Twisting FOR Growth Challenge Part 3!!!!!!

[yodie]

Soliel185, I know how you feel. Well, you can take your twists out, rock your hair and then put them back in within a couple of days. You really have the best of both worlds because you're doing your own hair and you can put the twists in and take them out at your convenience.

Okay ladies, I'm getting my hair twisted this Saturday. I know I'm too late for this challenge, but I plan on wearing twists until the New Year. I'm sooo ready to have a funky style and give my hair a break.

 

[productjunkie814]

Update: I took my twists out after 10 days and am now wearing a twist out, probably until Saturday when I deep condition. I need to get a bigger jar of the Baby Buttercreme. I love that stuff, lol.

 

[productjunkie814]

Here is a picture of my current twist out (I finally found my camera). Tomorrow is wash day, so I will be deep conditioning and twisting again.

Cannot WAIT until my hair is as long as yours. So pretty

 

[productjunkie814]

Ladies my hair feels horrible. I pree pood w/cholesterol, washed with EQP creme conditioning poo, and dc'd with EQP DPR-11 and my hair feels so weird. It's like dry and soft at the same time. I'm sitting with my hair in big twists under a towel right now until I figure out what to do. I can't be bothered w/it right now. Maybe I need new products. The EQP doesn't seem to be working well for my hair.



Maybe you are right. Do you have any products suggstions, I have pretty thick and coarse hair.

Ms Lala, do you think you might have to much protein in your routine? If I use cholesterol, I won't use DPR in the same routine and I make sure to really deep condition. I protein overloaded when my hair was shorter and it wasn't until I did an ACV rinse, a baking soda rinse, and then LOTS of condish did my hair feel like it was back to normal. HTH!

 

[productjunkie814]

Very quick update on me:

I was doing well, twisting, retwisting, TOs, co-washing, DC-ing etc, then I had a wedding to go to last weekend and panicked about how to wear my hair. Made the decision to have it done by my 'trusted' natural hair stylist. Asked for an elegant updo - flat twists and a straw set at the side and front. Well, as it was being done, I started having serious doubts, sigh. Then I thought, no... stick it out, once the straws are out, hair will fall and it'll look banging. Well, BIG MISTAKE! Not only did it hurt my scalp so bad (I'm very tender headed), not only did the heat make me all cranky and hot and bothered I almost cried.... the end result was such a massive anticlimax! My hair looked AWFUL! It just wasn't me. I took a couple of pix which I wince to look at but will fotki for my hair diary as I record all my ups and downs... I wore the 'style' home, got home saw hubby, and burst out crying. Slept it off, woke up in the morning and took the style down. Co-washed and deep conditioned and wore the wrap at the bottom to the wedding....

Thank God, not only did I realise fast that this style wasn't half as good as my regular twists and TO styles, I also learnt that no one but me can style my hair to a style I love and leave me with hair that feels good to me. It's a tough realisation, but it's a good one - I cannot rely on anyone for my hair to look and feel good but myself. The 24 hours it took me to have my hair handled by the stylist and take down the stlye she attempted on my hair have taught me a valuable lesson. I pray to God it hasn't cost me much in the way of progress but I'm on it. I'm back on track and in twists again - installing some small ones which I'll re-do as required - hoping they last at least 2 weeks. Hubby calls himself a hair widower when I spend so much time doing my hair but even he said he'd rather have that than the crying, unhappy hair disaster he had that evening. Will update on the twists once I'm done with them!

So sorry to hear this Jax Do you find it difficult to find folks in London who can style natural hair? I haven't let anyone touch my hair since I BC'd a year and a half ago. Like you said, no one knows my hair or cares for my hair like I do. No worries though, the wrap looked fabulous! You need to do a tutorial on how to get it to look like that

 

[productjunkie814]

I have an issue where I will twist, but then I want my hair out for "special events" or if I'm going to see someone that hasn't seen me since the BC.

I just retwisted two days ago, and I find out that SO and I were invited to a surprise party for a friend's Dad. One of the ladies that will be there expressed some misgivings about my going natural and encouraged me not to do it. I want to show her how friggin awesome my hair is now and prove her wrong, but not in a mean way.

It's just annoying b/c I just spent all this time doing the twists (a few hours this past time, they're pretty small) and I took the extra time b/c I'd planned to wear them for a few weeks and maybe even add extensions....*sigh*

Vanity.

LOL! I feel the same way. If I know I have something coming up, I will make my twists bigger so as not to spend as much time on them. Or if I have enough lead time, I will make sure I make sure my twists are on point so that my twist out comes out awesome.

 

[Jaxhair]

PJ, thanks! At this point in my hair's life it'd be difficult to find a stylist good enough for me in the whole wide world, LOL... There are stylists everywhere, they do a good job with wonderful end results, but they'd tear my hair apart! I've just become very particular about how I like my hair handled.... i don't like hearing A strand break, let a lone a few. I beat myself up when i do it and just hate it! The lady that did my hair on this occassion really is the best I've found for gentleness and knowledge and is passionate about natural hair but my hair is just too kinky and if I'm honest, were she to handle it the way I do, I'd be her only client for the whole day and more.... I still cannot afford to have her for that, lol, so I'll stick to DIY unless it's a trim. She trimmed my hair in June and was fab. I think the longer my hair gets the harder it will be to let her do it as longer hair takes longer to work with - the tangling is on longer strands, thus it takes more patience to gently pull apart.

I'll have to learn to do my own trims eventually.... I only need a good one once a year really, as I do S&Ds fairly often.

Checking in...

My tiny little twists are done! I intend to keep these going for a while, re-doing them as I go. Pic below... More on fotki if interested.....

I think I've found a very simple ''regimen'' - if it can be called as such - that has worked perfectly for me since April/May...

1. If I remember, I pre-'poo' with coconut oil. I seldom do, but I like to do it, just because coconut pre-poos are good!
   
2. I co-wash with a moisturising condish - HE HH, Aussie Moist etc - 1-2x/wk.
   
3. I use AO HSR more as a leave in and seal with shea butter and a heavy oil eg castor oil after every wash - original idea was to DC but I got lazy once and left it in and my hair felt sooo good afterwards! **If I have it, I mix Qhemet's Heavy Cream with my AO HSR - they make a fab combo for me!**
   
4. Spray with water +/- glycerine everyday and seal with a light oil, eg jojoba/safflower/argan/baobab... If hair feels dry, spray with more water. If I wasn't so lazy I'd do herbal teas with sage/rosemary/mint etc, but I've been lazy since April/May and have not used these, sigh... My hair's fared okay though, so I'm not fussed either way.
   
5. Co-wash with a protein based condish whenever I feel hair needs an extra strengthening boost - Mega Tek, AO GPB etc. This must always be followed by a moisturising DC or step 2 above... I find step 2 works really well if I'm out of time for DCing, but I do wonder if it'd qualify to be called a DC if I don't rinse off??
   
6. I randomly clarify with either African Black Soap or Sodium Bicarbonate mixed into a conditioner on an 'As Required' basis, eg after a swim or if my hair feels particularly non-pliable even with my co-washes.
   
7. I do henna, clay, and all else not mentioned on the list very randomly - I let my feelings guide me and hope all I do work well for me and my hair.
   
8. I twist with a whole range of stuff. Sometimes I'll use an aloe based gel +/- honey or glycerine with some oil or plant butter. Other times I just use a moisturising conditioner or even AO HSR and oil, other times I use Qhem heavy as well as or instead of oil. I let the way my hair feels guide me - nothing is set in stone.

The main constant in all I do to my hair is to never ever leave my hair loose while I wash. I learnt the hard way - loose + wet = disastrous tangling.

Twists/braids are my staple style. Hence me loving this challenge as it keeps me grounded

Apologies it's long, just wanted to put it all down so I have a point of reference, lol!

 

[rsmith]

looking good Jaxhair

 

[Ms Lala]

Ms Lala, do you think you might have to much protein in your routine? If I use cholesterol, I won't use DPR in the same routine and I make sure to really deep condition. I protein overloaded when my hair was shorter and it wasn't until I did an ACV rinse, a baking soda rinse, and then LOTS of condish did my hair feel like it was back to normal. HTH!

Maybe. I have tomorrow off so I am going to clarify my hair and use some Motions moisture plus and porosity control on my hair to try and get it back in shape. I need to find a decent moisturizer until my qhemet's get here.

 

[Jaxhair]

Thanks RSmith!

 

[Ms Lala]

Thanks so much for the help ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so scary to have my hair breaking like that, I was literally in tears. But now My hair is back to normal! My porosity was way off and my hair was coated from using cholesterol as my leave-in. Here's what I did jic it will help someone else:

- pre-pooed w/baking soda mixed w/ a suave naturals condish to begin clarifying
- Giovanni Tea Tree poo (this a great gentle clarifier, I dilute it)
- dc'd w/ Motions Moisture Plus mixed with porosity control
- Giovanni smooth as silk as my leave in and sealed w/olive oil
-braided hair up to air dry

I did this last night and my hair feels buttery soft today and it is not breaking. Thank you ladies so much. I am now going to try and make my own twisting product based on some of you alls recommendations and a recipe I found on nappturality, I"m using shea butter, aloe, and oil, and maybe some glycerin. Thanks so much!!

 

[Soliel185]

^^ I'm so glad that some of the recs helped you! I hate when my hair doesn't feel like "itself". It's like it has the flu or something.

Here's my update for this past week -

The Shikakai soap was AMAZING!

To prep for my next set of twists I DC'd with my Coconut Concoction (there's a lot of stuff in there) and since I'd had the bar for a few weeks and hadn't so much as broken the seal, I figured it was time to get my money (all .99 cents) worth.

This was Godry or Godrey brand Shikakai Soap. The bar lathered incredibly well. I was worried about how I would get to my scalp with a bar vs liquid, but there was so much lather it wasn't an issue. The lather feels creamy - I think the soap might have a coconut oil base.

The first thing I noticed was my hair felt cleancleanclean, but not stripped. It was incredibly soooooooooooooooooooft. Just squishable, smooshable, softness from root to tip, but the real fireworks started when I got out of the shower to take a look. The Shikakai defined my coils! My ends all around my head had coiled into perfect little spirals BEFORE product. I tried to take pics, but I couldn't do it justice. (this is damp product free hair.)

This was also the first time I tried blowdrying/stretching my hair before twisting. I detangled and airdried, then combed through my hair was a wide tooth comb while following with a lukewarm blowdryer. When I was done I decided to get fancy and try curling the ends a bit..

Here's what they looked like 2 days later after a rinse - notice how much neater the roots are when done on blowdried hair.

That's all for now! I'm pre-pooing with Amla Oil...I think I'm just going for a good ol' wash n go today.

 

[naijamerican]

^ Wow Soleil, beautiful! Thanks for sharing! I hope to be getting some twists done later on this month. I'm deciding between two-strand twists, Senegalese twists, or kinky twists.

 

[yodie]

Soliel185, your hair looks great. I feel so inept when it comes to my hair.

Had my twists done today. Hate it and I'm removing them. My hair is not lush/thick, so I think I need a bigger twist. I have some shea butter and aloe vera gel, so I'll just try it myself.

Are bantu knots a good protective style?

 

[Ms Lala]

Soleil your hair looks good! Blowdrying is soooo addictive, be careful.

 

[Soliel185]

Soleil your hair looks good! Blowdrying is soooo addictive, be careful.

Actually, as I was doing it I was like "Oy- I am never blowdrying AGAIN"

It was neater at the root, but other than that I wasn't impressed. The time/effort tradeoff didn't seem even IMO.

 

[Soliel185]

Soliel185, your hair looks great. I feel so inept when it comes to my hair.

Had my twists done today. Hate it and I'm removing them. My hair is not lush/thick, so I think I need a bigger twist. I have some shea butter and aloe vera gel, so I'll just try it myself.

Are bantu knots a good protective style?

Trust me - I feel inept too. This was my 4th set of twists - so you can improve pretty quickly with practice. It's best just to jump in and try it, even if you only do a few in a small section to practice your technique before taking them back out.

I think everyone looks a bit "scalpy" at first. I always look like a drowned rat until I rinse them and they start to puff up a bit.

 

[yodie]

Ladies, I know this is a twist thread, but just curious to know if bantu knots are/aren't good for protective styling?

 

[Ms Lala]

Soliel185, your hair looks great. I feel so inept when it comes to my hair.

Had my twists done today. Hate it and I'm removing them. My hair is not lush/thick, so I think I need a bigger twist. I have some shea butter and aloe vera gel, so I'll just try it myself.

Are bantu knots a good protective style?

Oh no, that horrible you spent time getting it done and didn't like it. I hope you didn't pay alot for them.

Actually, as I was doing it I was like "Oy- I am never blowdrying AGAIN"


It was neater at the root, but other than that I wasn't impressed. The time/effort tradeoff didn't seem even IMO.

LOL good, cuz I'm pretty sure a combo of blowdrying and previous coloring of my hair prevented me from retaining length. I just like that my blowdryed twists show more length and have less frizz.

 

[yodie]

The stylist was very nice. My hair is short, so it doesn't carry thin twists well. I need some height/puff to carry it off. The price was very affordable, but still! Definitely not blaming her. The twists were very thin and they just didn't work.

I'm trying not to get discouraged. Yet, I'm wondering if there is anything that works with/for my hair. I have a short, bob now and I want to grow it out with twists/bantu knots and very little manipulation.

Guess I'll just take it each day at a time and see where my hair takes me. I think I'll do bantu knots tonight and then just try doing bigger twists in the middle of the week.

 

[Soliel185]

Ladies, I know this is a twist thread, but just curious to know if bantu knots are/aren't good for protective styling?

I would assume that bantu knots are a protective style - but I don't know how they'd keep long term and all I can ever think about is how hard they'd be to sleep in.

 

[yodie]

Bantu's can be challenging on my ends, but I'm just learning to use something to protect my ends (shea butter - moisture/Mizani H2O - strength). Sleeping in them aren't a problem. I just get crazy frizz. I'm bantuing with aloe vera gel, so hopefully that helps.

Back to twisting... I'll get it...one day...soon! I'll start with a bantu set and then try twists. Guess it's time to play.

 

[sheava]

Very quick update on me:

I was doing well, twisting, retwisting, TOs, co-washing, DC-ing etc, then I had a wedding to go to last weekend and panicked about how to wear my hair. Made the decision to have it done by my 'trusted' natural hair stylist. Asked for an elegant updo - flat twists and a straw set at the side and front. Well, as it was being done, I started having serious doubts, sigh. Then I thought, no... stick it out, once the straws are out, hair will fall and it'll look banging. Well, BIG MISTAKE! Not only did it hurt my scalp so bad (I'm very tender headed), not only did the heat make me all cranky and hot and bothered I almost cried.... the end result was such a massive anticlimax! My hair looked AWFUL! It just wasn't me. I took a couple of pix which I wince to look at but will fotki for my hair diary as I record all my ups and downs... I wore the 'style' home, got home saw hubby, and burst out crying. Slept it off, woke up in the morning and took the style down. Co-washed and deep conditioned and wore the wrap at the bottom to the wedding....

Thank God, not only did I realise fast that this style wasn't half as good as my regular twists and TO styles, I also learnt that no one but me can style my hair to a style I love and leave me with hair that feels good to me. It's a tough realisation, but it's a good one - I cannot rely on anyone for my hair to look and feel good but myself. The 24 hours it took me to have my hair handled by the stylist and take down the stlye she attempted on my hair have taught me a valuable lesson. I pray to God it hasn't cost me much in the way of progress but I'm on it. I'm back on track and in twists again - installing some small ones which I'll re-do as required - hoping they last at least 2 weeks. Hubby calls himself a hair widower when I spend so much time doing my hair but even he said he'd rather have that than the crying, unhappy hair disaster he had that evening. Will update on the twists once I'm done with them!

I love your wrap. Sorry you had to go through that experience.

 

[oooop2]

Very quick update on me:

I was doing well, twisting, retwisting, TOs, co-washing, DC-ing etc, then I had a wedding to go to last weekend and panicked about how to wear my hair. Made the decision to have it done by my 'trusted' natural hair stylist. Asked for an elegant updo - flat twists and a straw set at the side and front. Well, as it was being done, I started having serious doubts, sigh. Then I thought, no... stick it out, once the straws are out, hair will fall and it'll look banging. Well, BIG MISTAKE! Not only did it hurt my scalp so bad (I'm very tender headed), not only did the heat make me all cranky and hot and bothered I almost cried.... the end result was such a massive anticlimax! My hair looked AWFUL! It just wasn't me. I took a couple of pix which I wince to look at but will fotki for my hair diary as I record all my ups and downs... I wore the 'style' home, got home saw hubby, and burst out crying. Slept it off, woke up in the morning and took the style down. Co-washed and deep conditioned and wore the wrap at the bottom to the wedding....

Thank God, not only did I realise fast that this style wasn't half as good as my regular twists and TO styles, I also learnt that no one but me can style my hair to a style I love and leave me with hair that feels good to me. It's a tough realisation, but it's a good one - I cannot rely on anyone for my hair to look and feel good but myself. The 24 hours it took me to have my hair handled by the stylist and take down the stlye she attempted on my hair have taught me a valuable lesson. I pray to God it hasn't cost me much in the way of progress but I'm on it. I'm back on track and in twists again - installing some small ones which I'll re-do as required - hoping they last at least 2 weeks. Hubby calls himself a hair widower when I spend so much time doing my hair but even he said he'd rather have that than the crying, unhappy hair disaster he had that evening. Will update on the twists once I'm done with them!

Oh, and a pic of the disastrous hair experience.... I mean, who would wear this anywhere? SIGH!!!

I think it looks nice...But I totally understand if a style is not you, no matter what anyone says, you're not going to like it....

Im just now seeing this post. Sorry!!! I took some pics of a headband a few days before I took my hair out. They lasted 4wks to the day and I retwisted once around the second wk. Not all but most of the middle, front and sides. I did a henna txtment this wknd and wore my hair out one day. Im still not for sure how to wear my hair out with out it twisted or a twist out so I wasnt feeling the hair I will work with it more when Im done with this challenge. Tonight was the only night I had the time to twist. It only took me around 6hrs this time. I sectioned my hair off in four puffs and twisted each puff. The back are smaller then the front but it still looks fine to me. Im gonna go until the first wk of Nov till I retwist again. Its been love not having to worry about my hair....I cant stress that enuf. Good job ladies everyones hair is looking good.

Here are pics of my hair after 4wks and a lot of washes and one of my new twist. There are more shots in my fotki.

You have SO MOTIVATED ME TO EXTENDED ME TWIST!!!!

You ladies are amazing! Wish I could join the challenge but will join the next one hopefully... I've been doing twists since I started my natural journey earlier this year and had a few questions for you..

bablou00 how do you get your twists to last a month without re-doing? Also does your hair lock when you wash it? Mine seems to lock when I wet it too much..

My twists only last a week before absolutely have to take them out because they start looking very dry and like "who shot john" DH keeps saying I spritz them and oil them too much and I should leave them let them be..but to me they get really dry and I'm afraid of breakage..

Any advice on how to keep them for a month??? I take 6 hours.. yes I said 6 to put them in now.. so for that time I get frustrated thinking 6 hours to last for one week makes no sense so I'm really trying to stretch to a month this rounds...

Busted or not.. I'm gonna try... just don't want DH to put me out
So I need some help from the twist gurus

Here's my fotki in case you want to take a look..

http://public.fotki.com/sbabe16/

After reading what other twisties have done to extend the life of their twist, I started to take note.

These are my current twist and are over 3wks old....

Initially, I twisted them in this size on freshly washed damp hair with a mix of shea butter jojoba oil and castor oil:

Daily I would spritz with water and then apply that mix to my hair.

Then week 2 on dry hair, I undid the large twist and made them into this size. Once again continuing to spritz with water daily and applying my mix.

I have YET to wash my hair. Saturating my strands with water basically KILLS my style. KUDOS to those who can cowash twist and they still look good.

Mid-week #2, I really concentrated on massaging my scalp with my mix (was starting to feel like it was about to itch)

Now into my 3rd week with these twist and I am going to see if I can make them last 1month.

 

[rsmith]

Hi ladies you all are doing so good. I just wanted to post my pics.

 

[oooop2]

I have an issue where I will twist, but then I want my hair out for "special events" or if I'm going to see someone that hasn't seen me since the BC.

I just retwisted two days ago, and I find out that SO and I were invited to a surprise party for a friend's Dad. One of the ladies that will be there expressed some misgivings about my going natural and encouraged me not to do it. I want to show her how friggin awesome my hair is now and prove her wrong, but not in a mean way.

It's just annoying b/c I just spent all this time doing the twists (a few hours this past time, they're pretty small) and I took the extra time b/c I'd planned to wear them for a few weeks and maybe even add extensions....*sigh*

Vanity.

Yeah....I've changed up styles that I was intending to wear for awhile in order to have a certain look. Thankfully, it doesn't happen to often....

PJ, thanks! At this point in my hair's life it'd be difficult to find a stylist good enough for me in the whole wide world, LOL... There are stylists everywhere, they do a good job with wonderful end results, but they'd tear my hair apart! I've just become very particular about how I like my hair handled.... i don't like hearing A strand break, let a lone a few. I beat myself up when i do it and just hate it! The lady that did my hair on this occassion really is the best I've found for gentleness and knowledge and is passionate about natural hair but my hair is just too kinky and if I'm honest, were she to handle it the way I do, I'd be her only client for the whole day and more.... I still cannot afford to have her for that, lol, so I'll stick to DIY unless it's a trim. She trimmed my hair in June and was fab. I think the longer my hair gets the harder it will be to let her do it as longer hair takes longer to work with - the tangling is on longer strands, thus it takes more patience to gently pull apart.

I'll have to learn to do my own trims eventually.... I only need a good one once a year really, as I do S&Ds fairly often.

Checking in...

My tiny little twists are done! I intend to keep these going for a while, re-doing them as I go. Pic below... More on fotki if interested.....

I think I've found a very simple ''regimen'' - if it can be called as such - that has worked perfectly for me since April/May...

1. If I remember, I pre-'poo' with coconut oil. I seldom do, but I like to do it, just because coconut pre-poos are good!
   
2. I co-wash with a moisturising condish - HE HH, Aussie Moist etc - 1-2x/wk.
   
3. I use AO HSR more as a leave in and seal with shea butter and a heavy oil eg castor oil after every wash - original idea was to DC but I got lazy once and left it in and my hair felt sooo good afterwards! **If I have it, I mix Qhemet's Heavy Cream with my AO HSR - they make a fab combo for me!**
   
4. Spray with water +/- glycerine everyday and seal with a light oil, eg jojoba/safflower/argan/baobab... If hair feels dry, spray with more water. If I wasn't so lazy I'd do herbal teas with sage/rosemary/mint etc, but I've been lazy since April/May and have not used these, sigh... My hair's fared okay though, so I'm not fussed either way.
   
5. Co-wash with a protein based condish whenever I feel hair needs an extra strengthening boost - Mega Tek, AO GPB etc. This must always be followed by a moisturising DC or step 2 above... I find step 2 works really well if I'm out of time for DCing, but I do wonder if it'd qualify to be called a DC if I don't rinse off??
   
6. I randomly clarify with either African Black Soap or Sodium Bicarbonate mixed into a conditioner on an 'As Required' basis, eg after a swim or if my hair feels particularly non-pliable even with my co-washes.
   
7. I do henna, clay, and all else not mentioned on the list very randomly - I let my feelings guide me and hope all I do work well for me and my hair.
   
8. I twist with a whole range of stuff. Sometimes I'll use an aloe based gel +/- honey or glycerine with some oil or plant butter. Other times I just use a moisturising conditioner or even AO HSR and oil, other times I use Qhem heavy as well as or instead of oil. I let the way my hair feels guide me - nothing is set in stone.

The main constant in all I do to my hair is to never ever leave my hair loose while I wash. I learnt the hard way - loose + wet = disastrous tangling.

Twists/braids are my staple style. Hence me loving this challenge as it keeps me grounded

Apologies it's long, just wanted to put it all down so I have a point of reference, lol!

Your hair and regime seems to be working for you. Don't change it if it works!!!

Thanks so much for the help ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so scary to have my hair breaking like that, I was literally in tears. But now My hair is back to normal! My porosity was way off and my hair was coated from using cholesterol as my leave-in. Here's what I did jic it will help someone else:

- pre-pooed w/baking soda mixed w/ a suave naturals condish to begin clarifying
- Giovanni Tea Tree poo (this a great gentle clarifier, I dilute it)
- dc'd w/ Motions Moisture Plus mixed with porosity control
- Giovanni smooth as silk as my leave in and sealed w/olive oil
-braided hair up to air dry

I did this last night and my hair feels buttery soft today and it is not breaking. Thank you ladies so much. I am now going to try and make my own twisting product based on some of you alls recommendations and a recipe I found on nappturality, I"m using shea butter, aloe, and oil, and maybe some glycerin. Thanks so much!!

Glad to hear that your hair is back!! Just make sure to write down what you did, you in case you need to do it again in the future.

^^ I'm so glad that some of the recs helped you! I hate when my hair doesn't feel like "itself". It's like it has the flu or something.

Here's my update for this past week -

The Shikakai soap was AMAZING!

To prep for my next set of twists I DC'd with my Coconut Concoction (there's a lot of stuff in there) and since I'd had the bar for a few weeks and hadn't so much as broken the seal, I figured it was time to get my money (all .99 cents) worth.

This was Godry or Godrey brand Shikakai Soap. The bar lathered incredibly well. I was worried about how I would get to my scalp with a bar vs liquid, but there was so much lather it wasn't an issue. The lather feels creamy - I think the soap might have a coconut oil base.

The first thing I noticed was my hair felt cleancleanclean, but not stripped. It was incredibly soooooooooooooooooooft. Just squishable, smooshable, softness from root to tip, but the real fireworks started when I got out of the shower to take a look. The Shikakai defined my coils! My ends all around my head had coiled into perfect little spirals BEFORE product. I tried to take pics, but I couldn't do it justice. (this is damp product free hair.)

This was also the first time I tried blowdrying/stretching my hair before twisting. I detangled and airdried, then combed through my hair was a wide tooth comb while following with a lukewarm blowdryer. When I was done I decided to get fancy and try curling the ends a bit..

Here's what they looked like 2 days later after a rinse - notice how much neater the roots are when done on blowdried hair.

That's all for now! I'm pre-pooing with Amla Oil...I think I'm just going for a good ol' wash n go today.

Really cute. I never blow dry my hair b/c it really don't do heat, but your results are nice!!!

Soliel185, your hair looks great. I feel so inept when it comes to my hair.

Had my twists done today. Hate it and I'm removing them. My hair is not lush/thick, so I think I need a bigger twist. I have some shea butter and aloe vera gel, so I'll just try it myself.

Are bantu knots a good protective style?

Sorry you didn't like your twist and took them out. Did you try pinning them up for a nice updo? I can't sleep on bantu knots, so for me they are definitely not a protective style.

The stylist was very nice. My hair is short, so it doesn't carry thin twists well. I need some height/puff to carry it off. The price was very affordable, but still! Definitely not blaming her. The twists were very thin and they just didn't work.

I'm trying not to get discouraged. Yet, I'm wondering if there is anything that works with/for my hair. I have a short, bob now and I want to grow it out with twists/bantu knots and very little manipulation.

Guess I'll just take it each day at a time and see where my hair takes me. I think I'll do bantu knots tonight and then just try doing bigger twists in the middle of the week.

How did your bantu knots work?

Hi ladies you all are doing so good. I just wanted to post my pics.

NICE!!! You hair is growing a lot!!!

 

[Buttercreme]

Daily I would spritz with water and then apply that mix to my hair.

*I secretly put my DD in this challenge from the sidelines*

Her hair and twists look identical to yours. I start off w/fat twists, then as I retwist after a week, I make some smaller.

How do you apply the shea, oil mix to your twist daily, do you untwist and apply or just melt in hand and rub on the twist.

Does the daily water spritz make your hair poofy and frizzy looking. I want her hair to stay moist looking, it starts to look dry after about day 3.

 

[oooop2]

*I secretly put my DD in this challenge from the sidelines*

Her hair and twists look identical to yours. I start off w/fat twists, then as I retwist after a week, I make some smaller.

How do you apply the shea, oil mix to your twist daily, do you untwist and apply or just melt in hand and rub on the twist.

Does the daily water spritz make your hair poofy and frizzy looking. I want her hair to stay moist looking, it starts to look dry after about day 3.

LOL...I've secretly added my girls into this challenge also...

I make a big container of shea butter, castor and jojoba oils mixed together and keep in my bathroom drawer.

I also have a spray bottle of water that I keep next to it.

At night, I spray my hair with the water and then let the steam from my shower add additional moisture to my strands. After I just tie with a silk scarf.

In the morning, I remove the scarf and spritz my hair with water until it's slightly damp. I then get about a quarter sz amount of my mix and mix it well in my hands. I then grab my twist and basically squeeze them into my hands. I don't rub b/c that tends to make my hair look frizzy. I just gently squeeze. After the mix had been added to my hair, I do a quick shake (for some reason this allows my twist to fall into place) and I'm done.

I basically do the same thing to my kids hair. My oldest is going on 2 1/2wks with the same twist. My youngest has more fragile strands, so I have to redo her twist after about 1-1.5wks.

HTHs!!

 

[yodie]

How did your bantu knots work?


The bantu knot works, but it's a really short fro. I don't really like short, tight fro's on me. I could live with it, I guess, but I also don't like that my ends are so exposed with bantu knots.

Your twists are gorgeous. I feel like I don't know what to do with my hair. Brand new week and I have no twists or bantu knots.

Anyone do twists on dry hair?

 

[Buttercreme]

I make a big container of shea butter, castor and jojoba oils mixed together and keep in my bathroom drawer.

I also have a spray bottle of water that I keep next to it.

At night, I spray my hair with the water and then let the steam from my shower add additional moisture to my strands. After I just tie with a silk scarf.

In the morning, I remove the scarf and spritz my hair with water until it's slightly damp. I then get about a quarter sz amount of my mix and mix it well in my hands. I then grab my twist and basically squeeze them into my hands. I don't rub b/c that tends to make my hair look frizzy. I just gently squeeze. After the mix had been added to my hair, I do a quick shake (for some reason this allows my twist to fall into place) and I'm done.

I basically do the same thing to my kids hair. My oldest is going on 2 1/2wks with the same twist. My youngest has more fragile strands, so I have to redo her twist after about 1-1.5wks.

HTHs!!

Does the shea mixture have great hold? I was thinking about using some sort of shea. I bought some shea from Vitamin Shoppe, but it is hard as a rock, how do you make your shea mixture.

Do you think your shea mixture keeps the twists moist longer. I'm using ORS twist gel now. I love it for the first few days, then it starts to look dry