Box and goddess braids are both go-to protective styles in the African-American community — you can wear them for months at a time, they don’t require a ton of maintenance, and they can help protect ...

Kara Jillian Brown is the senior beauty editor of InStyle. She began her career at Well+Good, where she spent five years evolving from editorial intern to news writer to beauty writer. She earned a ...

All linked products are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase any of these products, we may earn a commission. Shortly after my big chop, I vowed to stick with my short afro for at ...

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we love. Promise. 2. Oil your scalp. To help keep your scalp moisturized and soothed while you've got these braids in, ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. "It's a look that's been around for a really long time," says Garvey, noting that the style has ...