When it comes to protective styles, the possibilities are unlimited. It’s all about protective styles—finding the perfect low-tension look that really can keep your hair tucked away and when it comes to preserving your hair from damage, keeping optimal moisture, and retaining length.
That’s when protective hairstyles like passion twists, box braids, and cornrows come into play.
So, whether you have your braiding hair ready but in search of the most stunning protective hairstyle or search of the best braiding hair extensions styles, this blog will help you! Are you ready to revamp your look with these 14 protective hairstyles? Let’s go!
1. Long Sultry Passion Twist
Faux locs or box braids aren’t your thing? Trypassion twists instead. This style is one of our favorites since the longer you wear them, the nicer they appear.
Passion twists blend goddess locs and Senegalese twists; the two-strand protective style offers endless styling options from updos to half-ups and more.
You do not need to have a specific hair length to install the trendy passion twists; you can even do it on short curly hair.
Although the style thrives on slightly messy, unkempt twists, it doesn’t imply they require upkeep. If your twists begin to unravel, re-twist them with mousse to keep them together.
Kinky Braiding Hair is the best to achieve this long sultry, passion twist hairstyle! You can also choose from eight beautiful colors to make your protective style stand out!
2. Goddess Cuban Twists
These exquisite twists are low-manipulation and low-maintenance, which is a win-win situation. French Refined Braiding Hair is a fantastic option to achieve this protective hairstyle.
3. Lustrous and Curly Cornrows
Add flair to your short curly hair with this lustrous curly cornrow hairstyle. There are a few ways to recreate this style, and the best way is to braid your short curly hair and feed it with curly braiding hair and sew in the bottom half.
You can tie the bottom sections into a beautiful chignon for a glamorous look or do a three-strand braid to keep the braids away from your face.
Tip: Leave a few sections of hair unbraided and accessorize the ends for a trendy and chill look.
4. Trendy Knotless Box Braids
Knotless braids are a variant of box braids that are flexible and simple to style. Instead of tying a knot at the root like regular box braids, this hairstyle uses a feed-in braid method.
As a consequence, your braids will be lighter on your scalp, reducing the chance of breakage.
Knotless braids provide a playful element and because it is done without a knot. A half-up knotless box braid is one of the perfect hairstyles you can achieve, among other fantastic styles!
Plus, you can achieve this look with your short curly hair!
5. Marley Twists
The fluffy appearance of these twists is due to hair extensions, and the hairstyle is suitably named after the Jamaican musician Bob Marley, who was also widely known for his freeform locs. Marley twists help you show off a beautiful pattern throughout your hair while keeping your natural strands hidden. The style is a tamed version of passion twists.
Wrap your hair over and under with Marley braid extensions to achieve a two-strand appearance with a naturally textured finish. Marley twists are a flexible, low-maintenance style that is easy to achieve.
6. Traditional Box Braids
Another protective style you’ve probably heard of is box braids. This style looks great on hair of any length, and it’s even better when hair extensions are used to make the braids longer and thicker. Women with short curly hair can also flaunt protective box braids in any length and color!
7. Senegalese Twists
Senegalese twists, also known as rope twists, are a beautiful coiled protective trend in Senegal. The most common braiding hair types utilized for these twists are silky and yaki braiding hair.
As the name implies, this style entails splitting portions of your hair and twisting them around one other to make bigger twists. To achieve the finest results, make an appointment with a hairdresser.
8. Faux Three-Strand Braid
We can see why Three-strand braided ponytails are having a significant moment in the beauty industry right now. They’re simple to style, low-maintenance, and can quickly put together any outfit.
Grab your ponytail hair extension or use a hair bundle in the desired texture.
Flat ironing your natural short curly hair is optional for this faux three-strand braided ponytail style.
9. Beautiful Bantu Knots
Everything ’90s is back in fashion, including this protective style, in case you hadn’t heard. Take a portion of hair and twist it from root to tip until it twists back on itself. Make your twists into a bun and secure it with hair ties.
If you don’t want to transition to another semi-permanent hairstyle like passion twists, then the beautiful Bantu knots are the ideal choice for your short curly hair.
10. Ultra Long Faux Locs
This ultra-long faux locs is an amazing unisex protective hairstyle that is easy to maintain. There are two techniques of installing faux locs; the wrapping method where you wrap the braids with extensions, or the crocheting method where you crochet the hair into the braids.
If you are fairly new to faux locs, we advise you to get it installed by professionals as the process is time-consuming and requires specific methods depending on the length.
11. Fresh Fulani Braids
The West African tribal braids are intricate and versatile, with a couple of cornrows along the center of the head. The cornrows are plaited in rows going out towards the temples. It’s a gorgeous braided design that looks great with metallic accessories and jewels.
There are a ton of variations to Fulani braids which is what makes this protective hairstyle so popular.
12. Heavenly Goddess Locs
This is the option for you if you want a more bohemian faux locs appearance. Goddess locs are often light and simple to style, with the locs kept free and wavy for a more bohemian look.
Make an appointment with an expert loctician for this style since it necessitates particular braiding and wrapping methods.
The loose wavy strands on each goddess locs make the hairstyle very appealing, and the texture is to die for!
13. Easy Flat Twists
Cornrows and classic twists are combined in flat twists. And if you search Instagram using the hashtag #flattwists, you’ll see a plethora of variants on this look.
Flat twists are also a terrific protective style to choose if you want your curl pattern to be more consistent. Flat twists are quicker to install than typical cornrows, depending on your braiding method.
You can even flat twist your short curly hair without using hair extensions.
14. Butterfly Faux Locs
Passion twists are comparable to butterfly faux locs. This elegant and short faux locs are ideal for individuals who desire locs but don’t want to spend all day sitting in a chair. Installing long locs can take several hours.
You’ll need packets of curly hair braiding extensions to wrap around your braids to get this distressed look.
There are endless protective styles that you can wear, and the ones on the list are proof of that. Whether you want long sultry passion twists or something easy like flat twists with your short curly hair, the options are endless! w