For boho braids, buy bulk human hair in a wave or curl texture — deep wave and water wave are the two most used, with burmese curly for a tighter, more dramatic end. You need one to two 100g packs if the human hair is only for the loose curls, or four to five if the whole braid is human hair. Expect to pay from $68 a pack.
The reason boho braids look the way they do is the loose hair left out along the braid. That hair is the entire style. Everything else is a foundation you barely see, which is why the decision that matters is what those loose pieces are made of.
Why do the curls in boho braids need to be human hair?
Because they are the only part of the install that is exposed and unrestrained.
The braid body is under tension and mostly hidden. The loose curls spend every day rubbing against collars, coat shoulders, backpack straps and car seats. Synthetic fiber responds to that friction by roughing up and locking together. Two weeks in, the curls that made the style look effortless are a matted section you cannot comb through, and the usual outcome is taking down braids you paid for early.
Human hair takes the same friction and behaves like hair. It can be washed, conditioned and detangled. The curl pattern comes back after it dries instead of disappearing. This is the single most common piece of advice from people who have worn the style more than once: braid with whatever you like, but do not put synthetic curls in a boho install.
It is also why you can spend less than you might expect. If the braid body is inexpensive pre-stretched synthetic and the human hair is only doing the visible work, one or two packs covers a full head.
What is the best human hair for boho braids?
There is no single answer, because the textures do genuinely different things. Here is how the ones we carry compare:
| Texture | Curl pattern | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Deep wave | Soft, defined S-wave root to tip | The default. Reads as hair that grew that way. Start here if you are unsure. |
| Water wave | Loose and tousled dry, tighter when damp | Wet-and-wavy looks. The style changes through the week on its own. |
| Ocean wave | Looser and airier than deep wave | A windblown finish rather than a uniform curl. Forgiving first choice. |
| Beach wave | Uneven bends, no repeating pattern | Blending with no visible line where the added hair starts. |
| Latin wave | Tighter, springier S-wave | Fuller-looking ends without adding another pack. |
| Burmese curly | Rounded, full ringlets | Dramatic curly ends. The texture people request by name. |
| Kinky curly | Tight, springy 3C–4A match | Disappearing into your own texture rather than sitting on top of it. |
| Afro kinky | Dense coil, 4B–4C match, low shine | Twists, faux locs and loc extensions rather than boho curls. |
If your own hair is looser than 4A, a wave will blend more convincingly than a curl. If your hair is coily, kinky curly or burmese curly will read as yours where a smooth wave will not.
How much human hair do you need for boho braids?
One to two 100g packs if you are adding human hair curls to a synthetic braid. Four to five packs at 20 inches if the entire braid is human hair. Add roughly a pack for 24 inches, subtract one for 16.
Smaller parts push the number up, because more braids means more curl placements. Our full pack-count guide breaks this down by braid size and by style, including knotless, box braids, twists and locs.
What length should you buy?
Buy the hair longer than you want the finished braid. Some length is consumed at the root when the hair is anchored, and more disappears into the taper at the end. A 20-inch pack finishes at roughly bra-strap length on most people; 16 inches lands around the collarbone; 24 inches sits well past the mid-back.
If you are mixing textures or colors, keep every pack the same length. A shorter pack in the mix shows up as a blunt line partway down the braid.
How much does human hair for boho braids cost?
Our bulk braiding hair starts at $68 for a 100g pack of 16-inch wave, $86 at 20 inches and $104 at 24 inches. Colored packs run slightly higher.
Two packs of 20-inch deep wave for a curls-only install comes to under $180 in hair. An all-human-hair install at the same length runs four to five packs. Braiding labor is charged separately and varies by market, braid size and length, and boho generally costs more in the chair than plain knotless because placing the curls takes extra time.
The number that actually matters is cost per wear. Synthetic braiding hair goes in the bin at takedown. Bulk human hair, washed and stored, goes into a second install and often a third. Two packs across three installs is a different economy than three cheap packs thrown away three times.
Bulk hair, pre-looped crochet, or feather crochet?
Three formats give you a similar finished look with very different chair time.
- Bulk hair is loose, unwefted hair with no weft to cut. Maximum control, most labor. This is what our human braiding hair collection is.
- Pre-made crochet boho braids arrive already braided with human hair curls woven through, and install in a fraction of the time. Our crochet boho braids have a hand-twisted synthetic braid body with deep wave human hair curls — worth knowing before you buy if you want an all-human-hair install.
- Feather crochet is human hair pre-separated into fine strands, knotted onto existing braids. Covered in our guide to feather crochet hair.
Where should you buy human hair for boho braids?
Beauty supply stores are convenient and let you see the hair, but the human-hair bulk selection is usually thin — one or two textures at one or two lengths, often at a markup. Buying online gives you the texture and length you actually planned for, and lets you order every pack from the same production run, which matters more than most people realize when you are mixing three or four packs into one head.
Whichever route you take, buy all your packs in one order. Tone and wave can vary slightly between runs, and it shows most when a fresh pack goes in next to hair that has already been handled.
Boho braids or goddess braids?
The difference is where the loose hair sits. Boho braids leave curls along the whole length of the braid, root to end. Goddess braids concentrate them at the ends, with a few pieces framing the face.
That changes what you buy. Boho needs more curly hair and stays fresh for a shorter window, because more loose hair means more surface exposed to friction. Goddess uses less and holds a neat look longer. We go deeper into both in how long boho braids last.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best human hair for boho braids?
Deep wave is the most widely used, because its soft defined S-wave reads as natural hair. Water wave suits wet-and-wavy looks, and burmese curly gives the most dramatic curly ends. Match the pattern to your own texture rather than picking by name.
Can you use synthetic hair for boho braids?
You can braid with synthetic, and most people do. The loose curls are where synthetic causes problems — they mat under everyday friction within a couple of weeks and cannot be detangled, which is what shortens the life of the style.
How many bundles of human hair for boho braids?
One to two 100g bundles if the human hair is only for the loose curls. Four to five for a full head at 20 inches if the entire braid is human hair.
Can you wash human hair boho braids?
Yes, and you should. Human hair curls can be shampooed, conditioned and detangled while installed, then air-dried fully. Washing is what keeps them from locking together, which is the main reason human hair outlasts synthetic in this style.
Can you reuse human braiding hair?
Yes. Bulk human hair that has been washed, detangled and stored in a sealed bag can go into a second install and often a third. Synthetic braiding hair cannot.
Start here
Pick a texture from human braiding hair, check your count against the pack-count guide, and if you are adding a color, the braiding hair color chart shows what each number looks like installed.
