Different types of braiding techniques, styles, and patterns have been developed over time, each with its cultural significance. Braids were not only a form of self-expression but also served as a way to communicate social status, age, marital status, and even tribal affiliation.
Braids are a great protective style, meaning it keeps hair from having to be manipulated (styled) so much. This is imperative if you have fragile hair, which many people have, as it reduces breakage. It saves a lot of time and headache, especially for kids and people with difficult-to-manage hair.
Early braids had many uses, such as costume decoration, animal regalia (like camel girths), sword decoration, bowls and hats (from palm leaves), locks (such as those made in Japan to secure precious tea supplies through the use of elaborate knots), and weapons (e.g. slings).
Indigenous people, like many other cultures, express identity, spirituality and individuality with their hair. For Indigenous people, our hair connects us to our heritage and our ancestors, but also to the creator and earth. Braided hair is symbolic of strength, wisdom and honouring ancestors.
1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV Do not let your adorning be external -- the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear -- (4) but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
Braiding was and still is an important cultural tradition among many Indigenous American tribes. While each tribe has its own relationship to braids, many see braiding as a spiritual act, with the three strands representing the body, mind and spirit.
[14] Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? [15] But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
A common myth is the belief that braids weaken the hair. Braiding hair can help to protect natural hair from damage and breakage. Braids don't weaken your hair, but how you wear and maintain them can make all the difference.
The Bible says that any woman who cuts and styles her hair to be so short as to look like a man's might as well be shorn (shaved) to symbolize a fallen woman. God views a woman cutting her hair short as a sign of open rebellion toward her Creator (verse 6). Cutting one's hair is not the same as shearing or shaving it.
Many African groups braided hair to identify with their tribe. Braids indicated wealth, marital status, power, and religion. Slaves used braids to communicate escape routes. White slaveholders forced slaves to shave their head and keep a “tidy” appearance.
The oldest known reproduction of hair braiding may go back about 30,000 years in Europe: the Venus of Willendorf in Austria, now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf, is a female figurine estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE.
Keeping your hair in braids limits the friction on your scalp, especially if you add extensions to your braided style. For extra scalp care, use PATTERN's Scalp Serum to keep your curly hair feeling refreshed and hydrated. Braided hair does a better job of retaining and locking in moisture.
It not only protects your hair – stopping it from tangling and breaking – but also gives you gorgeous beachy waves the next day and cuts down on frizz. It's easy, peasy totally pleasy hair. There are variations on this beachy look depending on which braid you pick and how thick your braid is.
To braid is to lace or weave together. Hair that has been done this way is in braids. Have you ever seen someone with their hair bound together in thick, rope-like arrangements? That hairdo is called braids. Women often braid each other's hair or get it braided by a hairdresser.
In some cultures, they convey messages about background, tribe, and status, and document life events such as childbirth, war drafts, and funerals. Hair care and styling define Black identities by allowing individuals and groups to express their personal style.
Braiding— especially cornrows—are the foundation of so many of the hairstyles that matter to us. They're a nostalgic reminder of childhood summer, the foundation for transformative styles like sew-ins, or a place to pause and rest in a protective style.
Such people will do well to make use of the counsels that Paul and Peter have provided in God's Word in relation to this issue. However, braids or plaits that do not call the attention to the wearer cannot be considered ungodly.
The long untouched hair was therefore considered as the emblem of personal devotion (or devotedness) to the God of all strength. Thus it was an easy step to the thought that in the hair was the seat of strength of a Samson (Judges 16:17,20).
The biblical text of 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 is clear. Every Christian man should uncover his head when he prays or prophesies because Christ is his head. Every Christian woman should cover her head when she prays or prophesies because the man is her head.
The longer your braids stay in, the harder it might be to maneuver around the build up. Some people end up having to cut their hair after leaving braids on for too long. So how long is safe? I'd recommend 6 to 8 weeks and if you want to go longer, you have to really take good care of it to avoid a lot of breakage.
Styling your hair into braids doesn't directly make it grow faster. However, these styles can help nurture and protect your hair, making it stronger and less likely to break.
“Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered” (verses 5 and 6).
The Bible does not specifically say a lot about makeup. But it does talk about beauty, modesty, and self-control. Proverbs 31:30 says beauty is fleeting. 1 Peter 3:3 discourages seeking beauty in elaborate adornments.
Book of Revelation
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.