B R A I D S

I can go on and on about braids ! The way they look, the various styles, taking care of them , the benefits and the downsides that come with them ! Honestly braids have been a part of me for as long as i remember and I believe they will be apart of me for as long as my hair continues to grow out of my head !

Now I wish I had a picture of me as a child to show you that I’ve been wearing braids ever since I was a little kid, unfortunately I don’t … but the main point is that I have been wearing braids ever since I started Reception at school. Back then I didn’t know much about hair – I simply let my mum take care of that for me , all I cares about was playing around ! But it has been a style that I was used to ever since I was a kid and at almost 19 years of age I still wear braids to this day.

Below is a throwback picture of when I had my Jumbo braids ( braids in a big size), I feel like i wear braids whenever I want to give my natural hair a break ( this is probably during winter time) or whenever I go into exam season ( as I don’t have time to style weaves or my real hair). It is really convenient for me in terms of saving time and making life easier, it also benefits my hair as it acts as a protective hairstyle by keeping my ends in.

Over the years, I guess with the prominence and rise of Instagram and other forms of social media, the transformation and the emerging of new braiding trends has increased ! From Crochet , to Locs, to Fulani, to Lemonade braids … the list goes on and on. I guess I was always used to strictly black braids or twists , which I still am used to, however I began experimenting more with what I could do to my braids. For example, I added grey colour to my braids back in 2016. This was the first time I had tried experimenting with colour and I absolutely loved it, especially since i’ve always been cautious with how colour would look on me, so I usually just stick to what I know which is black.

Braids have become so universal that even men are wearing some, which isn’t a problem, however it is been a drastic change from traditionalist viewings of braids which was specified for females only. The versatility of braids has elevated over the years and it has been great to feel apart of what everyone is used to.

So to conclude, this is just a short post about my thoughts on braids and what they mean to me. I would love to go in depth behind the history and the transitions of braids, but that could be done in another post otherwise this one would be pages long ! Overall I think braids are a perfect and beautiful style for anyone who wants to try something new with their hair, no matter where you are from !