De-weave - let your real hair exhale

One thing I have learned in my years of wearing hair extensions — you must give your natural hair a rest sometime.
Sure hair weaves and fun to wear and easy to style, but underneath the weave tracks your own hair needs to be set free from the tight cornrows that make the tracks.
For those who stick in their weave pieces (eliminating need for cornrows),the need to take frequent breaks from weaves is even greater.
Stuck in weaves not only result hairloss (if not properly taken out) but also should not be worn for long periods at a time.
I have found that three months of wearing a sew-in weave (with intermittent tighting), is enough. Then it is time for a break.
If you’re a hair lover like I am, your break from extensions will last about a week before you get that urge to put it back in again. Remember when the media made a whole hullabaloo about Tyra Banks returning to her roots and how weeks later she was back in the salon chair for a weave? (She actually said she was parting with weaves just for one day but the media didn't get that part).
Even if you return to the weave after a week that's your choice. Personally I would think three weeks is a good rest period. While you are “resting” your hair it is good to give it as much love as possible.
I use Vitale's virgin olive oil for the hair to massage my scalp and I stay away from those heat-based styling tools.
I can’t emphasise to you how great it feels to have water on your scalp during a shampoo (some people use dry shampoo* when wearing a weave) and the warm sun on my scalp when outdoors.
Sure you’d feel a little bit self conscious when you take out the glamorous weave and start wearing your own hair. But the benefit of this exercise is a healthier head of hair. And what’s better than that?

* hair shampoo is a gel like product with a minty smell. It is to be applied to the scalp either using a cloth or cotton balls and it actually cleans your scalp. Look out for that tingly feeling in the scalp when the gel touches the scalp.
It is used by many women so that their tracks stay tight longer and to prevent that awful wet-weave smell that wearers get when washed hair is not properly dried.

Photo: Solange Knowles, Beyonce's little sister not only took a break from hair weaves, she cut her own hair off as well and now sports healthy hair.