There are plenty of men’s hairstyles that have drawn their essence from ancient hair traditions. Braids have been around 5000 years, traditionally as a women’s hairstyle. That is because women in Africa, specifically in Namibia, were the first ones to wear them.
Braids have been known by different names such as rows, caners, cornrows, etc. They were initially worn by different tribes and served as a way of distinction between different tribal groups. This tradition of wearing Graves developed over time, leading to the point where men started wearing them. It is quite fascinating to know how it was also used to bond the elders with the children.
Braids can be worn in combinations with other hairstyles such as the man bun, fades, and a few others. Due to this, braids are being worn by men till now. Recently they have been given a new name on social media called the “man-braid.”
With the world being locked inside due to the pandemic, men with brown hair have begun to wear this hairstyle again.
How long your hair must be to be braided
The man’s braid hairstyle demands a certain length of hair. The man braid is best suited for men with long hair. A guy will need at least a few inches of hair to attain a noticeable braid style. To start with, you can try to braid your hair at 3 to 4 inches of hair length. This particular hair length, you would fall under the short hair category, giving you small braids.
Increasing the hair led by a couple of inches would give you more prominent, longer, and dramatic braids with hair longer than 8 to 9 inches will give you the most extreme braids.
The longer hair you have, the better the braids will come out. With extremely long hair, you can achieve the spider braids look.
Since braiding requires curling of the hair, it can be performed on any hair type. Curling straight hair is easy, while curly and coily hair has naturally curvy patterns, all of which make them easier to braid. The difficulty you will ever face is if you have thick hair.
Advantages Of Braiding
Prevents hair breakage
Braiding serves as one of the best protective hairstyles for men with long hair. It prevents hair breakage. If you are one of those guys who keep their hair open a majority of the time, your hair is more likely to break than when it’s braided.
It also helps you keep your hair organized and makes you look less tardy. By braiding your hair, Your hair ends are stuck away and hidden from the harmful elements resulting in better length retention. It is a very efficient way to keep your hair healthy and growing faster.
Locks in moisture
By being exposed to heat and dust for too long, hair can often lose its moisture. Braiding prevents your hair from going through this. To take more advantage of braiding, massage your scalp and hair with moisturizer, apply hydrating cream to the strands, and proceed with braiding.
It can save your hair from getting dehydrated and turning into a flaky scalp. Which further prevents the hair from seborrheic dermatitis.
Great for frizzy hair
Guys with frizzy hair can benefit from braiding a lot. Frizzy hair not only gives you an attractive look but also reduces split ends and dust buildup caused by frizz. Men with frizz hair also have too many hair tangles and knots which are quite difficult to manage.
Tying up your hair into braids prevents all this.
Easy Styling method
Guys with long hair are always on the lookout for the best hairstyle that is difficult to maintain. Well, here you go. Braids are one of the best hairstyles to go for. Not only that, but they also protect your hair from damaging hair elements.
Increases hair waviness
Straight-haired guys spend a plethora of time to un-straighten their hair and giving them a wavy texture. The methods to do that require heating tools that damage the hair in the long run.
Braiding, on the other hand, gives you curvy and wavy hair without involvement in any heat. All you do is sprinkle some water on your hair and tie it into tight braids.
Low maintenance
It is quite a low-cut hairstyle. Once you have your braids installed, they require minimum maintenance to sustain the look. But remember, you still need to do some looking after. Sprinkling it with water or natural oil could be one of the ways.
Braids last for a period of six to eight weeks. Once you have them done, you can stop worrying about them until you need to get them redone the next time.
Endless styling options
If you search the internet, you will find endless styling options to style your hair with braids. Some popular styles are box braids, jumbo braids, ghana braids, Senegalese twists, etc. All these styles need minimum looking after and give you a nice look.
How to get your braids
Cornrows
If you have straight hair that does not need too much handling before the braiding, you can start with spraying your hair with some water to make it somewhat damp. You don’t want it soaking wet, with dripping water all around. Moisten it enough to make it flexible to work with.
Brush or comb your hair to undo the knots and tangles if you have any. Now, segment your hair into sections beginning from the center of your head while moving front to back. Work your way to the sides with this method.
Locate the part where you want to begin braiding and divide each section into two equal parts. Ideally, it is best to start from the front region of the head and move backward. Twist the two parts with each other and secure the ends with a mini-hair band.
3 Part braids
3 part braiding of the hair is very similar to making cornrows. First, you start by washing your hair with shampoo and moisturizing it with a conditioner. Towel dry it until it is left damp. Apply some hair oil ( olive, coconut, jojoba, or almond) to keep the hair nourished and prevent dehydration.
Divide the hair into sections; the size of the sections will determine the thickness of the braids. Small sections will give thin braids and vice versa. Divide each section further into three equal parts. Brush your hair to eliminate all the frizz and knots.
Locate the starting point, take the leftmost part of that section, and cross it over the middle one. Now, take the rightmost part and cross that too over the middle one. Continue this pattern until you have finished braiding that particular section. Keep the braid fairly tight. Do this for all sections of your hair, and you get yourself an impressive-looking hairstyle.
Braiding Short hair
Washing your hair before you begin braiding is essential regardless of the hair length, type, and style. It cleanses the hair of any underlying dust particles, residue buildup, moisturizes it, and makes it more manageable.
Caution: Read the product labels before buying the shampoos and conditioners, making sure they’re compatible with your hair type.
Use a wide-toothed comb to detangle your hair and unravel the knots. This applies especially to guys with thick and curly hair. After the hair washes, dehydrated hair moistens it by sprinkling some water on it.
If the knots and tangles are very difficult to remove, comb your hair from the hair tips and work your way up to the roots.
Create a Centre part in the middle of your head using a wide-tooth comb. Run the comb from the front to the back of the mid- frontal region, separating the hair into two equal portions. You could find our blog on correctly parting your hair(link) quite useful for this.
Keep the parts as straight as possible; it will affect the placement of the braid. Create parallel parts alongside the middle part of your head. The hair between these parts will be used to create braids. Therefore be cautious while parting them.
Moisturize your hair while creating the parts. You may notice, the hair shall start bunching up in one area. Take the hair strands from each part and moisturize them using either a hair moisturizer or natural hair oil. Moisturizing the hair keeps them nourished and softens the strands making it easier to braid.
To prevent your efforts from going to waste, clip up the sections of your hair. Take one bunch of hair from each part at a time and place a hair clip or bobby pin on it. Do this without fail for the rest of your hair right after moisturizing it. Your hair is now prepared to be braided in different styles without much effort ahead.
You may style them using a two-strand twist, cornrow, ghana braids, or braids with temple fade styles.
Conclusion
Depending on the length of your hair, if it is only a couple of inches, you will have to be picky with the styling and get creative with the braid’s placement. With longer hair, you can not only get creative but try out different variations of your own that match your face.
Keep applying oil and moisturizers to your braids to keep them hydrated and prevent dandruff or flaky scalp. Since they last from six to eight weeks, unfurl them and wash them out after that period. Be careful while choosing your hair products; make sure they match your hair texture and type.
