Best when Braided

Almost everyone I know has a hair drought season, I seem to always have two! Since the summer my hair has been super rebellious. My drought season tends to be in the wintertime because of the cold weather, but I am starting to feel like fall has been added into the drought mix. Naturally, I was bummed when I took my twists out and my hair felt like a brillo pad. I contemplated putting a relaxer back in my hair, getting a weave and/or wig (synthetic because I’m cheap) and even cutting it. Yes! Cutting it all the way up to my ears. Thankfully my cousin advised me that I had other options and the final outcome was box braids.Now people, I have never added extensions to my hair before so this was an adventure in and of itself. I could do without the 9-hour installation process but I guess I should have expected that being that my braid were down to the middle of my back. I only had my braids in for 3 weeks because I get bored easily, but within those 3 weeks I definitely saw a change in my hair. It grew about 1.5 inches, a little shorter in some areas (aka my dreadful bangs) and although it is still a little dry, I feel the moisture slowly starting to come back into my hair. So my routine and how I managed, huh? Well being that this was my first time with braids I probably could have done some things better. Like ensuring that I slept with my hair tied up and covered every night. But I did my research and figured out a system that kept my braids feeling soft, my scalp feeling nourished and my hair smelling good! I would oil my scalp at night with Raw Shea butter reconstructive finishing elixir; this really softened my braids and added much needed moisture to my scalp without creating build up (which I tend to have sometimes). I ordered it from amazon for $13 because I couldn’t find it at my local CVS. In the morning as I would get ready for my day I would apply coconut and hibiscus curl enhancing smoothie.This not only helped my hair smell good, but also controlled the frizz I started to get near my roots. I would apply a little amount with some water and put a scarf on my head as I was getting dressed. I used these two products because they are from the same company and I’m trying not to be a ‘product junkie’ and have 7 different products in my hair. There are several products that are good for box braids, so if you aren’t a fan of the Shea moisture products then just looks up what’s good for braids.And that was basically it! I did this for 3 weeks and saw a noticeable difference in my hair. I will definitely be trying box braids again. I think it is a great protective style and easy to manage, not to mention they look great! Test them out, try something new, it’s always fun to change up your hair.Be bodacious,Xoxo