TIPS

• People with straighter or slicker hair may need to use what is called "aqua wax" or a protein hair gel to help the style last, and to preclude the need for extra tension during styling.
• If you do not wish to wet the hair first, you may consider at least using a hair cream or hair mask or leave in conditioner. (However if you wet fragile hair it could cause breakage because hair shrinks as it dries.) Some people don't like to wet the hair, and this is fine. However, if you don't, you will need to be extra mindful of tension. Use a featherlight touch.
• Precise braiding, not pulling hard from the scalp, is what makes a long lasting style. Pulling too hard from the scalp does nothing to help a style to last. It only leads to pain and hair loss.
• Hair can be washed with cornrows in. Simply wear a stocking cap over it, and use a shower massager or water pick to force water underneath the braids. Use a diluted shampoo and water mixture to wash, clear water to rinse, and spritz the hair with a leave in conditioner or hair oil afterwards.
• If you tuck the hair under, you are making an "invisible" track braid, and if you reach for hair from beneath outwards, you are making a "visible" track braid.
• People with fine or sleek, straight hair may want to use some sort of braid spray to help make the hair "stickier" so that the braid does not fall out as it's being put in the slicker, fine hair.
• Narrow braids stay in longer than larger ones.

WARNINGS

• This style should not hurt. If you can see the scalp is raised, or the person is complaining that it's painful, back it up and start over. Too much braid tension can cause traction alopecia (a specific type of hair loss), and it might be permanent. It can also lead to infections and irritations.
• To keep braids in place, use a moisturizing flexible hair gel or aqua wax during styling.
• Wear a scarf or durag while sleeping, and braids will stay for up to one week. After that they'll probably need to be redone, depending on how thick the rows are.
• For curlier or "nappy" hair, braids can last for up to a month.

THINGS YOU'LL NEED

• A rat tailed comb. These can be found at many beauty supply stores, but if you can't find one, the end of a tint brush may suffice.
• Coated rubber bands for hair.
• Plenty of time.
• Be careful in the sun. It is very easy to get a sunburn on your scalp, because the rows will expose the skin. Rub in sunscreen or wear a hat.
• You may need hair grease and/or aqua wax.
  • For straight hair you may need to use a hair wax that is based on distilled water, not oil. It looks sort of like a firm gel. Aquarius Wax and Ice Wax are good ones. Butch Wax may do the job, but it is a little oily.
  • Very tightly curly hair should be treated with a moisturizer that does not break down too soon. This excludes most hair creams. The best thing to use is a hair food or hair grease, or a natural oil mixture.
• Spray bottle to dampen if hair gets too dry.

Cornrows are a popular African style of braiding the hair along the scalp. They are also known as "underhand track braids". It's a traditional art that anyone who has the patience can learn, but it takes some time and skill to master. This article will help you get started with the basics while avoiding some of the mistakes beginners often make.



7 Steps

1. Plan your style. Having in mind what your end goal looks like will help you to form a path for getting there. You can do this in your head, draw a picture, or make some marks on a Styrofoam wig holder. The easiest amount to begin with will probably be four to six sections from the front to the back of the head.
2. Spritz some water, or water mixed with detangler, on the hair. Comb or brush it through to remove all major tangles. The hair should be slightly damp, but not too wet. The reason for this is that you don't want to have to pull the hair a lot to create the tension needed to hold the style together. Hair contracts when it's wet and expands as it dries. Despite what some people say about a tight braid, this is the best way to achieve it - not by pulling the hair hard away from the scalp.
3. Part a section of hair that you would like the cornrow to follow along. put the sides of the hair that you aren't braiding in two pigtails so they don't get in your way. Move other hair out of the way so that you have a clear path to follow. Then take a small section of hair where you want the cornrow to begin. Don't take too much, especially near the hairline, or you will have to pull too hard to continue.
4. Separate that small section into three strands and make a normal braid of about 2 "stitches" to get it started.
5. Holding the two outer strands aside, reach down under this initial braid to add a little hair to the middle strand. Fully merge this new hair to the middle strand so that it becomes a part of it, and you again have 3 strands. Make a braid stitch out of these strands.
6. Continue braiding, each time adding a little more hair to the middle strand, and repeat this until you've run out of hair to add. If you've reach the end and there is still hair left over, then continue with a regular 3 strand braid.
7. Secure the cornrow with a snap bead, hair clip, end bar, barrette, bolo tie tip, or whatever you like, just so long as you will be able to easily remove it later. Uncovered rubber bands (elastics) are not recommended unless they are the kind made specifically for hair. The ones made for office use will break off the hair.

Try 'em out....

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Cornrows (or canerows) are a traditional style of hair grooming where the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to produce a continuous, raised row. Cornrows are often formed, as the name implies, in simple, straight lines, but they can also be done in complicated geometric or curvilinear designs. Often favored for their easy maintenance, cornrows can be left in for weeks at a time simply by carefully washing the hair and then regularly oiling the scalp and hair. Cornrowed hairstyles are often adorned with beads or cowry shells, in the African tradition. Depending on the region of the world, cornrows are typically worn by either men or women.

History

A common way of styling hair among populations across the African continent, cornrows survived for centuries in the United States and other parts of the New World as a style of hair preparation among enslaved Africans and their progeny. In 1963, when most African American women were loath to be seen in public with unstraightened hair, actress Cicely Tyson drew immediate notice when she sported cornrows on the popular network television series East Side/West Side. The style gained wide popularity in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s as part of the Black Nationalist Movement, when the trend was for Black Americans expressing natural afro-hair to reject straightening their hair in favor of hairstyles that highlight their "natural" hair texture. Afros, strands of hair twisted into tight coils or wound with twine, and the wearing of geles (in Yoruba, colorful, often elaborately wrapped head cloths) are among the commonplace African styles adopted by African American women.

In the wake of the Black Pride Movement, hundreds of beauty shops and salons sprang up across the United States delivering services exclusively, or as part of a range of options, to blacks who prefer natural (unstraightened) hairstyles. Many salons specialize in hair wrapping and braiding techniques, executing styles which can be exceedingly time-consuming and expensive. Cornrow styles can take hours to complete, sometimes necessitating two or more salon visits. The trade off in the cost in time and money expended is that a well-executed, braided style can last a month or more without restyling, if properly groomed and cared for—and if executed on the naturally coarse, tightly coiled hair typically possessed by people of sub-Saharan African descent.

Cornrows also enjoyed some popularity among Caucasians after blonde actress Bo Derek wore beaded cornrows in the popular Blake Edwards movie, and became widely popular once again with the spread of hip-hop culture in the 1990s. Cornrow hairstyles are now often offered to tourists in resort areas of the Caribbean.

People of African ancestry in many different regions of the world wear cornrows. However, some controversy over them has emerged in Nigeria, where hair braiding among men is alleged to be a sign of homosexuality. Some feel that times are changing and men wearing braids is part of the change. It is a hairstyle that stands out.

Over the years, cornrows have been the subject of several disputes in the American workplace. Some employers have deemed them unsuitable for the office and have banned them - especially at-will firings and/or termination. African American employees and civil rights groups have countered that such attitudes evidence racial and cultural bias. Some such disputes have resulted in litigation.

Braids pulled too tight or worn for considerable lengths of time can cause a type of hair loss known as traction alopecia.