▷ Protective hairstyles 2019 ¡Photo ideas & step by step!

Protective hairstyles are a very popular trend for people with textures hair; including curly, coyly and kinky hair.

Before we start talking about all the different protective hairstyles you can apply and make on your hair, we believe we should talk about protective hairstyles are.

They consist on protecting the ends of your hair, by tucking them away.

This is important as the ends of your hair are the most fragile and oldest part of the strand, and frequent washing, conditioning, styling and detangling requires tugging and pulling of your hair, making it each time weaker than the last.

As a consequence, from this, it is normal for you to see some hair fall every time you touch your hair.

When you have naturally textured hair, using a protective hairstyle has become an extra when looking for options to conceal your hair; and with protective hairstyles you open a multitude of levels for you to try on!

They include – but are not limited to – twists, updos, braids, wigs, etc.

Many times adding extensions, either human or synthetic hair, to have even more versatility, color, volume, thickness, length and the overall appearance of the look.

Protective hairstyles for women

Protective hairstyles aim to minimize the stress environmental factor action on your natural hair.

Allowing you to skillfully shape your hair into breathtaking hairstyles without the worry of it sticking out in every direction as if you just walked out of an explosion.

Some benefits from the protective hairstyles you are that they protect your hair from the elements, maintain moisture (an important part for naturally textured hair as it tends to be dryer than the rest), retention of the length and will allow you to have a stylish look no matter where you go.

It is important for you take some easy steps before or during you are using your protective hairstyles in order for you to take even more care of your natural hair.

One of these steps would be to nourish your hair and scalp with oils (preferably natural, like jojoba oil) or apply hydrating creams and balms before you even start styling your hair.

Let your hair dry overnight, this allows for you to not use any type of heat in order to make it dry faster and it will end with a beautiful look it you let it air dry.

Protect your hair further from extreme temperatures (either cold or hot) by wearing a hat, and something very similar you can do is sleep with a satin scarf on your head to avoid hair breakage.

Many women choose not even to try protective hairstyles for short hair just because they believe they don’t really have too many options due to their short hair and are not aware of the many options that they actually have out there for them to try on.

Simple updo bun

If you have long enough hair to be gathered up in a bun and are looking for an easy on the go protective hairstyles, then this is the perfect hairstyle for you to try.

It is a great protective hairstyle for both lazy hair days – where you don’t really feel like doing anything on your hair but don’t want to go out looking like you just got out of bed – and bad hair days.

By just simply picking your hair up in a bun you are actually protecting your hair. The best part is that you have complete freedom as to where and how you are going to do this bun.

For example, you can do the bun on the top of your head, or if it’s more of your style you can apply it on the nape of your neck; it all depends on your likes and preferences.

If on the contrary you are not on a lazy day but still want to try out a bun, then you can decorate it with braids in order to make it seem more elegant and produced; even going to the extent of adding hair accessories or doing two buns!

Crochet braids

Wearing protective hairstyles doesn’t mean that you need to have your hair tied up and slicked to your head all the time, or at least looking like it is.

The crochet braiding technique – which consists on doing corn rows to your entire hair, using the braiding technique you prefer, and then latching pieces of hair into the cornrow braids and securing them with a knot. Repeating the process until the cornrow braids are no longer visible.

We recommend for you to use curly hair extensions as it will cover the little parts of the cornrow braids that are still visible after applying the hair extensions.

The best part about using this technique is that you can create so many styles depending on the type of extensions you use.

You can use any type of extensions you can think about, afro textured, coyly, kinky, curly, wavy or even straight as well as the length you desire; so, if you really have short hair you can make it seem as if you had longer hair.

Classic braids

When looking for a low maintenance, free hanging protective hairstyle classic braids are the perfect solution for you to try on.

Not only they require close to no effort to maintain and can last for weeks, but they also allow for you to be able to have your hair hanging free!

A really common length for this protective hairstyle is a bob length one, with multiple braids.

This hairstyle is really easy to achieve, but we have to admit that it is pretty time consuming; don’t get scared by that though, you are going to spend some time doing the hairstyles but the amount of time that it can last is worth it.

It consists on creating a bunch of little braids with your whole hair, so they can flow and hang low as well as protect your hair. You can use any braiding technique you feel comfortable with as well as taking strands the width you want them to be.

The most common technique for these protective hairstyles is the two stranded technique, or the twist braid as they are easier and less time consuming as other techniques such as the three of four stranded braids.

Circular corn crow design for shorter hair

Finding creative protective hairstyles for natural short hair can be a tricky and difficult task to complete.

One of our favorite things about protective hairstyles is that you can mix two or more techniques for you to have the better results, closer to what you wanted from the beginning.

This specific hairstyle mixes the corn crows with twits to give you the illusion of a normal really short haircut.

To achieve this look, you need to create a circular design with the corn crows at the lower part of the head, just where the buzzed hair would be.

And once you reach the height where you want more movement all you are going to need is to apply the twists on the rest of your hair towards the side you feel more comfortable with.

Protective hairstyles for sleeping

There is more than one way of fixing your naturally curly hair to sleep in order to maintain those beautiful curls you got to style for days without having to re style them or shampoo it again.

There is not only one way to sleep with your curly hair, it all sums down to finding the way to wear your hair to sleep that works for you; that doesn’t leave any dents, flattened or frizzy curls the next morning.

Finding the perfect way to sleep for you will depend on some factors like how tight or loose are your curls as well as if you wear your hair wet or time at the moment you sleep.

Now that you know all these factors is time for you to find the perfect protective hairstyles for sleeping for you.

Loose bun protective hairstyle

Many naturally texture people decide to sleep in a loos bun in order to avoid the frizz – or at least it cut it down – applying leave on conditioner and scrunch gel into the hair before flipping it over and tying it into a bun.

Make sure that your bun is loose enough or your curls are going to stretch out too much and you won’t have the look you desire.

The best way for you to avoid dents is by making sure that you twist and tuck your bun very loosely and securing it with a scrunchie so it leaves no marks on your beautiful curls.

What we love the most about this protective hairstyle is that allows for plenty possibilities for you to style your hair the next morning.

If your hair is still wet in the morning then you can opt to add more curling products on your hair, and either air dry it or use a diffuser.

Plop protective hairstyle

This protective hairstyle is not only popular for sleeping purposes but are as well good for you to avoid your hair being weighed down by gravity.

This specific protective hairstyle consists on a series of steps you need to follow in order for you to achieve it the right way as well as end up with the best results possible.

To achieve this protective hairstyle all you need to do is take a microfiber towel, or an old t shirt and lay it in a flat surface then flip your hair over making it pile on top of itself in the middle of the towel.

Once you have done this, you should tie the sides of the towel together so it stays secured on your head, the towel – or shirt – will speed up the hair drying time as well as allowing the curls to dry and set nicely.

Sleep on a satin bonnet

In order to avoid friction and frizz on hair while sleeping, use a silk or satin bonnet or even a pillowcase.

Your hair will smoothly glide over the pillowcase without creating frizz, you can use this method in a combination with others we have talked about before.

Some women sleep with a pineapple, or braids, and a satin bonnet or pillowcase.

There are even some girls who like to double it up by sleeping in both a silk bonnet and pillowcase to make sure that the hair that escapes their bonnet doesn’t have any type of frizz in the morning.

You just need to find the perfect combination for you, the one with which you feel comfortable and safe every night.

If you don’t like the feeling or even the look of sleeping in a satin pillowcase, you can opt to tie a sil or satin scarf or wear the bonnet we have mentioned before to protect your loose hair from getting in your face.

T-shirt turban

If any of the hairstyles before is not for you, or for example, pineappling leaves a ponytail dent in your curls, or loosens up your curls you can try to do a turban with a t shirt instead.

This method is perfect for short curly hair, which keeps your hair from getting flattened while you sleep as well as avoiding for it to move around and create dents on your hair.

Protective hairstyles for girls

Taking care of naturally textured hair is not only for grown women, actually, the sooner you start taking care of your hair the better results you are going to have.

Taking care of your baby girl’s hair is not only great for her hair but it’s a time saver when looking to maintain style on your little girl.

As we have stated before, there are hundreds of protective hairstyles for girls, and at least half of them can be worn for weeks.

This way you are going to have your little angel’s hair perfectly styled at all times by just using some time every week or so to style your girl’s hair, how cool is that?

Protective and time saver! But they can also be super cute and worn for every occasion, from an everyday look to a more formal or elegant one, you are going to be able to find the perfect protective hairstyles for girls.

Braided bun

This simple up do with a twist is not only a great idea to protect your hair but it will also keep your girl cool and without any hairs on her face.

To achieve this look all you need to do is create a nice braided pattern –you can use any braiding technique you feel comfortable with or the one you like the most – the best idea for you is to create lines or rounded lines that go up towards where you are going to tie the bun.

Once you are done doing the braided design, you have to take all the hair and braid it into a simple a simple braid and then use that simple braid to create the bun.

Remember to apply, gel and hair masks in order to hydrate the hair while it stays in this protective hairstyles for girls.

Patterned braids

Have fun with this fun pattern adorned with hair jewels, this one is a good one to let your girl’s personality shine by letting her pick her favorite jewels and accessories to add to her hair.

This hairstyle is a little complicated but it’s perfect for a more formal and elegant occasion where you want your little girl to have the best looks.

To create this look you need to separate de hair into several parts, the ‘main’ one, where you are going to apply the hair accessories, which has the shape on an inverted triangle, and tie it up into a ponytail in the meantime.

Once you have done that, you should do two or three Dutch braids at the sides of the head following the shape of the triangle, once you reach behind the ear you can braid it normally so the hair has some movement.

Now it’s time to move up to the top part; you should separate the hair into little squares, just as if you were going to apply box braids, and join them with the accessories just like in the photo.

Now all you have left to do is braid the rest of the hair and you are left with a gorgeous protective hairstyle for girls!

Braided bob

You can give your baby’s bob haircut some beads and braids and you have a beautiful a yet super easy look for your little one.

All you have to do is braid you baby’s hair in your preferred braiding technique, either dutch, French or any other technique you feel comfortable with.

You can add beads at the ends of the braids to show your baby’s personality, and the best part is that they can choose them if they want, they are going to be the happiest you have ever seen them.

You can decide if you let the whole hair loose, or if you want to braid a portion of the hair back in order for it to have a little more style, just like in the picture.

Protective hairstyles for men

Having shorter hair doesn’t mean that you can’t have or create protective hairstyles for men.

Actually, there are plenty of options you can choose from when looking for protective hairstyles to wear, here we are going to leave you some ideas for you to try on.

Cornrows

This is a classic technique that has been around for decades, and it has created the way for many intricate braiding styles that we know nowadays.

You can create different and intricate hairstyles with this braiding technique, but you can also maintain a simple and clean look with them.

Cornrows are a great and easy solution for every occasion and time of the day.

Feed in braids

For thicker braids, you can use the feed in method to achieve it.

This technique is simple, these braids start thin and will eventually get wider as you get towards the back of your head.

In addition, this technique is not only unique and great it can add shape to your overall hairstyle.

To achieve this look, you need to start braiding with little hair, and then slowly keep adding hair to it so the braid gets wider and fuller than when you started.

Box braids

This protective hairstyles for men are a great option for men with longer hair.

Both men and women can benefit from box braids, in most cases you can use box braids as extensions to your current hair length, and as a result, you can add length to your hair without having to wait for it to grow naturally or by adding hair extensions.

To achieve this look all you need to do is divide your hair in little boxes, or squares and braid the hair inside each box.

This may be a little time consuming, but you are going to love the results, as well as you are going to eventually save plenty of time because this protective hairstyle can last up to a few weeks depending how much care you give to it.

Natural twists

If you want to add braids to your hair you don’t have to follow the traditional 3 stranded braids, you can actually use the simple twist braiding technique and you can end with a just as awesome look.

For this hairstyle you don’t really need to have too much length, you can actually have your hair at a minimum of two or three inches and you are going to have a perfect look no matter what.

We love this simple twist braids look as is a perfect and easy to do protectives hairstyles for men.

Dreadlocks

This hairstyle id usually worn by black men, but guys of all races have embraces it and are rocking the look.

From short to long, blonde to black men’s dreadlock styles come in many unique shapes, sizes and designs.

Thanks for reading! Do not forget to keep reading our posts and if you liked it, make sure to share with your friends and family to let them know how to have the best results when they have a change of look.

¡Por cierto! Antes de que te vayas, queremos recomendarte esto que seguro que te interesa:

Son una serie de contenidos a parte del que has leído que puede ser interesante para tí ¡Muchas gracias por leernos!