Do you need to use any products on your protective hairstyles? The simple answer is yes, you do. Just because protective hairstyles give you time off from dealing with your hair doesn’t mean you neglect them.
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If you want your hairstyles to last longer, you ought to care for them and that includes using products. Whichever hairstyle you choose, know you’ll need to maintain it to minimize breakage and retain as much length as possible.
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- How to prep your hair for protective hairstyles.
- Why your favorite hairstyle is breaking your hair.
- Benefits of protective styles
- How to maintain your protective styles for maximum length retention.
- All two strand twists as protective hairstyle posts.
Table of Contents
Products you need when preparing for protective hairstyle.
Before installing any protective hairstyle especially one that you intend to wear long term, you ought to prep your hair for the style to last and protect your hair. Preparing starts with the usual wash day practices and products.
Pre-shampoo treatment/ Pre-poo treatment.
To minimize the stripping effect of shampoo, you’ll need a pre-shampoo treatment. This product is to be applied before washing your hair and can be used as a detangler. This is an optional step, I do apply a preshampoo treatment when my hair feels dry. Catch on the benefits of preshampoo treatment on this post.
Detangler/ Rinse off conditioner.
A detangler is a product used to get rid of tangles and knots. A good detangler makes the detangling process easier by melting the tangles and offering a great slip. Don’t detangle dry hair or just snap off the tangles with your fingers.
Related post: best detanglers for matted hair.
Shampoo.
Next is a cleansing product, shampoo to get rid of all the dirt, sweat and product. Notice crazy build-up, use a clarifying shampoo to break it all down and thoroughly cleanse. You want to install a protective hairstyle on clean hair and scalp. You can also use a scalp massager to breakdown the build up and stimulate blood circulation.
Related post:
Deep conditioner.
Deep conditioners restore moisture, reconstruct and strengthen the hair, restore elasticity and repair damage. They are to be applied after rinsing off the shampoo and on damp hair, use heat to infuse the nourishing nutrients then rinse off.
Related posts:
- Moisturizing deep conditioners for dry hair.
- Why deep conditioning is essential
- Protein treatments for weak and damaged hair.
Products to use during protective hairstyle installation.
Moisturizer/ Leave-in conditioner.
Always moisturize your hair before installing a protective hairstyle. Moisturized hair is manageable with defined curls perfect for styles like two strand twists, fingercoils and bantu knots. For thick and coarse hair use heavier and creamy products.
Related post; best and moisturizing leave-in conditioners.
Heat protectants.
Using heat to stretch hair before installation? Protect your hair from heat damage by using a heat protectant and low heat settings.
Related post; best heat protectants.
Curl cream/ Twisting cream.
Looking for definition? How about using a curl cream to give you the definition and popping curls.
Related post: Define your curls with these curl creams.
Butters.
Butters are excellent sealants especially for high porosity hair. Personally, I prefer butters to oils. I choose to use oils for scalp massages, oiling and for my ends too. I use castor oil for my ends because of it thickness which offers the protection the ends need.
Related post: Best butter sealants
Oils.
Oils are perfect for moisture sealing, scalp oiling if your scalp needs it and for scalp massages too. Massaging your scalp with growth stimulating oil, will do stimulate growth since massages increase blood circulation on the scalp activating the blood vessels and helps supply more nutrients and oxygen to your hair strands.
Edge control gel.
To slay those edges, this is the product for you. I’m not a fan of slaying edges, I just let them be.
Related post; Edge control gels to slay those edges.
Mousse.
Tame the flyaways and give your hairstyles a good definition and hold by using a mousse after style installation.
Products to use daily/weekly/ monthly on protective hairstyles.
Moisturizer/ leave-in
You can choose to use a creamy leave-in conditioner or a moisturizing hair mist to moisturize and refresh your styles daily or a few times a week. My go to protective style is the twists and I do moisturize them weekly with African pride moisture miracle coconut oil and baobab oil leave-in cream.
Related post; curl refreshers/ hair mists to refresh your styles.
Butter and Oils.
As stated earlier, they are excellent moisture sealants and with oils you can use them to oil your scalp.
Edge control
For all your edges needs, slay those edges.
Scalp cleanser.
You may not cleanse your scalp as often as you would when wearing your hair out especially when on a long term protective style. To keep your scalp clean and fresh, use scalp cleansing treatment.
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As I started using heat to stretch my hair, I also started using heat protectants because I do not want to damage my hair, so thenks for the recommended products.
Thank you very much for this article, it helped me a lot to discover really nice products I shall start using!