How to Wash Hair with Braids In

Why an applicator bottle

A nozzle bottle puts diluted shampoo along the parts, on the scalp, where the dirt and product are. Pouring shampoo over braids saturates several feet of synthetic hair that was not dirty, takes hours to dry, and leaves residue in the braid that you cannot rinse out properly. The bottle costs very little and is the single thing that makes washing a protective style practical.

Diluting the shampoo

Roughly one part shampoo to three or four parts water in the bottle, shaken. Diluted shampoo spreads and rinses far more easily than neat shampoo, which is the point: undiluted product trapped between braids is what leaves the white residue people find at the roots a day later. Use a clarifying or a gentle cleansing shampoo rather than a heavy moisturizing one, which is harder to rinse.

The method

Section the head with your fingers along the braid rows. Apply the diluted shampoo down each part, then massage the scalp with the pads of your fingers, not your nails, in small circles. Do not scrub the braids or pile them on top of the head, which loosens them and creates frizz. Rinse in the shower with the water running down the length of the braids rather than against them, and rinse for longer than feels necessary.

Drying properly

This is where most people go wrong. Squeeze the length gently in a towel, then dry the roots. A hooded dryer for twenty minutes does this best; a handheld dryer on cool to warm along the parts also works. Wet roots left under a scarf overnight are uncomfortable, slow to dry, and eventually smell. Never sleep on a wet protective style.

Between washes

A light scalp oil along the parts every few days if the scalp feels tight, and a satin bonnet or scarf at night to reduce frizz. If the scalp is itching rather than feeling dry, it needs washing, not more oil. A dry shampoo or a witch hazel wipe along the parts refreshes between full washes without wetting the style.