Everyone has their secret faves to watch on YouTube. Some people like pimple popping, others like ear wax extraction. My favorite videos are old braid take down videos. I don’t mean box braids, I mean old cornrows. The more months they have been in the better! I know I know, these are some of the weirdest hair videos to be interested in. However, it is something about watching someone cut out they’re old sew in and show all the growth and tangles! It is so satisfying to see the hair be detangled and washed that hits me with a wonderful feeling of nostalgia from my sew in days.
Some of these videos are from women that were from as long as 5 months old! I can’t judge because I had a sew-in for a while myself! Like I said, watching these videos gave me a flashback to when I took my sew in out. Though I can look back now and smile at the whole process I went through with my sew in cornrow takedown, it was a horrendous experience while I was doing it. I had no idea what I was doing and I ended up hurting because I’m tender headed and I was just ripping through my hair! This inspired me to write down some sew in cornrow take down tips!
Be Patient
Nothing contradicts the point of protective styling and your new growth than ripping through your hair and causing unnecessary damage. Take your time and know that there is shed hair and product build-up that can make detangling a little difficult. I suggest coating your hair in an oil or a conditioner to help with the detangling process. As well as making sure you set aside enough time so you don’t feel stressed.
Cleanse your hair and scalp
After your hair has been in a covered and braided style for so long, build up is only natural. With that being the case, take the time to cleanse your hair and scalp to prevent dryness.
Deep condition your hair
Your hair is nine times out of ten dry and needing some TLC. Take some time to deep condition and revive your strands.
Expect shed hair
When I took down my braids I was so worried that I was going to be bald. Each comb through had so many strands,?albeit there was probably breakage because I didn’t follow these tips.? Even after I detangled and washed in the shower I was still getting shed hairs, so be prepared for that.
Avoid trying to detangle super gelled or build up section dry
I saw some videos where people were using a comb to detangle dry gelled sections. While what you do with your hair is your prerogative, I would suggest letting an oil or cream help to detangle that in order to avoid unnecessary damage. Especially because most gelled sections are in the front of your head, in the sensitive edge area, so take your time and avoid breakage.
Moisturize your hair under your sew in.
This is a preemptive tip. Making sure to moisturize your hair throughout the length of your sew-in help in the long run. It can help your hair to grow more and it can prevent your hair from being unearthly dry. If your hair is five months dry and ignored and you go to take it down, it will take that much more time and care to prevent breakage.
Let me know down below, how long have you kept a protective style in?