Protective Style 2016: Crochet Braids

So I thought I’d give a little update on what Fro and I are currently rocking. I’d already debuted my new look on Instagram, but in case you missed it:

Quite a few people have asked what the style is exactly – is it braids? A weave? It’s as they call it crochet braids. I know the last hair post I did mentioned how I’m going to try doing wig long term protective styling but my wig needs a little help at the moment so I’ve put that on pause. The weeks before installing these braids, I was really enjoying having Fro out and about. But then I fell into a bit of a rut getting ready and decided to just let it be. Keep styling to a minimum while enjoying my hair – but until when? I knew I had to put it away at some point, I just wasn’t too sure of my options.

Umm, what are crochet braids?

Crochet braids have been the craze the past two years or so and have gotten more and more popular (at least on my Instagram feed) that you kind of feel left out of a club somehow. In a way, I felt like I’d been doing a similar technique with my weaves for the past five or six years. Local salon Ruutos hooked me up with this style. They used hair they sell called Reggae Braid. Before installing, they prepped my hair by washing, detangling, steaming and conditioning my hair. They then blow dried it on low heat and put my own hair into cornrows with some hair fibre. They then used a crochet needle to feed the already twisted twists onto my cornrows. They finished off by knotting the twist on and dipping them all in hot water to seal. The whole process (excluding prep) took about an hour to do so as you know, that was a HUGE plus for me cos especially now, I don’t have the time or patience to spend 5 hours getting my hair done.

Pros? Cons?

As with most of my protective styles, this one has so far been a great time saver during a very busy time in my life. Although my energy levels in general are up, I still get tired out of nowhere and just love the simplicity of this look. Maintaining it is also very simple. I just do my usual ‘braid’ routine by using some spray and make sure to tie it in a scarf at night. The kinky texture of the hair also helps to blend in with my own hair so I find that I’m not really having to gel my hairline in order to keep it looking ‘sleek’. The best thing about this style? How accessible my scalp is. Sometimes with weaves, the stylist will braid the tracks vertically then sow on the hair horizontally making almost a square like grid on your head so making it totally impossible to reach the scalp. Hello itching! With my cornrows all going in the same direction, then the twists just being knotted on top, it’s easy and quick to keep my scalp moisturised and clean. The biggest con for me so far is that they’re chunky and quite short so styling them is quite limited. I’ve figured out a cute updo for special occasions eg. a baptism we went to recently but that’s about it. Thing is, it’s actually quite a small con because I don’t miss styling my hair every day. I love the get up and go.

Because I’ve never had this style before, I’m not too sure how long I’ll keep them in for. Probably for another couple of weeks before giving Fro a break again. But for now, they’re good :).

Have you ever tried crochet braids?