The Mini Twist / Mini Braid Thread

[ItsMeLilLucky]

@snoop All I can about is why her legs are doing that?

 

[snoop]

@snoop All I can about is why her legs are doing that?

Maybe it's too stimulate more growth?

Should I add "wonky bun drop dance" to my hair growth equation?

 

[yamilee21]

Inspired by this thread, I tried to do mini-twists in my hair a few days ago. I got to 8, and simply could not keep going. So I just wanted to express my admiration for those of you who are committed to mini-twists; you are amazing.

 

[MzSwift]

Inspired by this thread, I tried to do mini-twists in my hair a few days ago. I got to 8, and simply could not keep going. So I just wanted to express my admiration for those of you who are committed to mini-twists; you are amazing.

LOL!!

Totally understand!!

The key is: don't try to do them all in one sitting. lol

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Inspired by this thread, I tried to do mini-twists in my hair a few days ago. I got to 8, and simply could not keep going. So I just wanted to express my admiration for those of you who are committed to mini-twists; you are amazing.

That's why I break it into days

 

[B_Phlyy]

Daily washing and moisturizing is really getting my hair growing. Currently redoing some roots that are extremely overgrown.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Daily washing and moisturizing is really getting my hair growing. Currently redoing some roots that are extremely overgrown.

I need to do that too, but I'm avoiding it

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I thought my hair wasn't growing, turns out that I have new growth that needs to be re-braided I think in about another idk maybe 7-10 inches? I'm 5'3 if that makes sense lol might be grazing my bra strap braided. What do y'all think?

 

[leona2025]

I finally found someone to put my twist in. I definitely will never do this myself.

I've had 3 stylist try and my twist never came out juicy. This stylist has exceeded my expectations. How long do yall usually keep your twists in?

 

[MzSwift]

I thought my hair wasn't growing, turns out that I have new growth that needs to be re-braided I think in about another idk maybe 7-10 inches? I'm 5'3 if that makes sense lol might be grazing my bra strap braided. What do y'all think?
View attachment 497015

Definitely have grown since the last time you showed your braids! KUTGW! I'm so happy for you! I know you were discouraged but I hope you can see the value in continuing this low maintenance (except at install, refresh and takedown) style. Keep chugging along and before you know it, you'll be PAST BSL!

And, to me, THAT'S the beauty of mini braids. I always get a length surprise when I take mine down after a while. They seem the same length but then I go to switch to cornrows and my tails are longer than before! And then when I finally wear my hair down, I'm like ! Lol

 

[MzSwift]

I finally found someone to put my twist in. I definitely will never do this myself.

I've had 3 stylist try and my twist never came out juicy. This stylist has exceeded my expectations. How long do yall usually keep your twists in?

That's with NO added hair?!?!??!!! Sooo full and pretty!! You must have super dense hair!

They look great! How long you keep them in will very much depend on how often you will be wetting or washing them. If you want them to stay neat and pretty, then you probably won't wanna wash them often and you can keep them in for 4-8 weeks maybe washing them once or twice.

But if you don't mind that they're gonna start looking a lot less neat, then wash them more often and you can keep them in as long as you can stand them. lol

Either way, when their time is up, you can refresh them individually now that someone else has done the the hardest part, installing them. And that way, you can keep them in for 3-6 months or more.

 

[MzSwift]

Daily washing and moisturizing is really getting my hair growing. Currently redoing some roots that are extremely overgrown.

Yes!! I experience the most growth when I wash or water rinse them daily and moisturize. I tried washing them less often in order to maintain the style and the style stayed neat but I barely had any new growth at my roots at 4 weeks.

 

[MzSwift]

Update:

Y'all I am 4 weeks in these mini braids!! I lost track of time - it feels like it's only been a two weeks! I'm at a crossroads right now bc I'm due to texlax this month as I'm 6 months post-texlax. BUT I don't want to take them down!!

I DO know that I'm sold on sticking with braids vs twists. Because there's no way I would've made it this long, this easily with twists. Last year this time I tried twists and I could only keep them in for TWO WEEKS! If I didn't have a fingertip's worth of new growth at the roots, I wouldn't even be thinking of refreshing these bad boys!!

I am also relieved that I could cry (I'm not a crier so I'm blaming the pregnancy hormones). I feel connected to mini braids bc they've been so good to me these past 15 years. So when I was preferring the cornrows last year, I thought I was experiencing the end of an era and that made me sad. But doing these braided most of the way down instead of twisting them, has made the style as low maintenanced as I've always remembered it to be! I hope I'm making sense, y'all. lol

So anyway, back to my texlax, I need to do it now bc if I don't, I'm not gonna do it again until next June and then I'll have 1.5 years of new growth to deal with!! Also, I've been thinking to make my braids smaller, like I like them to be. So I have to take it down anyway to do that. And I'd love to do that on freshly texlaxed hair. But I also really don't feel like touching my hair right now. lol. Exhaustion and nausea are kicking my butt!!

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

@MzSwift Thank you I love the way you put things in perspective.

I think you should just go ahead and relax. You're not gonna wanna deal with new growth, a new baby, and all the extra things you have to deal with lol

 

[B_Phlyy]

Yes!! I experience the most growth when I wash or water rinse them daily and moisturize. I tried washing them less often in order to maintain the style and the style stayed neat but I barely had any new growth at my roots at 4 weeks.

Summer is my best hair growing and retaining time. I'm eating healthier because more fruits and vegetables are in season, I'm exercising more which is making me have to wash my hair more. It's an all around win.

This is also why I'm considering wearing the mini braids until fall. If I take these down, it will be a few days until I can do another install and knowing me, an epic setback could happen. So I'm just going to keep it moving with my cowash conditioner and curling cream.

 

[snoop]

@B_Phlyy

Do you have any pictures of what your hair looks like with daily washing/rinsing?

How often do you wash vs rinse? What does your typical daily routine look like in terms of moisturizing and sealing? How long do you keep your twists in?

 

[B_Phlyy]

@snoop Unfortunately I don't but I will be taking one on Sunday. It'll be my starting point for tracking.

 

[MzSwift]

I think I'm gonna compromise in the middle. I'm gonna keep my minibraids in until December. Then I'll do my EOTY reveal and just texlax and flat iron like I always do. It'll be my first 1 year stretch but keeping my hair in mini braids should make it easier. I usually stretch 5-8 months anyway, so it's not that much difference.

 

[leona2025]

That's with NO added hair?!?!??!!! Sooo full and pretty!! You must have super dense hair!

They look great! How long you keep them in will very much depend on how often you will be wetting or washing them. If you want them to stay neat and pretty, then you probably won't wanna wash them often and you can keep them in for 4-8 weeks maybe washing them once or twice.

But if you don't mind that they're gonna start looking a lot less neat, then wash them more often and you can keep them in as long as you can stand them. lol

Either way, when their time is up, you can refresh them individually now that someone else has done the the hardest part, installing them. And that way, you can keep them in for 3-6 months or more.

Thanks! Yes no hair added and the thing is my twists have always come out looking boneless and weighed. So When I found this person I didn't have much hope and I told her that while she was doing them. She said they just didnt know what they were doing.

I am aiming for 8 weeks then. lol. I will try to take one down and see if I can get a similar look once they become old. She did show me what she was using. Just TGIN foam. I have been enjoying styling them. This my compromise instead of getting loced. For the pass 2 years or so I have been just wearing knotless braids or twists and love the change.

 

[MzSwift]

3. Even washing my hair once every two weeks. Does not keep the buildup and dust bunnies away. Especially from my nape.
Need to figure out how to minimize buildup in the nape area.

Sorry, I went back through the thread for my journaling purposes and saw this. I don't think I answered but it is important!

I don't want you to be too hard on yourself. I've found that buildup at the nape is normal and inevitable, even if I use mostly water. I've read lots of advice and OGs say the same about the nape area. In bound styles, it just naturally collects EVERYTHING! lol

For me, I've found that the only way to prevent difficult buildup back there is to redo JUST the nape more frequently. Your bringing this up just reminded me of one set of braids I did when I refreshed the nape every 2 weeks. So when it came time for my takedown for that set months later, I had very little buildup in the nape. And because it was just the nape that I refreshed, it didn't take a long time at all. Sometimes I would only do the bottom row bc that's where the majority of my buildup happens. But when I make my braids really micro small, I redo the bottom 2 rows bc it's the same area.

I wouldn't go longer than 3 weeks before refreshing though bc my hair is baby fine in my nape area and buildup can be detrimental there. I'm actually getting ready to test that out right now bc it's been over 4 weeks now and I haven't refreshed a darn thing!! Lol.

I really hope you find this helpful in your hair planning too! GL!

 

[MzSwift]

Currently refreshing my braids. It's Friday and Sunday would have made 5 weeks in these! I'm so proud of myself and super happy that the time flew by! I really didn't want to refresh but new growth has made it necessary. Speaking of new growth, I'm loving what I'm seeing in my pull down tests!! I'm transitioning my small braids into minis/micros by splitting my parts into 2 or 3 sections. It will be a mix of minis and micros with the micros focused at my nape. I feel like I remember that helping with controlling buildup. I'll find out!

I plan to keep this set in until my EOTY progress pix, refreshing once a month. I'll probably refresh the back/nape row more often.

 

[snoop]

Sorry, I went back through the thread for my journaling purposes and saw this. I don't think I answered but it is important!

I don't want you to be too hard on yourself. I've found that buildup at the nape is normal and inevitable, even if I use mostly water. I've read lots of advice and OGs say the same about the nape area. In bound styles, it just naturally collects EVERYTHING! lol

For me, I've found that the only way to prevent difficult buildup back there is to redo JUST the nape more frequently. Your bringing this up just reminded me of one set of braids I did when I refreshed the nape every 2 weeks. So when it came time for my takedown for that set months later, I had very little buildup in the nape. And because it was just the nape that I refreshed, it didn't take a long time at all. Sometimes I would only do the bottom row bc that's where the majority of my buildup happens. But when I make my braids really micro small, I redo the bottom 2 rows bc it's the same area.

I wouldn't go longer than 3 weeks before refreshing though bc my hair is baby fine in my nape area and buildup can be detrimental there. I'm actually getting ready to test that out right now bc it's been over 4 weeks now and I haven't refreshed a darn thing!! Lol.

I really hope you find this helpful in your hair planning too! GL!

I'll add one more thing: I read that that area of our heads have more sebaceous glands, therefore producing more sebum than other parts of our scalp. If we're not moving or removing it from that area, then it's going to have more build up than the rest of our hair.

When I remember to massage, I bend over and massage from back to front for this reason. Move the sebum from areas with high amounts to areas with low amounts instead of the other way around.

 

[snoop]

It took around 13 hours, but I did it. The goal is to not think about my hair too much otherwise I'll be tempted to take them down in two weeks. Ideally, I'd like to take them down in August or even wait longer.

 

[B_Phlyy]

Starting off summer mini braids. My left side is shorter than the right so I added some extension hair to my nape to make the bottom even (and easier to fit into the damp bun). My actual hair ends where the hand is.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

I'm tired of these braids, but I don't want to take them down, cause my actual body is tired. I was attempting to refresh them but I never finished.

 

[MzSwift]

I'm tired of these braids, but I don't want to take them down, cause my actual body is tired. I was attempting to refresh them but I never finished.

((IBG HUG))

Then don't push it. Keep moisturizing them and bunning them and get to it when you get to it.

 

[MzSwift]

I'm 5/8 of the way finished w my mini/micro braids conversion. I'm on the biggest part of my head right now so I only got one row done all day yesterday. Doing the rest of the biggest part of my head. I'll probably only get one row done again today but I'm making progress. Might finish these off by Tue or Wed, which is good since I started the conversion on Friday.

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

((IBG HUG))

Then don't push it. Keep moisturizing them and bunning them and get to it when you get to it.

Thanks Cuz. I probably just need to throw on a headband or something. Someday life be lifting and I take it out on my poor hair. It must almost be time for my cycle cause I'm getting the feels

 

[MzSwift]

Thanks Cuz. I probably just need to throw on a headband or something. Someday life be lifting and I take it out on my poor hair. It must almost be time for my cycle cause I'm getting the feels

To me, that's the beauty of the mini braids. As long as you don't take them all down at once, you can just refresh them one by one as slowly as you need to without looking a total hot mess.

 

[snoop]

HAIR MATH:

Drink water + eat protein + exercise + protective style + wet bun =

Sometimes I talk foolishness only to go back and let the words play around in my head for a bit.



I've been going back through my older posts to see what I said I was doing to my hair -- as opposed to what I remember doing to my hair. I've also been reading some of the earlier wet bunning threads to see how people did it. I think that because of my heavy handedness, I was doing something very similar to wet bunning if wasn't actually wet bunning.

I know what I have to do: moisturize and seal EVERY day and then make sure that my ends are tucked in. I don't think that it's enough just to have my hair covered. My ends still need to be tucked away if I'm covering my hair.



And now that its summer, it's going to be important to always have something on my head if I'm out because the sun is HOT. The inside of my twists may be able to withstand it and stay moist, but the outsides get dry and crispy.

I recently bought a satin-lined baseball cap, but I think that it's something that I'll have to wear in spring and fall. Last week we went through our first heat wave, so with those kind of temps I'll have to figure out how to wrap my hair. I've got a bunch of scarves so I'll have fun mixing and matching with my outfits.



Time for some summer growth!