keluric
New Member
I have never liked my twists. I have never liked my twist-outs.
Until now.
I always liked the idea of a cute, protective style like twists but I couldn't make the style work (or last).
If you're like me, maybe length was the issue: you just needed more hair to make the twists look like you wanted them to. Or if twists aren't your problem, maybe your hair is puffy like mine and the twist-out doesn't last long enough for you.
I'm providing some tips and solutions that have worked for me. I can now join the ranks of naturals who have been rocking twists forever with great results that look good.
1) The twisting technique
This is very important to the look of the twists and how the resulting twist-out will look. Smaller twists work better for my soft, extra puffy hair that doesn't like to hold a style very long. For a neat appearance around the hairline, part carefully and make the twists slightly smaller. For me, smaller twists around the perimeter worked very well.
I started on shrunken hair that hadn't been washed in a few days. I suspect that starting with freshly-washed hair would have been even better. I already had product in my hair (Suave Anti-Breakage and some gel) so I didn't twist with anything but a little of the Suave right at the ends.
[Sidebar: I recently cut my hair (about 1.5-2 inches) so there is some layering throughout the crown that ended up looking OK.]
2) The twist-out
I left my hair in twists for a week. I knew I would wear the twist-out for about a week and my hair wasn't freshly-washed when I started so I really couldn't go much longer than that without washing.
This is the twist-out immediately after I took the twists out.
I used Sunsilk Hydra TLC to wear the twist-out for about 2-3 days.
This is the twist-out after about two days. My hair loses the definition in the front quicker than in the back (looser texture around the perimeter than throughout the crown). If you have this problem, try sleeping with your hair like this:
Large twists in the front helped keep my hair defined. I also did flat twists one night and that seemed to work well. My hair was still looser in the front but it at least looked more like the texture of the back.
[Quick tip for curl definition (on the ends): I scrunched my hair with gel (fruit of the earth aloe vera gel and vitamin E gel)]
This is how I slept on my hair (with the twists in the front) with a scarf, of course.
When my twist definition in the front was on its last leg (about the 4th day), I started getting "creative."
I used my favorite hair accessory (a goodie ouchless band) and used it as a headband to push the front back.
Day 6: Half-up, half-down. Why didn't I think of this sooner? FOE Vitamin E gel on the front and I used a little in the back.
As you can see, the back was losing the 'twist texture' as well.
Day 8: Almost all the beautiful 'twist texture' was gone and my hair just looked puffy so I twisted the back twice and clipped it with two clips on either side.
For all the naturals out there who share my difficulty in making nice twists and making a good twist-out last, I hope this helps.
For all those who have been doing this for years, I'm sure your posts and suggestions have helped me get to this point (especially since I'm hair- and style-challenged).
Happy growing, ladies.
Until now.
I always liked the idea of a cute, protective style like twists but I couldn't make the style work (or last).
If you're like me, maybe length was the issue: you just needed more hair to make the twists look like you wanted them to. Or if twists aren't your problem, maybe your hair is puffy like mine and the twist-out doesn't last long enough for you.
I'm providing some tips and solutions that have worked for me. I can now join the ranks of naturals who have been rocking twists forever with great results that look good.
1) The twisting technique
This is very important to the look of the twists and how the resulting twist-out will look. Smaller twists work better for my soft, extra puffy hair that doesn't like to hold a style very long. For a neat appearance around the hairline, part carefully and make the twists slightly smaller. For me, smaller twists around the perimeter worked very well.
I started on shrunken hair that hadn't been washed in a few days. I suspect that starting with freshly-washed hair would have been even better. I already had product in my hair (Suave Anti-Breakage and some gel) so I didn't twist with anything but a little of the Suave right at the ends.
[Sidebar: I recently cut my hair (about 1.5-2 inches) so there is some layering throughout the crown that ended up looking OK.]
2) The twist-out
I left my hair in twists for a week. I knew I would wear the twist-out for about a week and my hair wasn't freshly-washed when I started so I really couldn't go much longer than that without washing.
This is the twist-out immediately after I took the twists out.
I used Sunsilk Hydra TLC to wear the twist-out for about 2-3 days.
This is the twist-out after about two days. My hair loses the definition in the front quicker than in the back (looser texture around the perimeter than throughout the crown). If you have this problem, try sleeping with your hair like this:
Large twists in the front helped keep my hair defined. I also did flat twists one night and that seemed to work well. My hair was still looser in the front but it at least looked more like the texture of the back.
[Quick tip for curl definition (on the ends): I scrunched my hair with gel (fruit of the earth aloe vera gel and vitamin E gel)]
This is how I slept on my hair (with the twists in the front) with a scarf, of course.
When my twist definition in the front was on its last leg (about the 4th day), I started getting "creative."
I used my favorite hair accessory (a goodie ouchless band) and used it as a headband to push the front back.
Day 6: Half-up, half-down. Why didn't I think of this sooner? FOE Vitamin E gel on the front and I used a little in the back.
As you can see, the back was losing the 'twist texture' as well.
Day 8: Almost all the beautiful 'twist texture' was gone and my hair just looked puffy so I twisted the back twice and clipped it with two clips on either side.
For all the naturals out there who share my difficulty in making nice twists and making a good twist-out last, I hope this helps.
For all those who have been doing this for years, I'm sure your posts and suggestions have helped me get to this point (especially since I'm hair- and style-challenged).
Happy growing, ladies.
Hey keluric nice to see you back on the board.
