"Protective" Styling Redefined?

One of the most well-known protective styles is the two-strand twist. My hair has thrived over the past 9 months, and I believe that can be largely attributed to wearing my hair in twists. But apparently this isn't the case for everyone.

A twist-out

Yesterday I read a post by a guest blogger on A Curl's Best Friend about protective styling. She mentioned how a friend of hers shared that her hair doesn't hold twists or twist-outs well, so she ended up having to re-twist her hair several times a week, therefore making twists a high manipulation style. The guest blogger shared that she experiences the same challenge as well.


When I first started my personal hair growth challenge last April, all I kept hearing was that protective styles such as braids and twists help you retain length by protecting your ends and the rest of your strands. But it never occurred to me that these styling options not only don't work for everyone, but they also might not be protective for everyone either. The guest blogger who wrote the post asked if the classic "protective" styles were high manipulation for other fine-haired naturals as well. Her theory is that, for those naturals with finer hair, the typical "protective" styles actually end up doing more harm than good. Since their hair can't hold the styles for long, they end up having to re-twist or re-braid several times a week, which is more manipulation. So, since the whole point of protective hairstyling is to minimize manipulation, their protective hairstyling tends to lean towards WnGs and puffs. 

A braid-out

Now, when I wear my hair in a puff, it ends up in a tangled, frizzy mess before the day is through! LOL!! And I cannot wet (soaking wet) my hair without having to detangle it - it is SO THICK, which is why I only wet it on wash day. Yet my hair thrives in twists. 


So if this woman's theory is correct - which I believe it is - then "protective" styling is a relative term. For finer-haired naturals, "protective" styling may mean wetting the hair several times a week to achieve a WnG or puff, while for thicker-haired naturals, wetting the hair multiple times a week might be a complete nightmare, but wearing the hair twisted for a week may be a much more desired style.

What's your take on this?? 

Do you have fine hair? What style(s) make(s) your hair thrive??