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Pattern and Style, Yoliswa Dube

I ABSOLUTELY love braids, but the thought of a four-hour session at the salon every time I needed to get them done always deterred me from getting them.

Besides having to sit in the same position for four cool hours, I hated how my hairdresser would get two or three other people to help her with the braids.

The pain! Braiding by one person already causes various levels of pain and discomfort. Imagine four people pulling at your scalp at once! It’s torture. And while you’re on the hot seat, you can’t afford to go to the loo or get a bite because you want to finish and be out of the salon.

They’re always other women walking in to also get their hair done so if your hairdresser is given the opportunity to leave your head — then you know you’re doomed.

Even the smallest portion of hair could take forever to get done if you find your hairdresser on a bad day.

So, for years I endured the discomfort and sat through the entire four hours, until my backside was numb even. But beauty is pain, right? Wrong. You don’t have to suffer just to look good — they’re always simple, less abrasive ways of getting your slay game on fire.

Because of the nightmarish braiding sessions, I preferred to let my hair be, no braiding until after four-month intervals or so. You know, when I’ve recovered from the previous braiding session.

For years I endured discomfort from the braiding until a friend told me about crochet braids a while ago. I’ll admit, this is something I never particularly paid much attention to —probably because I don’t experiment much with my hair.

I’m not into weaves because I feel they’re fake as steroids so crochet weaves were never a thing for me although they’ve been around for a while.

You’ve seen women with afros of overly thick “natural” hair? It’s all crochet weaving. So my friend had the most perfect braids and I couldn’t resist asking who had done her hair.

It later turned out that the person who had done her hair didn’t matter – it was the technique that was used that was lit. Crochet braiding has for years been less known but it is such an innovative and low maintenance hair technique.

I thought I’d try it out and I’m really glad I did. The process is painless and takes about an hour and 30 minutes to complete. I really couldn’t believe how short a while I had been at the salon.

Did I mention how light the braids are? It’s unbelievable! Whenever I got the regular braids, I could feel the extra weight but with crochet braids, I’m reminded there’s something happening on my head when I look at myself in the mirror or scratch my scalp.

The crochet braid is so smooth it doesn’t lift bobble from your clothes neither does it damage clothes made of delicate fabrics. Although crochet braids can look incredibly real, they are all made of fake hair. In my opinion, these are definitely less fake than weaves. Somehow, they are.

To attach the braid, hair existing on the scalp is cornrowed all the way back, and the braid extensions are attached by using a crochet needle.

Those are the basics, but there are a lot of ways that this style can be used to achieve different looks. Depending on how you would want to style your braids, your hairdresser could do the cornrows in such a way that when the crochet braid goes on, you can style them in different directions.

The great thing about crochet hair is that you can play with it to make it as thick or thin as you want depending on what looks best for your style, and what is easiest to maintain.

If you’re all about saving time and making your trips to the salon less daunting, you may want to consider crochet braiding. My hairdresser says they last for as long as you want them on — three months even. But you and I know I’m not going to be having the same hairstyle for three months! Hair starts to smell after a while.

The crochet braids are available in various types of twists, box braids and you could even get faux locks if you choose. If you’ve been thinking of getting crochet braids, go for it. I guarantee you it will be quick and painless.

Until next week, flaunt your pattern and style and don’t forget to catch up with me on Twitter handle @Yolisswa, visit my blog,

www.stayera247.blogspot.com or like my Facebook page Pattern & Style.