Hi, I've been a hairdresser/beautician for nearly 20 years now and the best advice I can give you is don't do it!!! Corn row plaits are put in very very tightly so they don't come loose easily which can cause considerable pain and bad headaches due to the tension, also as you mentioned the scalp is exposed so the need for total sun block on the exposed areas is crucial, last but not least there will be a considerable amount of breakage to the hair because of the tightness of the plaits. I know it can look very cute but I would never recommend any child has this done. Same goes for the braiding thingys, the hair just goes matted and manky inside the fabric and the braid can only really be removed by cutting it off which leaves your child with a lovely little stump of hair that has to grow out!! hope this helps x

my daughter had them in bulgaria last year

took about an hour and half

me and the mrs got a bit tiddly in the spider bar whilst waiting

she took them out after 3 days said it was pinching her scalp and making her head hurt

Hi many years ago my daughter had some braids put in at the front and sides of her hair while we were in majorca,after the holiday with all the swimming etc they started to look really tatty,but when i tried to remove them her hair was all knotted,after many tears and screams i managed to get most of them out....but ended up cutting some of them off leaving her head with stumps of hair....never again
Karlee

my eldest daughter and the wife had the thing done where they have the coloured cotton braded into their a few years back in spain lasted for ages had to get the scissors and cut them off eventually

It does look very neat and nice when it's done and saves all the hassle of having to comb her "swimming-pool-hair" during the holiday, but it has to be combed out sometime. There is also the serious issue of sun exposure to the scalp.
If you must do it, I'd say do it just before you come home, then it looks nice when she goes back to school without her having had two weeks of sun on her scalp and two weeks of pool/sea water making the plaits too "knotty". Slap lots of suncream on her head during the day (SPF sprays - Ambre Solaire etc - are good for this) and rinse the plaits in the evening and slap on lots of conditioner, massage it into the plaits and it should be easier to comb out when the time comes.

Thanks for your replies. I'm going to talk her out of it - tell her it hurts too much!! Sounds like the risk of sunburn & damage to the hair is too great & she is only 4 after all. I'll appease her with a 'Barbie' something when we get there!!

one of the children in my class came back with beautifully braided hair. This lasted a week or so and then one day he came in with half his hair missing. Mum had spent hours battling to get the braids out and had to give up eventually- and she is a hairdresser!

then it looks nice when she goes back to school

My daughter had hers done in Gambia and it took over 2 hours to do and looked very nice, when she returned to school they sent her home until they were removed as it wasn't within their dress code

For years our girls have been asking to have it done and I have always said no, mainly from the point of view that it must damage the hair and scalp. Also in my opinion I don't like the look of it. Really it's a style for Afro hair and in that case it looks lovely, but with lighter skin where the scalp shows through it's not the same.

We have however let them have the single braid many times- this tends to satisfy them and even if you do end up cutting it out, it's only a tiny strand of hair and doesn't really show.

Pam

good idea Pam

My daughter has always plagued us when on holiday to get her hair braided, but having heard from other parents just how much damage it does to the hair and the job they had getting them out, we have always resisted. One friend had two daughters who ended up with sunburnt scalps coupled with the fact the braids were very tightly put in made for a miserable few days till they demanded they were taken out. Waste of time or what and it wasn't cheap! On our last couple of holidays we have let her have a single braid put in and these can stay in for many months without any problems.

More advice HERE.

Pippy

Here here, my two daughters were in agony after two days, nearly burnt their heads off. what a waste a money.

I think it's worth remembering that 'corn rows' are a great way of keeping afro-type hair in good condition and easy to look after - it needs regular 'waxing' to keep it in good condition and equally the waxing helps keep the finish neat and prevents stray hairs escaping which is why it's also done really tightly. But most caucasion-type hair simply isn't thick or prolific enough for it to be done properly because most caucasions tend to have far fewer hair follicles per square inch of scalp than African or Asian people do. Hence why it actually is such a bad idea to have it done if you're on holiday. It will expose the scalp far more than hair left loose or simply tied back will. But even when cornrowing african type hair, good hairdressers will supplement the natural hair with false hair to enable them to get that really dense braiding.

African and Caribbean friends who have their hair done this way insist that if it isn't painful at first then it hasn't been done properly. They leave their braids in for months and if it isn't tightly done then as the hair grows the 'rows' lose definition and stand away from the head. They have done my hair too but quite loosely with a view to undoing them quite quickly - it really does need to be done by someone who knows what they're doing and I would be reluctant to let anybody I didn't know do my hair because if it's done as tightly as it is traditionally done then it can break european hair and especially if the right conditioning waxes aren't rubbed into the hair first.

SM

TBH European hair just isn't suitable for braiding. When my daughter was younger she wanted to have braids done. She has long, thick ,silky hair. So we spent 3 hours at a Carribean lady's house, recommended by her mixed race friend. Within 3 days, the beads were falling out, her scalp was getting itchy and flaky and the rows were getting wooley looking. Once you gently wash it it becomes even more scrappy. Get a strand done with say 3 coloured cottons.I think it looks nicer and less damage when you take it out.

My daughter had it done in Florida last year, it was very expensive. It looked great but as I was chatting away didnt realise my daughter had tears running down her face because it was hurting so much. Have to say it lasted ages, but when you take the braids out a lot of hair falls out as the hair will not have been brushed for weeks.

African hair is actually more fragile than caucasion hair and because of its "make-up" it is more porous and therefore cannot hold moisture which makes it constantly dry and prone to breakage at the kinks of the curls/waves . because the natural oils cannot penetrate to the ends of the hair, the hair shaft frequently splits along the length.

Caucasion women can overload the hair with conditioners which make it lank and greasy looking, but the opposite is of African hair, they need special delicate (not harsh oil stripping shampoos) and oils/conditioners such as Shea butter.
Have you ever seen an African woman with long straight hair.? If you have, then the chances are that she is wearing a wig or has had a relaxer professionally applied, it's not that they have more hair per square inch as such, it is because their hair is coarse and wavy which gives the illusion of having more hair"¦the same applies to a caucasion woman with natural unruly curly hair, as oppose to one with straight hair where the cuticle lies flat..... and because the cuticle lies flat and the hair is naturally oily, this is why the style does not hold out long in caucasion women with the beads slipping out.
When doing plaiting, if the middle strand of hair is pulled too taut, this can cause hair fall out and did you know that in some states of America you have to have a special licence to do hairbraiding ?"¦has someone sued someone for loss of hair ?
......that must tell you something

I have no daughters, but if I did, she would not have her precious hair braided by someone making a quick euro in some european resort, but there again, I have seen children and adults shedding many tears when suffering from alopecia and the self confidence that is lost when loosing clumps of hair.
Let the African women keep an old tradition and practise it on themselves.

Sanjiiiiiiiiiiiiii

We have however let them have the single braid many times- this tends to satisfy them and even if you do end up cutting it out, it's only a tiny strand of hair and doesn't really show.

I agree with the above. My Daughter has had hers done several times and the one lasted from August to December when we eventually took it out, it is only a very thin strand of hair that is braided in our experience so you don't notice it once the braid is taken out

Interesting post but I feel certain aspects of the topic need to be addressed. Hair braiding is a complex hair stying art form which requires considerable skill and knowledge. If this type of styling is carried out by an experienced person, people will not suffer from pain and hair loss.

It would appear from some of the posts that the braiding/plaiting/ corn rowing process was carried out by ladies who really didnt care less about the person who's hair they were plaiting. Questions need to be asked regarding why parents allowed their children to have they hair done by a complete stranger in the first place! If you were strolling through your town centre and saw a person advertising that they would perm,cut,colour your hair for a few pounds would you take the risk, bearing in mind that you have no idea of their qualifications etc.I would argue that you wouldn't so why do this to your child?

If you want to get your hair plaited properly then go to a hairdresser or ask someone you know to do it for you.

Here are some tips re plaiting/braiding

1. Dont get them done too small,as this makes them harder to take out

2. Dont keep them in for too long,your hair will begin to matt ie loc up like dreadlocs.....unless you want to be a Rasta LoL

3. Ask the person who is doing your hair to show you how to take them out.The more you drag your comb and brush through them,the more tangled your hair will become.

4. If you are able to, visit a black hairdressers or a hairdresser who is ethnically aware, get your hair done before you go on holiday. I say this as black hairdressers plait hair on a daily basis, so you will have the expertise in that field.

5. Most importantly...if it hurts - get them to stop and leave.Too tight plaits means hair loss!

6. Ensure that their equipment is sterilised/clean.

Since time began,we black people have been plaiting our hair and I can assure you that the majority of us wouldnt place our lovely heads in the hands of someone on a beach no matter how cheap the price......!! We dont ask for the plaits to be done tight either as that would be foolish

Hope this helps

Julie