Many in the natural hair community attribute their healthy hair and length retention to wearing weaves and wigs as protective styles. Being able to keep your hair tucked away under a weave and avoiding manipulation for a few weeks can help preserve your tresses. However, it is not just as simple as having weave installed. It is important to know how to protect your hair while wearing weaves.
More and more, we are seeing pictures surface on social media showing the unsavory results when people do not properly care for their hair while wearing weaves. “Out of sight, out of mind” is not going to work. Extreme dryness, breakage, traction alopecia, matting, and even bacteria and fungus buildup can occur. These are all results of not taking care of your hair underneath a weave.
Installation:
First things first, be choosy about who installs the weave in the first place. Finding the right hair stylist who knows how to correctly put in a weave- especially for a client with natural hair- may take time but is crucial. Do your research by asking friends and family for referrals, or asking a potential stylist for pictures of clients. Never allow a stylist to glue a track to your natural hair.. You also want to ensure the stylist can provide maintenance care in case you need some assistance or guidance.
Maintenance:
Shampooing your hair and scalp on a regular basis is still necessary while wearing weave. Concentrate the shampoo on your scalp and massage it in with the balls of your fingertips. Then work the shampoo down the weave hair, running your fingers straight down through the hair to the ends to prevent matting and tangling. Conditioning and even deep conditioning will not only benefit your hair, but the weave as well if it is human hair.
Lack of air circulation while wearing a weave creates a moist environment which can cause bacteria such as mold to grow under the weave. Ensure your hair is completely dry any time that you shampoo your hair. Also, applying antibacterial oils like tea tree oil, or apple cider vinegar rinses on the scalp, can help prevent bacteria from growing.
Removal:
Wearing weaves does create some stress on the hair, so do not leave weave in your hair for more than 6-8 weeks. This allows you to really care for your hair, and treat any issues that may be disguised by the weave. Give your scalp and hair a break before re-installing another weave. Here’s a great video from MoKnowsHair that outlines a great protective style recovery regimen after wearing a long-term protective style like a sew-in weave.
Good post. The way I shampoo my hair, is to dilute the shampoo with water in a spray bottle. That way you can wash it neatly without damaging your weave!
This is a very good idea. Thank you!
My natural hair is frizzy after I braid it ,no I do not add hair to mine.
I have faux locks, and I washes my scalp every other week, I just did and deep treatment, ACV rinse, and everyday I oil my scalp with a mixture I made.. which is made with, shea butter, jamaican black castor oil, a few drops of tea tree oil, and honey, I massage my scalp everyday with this,especially at night.
My inner voice keeps telling me to just stick with good quality wigs as a winter protective style. It worked decades ago when I was a teen & had a disastrous relaxer. I had scalp treatments & was able to keep my scalp clean & still care for my hair. I was able to grow out a fantastic afro in the 70s. I also have fine soft hair that breaks easily & gets split ends if I look at it wrong. I really don’t think a weave would be good for my hair even tho I have friends who have great looking ones.
Wigs can be a great protective style, I grew my hair this way as well. Right now my thing is crochet braids, because they don’t itch me like the typical weave does and they look so real.