Summertime is looming on the horizon. The warmth of the sun, the breeze against your face, and a pristine clear pool are so close you can touch it! Yet, with the joy of summer comes harmful UV rays, dust, dirt, and harsh pool chemicals that could damage your skin and hair. One way to help your natural hair against these common summertime blunders is with a protective hairstyle! A protective hairstyle is used in order to protect your natural hair from the elements of your environment and is best for those with coily, coarse hair textures (curl patterns ranging from 3b-4c). These hairstyles can help with hair growth and working to increase the overall health of your scalp and hair strands, if maintained correctly. Protective styles include wigs, buns, two-strand twists, box braids or cornrows, but the possibilities are endless as you can add your own twist to a classic style and can be achieved on short, medium, and long hair lengths. Here are some protective hairstyles as inspiration for this coming summer!
1.) Box Braids: individuals plaits that are usually divided by small parts or boxed (hence the name). These are not attached to the scalp like cornrows are and can be any length from short, medium, and long with the addition of synthetic or natural hair. Box braids can be manipulated into a variety of ways, allowing you plenty of wiggle room to be creative!
2.) Two-Strand Twists: two strands of hair criss-crossed or twisted together. As the name implies, you’re only using two strands instead of three but are using the same motion as you would when braiding your hair: looping the strands over and over until you reach the end of the strand. Untwisting these after leaving them in can leave your hair with soft bouncy curls!
3.) Faux Locs: The real hair is twisted/braided then additional hair is wrapped tightly around each braid in a downward motion to resemble real locs. This is a great trial-run if you’re interested in real locs but are scared of the commitment.
4.) Bantu Knots: tightly wrapping your hair around itself at your scalp until it’s created a knot. You can get creative when separating your sections, with many using triangles and squares but the only limit is your imagination! Add a little oil before securing the knot to create a beautiful curl when it’s undone
5.) Cornrows: braiding a section of hair close to the scalp in an underhand, upward motion to create a raised braid. Cornrows give you the opportunity to braid sections of various sizes as well as get creative in the designs you can create. Cornrows can also be used to securely wrap your natural hair should you want to wear a wig.
6.) Pineapple: A ponytail placed directly on the top of the head in order to prevent frizz and breakage while you’re sleeping. This hairstyle looks amazing when styled with a scarf or bandana and is an
easy style when you’re running short on time in the morning.
7.) Buns: If you know, you know that a good bun(s) has always got your back.
- Aura Esterling
DWF Contributor
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