Protective Styles for Natural Hair Growth

What protective style is the best for natural hair growth? We know what summer means for the curly natural hair people.. Yes! You guessed it!

Protective styles!

Every year we wear protective styles from box braids to faux locs to lemonade braids. They are beautiful, convenient, and frankly they can help you achieve your hair goals! Although these styles can make things better for you, if not done correctly they can ruin your hair as well! Let’s discuss what makes a good protective style and what does not but first let’s discuss the difference between a low manipulation style and a protective style and how they pertain to the ends of your hair.

The ends of your hair are the oldest part of your hair which means they are prone to breakage easily. Ends can brake off from the constant touch on your clothing, from your headrest in your car, or even just laying on a couch with fabric. Therefore, if you want to see the growth that you have it may benefit you to have a style that protects your ends for optimal growth.

Protective Styles

Protective styles are styles that do not expose the ends of your hair and can be left in your hair for over a week with little to no tension. The benefit of a protective style can vary from length retention, less stress to your hair, and protecting your ends.

1. Bun  
2. Braids
3. Cornrows
4. Wigs
5. Weaves

Low Manipulation Styles

Low manipulation styles are styles that you can do one time for 3-7 days without having to touch your hair often to keep up the style while also having your ends exposed to the elements. These styles should not have tension and should be relatively easy to do. Examples of low manipulation styles include:

1. Bun
2. Wash n Go
3. Twist outs
4. Braid outs
5. Flexi rods

Now that we know exactly what a protective style is and what a low manipulation style is lets talk about what is the best protective style for optimal hair growth!

1. Wigs – easy access to your scalp and ends tucked away from the elements
2. Faux Locs – hair is completely tucked away from the elements and access to the scalp with minimal tension
3. Cornrows – access to your scalp and can be work for a few weeks at a time
4. Braids – access to your scalp with ends tucked away but are often worn for too long causing breakage
5. Weaves – access to the scalp with

So are low manipulation styles better or are protective styles better if your goal is hair growth/length retention?

This is up to every person. Both can be used to help with your hair journey and achieving your hair goals. You can be a protective style person and often wear protective styles only or you can be a person that wears low protective styles only, the choice is up to you! From what I observed and what is the most successful is to have a combination of the two. Having a protective style for an extended period then having a low manipulation style for a period which allows you to have more diverse hairstyles and gives your hair a break from styles that take an extended time to do. However, there is no right way to wear your hair and you can always have fun with it and mix it up!