Braids or Wigs?

VARIETY, they say, is the spice of life. This is a true saying as there are different types of hairstyles and designs to be chosen by different people based on their different preferences. While some ladies might like to go on low cuts, some may want to leave their hair to grow naturally. There are also those that prefer to braid their hair and those who would rather put on wigs.

  The wig and braid have been in trend for a while but there have been new upgrades added to them in recent times. Wigs are growing fast and becoming popular among many Nigerian women. Most women would rather weave their natural hair and use a wig to cover it up. The wig could be made from natural and synthetic hair or it could be braided. Either way, some women will rather use a wig because of its flexibility than go through the pain of braiding their hair which could be both painful and stressful to handle.

  Braid styles are very beautiful and give one a sexy African look but most ladies are discouraged from doing them because braiding the hair can be time consuming, painful and sometimes, uncomfortable. Despite this, many Nigerian ladies still prefer braids over wigs as one cannot over look the different beautiful braid styles there are to choose from and look good with.

  “Both braids and wigs are okay but I feel like braids are better, because you can just weave your hair and place a wig on but with braids you can just style it how you like and take it out, the both are good but braids works more for me”. Juliet Okafor, a student of UNN, had this to say about her take on braids and wigs.

   Wigs have advantages over braids with ladies who are on low cut, as their hair cannot be braided. They have the choice of picking from different options of wigs and can rock different styles in a short space.   This cannot be done with braided hairs. Because of the time and pain put in braiding hair, the hair is carried for a longer period of time and therefore, cannot be changed that frequently. Most ladies carry their braids for a week, some two weeks and others a month or even two. So the flexibility which wig users enjoy cannot be enjoyed here.

  In an interview with Egwu Tessy, a student in Enugu, she expressed her love for wigs which even prompted her to cut her hair to avoid the stress of having to go to the salon every now and then. ” I’m on low cut so obviously I prefer wigs. I can actually rock any hairstyle I want with my wig, there are even beautiful braided wigs now so what’s the use of going through the pain of braiding my hair”.

  There are also people who are neutral on the issue they are okay with and can make do with any of the two. Some ladies love braids but don’t see a problem slaying with a wig every now and then.                           

  “I don’t know which one I prefer but I think both are important. When you are on braids, if you are getting ready to work, you can just style it and leave but then, wigs too help. I don’t know, I don’t prefer one over the other. They are both important”, Julian Echibe, a computer science student in UNN had this to say about the issue.