Naturals: The Downfall of Two-Strand Twists

[chebaby]

i do twist on wet hair and on dry hairand after 1 week my hair always tangles like its about to dread. myhairr is very fine and i think its a 4a. either way now im a co wash wash and go everyday girl.

 

[levone]

I love wearing twists, but find that wearing them really small (think micro - mini size) causes my hair to knot up when taking out. I also can not wet my hair constantly in twists as my hair will shrink and curl tightly on the ends which is not good either. I did my previous set larger than normal for me, which is still small compared to twists I see a lot, but they were a breeze to take out. I also made sure to keep my hair oiled.

I'm currently experimenting with adding a little 'kinky' hair to my twists (maybe an inch or two longer than the ends of my hair), so that my ends are not able to coil up. I think that will help as well.

I definitely think twists are a great protective style and plan to keep wearing them to achieve the length that I want. However you have to be pay attention to the size for your type of hair, how you twist (wet/damp vs dry/stretched) and also be careful how you take them out/loose. I was trying the untwist from the top as I see others do and this will definitely cause knots if you have finer hair. I now untwist from the bottom inch or so then I can start from the top in one sweep. It's only a tad slower and saves my ends.

 

[jennboo]

I have done mini twists on sopping wet hair continuously/back to back about every 5-6 weeks for the past year

No adverse effects, my hair has thrived.

I actually opted to cut the twists shorter because they'd grown noticeably longer and i started to dislike the way they began to 'hang' because of the length.

And it's normal/inevitable that natch hair will knot. It's highly textured hair, not stick straight. Just be gentle

 

[mscocoface]

I have been doing twists since last year, now I can keep them in longer using the recipe Kimmaytube suggested

I was always having to take down my twists after a week or two because my hair would start dreding AUTOMATICALLY! But now it stays soft and I no longer have that major friction at the ends when I take them down. You know that sound when the hair is bone dry and you are taking the twists apart. I haven't heard snap, crackle and pop in a while now, and I am so thankful it is no longer a part of my hairlife!!!

I had some RiceBran and Wheatgerm oil that I have added to my reggie and MAN!!! HAPPY HAIR, HAPPY HAIR, HAPPY HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can now do all kinds of styles and when I untwist it is just great. I can keep the untwisted hair for longer than 2 days. But when I untwists I can't wet it like I normally do twisted hair. But I am okay with that.

I no longer have the major downside of dreding now when dealing with twists. It's ALL good!!!!!!!

 

[Growinpainz]

I haven't had any probs yet doing the two strand method and i've been doing it for 2 years. I detangle each section/pc right before I twist it. I also make sure I use a leave-in or moisturizer on each twist and twist all the way down. I only get tangles/knots when I wear my hair in a puff.

 

[Ronnieaj]

I used to do two strand twists every weekend. I actually developed tendinitis in my wrist from the twisting. So now I only do it once a month at most. As far as the hair itself, I didn't get excess SSKs or have any adverse effects, but I had to make sure my hair was WELL detangled to ensure that. Also, my hair starts to lock itself at around 10-14 days, so I couldn't keep them in for longer than a week at a time, but that's not really a problem for me.

 

[nikolite]

I wouldn't exactly call it a downfall, more like an annoying pita and that happens whenever I do twists on wet or damp hair and go to take them down, inevitably part of Twist portion 1A feels an overpowering urge to become one with Twist portion 1B.

Usually it's 4 or 8 twists and about 20 hairs divided among them. Like I said, it's a real PITA when I'm trying to separate and detangle the 2 strands that wish to be married til death do they part.

I don't normally blow dry just to do some twists but on the rare occasions that I do, I notice this does not happen. So it's a wet/damp hair issue.

Won't put me off my twisties though - love the style way too much but can certainly understand other ladies issues with twists.

I agree with the bolded. I've never had a problem with twists done on dry hair, but I much prefer the look of them after being done on wet/damp hair and so I always did them that way.

I think large twists done on dry, stretched hair wouldn't have a lot of negatives at all.

 

[Tiye]

Do you mean "downside"? I wore two strands to death about 5-6 years ago. They are very convenient, easy to do and easy to maintain. The only downside was my hair was not trained to anything else but but twists or braids so I could not comb it and I had no versatility in styling outside of the twists. Tangling isn't the same thing as locking so I don't feel that accidental locking is a hazard because it takes 6-12 months for hair to lock (I've experienced it more than once and helped others through the process).

 

[nikolite]

Wow. I was NOT expecting this. Almost all of you encounter tangles and SSKs. Goodness! Is it okay for me to believe that because I don't have these troubles with my 4in TWA that I will continue to be okay down the road? Or does length matter? Because currently I have NO sign of tangles and SSKs. The twists have been a life-saver for my hair. Because before I really started to experiment with them, I was doing a picked out fro everyday. It was causing immediate SSKs and I knew that eventually that would cause thin ends.

How do you ladies detangle? Like what stage do you realize that you are having tangles? While dryi detangling or detangling with conditioner? I would hate have a setback so any more input is appreciated.

I think length does matter, because when my hair was short I didn't suffer from SSK's or tangling. But I also think your hair type matters (fine hair may mat and tangle more easily than coarse hair) and the size of your twists (small twists tangle easier than larger ones). I have fine hair and I only wore them small. And at longer lengths the twists not only didn't look as cute, but they started to knot up too much for me. And I was especially annoyed at taking hours to do them just so I'd have to take them down in a week or so.

 

[frida1980]

It depends on the length. I've done this for years, but I was always around SL. Now that I'm APL to BSL, it's not as a great protective style as it was. It takes a lot longer to twist, and I have to take a break to give my ams a break. Also, since my hair brushes against my clothes, it's thinned more. Detangling at the roots is fine, but having SSK is annoying. It looks like I'm going to lose about two inches this year, instead of just one.

Don't get me wrong, my twist are still my "go to" style in the summer. Especially when I'm taking vacations or working out. Times where I want give myself and my hair a rest for a little while. There also very cute when they're long. Now that they're long, I have bouncy hair in the summer and winter. But if your hair is long, consider doing this less to protect your ends.

 

[Maracujá]

Little to no hair growth for me, other than that everything was fine, they made my hair easier to detangle.

 

[AmyRose92]

Well Kimmaytube's technique seems pretty secure. She twists them and has about 16-20 twists done on damp hair saturated with her leave-in. Then, every three days or so, she'll take down the twists, spray them with water, moisturize her hair with her leave-in, and then twist them up again. She says knots are not an issue and she retains every single inch of hair.

 

[Nonie]

I agree with the poster that if you do them dry (and don't get them wet with co-washing/shampooing after), you'll get good results.

I do that and don't have any problems. When I do them on dry, they look skinny and ugly and wonky, so I CW so as to wet them to get them to look thicker and hang straighter and I let them airdry.

I CW mostly when I'm in twists because it is when they are wet that they are easy to style and rather than just wet them, I make it a moisturizing session by CWing. I don't use any product on my twists besides shampoo and conditioner during the wash, and I don't have any problems. No tangles, no knots. In fact, my hair strands fall apart as easily as this:

Perhaps it is the twisting method that makes a difference (twirl each strand before wrapping it around the other). I go through a lot of washes before I take my twists out and I still don't suffer any setbacks from that.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I have never had any problem with my twists! I twist the hair and then twist the actual twist in a knot on my head. No problems.

Since I have been retaining length now and my hair is actually stronger, I wash my hair with the twists in them, it works fantastic because my hair is separated in sections.

BUT what I have been noticing is that because my hair is getting longer, the knots are not working like they used to My hair WANTS to just hang in the twists, rather than be knotted up. Shrinkage is startling because when I pull on them, my hair is falling right around my shoulders so that's a pleasant surprise

 

[Rocky91]

my biggest issue is that i don't like how my hair looks in them. my hair is on the thin/fine side, and it looks a bit scalpy.
other than that, they're a great protective hairstyle for me, and whenever i wear them, i just keep them up to remedy the scalpy issue.

 

[MiiSS kECiia]

I have no problems with my twists... i do them on wet hair now because i like to wash weekly.. I also pin my ends up or tuck them in so they're not exposed all the time... the only issue is my twist outs arent as defined as i'd like them to be yet because i havent found a good enough product for hold

 

[jamoca5]

Wow, I wasn't expecting this many people to have problems. I've only worn twists for about a week or so until it was time to wash them (how do you wash your hair while they're in twists anyway?), so I don't know if wearing them long term might be a factor.

I've only had about three "issues" with twists:

- They take FOREVER to do.
- I still cannot achieve a decent twist-out
- My quite conservative grandmother asked me one day, "What are those little things hanging from your head?"

 

[empressri]

I haven't had any downfalls of twists. I retained a lot of length when going natural cause 99% of the time my hair was twisted.

I notice my hair gets a LOT fuzzier now in twists than it used to compared to when my ends were heat damaged. I could oil them bad boys, and wear them another WEEK and they looked good. Now my hair is like hahahahahahaaaaa I'm going to get fuzzy!!!! You'd better take me out before I come out!

 

[Neek-a-Nator]

I had absolutely no problems with twists, they are the ultimate protective style for me(besides weaves). I don't have issues with tangling, knots, ssk, and I keep them in for 4 weeks. They're great, my hair grew from a twa to BSL in 2 years, then I relaxed, lol. I'm starting over now.

 

[Dee Raven]

For me tangles and darn near dreading after 2 weeks. I have mostly 4b natural hair.

I totally agree. Twists have been great for me but I HAVE to redo once a week or the tangles get to be ridiculous. Also with my hair at least, it needs the moisture. But as far as protective styling goes, twists are my number 1.