Full Weave Vs Partial Weave – The Differences Between Them

When you decide to wear a weave there will be a number of things you need to be concerned about.

They include the texture, the length of the weave, the color, and the last point is the installation technique.

So, the question here is whether you want the weave being partial or full.

I know some people are not even sure what that means and that’s okay.

This article will guide you into knowing the difference.

What Is Partial Weave?

With this kind of weave, you braid the hair and you leave a few other hair strands to cover your tracks. For this process, you can attach the weave by clip in method. This is where you attach the weaves to the roots of your natural hair.

The most common method of attaching though is the sew-in method. With the style, it won’t cover the whole head. You can decide to cover half the head or the crown.

So, the leave outs you have vary, some people leave the whole half section of their head. Some people leave just a small part at the front.

One of the major requirements when installing a sew in is that you have the hair being long at the front. If you have short hair, you won’t cover your tracks well.

Therefore, you should choose a partial sew in weave that works for you.

The benefits

• It’s natural

This is the most natural hairstyle you can ever have. You will have the scalp being visible. This means that people won’t tell that you are wearing a weave really.

• It’s versatile

Furthermore, it’s versatile which gives you the leeway to style it as you wish. This happens if you will leave a lot of hair out. You can part the hair however you wish to and style it like you wish.

Sometimes, you can even leave the hair out at the back of your head. This makes it easy to make high updos and ponytail.

Cons

• Needs maintenance

Since you have a lot of hair that’s left out, you will need to take care of the hair. If you don’t, then you will have your natural hair being damaged and even causing breakage.

• The blending is an issue

You can’t blend the hair easily especially if your hair is not of the same texture as the hair extension. Some people texturize, relax and then blend the hair.

What Is A Full Sew in Weave?

This is simply the situation where you have all of your hair being braided then you sew on the weave over the hair. Understand that some people refer to the option where you have a little hair left out as a full sew-in.

With the full sew in though, we often refer to the situation where you have all your hair covered You should have all your hair braided in a cornrow before you attach the weave over it.

For this option, therefore, you can use the full weave or add on the closure for the finished look. So, the best advantage of this is that you have your hair resting under the weave.

The benefits

• You can style this hair however you wish to. Remember, you have all your natural hair covered so you are only exploring your extension.
• Your hair is protected under the weave. Sometimes the hair needs protection from the sun and other harsh environmental conditions.
• There’s no blending so it doesn’t matter which hair you are interested in. Although, if you would like to, you can use a hair weave that looks so much close to your natural hair. That will make it look more natural.

Cons

• You need to use a lace closure

For it to look natural, you have to use lace closures. Unfortunately, while lace closures are effective in making the weave look more natural, it’s usually a hassle to maintain.

• Wear low ponytails

Those who like to wear styles like the high ponytail can’t do it because it will show that you are wearing a wig. You only wear low ponytails with this style.

• Requires maintenance.

While the stylist may have installed the hair properly, if you won’t take proper care of it, the damage is inevitable.

Let the stylist enlighten you on how to take care of the hair and your natural hair. Also, even if your hair still looks amazing after the elapse of 6-8 weeks, you should remove it.

Different Partial Sew in Styles

There are hundreds of styles you can try. The ones below are a few of those styles.

1. Fill it in style

This is a style you can use for the partial style. It only has the sew-in done at the top and crown part of the head. The nape area is completely free without the extension. It only focuses on the crown part. The aim of the style is to make your crown area look fuller.

2. Side parted layered partial weave

With this style, you can fix the sew in weave at the crown area then leave the hairline on the front to blend in. It makes your hair look fuller and since it blends in so naturally with your natural hair, not many people will know you are wearing a sew in weave.

3. Long Partial side part sew in

With this style, you simply leave out part of your hair on the side where you intend to part and the hairline too. A side part is a great style as it makes it brings out the best features of your face.

4. Braided hair with a sew in

Here you simply braid the crown and front area of your head. You can then sew in from the mid-section to the nape. Make use of the curly hair at the back of your hair. This style looks so professional you can wear it wherever you would like to.

5. Side cornrow style with partial curly weave

Another partial hairstyle is where you braid the sides then sew in the other side to make a perfect look. It requires that your hairstyles learn how to make the cornrows.

6. Front cornrows and burgundy straight and long weave

You can also make some cornrows at the front section then make the sew in on the remaining half of your hair.

How to Do A Partial Sew in Style

Assuming you already have your human or synthetic weave, you should now begin the process.

• Prepare the hair

Begin by washing your hair and conditioning it because it will stay for weeks under the braid. Next, dry the hair using medium heat and make sure you untangle the hair.

• Choose the parting

It’s simple to do a partial sew in. Just choose where you expect to have the part then make the braids flow away from the parting. You can decide to have the mid parting, side parting or even leave out the whole front hairline area.

Once you know where you will part, leave some of the hair along the part that you have chosen.

Go on to braid the hair away from the partings. Make sure the braids are firm but not so tight.

Wear the mesh weave cap if you want to. This will keep all the hair in place. A weave cap is further ideal for those with a sensitive scalp. Because it will keep the weave away from the scalp.

• Begin to sew it in

Using a curved sew in the needle with the thread, you can begin to sew in the weave. Start from the nape going all the way to the front parting.

Once you are done with the process, secure the wefts by tying the thread.

Next, cut the remaining wefts and use it to add to the parts where you notice that you left too much space.

• Blend it in

Blend the hair with the hair you left out. Comb it out to mix perfectly with your natural hair.

Then spray it with the moisturizing spray and off you go.

Full sew in styles

7. Side part sew in with bangs

For this case, you may use the frontals for the finished look. You will have the side part and the bangs coming to the front of the face. The hair is also curly which adds spice to the already good-looking style.

Its large black waves are the center of attraction and even better that they fall on your face.

• Sew in ponytail

The ponytail style is a favorite for most women but this pussycat like ponytail makes you look girlish. You just get a hold of a few strands on the left and right then let it flow.

8. Asymmetrical bob sew in style

You can never go wrong with the bob style when you love short hairstyles. This make is one of the easiest bob styles you will ever have. The fact that one side is longer makes it sassy and sexy at the same time.

The forehead bang is further the sleek to make the hairstyle even more gorgeous.

9. Pixie style

It features one of the most favorable and unique pixie styles you can ever have. It is the in thing this year as more women are rocking the style. It creates a ladylike face of a woman and the curls make you look even younger.

10. Long wavy style with bangs

I don’t know the shape of your face but I’m sure you can rock this style. You just need to have a forehead. The large waves make it even look better and it’s easy to attain since you don’t have to leave out part of your hair. This is one of the hottest hairstyles you can ever have.

Long wavy and ombre style with bangs

Do you like to make heads turn?

This is the style to wear. Not only is it an ombre design but it also has bangs to enhance its beautiful looks. You can make the bang as long as you would like it to be. In addition to the two features, it also has large waves for an even enhanced look.

The style is versatile as you can even hold the hair in a low ponytail if you like.

Side parted style

Another curly style that has a side swept bang. It also has big curls to enhance its outlook. Making it a medium length makes it ideal for anyone who doesn’t like very long hair or short ones.

Full sew in styles with no leave outs

11. High half ponytail

You can still make the sew in style with completely no leave outs. Therefore, you should use the closures or other kinds of frontal for a more natural look. I like this style. Holding the hair in a high up ponytail makes it look sassy.

It has very large curls that enhances its look.

12. Brown curly hairstyle

I love curly sew in styles. They make you look youthful. The brown color for this style makes it even brighter. You don’t need to leave out your hair because you can use a closure.

13. Large curly hair

There’s a way to style the hair in such a way that you don’t need to leave out your hair. The fact that this sew in comes with these large curls makes it easy to style.

Just make the styles in such a way that they come to the front of your head. This makes it ideal when you don’t want hair leave outs.

14. Messy hair

The messy hair is another great style when you don’t need to leave out some of your hair pieces. The trick is to make the curls loose and wavy. Also, bring the hair to the front of your hair so that no one can tell whether you are wearing a weave or not.

Similarities

As you can see, both the partial and full sew in style are used as protective styles for your hair. This happens because in both instances you cover your hair with the weave.

• They are versatile

In wearing either one of the sew in styles, you can style the hair in different ways and methods. This makes it an ideal hairstyle to make.

With the new hair, you will look fabulous and different.

The differences

How does each style work?

With the partial style, you protect the hair partially. You will have some hair leave out of your hair to care for. Meanwhile, you may use the style to protect the part of your hair that is very weak and doesn’t need too much manipulation.

The full sew in, works to protect your hair fully. You will cover all of your hair under the weave. You don’t have any hair left out.

This means that all the hair will grow at the same time, not like the partial hair that leaves out some of your hair.

It works best for those who have over processed hair and would love to shield it from more damage.

• The styles

While you can wear different styles with the full sew in weave, there are styles that won’t just work if you have such hair. For example, the high braided ponytails. The difference is that for the case of the partial weave you can style your hair however you wish to.

You can make even the high ponytails. You only need to leave some hair at the nape of your hair.

• Installation Time

While it’s easy to install the sew in in both instances, you can install the partial weave in minimal time than you would install the full sew in weave. Remember with the partial weave, you may install only the crown, only the half part from the middle to the nape among other options.

• Maintenance

While the partial weave allows you more versatility, they are high maintenance than a full weave. When you have a full weave, especially that which you have no hair left out, the maintenance is easy.

For the partial weave, you will take care of both the weave and your left outs. Don’t forget your braided hair that is beneath the weave. This is a lot of work considering the fact that often the left outs usually start to break.

• The cost

The wefts you use with the partial weave is minimal which means that the weave will cost way less. For the full weave, you will need a number of bundles for the hair to fit your head size. This will cost extra.

But the cost of maintenance, the partial weave is high.

FAQs

Are weaves damaging?

Like any other hair extension, without proper care, the sew-in method won’t nurture your own hair. It ends up damaging it. Condition your hair frequently even when it’s under the weave. Before you attach the hair, wash and condition the hair.

You should also use the right products for the maintenance of your natural hair and the weave.

How long does it take to install the hair?

If you are going to a specialist and installing say a partial weave, it should take you no more than an hour. However, if you are installing the full weave then it should take you not more than 2 hours.

How long should the sew in styles last?

We have always been told by our stylists not to leave the hair on for more than 8 weeks. You shouldn’t because by that time it begins to damage your hair.

What’s the cost involved?

When attaching a partial weave, you should spend no more than $200.

When you are installing a full sew in though you should use at least $250.

Are they easy to maintain?

It all depends on the style you are wearing. In both instances, you can wear a straight forward style and that will make it easy to maintain but if you are wearing a hard style then know that it’s also tough maintenance.