Your Box Braid Debate Is Over — Rihanna's Red Color Is It

It's reached that point of the summer where all hairstyling bets are off. Straightened your bangs all morning? They'll be curling up before you can even read the humidity index. Slicked your hair into a low bun for the night? Don't forget your edge control on your way out the door, because touch-ups are a given. And that twist-out you spent hours working on? Prepare for a few inches of shrinkage due to extreme sweat. The grueling summer temps can make natural hairstyling more time-consuming than ever, which is why protective styles, like box braids, are a great option.

Beyond making life easy, box braids are a stylish way to ease up on daily manipulation of your natural hair. Rihanna, like many others, gets this. The Fenty Beauty founder, who recently celebrated the launch of her new Fenty fashion line, stepped out this week rocking waist-length box braids in a deep red color. And, as with any thing RiRi does, we want to copy her immediately.

It's no surprise that Rihanna chose maroon braids for her latest protective style. The reddish shade is a common choice among Black women, because it can be achieved on naturally dark hair without bleaching. When it comes to box braids, dark hair blends in with burgundy extensions perfectly, too.

Ahead, we rounded up more ways to rock the RiRi-approved look for summer if you're in the market for protective style ideas.