Like everybody else has been saying, so much depends on what she does with her hair. When I was really little I pretty much had a short afro, and that generally takes a few minutes to pick/comb through (so it's not flat anywhere) and possibly a rubdown of oil/conditioner/something to keep it from looking/getting dry.
When I got older my mom would do my hair in cornrows or box braids, which would take anywhere from 6-8 hours to complete depending on the style, and whether or not there were extensions being put in. That would last from 4-6 weeks or so, maybe up to 8 weeks if I took care of it. Taking care of it generally involved spraying some oil in, or rubbing in leave-in conditioner overnight, and wearing a silk or satin cap, or scarf while I slept to keep things from getting fuzzy. The next morning I'd spray it again so they looked fresh, but was pretty much set to go. Generally while taking a shower I'd put a cap on to keep them from getting wet - we saved washing for the salon, since it could dry out your hair and/or leave residue and make the braids fuzzy faster.
As I got into my teens I went through a phase where we started getting it chemically straightened every 6 weeks or so. My sister still does this, but I long since abandoned it because it's too much work. It looks a lot more like "white hair" when done like this, but to keep it in really nice condition you need to make sure you use a leave-in conditioner each day and spray it with a light oil every night. They make a bunch of different products for this. She also covers it in a cap/scarf every night to keep it from getting mussed, and if she really wants a "proper" look she'll flat-iron it in the morning along with the oil. It can take awhile, maybe half an hour or so depending on how thorough she wants to be.
A lot of styles that involve straighteners/curlers/twists/braids/whatever will involve a conditioner or an oil at night, being covered while you sleep, and some sort of oil in the morning, possibly flat ironing or curling to freshen up the look.
Personally, I got sick of all the chemicals and work and have been rolling with dreads for about eight years or so now. While they're less popular with women, they're definitely starting to become more common even in the business world. Unlike most "white dreads" you can make them look very neat and professional if you take care of them, to the point where they're not very different in appearance from box braids. The care is similar, but not so strict. You can cover them at night if you want to, to keep them from getting fuzzy, but I don't bother. A quick spritz of conditioner in the morning to keep them from getting dry I'm usually good to go in the morning. Sometimes I don't even bother with that. The key things to remember are that if you take a shower to make sure you're really careful to rinse all the soap out, and be aware that they take a LONG time to dry. It can take mine (which are about two or three inches below my shoulders) all day to dry, depending on weather. In-between you can use techniques every few weeks to tighten the base of the dreads (near the scalp, where the undreaded hair is) which helps them dread up faster and keeps you from looking scruffy. This doesn't take long though, and can generally be done in spurts, while watching a movie or reading or waiting someplace or whatever. You really only need to do a few at a time when they feel or look particularly loose.
So yeah... sorry this got so long, but I figured I'd toss in my suggestions since I've kinda done the whole gamut of stuff. Heh. My vote is definitely dreads, but it all depends on personality!
Okay, that's cool! Just for the record - I've actually had my hair done like that before, but it wasn't natural. Most "black" hair is way too curly to do that naturally, they usually straighten it first and then do the twists while wet, with gel to hold it in place. And on top of that it's sort of a pain to keep up on. You definitely need to make sure you wear a scarf/cap every night to keep the gel holding it in place, it's crunchy to sleep on (no lie, your hair is literally crunchy) and you need to spritz it with oil in the morning. If you want to "let it down" it's not going to just fall in neat ringlets, either. They'll get smooshed by morning and you'll have to re-curl them if you want curls, or flat-iron if you want smooth, straight hair.
Maybe there's other ways of doing it, but for a style like the one pictured that's how I've personally seen/had it done. It's not super practical, and it'll start to look ratty pretty fast.
When I got older my mom would do my hair in cornrows or box braids, which would take anywhere from 6-8 hours to complete depending on the style, and whether or not there were extensions being put in. That would last from 4-6 weeks or so, maybe up to 8 weeks if I took care of it. Taking care of it generally involved spraying some oil in, or rubbing in leave-in conditioner overnight, and wearing a silk or satin cap, or scarf while I slept to keep things from getting fuzzy. The next morning I'd spray it again so they looked fresh, but was pretty much set to go. Generally while taking a shower I'd put a cap on to keep them from getting wet - we saved washing for the salon, since it could dry out your hair and/or leave residue and make the braids fuzzy faster.
As I got into my teens I went through a phase where we started getting it chemically straightened every 6 weeks or so. My sister still does this, but I long since abandoned it because it's too much work. It looks a lot more like "white hair" when done like this, but to keep it in really nice condition you need to make sure you use a leave-in conditioner each day and spray it with a light oil every night. They make a bunch of different products for this. She also covers it in a cap/scarf every night to keep it from getting mussed, and if she really wants a "proper" look she'll flat-iron it in the morning along with the oil. It can take awhile, maybe half an hour or so depending on how thorough she wants to be.
A lot of styles that involve straighteners/curlers/twists/braids/whatever will involve a conditioner or an oil at night, being covered while you sleep, and some sort of oil in the morning, possibly flat ironing or curling to freshen up the look.
Personally, I got sick of all the chemicals and work and have been rolling with dreads for about eight years or so now. While they're less popular with women, they're definitely starting to become more common even in the business world. Unlike most "white dreads" you can make them look very neat and professional if you take care of them, to the point where they're not very different in appearance from box braids. The care is similar, but not so strict. You can cover them at night if you want to, to keep them from getting fuzzy, but I don't bother. A quick spritz of conditioner in the morning to keep them from getting dry I'm usually good to go in the morning. Sometimes I don't even bother with that. The key things to remember are that if you take a shower to make sure you're really careful to rinse all the soap out, and be aware that they take a LONG time to dry. It can take mine (which are about two or three inches below my shoulders) all day to dry, depending on weather. In-between you can use techniques every few weeks to tighten the base of the dreads (near the scalp, where the undreaded hair is) which helps them dread up faster and keeps you from looking scruffy. This doesn't take long though, and can generally be done in spurts, while watching a movie or reading or waiting someplace or whatever. You really only need to do a few at a time when they feel or look particularly loose.
So yeah... sorry this got so long, but I figured I'd toss in my suggestions since I've kinda done the whole gamut of stuff. Heh. My vote is definitely dreads, but it all depends on personality!
Reply
Reply
Maybe there's other ways of doing it, but for a style like the one pictured that's how I've personally seen/had it done. It's not super practical, and it'll start to look ratty pretty fast.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment