Crochet Braid Take Down - 09.03.13

"I started the take down process for my crochet braids on Saturday  afternoon.  I am always surprised at how much easier and quicker these are to take down than the kinky twists."






First things first, I made a point of reminding myself  of exactly how many weeks post relaxer I am - which is a few days shy of 11 weeks post!  I will not be making the same mistake as my last take down of kinky twists where I did pretty mych everything wrong!

Below are a few photos of the process.

The first step of the take down was for me to make my special take down solution which consists of oil (this time I used 1 x ounce EVCO and 1 x ounce EVOO) mixed with 2 x ounces of Aloe Vera Juice. 

The first image shows the consistency of the take down solution which I applied using an applicator bottle with a nozzle.

Before applying the aloe vera/oil solution I snipped each of the closure pieces (the second image) so I could access each of the partings in a single stroke.    The third image shows my hair before applying the solution and the last image shows the solution applied.  It looks pretty gross but it does the job!

 

Next I applied the take down solution to all of the partings for each braid and massaged into the braid to fully lubricate the strands of each braid.

The reason for this added step is to ensure that my strands are as flexible as possible before manipulating my hair so as to help reduce breakage.  I then left this to seep in and then evaoporate a little for about 2hrs before I started to take down the braids.

I unbraided the first braid, detangled and two strand twisted the hair.

After unbraiding the first braid I remembered that it's better to cut downn the extension hair, that way you are left with hair with blunt ends which is less prone to tangling in your own hair and therefore easier to remove.  After unbraiding each section I detangled with my Hercules Sagemann Jumbo Rake comb and then followed up with my Denman Ebonite seamless comb.

It took me 3 hours to take out the hair and detangle ready for my wash day.

 My wash day consisted of:

• Deep conditioned with a mixture of ORS Replenishing Conditioner, Roux Porosity Control, Aphogee 2 Minute Keratin Reconstructor, Silk Amino Acid Powder and Grapeseed Oil.  I applied this to my hair in four sections and then sat under my steamer for 40 minutes before rinsing out.
• I then shampooed out the conditioner in sections using Paul Mitchel Super Strong Daily Shampoo and a little Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo.
• I then applied Paul Mitchell Super Strong Daily Conditioner a section at a time and rinsed out before moving onto the next section.
• I completey forgot to do a tea rinse - oops!
• I then deep conditioned for about 5 minutes using KeraCare Humecto before rinsing out.
• My leave-ins applied were Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk, sealed with EVCO and applied KeraCare Oil Moisturiser.  I then added some Organix Coconut Milk Serum and Giovanni Frizz Be Gone Serum before lightly detangling and then left to air dry in sections over night.
• The following morning I spritzed with Aloe Vera Juice and appllied some Bee Mine Luscious before scooping my hair into a bun which is what I will be rocking for the week to follow.

This is the total amount of hair that I lost during take down, deep conditioining, washing and detangling!  Not bad at all for me especially after being in the protective style for 5 weeks.

I'm not 100% sure of what my plans are for my hair for the coming weeks but I think I will be relaxing my hair in a couple of weeks and updating my hair with some bangs!  I also need a major trim - I feel like I need to take off an inch all over ready for Spring!


Ciao 4 Now

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