Is It Necessary to Wash Your Braiding Hair, Before Using Them?

Braided hair has been popular since ages now, be it amongst primary school girls, rap stars, or runway models! In fact, it would hardly be an overstatement to say that hair-braiding styles have acquired an iconic status over the centuries! Though it was primarily viewed as a means of protecting naturally thick and tightly curled hair from heat and humidity, in today’s times, braiding hair extensions have emerged as a style statement. 

Have you been planning to sport this style? Well, you must be grappling with a lot of questions, the most important one being whether you should wash your synthetic braiding hair before using them. Most professionals are of the opinion that braiding extensions should be washed before use, as it has been observed that this reduces the chances of itching. 

Don’t worry; it’s not as complicated as you might be fearing. A straightforward way of going about it is to prepare a sink of warm water and pour a cap of Dettol into it. You can soak your braiding extensions in this for 15 minutes, followed by thorough rinsing before washing the hair. If you’re using human hair as your braided extensions, you can soak it in a solution of warm water and a detoxifying shampoo. Some experts also recommend using apple cider vinegar to wash braiding hair. After 15 minutes, rinse it well and leave the hair to dry. 

Next, let’s talk about how often you should wash your braiding hair extensions. Well, for starters, this depends entirely on how long you sport the extensions. There’s no hard and fast rule for braid washing frequency; you can decide based on the climate, your body’s chemistry, and the activities you indulge in. here are two key considerations:

1. If you stay in a cool environment and have low perspiration, you should wash and condition your braids once in two, or at least three weeks. 
2. If you’re into regular exercise and sweat profusely, it’s advisable to wash your braided hair at least once a week; conditioning can be done once in two to three weeks. 

By washing synthetic braiding hair gently and often, you can keep them soft and frizz-free. 

Here are the steps to follow when washing braiding hair extensions:

1. Divide your braided hair into four sections, two in the front and two at the back, and make four braids, large and loose. 
2. Use hairbands to secure the four large loose braids. 
3. Take warm water in a container and mix shampoo and conditioner in it. 
4. Pour this mixture over the braids ensuring that your scalp too gets wet. 
5. Squeeze each of the four large loose braids gently. 
6. Repeat the above two steps till you’re satisfied with the cleaning process. 
7. Pour warm water over the large loose braids and your scalp for rinsing. 
8. You can squeeze the excess water from the braids and wrap in a towel. It is best to let it dry naturally; if at all you must use a hair dryer, make sure it’s on low-heat settings and not too close to your hair. 
9. This should be followed by a spray pump filled with a good-quality moisturizer which you can spray all over. 

Now that you know the secret to keeping braided hair clean, think no more and flaunt the braided look! Just make sure you wash it every two to three weeks without fail, otherwise it can lead to a stressed scalp, which itself paves the way for the buildup of sweat, dandruff, dirt, dead skin cells, bacteria, and so on. Eventually your pores will be clogged, causing pimples on your scalp. You surely don’t want that, do you? Given that washing braiding hair is not an arduous task, don’t give it a miss and you’re sorted.