Twist for Growth Challenge (Fall 2011)

[FroFab]

faithVA is it okay if i join??

I've been putting my hair in 12 twists and bunning for 3-4 days before washing and re-twisting since June. Today I decided to do 48 twists instead of 12 because I was inspired by this thread. It took me less than 2 hours to rince my DC, detangle, break my hair down into 8 twists, and then turn each twist into 6 twists. I definitely could use some work on my technique, but hopefully they'll get better with time.

I plan to mostly bun my twists, but I did buy a cute silk lined beanie from etsy and I want to wear my twists down when I wear the hat.

I do have a question for the long-haired ladies that are twisting on a regular basis. How many twists are you doing? I'll be 3 years post relaxer (I BC'd last March) in 2 days and the back layers of my hair are grazing waist length. Since I'm relatively new to twisting it seems like it takes foreverrrr to get to the bottom of a twist, and my twists are relatively large. I can see myself re-twisting once a week until March or so, but next winter I might need a new plan...

Thanks for reading!

This is awesome. It takes me like 2 hours to JUST (without accounting for wash/dc/etc/) do 20 twists and I'm at BSL.

 

[NappyNelle]

Confession: I never wear my twists straight. Maybe a straight bang, but I always flat twist them and wear them wavy/curly.

 

[bajandoc86]

I'm contemplating joining....but i'm scurrrreedd. I was planning on braiding up my tresses for nov and dec. Then depending on the length wear it out some more. But i'm loving these twists. Not sure if I'm ready to handle all this tho. Braids are so easy, and low maintenance. Hmmmmm

 

[pookaloo83]

I washed in those medium sized twists I had and retwisted them smaller. I just like the smaller twists better. So I put the twists in flexirods to get them curly. Once again that was a fail. So now I have them in a bun.

 

[youwillrise]

so, my goal for this week is to keep my twists with the ends hidden until sunday. that means no touching the ends...not even to rinse or condition. so while i will be spray moisturizing, i wont be doing anything else to it until the weekend. i feel like ive played with it too much lately, so i'm trying to reduce my manipulation. we'll see how it works.

 

[-PYT]

I wish I could bun my twists!! Maybe by January. That will be two years natural.

 

[cch24]

This is awesome. It takes me like 2 hours to JUST (without accounting for wash/dc/etc/) do 20 twists and I'm at BSL.

Oh my goodness thanks for quoting me! I spelled rinse "rince". erplexed

On topic- I am glad it didn't take me too long to twist. It probably helped that my hair was very lubricated wit CJ Smoothing Lotion, CJ Smoothing Conditioner, and Carefree Curl Lite Gel Activator. My hair still feels really moist, so I probably won't re-moisturize.

 

[cch24]

pookaloo83 your bun is fabulous!!!

 

[pookaloo83]

I wish I could bun my twists!! Maybe by January. That will be two years natural.

I think We're about the same length right! I wouldn't say mine is a bun. But it's the tucked under type bun. You can do it! @-PYT

My twsists are the same length it is in my siggy.

 

[gigi2011]

Just checking in, I'm still wearing the last set of twist I put in, it's been about 9 days. And I can't wait to take them out Friday, their quite fuzzy.

 

[ecadnacmc]

Sent from my DROID X2 using DROID X2

 

[ecadnacmc]

Twists pinned up. Poor pic, but oh well.

 

[cocosweet]

Do this to your hair instead...I tried this on my twists and it looked sooo good! Just make sure that you flat twist it the way she does, so that you have the premade sections.

To achieve this look, I lightly sprayed each section with water and aloe vera juice, then flat twisted (Don't completely saturate the twist, just wet it enough to feel it soften a bit). I did 4 sections total. If you do it on dry hair, it will look a bit stiff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE-xKlc12tE

I'll probably try it in a day or two. Two nights ago, I reset my hair ditching the bantu knots for perm rods.

 

[ecadnacmc]

Do this to your hair instead...I tried this on my twists and it looked sooo good! Just make sure that you flat twist it the way she does, so that you have the premade sections.

To achieve this look, I lightly sprayed each section with water and aloe vera juice, then flat twisted (Don't completely saturate the twist, just wet it enough to feel it soften a bit). I did 4 sections total. If you do it on dry hair, it will look a bit stiff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE-xKlc12tEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE-xKlc12tE

ladykpnyc
I know you were being helpful, but you are killing me with this video! Now I hate my twists even more and wanna rock my hair like hers :-(

Sent from my DROID X2 using DROID X2

 

[-PYT]

cocosweet beautiful curls!

 

[pookaloo83]

Got tired of the bun so I'm wearing them down tonight. I say tonight cause I'm working night shift this week.

 

[cocosweet]

pookaloo83,

Why is pumpkin man mooning us?

 

[faithVA]

@ladykpnyc
I know you were being helpful, but you are killing me with this video! Now I hate my twists even more and wanna rock my hair like hers :-(

Sent from my DROID X2 using DROID X2

But just think how much more beautiful it will look on you in the spring

 

[faithVA]

@pookaloo83,

Why is pumpkin man mooning us?

She can find some gifs.

 

[ecadnacmc]

faithVA
Thanks! I needed that.

 

[faithVA]

I was going to wear a twist out this morning but my twists were actually hanging down like they are supposed to. So I decided to wear them down. But I will probably take them out before I go out tonight and wear it out tonight and tomorrow.

I think I am going to do mini twists Sunday and wear them for 2 weeks.

 

[Kenny-Ann]

Wow, everyone's twists and hair are just moving right along.

I have been sick and my hair has been in a puff this whole week. I haven't even done a deep condition. My hair feels like straw. I miss my twists so much and can't wait for this weekend to get back to work on my hair.

faithVA are we going to be doing a length check at the end of the year or are we just going to see the difference in the beginning twists and the end of year twists?

 

[faithVA]

Wow, everyone's twists and hair are just moving right along.

I have been sick and my hair has been in a puff this whole week. I haven't even done a deep condition. My hair feels like straw. I miss my twists so much and can't wait for this weekend to get back to work on my hair.

@faithVA are we going to be doing a length check at the end of the year or are we just going to see the difference in the beginning twists and the end of year twists?

Well hopefully everyone took a beginning picture when they started even if they did not post it. Then we are supposed to take a picture somewhere in between so I will remind people on Nov 1. Then we take an ending picture. And these are just pictures of our twists, not untwisted hair.

So at the end what would be nice is to show all 3 pictures. It was such a short challenge that the pictures may not look that different. But you can stretch your twists in your pics if you want to show your comparison of twists in the beginning and twist at the end.

 

[NappyNelle]

Still twisted up!

 

[Reminiscing]

Hey Ladies, I have a trim question for you...

I BC'd at the end of May and have not trimmed my ends or cut them in anyway since then. My small twists stay in but if I do chunky twist or anything larger than medium, my twists unravel. I'm starting to think a few leftover permed ends may be the culprit or I could just be in need of a trim. I don't see any split ends but I've never been an expert at identifying them anyway. So my question is, do you think trimming my hair will only add to the unraveling problem? The hairdresser who does my minitwists said she wouldn't trim my hair for me because even ends make it harder for the twists to stay in. Do you agree? What's your experience with trims?

 

[faithVA]

Hey Ladies, I have a trim question for you...

I BC'd at the end of May and have not trimmed my ends or cut them in anyway since then. My small twists stay in but if I do chunky twist or anything larger than medium, my twists unravel. I'm starting to think a few leftover permed ends may be the culprit or I could just be in need of a trim. I don't see any split ends but I've never been an expert at identifying them anyway. So my question is, do you think trimming my hair will only add to the unraveling problem? The hairdresser who does my minitwists said she wouldn't trim my hair for me because even ends make it harder for the twists to stay in. Do you agree? What's your experience with trims?

Even ends only make it harder if your hair is relaxed or you have type 3 hair. If you have type 4 it should be ok. And are you blow drying your hair first, twisting on stretched hair or twisting on wet hair when you do the chunky twists?

How long is your hair? Your chunky hair may unravel just because they are short and you don't have enough twists to hold it.

You may want to set yourself up on a dusting schedule though just to do so on a regular basis 1/4 to 1/2 inch based on what you think works for you.

 

[ladykpnyc]

Hey Ladies, I have a trim question for you...

I BC'd at the end of May and have not trimmed my ends or cut them in anyway since then. My small twists stay in but if I do chunky twist or anything larger than medium, my twists unravel. I'm starting to think a few leftover permed ends may be the culprit or I could just be in need of a trim. I don't see any split ends but I've never been an expert at identifying them anyway. So my question is, do you think trimming my hair will only add to the unraveling problem? The hairdresser who does my minitwists said she wouldn't trim my hair for me because even ends make it harder for the twists to stay in. Do you agree? What's your experience with trims?

The length of your hair and/or your texture could be the culprit. How long is your hair and what is your hair type?

 

[Reminiscing]

Thanks faithVA and ladykpnyc! You both make good points. My hair is less than an inch away from APL in the back, the sides are collarbone and the front is chin. My front grows the slowest plus I had it cut in a layered style before I started growing my hair out.

The few times I've tried chunky twists, my hair was wet. I was trying to twist overnight for a twistout.

The back of my hair is 4a (possibly 3c in some spots). The front is either 4a or 4b but I'm not exactly sure because my front frizzes very quickly and it's hard to tell the curl pattern sometimes. I think when my front grows out more and there's more weight to it, the curls will form better and probably be 4a. My texture is soft, hence the frizzing. My strands are thick with medium density.

Do you self dust? If so, any tips for me?

 

[faithVA]

Thanks @faithVA and @ladykpnyc! You both make good points. My hair is less than an inch away from APL in the back, the sides are collarbone and the front is chin. My front grows the slowest plus I had it cut in a layered style before I started growing my hair out.

The few times I've tried chunky twists, my hair was wet. I was trying to twist overnight for a twistout.

The back of my hair is 4a (possibly 3c in some spots). The front is either 4a or 4b but I'm not exactly sure because my front frizzes very quickly and it's hard to tell the curl pattern sometimes. I think when my front grows out more and there's more weight to it, the curls will form better and probably be 4a. My texture is soft, hence the frizzing. My strands are thick with medium density.

Do you self dust? If so, any tips for me?

Well your hair is long enough so the length shouldn't be the issue. You might want to make your twist a little less chunky. And maybe try them on damp hair vs. wet. And perhaps put a bobby pin or some other clamp on them for about 30 minutes to hold them together for a bit.

What type of products are you using when you twist?

My hair is about CBL but not long enough for chunky twists. My hair would need to be much longer to accomodate the amount of hair at the root. Not sure if you have ever noticed this but the smaller the twists the more actual loops/twirls/rotations? you get. If that makes any sense. With my chunky twists I only have about 4 looks so they don't stay well.

 

[-PYT]

Gonna wash and re-twist today. Looking kinda fuzzy. Was gonna wear a twistout but Lately I really can't be bothered to have loose hair. I want to oil rinse with evoo and twist with castor oil just to try something new.