My HAIR On Holiday: Chunky Braids

My holiday this year is in beautiful sunny Barbados.  

I am known for taking AGES to get ready so I figured that braids would be a great idea both as a protective style and would also save my boyfriend from getting bored waiting for me to get ready each day!!!

I've had braids installed many times before.  My mum has done them for me for years, since I was 7yrs old so that is a loooooooooong time.  In that time, I have only ever had my hair braided by two other people other than my lovely mum. xoxo


After the relaxing incident, I pre-booked my mum well in advance for lunchtime on Monday 02.05.11.  Usually I would go get my hair done at around 7pm but as I had packing etc to do I decided to go earlier.  And I'm so glad I did so.

I had purchased 5 x plaits of X-Pression synthetic hair in colours 2, 4 and 33 as my own hair is not a natural match for any of these colours when used by themselves.  The plan being, to mix these colours together for each braid using a varying amount of each colour.

I undid the packaging and was pleasantly surprised at how soft the hair felt.  The hair was also really really long.  When doubled up the hair was thigh length on me and I'm no shorty, at 5ft 8in I would say I am pretty tall so to me the hair was exceptionally long.  I started envisaging my super duper long plaits swaying in the breeze on the Bajan beaches!

I then started the take out a section of the colour 2 and that's when the real fun and games. TANGLES TANGLES and even more SODDING TANGLES!!!!! Oh my goodness, I have never seen anything like it.  All of my earlier dreams of my super duper long hair deminished as quickly as they had arrived as I opened the colour 33 which was just as bad and then the colour 4 which was even worse!!!

Faced with this unfolding dilema, I started thinking I was going to have to make an impromtu drive to the hair shops in my town (which are generally rubbish!!!!) to go and get my regular type of hair which I always use.

After getting one section of hair together after about 10-15 mins, my lovely mum  (God bless her) attempted to install a knotless braid.  Unfortunately it didn't work and the situation was made worse by the awful hair that we were using.  At this point, I decided to get down to the shops and buy me some new hair.

When I arrived at the first shop they had every colour under the sun apart from colour 2 in the hair that I wanted.  Bright pink?  YES!  Blond mixed with 1B? YES!!! But alas no colour 2.  I was starting to think that telling my mum to chuck the X-Pression hair in the bin was a bit of a mistake.  I went to another shop and the situation was exactly the same, no colour 2!!!!  I called my mum.  She told me she had done as I'd said and thrown the hair out.  Luckily she was kidding - she's such a joker my mum!  I love her for not listening to me and my hasty decisions!!!!  I decided to go back to her house and try again with the X-Pression hair but this time cutting some of the length off and installing them using the knot technique so as to minimise the tangles.

When I arrived back at my mums house, we set about sectioning off 16 braids worth of hair.  It took over an hour and a half to do so as first we cut each pack of hair to the same length taking off about 10inches of hair.  We then combed through each section and even had to go to the lengths of adding serum to the hair to stop it tangling on itself.  It was a complete nightmare!!!!  I was so so very pleased that I decided to get my hair done earlier in the day than planned.  Even when taking sections of the hair we had to step on it or comb it apart.   I kept saying to my mum that this experience would be on the blog and that I wish I had been videoing us separating this damn hair!!!

Finally, the 16 sections were done, complete with serum and lightly twisted and stacked, ready (finally) for installation, 3hrs later.

My mum installed the first braid to see wether we had the desired thickness.  Now let me tell you, that first braid looked beautiful.  The mixture of colours was great, and the hair was so so so so soft.  If this hair didn't tangle so much I would have found my new go to hair of choice.

We continued to add the remaining braids and after about an hour I was now the new proud owner of a head full of hip length chunky braids, which I think look fantastic!!!

Thanks Mum x