If you thought for one second that you could just wear protective styles without prepping your hair, HMMMM!

I’m just going to leave it at that.

I braided my hair about almost 2 weeks ago and I usually keep my protective style in for no more than 4-6 weeks to prevent damage and breakage, especially with my edges.

People do tell me: “After spending all that money to get your hair braided, you’re only keeping it in for 4-6 weeks”

My answer: “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I do not want bald edges!”

Before installing your protective style, there is one thing you must do:

PREPARE YOUR HAIR

What do I mean by “prepare your hair”?

Let’s get right into it!

1. Shampoo your hair: this is to get rid of product buildup from whatever hairdo you were wearing prior to installing your protective style. You don’t want to install your new look on dirty hair, do you? So, wash it and and clear it from ALL product residue. Your new style should be done on CLEAN and FRESH HAIR.

After #1, you can do either #2 or #3. In my opinion, they are both equally beneficial to your strands.

2. Deep Condition your hair: yes, give it some love. Your strands are about to be tied up in braids, weave, kinky twists, etc…for a while. Deep conditioners are designed to strengthen your hair, improve elasticity, and improve the health of your strands. This process should be part of your hair routine, whether you’re installing a protective style or rocking your strands.

3. Hot Oil Treatment: oh my God! Oh how I have fallen in love with these and wish I did them earlier on in my journey. I set my oil treatments with Tropic Isle Living’s Jamaican Black Castor Oil. The benefits? This treatment leaves my hair with an extra layer of thickness, shine, moisture and stimulates growth all at the same time.

4. Leave-In Conditioner: After I’ve shampoo’d and rinsed out my deep conditioning or hot oil treatment, I apply my leave-in conditioner, The Mane Choice’s 3-n-1 Revitalize and Refresh Conditioner, which works as a Co-Wash, Leave-In or Detangler. I love this product as it helps with elongating my strands, leaving them soft and smelling good TOO!

5. I Seal in moisture with my oil. Again, I use Tropic Isle’s Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil because of its hair growth properties. I want length!

6. Proceed with detangling your strands with a wide tooth comb.

ET VOILA!

Your hair is now prepped and ready for your protective style!

Any additional thoughts? Leave them below.