15 Medium Knotless Braids I Tried and Loved
The year I moved from large braids to medium, and the honest arithmetic of it — the extra two weeks per set were real, but the longer takedown ate most of the time I thought I was saving.
In this article · 22
- How I Picked These
- The 15 I Tried
- 1. Mid-Back Natural Black
- 2. Waist-Length Natural Black
- 3. Shoulder-Length Medium
- 4. Caramel Highlights, One in Four
- 5. Caramel at One in Two
- 6. Honey Blonde, Two Dye Lots
- 7. Honey Blonde, One Dye Lot
- 8. Burgundy Mid-Back
- 9. Deep Side Part
- 10. Soft Off-Centre Part
- 11. Staggered French Curl
- 12. Medium Bob, Graduated
- 13. Boho at Quarter Density
- 14. Stretched to Ten Weeks
- 15. Taken Out at Eight, Across Two Evenings
- What Worked Best
- What I Would Do Differently
- Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQ
- Final Thoughts
I spent a year in large braids and then a year in medium. This is the second year, and the honest version of what changed.
The extra two weeks per set were real. The longer takedown ate most of the saving. Six to eight weeks of wear against four to six sounds like a straightforward win, and it is — just a smaller one than the numbers suggest once you count the hours at both ends.
How I Picked These
I kept the size constant at medium for the whole year, the same way I had kept it at large the year before, so the comparison meant something. Across fifteen sets I changed length, colour ratio, part depth, braider, and how long I stretched the wear.
I logged the same three things each time: how it felt on day three, when the crown first felt loose, and how long the takedown actually took. That last number is the one that changed my mind about the arithmetic.
The 15 I Tried
1. Mid-Back Natural Black
The baseline. Eight weeks, and it still looked deliberate at the end. This is the set I measured every other one against, and very few of them beat it.
2. Waist-Length Natural Black
Far more comfortable than the same length in large. I kept this one. More braids meant each one was lighter, and I could feel the difference by the end of the first day.
3. Shoulder-Length Medium
Light, quick to dry, and the friction band across the collar arrived by week five. Predictable rather than a surprise, and a scarf on coat days would have delayed it.
4. Caramel Highlights, One in Four
The first set that genuinely looked highlighted rather than striped.
5. Caramel at One in Two
Same shade, double the ratio. A completely different style, and not the one I wanted. I had assumed more of a good thing; ratio turns out to be the design decision, not the shade.
6. Honey Blonde, Two Dye Lots
Bought packs in two trips. The patch was obvious and it bothered me for eight weeks. Nobody else mentioned it once, and I saw it every time I passed a mirror.
7. Honey Blonde, One Dye Lot
The same shade done properly. Nothing to notice, which was the point. One purchase, one lot, and the whole problem simply did not exist.
8. Burgundy Mid-Back
Rich rather than blocky at this density. One of my favourites of the year. The same shade at a larger braid size had read as stripes, which is what put me off it initially.
9. Deep Side Part
Loved the look. The heavy side loosened a clear fortnight before the other. A fortnight is a long time when the whole wear is eight weeks.
10. Soft Off-Centre Part
Most of the asymmetry, none of the imbalance. What I ask for now. It took me nine months to try it, having assumed the choice was deep or nothing.
11. Staggered French Curl
The transition never read as a line. The best-looking set of the fifteen. Asking for a zone instead of a height cost the braider nothing and changed the result entirely.
12. Medium Bob, Graduated
Braids behaving like a haircut. I did not expect to like it this much.
13. Boho at Quarter Density
Manageable, unlike the boho set I gave up on the year before.
14. Stretched to Ten Weeks
The experiment. The takedown took seven hours instead of four.
15. Taken Out at Eight, Across Two Evenings
The version that cost me the least hair all year.
What Worked Best
Splitting the takedown across two evenings. The single change that made the biggest difference to how my hair came out of a set. Four hours in one sitting always ended with me rushing the last hour.
One in four for colour. It reads as highlighted hair. One in two reads as a two-tone style, which is a fine thing to want and was not what I was asking for.
A soft off-centre part. I wore deep parts all year at the larger size and never connected it to one side loosening first. At medium I finally tested it, and the difference was obvious.
The staggered curl release. Asking for a zone rather than a height cost nothing and removed the one thing that always gave curly braids away.
Buying all the blonde packs at once. I learned this the expensive way, and the fixed version looked completely different.
What I Would Do Differently
I would count the takedown from the start. For most of the year I compared install times and treated removal as free. It is not, and at this braid count it is a third of the total time.
I would never stretch past eight weeks again. Ten weeks cost me three extra hours of takedown and more shed hair than the two extra weeks were worth.
I would stop asking for deep parts by default. A soft offset gives me the same look without one side ageing ahead of the other.
I would ask for a balanced braid count on any part deeper than standard. It costs the braider nothing and I only found out it was an option in month nine.
I would have started with a quarter-density boho. I wrote boho off entirely the year before, based on a set that was simply far too dense.
Mistakes to Avoid
Treating the takedown as free. It is three to five hours and it belongs in the comparison.
Stretching the wear because the set still looks fine. It will look fine well past the point it stops being kind to your hair.
Buying colour packs in two trips. One lot, one purchase.
Copying a colour ratio from a larger-braid photograph. The same ratio reads completely differently at this count.
Assuming boho is high-maintenance. Density is what makes it high-maintenance.
FAQ
Is medium worth the extra hours? Yes, but less than the numbers suggest once you count the takedown.
What changed most? The styling freedom, more than the extra weeks.
Would you go back to larger? Only for a deliberately short-term wear.
Final Thoughts
A year in, the changes I would keep are all small: split the takedown, one in four for colour, a soft offset instead of a deep part, and every pack bought in one go. The two extra weeks of wear are real and they are worth having — they are just not the reason I stayed at this size.
For the size comparison see large vs medium knotless braids, and for the first-person version at a wider braid size see 15 large knotless braids I tried and loved. More in Braids & Protective Styles.
