🛒 0 items in your cart
$59 away from free shipping
How Many Packs of Braiding Hair Do I Need?
Use this braiding hair calculator to see how many packs you will need depending on your desired style, length, head size, and more. You'll never need to wonder how many packs of hair you will need for your styles again with this tool!
Braiding Hair Packs by Style
The number of packs you need depends mostly on what style you're getting and how thick you want them. Smaller braids use more hair because there are more individual braids on your head.
Longer styles also require more packs since each braid uses more hair to reach that length.
Box braids and knotless braids are the most popular styles we see at our stores.
For medium sized box braids at mid-back length most people need about 7 to 8 packs of pre-stretched braiding hair. Small box braids can take 9 to 10 packs or more. Large or jumbo box braids usually only need about 5 to 6 packs.
Knotless braids use slightly more hair than traditional box braids because of the feed-in technique so add a pack or two to those numbers.
Cornrows and feed-in braids use less hair than individual braids since the hair is braided flat against the scalp.
Most cornrow styles need 3 to 5 packs depending on how many rows and how much length you want hanging.
Passion twists, spring twists, and marley twists use a different type of hair than regular braids. These styles call for textured or pre-twisted hair rather than straight pre-stretched braiding hair.
Pack counts are similar to box braids, usually 6 to 8 packs for a full head at medium thickness.
Faux locs, butterfly locs, and goddess locs can be trickier because some of these styles require two types of hair, braiding hair for the base and a different texture for the wrapping or curly ends.
If you're not sure what combination you need for your loc style come into one of our stores and we can help you figure it out.
Crochet braids typically need 5 to 7 packs depending on how full you want the finished look.
Since crochet hair is looped through a cornrow base rather than braided individually it tends to use slightly less hair than box braids.
What Type of Braiding Hair Should I Buy?
For box braids, knotless braids, cornrows, feed-in braids, and senegalese twists you want pre-stretched braiding hair. We carry Sensationnel Pre-Stretched Braiding Hair starting at $3.99, RUWA 3x Pre-Stretched Hair at $5.99, and Outre Pre-Stretched Braiding Hair at $5.99. Pre-stretched hair saves time during installation because it's already tapered at the ends. For passion twists, spring twists, marley twists, butterfly locs, and crochet styles you want textured hair. We carry EQUAL Cuban Twist Double Strand Style starting at $5.99 and Outre Twisted Up Springy Afro Twist starting at $7.99.
Tips For Buying the Right Amount
Always buy one extra pack. Running out of hair halfway through an install means either leaving the style unfinished or making a trip to the store with half your head done. One extra pack costs a few dollars and saves you a lot of stress. If you have a larger head or very thick natural hair you may need 1 to 2 additional packs beyond the standard estimates. If your head is on the smaller side or your natural hair is fine you can usually get away with the lower end of the range. The length of hair you buy matters too. Most pre-stretched braiding hair comes in 24 to 28 inch lengths. If you want a shorter style like shoulder length braids you won't necessarily use fewer packs, each braid just uses less of each piece. Some people cut the hair before braiding while others fold it differently to adjust the length.
Shop Braiding Hair at Number 1 Beauty Supply
We carry braiding hair, marley hair, crochet hair, and all the accessories you need for your install. Browse our braiding hair and marley hair online or visit us at any of our three locations in Marlow Heights, Good Hope, and Brentwood.