For example, what types of hair would you recommend for kinky twists?
I've never done kinky twists but I do believe it'd have to be synthetic hair. Don't know much about brands so I'ma tiptoe out of this one now.
How often do you wash your twists?
Twists...well, I usually wash my hair at least twice a week regardless of what style I'm wearing, but when I wore twists, I styled them when wet so it was not unusual to wash them daily. I would not always poo, sometimes I'd condition wash; sometimes I'd just ACV rinse...just so I'd have them drip drying. Letting them drip is how I'd get them to hang down and not twist oddly.
Braids (micros) I wash twice a week or every 3 days. Since I touch them up as needed, I don't worry about them getting untidy. Usually I'll style them in a way that hides the untidiness while I slowly touch them up.
What braid spray do you recommend?
Don't pay me no mind, but I never used any spray on my braids. I've worn braid extensions for years, and all I do is baggy and condition wash or poo often. That's how I keep my hair "moisturized". Once in a while I might spritz with an ACV, glycerin, EO, water mix but usually I'm too lazy to bother. Not putting anything on my braids seems to keep my hair from matting at the base and makes undoing with fingers so easy. (This is how I can go for months w/o ever using a comb on my hair.) Regular washing, deep conditioning and ACV seems to be all my hair needs. Although this time around I've decided to try the blend I used to regrow my bald patches on my scalp before baggying. This is because since my BC, I have started to use a leave-in (just to see if I might like it) and it felt good on my TWA. I don't want to use it on my hair now coz I can't stand to have oily braids or them smearing oil on my face. I'm using the EO/natural oil blends on my scalp when baggying for the night. I haven't quite decided whether I'll do this just before wash day or daily. Jury is still out.
I didn't use anything on my twists. I just washed them often, conditioned and ACVed with them in. The only thing I regret is I had long forgotten all about deep conditioning so I didn't do that. Now in braids I'm doing that after every wash.
How long did it take you to braid/twist your hair?
Twist... I really don't know coz I never timed myself since I'd be finished before I even knew it...so it never occurred to me to time myself.
Braids (micros) that I have in now took me 9 hours to do. I usually rent movies and just plop myself in front of the TV and go to work. It's funny how time flies when you're having fun.
Tips: When I braid, I don't wrap the extension hair around my own, I just place it behind my own and split my hair into three parts to match the extension hair then braid them together. I tried to explain how I do my braids in a post a long time ago but don't know if my explanation was clear. Wish I could demonstrate. But anyone who is interested:
my instructions are further down on the first page.
For twists, I went for months w/o combing my hair yet I'd redo my twists because I seem to have mastered how to untwist w/o making my hair tangle. I'll see if I can find a PM I sent someone to help and paste it here. (Too lazy to type anymore.
) Also I found that my twists were easiest to undo and redo after a wash.