How to Take Care of Your Hair After Braids

Taking down a beautiful set of braids, twists, or cornrows? What a moment of mixed feelings! There’s the relief of scalp access and the joy of seeing your hair free again. But there’s also the nervous anticipation of what comes next.  

After weeks, maybe even months, of wearing a protective style, your hair needs gentle, deliberate care to bounce back strong. Skip the aftercare, and you’ll pay for it later—with breakage, tangles, or dull strands. Yet, with the right approach, your hair can come out stronger, shinier, and even healthier than before. 

This guide shows you how to take care of your hair after braids to maximise your length and minimise hair damage.

Before the Wash: How to Detangle Matted Hair After Braids

The biggest mistake people make happens before they even start the wash cycle: aggressive removal. That’s a surefire path to breakage. Your hair’s been woven tight and tucked away for ages; it deserves a soft landing, not a battlefield exit.

Patience is Your Power

Set aside a few hours. Seriously, block out the time. Grab a podcast, a show, maybe a snack. This is self-care, not a race. Trying to take out a full head of braids in 60 minutes is how you end up with handfuls of perfectly good hair in the trash.

• Prep with Moisture: Before you touch a strand, wet the ends of the braids with water and a lightweight conditioner or apply a braid-removal spray. 
• Use Small Sections: Start from the ends. Take your time, feel for knots, and ease them out with your fingers. When you reach the roots, don’t freak out over the build-up—that fuzzy tangle of shed hair is completely normal.
• The Power of Oil: Use a natural oil like coconut, olive, or jojoba on the newly separated hair to help detangle the root area. It helps the shed strands slide away without snapping.
• Immediate Detangling: Don’t wait until the end. Finger-detangle as you go, one section at a time. This is key to preventing the massive knots that need serious effort when you detangle matted hair after removing braids.
• A Word on Trimming: Should you trim your hair before or after braids? It’s generally best to trim after the braids are removed and the hair is washed and fully detangled. This allows you to assess the real damage and ensure you trim only the true split ends, not the temporary frizz.

Understanding Shedding

You will see a lot of hair come out. But don’t panic! It’s not breakage, it’s shedding.

The average person sheds 50 to 100 hairs a day. That means, if your braids were in for six weeks, thousands of strands simply didn’t have an exit route. Seeing them all come out at once looks alarming, but it’s normal shedding, not sudden damage. The goal of the removal process is to separate this shed hair from the healthy, growing hair with minimal friction. However, if the shed hair is breaking off in short pieces, that is breakage, usually caused by tension or dryness during the style’s wear time.

The First Wash: Clarify and Cleanse

That first wash matters more than you think—it clears out residue, product gunk, and oil so your follicles can breathe again. And it’s the right moment to decide how to treat hair after braid removal to set it up for recovery.

The Clarifying Shot

Start with a clarifying or detoxifying shampoo. Focus this product almost entirely on your scalp. Use the pads of your fingers (never your nails) to massage the shampoo into the root area, dissolving any residue, oil, or flakes that have accumulated near the attachments. Rinse thoroughly.

Follow with Hydration

After clarifying, your hair cuticles will be open, and the strands might feel a little rough, even ‘squeaky clean.’ This is fine, but it means they need immediate moisture replenishment. Use a hydrating, moisture-rich shampoo for the second wash on both the scalp and the lengths. This second cleanse ensures the hair is clean but also injects the first dose of much-needed moisture back into the hair shaft.

Deep Conditioning: The Real Repair Work

This is arguably the most important step for restoring the hair’s elasticity and strength. After weeks of being held taut and dry, your hair is crying out for moisture and protein.

The Deep Conditioning Must-Do

Now it’s time to treat your hair to a deep conditioning mask. Choose one formulated with ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, keratin, or ceramides. This is truly how to treat hair after braids for maximum restoration.

Apply it liberally from the mid-shaft down to the ends, avoiding the root area if you have a fine hair texture, as it can weigh hair down.

• Add Gentle Heat: Cover your head with a shower cap and use low heat—maybe a hooded dryer or heat cap—for 20 to 30 minutes. That warmth opens the cuticle so your conditioner can sink in deep. That’s how real repair happens.
• Rinse with Care: Rinse the deep conditioner out completely using cool or lukewarm water. Cool water helps to flatten the hair cuticle, locking in the moisture and promoting shine.

Protein vs. Moisture Balance

Pay attention to your hair’s response over the next few weeks. Does it feel overly stretchy and weak? You need more protein. Brittle and stiff? Add moisture instead.

Switch between a protein-rich treatment and a hydration mask until your strands find their sweet spot again.

Drying and Styling: Low Heat, High Protection

This phase is about minimising physical stress on your hair. Keep in mind that your strands are in their most vulnerable state right now.

The Drying Game Plan

Ditch the rough towel. This kind of drying is often too harsh, so use an old t-shirt or a microfibre towel instead. Squeeze (not rub!) out excess water. It’s a tiny change that prevents a ton of frizz. 

• Prep with a Leave-In: Apply a lightweight leave-in conditioner to your damp hair. This adds a layer of protection and makes the next step—detangling—safer.
• Detangle Slowly: Use a wide-tooth comb or a dedicated detangling brush. Start at the ends and work your way up to the roots, using short, gentle strokes. Never pull or yank. The time spent in braids means the hair’s natural pattern is disrupted, so be patient as it finds its natural shape again.

And whenever you use styling tools, make sure they meet the gold standard: low heat and high protection. Veaudry’s dryers offer precise temperature control, making it possible to use the lowest effective heat setting. And remember: always apply a heat protectant spray first. Direct the nozzle downward to smooth the cuticle and prevent frizz.

Styling Without Tension

The temptation is real—you finally have your hair back and want to slick it up into a bun. Don’t. Your scalp’s still tender from the braids.

• Free-Flowing Styles: For the first few days, wear your hair down in loose, free-flowing styles. This allows your scalp to breathe and recover from the constant tension of the braids.
• Lightly Oil the Scalp: If your scalp feels sensitive or dry, apply a couple of drops of a light, soothing oil (like peppermint or tea tree oil mixed with a carrier oil) and massage gently with your fingertips.

Long-Term Recovery: The Weeks After

Recovery doesn’t end after wash day. The next few weeks matter just as much.

Focus on Strengthening and Sealing

Keep the hydration going. And try the L.O.C. or L.C.O. method—that’s Liquid, Oil, Cream—to maintain moisture between washes.

1. Liquid: Rehydrate the hair with water or a water-based leave-in conditioner.

2. Oil: Use a penetrating oil (like coconut) or a sealing oil (like castor or jojoba) to lock that moisture in.

3. Cream: Finish with a curl cream or butter to further seal and style.

Postpone the Next Protective Style

Give your hair and scalp at least two to four weeks of rest before installing another tight style. Studies show up to one in three women who wear constant tension styles develop some form of traction alopecia—a condition caused by pulling at the roots too often. So, let your scalp recover. Try soft twists, bantu knots, or just your natural curls.

Heat Tool Moderation

Even with professional tools like Veaudry, moderation is key. Your hair has just come out of a dry environment and needs time to re-establish its natural moisture balance. If you style, use the lowest temperature setting possible and always pass the tool quickly over the strands.

Wrapping Up Your Restoration Routine

Taking down braids is the start of a whole new care cycle. Every step you take now decides how strong your next style will be. From the slow, mindful takedown to the deep conditioning and cautious styling, this is how you protect your progress. Because your real “protective style” is consistency and care.

And when you’re ready to style again, do it wisely. Veaudry’s professional-grade dryers and heat tools give you precision control, letting you style beautifully without sacrificing your hair’s health.

Your strands have worked hard—give them the kind of care that lasts.