Cornrow Braid Tips
Cornrowing hair is a strenuous task and requires a great deal of patience and dedication. This is why its so important to preserve your braids as long as possible. To make your cornrows last try keeping your hair covered while sleeping. Doing so will increase the life of your cornrows by a few days. Cornrows can typically be left in for about a month, but no more than 6 weeks. If you leave your braids in too long they may lock, which may require you to cut some of your hair. In addition to covering your hair while sleeping, you also need to cover your hair while showering, preferably with stocking cap, which you can rub shampoo and water through. After showering reapply some wax or hair spray to rebuild your braids hold.
Remember, cornrows should never be too tight, uncomfortable, and certainly shouldn't be painful. An experienced braider will never make braids too tight for whoever's hair their working on. For tighter cornrow braids, try braiding underhanded, meaning braiding with the back of your hands facing you. Underhanded braiding is slightly more difficult than overhanded braiding, but with practice you can achieve tighter braids with underhand braiding.
Cornrows are typically braided using 3 groups of hair. But starting with only 2 groups of hair is a great way for beginners to learn the rhythm of the cornrow braid. Make sure your subject is in an appropriate position. Preferably below your waist, so you can sit above them resting your arms on your legs, allowing your hands to do all the work.
Remember, there's no one way to braid cornrows and will require some improvisation on your part. Everybody's hair is slightly different and each person requires slightly different techniques to achieve clean looking cornrows. With practice and experience you'll be able to work with every type of hair.
Check our hair braiding DVD's! Click here!