A comment on my Afro Puffy Twists prompted me to locate this dope picture I saw last year of this young lady with the most gorgeous yarn braids. I shared this in the comments, but figured I’d share it in a post too, so everyone could enjoy :). Here is the post where I found the picture: K is for Kinky: i want her hair! genie braids. And here’s the YouTube video for the cute “messy librarian updo.”
I am sooo digging her glasses!!
I’ve been digging yarn braids ever since “Max” rocked them on Living Single! Erika Alexander was a mack in that role! LOL!!
hairscapades 
Hey pretty lady! I hope this doesn’t ruining anything >_<
I currently have yarn braids in my head and I have a few warnings. It's only been 23 days, but…
My hair's starting length was 3.5 inches exactly.
My hair is really thick.
Given those two, it took about 17 hours exactly to install them. (You might wanna do yarn twists).
They don't curl really well… and when they do it doesn't stay for long! It gets wavy but I like it.
They are WONDERFUL for retaining moisture. And they look cooler with time.
But the buildup is fierce. Wash often. (But they get heavy haha!)
My hair grows uber tres fast… so I've already got 1/2 of an inch sticking out of my head!
It's all good though. I love this style. It's wonderful for keeping length. Just make sure to get acrylic yarn.
Bye bye~
And back to lurking.
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LOL!!! I love when Lurkers are moved to come out of hiding! Thank you so much Dickie!! Any chance you have a picture you’d like to share of your yarn braids? I did see on the post that I shared that acrylic was the recommended type of yarn. Also, I doubt that I would actually attempt to do these myself … so I would be hopeful that a professional could do them in the same 7 1/2 hours it took for the Afro puffy twists. Ultimately though, I may be a lot of talk and no action on this! LOL! The build up especially concerns me as my strands are not hearty at all and I could see that being a complete nightmare!
Thank you again for the info! I appreciate it!
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Yup! I’m back. My real name’s Tomi O. Haha, I also live in Jersey, but right now I’m a college frosh at the University of Pittsburgh. Here are some blurry and not so blurry pictures of my yarn braids.
Some background:
This was done by a “professional”. However previously I did them myself and it took the same amount of time.
I have been natural for 2 years.
My Regimen is simple: I wash once a month with ACV, Eggs, and a Shea Moisture Conditioner. I GHE with coconut oil once a week, and I put JBCO on my scalp every day. Most of my henna has been cut off, but some parts still remain.
Me without yarn braids:
http://tinypic.com/r/a4wrxd/5<– hair is 5 inches shorter than you see here. My shrinkage is cray.
The yarn braids I did myself:
They were red and brown. I loved it!
The yarn braids done by a professional:
http://tinypic.com/r/258pb35/5<- I'm sorry I'm sleepy and delusional.
http://tinypic.com/r/2gxjp78/5<- Headwrap Swagg
http://tinypic.com/r/rrunie/5<- My Scalp after 24 Days. (I wash every other week because buildup is an issue)
http://tinypic.com/r/2comq6g/5<– Length gained from 24 days. My hair grows on average 3/4ths of an inch a month. I trim it every 18 days because I hate how I look with long hair. Slowly growing it out for my beau.
http://tinypic.com/r/t8vo6v/5<– My ends. They be peaking. But you can see how it's holding up. I also have a rather hectic lifestyle so this is pretty good.
If you want to retain moisture and length DEFS go for this style. But be wary… buildup is harsh. And the takedown is WORSE than putting it in. You must be careful or you will cause lots of breakage.
I hope the images show. I hope this is helpful!
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Oh and my hair is just really unfortunately shiny, that’s not buildup on the braids. The buildup is more towards my scalp. It’s something I’d expect to see after two or three months of box braids. Not 24 days. (I had my hair done on December 30th and we got done on December 31st at 3 am LMAO so I it’s very easy to count)
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Thank you for all the info and pics Tomi! But, now I DEFINITELY am reconsidering these because you said the take down is WORSE than 17 1/2 hours of putting them in!! That’s what happened with my puffy twists … I can’t go through that again!! But thank you so much and they do look great! I see you were rocking that messy bun too! Too cute!!
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Another lurker here! I love those yarn braids in the first photo. I have been debating about whether or not to do a long term protective style for a while. I’ve begun working out again and I am in the gym between 3-4 days a week and I sweat pretty bad. I was thinking about doing a protective style like this because it would be easy to maintain for my workouts and it would protect my hair from the winter weather. I would more than likely get twists because they may be easier to install. How would you suggest finding someplace to have them installed? Like you I would like to find a gentle styler who is interested in taking care of my hair in the process. Thanks.
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Hi Lauren:)!!! I think twists may be a little less problematic given what Tomi said about the install and take down! As to finding a gentle styler, where do you live? Do you know anyone who gets their hair braided often and there hair is in good condition (no thinning edges)? I’d start there as nothing is better than a referral from someone who actually frequents a salon and has healthy hair. If that isn’t an option, I’d suggest some online searching on forums like long hair care, curlynikki and BGLH … search for the topic in the past and/or create your own to seek good braiding salons in your area. However, if you are in the NY/NJ area, Braids r’ Us in Maplewood is where I went. Good luck!!
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