Do Your Own Box Braids At Home! (Tips for Beginners)

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Doing your own box braids at home can save tons of money! And, once you get a hang of it, it’s not that hard to do! Here are all the supplies, techniques, and tips you need to be able to do your own box braids at home.

What You’ll Need

Braiding Hair

The first thing you need to do is decide what type of braids you want. By this, I mean decide what size, length, and color you’d like. There are so many to choose from! I usually do 24″ medium sized braids in whatever color I’m feeling. Right now, I have a mixture of three different colors in (see pics below)! To save time, buy pre-stretched braiding hair. Pre-stretched hair is already prepped and ready to install. I usually buy the Sensationnel Ruwa 3x pre-stretched hair because it doesn’t tangle or itch, it seals in hot water, and it comes in a variety of colors. For medium sized braids, I typically use 5-6 packs of hair.

Rat Tail Comb

A rat tail comb is a hair NECESSITY! If you don’t have one, get one here ASAP. This is the only comb I trust to give me precise, neat parts. And honestly, bad parts are what gives away DIY braids a lot of the time. With time and practice, parting gets easier, so I would suggest having someone help you if possible. I used to do my own parts, and it took forever, so now my mom helps me with the back, and I do the front. Either way, you’ll need a rat tail comb.

Products

When blending your natural hair with the braiding hair, you need a good gel, jam, or edge control. To save money, I use my Edge Booster Edge Control because I already have it, but a lot of people use the Shine ‘n Jam Gel. You only need a little bit, but if you want sleek, long-lasting braids, a good product is definitely a necessity. After finishing the braids, I like to add some mousse throughout them to add shine and tame fly-aways. My favorite mousse is The Doux Mousse Def (Black-owned), but any mousse will do. Lastly, you may want to oil your scalp with your favorite hair oil, especially if it gets itchy. Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Peppermint Oil, and Lavender Oil are my favorites.

Hot Water

To seal the ends of traditional box braids, you need to dip the ends in boiling hot water (and of course a towel). It may be helpful to have someone else do this for you.

Clips, Hair Ties, a Mirror, and Scissors

Lastly, to do your own box braids at home, you’ll need clips and hair ties to section hair out of the way, and a mirror or two for parting. The scissors are to trim any straggly ends and fly-aways. Now that you have all of your materials, you are ready to get started!

Prepping Your Hair for Braids

I have an entire post dedicated to protective styles that goes into prepping, which you can find here, so for this post, I’ll just summarize it. You want to start box braids on freshly washed, deep conditioned, detangled, stretched hair. Also, if you’d like to save time during the braiding process, you can do the parting ahead of time, like I do.

Start Braiding!

There are so many different ways to begin box braids, and of course, practice makes perfect. Instead of trying to explain how to do braids, here is a helpful video that shows 8 different ways to start box braids. Personally, I find the first technique to be the easiest one. After braiding, trim the ends/stray hairs, dip them in the hot water, and add oil and mousse. Then…you’re all done!

Helpful Tips

• Use a thread holder to easily store the pieces of hair.
• Have some good movies to watch as you braid!
• Break it up into different days if you need to.
• If a braid feels too tight or too heavy, TAKE IT DOWN and re-do it.
• Steam, sweat, and essential oils help loosen tight braids.
• Use two mirrors to see the back of your hair.
• Tie the ends of braids if they start to come down.
• The rubber band method may be useful if you are tender headed.
• I have a post all about how to Make Your Box Braids Last Longer! There are TONS of gems in there (including washing and a sleep routine)!
• Read 11 Tips for Protective Styles.

These are all my suggestions, tips, and tricks to do your own box braids at home! Do you have any more to add to the list? Leave them in the comments below!