Chronicles of a Weave a holic:Washing weaves

Confession……..I am a weave-a-holic!i think there should be a meeting for people like me cause I know there are many of us out there.Who is a weave-a-holic?basically someone who likes weaves A WHOLE LOT…… Indian, Peruvian, Mongolian, Chinese, Brazilian, Russian the list goes on and on and I LOVE THEM ALL! In as many lengths as possible ranging from 18 to 30inches.I get excited when I see a good weave,admit it…….most of you ladies out there feel the same way.Especially since natural hair is not really put at the top range of our priorities in this society.
Since I started my hair journey I made a conscious decision that even with a weave I want my natural hair to be as healthy as possible.When you walk into a salon and see a pretty lady that her weave has just been taken out and her hair looks like rats tail then you will understand what i’m saying.
The biggest problem with weaves is PRICE.If you wear human hair then you will be dealing with the dilemma of how much to spend and how to maintain what you already have. I don’t have thousands of naira to spend fourthnightly on a new weave so I had to learn pretty fast to take good care of mine.
There are a few things I learnt about weaves over time, whether its a high or low grade human hair is that they like to be clean.We have all heard the jokes online about girls weaves smelling like STDs(ewwww!)and boys saying they are choking at parties because of the smell of stale weaves,comparing it to dustbins.ENOUGH!I love my weave and it shouldn’t be talked about in such a distasteful manner, lol.
The advantages of a clean weave are endless.When it is clean,it holds a curl longer ,it sheds less and it’s not so stiff.Weaves should be washed once a week or at least biweekly, especially if products that leave residue in the weave are used eg Serums,hairspray .In washing a weave there are three steps;
SHAMPOOING:contrary to the popular myth that you cant wash your hair while you have a sew in,it is very important to do so.Especially in our weather where you can sweat on your scalp and your hair becomes a smelly mess.The question now is should I use a shampoo or co wash my weave?Shampoos that have a high sulphur content have been associated with drying out of hair and stripping it of its moisture.This probably can cause more harm than good to a weave and your natural hair if not moisturized properly after this process .A sulphur free shampoo can be used but this products are hard to find,I dilute my shampoo in a ratio of two parts of water to one part of shampoo and use spray bottle to lightly spray it on my scalp then let it trickle down the weave.That way am washing my scalp ,natural hair and my weave without using too much product.
This is a note of warning to those who wear weaves with tight coils eg kinky coils or deep wavy Brazillian hair,these weave can get really dry very fast so personally I will not advise the use of cheap shampoos or shampooing most times,co washing is a better option .This will help retain moisture in the weave and clean out dirt.
CONDITIONING:this is an important part of the process after shampooing because a conditioner will make a weave shiny ,replace moisture and reduce tanglingThis can also be done and skip the shampooing step,which is known as CO WASHING as I mentioned before.When using this process make sure your hair rinsed through properly so there is no product accumulation in your braids which can cause itching.Finger combing or using a wide tooth comb is important to detangle the hair,tip to tract.
LEAVE IN CONDITIONER:this is used to seal in moisture but should be done with a light hand cause you don’t want your hair to go into protein overload ,become stiff and snap off.All this should be done while lightly finger combing the weave.
When all of this is done,the weave can be dabbed dry with a cotton towel .The drying method will depend on you and the weave.if the weave can’t take heat too well you can sit in front of a fan to slowly dry the hair (this is time consuming),you can do a roller set or use a blow dryer at its lowest setting to dry your braids.Moisturizing your scalp and natural hair is very important,this can be done before doing the blow drying or putting heat of any kind so your hair is not stripped of moisture and becomes dry.PLEASE make sure your braids are properly dried ,cause it can cause growth of mold,thats just disgusting.Some people don’t wash their weaves with the braids cause they remove their tracts regularly,it all comes down to one thing ,preference.
The aim of this process is to not only to take care of your weave but your natural hair.A sew in should be in for a maximum of 6 weeks.This is for hair to breath and proper cleansing of hair and scalp.
Hopefully with this little nugget of knowledge we will never be the butt of weave jokes anywhere!AMEN!