The Best Protective Style for Natural Hair
The best protective style for your hair is the style that your hair wants to be in.
Yes, you read that right. When was the last time you paid close attention to how your hair behaves in different forms? Over the years, I’ve learned that my hair has a personality of its own, so I’m finally tuning in and listening to my good sis.
My first big chop was in 2013, when I snipped inches of my permed hair with a pair of kitchen scissors, home from my first semester college on winter break. That was the start of my natural hair journey, but it wasn’t completely impulsive. I had spent months beforehand scrolling through natural hair forums and watching countless hours of YouTube videos where women documented their journeys to embrace their kinks and coils, and I wanted that for myself too. Perms weren’t doing much for me anyways since I always had super fine hair and I just knew that going natural would give me the volume I craved.
It wasn’t long before I decided to name my hair “Ali” because she loved to “put up a fight.”
As it turned out, my natural hair in its healthiest form was coarse, yet fine and surprisingly fragile. I soon learned that high manipulation styles and frequent high heat would lead to breakage much quicker than my other natural friends, so I had to be gentle with it. Despite having permed hair through my childhood, I lived in box braids and twists, so I went back to what I knew. I started out with marley twists because it was easy to do myself, a valuable skill for any college student to have. But the allure of big glamorous hair had me in a trance, so I started experimenting with other hair extensions like crochet braids, faux locs, sew-ins, and eventually wigs.
Wigs and wefted extensions have advanced a lot since 2013, and I remember when closures first became mainstream. I jumped on the trend because it gave me the option to play with more styles while having my hair fully covered, meaning I could explore color and different curl patterns while my hair just blossomed in its cornrows underneath — in theory. I even wore a stocking cap plus a wig grip religiously to keep my hair protected and secure. I wore wigs for eons and became reliant on them to fulfill the look I was going for: it was what all the #girlboss-era women who looked like me wore, that bouncy, bodywave hair that appeared more “polished”, “professional”, and “grown”. Little did I know, my edges were literally suffocating and being rubbed out by the thing I thought was protecting them.
Looking back to my post-grad years, I realize I didn’t know a thing about natural hair maintenance with or without extensions. I knew I had to keep it moisturized, but I severely misunderstood the value of a trim, I never let it see the sun unless it was wrapped up in kanekalon — I was just doing everything wrong. My perimeter had always been more sensitive than the rest of my hair, and with the advent of the elastic band method to make closures lay flat, the wigs started tearing me up from the front and the back, so my nape suffered.
I found myself in this endless loop of feeling insecure about my hair. I’d cover it up, but the styles that made me feel the most confident was chewing ME up, and I didn’t know what else to do. By this time, I was working as a TV news reporter and I felt the pressure of looking the part on-air to be competitive, but eventually I decided I didn’t want my hair to suffer anymore. It was time for me to change my perspective on what professional hair and beautiful hair looked like on me. I eventually I decided to start rocking protective styles that I knew my hair liked on TV. I went back to the braids and twists I was used to, this time going to actual stylists or learning how to finesse a crochet hook and install some locs, anything that would allow my hair to grow in peace and give my edges a break. Toward the end of my time as a local news reporter, I went to the 2019 NABJ convention in a curly fro wig and my reels featured me rocking more textured styles as I embraced a more natural look.
Disclaimer: I know that braids, faux locs, etc. can be damaging for some, especially with the tension and pulling around the edges, but my hair grows like a bamboo with these. That’s why it’s important to base your protective styles on what your hair can tolerate vs. what everyone else is doing.
This story could be a lot longer, but I’ll spare you for another day. I still dabble in full closures and lace wigs when I want to spice things up, but in big 2025 I’m finally moving away from them being my primary hairstyle. Last year was about me learning how to nuture the hair that grows out of my scalp with the fast-paced, corporate babe, city girl lifestyle I now live. It turns out that I don’t need to run to Turkey for a transplant (I thought about it for a second), I just needed to baby my hair back in shape.
This year is about maintaining my hair’s health and embracing styles that work with my natural texture instead of against it. I’m learning how to be soft with my strands, experiment with low-manipulation looks, and find joy in the everyday rituals of care like deep conditioning on Sundays or wrapping my hair at night, no matter how tired I am.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and place for bone straight and body wave, but the real flex is seeing my hair flourish on its own terms, and showing up to the world as a more authentic version of myself, even if it takes a little more patience and a few more learning curves.
