What NOT to do while stretching...

So.... last week, I thought that I could get creative and co-wash my half-natural, half-relaxed cornrows WITHOUT TAKING THEM DOWN. Let me repeat..... I TRIED TO CO-WASH MY HAIR WHILE IT WAS IN 1 WEEK OLD BRAIDS THAT I HAD WORN UNDER A WIG ALL WEEK. Neglecting all of the following rules of long-term stretching like:

• Detangling the hair before putting water on it


• Making sure not to stress the hair at the line of demarcation


• Keeping the hair clean (but still moisturized) to help ward off tangles in the first daygum place!

You might be wondering how I thought co-washing was going to help. Well I kept hearing this screeching chant in my head saying: "low-manipulation, low-manipulation, low-manipulation", that I let get the best of me so I tried it. Let me just say that by doing so, I managed to:

• Lock in the tangles from the week by adding water to my hair w/o pre-poo or detangling


• Put undue stress at the line of demarcation by trying to "work" the conditioner into and out of the braids (I saw the breakage to prove it when it was all over).


• Not rinse my hair clean because too much condition got caught up in the braids.

In other words...I won't go down that road, ever again. Ladies, do not try this at home (or anywhere else) !