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I Can’t Believe It’s Not Weave!

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USFSP chapter.

I’ve been told multiple times that my hair is very unique. I’ve been asked even more times what material do I use to do my hair. Well, to answer that I must say yarn. Yes, yarn. I use it as a hairstyle and according to the many people who’ve complimented it, it doesn’t look horrible as some may assume. In fact, yarn as hair is extremely similar to Marley Braiding hair, Kanekalon hair and dreads. Or in other words, hair used to braid hair. People also ask how are braids possible and how long does it take; well here are those answers.

First, buy the yarn. You can use any type of yarn and yarn from anywhere, for example, yarn from Wal-Mart. Second, choose the yarn color you prefer. The color I used was teal. Yarn comes in many sizes however; it is cheaper than buying actual hair so go crazy! Buy as much as you feel would suffice and whatever is left over can be used for a nice scarf.

Third, figure out how long you want the yarn to be such as shoulder length or to your back. Once that is done, you can cut the yarn using that estimated length. Fourth, once you’re done cutting the yarn, separate the yarn into pieces divisible by three. If you want small braids, have three pieces of yarn separated. And if you want it bigger, have six pieces or nine pieces. You can have as many pieces as you want but again, make sure they are divisible by three. I separated my yarn pieces using nine pieces each. The reason why it has to be divisible by three is because braids require three pieces being crossed over each other until it becomes the braids we are familiar with. Once you’ve separated the yarn, you can finally begin the insertion.

Separate your hair and part it into a section of where you want the yarn to be braided in. Once that is done, you can braid the yarn in as if were Kanekalon hair. You continue this process all over your head until you have a head full of yarn. This process can take hours depending on how fast or slow the person is doing it takes. Yarn hair can last up to last for about a month or two. It can styled as if were actual hair, with minor difficulties. It could even be washed but does take longer to dry. Not only is it healthy for your hair and provides a protected style, it also makes you unique in your own way. So lets see you shake those yarn braids and hear people tell you “I can’t believe it’s not a weave!”

Photo Credits to iheartmyhair

Choya Randolph is a Mass Communication major at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She loves writing blogs and yearns to be writer for magazines or television entertainment. She's a junior and is bound to graduate Fall 2015. She plans to go to graduate school to get her Masters. To contact Choya email her at choya@mail.usf.edu
A Mass Communications Major with a passion for inspiring others.