Here are 3 protective styles that your natural hair will thank you for

Here are 3 protective styles that your hair will love.

Protective styles give your hair a chance to rest from daily physical or chemical manipulation.

Whether your hair is relaxed or natural, it is at the mercy of the elements. Everything from humidity to heat can cause your hair to become dry and break. Black hair is far more temperamental and needs to be treated with the upmost care.

If your hair is thin or breaks often, you can reduce breakage and give your hair a chance to repair itself whilst inside a protective style.

If you live in a very cold, very dry or an area with a high level of pollution, you can guarantee that your hair is suffering right now. Protective style keeps your hair away from harmful elements that could hinder its growth and health.

More simply, if you lead a busy lifestyle and cannot afford style your hair everyday, protective styles are a great grab and go alternative. You can also change your look regularly and transform into a different woman with different styles. Now, who wouldn't want that?

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Bear in mind that protective styles are not a cure all and are not the only way to get your hair to grow. Your hair still grows when not in a protective style but they provide optimum environment for your hair to do its thing. Either way, being consistent about your hair care will yield results.

In order for a protective style to do what it needs to do, it needs to be well installed and maintained. Make sure you are going to a qualified hair stylist who understands what's best for your hair. Any style that is too tight will definitely cause breakage and hair loss, especially around the edges.

Protective styles also, are not an excuse to forget about your natural hair. The ultimate goal is to make sure your natural hair thrives. Make sure you keep it washed, and moisturised.

Finally, do not leave your protective style on for too long. Although it may be tempting to get some box braids and forget about it, leaving your hair unexposed too long promotes dryness, tangling and breakage. Protective styles should be left on for an average of 2-6 weeks.

Now, we are ready to explore some

of the hottest protective style out right now. With then advancement of the hair industry, the options for different styles and textures are endless and allow your the opportunity to dramatically change your looks. Always wanted locks? no problem! Want big curly hair? No problem.

Check out these 3 fantastic protective styles below!

1. Passion Twists

Instagram user @Bohobabe has been credited with creating these fantastic style, also known as Spring Twists for her clients. These twists are far from the ordinary and create a pretty bohemian vibe whilst still staying true to one's natural hair.

Passion twists use the same tools as goddess locs although they do not need to be wrapped and are therefore slightly easier to install.

Passion twists get there lovely look because of the texture of the hair use. They easy to install, light, natural-looking and low maintenance. Just make sure uyou keep your scalp moisturised and re-twist when necessary. They look great worn down or styled in up-do's making them versatile and wearable. The best thing about these twists is the older they get, the better they look, win-win!

2. Crochet Braids

Crochet braids are probably the most versatile protective style in existence because every type of hair can be crocheted and any style achieved. Crochet braid styles have been heavily influenced by the natural hair movement with the textures we often see being more natural-looking and the styles we see typical of naturalistas such as Havana twists, braid outs and twist outs. In fact, it's not uncommon for crochet braids to be confused with one's natural hair.

When we say crochet braids, we are really referring to the method in which the hair is installed. The crochet method is a way of adding extensions to one’s hair using a crochet needle.

In order to have your hair styled with crotchet braids or curls, your hair must be braided in cornrows at its base. The hair extensions come pre-styled or pre-braided and it’s very quick and easy to install. The hair extensions are looped under cornrows with a crochet needle. They are fast, inexpensive and easy to maintain.

3. Goddess Locs

Whereas before, locks were the ultimate commitment because once you started growing them, you had to keep them forever or shave your head, now, they're simply another option. Thanks to the advancement in hair tech, people are available to achieve the lock look without any of the commitment.

The rise in popularity of Goddess Locs has been staggering with many clamouring to live out their dreadlocks fantasies.

As opposed to other types of faux locs, Goddess locs are made with human hair and are therefore lighter and look more like authentic and natural. Normal faux locs are made with synthetic hair hence with shiny look but these will have people second-guessing if you grew them yourself.