African-American Braiding Styles that Work!

*Please remember when creating African-American braiding styles, do not create tight braids. The tension can cause traction alopecia

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Before creating African-American braiding styles, hair has to be prepped. So, how did I prepare my hair for this style?

I washed my hair with my usual routine with a few exceptions:

Instead of twisting my hair, I braided 10-15 sections in order to stretch my detangled hair to loosen my tight curls.

After washing the conditioner out, instead of not putting any product on my hair, I put oil, Wave Nouveau Finishing Lotion, and Infusium 23 (especially concentrating on my ends).

Then, I air dried my hair and took out the braids the next day.

Styling Tools Used: hair butter, rat-tail comb, and butterfly clip to hold hair

*To make these braids, I didn't comb my hair with the rat tail comb, but finger-combed each braided and twisted section using the hair butter for slip. If you detangle thoroughly and gently after washing, you won't have to comb the hair again.*

Step 1: With the skinny part of the rat-tail comb, I parted my hair in two sections, the back and the front. I clipped the back section. In the front section, I made a large diagonal part from the back to the front (see picture) and clipped one side and cornrowed the other side. On the right side I made 4 cornrow braids using diagonal parts. On the left side, I made 6 cornrow braids also following the same pattern.
Step 2: Then I twisted the back section. I used about 1/2 inch-1 inch parts for each one.
Step 3: French Roll Style: I made a french roll with my twists and bobby pinned my hair