​​One of my favorite songs from Cardi B’s album Invasion of Privacy is I Like It! In the lyrics she talks about the things she likes; dollars, diamonds, stunting, and shinning. Well, two things that I like is summer and hair accessories!

Summer is my favorite season filled with cookouts, vacation time, and lots of fun in the sun. Summer is also when many naturals choose to wear their hair in protective styles. These styles allow more time for fun and less time on daily hair care needs. Click here for tips on how to maintain your summer protective style.

Braids and twists are the most common summer protective styles. A great way to add some “pop” to these styles is with hair jewelry. Loc jewelry and hair cuffs are hair accessory designs that can be worn on braids or twists. When styling with hair jewelry there are three things naturals should consider. 

​1. Closed Loops: If the hair jewelry you’re styling with has loops, make sure the loops are closed to avoid getting your hair tangled in the design. Also, check wire or metal accessories for nicks to prevent additional hair snags.

2. Lightweight: Lightweight loc jewelry and hair cuffs are best. Designs that are light eliminates the worries of jewelry falling off. For single strand braids or twists, light jewelry avoids unnecessary pull on scalp from weight.

3. Care Instructions: To prolong the life of your hair jewelry, follow care instructions for the design. Depending on the type of material used to create the jewelry; most care instructions recommend that you remove the accessory during tasks and activities involving water.

For more advice and tips on styling with hair accessories click here for my Styling Guide. To view Accented Glory's Hair Cuff Designs on Amazon click here.

Tonya – Visionary of Accented Glory

Our visionary continues to provide advice to fellow naturals. She shares 4 tips for maintaining your summertime protective styles. Click AOV to submit a question to her and she'll answer your question in a blog post on Accessory Diva!

Summertime is upon us! During this time of year, many naturals choose low maintenance hairstyle options known as protective styles. Protective styles give naturals the luxury of not having to style their hair daily. This frees up time when preparing to go out and gives natural hair a break from the pulling and tugging that comes from regularly styling your hair.

Two of the most popular protective styles are braids and twists. Thanks to innovation, many naturals can now opt for crochet braids or twists that are time savers when creating these protective styles. Below are some tips on how to keep your braids and twists looking fresh while keeping your hair healthy.

1. Cover your hair before going to bed. Using a satin bonnet or wrap is a staple step in natural hair nighttime routine. A loc cap (pocket bonnet) works best for braids and twists so you can have full coverage of hair.

Click above photo or caption to view a pocket bonnet on Amazon! Read here for affiliates disclosure.

2. Moisturize your scalp and hair with water and oil 2 to 3 times a week. Want to save time? You can use a spray bottle to apply water and your favorite oil at the same time by simply mixing the two together in the bottle. Just remember to shake the bottle well before applying to your hair to ensure oil/water mixture blends thoroughly.

3. You can also wash your hair while it's braided and twisted. It's important to remember to dilute your products (shampoo, conditioner, etc.) with water to ensure products rinse out easily. To dry your twist and braids, you should squeeze water from strands with a towel. Doing this helps you to avoid frizz.

4. If your edges begin to get frizzy before you're ready to fully let go of your protective style, you can redo or request to have rows closest to edges redone by a stylist with single braids or twists. Another option is to simply use a headband to cover your frizzy edges especially if you have a crochet protective style. Accented Glory's headbands are perfect for the job!

Executing these quick tips will greatly assist in maintaining your summertime protective style, so you can spend less time styling your natural tresses and more time enjoying fun in the sun.

Tonya - Accented Glory Visionary
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What other tips would you add to maintaining your summertime protective style?

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Click here to purchase our styling with hair accessory guide!

This summer, I wanted to try out a new type of protective style. I felt like I always do Marley twist, so I decided to try out box braids. Box braids are more commonly known as poetic justice braids. You know, the hair style Janet Jackson rocked in the movie Poetic Justice with Tupac Shakur. I loved the movie and her braids.

Before my first attempt at box braids, I watched two YouTube tutorials to learn the braiding technique. The two videos were basically the same except in one video the instructor had natural hair and she suggested twisting my hair before braiding it into the 100% Kanekalon Hair. This allowed the two different hair textures to blend better. Of course I took my fellow Naturalista’s advice. The whole process was really trial and error. The method I used to actually connect my hair and the Kanekalon Hair is the same as the Marley twist method, except you're braiding instead of twisting. I also had to figure out what size braids I wanted. Now let me tell you, this hair was nothing like the Marley hair; it wasn't as easy to take apart and it got everywhere! I also had to use the same amount of hair for each braid to ensure all my braids were the same size. 

​I started at eleven a.m. and did not finish until eight p.m. I took one break when I was half way done. I got a little frustrated at some points and I almost ran out of hair. I wish I had done a better job blending my hair with the Kanekalon hair, but I’m often my own worst critic. 

I received numerous compliments on how great my braids looked and people were always surprised that I did them myself. I was able to do many styles with the braids; like up dos, down dos and somewhere in between. I posted pictures of the different styles I wore in our natural hair Facebook Group at Accented Glory Naturals. I loved my box braids and think they're a great protective style. I enjoyed looking like Janet this summer!