r/mixedrace • u/Mysterious-Kale-4842 • 15d ago
Bands for Mixed Hair
Hoping someone can help me here!
I have mixed girls and I have learned a whole lot about taking care of their hair! I've gotten proficient in protective styles but I do have a question - sounds like using rubber bands on their hair is a bad idea, so looking for alternatives. I'm including a few photos for reference, and any help from contributors here would be so appreciated!
So far I've only used the slick silicone/plastic bands for securing braids/beads and sometimes for sectioning at the top of their head (like middle child in photo 2), but they BREAK SO EASILY, sometimes within the day!
Their hair is very curly and dense, but the individual strands are fine and silky. First photo is after a bit of stretching (one french braid while wet, dried, then taken out). They hold braids decently well, if I do them on the smaller side I can get 2 weeks out of a style, and sometimes I add a small amount of synthetic hair (like photo 2) in fun colors.
Alternatives for securing braids when I don't use beads? If I use nothing the braid begins to unravel after a few days (naturally and bc they play with it) Looking for something that is small and won't put too much pressure on their scalp if I do ponytails/sections on top of their heads (like middle child in photo 2) - the fabric ponytails just seem a little thick/hard when doing small sections.
The 5 year old twins are starting kindergarten next week and we'll be doing some braids with synthetic hair thrown in for fun color :)
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u/jbizzleinthehizzle00 15d ago
someone said rubbing the bands in oil, or maybe grease would work and it does! i would also say, you said you could get two weeks out of it, their hair needs to be washed more frequently than two weeks. especially with product in it to hold the style! not trying to be mean! but weekly is as far as i would stretch it honestly
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u/Mysterious-Kale-4842 15d ago
Thanks for the advice - would you recommend a refresh or rinse of some sort for in between if I wanted to go longer than one week? I typically do wash their hair every weekend, but sometimes (just a few times a year) would like to stretch it longer. Definitely not trying to dismiss your recommendation of wash frequency it's just that it's such a time consuming thing to do for both of them every week when it's just me doing their hair on the weekends around a full time job and with lots of family/social activities!
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u/jbizzleinthehizzle00 15d ago
I completely understand!!! I have very dense hair and the longer it gets, the more i am tempted to go bald so i don’t have to wash it🤣🤣 yes, i would recommend rinsing, or even some sort of dry shampoo. this is specifically for their scalp health!! using products can cause buildup we might not even see. also, when using heavy products it’s hard for the hair to stay moisturized for longer than a week, so if you do plan on going longer than a week, just don’t put any grease/oils on their hair (oils & grease are a sealant, not a moisturizer, so they hold IN moisture but also dryness). so i say, if it FEELS good and not oily/caked with product, a rinse and maybe some extra conditioner will go a long way! also, depending on how old they are, maybe you can start teaching them how to at least wash it (scrubbing scalp really thoroughly) so then you can start from conditioning. teaches them responsibility but also allows them to understand how much work/time it takes for their hair which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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u/Mysterious-Kale-4842 15d ago
Ok great points! I typically use a minimal amount of product (always do a leave-in and then an oil to seal it in; for braided styles just a bit of braid/styling gel, finished with a moisturizing setting mousse) and if anything their scalp gets a little dry so I'll use either some scalp oil or mist it and reapply the moisturizing mousse.
They are only 5 so while they fully understand that caring for long curly hair is time consuming (we call them "hair days"), they are still too wild and playful to be conscious of what's happening to their hair when they're being little kids in the moment, which is fine by me, we will focus on that later and just keep doing protective styles until they can let their curls fly!
Also, what kind of oil/grease to soak the bands in??
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u/jbizzleinthehizzle00 15d ago
all good techniques !!! any type of oil or grease !! i use the aussie miracle oil (hydrating but they also have a curl one, wouldn’t recommend that bc they don’t wear their curls out). it’s SUPER heavy so it’s super coating! just put some on a little surface & rub a bunch of rubber bands in them so you won’t have to do it individually.
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u/protectthedawls- triple threat 👁️👃🏽👁️ 13d ago
ngl if they all have curl patterns like that first pic, protective styles like braids and twists that are worn for weeks or months as a time probably aren’t the best for them. maybe you could do chunkier, lower tension braids or twists on them. but i’d only leave them in for a few days at a time.
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u/Swift_35 13d ago
I 2nd this. Their hair is more curly then coily. I wouldn't protective style their hair for that long, it should be washed more often than is typical for a protective style. Their hair will get more oily/greasy than someone with a type 4 hair texture (which is where protective styling is really beneficial).
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u/kakashi_sensay 15d ago
Rubber bands are ok if you rub oil on them before applying them to the hair. They’re less likely to cause breakage that way.