I do French pigtail braids a lot in winter too but usually I tie my ends off with a perm rod. I used to use small elastics like you do but having the ends of my hair out like that causes alot of breakage and stress for me. Great style, it's classic, looks cute, and you can take out the braids and wear it and then moisturize and braid again or turn it into a different style. Thanks for sharing!
No disrespect but in my experience, pig tails cause more damage than good. Having to pull the fragile hairs from your edges and nape towards the side of your head is too harsh. You need more braids because if your parts are half your head, your pulling everything towards a center point and most people use a hair tie or rubber band to secure the pigtail before its braided. The rubber band is going to be pulling those hairs near your part and around the edges of your hairline too hard, compared to the hair in the middle of your braid which isn't being pulled because you're applying the hair tie parallel to those strands. Also, I haven't found a way to sleep with my hair wrapped up so even with a satin pillow case, the back of your head and the sides get rubbed and the back will get fuzzy and matted while the sides start to come loose from breakage or if you have shorter layers in the front. Its a quick style but there's nothing protective about it. Save yourself some grief and don't make it an everyday thing, especially if you have to redo them every two days to look polished at work. I wish I could show you photos of the damage in the front and at my nape 😬
Everyone's hair is different. If you're adding moisture and not violently ripping and tugging your hair, this is fine. It's actually one of the best low manipulation styles for curly hair, and it actually can help keep the hair detangled and stretched, which can reap even more benefits for your hair. It just depends on each individual.
