I love Weaves!

I got my first weave in College- yes I said College. I was in my junior year of school (2005) and I was apart of a dance group. We had a show coming up and it was customary for the female dances to have long hair to add a sexy and dramatic effect while dancing. One of the dancers convinced me to purchase some weaving hair and she stated that she will install a few tracks for me. The hair was twelve inches, not that long, and I had about four tracks which blended well with my hair. My hair was past shoulder length at that time, so the twelve inches was not dramatic.

Since then I would have my stylist install a partial sew in weave (with some of my hair out) every year for the performances that we did. I would get the hair in ten inches though, because I wanted it to look natural, but as my hair was coming neck and neck with the weave, my stylist , and I even went as far as getting a a full wet and wavy weave with only a little bit of my hair out to cover the tracks (that was a disaster to be discussed in another post).

In 2009-2010, my sister wanted a weave and I put one in for her. Prior to that I had installed a track or two for some of the dancers for the show mentioned above. Her install came out so nice and everyone complemented her on her hair and thought it was hers. I kept doing her weaves for her and was dying to do one on myself, but I was not sure it would come out right. In 2010 I installed a few tracks on myself (sewn in) and I received complements on how well the weave blended with my hair. I wanted to try a partial sew in with the majority of my hair sewn in so bad, but I was still nervous.

In the summer of 2010, I had micro braids in the front and a sew in in the back done at the African Hair Braiding Shop. I went to florida on vacation and with the swimming I was doing, the edges of the tracks were coming up (the hair wasn't sewn down right), so I had to tack them back down. I began to turn to youtube videos and watched very closely when customers were getting sew in's at the salon. After paying someone over $200.00 in a shop for a weave, I said I have to do this on my own, and begin saving money. I know how to braid, been doing that for over 18 years now. It was just the fear of sewing, and making it look neat,  that I had to get rid of.

I practiced with wig caps (glued), and decided to dive right in.  At the end of August 2011, a few days before my birthday, I said I am going to install a partial sew in on myself. And I did just that and it came out well- except for the fact that the color of the hair (2) and my hair did not blend right, so I ended up dying the hair.

Since then I have done several 3/4th wigs which I now prefer as I can take them off at night (my scalp either doesn't like the thread, the wefts, or just being tied up). I recently made a full weave with a closure, and I cannot wait to rock it (after these micro's come out).

For me, weaves are a way of changing up your appearance and hair color without damaging or cutting your own hair. It also serves as a protective style for me when I want to give my hair a rest. I love weaves!