Now I’ve been around natural hair all my life, and I personally have been natural for over a year now so I wouldn’t consider myself a “newbie” when it comes to natural hair (I wouldn't consider myself an expert though either. However I did come to a roadblock on my most recent hair venture since becoming natural, was dealing with a sew-in.
Full disclaimer I had had sew-ins before, I actually used to get them quite frequently back when my hair was relaxed, but this time was slightly different. Whenever my sisters and mom want to try straight hair out they go for wigs, but since I am still getting into the wig game I had thought a sew-in would be an easier way of achieving the look I wanted without all the work, and I was right, kinda, I mean I assume if I wasn't going into the situation blind I would have had better results, but I’m here to help prevent you all from making some of the hair blending mistakes I did.
Now what is blending some sew-in novices may ask? Blending is when you make the texture of your hair match the texture of your weave or sew-in hair. This can sometimes be very easy, but for people who either are new to sew-ins or are newly natural this can be slightly difficult. For example, when you go to the hair store and see and hear things like “Peruvian” “Brazilian” and “Malaysian” do you know what they mean? Are they just a status symbol? Does it relate to hair quality? Are you lost? Well let me make it down for you, these words might just be the most important element in mastering the art of blending your Sew-in.
You notice how people of different races and origins have hair that looks different texture and thickness wise? That's because different places of origin have gene patterns that change hair texture slightly, and some of the most popular textures when in comes to weave are brazilian, peruvian, remy, and malaysian. The key trick to being able to slay your sew-in is to get a hair texture that closely matches the texture of your natural hair. For example, if your hair isn't bone straight and silky when you flat iron it maybe you should go for a thicker hair texture like peruvian, and if your hair is bone straight and silky then go with something sleeker like brazilian hair. So the number one tip for getting a seamless blend is pay close attention to your hair texture and the texture of the hair you buy.
But what if you did not know that before you bought your hair, and now you're stuck with unblended leave out, what do you do? Fortunately there are still ways for you to get a better blend. The best one in my opinion is finding methods to fill the top of your hair as much as possible without making you look bulky or unnatural. My personal recommendations for doing so are getting things like clip-in or glue in tracks that are 1) closer to your hair length and or 2) a bit closer to your hair texture, while not being close enough that it doesn't blend with your weave anymore.
Keep in mind everyone's hair is different, and what works for me might not exactly work for you, but I hope that some of these tips I’ve given will at least help you slay your new hairstyle a little better than expected, cause lets be honest girl, you sat in that chair for hours for a reason, and you deserve to rock your style.
