Weave wearers come in all shapes, ages, races and sizes. The kind of weave wearer you are could affect how long your own hair will eventually become. I am a hair care fanatic and weaves first became part of my regimen in an effort to reduce manipulation on my own strands allowing them the time and space to grow and thrive. Now my hair is mid back length just a few inches from my ultimate goal of strong healthy waist length hair.
Way too often though I see women who wear weaves constantly and yet when the extensions are out they don’t have a great deal of length to show for it. Year after year they weave up their hair with less and less length retention.
Here I look at different types of weave wearers and see how it affects their chances of growing long and healthy hair of their own. If you are only just getting started in the world of haircare or weaves, find out how to avoid the pitfalls that weave wearers fall into.
The ‘Ignore my own hair’ weave wearer
You have work/school/kids or a whole host of other distractions that makes hair a very low priority in your life. You don’t like having to deal with your own hair and put on weaves because they are easy and convenient. You don’t necessarily make a great effort to look after your weave either, you just expect it to be ready to go in the morning when you are!
Advice: While ignoring your own hair and giving it the time and space that it needs to grow can be a good thing, ignoring it completely is not. If this describes you then you probably don’t have a clue about looking after your own hair and probably treat it roughly when it is out of the weave which leads to breakage hence undoing all the progress you made while you were wearing the extensions. Learn a proper hair regimen and take some time in the week to pamper your own tresses even while you continue to wear a weave. Your hair will thank you by retaining all the length that you get.
The ‘I hate my own hair’ weave wearer
You never feel pretty when you don’t have a weave. Very few people have ever seen you without it! You relax your hair bone straight and retouch your hairline every few weeks to match your newest install. When you are between installs, you are literally climbing the walls until your appointment day with the stylist arrives. Your own hair is probably relatively long because you are in weaves so often but it is thin and breaks easily so you are scared of wearing it out. In any case it doesn’t have the volume that weaves have.
Advice: You would be surprised at how easy it is to look after your own hair once you use weaves as a tool to help you get healthy hair rather than an alternative. Start by avoiding over-processing your hair with relaxers and follow package instructions. Develop a regimen that allows you to take out your weave for at least two months at a time to avoid stress to your follicles from the braiding. Learn how to strengthen your own hair with protein treatments and in time you will come to love your own hair as it grows in thicker and stronger.
The ‘I don’t have a choice’ weave wearer
You have developed traction alopecia (bald spots & thinning cased by braids) around your edges probably due to wearing way-to-tight weaves and now you feel that you have no choice but to continue wearing them to cover the damage that has been done. You cannot imagine being without your weave but you know that you should do something to address the problem.
Advice: Sorry to say but since wearing extensions caused the problem in the first place, you should stay away from them until you have addressed the problem of hair loss directly. First off determine with your doctor that your hair loss is not caused by a hormonal issue rather than a mechanical one then try various over the counter or prescription remedies to try and regrow your hair.
Pamper your edges and if you must wear something to cover them up opt for a partial weave at the back and top with a frontal/closure (glued down below the hairline of course). Remember to remove it periodically to apply your hair loss remedies. As your hair regrows re-assess your weaving technique with your stylist to make sure that your braids are never made too tight again or switch to using a braidless weaving technique to avoid the problem in the future.
In the next article I will look at more weave wearers with targeted advice for each.
