Protect it. Love it. Protective styling generally refers to…you guessed it…protecting your natural hair. Since afro-textured hair is actually pretty fine (for the most part) and fragile, it needs a break every now and again. Protective styles protect your ends from the elements and from drying out. Crochet braids are my favorite go-to protective style.  They are easy to do and (most importantly for braids) easy to take out. And individuals with practically any length hair can wear them. Bonus: they take less than half the time to put in than traditional box braids, micros, or Senegalese! PLUS, you can try a variety of styles with crochet. What are crochet braids?  Crochet braids are not to be confused with tree braids, which take a little longer to put in.  Basically, your hair is in cornrows, braided all the way back.  If your hair is long, your ends are tacked up.  There are two basic options after this process is done.  1) You may choose to crochet synthetic/human hair bulk hair through your cornrows or 2) …