Protective styling VS Low manipulation styles

What is protective styling? :

Protective styling is the act of protecting your hair with the help of various hair styles and accessories.Specifically we often see protective styling meaning mainly the protection of your ends which are the oldest and most vulnerable parts of your hair.Doing hair styles that tuck significant amount your ends away is called protective styling.

The goal of protective styling:


The goal of protective styling is keeping your ends from rubbing on harsh fabrics/clothes, keeping them from drying out your hair by reducing its contact with the environmental elements, protecting the strands from rubbing together thus reducing tangles, knots e.t.c, reducing of hair breakage, aiding in retaining length and also  helps keep your ends healthier.

What are low manipulation styles?:
Low manipulation styles are hair styles that require low manipulation (less to no combing, handling of the hair). Those styles help give a break to you and your hair also avoiding mechanical damage.


The goal of low manipulation styles:


The goal of low manipulation styles is to give a break to yourself from daily time consuming styling, give a break to your hair from being handled and also helps avoid unnecessary hair loss (breakage or forcibly pulled hair)  due to too much brushing or rough handling.To figure out if a style is low manipulation you have to take notice of these things

1.It takes less styling tools and less than half of the time you spend on your hair on a daily basis.
2.It often needs your fingers or very low usage of your brush/comb to refresh your style.
3.It lasts for more than a day or is so easy to do that can be styled daily anew
*some low manipulation styles like cornrows might need a good amount of manipulation
but that style will last without being manipulated for a long while that's why it is considered
a low manipulation style.

So let's clear up the air with some hairstyles that often get confused on which category they fit;

Braids,two stand twist are low manipulation styles and not protective styles.Certain styles can be both low manipulation and protective styles.As well as the term protective styling is often tricky because according to what you are trying to protect the hair from its definition can vary.Let say if you catch your braid,twist in a bun you have both.

Also a protective style like a bun can be considered low manipulation likely if you maintain it by just brushing your edges or smoothing the fly ways with the help of  your fingers and if necessary a product.

Most 'messy' hair styles can be considered low manipulation because they are quick and don't involve much handling.

Let me give about a few example from each category
- Low manipulation
 ponytails,braids, cornrows,curled hair that only gets fluffed and more...

- Protective styles
most up-dos,french rolls,buns,hair tucked in with banana clip and more...



Have any question? What are your favorite low manipulation and protective hairstyles?

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