Show & Tell - Crochet Braids

Hey guys!

 

I'm coming at you with another protective style - crochet braids.

 

 

crochet braids - hair  not styled/ straight out the pack

 

 

I installed this style on my own on the 4th of November. I actually installed crochet braids once before about 3 weeks ago but wasn't too fond of the outcome and consequently, I have no pictures to prove their existence. It looked good with a hat on and that was about it. I left it in for a week because I had somewhere to be and didn't want to wear busted hair. Thankfully, this time around I like them a lot better. However, I still don't think they'll be in for very long because once again I have an event.

 

So anyway, about this style:

Braid pattern - I did 12 braids in the front and then I did a semi- beehive pattern in the back. When I did it before and had the back braids going straight back, the ends were too long and thick to hide. (pardon the quality of the upcoming pics)

 

 

 

Hair used - I used 3 packs of kanekalon hair, 2 in number 4 and 1 in number 30 for a pop of color. The brands I used are Bijoux and Outre. The first time I did it I used Xpressions and while I wasn't a fan of the texture initially, after it was hot watered, I was OK with it. On the contrary, I think I preferred my current extensions before the hot-water process as per the first picture (but they are still OK now).

 

Time it took - I braided my hair down in an hour. Did the 2 sides at the front in an hour and did the back in about 1/ 1.5 hrs. So total time is roughly 3.5 hours.

 

I think the style would be much easier to wear, had I left some hair out to cover the knots. But I'm working with it as is because I wanted it to be a full protective style where all my hair is covered and protected.

 

I did both a braid-out and a flexirod set on the extensions, and while I liked both styles, the braidout left the ends really tangled, I had to cut them off. The flexirod, after being brushed out, left me with a natural-looking wavy result.

 

Overall, this style is decent. There is quite some tangling (can be brushed out though) and shedding. I'm not crazy about it, but it works. I did the LOC method before braiding and the GHE method at nights. Can I tell you just how soft and MOISTURIZED! my hair was the last time I took them down?! Heavenly.

 

 

 

Have you ever tried/ are you planning to try crochet braids?