Question:Taking down twists-Naturals

[natstar]

Ladies-

this winter I have started doing smaller two strand twists on my natural hair. I love the style and don't really mind the twisting, but the unraveling I dread I hate losing a lot of hair and dealing with the tangles. Has anyone mastered unraveling twists and losing minimal hair?

Any suggestions, processes, products, tools that you find makes it easy to take down and detangle small twists?

Let me know-

Thanks

 

[sonce]

It's precisely because unraveling twists can be kinda traumatic to hair that I don't wear twists very often. They're just sorta bad news in comparison to box braids. I prefer box braids and actually regret putting my hair in twists this month.

For the take-down, you can try saturating your hair in a leave-in, letting it dry, then undoing the twists. That should make the process more tangle-free, quick, and trauma-free.

 

[Hair Iam]

I use hair butter on each twist , or coconut oil. then just slide my finger between the two strands from top to bottom ...slowly.

 

[cmw45]

Yea...I have had my hair twisted exactly twice...and that was enough to convince me that I never wanted it done again. I lost more hair than when I get it braided...it took FOREVER to detangle because my hair was so matted...it looked like really ugly locs...and I say ugly locs...because locs, when they are taken care of are very pretty.

 

[Nonie]

I'm sorry. I don't lose hair from breakage unraveling my twists, and I do wear small ones. I don't know if it's because I'm extra careful or what. I don't use products on my twists but I wash often and CW often. I...(I don't have twists now so I'm trying to remember how I start unraveling). I think I start to twist in the opposite direction starting at the base. The two strands start to separate and I keep doing this till they're completely apart. Once apart, I take each strand at a time and start to twist it in the opposite direction from that used to create the style, again starting from the base. As I untwist, I fan out/separate the hair strands, only separating the sections that are completely untwisted. By the time I get to the ends, my hair is pretty much untangled. I may have to start from base again, further fanning out the strands in sections of the twist that didn't completely separate from the first unraveling, but I don't break any hair in the process.

I don't know if this helps at all.

 

[Snuckles]

I don't lose hair or get breakage wearing twist and I've been wearing primarily twist for a number of years.

Was you hair on the dry side when you took down the twist? I do find that if my hair is dry, that I need a little moisture before taking down my twist.

Can you post a pic of the small twists? I wear small twist too but our definition of small is probably relative.

Oh an another thing, I only keep my twist in for 1 - 1.5 weeks at most before taking them down. If I keep them in any longer my 4b hair starts to lock and that's when I would lose a lot of hair.

Normally, I wash, twist and wear for 1 week, release the twist and rock a twist-out for 1 week then start over again.

HTH

 

[Fine 4s]

I don't have much breakage or lose much hair when I take down my twists. I don't believe I make then tiny so perhaps that is the reason. I also redo them every two weeks OR every week and add moisture in mid-week. For obvious reasons, if my twists are chunky, it's even easier to take down and moisturize and/or wash.

My next hairdo will be box braids and hopefully I will keep them in for a month+. Thanks Sonce!

 

[Fine 4s]

I don't lose hair or get breakage wearing twist and I've been wearing primarily twist for a number of years.

Was you hair on the dry side when you took down the twist? I do find that if my hair is dry, that I need a little moisture before taking down my twist.

Can you post a pic of the small twists? I wear small twist too but our definition of small is probably relative.

Oh an another thing, I only keep my twist in for 1 - 1.5 weeks at most before taking them down. If I keep them in any longer my 4b hair starts to lock and that's when I would lose a lot of hair.

Normally, I wash, twist and wear for 1 week, release the twist and rock a twist-out for 1 week then start over again.

HTH

Yes! My small twist don't look tiny at all in comparison to others. Then again, my damaged ends make them look stringy so I usually pin my twists up, do bunds or as a prep for a twist-out.

 

[scribblescrabble2]

I wear twists all the time and when I take them out I lubricate the ends with oil and carefully separate them. I take as much time as I need to. After that I gently unravel them; carefully separating any tangles I encounter with my fingers, adding more oil if I have to. It would probably work as well if you use conditioner or a detangler. But the bottom line is don't rush, it will only lead to breakage.

My twists tend to be relatively small, I guess. Slightly smaller than the width of a pencil. I don't put micro twists or braids in my hair ever.

 

[rosie]

The first three years of being natural, I wore twists andpuffs exclusively. My twists would last about 3-4 weeks and then a twist out for a few days was my routine.

I lost lots of hair. I now wear minibraids for 3-8 weeks at a time, but i still lose alot of hair.

I guess I need to pay attention to what I am doing and be more careful. If there is a way to take down these styles and lose minimal hair, then I need to learn it.

I always thought hair loss was a status quo.

 

[JustKiya]

I do twists regularily, and plan to do them all year, and I don't lose any more hair than I would if my hair was in braids or in a wash&go - most likely less hair than from a wash and go.

My 'trick' is that I twist strand A and strand B independantly, as I'm putting together the two strand twist. So, I 'twirl' strand A, twist around strand B, twirl strand B, twist around Strand A, etc. This turns each half of the TST into its own little 'rope', so that the hairs don't 'cross' the twist and tangle.

When I take them down, I find the 'gap' between the two strands at the base, and I can usually just slide my finger down the twist to undo - sometimes I have to give the twist a little 'twirl' in the opposite direction to loosen up the base enough for me to find that gap, but that's about it. It comes out looking like a twist out, and I don't even bother combing/detangling it at that point - I just start my DC, etc, and then comb it once it's wet & soaking with conditioner, and usually I'll only have to detangle one or two twists at that point.

I also try (sometimes I do it, sometimes I get sick of it, as it slows me down) to comb through each section of hair I'm twisting (with some leave in, or something, so I'm not combing dry hair) right before I twist it - I think that helps me have fewer 'intrastrand' tangles...

 

[Fine 4s]

The first three years of being natural, I wore twists andpuffs exclusively. My twists would last about 3-4 weeks and then a twist out for a few days was my routine.

I lost lots of hair. I now wear minibraids for 3-8 weeks at a time, but i still lose alot of hair.

I guess I need to pay attention to what I am doing and be more careful. If there is a way to take down these styles and lose minimal hair, then I need to learn it.

I always thought hair loss was a status quo.

As I was taking a nice stroll during my lunch break, I had to stop this woman and express my admiration for her big curly fro. We had a nice chat about hair and in fact decided to keep in touch. Anyway, she mentioned some advice given to her by some expensive hair consultant in NYC regarding hair extensions. She reported that growing healthy hair in braids has little to do with the type of hair one buys or with the braider, but more so with the technique used by the braider when removing the extensions. I thought it was an interesting piece of info.

 

[wonderstar]

My 'trick' is that I twist strand A and strand B independantly, as I'm putting together the two strand twist. So, I 'twirl' strand A, twist around strand B, twirl strand B, twist around Strand A, etc. This turns each half of the TST into its own little 'rope', so that the hairs don't 'cross' the twist and tangle. ...

Ohhhhhh, so this method is what makes the twist look more chuncky even though they may be small?

 

[JustKiya]

Hrm, I'm not sure. I think is does provide more 'definition' to each twist, because it's two ropes rather than two bunches of hair, but I don't think it makes them look 'chunkier' really.....but I'm not sure....

 

[anon123]

I really like twists and have no problems taking them down. In fact they do a great job of keeping my hair from tangling and they are so much fuller and faster to do than braids so I never do braids. Don't try to unravel from the root down. Grab the end and roll the hair in the opposite direction that it's twisted in. Start separating from the bottom and work your way to the top. You may want to have your fingers coated in something slippery while you're doing it if you are having problems, like cocount oil or something. If you are really having troubles, the day before you undo them, you can baggy the ends of the twists in something moist and slippery. I never need to do this, but other people do like to do it.

Edited to say: I have no problems taking them down. oops.

 

[brownsugarflyygirl]

Two-strand twists ("TST") are a staple style for me so here is what I do:

I typically wear my hair in TST for 1-2 weeks. At then end of the second week, I unravel all the twists and wear a twist out for 4-5 days...so that begins the unraveling process.

When its time to wash, I saturate my hair with a cheapie conditioner and begin to unravel the twists with my fingers. Then I deep condition, while constantly unraveling and smoothing with my fingers. I NEVER use a comp to unravel just use my fingers to work out the twists. Finally, I shampoo and may do a quick condish to finish.

When I am detangling my hair, I do it with a Denman and a shower comb for the final kinks. I use small sections and just take my time.

I think the key is to unravel with your fingers while soaked with conditioner. Also, remember that you will be losing a lot of shed hair. I know that for me I lose hair when I take down my twists, but I do spot checks to make sure the "bulb" is attached so I know that its actually shed hair.

 

[brownsugarflyygirl]

Don't try to unravel from the root down. Grab the end and roll the hair in the opposite direction that it's twisted in. Start separating from the bottom and work your way to the top.

Yep, this is exactly what I do....its all in the finger action

 

[natstar]

Thanks ladies for the suggestions. I plan on keeping my twists in for two weeks max and i will def be unraveling with some type of oil/conditioner and water. I think I may have come across trouble in the past because I have a tendency to becom inpatient after a while of taking down my twists. I also would unravel on completely dry hair

I really like the style so I will def. take my time and also use oil/condish next weekend when I unravel my twists.

 

[natstar]

I don't lose hair or get breakage wearing twist and I've been wearing primarily twist for a number of years.

Was you hair on the dry side when you took down the twist? I do find that if my hair is dry, that I need a little moisture before taking down my twist.

Can you post a pic of the small twists? I wear small twist too but our definition of small is probably relative.

Oh an another thing, I only keep my twist in for 1 - 1.5 weeks at most before taking them down. If I keep them in any longer my 4b hair starts to lock and that's when I would lose a lot of hair.

Normally, I wash, twist and wear for 1 week, release the twist and rock a twist-out for 1 week then start over again.

HTH

Snuckles- I will take a pic later on today. Normally when I unravel, it is on the dry side. I don't add anything. I think I come cross problems when I do this. I know my twists aren't micro but I would say they are still small.

 

[Guapa1]

Also, remember that you will be losing a lot of shed hair. I know that for me I lose hair when I take down my twists, but I do spot checks to make sure the "bulb" is attached so I know that its actually shed hair.

That's what I was going to say. We shed a lot of hairs a day and it all comes out then. Plus if your strands are thick it can look really plentiful.

 

[NaijaNaps]

It always looks like I lose a ton of hair when I take my twists out and detangle but it's mostly shed hair and looks like a lot because I have thick, course strands.

Like others have said, I think the key is to twist the two strands independently of each other and to take them down using some time of moisturizer/oil.

 

[Bigghair]

I don't lose lots of hair when untwisting. I untwist from the bottom to the top. Then if there are any tangles I use my fingers to work those apart. I do really small twists a lot of the time and don't have a problem, however, I don't leave them in long. Only 2 weeks at the most...