Every year you may see periodic reminders that the height of the winter and summer months are colloquially referred to as "protective style season." From mermaid braids to sew-ins, certain hairstyles become exponentially more popular during these months because of how easy they are to maintain and how little manipulation is required of your natural hair. It may have felt like you've seen them all, but there's a new protective style trend that's making its rounds and it feels like an optical illusion. Enter, the "braided baldie."
"The braided baldie became popular in early 2024 after a braider who goes by the name Tookie recreated the traditional beehive braid style that was popular in the '60s," hairstylist Martika Cogdell tells PS. "She put her twist on it using 'designer cornrows' [and] added hearts and flowers throughout the hairstyle, which made her new spin on the look go viral."
But what is the braided baldie exactly, and why is it especially appealing right now? Ahead, Cogdell explains everything you should know about the style, including how the illusion of one cohesive braid is created and how to go about getting the look.
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Martika Cogdell is a professional hairstylist who is based in New York City and Atlanta.
What Is a Braided Baldie Hairstyle?
The colloquial name for this hairstyle stems from the fact that it looks like a buzz-cut made up of traditional cornrows. "The style is also known as the 'never-ending braid' because it consists of one single braid cornrowed into various shapes and patterns with no loose ends exposed," Cogdell says. "This gives the illusion of a bald head, but is achieved with a cornrow instead."
The main difference between this style and traditional cornrows is that despite the multiple designs typically used in braided baldies, only one cornrow is used. This may lead to you wonder why there is no "tail" at the end of the braid when the style is complete - and there's a particular technique to thank for that. "To close this style, a braided will crochet the loose end through the closest braid and sew the remainder ensuring that your stitches are as neat as possible," Cogdell says.
How to Get a Braided Baldie
Though the style itself is low maintenance, the preparation that goes into it is not. Read: this look is not for the novice hair braider. "The hair should first be washed and conditioned to make sure it's free of any product and buildup," Cogdell says. "Next is the most intricate part, which is sectioning and pre-parting the hair to create the pattern for your braids. Use a braiding gel of your choice as you go to ensure clean parts and neat braids."
It's best to work with your natural hair for this style, but if you have a shorter length, you can add feed-in braiding hair for more room to work with. "The best part of this hairstyle is that it's very low-maintenance," Cogdell says. "If maintained properly, you can keep this style in for up to a month - plus you can treat and oil your scalp a lot easier than normal since the style allows easy access to the area."
Keep reading to see some braided baldie hairstyles that you can try for yourself.