A Plan for Long 4b Hair: Has Anybody Tried This?

[Nonie]

Ooooooh. What an intriguing idea. :scratchch I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, esp. if you took care of your twists (conditioning/moisturizing them) on a regular basis. I know, my hair was a WRECK when I took down my locs, but that was because of what I did to my locs.....

Moooost interesting. I would love to be able to leave my twists in for longer than a week - I'm going to have to actually watch your youtube, Nonie, as I think I do the same thing, but my twists aren't nearly as 'stable' as yours are.

Sometime the "stability" comes with time ie the more you wear them and wash, the more they are sorta shrunken into that shape. But some still come undone when I wash. I think with most people who haven't tried this long term twist challenge, "stability" isn't usually the issue, but rather the knotting within a short time. So if keeping yours twisted is the issue, then I really think you could keep them for long. Also the roots don't stay neat for me, but I don't mind that. In fact, I started finger parting because I feel that comb parting creates such clear partitions and that keeping the same partings for months on end can lead to permanent gullys being formed that are hard to hide...hence my random parting.

Another way to keep the twists looking nice is not to manipulate them too much during washing. I use the same squeeze along length method I use with my braids. Shampooing is focused on my scalp and then during the rinse, I squeeze the twists as suds run through them...or I can just squeeze them with just shampoo before the rinse if it's not too viscous to flow down their length. I am usually bent over so twists are hanging down. Gently squeezing gets them clean without messing them up too much.

 

[JustKiya]

Sometime the "stability" comes with time ie the more you wear them and wash, the more they are sorta shrunken into that shape. But some still come undone when I wash. I think with most people who haven't tried this long term twist challenge, "stability" isn't usually the issue, but rather the knotting within a short time. So if keeping yours twisted is the issue, then I really think you could keep them for long. Also the roots don't stay neat for me, but I don't mind that. In fact, I started finger parting because I feel that comb parting creates such clear partitions and that keeping the same partings for months on end can lead to permanent gullys being formed that are hard to hide...hence my random parting.

Another way to keep the twists looking nice is not to manipulate them too much during washing. I use the same squeeze along length method I use with my braids. Shampooing is focused on my scalp and then during the rinse, I squeeze the twists as suds run through them...or I can just squeeze them with just shampoo before the rinse if it's not too viscous to flow down their length. I am usually bent over so twists are hanging down. Gently squeezing gets them clean without messing them up too much.

Yeah, keeping them twisted is definitely my issue - my twists will almost fall apart from each other, the fluffly delights that they are.
Hrm, I might try to get my hair wet this weekend (since hair time will be tight) and see if that 'buys' me another week.

I only comb part my 'major' parts - the rest, fingers only.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Lucky's Mom you better stop smoking that ish!

I was sitting here thinking, "Did she just call my twist style crowns?" Now I know I was raving about a style that my friend said she'd never be seen dead in, but which to me is so hawt that I can't wait for the day I rock it IN PUBLIC (and it really does look like it could be a crown or helmet , let me know if you wanna see it. )...but since I hadn't yet pulled it off yet, I was like "What does she mean 'I have crowns'? " I got it a few seconds later.

Your highness, you forget I know yo' skillz so don't even go there.

You are the queen of twists and Braids.... no matter what they say about you!!!
You have some mad skills my wonderful sista.

 

[sunbubbles]

Ok! I did a set Heres the pics! Lets see how long they last shall we?!!

 

[JustKiya]

Oh, those are so tiny and so cute, sunbubbles!!! How long did it take you to do them?

 

[sunbubbles]

Oh, those are so tiny and so cute, sunbubbles!!! How long did it take you to do them?

Thanks! It took about 3 days cause I had to work on them when I had time. 3 days of braiding for 2 months of FREEDOM! you cant beat that

 

[sunshinelady]

Very cute!

 

[msa]

Bump...

Sunbubbles, how did you end up liking your minibraids? how long did you keep them? and were they difficult to take down?

 

[divinerae]

I had locks for seven years and picked them out. My locs were to my butt and when it was over I had mid back length hair. In getting accustom to loose natural hair I don't think I really took the best of care of it and it really tried to re-lock itself so I ended up with a lot of single knot fairies. Tuesday I got it cut to a little past APL to try to start fresh.
I think this plan could work considering I went all those years with them in and managed to save that much hair.

 

[mscocoface]

I am doing the twists and brads for the summer. Put myself on a personal challenge of now additional hair and so far so good. I just put in some small twists so I am going to see how long I can keep them it with cowashing and using coconut oil.

MSA I still want to use the bentonite clay but I think I will do that now when I take down all my twists and then put them back in.

 

[msa]

I am doing the twists and brads for the summer. Put myself on a personal challenge of now additional hair and so far so good. I just put in some small twists so I am going to see how long I can keep them it with cowashing and using coconut oil.

MSA I still want to use the bentonite clay but I think I will do that now when I take down all my twists and then put them back in.

I think you'll like it. It is probably best to do it when your hair isn't twisted up so that way you can be sure to rinse it all out.

 

[sunbubbles]

Bump...

Sunbubbles, how did you end up liking your minibraids? how long did you keep them? and were they difficult to take down?

Hey lady! Thats so funny I had forgot I even posted in this thread, and I JUST so happened to come and take a look. In reply to ur question GGGIIIIIRRRLLLLLL!!!! Im itchin to get back into a set of those Mini-braids!!! SO convenient, and EASY to care for. Im super low-maintenance by nature, so with the mini-braids I was actually able to enjoy the "Caring for" part of my hair instead of always being focused on a style. I would CW almost every day, sometimes I wet my head just for the HECK of it. I would Seal my ends, and wash and DC every week. I really think our scalps needs that "fresh environment" to thrive. Oh yea and I retained about 1 1/2 inches of growth!! woo hoo!! I kept them in for 10 weeks. But I think next time I might as well leave them in longer! Im gonna shoot for 4 months for the winter! The only thing was they had started to look like they where floating on top of a mini fro LOL! But i guess thats a good thing cause it means that its growing! and YESSS, they were slightly trying to take down. You DEFINITELY have to use patience with the take down or else you my start rippin through your hair like I have the urge to do!
All in all Im madly in LOVE with my mini-braids and I cant WAIT to go back in them in September. Check out my Fotki , I put a bunch of pics up in there on my mini braids.

Also below Im gonna paste some helpful info that I just gave to a fotki friend on the mini-braids takedown. Im tryna get my hair like Hamira's yall!!!


1. DONT try to take them ALL out in the same day. You'll just get really
tired and towards the end you'll start trying to rush which is a no-no when
taking out mini braids. It usually takes me a few days to a week when I'm taking
down ANY mini style, mostly because I just dont have the time to take them out
all in one day, and also because since my hair is in protective styles almost
24/7 I lose my patience when I have to spend a WHOLE day doing it. I might end
up doing something drastic like cutting! LOL

2. Take them out one at a time, completely finger detangling each one
before you move on.

3. To take them out, Moisturize the braid to soften it....... ( I used
B&B's pink lotion, it doesnt have any cones or mineral oil in it! A great
substitute if u were addicted to the "other" pink lotion thats full of
cones!)....... be sure to moisturize the ends to soften them B4 proceeding with
the take out.

4. Use a bobby pin, (or ur fingers if u prefer), to take them out, working
from the bottom to the top, and be sure to detangle the root part B4 moving on.
Doing that will make it easier to detangle after you get all of the box braids
out and have to wash.

5. After you take down 2-3 box braids ( or more if you like), twist them up
or do some thing to hold them so that they are not in the way while you are
trying to finish taking down the other braids.

6. VOILA!!! You're done!! Then you can wash or do whatever else you'd like
to your hair. I usually like to wash after because I put alot of moisturizer in
to soften the braids when I take them down.

Note: When I took out my mini box braids a month ago, I would take down 2
braids and convert them to mini twists. The style blended together so I didnt
have half of my head in a puff and the other half in box braids! Ppl couldnt
even tell the difference. That way I was able to take my time with the take out.
ASLO it gave me another style because once I had finished taking out the box
braids I already had a whole head of fresh mini twists, that I could keep for a
2-3 weeks!!


ETA: Sorry If Im talkin too much, but I really am in LOVE with these mini braids and I cant wait till they get longer!

ETA again lol: Make sure you BABY those ends since they're left out a little bit!! I paid some EXTRA lovin to my ends everyday, making sure they were moist and sealed!!

 

[msa]

Sunbubbles, thank you a million for all the info! I'm really interested in doing them but I'm a little scared. I'll definitely be looking in your fotki!

 

[sunbubbles]

Sunbubbles, thank you a million for all the info! I'm really interested in doing them but I'm a little scared. I'll definitely be looking in your fotki!

OOOOOOooo I cant wait to see them! They'll be fantastic, ur hair is already fab from the looks of ur siggy!! I edited my post to make sure I stated to BABY those ENDS, so that they''ll stay moist!!!

 

[dyh080]

I think this would work. At one time I took down locs after 1 year using conditoner and carefully picking with a fine needle.
However, have you thought about locking only the ends. Just braiding the last two or so inches? Then wearing a pony tail, bantu twists ,etc.I did this this winter but missed my loose hair.

 

[msa]

OOOOOOooo I cant wait to see them! They'll be fantastic, ur hair is already fab from the looks of ur siggy!! I edited my post to make sure I stated to BABY those ENDS, so that they''ll stay moist!!!

Thanks!

I just have to work up the nerve to actually do them. I'll be mad if I spend all my time doing it and then they look ugly. But, I've been looking for a good protective style that doesn't involve weave so this may be it. I'm going to at least give it a real try.

 

[dyh080]

Hello All,

This is my first post here. I have a TWA right now (~.75cm). I've been wearing it for a year now and I've been loving the simplicity and elegance (I had long locks for most of my 20s, and BCd them last year near my 30th bday). But I recently discovered this whole world of natural hair care support groups and advice online. Given that I last had comb/brush-ready hair in the non-internet 1990s, I was pleasantly surprised. All these sites and resources!...and the YouTube community is wonderful!...Okay, enough gushing. Bottom line, I'm considering growing out my TWA thanks to the internet, and I wanted to run this idea by you all (especially 4b folk like me):

I might not remember how this non-locked natural hair thing goes, but it seems to me that, given the (for me) new revelation online (YouTube) that it is possible to "take down" or unravel one's matted hair/locks, one could wear micro-two stranded twists (without extensions) for up to 2.5 months and get the matts out fairly easily. After all, you could water or co-wash it gently under a stocking cap each week without taking them out (something I did for my baby-locks). Then you could condition the hair, and retwist only the ones that need retouching each week (no combing, just retwist).

The reason this is exciting is because my plan for my hair (after ~1-1.5 years of growth) is to do just this! I figure, given the dreadlocks principle (ie our hair will grow if we don't comb/brush it), 4b hair will grow long WITHOUT extensions or extensive matting/dreads (my new challenge for myself) if you severely minimize combing and manipulation. The way I have worked the above plan out, I would only be extensively manipulating my hair ~4-8 times per year! After all, as mentioned, the worry that the hair will mat in 2.5 months of non-manipulation is solvable by the lock-detangling technique (given that most textures (even 4bs) take at least 3 months to completely lock). If full out dreads can be taken out, so can half way matted hair! ...Thus 4b hair will grow and be protected!...

Am I missing something here? Why haven't I found anyone doing this online? Has anyone tried something like this? Is there an obvious reason for this not to work in terms of fostering growth? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Afiya27

Just wondering how this plan is working?????

 

[aa9746]

Hello All,

This is my first post here. I have a TWA right now (~.75cm). I've been wearing it for a year now and I've been loving the simplicity and elegance (I had long locks for most of my 20s, and BCd them last year near my 30th bday). But I recently discovered this whole world of natural hair care support groups and advice online. Given that I last had comb/brush-ready hair in the non-internet 1990s, I was pleasantly surprised. All these sites and resources!...and the YouTube community is wonderful!...Okay, enough gushing. Bottom line, I'm considering growing out my TWA thanks to the internet, and I wanted to run this idea by you all (especially 4b folk like me):

I might not remember how this non-locked natural hair thing goes, but it seems to me that, given the (for me) new revelation online (YouTube) that it is possible to "take down" or unravel one's matted hair/locks, one could wear micro-two stranded twists (without extensions) for up to 2.5 months and get the matts out fairly easily. After all, you could water or co-wash it gently under a stocking cap each week without taking them out (something I did for my baby-locks). Then you could condition the hair, and retwist only the ones that need retouching each week (no combing, just retwist).

The reason this is exciting is because my plan for my hair (after ~1-1.5 years of growth) is to do just this! I figure, given the dreadlocks principle (ie our hair will grow if we don't comb/brush it), 4b hair will grow long WITHOUT extensions or extensive matting/dreads (my new challenge for myself) if you severely minimize combing and manipulation. The way I have worked the above plan out, I would only be extensively manipulating my hair ~4-8 times per year! After all, as mentioned, the worry that the hair will mat in 2.5 months of non-manipulation is solvable by the lock-detangling technique (given that most textures (even 4bs) take at least 3 months to completely lock). If full out dreads can be taken out, so can half way matted hair! ...Thus 4b hair will grow and be protected!...

Am I missing something here? Why haven't I found anyone doing this online? Has anyone tried something like this? Is there an obvious reason for this not to work in terms of fostering growth? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Afiya27

I keep my natural hair braided up for 4-8 weeks and it's been working. I have no problems taking down braids, no matting. I'm not doing the dread thing because I don't have patience for detangling matted hair.

 

[Pooks]

I think the main thing that helps them last is my twisting method. At the risk of boring others to death, I'll repeat this info for you. When I twist, I first twirl each strand clockwise (same direction), and only then do I wrap them around each other, but this time anticlockwise. (Demo vid) Doing this seems not only to give a neat finish but also a firmer twist. Also, because I twist each strand upon its axis first, keeping hair stretched, this helps to keep the strands in each twists parallel and separate from those in the other strand, which I believe helps with preventing tangles.

The only downside to this method is twist-outs don't look nice and fluffy, but rather look a little "malnourished" more like skinny,wavy locs

Nonie your ingenious method is known as rope twists in Jamaica, I love them, I finally tried it out on a tiny section of my hair and it's amazing - no shrinkage 4 days later, I mean NONE!!

Lucky's Mom you better stop smoking that ish!

I was sitting here thinking, "Did she just call my twist style crowns?" Now I know I was raving about a style that my friend said she'd never be seen dead in, but which to me is so hawt that I can't wait for the day I rock it IN PUBLIC (and it really does look like it could be a crown or helmet , let me know if you wanna see it. )...

Me, me, I wanna see, I wanna see!!

Ok! I did a set Heres the pics! Lets see how long they last shall we?!!

Gorgeous sunbubbles! I love having my hair done this small.

 

[Pooks]

Also below Im gonna paste some helpful info that I just gave to a fotki friend on the mini-braids takedown. Im tryna get my hair like Hamira's yall!!!


1. DONT try to take them ALL out in the same day. You'll just get really
tired and towards the end you'll start trying to rush which is a no-no when
taking out mini braids. It usually takes me a few days to a week when I'm taking
down ANY mini style, mostly because I just dont have the time to take them out
all in one day, and also because since my hair is in protective styles almost
24/7 I lose my patience when I have to spend a WHOLE day doing it. I might end
up doing something drastic like cutting! LOL

2. Take them out one at a time, completely finger detangling each one
before you move on.

3. To take them out, Moisturize the braid to soften it....... ( I used
B&B's pink lotion, it doesnt have any cones or mineral oil in it! A great
substitute if u were addicted to the "other" pink lotion thats full of
cones!)....... be sure to moisturize the ends to soften them B4 proceeding with
the take out.

4. Use a bobby pin, (or ur fingers if u prefer), to take them out, working
from the bottom to the top, and be sure to detangle the root part B4 moving on.
Doing that will make it easier to detangle after you get all of the box braids
out and have to wash.

5. After you take down 2-3 box braids ( or more if you like), twist them up
or do some thing to hold them so that they are not in the way while you are
trying to finish taking down the other braids.

6. VOILA!!! You're done!! Then you can wash or do whatever else you'd like
to your hair. I usually like to wash after because I put alot of moisturizer in
to soften the braids when I take them down.

Note: When I took out my mini box braids a month ago, I would take down 2
braids and convert them to mini twists. The style blended together so I didnt
have half of my head in a puff and the other half in box braids! Ppl couldnt
even tell the difference. That way I was able to take my time with the take out.
ASLO it gave me another style because once I had finished taking out the box
braids I already had a whole head of fresh mini twists, that I could keep for a
2-3 weeks!!


ETA: Sorry If Im talkin too much, but I really am in LOVE with these mini braids and I cant wait till they get longer!

ETA again lol: Make sure you BABY those ends since they're left out a little bit!! I paid some EXTRA lovin to my ends everyday, making sure they were moist and sealed!!

EXCELLENT post sunbubbles, you just summarised what I do to take down my mini-plaits, I know you helped somebody with this.

 

[sheba1]

Nonie's hair

 

[melodies815]

Thank you, Sunbubbles.

I don't do much, which is why I love being in them coz they are so easy to maintain.

I think the main thing that helps them last is my twisting method. At the risk of boring others to death, I'll repeat this info for you. When I twist, I first twirl each strand clockwise (same direction), and only then do I wrap them around each other, but this time anticlockwise. (Demo vid) Doing this seems not only to give a neat finish but also a firmer twist. Also, because I twist each strand upon its axis first, keeping hair stretched, this helps to keep the strands in each twists parallel and separate from those in the other strand, which I believe helps with preventing tangles. So I can wash as many times as I want and my twists can still look like the pic below which shows my twists after 4 weeks of twice a week washes:

Nonie...very detailed, and very nice!!!!! I have to try this the next time I take down and re-twist.

Actually, I think I might do this method of leaving the twists in and letting my hair tangle a little bit if that's what it wants to do. When I had locs a few years ago, I toyed with the idea of detangling to see my real length. I didn't know if I could, but I tried. It took me about 30 minutes to get up about 2 inches on one loc, and I recall how much hair was compacted in that little bit of length!! I would have had instant hair to my hip if I had taken it all down!!! Well...I just chopped it all off in the end. I didn't know I could have really done the entire loc and then my entire head.

Since I know how long it takes for my particular hair to loc, 1 month is not a lot of time at all to leave twists in and just wash to maintain, maybe re-twisting the ones that need it.

What a GREAT idea, afiya27!!! And, to the ladies who posted helpful information to make this a good protective style for longer than a week or two...THANK YOU!!!

Between this and MT, I should be good to go!

HHG, ladies!!

cj

 

[Pooks]

Fotki of a lady who took down her locs: http://public.fotki.com/AfroChick/everything-old-is-m/2008/

 

[Ivonnovi]

Um, I don't know my hair type but this is what I did after 3 months of no relaxer and as a prep for my sisterlocks.

Micro twists for 2 months. HOWEVER, I braided several of the twists (4exchanges) near the scalp before I started the twists. I found that these held better through the washes. (I also latchhooked them about every 2 weeks).

I rinsed my hair regularly (2-3x a week, because I workout regularly).

Mine did fine and the takedown was easy. My tool of choice for braid/twist removal is a hooked sewing needle.