I'm going to respond to a couple of different things... and you may find some of my answers useless, and if so, just ignore them. Get from my post, whatever you find valuable.....
I'm not sure what background you are asking this question from. Where I'm from, braiding hair is not a sin.
But I don't live with the people you do. You need to make choices that are appropriate for the group of people that you live with in your life. If you live in a community where hair coloring and braiding is considered bad... then I would not do it.
The reason I'm bringing this up, is because some people live in a Christian community that doesn't believe in "X" whatever X is. They then talk to someone from a different community, that has no problem with "X". Then they start doing X, and complain bitterly that they are looked down on by the community they live in.
Don't do this. If you live in a Christian community that does not believe in doing something, don't start doing it because someone on the internet said it was ok, because I don't live in your community. If I color my hair, it isn't going to affect me, because I don't live with the people you live with.
As Christians, we are supposed to submit ourselves to the Church we attend. So my initial advice is to follow the rules of the Christian community you are involved with.
Now... let us say that you have no such problems. That you are simply asking to find out for yourself, what is right and wrong.
As I said before the Christian community I am in, has no such problems with braiding of hair, or coloring hair.
We are a non-denominational Bible believing group. We don't see that the Bible calls coloring hair, or braiding of hair, to be sin or blasphemy.
Most of the people who think the Bible says that braiding hair is sin, always point to 1 Timothy 2:9. The problem is, they seem to ignore 1 Peter 3:3, and the reason why will become obvious.
1 Peter 3:3 says "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—"
Do you see the problem? In this verse braiding of hair is placed in the exact same context as clothing. If the purpose was to ban the act of braiding hair..... then clothing is banned to, and every good Christian woman should be naked at all times.....
.... and the sound of Christian men rejoicing arose from all nations of the Earth.....
See the problem? Obviously that wasn't the point. The point was, you should not make your looks the primary focus of your life, and rather that you should have a pure heart before G-d. That's the point.
The point wasn't that what you do with your hair is somehow inherently evil, but rather that your life shouldn't be about your hair, but what G-d has done for your soul. THAT... is the issue.
So in our Christian community, hair color, and braiding... not a big deal. Not a thing. No issues.
In general, all methods of making yourself more attractive, I don't have any problem.
We all do things, every single day, to be attractive to others. Why do you brush your teeth? So you don't have a massive hunk of good sticking out, looking disgusting. We want to be attractive. Why do you have your hair cut at all? To look attractive. Why do you comb your hair? To look attractive. Why do you buy new clothes? So that you look good and attractive.
So this idea that Christian women should avoid doing anything for the sake of looking good, is ridiculous to me.
We all do things to look good to other people, on a continuous basis.
Lastly, about the husband looking at other women.
There are two kinds of "looking", and every man knows this, and most but not all women know it.
One kind of looking, is looking at someone with lust and desire, and having thoughts in your head of getting with that other person. This is the obviously bad aspect of looking, that is sinful and wrong.
But there is another kind of looking. The looking that is normal for a man.
Men have something called testosterone. It drives us bonkers. It makes us look, when we see a female. This idea that men once they are married, become magically eunuchs who have no more sexual desire, and thus never notice females again until we die.... is insane.
I'm not suggesting you are thinking this way, but.... many women do. Many women think their husbands should now magically never notice a woman again for the rest of their life. Like somehow that ring cuts of the blood flow to their balls, and their testosterone level drops, and they are oblivious to women for life.
I don't know from your post, if your husband is leering at women, or if he is simply noticing them because he's a guy. If he's leering.... smack him. But if he's simply being a male... cut him some slack. Why?
Because he's a guy.
1. He has no control over that chemically induced drive.
2. It is the same drive that makes him notice other women, that at same time drives him to your curves.
If your husband lost his testosterone, he would stop noticing other women. That might sound good, but he would also have no interest in you at all.
That same chemical that makes him see others, is the same chemical that makes him want you.
Just think about it.