How To Choose Bulk Hair For Braiding

Braided Hair Design Ideas for African Styles

There are plenty of options for African hair textures, especially if you are wanting to grow your natural hair longer. The quickest way to achieve the goal of healthy long hair is to use braided styling methods.
A popular protective style for transitioning from relaxed to natural hair is to get crochet braids, tree braids, box braids and micro-braids. This will allow you to repair damaged hair from heat straightening, haircoloring and hair relaxers.
If you have recently done the big chop and have really short hair such as a TWA teeny weeny afro then you can benefit from trying out some nice braided hair designs. The key is to pick bulk hair extensions made specifically for braiding.
Depending on the brand, weight, color, texture and length of the synthetic or human hair extensions you can create a unique look with your various braid styles. On this page I will go into more detail on the types of African American Braids you can wear.

Bulk Hair for Micro Braiding

Doing your own braids at home will require that you purchase your bulk hair extensions online. There are specialty shops that sell all types of hair textures from straight,curly, wavy, human hair and synthetic brands from light blonde to dark brown hair shades.
It is important to remember that the bulk hair comes in 10 inches and goes all the way up to 22 inches in length, depending on how long or short you want your braided style to be you can use between 2 to 3 packs of hair.
Popular brands include: Yaki, Milky Way, Zury, Hollywood, Beverly Johnson, Outre and more.
Understanding the Difference Between Weft Hair and Bulk Hair
1. Hair Weave Weft Tract - This type of hair is not made for braiding instead it is perfect for weaving hairstyles that look like your own natural hair, you can cut, style and curl this type of hair and it can be worn for up to 3 months at a time. It is best to go to a beauty salon and have your wefts put in by a professional hairstylist that is trained in cosmetology.
2. Loose Hair Trackless Bulk - This type of hair comes loose at the top and can be easily separated to use in your individual micro braids, tea braids or box braid styles. You can do your hair at home and does not require any sewing or threading. If you know how to braid your own hair then you will be able to put in extra hair extensions to your braid styles for added length.
Micro Braids will require that you separate the hair into small sections on clean dry hair, it can take several hours to complete your whole head, making sure not to miss any areas along the front, sides and back of the neck for complete coverage.
The benefits of individual braids over cornrows is that you have more versatility with your braided styles, which is great for putting your braids in updo's.
Image Credit: Free

Bulk Hair Length Chart

When Choosing Hair to Buy Online You Will Have These Options:
10 inches long for Brazilian Hair
12 inches long for Peruvian Hair
14 inches long for Malaysian Hair
16 inches long for Mixed Synthetic Hair
18 inches long for Asian Hair
20 inches long for Indian Hair
22 Inches long for Mongolian Hair
*(this is a sample list and each hair type comes in any of these lengths)
Types of Bulk Hair for Braiding
1. Human Hair (Remy) - This type of hair is usually bought and sold from third world countries. The hair is real because it used to belong to another person who had long hair and they cut it to sell for money or as part of a religious ceremony. Very poor woman from India, Peru, China, Philippians, and Eastern Europe will grow their hair and then have it shaved off to be sold in factories that specialize in manufacturing donated hair.
2. Synthetic Hair (Kanekalon) - Unlike the hair trade of imported human hair, synthetic fibers can often look like real hair, and is made mostly of polyfilament, monofilament fibres in acrylic or polyester which can be the right texture for most Afro- Caribbean woman who want to have braided hairstyles.
No matter which type of bulk hair you pick you can experiment with each one to see which will work best for your hair maintenance routine. A few things to consider is that with human hair you can shampoo it and curl it with heat whereas synthetic can only be rinsed and often times is not heat resistant.
The Cost of Beauty
The Cost of Beauty | Source

How Much Does Human Hair Bulk Extensions Cost?

The cost of human hair bulk extensions can get really expensive, so it will be wise to do your research before spending hundreds of dollars for bulk hair for braiding and the reason is because the quality level is what you want to determine.
Things you should look at along with cost:
As many people will agree the higher the cost the higher the quality should be, but that is not always the case. There are ways that you can know if what you are buying is worth the money. Here are some key words to look for:
  • Single Donor: This is where the hair your getting came from one person and not multiple donors.
  • Virgin Human Hair: This means that the hair has not been chemically treated or processed but is instead the hair is in its natural condition undamaged maintaining its shine and strength.
  • Cuticle Hair: This is going to be your premium type of hair for braiding and it means that all the hair is gathered in the same direction and the hair will not get tangled or matted up at all. Since it can be re-used and has very little if any shedding you will pay the most for this type of bulk braided hair.

Hair Extensions for Braiding Costs

The cost can range from as low as $30 dollars all the way up to over $100 dollars depending on the texture, length, brand and color of the hair extensions.You will pay less if you decide to do your own braids at home instead of going to a professional braidery salon.
Just know that if you have your hair done by a licensed beautician your braided hairstyle will probably last longer up to 3 to 4 months and this can be a great way to grow your natural hair while transitioning from a relaxer.

Learn Micro Braids Human Hair on Natural Hair

Will Bulk Human Straight Hair Work on Natural Hair?

One area that I wanted to discuss is the difference in hair textures that you will find in most bulk hair extensions. Since you are getting 100% human hair it often times will not be the same as your afro natural hair.
Natural black hair can be tightly coiled and be kinky in texture whereas the human hair sold online is smooth, silky and straight. Can you mix the two hair types together and get a beautiful braid style? The answer is yes you can.
You will want to first start out with a freshly shampooed hair that is dry then moisturize it with your favorite conditioner, then use a blow dryer with attachment to blow dry your hair for better manageability. Then you can take small pieces of your human hair extensions and add it to your own hair for nice looking individual micro braids.
Check out the video on this page to see how it is done, as you will notice it is okay to keep your hair natural, you do not need to do any heat straightening in order to match the texture of your bulk braid extensions. Amazingly this is why braided hairstyles is the best protective style for woman who are transitioning from relaxer.

Hair Braiding Styles Guide for Black Women

Black Braid Hairstyles Information

The most versatile are cornrows, twists and locs which are some of the more popular black braid hairstyle you can do yourself at home.
Many hair braiding salons offer to braid your hair in the latest styles but it can be very expensive from $200 dollars or more depending on the size of the braids.
This includes the length of the added hair extensions to make the hair braiding hairstyle look its best.
Remy Bulk Hair extensions come in a variety of colors. The standard hair shades are dark brown, black, light brown and blonde.
Depending on the size of the braids it may not take as much hair at first and then you can save the rest for future braided styles.

cornrow braids styles
cornrow braids styles

Hairbraiding hair products bulk hair for braided styles

Hair extensions can be used when your are considering hairbraiding hairstyles.
You will have a lot of synthetic, kanakalon, or toyakalon to choose from some of them include synthetic dread, synthetic curly, synthetic braid, synthetic spiral, synthetic wavy, synthetic silky, when you use hair extensions you are adding hair which can be human or synthetic on to your own hair by weaving, braiding, strand by strand or bonding,
Best Braiding Hair Brands:
it all depends on the length and the condition of your natural hair. Most women like hair extensions usually called weft hair because they can wash, cut and style it as if it was their own.
Some of the more popular hair braiding products, called bulk hair comes bound at the top with individual hair strands in a variety of colors:
black, brown, blonde and auburn in silky straight, natural perm straight, kinky straight, french refined, european wave, water wave, zig zag wave, zig zag curl, jeri curl.
These types of braided hair products consists of Yaki or Bohyme human hair extensions that is used for hairbraided hairstyles.

Popular Black Hair Braid Hairstyles

African Hair Braiding Prices
Determining the quality of hairbraiding products can be determined by the brand as well as the price, Famous brands such as Shake N Go, Milky Way, Outre, Sensationnel, Beverly Johnson, Ultra Plus, Do Me, Toptress, Dejavu, Zury, Rodeo, Micro Perm Yaki, Hollywood, Hair Topic, Remi Hair, Newborn Free
These come in various lengths from 10 inch, 12 inch, 16 inch, 18 inch, 20 inch, 22 inch and 24 inches long. Pricing can range from 20 dollars to over 100 dollars.
If you want to learn how to braid hair you can watch any of the many training DVD's online that show you the easy way to do hairbraiding from home or as a hair braiding business.

Types of hair braiding styles

Invisible braids:
Hair braiding has a long history and goes way back in time from a culture of people that had the skills to create unique looking hairstyles of all shapes and sizes from the french braiding to the braided bun to braid weave to twist braid styles.
It allowed women and men to express their individuality and black heritage with pixie braids or box braids.
As for braids for children it has made it easier for parents to manage the child's hair keeping it from tangling up or looking uncombed.
Instead the parent can try fishtail braids, tree braids or African hair braiding twists and then add some barrettes.

Braiding Synthetic Hair

When it comes to braided hair braiding while braiding hair you should always start out with a clean head of hair that has been moisturized with an oiled scalp to prevent the hair from drying out.
Braiding chemically relaxed hair can be damaging if done over a long period of time and if the hair is braided too tightly then that is when you will experience hair loss.
How to Braid Hair With Synthetic Hair
Choosing to add synthetic hair to your braids will help make the braids thicker and longer, many short braid styles use human hair to give the braided style a more complete finished look.
In order to add the right color of hair to your braids you will need to ask your beautician what type of artificial hair is the best to use, because some poor quality synthetic hair will cause your head to itch or you will notice that your braided style will not last long due to the ends starting to fray and unravel.

Grow hair thicker and longer with dreadlocks

How to Make, Get and Grow Dreadlocks Guide
Growing dreadlocks will take patience and determination because its more than just a hairstyle it is a lifestyle.
It will take some work to start and maintain through hair care that includes waxes, backcombs and twisting strands of your hair.
Steps to great dreads starts with knowing the real facts.
The following is some pictures and tutorials.
How to dread your hair with small pieces of hair
First you will need to start by picking the amount of hair you will want, the smaller you make the part the more space you will have to allow your dreads to get thicker with time,
start with twisting the hair in sections and then apply loc gel, your twist should be tight at the section closes to your skull,
use a comb or a brush to pull sections of hair round creating a knot, keeping it tight, this will help new hair to dread repeat the process until all sections are covered.

Choosing your dreads

Remember that the type of dreads you choose will determine how long it will take them to grow the way you want them to, because there are a variety of styles from counterclockwise motion or counter clockwise twists,
find a professional who specializes in locs and dreads, the beginning stages are the most important in your dreadlocks, study How to DVD's and watch how the professionals do their craft.
Do you want to be a dread head?
Having well maintained dreadlocks is more than just a trend or fad it's a lifestyle and it is best for you to get all the knowledge and understanding before you commit to getting the look you desire.
How you wear your dreadlocks makes a statement,
You will need to prepare, your mind and your body before you can prepare your hair by learning about washing, sectioning, , backcombing, waxing, clockwise rubbing, tip rubbing, finger rubbing, palm rolling, twisting, using rubber bands and crocheting as well as tips on the best accessories for dreadlocks.
Dread Wax
Using dread wax, the amount of wax used is determined by the length and the thickness of the dread, this is where palm rolling comes in apply wax rubbing it in from the roots. Using a hair dryer will allow for the wax to melt.

Colored Dreads

There are a variety of dreadlocks you can buy on eBay and some of them will come in pink, blue or multi-colors.
These looks can be fun and show your unique side.
The short dreads are easier to style and if you do not get them too long you can wear them pulled back into a ponytail or up in a twist.
My favorite way to wear dreads is down on my shoulders and I can add hair accessories such as feathers, beads and charms for added effect.
Just remember that taking care of synthetic hair is different than human hair,
Also hair shedding is something to consider if you decide to style your hair yourself or go to a beautician.
You can purchase a dreadlocks wig or you can get the bulk hair for extensions, whichever is easier for you.
Emo goth dreads are really popular also you can find wigs with the rasta hat attached to them.

Synthetic Dreads or Human Hair?
If you are getting dreadlocks for the first time you may be wondering if you should use fake hair or real hair. It really will depend on your lifestyle,
if you workout often and you go swimming several times a week it may be best to get hair that is durable and will not mat up or get tangled.
Also natural hairstyles can get dry if you do not use enough moisturizing products with essential oils
such as Coconut oil, Jojoba oil, Olive oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame seed oil and Shea butter.