On My Mind: Bob Box Braids

Last year, I fell in love with these bob box braids on Whitney Madueke (above)

Inspired by Cleopatra or the 90s, depending on your point of reference, this is a different, very pretty,  retro-chic way to wear box braids.

     

The good news is, anybody can look good with this + it’s pretty easy to achieve. I tried getting it done at my braiders’ on Monday, and it was a big big flop, I took it out the next day. After much reflection on the experience and YouTubing, I think I have it figured out, hear hear!

Bob Box Braids: What You Should Know

1. Your braids should not be thin. Medium sized – fat braids are the way to go.

2. The length of your bob should be carefully determined by the shape of your face, for best results. (I love all the pictures in this post, but the first girl’s face is shaped like mine. I could be daring and cut it lower, but I’d begin with cutting it at her length)

3. When preparing your extensions, do not measure them for the exact length you want your braids. This is what spoilt my attempt. Measure them for longer braids, and then cut off when you’re done. Why? Because the thickness is everything, without it, you have no shape, no bob. You know that as you braid hair normally, it tapers down and gets thinner toward the bottom of the braid. The point at which you cut your braid should be just as thick as the point you started- meaning, your bob braids should be uniform in thickness from top to bottom.

4. Seal the ends of your braids. You can burn them individually with a flame from a candle or a lighter. Very 90s I know! After burning, smooth with your fingers. You can also band the end of the braid (with tiny rubberbands) when you get to your desired length, and cut off the rest of the extensions, as Whitney did. See below:

5. Don’t sacrifice your hair at the nape! This is a bob right? What about the back of your hair? If you have a very teeny weeny afro, you don’t have to worry about this. For me though, in my awkward length phase, I’d definitely end up chopping off my hair at the back, following this process. For the back, what my hairdressers did (and which makes sense, really) is that they braided the back of my hair up into one zig zag cornrow, for about three lines- and made the rest of the box braids long enough to cover that space. The braids stopped at my neck, and did not expose the cornrow beneath. Got it?

Still not convinced?

Here’s an idea- the next time you get box braids, when you’re ready to loosen them, cut them in a bob shape first and see how you like it.

I was really unhappy with my hair- so upset. So upset that I can’t show you the pictures I took LOL sorry. Let me just put it this way- when done wrong, “bob braids” can have you looking like you’re in A-Levels, or like you’re a certain kind of 40 year old. Make of that what you wish ( ._.) I showed them what I wanted over and over, and they assured me they knew what to do. I was visibly upset after it all so, they offered to redo it for me. My poor fro suffered. All the manipulation! Still not convinced about letting them do it, I decided to get long braids instead. After a few weeks, when I’m tired, I think I will do the cutting myself.

More about box braids soon, but this is all for now.

What do you think about this look? Have you tried it? Will you be rocking it anytime soon?

Love,

AB,

xx

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Pictures of Whitney Madueke were taken from her Tumblr and YouTube

All other pictures in this post are from Pinterest.