Titi wanted to braid her hair. But the thought of sitting for long hours to install some cute box braids was the last thing on her mind. Besides that, she wanted something that would save her from going to the salon for a month or two. And as she contemplated what to do, braided wigs crossed her mind.
If you love to wear braids, like Titi, but you don’t fancy the idea of sitting for hours, your best bet should be braided wigs. But deciding you wanna opt for these wigs is one part of the equation. You also need to figure out the braided wig hairstyle you want as that will give your hairstylist direction.
If that’s your reason for coming to this page, you’ll find the inspo you need to kickstart your braided wig journey here.
Why Wear Braided Wigs?
Over the years, hairstyles have evolved to become something you not only wear but also take off at the slightest inconvenience. In the beginning, wigs were only made of synthetic weaves.
But as time moved on, we saw a shift as hairstylists began to exercise their creativity to produce all sorts of braided wigs. The market for these wigs is transcending beyond Nigeria and Africa at large to include black American and British communities.
Why the rave for braided wigs styles, you wonder? The answer isn’t far-fetched:
These Wigs Save Money
Calculate the cost of installing attachment hairstyles in Nigeria.
If you don’t know, let’s break it down:
First, you’ll have to get good attachment extensions. A pack of big Xpression at the time of writing this post cost N2300. And if you want yours long and full you may have to get two packs. You’ll also have to pay your hairstylist and everything may be up to or more than N10,000.
Then you wear the hair for two to four weeks and think of doing another one again.
If you instead invested the money in a beautiful braided wig style, though it may be more expensive than braiding your hair, it’ll save you from going back to the salon in a short time.
And in the end, you pocket the money you’d have spent on doing another hair.
They Save Time
Got an event you wanna attend ASAP? Just grab your braided wig and get going.
Wigs keep you on the go. They come in handy when you’re in a hurry. No need to spend hours styling and restyling.
But you may need to apply some edge control around your baby hair to give it a smooth finish.
Furthermore, the making of these wigs doesn’t require your presence. Therefore, you have enough time to focus on other things while your hairstylist works and delivers the wig to you once it’s ready.
They Last Longer
If you’re in the natural hair gang, it’s no news that braids don’t last long for you. But when you install them as wigs, you can be sure they’ll last for as long as two years so long as you maintain them well.
Although the initial price of getting these wigs may be expensive, in the long run, they’re worth it as they help you save money after all.
Braided Wigs are Protective
These wigs protect your natural hair from external manipulation, cold, hair breakage, or environmental hazard.
You just wear neat cornrows underneath with a wig cap to protect the edges of your wig from ruining your hairline.
That’s better than having someone pull your baby hair while giving you tight braids.
They’re Low-Maintenance
Braided wig styles are super convenient anytime, any day. They don’t cost much to maintain and they require less styling efforts too.
You only have to shampoo or trim them once a month. And you can do this yourself or take it to your stylist.
Types of Braided Wigs
Ready to make or buy your braided wig? Choose from these braided wig hairstyles:
1. Box Braided Wig Styles
This is the regular box braid installed as a wig. They can be thin, chunky, or medium-sized. They can also be long, short, bob, feathers, or stop at any length you want.
You can add more details to your box braided wig by making it knotless, butterfly braids, or adding curls or waves to them.
It all depends on your preference and your budget.
2. Twists Braided Wigs
This one is similar to box braids only that your hairstylist will twist two strands, instead of braiding three strands of sectioned hair.
Twists give off a different vibe and you can have them in different colors, sizes, or lengths of extensions. And you can use your regular attachment or kinky extensions to achieve this style.
3. Cornrows Braided Wig Styles
You can also have your wig in any type of cornrows be it straight all-back, stitch braids, two-step, side parting, curved cornrows, zig-zag, etc.
You can as well make it Ghana weaving to add more volume to the braids. Whichever one works just fine.
4. Shuku Wigs
Don’t wanna install shuku on your hair? Wear it as a wig instead. Shuku as a braided wig style lets you switch up your braided ponytail any time of the day.
As usual, they can be of any length and style you want. You can even add some statement parting in front to garnish your hair with more accents.
5. Dreadlock Wigs
Feel like wearing locks but don’t wanna use your natural hair to achieve it? Do it as a wig instead.
Two or three packs of faux locs extensions can give you the dreadlock wig of your dreams.
6. Beaded Braided Wigs
Adding beads, cowries, gold cuffs, etc to the ends of your braids transforms them into a statement piece.
Say you wanna do a cornrow or shuku wig. Add one box braid each to the sides of your face, and adorn them with beads so they enhance the beauty of your hair as they dangle.
7. Watermelon Braided Wig Hairstyle
This is a variant of Senegalese twists and the pick and drop coiffure that trended in the early 2000s. Your stylist achieves it by twisting different sections of your hair and untwisting them to result in wavy curls.
8. Curly Braided Wigs
This style is usually made up of short braids rolled to form dense curls. They’re a shift from the regular braids and add more details to your hair.
What to Use in Making the Braided Wig Styles
First, you need your hair extension in any color of your choice. It could be black, gold, brown, purple, silver, blue, etc.
Furthermore, to give some natural effect around your hairline and scalp, you need closure or frontal.
Closure blends in with the color of your scalp when you part your wig. But a frontal gives it a more natural look as it provides pseudo baby hair you can style with edge control. And you can also style a full-frontal wig at the side, middle, or anywhere else you like.
Apart from that, you also need your wig cap, hair mannequin, crochet pin, comb, etc. But not to worry, it’s not your duty to have these. Leave them for your hairdresser to handle.
Where to Buy any of the Braided Wig Styles
Getting a good braided wig isn’t a problem. You can get it from Instagram or WhatsApp vendors, or top e-commerce sites like Etsy, Amazon, Ali Express, etc.
You can also get a custom-made one from any superb hairstylist you know.
Gloe Hair is one exceptional hairstylist and wig maker. When you wig with her, rest assured there’ll be no need for any adjustments to the style or wig cap. If you’re ready to get yours, call her on 08024106310.
Now, let’s see more braided wig styles you should jump on right away;
Which hair stores deals with braided virgin human hair wigs?