Protective Styling

With the weather changing, now is the time to consider your protective style for the months ahead. Many women with long hair insist that keeping their hair's ends up and out of sight helps them to retain precious length. Protective styles don't make your hair grow, but they do make it possible to prevent breakage since your hair may be breaking off faster than it grows. What protective styles do is keep your ends "protected." Try any of these protective styles and see if you experience more hair retention. Just make sure, no matter which way you wear your hair, that your ends are put away.

1. Bun: This is a simple style that works for any occasion, especially dressy or formal ones. All you need are hairpins and a covered elastic band. Buns work on relaxed and natural hair with a relative amount of ease. You can part your hair down the center or on one side if you prefer.

2.Two Strand Twist: Twist work best on natural hair. They work for children and for adults. You can fashion twists in various ways while still protecting your delicate ends.

3. Braids: You can braid your natural hair or you can opt for braid extensions. Whether your braids are all yours or created with enhancements, you still need to care for your hair and scalp while you're wearing them.

4. Weaves: How many of us have them? Well how many times have you heard a woman say that she got a weave and her hair just grew like weeds? The reason this seems to be so is because a properly cared for weave is a great protective style. If your hair is braided completely beneath it, it's not subject to sun, wind, rain or other weather. For maximum hair growth, it's still important to care for the hair (your hair) underneath the weave.

5. Flat twist: Similar to cornrows, are created with two sections of hair instead of three. Flat twists offer more versatility because unlike two-strand twists, flat twists work equally well on relaxed or natural hair. If your hair extends past the nape of your neck, you can gather the ends of flat twists and fashion them into a ponytail or bun.

It is also very important to maintain moisture during the cold months. During winter the air can be very dry, so deep conditioning is a must. Also, if you do not have a satin/silk scarf, bonnet, or pillowcase...now is the time to invest in one.