Hair braiding advice to all

[snowball22]

Just a little advice on hairbraiding:

Tip number one-get your hair braided on Castaway Cay and not in Nassau. Sign up on day one of cruise to have the hairbraiding done. It just seemed cleaner on Castaway Cay then on Nassau.

Tip number two-braids on Nassau are two dollars a piece so be prepared to fork out the cash. You can deal on the braids. Once some braids are in place act like you are done and start to get up. They will usually bargain it down to one dollar a braid.

Tip number three-bring your own comb!!!!!!!!! They use the same dirty combs over and over again.

Tip number four-bring spray sunscreen for your head as more skin will be showing once the braids are in place.

Tip number five-they use a hair grease to slick down the hair for braiding. Either the grease or the dirty combs cause some major dandruff on the scalp.

Tip number six-hair braiding will hurt a little while being done. All the little girls had expressions of pain on their faces while their hair was being done.

DD had her hair done in Nassau. After a week her head came down with the worst case of dandruff. We took the braids out after 10 days. Alot of her hair came out along with the braids. They say the braids can last 4-6 weeks. I am afraid to say that if we would have left them in that long, alot more of her hair would have probably come out.

Hair braiding looks great but just be careful.

 

[elemusing]

I have had my hair braided at Nassau, Castaway Cay, and here at home. The ones that stayed in the best were the ones from CC. The ones that were the cheapest were the ones here at home - $80 including tip. Nassau braids stayed in and looked pretty good for about 10 days then they started getting all nappy. CC braids stayed in and looked good for about 2 weeks, then started getting pretty nappy. Here at home, the woman didn't get them tight enough and they started coming out after about 10 days.

When I got mine done in Nassau, I did take my own comb. But they did NOT use any grease. Just a spray bottle with water. At CC, the ladies were putting a little gel on after they got done. The CC ladies recommended that you not put conditioner on your hair after washing braids cause it makes them slick and makes more hair come out. I tried it this time and they are right.

I paid $100 including tip at Nassau. I negotiated this price with the lady before the braid. This included front corn rows and all-over braids. I paid about $230 including tip!!!! yikes!!! at CC for the same. You cannot negotiate at CC and that is what killed me. I about fell over not relizing that she had put that many braids in, but I counted along with her and realized she wasn't taking advantage. The good news is that you can use your room charge at CC. Obviously, you can't at Nassau.

So - my advice is go for the hair braiding at Nassau. I don't think that ANY braids are going to stay in and look good for more than two weeks. They will stay in perhaps, but not look good. All places I have had this done told me they would look good for at least 4 weeks. That is a bunch of bull.

As far as taking care of it - I went to WalMart and bought some spray on stuff made especially for braids this time and I think that is why they looked good a bit longer than last time.

I don't know about the dandruff thing. I didn't have any problems with it. I do agree 100% to use spray on sunscreen! The parts between the braids expose some very white - tender scalp skin.

As far as the hair goes - I always lose alot of hair when taking them out. My hairdresser says this is normal as you normally lose hair with every brushing and washing, so all the hair you would normally lose in the course of a couple of weeks is coming out all at once when you take out your braids. There is some breakage, of course, though.

It takes the better part of a day to get them out by yourself, so my advice is to get someone to help you. The ladies at CC also told me the best way to get them out is to get in the shower and SLATHER on the conditioner. It really works!! I left a few to try this with and they slid right out after I began working on them.

Finally - I agree about taking little girls. I saw at least three crying and two of those got up after two braids and quit. If you child is tender headed - braids are not going to be for her. The ones that hurt me the most were the ones at CC. The tiny baby hairs right above your ears are just about as painful as child birth when they are braiding them. I am not kidding. . . I had to grab on to the sides of my chair and grit my teeth as tears were welling up in my eyes. The ladies were all laughing (good naturedly) at me.

Angie

 

[DisneyDarwin]

If possible, get them done on the ship. I know they offer this on the 7 day, I'm not sure about the 3 and 4 day cruises. You have to watch the Navigator and go sign up for an appt, then show up at your appointed time. But, that was easy -- we scheduled a sea day. IMHO that's better than using some of your precious time at CC. Like CC, there is no negotiating, but they staid in a long time and looked as good as any we've had. Yes, avoid conditioner and remember the sunscreen. My DD knew it hurt a little, but was willing to put up with it because she liked the results.

 

[jlawall]

Hey DisneyDarwin! Are you still working on the ship? MJ said you got a job! I'm so jealous! How's it going?

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Both my DD's and DW had theirs done on Freeport at the marketplace. We were on the inner square where the drinks in the coconts were served. It is at the end of the market. 25.00 per head.

 

[dianedisney]

I agree with the posters here.....DO NOT get your hair braided in ANY of the islands. If you must do it, then make an appointment and have Disney do it. I am a travel agent....I have had more than a few clients get their hair done on the islands and come down with; head lice, severe case of dandriff, some kind of scalp rash. Even if you bring your own comb, they don't wash their hands. Lice eggs can be transferred soooooo easily. Any bactria or germ can be transferred easily. To me that is not they way to end a wonderful vacation.
ALSO.....don't buy the conch shells from locals on the docks. They have not been properly wash and sanitized. They could very easily smell up your whole suitcase or cabin. Heck I had a client who put it in her carry on. After being up in the air on a plane the flight atttendents were wondering what was rotting on the plane. Don't embarass yourself.....pay the extra bucks and get it in one of the tourist shops.

Have a Disney Cruise.

 

[carole88]

Wow! $230 fo braids seems like a lot of money! ow many breads did you get? Do you have to braid the whole head or can you just braid the top? I haave two DD that are interested in the braids bit don't want to spend almost $500.

 

[TCROMW1013]

Is there somewhere to get a hair wrap?? (Like at the parks) I think my daughter would like this better.

Thanks

 

[hilltopfamily]

Originally posted by TCROMW1013
Is there somewhere to get a hair wrap?? (Like at the parks)
Thanks

Also interested in the answer to this. What is a hair wrap (we have not yet been to the parks)? What does it look like? Is it something kids or adults get? thanks!

 

[mamaof5]

it is taking a small section of hair and wrapping it with string or embroidery floss or something simular, it is usually by the inch that is charged. Sometimes beads are also added at an extra cost of course. It can get expensive too. and pretty easy to do yourself if you have the patience.

 

[rae519]

Call me "naive" but why would anyone want to pay a lot of money to have pain inflicted on them or their child just to have 10-14 days of cornrows and hair loss, scalp burns, etc?

Guess it's my age and the "just don't get it" mentality of my generation!

Rae

 

[lisak1]

I agree with you Rae.... i spend alot of money on my hair, but to keep it long and straight and beautiful.... braiding causes so much stress on the hair, would cause so much breakage, and I can't imagine what mine would look like when they came out... i'd probably have to cut it all off!!

 

[disney6]

I tried to post a picture but can't (waahhhh). We had the girls hair braided on St. Maarten (with a woman named Emily) and she was great! I negotiated $20 per head (they each had 12-14 cornrows - headband style) and the girls never flinched. Used lots of sprayon sunscreen and no conditioner when washing (until taking them out some 5 weeks later). No problems mon!
If you want to see some pictures visit 2002 Cruise Album

 

[Princess Tink]

try using cotton swabs or cotton balls saturated in Sea Breeze or Suave Antigent to wipe between the braids and cornrows of a night (before bed) and/or of a morning (depending on how much your scalp needs it). I don't remember how I heard about this but, I put cornrows and braids in my own hair and this really works. It's almost like it cleans the scalp without irritating the braids and it feels clean. Also, I use a good clarifying shampoo (Matrix Essentials Alternate Action Clraifying Shampoo) right after I take the braids out......and this cleans all that gunk out of your hair so that you don't have dandruff problems.

Believe me, I tried many different things to get them to last long and look great.....with the least amount of problems resulting.....and this is the best combination I've found!

 

[beanteam]

Just returned from the 6-21 Western and DD had her hair braided on the ship. It was 1.50 per braid, and it looks great. Total cost was 51.50. I had brought the spray sunscreen with me, and she didn't get burned at all.

 

[musicgirl]

Hi, we just got off of the Wonder and my niece-12 had her hair done. She signed up at preludes (by the theather/shops) at 5:30pm as we left port. She got it for that night at 10:30 after dinner. This was perfect because she had it the whole time and we didn't waste time on CC, which is the last day. It was $22 for the headband. The girl did a slanted version and did a nice job with the beads connecting the braids so that it stayed flat. My niece said it hurt a little near her ears.

The girl told her not to condition it until she was ready to take them out. She used regular sunscreen on the scalp. She loved them.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by lisak1
I agree with you Rae.... i spend alot of money on my hair, but to keep it long and straight and beautiful.... braiding causes so much stress on the hair, would cause so much breakage, and I can't imagine what mine would look like when they came out... i'd probably have to cut it all off!!

My daughter was biracial and had very beautiful albet very curly (not kinky) hair which we would braid or pull up most of the time. She once asked me why (HER words) - "white women tried to look black and black women tried to look white" - she couldn't understand the "hair thing" but I just let it go and smiled.

If we are fat, we want to be thin and if we have red hair, we want brown, etc, etc,.

I can't say much, my color comes from my hairdresser!!!!!

Rae

 

[Cruzin1st]

I think one of the reasons the girls like to have their hair braided is because it is something different, exotic, and shows your friends back home that you've been recently travelling to somewhere far away. My daughter had hers done on CC, and I think it would have stayed in forever. To ease everyone's minds....I had heard that there is breakage when you finally take out the braids, so I was concerned. I talked to my hairdresser yesterday when I went for a cut, about what to do to minimize the breakage. She said everyone loses 80-100 hairs A DAY!! So, when your hair is braided, you are losing some hair, but it stays because it is braided in and has no where to go. So when you finally take out the braids, those hairs come out, and it's perfectly normal. Sure enough, we took them out last night, and there was lots of hair, but after really looking at it, I could tell it was not broken, but had just come out naturally. Just have the waste basket handy.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Those of you that get your hair braided, do you only do it on vacation, or do you/your kids wear your hair braided at home?

I'm always amazed at the price people pay for braids. I'm sure you can get friends to do it for free before going on the cruise.

I just don't understand why anyone will spend vacation time to get their hair braided.

 

[beanteam]

You'll see why kids will sit still for a bit to get their hair braided when you go on your cruise. My DD had her's done the first day at sea, at 4pm. She was all done at 5pm (only 1 hour). It was done right in front of the Goofy pool, so she still felt like she was part of the action. I even brought her an ice cream from scoops We paid 50$, it took 1 hour, and it was worth every minute/penny because everywhere we went, she was complimented. Now that we are back home, everywhere we go people comment on how good it looks. That gives her a chance to tell everyone that she just came back from a cruise, and she feels so special.

To see my DD so thrilled about the way she looks makes me feel good as a mom. She plans on keeping them in till school starts up again in the fall. And, shower times are a breeze! No hairbrushing/drying. Just shower and go! It really was a time saver on the cruise. DD had medium length hair that ALWAYS gets into the worst knots, so the braids really saved us alot of prep time

We have our hair braided everytime we visit Mexico, and there it only costs about $20. So, paying $50 was quite the sticker shock for me, but so well worth it. And, for me to braid her hair would take much longer than 1 hour (since I don't do it that often) and I don't have all the cool beads they put in the braids. Plus, it would look like an amateur did it.

There, I hope I eased some of the people's confusion on why anybody would get their kid's hair braided on the cruise. Just like I always wonder why people would sit in a library and read on a cruise. You might as well be back home