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Hi,
I have brown curly shoulder length hair. Since it is getting warmer my hair has become very sweaty and harder to control. A friend of mine suggested I should have my hair braided to keep it more under control. She said it would be cooler too. At first I thought "no way", but now I'm seriously thinking about it. I have a few unanswered questions I would like to ask here. Are there more men who have their hair braided? I mean with your hair devided in lots of small braids, like dreadlocks (but without being permanent). Is it cooler indeed? How were the reactions? Do you have any pics or know a website about braiding?
Thanks for the help!
Tim
I'm not sure what you're asking? More than what?
You mean cornrows? Cornrows seem to be gaining in popularity on guys, especially black guys. My impression is that cornrows are sort of replacing the carved look. I do see cornrows on other races too, but this is pretty rare.
If the sun is not beating on you it can be significantly cooler. I frequently braid my own hair indoors when I'm hot. Metabolisms vary, but for my own self, my neck and top of the back are locations of tremendous heat transfer. I can literally feel that part of my body get hot when I, for example, drink a soda. With hair covering this area, it acts as an insulator, keeping the heat in.
When the sun is out, however, the hair can shield the hot rays, effectively leaving you in the shade.
I don't think I've ever had a negative comment to braids. I usually just have a single braid, just because it's the easiest to make.
Hi Tim,
I haven't tried the "lots of little braids" thing - seems like it would be very time consuming and I don't think it would look good on me. But I have often used regular or Brench braids when it's warm. It definitely does cool one off to have the hair pulled out of the way and it does look nice with long hair. If you think the lots-o-braids look would be good for you give it a try! You might want to start with putting it all back in one big braid to get used to the process of braiding first, it's easier with bigger strands.
- Chris
I wear braids of some sort or other more often than not. Usually I stick to either a single braid or Indian braids (double braids, one over each shoulder), but occasionally I have worn cornrows or minibraids (which is the style I think you're talking about- numerous small braids all over the head). They are very time-consuming- for my hair, which is a little past mid-back, cornrows take at least 45 mins, minibraids take 2.5-3 hours depending on how many braids are done. Depending on your hair texture, they can stay in for quite some time before needing to be redone- I know many African-Americans can keep their braids for several days. My hair, while relatively coarse, isn't the optimal texture for that- they look good the day I have them put in, and ok the next day, but by the end of that day they need to be removed and redone. They are a bit cooler, temperature-wise, because so much more of your scalp is exposed to the air, but not enough to justify the time investment if that's all you're looking for. However, both are very cool looks if you just need variety.
>A friend of mine suggested I should have my hair braided to keep it >more under control.
When I had my hair waste length I sometimes would wear it braided. I
liked it but it was a pain to do.
>She said it would be cooler too.
Cooler? Not really. But then in the summer I handled the heat really
bad so I stayed in the air conditioning.
My advice. Try it, you might just like it. When I had it braided i
had it in a single braid down my back.
It also helps if you have a wife who will braid it for you.