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Forum nameGeneral Discussion
Topic subjectbox braid question (they won't fall down)
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=13374666
13374666, box braid question (they won't fall down)
Posted by organix, Mon Mar-23-20 12:42 PM
okay so i have rather frizzy kinky curly hair (maybe type 3c) and i've always been minimal in maintaining it, usually just rock the fro and let it lock when the time comes. but now i want to start playing around.

i tried making a few braids myself but they always stick out. it looks ridiculous, lol. do i need some kind of product to make them fall down? castor oil? shea butter? i'm in taiwan so these things are not easy to find.

i finally found a hairdresser willing to give it a go but i'm worried she'll do no better than my attempts. if you have any tips please share, thx!

-----------------------------
my music: www.soundcloud.com/jessewarren
my mixes: www.mixcloud.com/jessewarren
my label: www.fb.com/mettamuzik
13374669, does blow drying to straighten it help?
Posted by Trinity444, Mon Mar-23-20 12:58 PM
usually, I flat iron mine first because my ends are 4c

13374677, wait...
Posted by Trinity444, Mon Mar-23-20 01:22 PM
what did you mean by, “fall down?”

I may have replied wrong, my bad lol
13374679, you are not alone (c)
Posted by CherNic, Mon Mar-23-20 01:30 PM
Swear I read the post and was like 'does she mean lay the natural hair down' but then I imagined the braids for some reason sticking straight out of her scalp instead of 'falling down'....so I just didn't reply
13374695, Im about to braid mines again...
Posted by Trinity444, Mon Mar-23-20 02:21 PM
I tried the knotless last time
going with the goddess/boho joints this time around....

I friend of mine complimented my hair and I said to her, “you should see the middle”. lol
I don’t put much work in because rarely do I wear my hair down...




13374768, RE: you are not alone (c)
Posted by organix, Mon Mar-23-20 11:46 PM
>Swear I read the post and was like 'does she mean lay the
>natural hair down' but then I imagined the braids for some
>reason sticking straight out of her scalp instead of 'falling
>down'....so I just didn't reply

yeah that's exactly what i mean, they just....stick out, lol. not like straight out, but at maybe up to a 30 degree angle - it looks ridic. i've been all over youtube and google and i'm still not sure exactly what will help them "relax" and hang down. i did try the blow drying thing but didn't quite work.

perhaps argon oil styling gel?
13374784, Wait a min, are you braiding *just* your natural hair like no bundles?
Posted by kfine, Tue Mar-24-20 09:02 AM
Bc if so I'm not sure you'll ever get them to hang or be as thick per section as braids done with extensions.

Another thing is you might be braiding super tight right from the root which can also create that lift you're talking about.

How long is your hair?? If it's like BSL or so I could see the appeal of trying to box-braid it all down, even tho I suspect it wouldn't have the same look/thickness at that length that extensions would like I said.

If you're *not* currently trying to braid with extensions I personally would just try to find some bundles to get the right look.


>
>yeah that's exactly what i mean, they just....stick out, lol.
>not like straight out, but at maybe up to a 30 degree angle -
>it looks ridic. i've been all over youtube and google and i'm
>still not sure exactly what will help them "relax" and hang
>down. i did try the blow drying thing but didn't quite work.
>
>perhaps argon oil styling gel?
13374808, no extensions
Posted by organix, Tue Mar-24-20 10:41 AM
>Bc if so I'm not sure you'll ever get them to hang or be as
>thick per section as braids done with extensions.
>
>Another thing is you might be braiding super tight right from
>the root which can also create that lift you're talking
>about.
>
>How long is your hair?? If it's like BSL or so I could see the
>appeal of trying to box-braid it all down, even tho I suspect
>it wouldn't have the same look/thickness at that length that
>extensions would like I said.
>
>If you're *not* currently trying to braid with extensions I
>personally would just try to find some bundles to get the
>right look.

yeah definitely going all natural, and probs not interested in the extensions. my hair is 6 inches on average, not quite as long as this dude's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX1jwCCicIs&t=346s

i watched that video ahe they listed a bunch of products but i'm not sure exactly what helps them hang down like his. i guess she's a pro.

tight braiding at the start could be part of the problem. what "bundles" are you referring to?

-----------------------------

my music: www.soundcloud.com/jessewarren
my mixes: www.mixcloud.com/jessewarren
my label: www.fb.com/mettamuzik
13374811, Hmm, ok that's what I thought. Oh and bundles = extensions, sorry lol
Posted by kfine, Tue Mar-24-20 11:08 AM
>yeah definitely going all natural, and probs not interested in
>the extensions. my hair is 6 inches on average, not quite as
>long as this dude's:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX1jwCCicIs&t=346s
>
>i watched that video ahe they listed a bunch of products but
>i'm not sure exactly what helps them hang down like his. i
>guess she's a pro.
>
>tight braiding at the start could be part of the problem. what
>"bundles" are you referring to?



Ok I hear you. I know not everyone's comfortable adding bundles to their hair.

The vid you linked helps visualize what you're talking about a great deal, thanks for that. But I'm not really sure what else to suggest tbh.. here's what's come to mind tho:

-Are you braiding it damp/wet? Maybe that will help you get the right hang initially, and then they dry that way rather than sticking out from jump.

-Have you thought about trying some beads or extra (hair color matching) elastics to put on your ends to help weigh each braid down??

-Do you know how to cornrow your hair? Maybe a different style of braid altogether is the move. Like you could try cornrowing most of your hair back and leave your leave-out as a ponytail/puff, or even do the individual/box-braids on just the leave-out?

-I don't really see how product would help a whole braid hang differently because doesn't it just dry anyway?? Plus you'd probably need to add such large quantities of it to have the effect you want, which is kind of the opposite of what we wanna do when our hair's braided and you can't wash it out as thoroughly. I feel like turning to products to help with this will just increase product buildup in the braid. Back when I wore braids/twists more often, I tried to keep product use as *light* as possible, almost non-existent. I'd spray them with a mixture that was mostly water, glycerine, etc and would only apply heavier moisturizing products directly to my scalp and new growth.