Are Twists and Braids TRULY Protective Styles?

Last week, I tweeted about my new protective style AKA my curly wig. Many people responded by asking how it was a protective style, when twists and braids are protective styles, and a wig is not either of those two.

In the natural world, everyone seems to always advocate for protective styles and the poster children for protective styles are braids and twists. I shared a post from College Curlies to clear up the misunderstanding, because it's hard to explain in 160 characters or less.

I thought that maybe more people may have the same question, so I wanted to break it down for you all, to help clear up the misunderstanding regarding the styles that so many curlies depend on, with the help of Jamila from College Curlies, of course!

What is a protective style? A "true" protective style is one where the ends of you natural hair is completely covered and tucked away, like my wig AKA a "weave hat" lol.

Examples:

• Buns
• Weaves, sewn in
• Wigs
• Braid Extensions
• Twists Extensions (kinky twists, senagleses, etc.)
• Phony Ponies
• Tucked styles
• Bantu Knots
• Sew-ins
• Chignons (French rolls)

So where do twists and braids and cornrows (using just your real hair) fit in? Low Manipulation Styles
These are styles where the intent is to protect your hair, but there is some manipulation to the hair in order to do so. These are also styles where the intent is to keep the hair in the style for a long amount of time.
 
Examples:

• Twists
• Twist outs, Braid outs, Bantu Knot outs
• Braids
• Crownrows
• Coils
• Shrunken Fro
• Rollersets
• Pinned Up Styles
• Updos

The ends of the hair are what come into play when trying to protect your hair and they distinguish between what a protective style and a low manipulation style is. The ends are the most fragile part of the hair because they are the oldest, so the key to retaining length is going to be through TLC for your ends.

Hope this helps!

OH and important note that Jamila made was:
"It is important to remember that even protective styles can cause damage if not done correctly. It is vital to be very careful whenever handling your hair, even if you are only handling it every so often. Never pull the hair and pay close attention when detangling. Many protective styles, (like small twists) will require extensive detangling when it's time to remove them, so be patient and treat your hair with TLC. Buns can result in breakage if worn in the same location every time, so if a bun is your go-to protective style, try to switch up where you put it."