How to Maintain and Take Care of Crochet Braids

Crochet braids are one of the most desired protective hairstyles, with unlimited different variations, compatible with absolutely every individual’s preferences. The catch here is you’ll have to take good care of your crochet braids to ripe the pros.

You literally get the hair type or types you want, the color or colors you want, and the cut you want, attached to your own hair that is braided on your scalp as a support base for the new one.  

It sounds like a dream, but the dream hair needs maintenance and cleaning too.

How to Take Care of Crochet Braids

Once you have the crochet braids well installed, without any pain and visible knots, you’ll be willing to keep their aspect for as long as it is recommended and possible.

However, the synthetic bulk hair, as opposed to the braided one, can get tangled and nappy.

In order to prevent this, you can replace your usual bedding with a satin or silk one, so you don’t destroy your dream hair while sleeping… You can also protect it by wrapping your hair with a silk or satin scarf or using a dedicated bonnet or satin cap.

Still, you will need to detangle your crochet hair from time to time, and for this, you’ll need to use your hands and some hair oil or moisturizing spray. 

Cut the straight, tangled, and frizzy parts of the ends of your hair. You may need to trim more and the hair is going to become shorter and shorter.

But don’t worry, it is not your natural one! For me, that’s the only time I can cut my hair without any concern when I get crochet braids. And I like it. 

If you want your curls to look revitalized and neat, use some mousse. 

Besides all these aspects of the aspect of your crochet hair, one of the most important things is cleaning your hair. 

You’ll need to wash your scalp while wearing crochet braids too, and this can be a little troublesome as you don’t have much access. 

The technique is similar to washing cornrows, but you need to be very gentle with the hair attached and also insist when rinsing off the shampoo.

Maintenance: How to Wash Your Crochet Braids

Get into the shower and wet your scalp and hair with warm or cold water. Combine the shampoo with water and apply it all over your scalp (or where you have access). 

Massage your scalp with the pads of your fingertips and focus on the edges, mostly on the headline as it is the most exposed area for buildups, especially if you use makeup. 

Run warm or cold water through your crochet hair and make sure you take all the shampoo out of your hair. 

Repeat the process with conditioner if you have textured dry hair, use it on your natural hair as much as possible.

You don’t need to do this if your hair is straight. You can then use the conditioner only for the synthetic hair, smoothing and separating them section by section. 

You don’t have to use fancy products for this, use any cheap conditioner for the synthetic hair, as you only need to smooth it and get the smell out of it. 

Option for a microfiber towel to squeeze and dry your hair. Crochet braids dry fast, so you don’t need to use a dryer.

However, the base would need more time to get dry, so you can use a blow dryer for your scalp if you need to. 

What Do You Have to Do After Washing Your Crochet Braids?

After washing your crochet braids, you’ll need to detangle your hair with your hands, separating all the pieces. You can use a leave-in conditioner or hair oil on your scalp. 

Separate all the pieces with your hands and use mousse to revitalize your curls. This is the best moment to do this, when the hair is still wet. Cut all the stragglers, nappy, knotted, or frizzy parts, especially the ends. 

If the edges of your natural hair got off, you need to fix them too, using an extreme hold wax and a toothbrush, a mascara brush, a thin comb, or a crochet braids needle. Lay the edges down back into your cornrows. 

If your crochet braids got pulled toward the back, you can add some new hair in the headline area. In order to do this, you’ll need a crochet braids needle and some synthetic hair, preferably the one you used for the rest of your hair. 

You can apply mousse or wig shine spray to revitalize the old hair. 

Thus, to keep your crochet away from frizzing and napping, don’t wear rough fabrics on your head. There are dedicated accessories on the market that you can wear, like satin-lined hats, satin hair ties, and so on.

Also, try not to manipulate it too hard. Don’t wear it in tight stylings, as it will affect the texture of your synthetic hair, and it will also be pulled back. 

And the last piece of advice for good care of your crochet braids, love them and enjoy wearing them!

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