Protective Styling- Bunning My Hair with a Knee Hi! Who Knew?!

So I've been bunning my hair for the past few days.  Yes, I love my wash and go style but I feel like my hair is more exposed to the element than when I would wear my hair "down" when relaxed.  Kinda weird, I know, but I'll own it.  And I'm waiting for this flax seed gel that I ordered to arrive and it may take a minute so I'll bun until it's delivered.

So I co-washed with the following:

• Coconut oil- pre-poo
• Aussie Moist- Co-wash conditioner and finger detangled (great slip, try it if you haven't)
• ACV rinse-let it sit while I washed and rinsed with cold water

Stepped out of shower with soaking wet hair and a t-shirt around my shoulders to soak up the drips while I dried off. Put on my button down man's shirt (I use these while styling my hair because they are light weight and button down the front- Goodwill $3-$5)

Sectioned in 4, applied Paul Mitchell "The Conditioner" to each section, then massaged Jamaican Black Castor Oil into my scalp and hair.  Applied Ampro Olive Oil Gel (love this stuff) **to my edges and the entire perimeter of my hair- I kinda looked like the 'heat miser' once done. 

So I heard about using a knee-hi on a YouTube video and decided to try it.  Especially since I have hella-thick hair and a goody band is a joke.  So I found a knee-hi in my stocking bag and cut the top part off, stretched it,  placed it across my forehead and behind my ears and tied it once.  Holding it taunt and pulling back -the wetness of the gel and water help it move smoothly and snuggly to form a perfect top bun.  I then wrapped it around the pony tail and secure in the back with a knot. 

So at this point I have a puff.  I love the puff for the weekend, but the puff is not cool (to me, that is) for work.  So I take sections of the puff and braid into like 5-6 braids- to stretch the hair- and place some avocado butter then a pillow roller on each.  Add a little more gel to my sides and kitchen area, wrap with my satin scarf leaving the pony tail/braids sticking out and tie down snuggly.  I then remove the knee-hi as its not to tight but its too tight for me to sleep comfortably.  Then I place my bonnet over the top of all of it to protect me braids.

In the morning, I undo it all.  My hair is nice and flat and I either place the knee-hi on again (if I want to wear a high bun- it seems to work better for that) and if I decide on a low bun for the office- I'll use a rubber band (talk about this in a second.)  Then place my scrunchie on top of the rubber band and wrap my hair around it clockwise and pin as I go.  I'll post pics at some point, but I think you get the idea.

So.. the rubber band!  I know, I know, the rubber band is a healthy hair- Long Hair Care NO-NO.  Well its the only thing that keeps my hair back tightly AND just so you know I ALWAYS remove it by cutting it out of my hair vs. removing it which is where all the breakage comes in.   I have a bag of disposable rubber bands in my arsenal.  So that's it...I'm in a bun today...looking all professional and stuff :-)

What are your bunning and protective styling tricks?

**-UPDATE: I no longer use the Ampro Olive Oil Gel.  I used it on my wash and go's for a few months and got dandraff like flaking after 2 days. So sad because I thought I really liked this gel.  Now I'll be including it in my product swap bag for my next hair meet-up.