We all love a long, dramatic bussdown, but not all of us love the possible heat damage that comes with it. In recent years, goddess and boho braids have become popular style options to reach for, for their blend of timeless braids and playful curly extension pieces.
Even more recently, is the evolution of this trend that has seen the volume and length of added extension pieces significantly increase. As this rendition grows in popularity, so does the affinity for having “braid” styles that have such dense, loose extensions, you can barely see the braid itself. This progression of style begs the question: Could these new braid styles simply be a no-heat replacement for “bussdowns”?
For those unfamiliar, a “bussdown” refers to long, middle part installs, often straight, and always flowy. We spoke to Chicago-based stylist Paige Warford about this trend, how these braided bussdowns are achieved, and why they’re so popular.
While Warford has done hair since she was very young, she became a full time hairstylist in 2020 after pandemic-related job shifts. Over the past few years, the hairstylist has noticed a steady uptick in requests for knotless boho braids. She states that knotless braids, the older sister of once-favored box braids, are now a staple that will never go out of style. From goddess and boho to “Zoe Kravitz braids” and even “pick and drop” styles, the innovations in knotless styles just keep coming. With these, stylists are becoming more inventive in their pursuits to preserve the integrity of clients’ hair health.
“I offer styles that are really protective so I try to stay away from styles like faux locs, and I’m very much into braids, sew-ins, and installs that don’t require a lot of heat,” she tells us.
She has slowly been transitioning a handful of her clients to a hybrid style she employs, that doesn’t require heat styling or leave out, but still offers the look of a sew-in. Adopting the TikTok-developed hack to Zoe Kravitz braids, she gives her clients a traditional sew-in, however the leave out is braided in a goddess braid fashion. “It’s the best of both worlds, because you get the bussdown and keep the protective style,” she explains. The two styles blend so well that many people often think her clients are just wearing micro braids.
She’s noticed how popular this particular hybrid style has gotten in the past couple months, as well as very dense boho braids. “It used to be just a couple of curls, now there are some stylists who put up to four bundles in their clients’ braids.” For braid styles with liberally added hair extensions she says it looks more like a traditional sew-in, as there is so much hair you may not even see the braids. “It literally looks like a deep wave bussdown.” This version of the boho braid is now referred to as “mermaid braids,” and can either be wavy or straight.
We discuss how with a lot of these styles, hair professionals will not braid the hair all the way down anymore, and opt to leave quite a bit of the hair loose at the ends. Warford attributes this either to a stylist’s preference or a decision made to cut face-framing layers. With many of these trending braiding styles, quite a bit of hair is left loose on each braid. For styles such as french curl, Nollywood braids, or pick and drops where that is the intended technique, it offers the ability to create feathered layers in the hair. These layers in turn contribute to the “bussdown” illusion, as half or more of the hair extension is left loose curls or waves.
She explains how for sew-ins most of the damage occurs because the texture chosen does not match the natural texture of the leave-out. With a braided leave-out, it cuts down the inevitable repeated heat styling. Additionally, she has been encouraging some of her clients to go for styles with similar or matching textures so they can reduce manipulation of the leave-out.
For clients that are concerned with reducing heat damage and growing out their natural hair beneath the styles, the hybrid method or dense boho braids seem to be the go-to trending options.
In sum, braids are in fact the new bussdowns. While a slick middle part will always have its place in the lexicon of classic Black girl styles, these new variations supply a whole new world of looks to play with.
