Sew-In Weave for Natural Hair (aka Protective Styling)

Instead of just spring cleaning my house, I decided it was time to spring clean my hair life force! I was craving a break from the daily styling of my curls - - something every natural can relate to at one time or another, and decided to go straight. While I wish my hair was long enough to rock a high messy bun (a la Curly  Nikki), it's not lol... so my ever so talented girlfriend Alicia hooked me up with a dope sew-in.

Most people know that I'm super low maintenance when it comes to my natural curls, and whenever I rock a sew-in it's more of the same. This was my first time getting bone straight hair, but the front section of my hair (aka "leave out") takes heat extremely well. Basically blending wouldn't be a major issue. Let's be honest - - there's nothing worse than being the chick with the bad weave.

I don't ever keep a weave in for a long time. I'm talking maybe 6-7 weeks at the absolute longest... therefore it wasn't crucial for me to get the best hair. I opted for a mid-range ($99/pack) brand: Outre Velvet Natural Yaki in 1B, 12 inches.

Outre Remi Velvet Natural Yaki

What I liked best about this brand was 1) it was available at the beauty supply 2) the texture was very similar to that of my flat ironed hair. It didn't look super silky, but you could actually see the texture of the hair and the luster was low and 3) It was 10% off.

I should also mention that I used Dark and Lovely Fade Resistant Rich Conditioning Color in Natural Black #372. I had highlights and didn't want to run the risk of turning my hair green using a rinse. I also wanted to make sure my weave matched and blending/color issues didn't rain on my hair parade. This did the trick and was a near perfect match. I will, however, point out that in the past few weeks the color has started to fade a bit on my tips. Don't know if it's just because of the sun, washing or what... but it's not as intense as it was initially. Still, the weave blends w/o major issues.

Blend, baby... BLEND!!!

I'm probably one of the only people irked by the term "protective styling" (it just sounds like it sucks all of the life force fun out of hair care...), but this is a great option to give myself a break from daily styling, and let my hair chill out.

For anyone in the Chicago-area interested in getting a sew-in done by Alicia, contact her via email at Ali_Ivy@yahoo.com. Tell her I sent you :)