First time getting box braids!

I didn't get box braids until I was 22 years old. Yeah, surprising. I finally decided to get them done after countless hours of seeing my housemate Nanya effortlessly do peoples' hair on campus.

I'm a #TenderHead and I've gotten braids done before, but it was never box braids. I spent the entirety of my college career going natural with a rare occasion of straightening my locks full of love I put into them. Looking back, I should've taken advantage of living with someone who knew how to do hair well. Not only did she do it for a good deal allowing you to save hundreds of dollars, but she would do it in the comfort of your own home and it would've saved me so much time in the morning.

Anyway, I chose to go to Nanya's house even though she offered to come to mine. She's from #Jersey, but not too far so I took on the ride. I brought the list of items she requested, several packs of hair and a tub of Ecostyler. I was ready to have my hair laid for the summer. She kindly provided every other item we needed such as a blow dryer, comb, and a towel for that after soaking need.

We spent hours watching #Power as she blowdried my hair out of its original twist-out and carefully braided my hair. She was gentle enough to not make a tender head cry, but those braids were woven tightly in order for them to last a while. The funny thing is that we ran out of hair and had to run to the beauty supply store to get some more and I took the opportunity to get some hair art and a huge bonnet, since it's something I needed some getting used to.

The process took the entire day, probably around 15 hours. But, this didn't include the breaks we took to eat and go to the store a couple times. She was patient with me and I tried to help as much as I could whether it was sitting at an angle that was easier for her to stand over me and braid, or finishing each braid as the foundation was #set.

I was very happy with the results and I felt like a new woman. I had a full head of braids that reached below my bottom and for the first time in a while, I felt incredibly sexy. I went home and surprised my family -- they really liked my new look. You know I had to tell everyone #BookNanya.

I mainly got these braids done because I was traveling to Cleveland, Ohio for the summer since I had an internship at Cleveland Clinic. I wasn't trying to worry about my hair everyday in that extreme Ohio heat while I chased kids with ADHD around. In all reality, it saved me a lot of time getting ready each day as #IWokeUpLikeDis. It also helped out a lot since I was working out everyday and just had to put my hair back and not worry about it at the gym.

I even washed my hair once and it was a bit difficult since my braids started to weigh immensely when they were soaking wet. I knew I had a big head, but this weight actually felt like it was gonna break my neck lol. I tried my best to wash in between the boxes and dried it as much as I could -- the rest of the drying happened throughout the rest of the day.

After two weeks though, I decided to take my braids out. They were looking great and people were still complimenting me as if I had just gotten them, but I missed my curls so much. No lie, I also was not looking forward to washing my hair again alone without any help from Nanya lol. This was a great experience overall as I got to really understand #ProtectiveStyling and it was a journey I took with a good friend. So, thank you Nanya for always doing my hair and remember #BookNanya. Follow her hair ig here!