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I've seen 2 kinds of braiding helpers over the years. The first is just a simple piece of divided plastic that is just like using the spaces between your fingers but may complicate things. The second is more helpful but I'm not sure if it would pull or break your hair as you put your hair in this handheld tool with batteries and push a button and it twists your hair into a braid. Link below.
Has anybody tried either of these with more success than just using the space between your fingers?
Marty
Braid MachineHi Marty, I can imagine all that would get in the way.with practice,bare fingers work just fine.
Bruce
You have a very nice braid there! Do you keep it braided for a week or so and how long does it take you each time or does somebody else do it for you?
Marty
Thanks Marty,
I braided it myself(lots of practice)and generally rebraided every day so I could brush my top hair. My hair is very fine so I braided to keep it from turning into one big knot.
I did cut my hair back to about mid-back(between the lower shoulder blades) about 6 months ago so I don't feel the need to braid anymore, just a simple ponytail. My neices wedding is coming up next month so I'll braid for that occasion.
Bruce
You look like a teacher! That's a good thing.
Taking out the braid everyday seems like best way to get hair moisturized. I've seen braid moisturizers but that's getting your hair wet and letting it dry in the braid and for me that's probably when my hair snapped in a ponytail (my hair was damaged, though but those damaged hairs will be on my head for years even though they get moisturized now).
Marty
One of the reviews for this thing:
"It came out of its box looks used... GROSS!"
Also apparently the directions are not in english.
I would be very hesitant to use either of these.
Look at this way: it takes you years to grow your hair long,
with one of these contraptions it would only take seconds to
get your hair tangled up in one. Personally i'd stick with the old fashioned doing it by hand thing.
I agree with you. I bought one of each type years ago but never used them partly because of your reasoning that it takes a longtime to get your hair long enough for a braid and partly because my hair never got past the top of my shoulders so a full braid wouldn't look so good. I went with a ponytail that got smaller and smaller over the years and was damaging my hair along with a hairdryer. Now I'm leaving my hair down and doesn't look so damaged.
Maybe a braid would be as damaging on my hair as a ponytail was? They look cool, though!
Marty
The braid itself would not be damaging to the hair unless the braid was pulled too tight. The problem with these braid devices is the danger of the hair getting caught or getting tangled. Hair is very thin, and breaks very easily. If you do it by hand and you hit some snags from a tangle you can instantly stop. With one of these devices you may not know you've hit a tangle snag until you go to remove the device and a chunk of hair comes
out with it. It would be a shame to get a buzz cut because you ripped out a large chunk of hair with one of these devices.
Very true about the safety of doing it by hand. Any idea how long you should keep a braid in and if it's possible to moisturize your hair while in a braid?
Marty
I watch hair styling YouTube videos all the time and it seems like every time they try a "braiding aid" they decide it's easier to braid without the gadget. Braiding isn't very difficult for someone with normal dexterity, given a little practice. However, thanks to the profit potential of hair styling gizmos there is a constant flow of manufacturers pushing these things on the public.
It's not unlike the famous "Topsy Tail" gizmo that got a lot of press years ago. It was just plastic look thing to help you turn your ponytail inside out for a different look. I could do exactly the same thing with my fingers without any gadget.
