Tree Braid Wash Day

To wash my tree braids I diluted my shampoo with water in an applicator bottle instead of a spray bottle like I usually do the ratio of shampoo to water was around 40/60 this time round. I stood under a running shower to get my hair and scalp wet, turned off the water and proceeded to apply the shampoo mixture same way you would apply oil to your scalp with an applicator bottle. I did this for every single track and then gently massaged the shampoo into my scalp did my first rinse and then repeated the shampoo process again and this time ran my hands through the extensions to get them shampooed as well and then rinsed that off. This curly hair even though it sheds a lot hardly tangles so that was a plus during washing it’s hard enough washing tree braids/weaves without having to deal with tangled extension hair. After rinsing I towel dried turban style for about fifteen minutes and then blow dried the cornrowed tracks on medium heat so as to get them completely dry it is very important that your tracks completely dry to avoid a damp scalp which can lead to mold and other scalp infections. Unlike single braids/twists whereby the scalp is exposed making it easier to air dry the same cannot be said for weaves/tree braids. The extension hair that covers the tracks and scalp make it much harder to air dry and may take twice as long to air dry so I prefer to use heat to dry the tracks and extension hair. I have curly synthetic extensions installed at the moment so they do not need to be rollerset or anything, once dry all I did was apply a styling mousse and the curls snapped right back to life and ran a little bit of left over coconut oil I still had in my hands (that I had just used on the rest of my body) through the hair for shine much as I hate using natural oils on “fake” hair lol.

It was already quite late in the evening by the time I was done and my arms were tired from blow drying so I left the scalp oiling to the next day. The next day I oiled my scalp with my castor, eucalyptus and olive oil mixture and then sprayed ORS Olive Oil sheen spray for some extra shine and I was good to go. The only products I need for maintaining my extension hair is a styling mousse and an oil sheen spray they are both lightweight, do not weigh down the hair or give it a greasy look or feel and most importantly they give life to dull and lifeless extensions every time.

Just in case you have no idea what Tree braids are here is a photo gallery and video tutorial showing how they are done. I like to call them a “cheat sew in weave” as they give the illusion of having a weave but no sewing is involved.