Protective Styling Options

Hair by Benita Blocker. Pictured is an invisi-part quick weave using "Gro-Protect Solutions" Serum. My client's hair is all underneath the quick weave. Please see separate article on "Glue-free quickweave." The scalp shown is her scalp! That's the beauty of the invisible part.

The Glue-free quickweave is one protective styling method that I DO approve for those who do NOT have scalp issues! The growth serum does allow the hair to grow and stay moisturized. However, you can NOT shampoo this style without full removal of the quickweave style.

How about wigs? Synthetic half wigs/full wigs are not good for long-term protective styling because synthetic hair is heavier than human hair and can cause trauma to the scalp. (i.e. thinning) Remember wherever the wig is anchored is where you will get traction and potential thinning. Just like wearing a baseball cap too often . . . it will thin where there is traction. Also head scarves, hair bonnets - when worn too often -- you can get traction and thinning in those areas.

Human hair half wigs/full wigs are good for long-term protective styling as long as they are not heavy. See my separate article on "wig weight" or "worry about weight."

Thin out all wigs that are heavy or thick. Some wigs are being made a lot thinner now; so there is less worry about thinning the wig out. Texturizing shears are great for thinning out wigs.

Lacefront wigs are good for protective styling only if you have the forehead for it. Please see separate article about "head shape for wigs." Lacefront wigs attached to the forehead in front of the hairline is perfect for less traction, but some women do NOT have the head shape to do this. That is why some lacefronts look natural on some women, and others - it screams "wig."

Sew-in weave is a good protective style for one up to 2 months at a time. After two months, the new growth will push the weave out and cause extra hair and scalp trauma from the dangling extension hair. Remember hair grows a half inch of new growth per month. Two months is an inch or more of new growth.

Box braids are a good protective style for up to 2 months. Same scenario as the sew-in weave. After two months, the braid extensions can get too heavy on the new growth. Also, if too much braid extension hair is put onto the hair then it will weigh the hair down and cause trauma as well. Sometimes braid extension hair is braided into the sew-in weave to support thinner hair, but long-term - the weight of all that extension hair is going to take its toil.

At this point, you wonder . . . is there such a thing as protective styling? Yes, but it is not cheap! The human hair half wig- thinned out seems to be the quickest protective styling that allows easy access to your scalp; however, married couples may not find this a romantic asset. So the human hair sew-in weave may be the next best option; so that you will not have to worry how you toss and turn . . .