Wear Braids This Summer Without Breaking Your Hair
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In This Blog, You'll Learn:
→ The Type of Braids You Choose Could Be Quietly Damaging Your Hair → The Simple Habit That Keeps Your Hair Flexible Under Braids → The Before-and-After Swim Routine That Keeps Braids From Drying OutHere is my honest take. In the summertime, I will always recommend wearing your hair natural first. That is what is best for your hair. But life happens. Sometimes you do not have the time, the resources, or the circumstances do not allow it. If that is you, then okay. Here is my full rundown on how to wear braids in the summertime and do it safely.
1. Are We Ready for Braids?
Before we talk about braids at all, we have to talk about the state of your hair. Braids are not the right move for everyone right now, and that is the truth.
If you are already noticing breakage, thinning, or dehydration in your hair, if your hair is not retaining length, or if you do not have a healthy routine in place yet, then braids are not what your hair needs right now. Putting braids on top of hair that is already struggling will not protect it. It will set it back.
This goes double if you plan on swimming. Chlorinated water and lake water are already hard on natural hair. Add braids that you cannot properly care for, and you are asking for damage. So be honest with yourself about where your hair is before you commit.
2. Know Your Braids
Not all braids carry the same risk. When it comes to your hair, here is how I rank the options from most damaging to least damaging.
Synthetic hair has no give. Every time your hair gets wet it swells, and as it dries it shrinks back down to its normal cuticle diameter. When that synthetic fiber is locked down on a strand that is swelling, it has no flex, so it slices straight through your cuticle. That is exactly why we see so much cuticle damage from braids in the summer.
Human hair added to your own gives you more flexibility and less cutting through the cuticle than synthetic. If you are set on adding hair, especially if you will be swimming, try to braid with human hair instead of synthetic.
Braids using only your own hair are the gentlest option. There is no foreign fiber working against your strands, which means less tension, less cutting, and an easier takedown.
One more thing about summer specifically. The sun is baking your hair as it is. Your parts and scalp are exposed, so protect them. Put sunscreen along your parts or wear a hat. Your scalp can burn, and that exposure adds to the dryness braids already create.
3. Getting Braids: Prep Your Hair
Whether you are swimming or not, prep is the same and it is not optional. Healthy braids start with healthy hair going in.
First, confirm your hair is in a good state, like we talked about. Then run through this process before you sit down to get braided:
Shampoo and condition the hair.
Apply a moisturizing deep conditioner and sit under the steamer.
Do a protein treatment, then follow with moisture. Protein first, moisture after. Always close with moisture.
Get the hair braided.
4. Maintaining Your Braids
For everyday wear when you are not swimming.
Your braids should feel good for the first eight to ten days. After that, the goal is to keep the hair moisturized, soft, and movable. Flexibility is everything. Stiff, dry hair under braids is what breaks.
The Constant Repeat: Every 8 to 10 days
This is the rhythm you keep the entire time your braids are in. Every eight to ten days, mist the hair with Mizani Miracle Milk, then put Flourish Cream-Oil in your hands and squeeze it right over the braids where your hair is. Every eight days. Every eight days. Every eight days. That consistency is what keeps your hair soft and flexible underneath.
Shampoo Schedule (not swimming)
If you are not swimming, you are not sitting in chlorine, so you do not need a heavy wash schedule. Shampoo at the four week mark, or at three weeks if you have a scalp issue. At that wash, cleanse the whole head with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. I like Design Essentials Honey Creme and the Design Essentials Mask. Then follow up with Flourish Cream-Oil, Mizani Miracle Milk, and the Flourish Foam. Tie the hair down to set.
5. If You Are Swimming, Follow This Protocol
Swimming changes everything, so this is its own routine. If you are getting braids and you plan to swim, start by getting braided with human hair if you possibly can. It gives more than synthetic and protects your strands in the water.
Before Every Swim
Completely wet your hair first. Stand under the shower and fully saturate it, do not just splash the surface. Then apply a light leave-in like Mizani Miracle Milk or Flourish Cream-Oil through the hair where it is braided. Last, contain it. Put the braids in a bun or a braid so they are not loose and flowing in the water. This keeps chlorine from absorbing as much and keeps the hair from fraying and frazzling.
After Every Swim
Rinse the hair completely for three to four minutes with warm water. What you do next depends on your week:
You do not have to shampoo. Just rinse four to five minutes completely with warm water.
Done swimming?
Shampoo the hair if you're not getting back in the water for seven days or more.
After rinsing, spray Mizani Miracle Milk, add Flourish Cream-Oil, and apply the Flourish Foam. Then tie the hair down. You can sit under a dryer, or tie it down and let it mold down on its own. Repeat this same process before and after every swim.
At the seven day mark, whether you are swimming again or not, shampoo and condition the hair, then apply Mizani Miracle Milk, Flourish Cream-Oil, and the Flourish Foam.
6. Scalp Care
If you struggle with seborrheic dermatitis or any scalp condition, really consider what braids will do to your scalp before you commit. The synthetic hair, or simply not being able to wash as often, can cause a flare, unless you opt into washing weekly even with braids in.
If you have a scalp issue and braids are still the option you are choosing, here is a workaround. Take your medicated shampoo or scalp shampoo, wet a toothbrush, put the shampoo on the toothbrush, and scrub the scalp with it. Then rinse only the scalp without getting your entire head wet.
If your scalp is looking ashy or tight, not flaking, you can dab a tiny bit of Flourish Cream-Oil on the scalp. Another tip I learned: Bulletproof Brain Octane MCT oil on the scalp can reduce flaking significantly.
7. Takedown & Reset
We recommend leaving braids in for six weeks at the most. When it is time to take them down, do it with care. The takedown is where a lot of damage happens if you rush it.
Before you take anything down, squeeze Flourish Cream-Oil onto the hair.
Take the braids down, using the Cream-Oil already in your hair. You can add a little Mizani Miracle Milk to help release any lint or knots that gather at the roots.
Finger detangle first, gently pulling out all of the shed hair. If you followed everything, your hair should actually feel soft and supple here.
Once the shed and knotted hair is removed, take your detangling brush and brush the hair in sections to clear any extra shed hair and keep it detangled.
Now shampoo, making sure all shed hair is out and the hair is not unnecessarily tangled. Do a moisturizing shampoo, then a clarifying shampoo, then your moisturizing conditioner. Let it sit.
Spray Mizani Miracle Milk, add Flourish Cream-Oil, then twist or style with the Flourish Moisturizing Butter.
Enjoy your braids!
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