The Weave Series: Pre-Installation

Weaves are a great protect style when done correctly. Due to preconceived notions, a lot of women believe that installing a weave without taking any steps into looking after their hair before, during and after the process will reap benefits. THIS COULD NOT BE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE TRUTH. Not taking care of you hair before, during or after having a weave is extremely damaging so much so   that it would be safer not to get a weave at all. This first part of The Weave Series looks at the preparation steps I take before getting MY weave installed.

Preparing the weave itself:

1. I washed & deep conditioned the weave using my Herbal Essenes Shampoo and Conditioner as if it were my own hair. I shampooed each individual track with warm water two times in warm water and then deep conditioned all the strands together in a plastic bag for half an hour before washing out the conditioner with cold water.
2. I let the weave air-dry as blow drying the hair would have made it frizzy and affected the natural wave pattern.

Like squirrels collect acorns & nuts in preparation for hibernating,
I also prepare my hair for it's hibernation. 

Preparing my hair:

1. I DO NOT RELAX my hair right before you install a weave! Relaxers chemically weaken the hair (by breaking down the disulfide bonds). Installing a weave minutes after you hair has been weakened and adding extra tension to you hair could result in a Naomi Campbell-esque look! As a result I try to relax my hair at least 3/4/6 weeks before installation.  I do however  relax my leave out the day of installation.
2. CLARIFY! I find it important to clarify right pre-installation as I get a lot of build-up during the six week I leave my weave in for. Therefore by clarifying I wipe the slate clean and start afresh. Also build-up can block the pores and affect the rate of growth.
3. Mmh Protein – doing a protein treatment to strengthen my hair in preparation for the installation process is ESSENTIAL. This should (hopefully) prevent the Naomi Campbell-esque look. I usually use my ORS Replen Pak.
4. Usually after a protein treatment I like to deep condition to add moisture back into my hair & reduce the stiff/hard/dry feeling that sometimes result from protein treatments.
5. It is extremely important for me to air dry as I don’t want to add any unnecessary stress to my hair strands before I get a weave installed.
6.  The night before I get my weave installed, I make sure my hair is properly detangled and M&S my hair and scalp thoroughly (this usually involves dividing my hair into more sections than I usually would). It is important to keep in mind that this is the last direct contact you will have with your hair before you remove the weave. 

Thing I intend to incorporate into my pre-installation regimen next time:

1. Hot Oil Treatments

Small print: this is what works for me personally and is not a sure guide to making sure your hair reaps the benefits of using weave as a protective style. Also if you relax your hair right before you get a weave installed and haven’t suffered from the Naomi Campbell-esque look then good on you!