6 protective hair styles for the summer

IT’S summer, and if you’ve been dealing with exam, toddler, graduation, work, parenting, angsty teenager, or just general life stress, chances are your hair is paying the price for it. Right? Your hair will reflect your general health, and if you haven’t been taking the best care of yourself, what you’ll have is dry, damaged locs that’s probably breaking.

If this is your reality, then you may be considering donning a protective style for the rest of the season to give your hair a break. Protective styles, according to hairstylist Sonya Cohen, keep your hair protected from heat, chemicals and manipulation, which can help exacerbate damage.

“These styles give your hair a break, while giving you the chance to adopt habits that will strengthen your hair at the same time,” Cohen said. “So, for example, you can still take your vitamins, deep condition and do hot oil treatments with braids in, while you give your hair an ease from the manipulation of combing and brushing daily.”

She lists these below as the best protective styles going into the summer.

“Each of these can be kept in for at minimum two weeks, up to six weeks for some styles,” she said. “Ensure that you are careful with your edges though, as you don’t want to pull to hard and make the whole transition pointless by losing your edges.”

Braiding

Traditional box braids or the more popular knotless braids are excellent protective styles for everyone from pre-teen to grandma. They are versatile, will last long, and you have access to your scalp so you can still scrub your scalp and keep your hair clean.

“Braiding is that style that you can never go wrong with,” Cohen said.

Crocheting

“I love this protective style, especially where you braid your hair in the pattern like you would for a wig, and then add the crochet. With this method you totally protect your hair, unlike where you’d be plaiting your hair, and then wrapping the crochet around it,” Cohen said. “But either way, you’re protecting your hair from the elements, you just have to be careful again with your hairline, as these braids get heavy, especially when wet, and can pull at your hairline.”

Wigs

Wigs are a super versatile protective style because your hair gets no manipulation at all, especially if you don’t have a leave-out. “However, be sure to not keep the wig on too long, as build-up on your scalp is not healthy,” Cohen said. “The moistness that will occur, especially with the humidity, can lead to fungal build-up if you’re not careful to take the hair down in good time.”

Faux locs

These come in various types but offer the same amount of protective styling. “Like braids, these are pretty versatile and can last a while with care,” Cohen said. “Again, ensure that your stylist isn’t doing them too tightly to avoid tension on your hair and scalp.”

Three-strand twists

If you’re a natural or are transitioning, this is a no-fail option for your hair as, though it’s your hair that’s being used, there will be little or no tension or manipulation for the duration of the time you have them in. You can even add some braiding hair or afro twist to the mix to make your twists more voluminous and make them last longer.

Locs

Finally, if you really, really want to take the plunge and take the no-turning back approach, summer is the perfect time to start your loc journey. Locs are low-maintenance, versatile, and a permanent protective hairstyle that you will no doubt love if you want to spend more time on life and less on your hair.