Thursday 12 September 2013

No hands - Low Manipulation Styling



What is it?

These are those styles which can be done without handling the hair too much or too often. Any style which allows you to create it without using a comb or brush may pretty much be thought of as a low manipulation style. Many protective styles can be turned into low-manipulation styles.
One can braid or twist hair and wear it for a while and then undo them resulting in a gorgeous braid-out or twist out. Buns may also fall under this category, provided they are done without enlisting the help of tools which manipulate the hair. Additionally, most long-term styles may be categorized as low manipulation, as after the installment, one needs not manipulate one's own hair much in order to style. 

Bantu knot-out


up-do from bantu knot-out

Why do it?

Our hair in its natural state is kinky, coily, curly, and/ or wavy. Also, the relaxer process causes a breakdown of the protein, which leads to less strength. Hence, there are inherent weak points, which, if manipulated too much or too often WILL break! The obvious solution: limit manipulation as much as possible to retain length. 

How I do it! 

As previously stated in my post about protective styling, I am in the midst of a protective styling spree which intrinsically is a low manipulation style. When I wear wigs, I do so for about a month at a time, which allows me a whole month of not manipulating my hair. When not protective styling though, I definitely make use of low manipulation styles in my routine. My favorite is: on wash day, after the final rinse, I apply my leave-ins and braid my hair in two sections on either side of my head. I wear it this way around the house for as long as possible and if I need to go out, I undo the braids and voila- a gorgeous braid-out. To go even further, I can turn this braid-out into an up-do if I want to get fancy. When the events are over, I'll rebraid or wash, depending on the day and do it all over again.


Braid-out (day 1)

Braid-out (day 2)

Up-do from braid-out (Day 3 hair)

What are your favorite low manipulation styles? Let me know down below!

XOXO,
Abbi

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