Purple Braids
October 4, 2011
This is just going the be a massive keyword dump. Yaaaaay. I have fairly fine Caucasian hair that I have recently (this last eight months, more or less) taken to wearing in box braids. Because my hair is so fine, the braids are really small, as compared to their root patches. I didn’t like this, and bulked them out with yarn- I like color in my hair, it makes me happy.
There are a couple of methods for braiding yarn in- I found the most successful to do the braid one strand yarn, one strand hair, and one strand yarn and hair. The piece of yarn used is twice the length of your hair, so that it is folded over and when it tries to settle out of your hair it gets caught by the braid.
Roots: Divide them into patches however big you want- I recommend smaller patches because they look neater longer and they dreadlock less badly. Do them tightly, but not so tightly that they hurt or give you a headache. You will have trouble doing the back of your head- get someone else to divide the roots at the very least.
Tying things in: make a separate strand of yarn only with whatever you want tied in and leave a bit at the top to tie to your roots above where the braid starts. If you’re using nonacrylic yarn, single knot will do- the yarn will felt together. I do suggest checking on a regular basis to make sure they haven’t gotten loose, especially soon after installation.
Dreadlocking? Yeah, the roots will dreadlock in anywhere between two weeks and a month. When you take the yarn out, pick out the dreadlocking with a comb- do it carefully because if you yank at it it’ll hurt and pull out your hair. Also, when you take it out, you will shed a lot. Do not fear, most of that hair is already shed and was trapped in the braid.
Washing: Wash like normal hair- use your fingertips and rinse thoroughly. I washed mine about every five days. Results may vary for you.
Drying: It’s kind of like washing a sweater- full of yarn and kinda felty. Drying it is the same way- wring it out, run through a towel and then let it drip dry. Depending on how long your braids are, they could be dripping for an hour.
Pictures! Because I’m a narcissistic fool!
This is (obviously) the back of my head, several weeks into my hair being in that style. Most of the braids have settled quite a bit, some of the unacceptably far. You can also see one of the reflectors from one of the additions.
This is the dreadlocking in my forelock braid. About half a inch or so is similar in density to the braid.
This is my hair directly after having the dreadlocking combed out. It is incredibly soft, fluffy and straight. This is also my camera messing with the exposure times and fuzzing things.
