Yarn Braids on Natural Hair


So I decided to braid my hair cos for a while, I’ll be somewhere where I won’t have the time to make my hair every two weeks.

If you know the texture of my hair, you will know that it’s not really the obedient type. Even when it was relaxed, it got rough very easily. And as for my natural hair, the rate at which it gets rough and frizzes is off the hinges. So as a natural haired lady, I found out that the only braids I could get away with was kinky braids. That was till i discovered yarn braids. The wool is dull enough to mask the frizziness of my hair. So i decided to try yarn braids this time.

I always dread a visit to the salon. The last time I visited the salon was last December, when I did kinky braids. So I had to mentally prepare myself and my physically prepare my hair for this event. You know braids has the tendency of drying out our natural hair, so I had to reduce the chance of this by properly taking of my hair before braiding

Before braiding
I loosed my twists and detangled my hair.
I did my preferred method of Deep conditioning on my hair. I left it in my hair for 5 hours.
I then washed and conditioned my hair. 
I then used ACV to get rid of any leftover build ups and smoothen my hair cuticles.
Finally I did the tea rinse to further condition and soften my hair.
After washing my hair, while still moist, not dripping wet, I applied a mixture of castor oil and olive oil and finally sealed it with my Africa Naturalista hair butter.
I then stretched my hair by braiding it in eight parts, put on my satin bonnet, and jumped on the bed, kissed my pillow, and said goodnight to God.
The next morning, i sprayed my hair with a mixture of water, olive oil and glycerin and proceeded to the salon

During Braiding
After the usual instructions to the stylists which went thus
Thou shall not pick my tiny, or 'arrange’ my in front hair
Thou shall not braid my hair tight
Thou shall not comb my hair
And some other important-to-me but petty-to-them instructions,

We finally started the braids. They constantly asked why I did not relax my hair, and I constantly educated them about natural hair. After a while, one of them said 'Aahh ,you really like this natural hair thing o'.  They could see the passion with which I talked about natural hair.
After three hours of my gruelling salon experience, this is what I ended up with.




After Braiding
I don’t plan to neglect my hair just because it’s braided, lest the protective styling now becomes my nemesis. So here is my regimen
I will do the daily spritz every morning and night. It’s a mixture of water, olive oil and glycerin
I will wash my hair every other week, as usual
I will use a mixture of castor oil and olive oil around my edges


Summary
The advantage of yarn braids for natural hair is that unlike extensions, wool is actually very light. So the weight doesn’t actually draw or burden your hair strands. This means very low risk of alopecia
The disadvantage is that yarn braids has a very dull looks compared to extensions. So you might want to spice your look up by adorning yourself with bright make up and accessories

For a similar post I did on Kinky Braids, click here.

In the meantime, please vote on the gadget on the right hand side, in order to let us know what your greatest natural hair challenge is. The poll ends next month. This will help us know what problems most naturalistas have and we will therefore be able to carry out more research and do posts on what we have found out.

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69 comments

  1. Please what is this yarn thingy called in the market? I may be needing it soon for same purpose and I dread those looks they give you when they feel u're speaking too much grammar.

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    Replies
    1. Lol, no worries. No need for too much grammar. Yarn is knitting wool. Just go and buy knitting wool and you are good to go.

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    2. Ive always used 100% acrylic yarn by Red Heart for my yarn braids. I was told wool will dread up in natural hair.

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    3. Yes this is true! I use red heart as well because wool will dry your hair out quicker than acrylic. I have yarn locs in now and they are doing great so far almost two weeks!!! I also make my own hair care products for moisture and growth...I already have new growth!

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  2. Please help me clarify this, yarn is using wool to braid ones hair abi? Will like to try this out.

    I usually make Kinky braids or braids with extensions. Thanks for sharing this.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, yarn is knitting wool.

      I can do kinky braids, but cannot try normal extensions like expression because of my hair texture. It won't even last up to one week.

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    2. If I wanted to dread my hair while having yarn braids. How would that work

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    3. I was hoping someone had answered you by now because I too want my hair to dread/loc. I currently have acrylic yarn braids. I'm am thinking about replacing them with wool yarn in hope that they will loc. What do you think?! This might be your answer but I don't know until I try. I m buying the wool yarn today.

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    4. You can do some kinds of braids on dreads. I used to do kinky braids on my dread locs, but I really don't know if you can do yarn braids on dreads, cos the wools tightness might seem somehow. I'm not sure, but you can try.

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  3. I wish I could see more pics like the back....I am trying to see how it hangs and what they did to the ends. How long would a style like this last you?

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    1. Sorry, I might upload more pics later.

      I made the braids to be long but not excessively long. The ends were burnt with fire,

      This style lasts people like 1-3 months but I think I will have it in for like 7 weeks. Though after a while, yarn braids always looks like dread locks, which is why lots of people do it.

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  4. i have my first yarn braids in now. love them! i only used 3 strands of yarn for each braid, but i love the size of yours. do you know how many strands were used for your look?

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    1. Wow, your braids must really be tiny. I cannot remember how many strands she used for mine, I guess between 8 and 10

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  5. awww thanks for answering my questions. take care!

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  6. I don’t think i will try actual braids with yarn again, I did it and it was a painful process taking it out. I will recommend yarn twist though; I had a better experience with it.

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    Replies
    1. Really? Wow. I hope it won't be a painful process when I am taking mine out. Thanks for the warning.

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  7. Lie-lie....you wont tempt me to braid my hair again...I took down my kinky twists some days back and you just had to come show off your fine-fine braids...^_^
    Don't worry sha take down should be pain free if you take your time to loosen it. You can put water and oil in a bottle and spray the braids some days to take down. The oil helps to make loosening and detangling easy.

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    Replies
    1. Okay, this is a good consolation. Would be be taking it down few days from now.

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  8. Wool tangles in hair and dries it out. Use acrylic yarn not wool. It retains moisture better.

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  9. the best yarn to use is red heart yarn. i do mine own and they are the best

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  10. Can you use wool yarn even if u have locks...cause I'm trying to get mine to grow...but they not so I thought the yarn dreads would help...is it true

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    1. Won't it be too clumsy to braid your dreads with lock? Well, it might be possible, but I have never seen it being done before,

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    2. Was just reading old posts since i joined not to long ago. However Anon, if you are keeping track of this post, it is possible to braid your locks. However ask your stylist if they can or are willing to experiment, also how thick your locks are and the kind of material that will be used in braiding; yarn, extentions etc. Remember there are different kinds of extension; i use the softer afro kinky extension

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    3. Yea, I just remembered I did kinky braids on my dread locs from time to time. Not sure of yarn braids though

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  11. I really like it, and the tutorial is easy to follow! :) Thank you

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  12. Please where can I make yarn braids around Ikeja, Yaba or Ajao Estate? Thanks

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    1. Just find any good hairstylist. Making yarn braids is not a big deal, it is just like normal braids, only with knitting wool.

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  13. Pls what's the name of the knitting wool you used? I've been checking online and most people say red heart is the best but I'm clueless as to where to get it in lagos.can u pls advice on a brand that's 100% acrylic and easy to get here. Thx so much.

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    Replies
    1. I don't understand what the fuss is about. We are using it for yarn braids, not to knit a sweater. In my opinion, just go to the market and ask for knitting wool, and use anyone you find.

      But it is just my opinion.

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    2. Thx much and sorry for coming across as being fussy.Do have a fab wk :)

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    3. Aww, now, I am feeling bad. Lol. Please, don't apologise o. We are all learning here. When I saw 100% acrylic, my head started to spin. Ema binu ma.

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  14. How was the take down process with your Yarn braids? Thinking of doing this.

    DiscoveringNatural
    Find me on Youtube http://youtube.com/DiscoveringNatural

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    Replies
    1. It wasnt a big deal. Just loosed, like you loose normal braids

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  15. yarn braids are nice, i do them a lot but be careful with your edges just loosen any strand that starts dangling immediately.

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  16. I am transitionning to natural hair and I want something that I can put in for long, I want to know which is more durable kinky or wool braids . And if u can also tell me how much the wool costs and how many I can use for shoulder lenght.

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    Replies
    1. Don't use wool...use acrylic. Wool dries your hair out.

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  17. I did my yarn braids a few days ago.I did it myself......and I'm loving it;-)

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  18. I currently have yarn braids. How can I make them not so stiff and why do they feel so heavy ?

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  19. I currently have yarn braids. How can I make them not so stiff and why do they feel so heavy ?

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    Replies
    1. They shouldn't feel heavy...I spritz mine with a mixture of oils and water twice daily...I pulled mine up in a bun for a day or two then released them...mine began to hang quite nice after releasing the bun...

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  20. You can dip your yarn braids in hot water (boiled) and that removes a TON of added weight. Be warned though that you will gain an additional 3 inches or so of length to your braids/twists after milking the watet from them. I am a yarn braid enthusiast... Been wearing and installing (never had anyone do them for me) them since I became intrigued by Max from Living Single (tv show). So Ive been doing these for well over 15 yrs and I have groen MASSIVE amounts of hair...

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  21. Cool thanks for the info. I will try it!

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  22. If you are looking to loc I would use wool yarn or human hair!

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  23. Interesting infos. Just bought Baby wool n will make mine (twist) n send d pix next week. Happy new month

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  24. I want to make yarn locs in ikeja lagos..Do u hve any contact? pls send dem ASAP

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  25. Acrylic yarn is widely available in Nigeria. Its made in Kano. Red Heart is harder to come by.

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  26. How much yarn will I need for my whole head.

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    Replies
    1. It will depend on how big and long you want your yarn braids to be.

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  27. With so much information, I got my yarn twists on and I'm loving it. Oh yeah!!

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  28. Where did you buy your acrylic yarn?

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  29. Can you please send us some pics.

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  30. Plz is there another name for this acrylic yarn thing ???abeg market ppl have serious looks!!

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  31. Plz is there another name for this acrylic yarn thing ???abeg market ppl have serious looks!!

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  32. I just finished my daughter's hair and 80% acrylic 20% wool yarn. It looked amazing. I will choose yarn over hair any day not just because it's soft an easier to install crochet braids with and better for take down. Both of my girls hair has very kinky hair and when I would do the crochet braids or install singles and their hair. It was a fight to get them out. Yarn has been so better for their hair. Awesome blog. Thanks for the information.

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  33. I just got my yarn wool braids. #BrazilianWool. But the stylist didn't put it in hot water. I'm in pains. And it's so stiff. Should I go ahead and do it myself? Will it ruin my hair?

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    Replies
    1. yes you can do them yourself, and use red heart yarn,100% acrylic. after you are done braiding and burning the ends drop them in hot boiling water it will loosen the stiffness in your braids hope this help, ive ben doing my yarn braids for years.

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  34. Can you give any advice on washing the yard braids and keeping them fresh? I've been doing yarn braids for my dd, now 11, for three years. The last few years I find it is a struggle to keep them smelling fresh. I try not to wash too often because her hair is very thick and it takes a long time to dry. Then we have to blowdry to avoid a mildewy smell. But she is involved in sports, and the sweating really requires fairly frequent washing. I would appreciate any advice.

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  35. I learnt washing it at least every 2 weeks is cool. Mine is. Month old, nd I wnt to wash...I intend washing with hot water( to remove the built up dirt at the beginning) I haven't tried the hot water thingy o. Usually, I just wash with shampoo and water. I just thought about the hot water during the week...I intend trying it out.

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  36. Thank you for sharing!!! I am going to get some yarn braids installed today!!! Was glad to see the pros and cons for natural hair. I hope that I like them

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  37. I've used 100% wool and love it because my natural hair is wooly. The acrylic yarn is a bit cheaper and it looks nice too. Happy braiding, Prophetic Hair

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