NATURALS: Braids(Plaits) or Twists? and Why?

[FroFab]

I'm in pixie-like braids now, but I usually prefer twists because they are less time consuming. These braids do allow me to show more length and they are lasting longer (wrapping up my third week and them and could easily go another 3 weeks...I think). I don't do either for the braid/twist-outs.

 

[djanae]

I prefer braid outs - my hair is more defined that way.

And I never wear my braids or twists out the house unless I've unraveled them. This is mostly because I REFUSE to take hrs to do little braids or twists. lol

Also I actually prefer the way my braid out looks when I do 10 big-medium sized braids (5 on each side).

 

[newports]

whatever my grandma feels like putting in my hair. she's old school, heavy handed & has been itching to plait up my hair & press it too. i think i will let her do my hair like she used when i was a kid minus all the bad hair products

but when it comes to me doing my OWN hair...its twists because its less time consuming

 

[LadyPaniolo]

I'm really amazed that most of you think twists are easier than braids! I tried to twist my hair last night erplexed I just could not do it. Braiding is something I could do in my sleep, but to twist the strands and wrap them around each other takes way more coordination than I seem to have. Sigh.

On the plus side, I'm taking down my braids right now and I really like the look of my braidout. But I HATE how visible the parts are. Any tips on reducing that?

 

[lolascurls]

I'm transitioning now but I've done braids with extensions for years and they looked good for ages but my hair was always dry no matter what. With twists (extension or not) I could baggy, co-wash, ACV rinse and my hair stayed nice and moisturized.
Twists are faster to do by far (1 night vs 3 for braids) and easier to take out. My hair can dread up with both but I'll see what I can do about shrinkage with twists.

Here's a link to my braid styles video: video1
for my kinky twists:

 

[chebaby]

i couldnt vote because i love twists when i plan on keeping them in. i love the way they look but i hate twist outs. however, i hate braids to keep s in, i dont like the way they look but i love braid outs.

 

[Whimsy]

I'd like to vote both!

I love braids just for the beautiful braidouts

I love twists cuz if they're small enough, i like wearing them as is for a while then doing a twistout.

 

[darlingdiva]

I'm really amazed that most of you think twists are easier than braids! I tried to twist my hair last night erplexed I just could not do it. Braiding is something I could do in my sleep, but to twist the strands and wrap them around each other takes way more coordination than I seem to have. Sigh.

On the plus side, I'm taking down my braids right now and I really like the look of my braidout. But I HATE how visible the parts are. Any tips on reducing that?

There are two things you can do:

1. Get a pick and lift your hair around the parts. This creates volume and hides the parts.

2. Start massaging your scalp around the areas where the parts are. This will help to hide the parts too.

 

[darlingdiva]

I don't wear braids or twists because my hair doesn't have enough volume for them. I wear braidouts and twistouts.

I prefer twistouts because it is easier--and quicker--to unravel twists. It takes me much longer to undo braids because I have to really be careful about undoing them in a way that doesn't cause frizz.

 

[lilsparkle825]

I voted for the top two. I had a braidout once the summer after I BC'd (2008), and being that it was on small two-week-old cornrows, it looked FAB...but I have been unable to duplicate it since! My braidouts these days always look raggedy, so I stick to twistouts, which I like the look of on my hair. My hair is also too fine to put in small two strands (I tell my sister all the time that she is lucky to have thick plump twists) so I have to put them in the chunky ones -- ya know, 8-10 for my whole head, or 5 big flat twists, in order to get a decent twistout. Unfortunately, my twistout only looks good for maybe 3-4 days...luckily I discovered the wonders of using HE Hello Hydration on dry hair to retwist. As far as extensions go, box braids last longer, but senegalese twists are soooo much easier to put in and take out. I had box braids from January to mid-February and they looked great till the day I took them out, but it took me somewhere between 4-6 hours to remove the darn things! UGH!

 

[cocosweet]

I wore braids and twists interchangeably for a long time but nowadays its mainly twists. They take less time to put in and even more important, they take less time to remove than braids.

The main drawback is that they start to look ratty after a week or two.

 

[HollyGolightly]

I wear wigs for work so my main concern is reducing the bulk of my hair. Individual twists are way too bulky so I normally do a combination of flat-twists in the front and 4 or 6 individual braids in the back.

 

[GreenD]

I voted for braids, only because I can make them tight when putting them in using my own hair and they'll stay tight and in place for the most part (w/the exception of my ends that occasionally become loose). Twists, the few that I've done, come apart too easily and are not tight (at the scalp). I don't think I could wear twists as long as I wear braids for that reason.

However, if I knew how to put twists in tighter and make them last longer I'd be all over them. When I get extensions I ususally get twists, because the lady knows how to make them tight and they don't come apart that easily. Plus they're quicker to put in and take out!!

 

[GreenD]

I'm really amazed that most of you think twists are easier than braids! I tried to twist my hair last night erplexed I just could not do it. Braiding is something I could do in my sleep, but to twist the strands and wrap them around each other takes way more coordination than I seem to have. Sigh.

On the plus side, I'm taking down my braids right now and I really like the look of my braidout. But I HATE how visible the parts are. Any tips on reducing that?

Are you going to post pics?

 

[keepithealthy]

I'm too lazy to do either....

 

[washize]

I have twists in right now I prefer twists because they take less time, and look fuller. When I do box braids on my natural hair I look bald My braids shrivel and are fuzzy, and it looks horrible. When I twist, my hair looks much fuller, and it is easy to retouch

 

[missykeyana]

Twists by far. They are:
*easier to put in and take out
*make fuller "outs" for me

I like the look of braids, just not by my hand. I did box braids one time myself and they. looked. awful!

Maybe one day I'll get someone to put small plaits on my hair. Or maybe not, because my hair is so fuzzy they'll look old the next day. That's why I just do large twist/twistouts and redo them every week.