless they were 2 different colors. Also, I an giving both my natural hair and the synthetic hair enough overlap so that the extended hair doesn’t slip out.
(I may do a tutorial or take some photos the next time I wash my hair to demonstrate because I worry that I’m not explaining it correctly.)
As for maintenance, I don’t use a any heavy products. I oil my scalp with my own hair oil recipe, and I spritz both my natural and the extended hair with water. If I feel like I need to add a little extra moisture to my natural hair, I use a small amount of my homemade shea butter cream and apply it to my hair.
I love briads extension as my protective style. I usually wear them for like 2 months. But lately my hair is too long for the braids (my hair is mid back length). My hairline is very weak so when I have them in I read the front like once a …month and that is the ending of the month.I wash my hair every month and to deal with the buid up, when I remove my braids I dont wash and detangle right away, I place them in twist as I remove each braid. That has helped me alot, it also helps to remove shed hair. Also when I remove the I give my hair a resting period like 2 months to breath and then I am back in the game.
To moisturize I used oils to lessen the build up.
I do miss my hair when I have extensions but the benefit from having them in is worth it.
Well when my hair is in kinky twists, I find that moisturizing it everyday and cleaning my scalp once every two weeks is enough hands in hair time for me. I usually put the kinky twists in when I am really busy with school, around finals time, and that allows me to be okay with not doing my hair all the time. But there are times that I really miss my hair and when that moment comes, I spray my hair with the braid spray and the leave in conditioner, and maybe style the braids. And then after that I’m okay.
I’m glad to see this post. I plan to get some kinky twists in the early part of next year when my hair fills in a bit more. Extensions have always helped me to retain length and I feel like I can care for them better now. Plus I’m tired of wigs!!
I did use braid extensions for a long time, at least 4 years. Now I feel like they are not worth the time and temporary discomfort, lol.
oh my Jesus I’m going through this now, it’s been about month since I’ve had my extensions in too & i miss my TWA sooooooooooooooooo much 🙁
Ebonypearl, are you able to further explain the technique of adding extension hair half way of your hair? How do you split the extension hair to your hair?
I have been braiding my own hair since I was 13 I’m now 24. But now that I am newly natural I am finding that when I braid my hair up I miss my natural hair so much. I had sengales twist in for a week and now I’m currently wearing some individuals and its been a week and Im itching to take these out but I have a goal of wearing them for at least 2 months.
I think the key to braid extentions is keeping your hair moisturized and your scalp clean. I still shampoo once a week. I make sure that if i work out I rinse the sweat out of my hair. I spray my hair often with my spritz. But I really miss my hair lol
I agree @ Miss Malorie.
I normally wear my natural hair in the summer and kinky twist in the Fall/Winter, it gives my hair a much needed break and I can wear funky hats when the weather gets cooler outside.
I use kinky twists often because I get tired of seeing my hair (I get bored quickly), and then after I have the twists in, I get bored with them and then I go back to my hair. I just like being able to put them in and make a ponytail. That is so useful because it’s really hard having to constantly do my hair for work. (Can’t wear scarves; my natural twists aren’t long enough to pull into a ponytail yet.) As long as you’re taking care of your hair while it is covered with the extensions, then you can definitely make use of your hair’s time “away.”
I used braid extensions to transition for about 11 months.I would have semi-micros put in (I made an emphasis on not getting it done too tightly)and I would leave them in for at least two months at a time. Occasionally I would just redo the front of my hair if I felt like it was getting too messy, so that I could stretch out the life of the style.
Now that my hair is at my shoulders (when stretched) I just two-strand twist my own hair and pull the twists into a bun and leave it for about two weeks (I still co-wash and deep condition my hair while it is twisted).
I would say that length was the major reason why I turned to extensions for protective styling. In order to protect my ends I need to be able to tuck them under or cover them and when my hair was shorter extensions just seemed like the most practical way to achieve that.
I know that feeling of missing your hair when extensions are covering it, but I tried to make good use of the separation time – Reading up on natural hair care websites like this one and youtube tutorials so that I would better be able to take care of it when it was out again.
I have been styling my own hair since I was a teenager mainly because I felt like braiders would braid my hair too tight. With that, as my skills increased and I got into 2-strand twists, I recently figured a way to do them so that I am adding the extension hair to the middle of the twist as opposed to the scalp (I hope I’m explaining this correctly). As a result, I don’t have to use as much hair as I did in previous years because I am literally extending my own hair in the 2-strand twist style, which is lighter in weight and I can see and feel my scalp. It also mixes easily with twists of my own hair since the hair at my crown is usually the longest and dont require extending, and I feel like me. I don’t know how they do it in braid shops, but should I decide to do the twists again – which I may for the winter – this is the method that I will duplicate.
Can you post a tutorial for this? I’ve tried to do this but I can’t seem to pull it off! :/
I have discovered this also & it works wonders. I just can’t wash it or there will be hell to pay at removal time. I use organic witch hazel to keep my scalp clean and if I sweat (exercise) I co-wash by dipping a piece of t-shirt material in the water, removing excess and squeezing large sections of hair. This prevents tangling, scalp is refreshed & my hair smells gr8!
i miss my hair soooo much after about a week with any extensions/sew in/etc not to mention I can barely clean my scalp well so it gets irritated. That’s why I’m sticking with wigs, can pop it on and off for a protective style while my hair is in healthy twists underneath
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I was a few months in a few months relationship with braids. I would either were simi-micros, cornrows. This worked great for me because I work out on a regular basis, and sweat is nothing to play with when it comes to hair styles. The last time I had my cornrows put in, I really started to miss my hair. My scalp was always flakey, itchy, and dry no matter how much I washed and moisturized it. When I took my braids out, I had a small bald patch right in the front part of my hair (close to the hair line). I was sooooooo mad! At that point I swore of braids for good. My spot is slowly growing back in. I now rock my TWA proudly, workout without abandon, and am learning how to look good without relying on an extension to get me there 🙂