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How to wash your braided hair at home

Hair
 Braids are beautiful until dandruff and sweat come in the way (Image: Shutterstock)

Washing your hair is important whether you keep long hair or not. All the dirt and sweat that accumulates on your scalp blocks the pores. As a result, your scalp gets dry leading to constant itching and accumulation dandruff.

It is even double tragedy when you keep long hair, hence the need to install protective hairstyles that shield your hair from direct sunlight and dust.

Braiding hair has many advantages like protecting your hair from excess breakage, promoting hair growth and increasing length retention. Besides, who can dispute that rocking braids can boost your confidence to another level?

The main reason why most ladies prefer to braid their hair is because of their durability. Braids can go for as long as 1- 2 months depending on the style. This saves a lot of money not to mention the cumbersome job of having to combing your hair every morning.

However, with any good style comes its downside. Although braids look fabulous and are easy to rock, they are prone to catching dirt fast.

Hair growth also makes them look old quickly. These in turn leave your braids looking untidy.

With most people currently scared of going to salons and redoing their hair, it would be easier to wash your own hair at home to help you preserve your braids and keep them smelling fresh.

The burden of washing your hair every two weeks and cleansing every day can be daunting but necessary.

 Pour your shampoo into a bottle to make the process easier (Image: Shutterstock)

To wash your hair, you will need to divide your hair into three or four different portions and focus on shampooing each portion first to make the work easier.

Also, you don’t want shampoo splurging all over your hair because this can be almost impossible to wash off.

First, you will need to use a spray bottle with water, then add some shampoo to the bottle and shake well to activate the soapsuds. You don’t want to apply shampoo directly to your hair before neutralizing it because this will give you a hard time washing all the shampoo out when rinsing your hair.

If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can apply a generous amount of the shampoo to your hand and rub it together to activate the soapsuds to make it easy to apply.

For both methods gently massage your scalp, and focus on the itchy areas.

 Be gentle when scrubbing off the shampoo to avoid injuring your scalp (Image: Shutterstock)

Do not rub your hair too hard, or go in with your nails scrubbing, you will not only injure your scalp but you could also yank out some braids leading to hair breakage or loosened braids.

Next, wash off the shampoo from your hair. The best method would be to use running water. You could wash your hair while you go for a shower and slowly wash out the shampoo.

When done, use a conditioner and apply it all through your hair down to the braids and wash out slowly to ensure all the chemicals are properly washed out.

When done, gently wring your braids to remove the excess water. At this point, you can use a hair dryer on low heat to blow through your hair and dry it faster.

If you do not have a hair dryer, you can use a towel then leave your braids down all day to dry. If you style your hair before it completely dries, it might develop a foul smell.

 Use a towel to dry your hair if you don't own a hair dryer (Image: Shutterstock)

You can repeat the washing process weekly, or every two weeks, depending with how fast your scalp gets dry and itchy.

After washing, apply some oil to your braids to keep them moisturized. Using braid spray would be more effective as the sprays penetrate the hair more than normal oils. Also, braid sprays are easier and faster to use daily to keep your hair and scalp moisturized.

You can style your braids in a bun or ponytail to hold them in together. Styling preserves your braids for more weeks unlike leaving them down and free which could not only be messy but also prone to dust and heat.

Tip: Always remember to wrap your braids in a headscarf while sleeping. This will help to prevent your hair from tagging and pulling while you sleep.

Furthermore, with a scarf, you won’t rub off your hair oil on your bed sheets and pillow cases hence your hair will remain moisturized for longer.

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