Low Manipulation Challenge/hangout 2018 (braidouts, Twistouts, Bantu Knot-outs, Rollersets, Etc.)

So I've been binge watching YT videos and now I have a bunch of styles that I want to retry.

A wash and go, which I've only done once because it was time consuming, took too long to dry, and I got tangles. But I also didn't take my time and really detangle beforehand, so I could probably get better results if I did it right.

Second is a Bantu knot out , which also took forever to dry, but I want to try again on dry hair. Also I think I made my knots too small before.

Lastly is mini twists. I love my hair in twists but I stopped doing them because I kept getting SSKs. I would like to try them again but with rollers to stretch my ends and hopefully keep them from tangling. Idk if I will actually attempt this one bc regular twists took me 5 hours, so mini twists I know will take all day.

Before I do any of them I need to straighten and trim, so I plan to do that maybe next week.
 
I am like 50-11 steps closer to MASTERING the wash and go than I was a month ago, and I owe it all to the video below.

And . . . as a result, I am falling in love with my hair.

This is gel over foam, about 85% dry. (I was experimenting.)

I tension blow dried it once it was 100% dry, and it was so elongated!!! I get wash and go's now. :yay:

The roots are a little fuzzy, but otherwise I really like it.

85% dry before elongation technique:
img_20180220_113004.jpg


 
@YvetteWithJoy your hair looks beautiful! Thanks for posting the video of the technique!

@Colocha I can't wait to see your pictures!

@beauti I love wearing sleek buns to events. It's such a classy, timeless look. I like to keep my wash and go buns for at least 2-3 days, because i put a lot of elbow grease into making them as sleek as possible. i can't waste all that edge control and gel for just one day lol.
 
I'm currently struggling a little bit. Something has been off with my styling lately and the shape of my hair looks strange to my eyes.

i really like the look of the hair in my avatar the best, with a faux middle part, but i achieved that by stretching my roots with a blowdryer on a braid-and-curl. I'm really trying hard to stay away from the dryer because i think that even just doing the roots causes breakage in the crown area for me. I see that my hair right now has like no breakage in that area, and I do think that it's because of not stretching with the blowdryer.

so now i've been trying to do the curly fro with bangs look like this:
maxresdefault.jpg

but my hair is not long enough for that yet in the front. it doesn't fully form nice faux bangs like that.

so now i think i need to stick to a side part situation like this:
22-2.jpg
 
Rocky91 said:
Jump right in, no need to watch from the sidelines :yep:
What is your current length? What styles do you wear?
Click to expand...

I was watching from the sidelines because I don't DC once a week. I only wet my hair twice a month. :drunk: I'd go longer than that, but then I start to compromise the health of my hair.

I think my stretched hair is BSB? I just got a trim about a month ago; my crown area was a mess and it made my layers look like shelves instead of steps :rolleyes: If I didn't bring my blow dryer to my SO's, I'm going to blow it out this weekend so I'll know for sure then.

I normally wear braid-outs for around seven to ten days, then puffs/buns until my next wash day. Really simple for a hair-lazy person such as myself. I'm in the setting challenge, so I'm trying to alternate--one wash day the braid out/bun combo, next wash day blow out and set. I was wash and going for moooonths...I've actually perfected my WNG technique and love it, but my hair is too fine to not be stretched and have my maximum growth potential. I was off the grow train for a while, but now I'm actively trying to grow again.
 
@GreenEyedJen you can definitely still join the challenge even if you only wash twice a month. i wrote those general guidelines and not really strict rules.

can you describe how you set your initial braidouts and then maintain them from 7-10 days? I want to achieve this sooooo badly.
 
FH convinced me to leave my hair alone last night and not wash/restyle so i could come to bed earlier :look: so now i'm on day 4 of a braidout. he was like, "just use my pick tomorrow and fro it out a little bit." and welll.....it worked! nice fluffy volume and still very moisturized from the products i used on the initial set. maybe i should let him design my regimen :lol:
 
Okay! A timeline of my ponytail. Between days 1 and 2 I just used a giant bonnet. The nights after that I put a satin scrunchie around the pony and went to sleep. The only day I redid my hair was in the picture. My refreshed pony was real cute and then I went out in smoke and humidity. Had a great time, though.

On day 2 I got people saying "I prettied myself up." The only thing I did differently at all was wear the pony instead of the bun.

timelinepony.jpg
 
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I tried to install a flexirod on my wet hair. It just would not get smooth for nothing.

So, right now my twists (for a twist out) are drying under a ridiculously long, wavy wig. It looks okay from the front but over-the-top from the back (below bra strap). I will remove the wig as soon as my twists are dry.

I'll upload photos later.
 
:)
YvetteWithJoy said:
I tried to install a flexirod on my wet hair. It just would not get smooth for nothing.

So, right now my twists (for a twist out) are drying under a ridiculously long, wavy wig. It looks okay from the front but over-the-top from the back (below bra strap). I will remove the wig as soon as my twists are dry.

I'll upload photos later.
Click to expand...

Pics of the wig please :)
 
YvetteWithJoy said:
I tried to install a flexirod on my wet hair. It just would not get smooth for nothing.

So, right now my twists (for a twist out) are drying under a ridiculously long, wavy wig. It looks okay from the front but over-the-top from the back (below bra strap). I will remove the wig as soon as my twists are dry.

I'll upload photos later.
Click to expand...

You can cut the back. I've done that with a few wigs.
 
This is the challenge for me! I love all low manipulation styles, and none of the other challenges really fit me because I switch up my low manipulation styles and half of them are not protective styles. I wear wigs, but usually just on the occassional really bad hair day.

Current Hair Status (natural? relaxed? length?): Natural, around BSL.
Styling Goals: Get a consistently good twist out and fluffy wash n' go
Length Goals: Fully SL curly
Current Routine: DC overnight and wash/co-wash at least once per week
Products: Camille Rose products, Mielle Organics products, Oyin Hair Dew, Wetline Gel, Eco Styler Gel, Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic,
Why does low manipulation work for you? My hair is fine, so it breaks with too much manipulation
Pictures of your current styles (if you have them). These pictures are a little old, but my primary styles are my buns, wash n' go, and two crown braids that sometimes turn into a braidout at the end of the week. I have done individual twists, but sometimes they look a little scalpy on me, so not my favorite.

braidout.jpg crownbraid.jpg washngo.jpg
 
Rocky91 said:
@GreenEyedJen you can definitely still join the challenge even if you only wash twice a month. i wrote those general guidelines and not really strict rules.

can you describe how you set your initial braidouts and then maintain them from 7-10 days? I want to achieve this sooooo badly.
Click to expand...


Sure. Here's my basic regimen:
Use oil as either a pre-poo or an oil rinse, so either step 1 or 3 depending on mood/time;
Wash 2x a month, in five braids (Two front, two back, one crown);
Deep condition each wash, in braids, with heat;
Detangle each braid after the deep condition, rinse, apply leave-in, loosely braid again;
Plop hair for about half an hour;
Style braids by section; take out braid, place styling product, and twist or braid each section into threes;
Let dry;
Wear braid/twistout for the week and bun the next, OR;
After plopping, set hair using flexirods, perm rods, or spoolies (which I really want but don't have right now), then proceed to wear that for the week in place of the "-out".

For me, the keys to a long lasting braid out are to make sure my hair is fully clean before each set, and to detangle it fully before setting (meaning with a comb, not my fingers). I also don't do much separating when I take the braids out. I allow it to get bigger naturally, as the week goes along. I also use a LIGHT CREAMY STYLING PRODUCT--nothing heavy. My hair has a teeny, tiny margin of error when it comes to amounts of product--I have to use just the right amount. Too little and my hair frizzes like crazy, too much and it gets gunky, weighed down, and needs to be washed before I'm ready. Oh, and I make sure to get the majority of my moisture from my deep conditioner--my product choices throughout the week of the "out" are pretty much strictly for style conservation, not moisture.

At night, I pineapple and wrap with a silk scarf. I also sleep on a silk pillowcase just in case my scarf comes off, although I will say the scarf is hella important. My hair will pretty much be messed up the next day if the scarf comes off, silk pillowcase or not. In the morning, I'll take off the scrunchie, spray it with some curl refresher, and then shake my head. No touching. I normally bobby pin the front or the sides by the third day because my hair gets stretched out easily.

Depending on my mood, I'll use a creamy styler with no hold (like Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Cream Lite or MJ Baby Buttercreme) instead of the spray, and just press it into my hair (not in a scrunching motion--like literally just press it into my hair from about mid length to the tips--no pulling or squeezing really) but that does shorten my style. If I use the cream, I usually wind up braiding my hair at night about halfway through the week. I actually love the effect it gives the next day; my hair will be like a blowout almost, but I have to wash it or bun it after that.
 
1 of 5 nightly retwists: complete :up:

Last night I re-twisted my twist out.

Originally I had installed 10 twists. Last night I installed 3 twists on each half.

I realize I need to work a little on styling the twist out after take down, especially when I have a center part.
 
GreenEyedJen said:
Sure. Here's my basic regimen:
Use oil as either a pre-poo or an oil rinse, so either step 1 or 3 depending on mood/time;
Wash 2x a month, in five braids (Two front, two back, one crown);
Deep condition each wash, in braids, with heat;
Detangle each braid after the deep condition, rinse, apply leave-in, loosely braid again;
Plop hair for about half an hour;
Style braids by section; take out braid, place styling product, and twist or braid each section into threes;
Let dry;
Wear braid/twistout for the week and bun the next, OR;
After plopping, set hair using flexirods, perm rods, or spoolies (which I really want but don't have right now), then proceed to wear that for the week in place of the "-out".

For me, the keys to a long lasting braid out are to make sure my hair is fully clean before each set, and to detangle it fully before setting (meaning with a comb, not my fingers). I also don't do much separating when I take the braids out. I allow it to get bigger naturally, as the week goes along. I also use a LIGHT CREAMY STYLING PRODUCT--nothing heavy. My hair has a teeny, tiny margin of error when it comes to amounts of product--I have to use just the right amount. Too little and my hair frizzes like crazy, too much and it gets gunky, weighed down, and needs to be washed before I'm ready. Oh, and I make sure to get the majority of my moisture from my deep conditioner--my product choices throughout the week of the "out" are pretty much strictly for style conservation, not moisture.

At night, I pineapple and wrap with a silk scarf. I also sleep on a silk pillowcase just in case my scarf comes off, although I will say the scarf is hella important. My hair will pretty much be messed up the next day if the scarf comes off, silk pillowcase or not. In the morning, I'll take off the scrunchie, spray it with some curl refresher, and then shake my head. No touching. I normally bobby pin the front or the sides by the third day because my hair gets stretched out easily.

Depending on my mood, I'll use a creamy styler with no hold (like Curl Junkie Coffee Coco Curl Cream Lite or MJ Baby Buttercreme) instead of the spray, and just press it into my hair (not in a scrunching motion--like literally just press it into my hair from about mid length to the tips--no pulling or squeezing really) but that does shorten my style. If I use the cream, I usually wind up braiding my hair at night about halfway through the week. I actually love the effect it gives the next day; my hair will be like a blowout almost, but I have to wash it or bun it after that.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing your regimen and being so detailed. You just gave me a use for a refreshing spray that I have, I guess the trick is to spray just a little so as not to mess up the braidout set.
 
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