Before you take the plunge on a new protective hairstyle, it’s always good to get a sense of how much bang you’ll get for your buck and time. Am I going to sit for a couple hours getting long jumbo cornrows only to have to take them out a few days later? Or can I expect to get a good few weeks out of them?
We asked one of our Yeluchi (mobile hairstyling service) clients to answer this question definitively with us. We first did this with a client that has kinky type 4 hair and got these results. And now with the help of the lovely Victoria, we’ve got the answer for curly type 3 hair.
So, how long do jumbo cornrows last on curly type 3 hair?
The short answer is about two weeks.
Victoria kept her cornrows in for a total of 17 days. Throughout that time she wrapped her braids and slept with a satin scarf at night. She didn’t wash her hair with shampoo or conditioner during that time but did rinse it out with water on the 14th day after a workout. When she started seeing frizz on around the 15th day, she applied some setting mousse and edge control.
Keep in mind that how Victoria took care of her hair is generally what we recommend. Here’s a full rundown of taking care of and refreshing cornrows. In sum, you want to wash your hair as often as you would if it were out of a protective style; keep it moisturized according to your hair and scalp’s needs; and definitely sleep with a scarf at night.
We highly recommend avoiding the temptation to leave your cornrows or any protective style for too long. Any style that keeps you from being able to fully wash your hair on a regular basis leaves you open to product and bacteria building up on your scalp. So always err on the safe side and take out your style when you know you need a good wash. (In case, it might be helpful, here are the official protective style guidelines we put together with industry experts to help you really protect your hair, and below’s the short doc we put together on safe protective styling.)
Here’s what Victoria’s hair looked like over the days she had them in.
(Click to expand)
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