Woah, let me back track for those non naturals or people not used to the terms that I'm gonna be using in this and many other posts.
Wash and go (w&g): a natural hair style, when you literally wash your hair and go. You can also add gels to help define curls but there is usually very little manipulation or "styling" done to the hair and curls check out some cute w&g here and here.
Protective styling: Protective styling is just that! These are styles that protect the ends of the hair from rubbing, splitting, and being damaged by the elements. Essentially trying to prevent or reduce breakage in the hopes of retaining length.
Hide you hair challenge: A hide you hair challenge is basically protective styling for an extended period of time. From 1 month to a year or more. This can be accomplished either with braids, wigs, weaves etc whatever you like doing to protect your hair.
Curly Girl method: The long and short of it is that you don't wash your hair with shampoos and when you do they should be sulfate free (unless you want to clarify your hair). To wash your hair you use silicone free conditioners, doing frequent co-washes and simple styles like wash and gos.
I miss my hair so much. I'm not used to not having access to it. Lately I've been following the Curly Girl (CG) Method, which I will discuss in a later post, and as a result have done a lot of wash and gos. But when I'm not doing a w&g I rock wigs.
Despite loving my wigs and being a great protective style I decided that I wanted long twists (a result of the long braid craze of this summer). I've had super long braids 3 times and though they were cute they were also very heavy and kind of damaging to my edges :(. I opted for twist because 1) it was a style I could install myself 2) they were lighter 3) it was unique and 4) it was easy.
I love them, I do and they are everything listed above. But nothing compares to you natural hair. Being able to rock a cute bantu knot out or a curly fro. Sigh. I must stay strong!!
(I still had my twists in when I started this post, took them out on Tues so I'm back to my wigs. Turns out I could only stand not touching my hair for 4 weeks.)
I think protective styling is a great option because it really helps retain length and decreases the "hand in hair syndrome" and manipulation. I've personally seen tremendous length retention from wearing wigs and having such a low maintenance routine.
This is my second time doing a hide your hair challenge, my first one went from end of 2010 till right before my college graduation in 2011. This was also when I first started wearing wigs as an alternative to weaves (I stopped wearing weaves after a bad experience).
Anyway here some more helpful info about protective styling...
The Science of Black Hair- Protective Styling For Healthier Hair
BGLH- 9 Time Saving Natural Hair Care Tips, Protective Styling Do's and Dont's & Real Style: 8 Gorgeous Protective Styles from the BGLH Forum
Naptural85- All About Protective Styles! "Natural Hair"
About.com- 5 Protective Styles to Try
Naturallycurly.com- What Are Protective Hairstyles?
But just in case.
BGLH- 5 Signs That Protective Styling Is Not for You
wash and go
Protective styles
The styles don't have to be complicated (below)
MsVaughnTV- FALL back into Protective Styling! - A Hair Styling Tutorial for Naturals
Hope this helps.
AF
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