(Updated) Today's Hair - September 25th

When I twisted my hair on Sunday, I did not plan to do a twist out. I just wanted to clip my ends and leave my hair alone for a week or two. But when I started getting ready to go out on Monday night, I couldn't figure out what to do with my twists, so I reluctantly took them out.

But something unexpected happened - I fell in love with my own bomb-ass twist out!!!! My hair was soft, hydrated, springy, coily and defined in a way that my twistouts generally aren't. 

What was different?  

When I twisted my hair I did it believing that I needed the twists to last at least a week.

- Although they were much larger than I do my twists when I plan to wear them for a month-plus, I still did between 25-30 twists.

- I did them fairly tightly - again because I thought they needed to last.

- I used 5 layers of product on my dry hair (Alikay's Dulce, and BBD's oil, Eden Bodywork's Coconut Shea Leave-in Conditioner, Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie and my mix (pretty much in that order))  instead of just one or two.

- I took my twists out after about 30 hours instead of my usual week (flat twists) or a month (small twists). It was enough time for the twists to dry and set, but not so much time that my hair was no longer moisturized.

- I also tried to be careful as I untwisted. I used a little oil on my hands, and didn't separate the strands very much.


Day 3 - and I still love it.

UPDATE

So it is now Day 5 of this twist-out and it is holding up much better than anticipated. I don't pineapple and I don't tie down my hair, so this has been maintained pretty much through my satin pillowcase and a retwist of 6 or so twists in the front on night 2 (with a little water) and the flat twists this morning (with a little water and a little olive oil). I expect that when I take out todays twists, the front will hang down and form a bob-like style.

Clockwise from the upper left Monday - Thursday, with today in the middle.
Yes I took most of these in my car studio & home of Jean Jacket Productions.

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Yesterday's Hair - September 22nd!

I didn't do much of anything yesterday - although I started the day with high hopes. Once I realized that I was going to be too late to make it to church without missing pretty much everything, I decided to spend some time on my hair. It has been full of conditioner and olive oil since the middle of the week, so I wanted to wash it out and do something with it.

My hair needed a trim, and I needed a style, so I twisted my hair into big-ish sections and trimmed my hair as I went along. I wasn't going for a style, or even for even ends - it just needed a little love.

This is what I ended up with:

1. I mixed a shea butter based cream to twist my hair - I've put up a recipe in the past, but this one had shea butter, aloe vera gel, olive oil, and a touch of honey.

2. I put in a layer of oil (created by Beautiful Brown Baby Doll - I believe that it will be available for sale soon), some Eden's Bodyworks Coconut Shea Leave-in Conditioner, Alikay Naturals Dulce Hydrating Curl Lotion,  my mix and Shea Moisture's Curl Enhancing Smoothie on each section, combed it through and trimmed my ends before twisting.- I know it is a lot of product, but that is just what I do when I twist my hair.  

3. I separated my hair into about 25 twists, and did the edges with a combo flat-twist, two-strand twist so I could try to make sure I caught the shorter, stray pieces into each twist.

4. I then did a large French roll, and tied on a ribbon. I'm still participating in @Nappyfu's 30-day updo challenge, so I put it up.  

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Twists Are the New Black...

Fairly fresh twists

If you didn't know, now you know...twists are the new black! They always look good, and you can wear them everywhere. I went back to my twists after two months of my hair being loose. After I washed out my press, I missed my twists every single time I had to decide to do what to do with my hair.

Basic Steps

I always start my twists from wet or damp hair, although I will sometimes refresh/redo my twists when they are dry.

1. Separate hair into four sections, part your hair once from your forehead to the nape of your neck, and once from ear to ear. Leaving one section loose, clip up the other three until you are ready to twist them.

2. If the section is dry, dampen the entire section. Coat the section with some leave in conditioner and oil. Take the large section and subdivide it to the point where you are comfortable with the size of each twist. You may wish to do this one row of twists at a time, with the rest clipped up until you are ready to twist same.

3. Take hair for the individual twist, finger detangle, then coat it with your sealing product (mine is usually a shea butter based mix).

Shrinking in the new year...

4. Separate it into two sections and continue to put one strand over the other until you form a twist from the root to the tip of that section of hair. 

5. Continue this process until each section of your hair is complete. 

You may wish to check out a YouTube video for a more detailed tutorial.... 

Benefits

And as I've said before, my hair loves to shrink. I don't mind if my hair looks short, but I've realized that my hair is a lot easier to work with when it is in twists, because twisting provides a heat-free stretch, and because I can, and will do, at least thirty-one hairstyles with my twists. They are also a fantastic protective style. I've cut back on my single strand knots by about 90%, and my hair has gotten thicker because I'm losing less hair to combs, through washes and because there is just less manipulation overall.





Time

 Don't worry about the time it takes to twist your hair. First of all, you don't have to have mini-twists to have twists that you can style. My twists are at least twice the size of of mini twists, and I braid them, curl them, bun them up, do updo's, Bantus, and anything else I can think of. And when I spend 3-4 hours to twist my loose, damp hair into twists I know that I won't be spending more than a few minutes on them a day for at least the next week or two. And even then, I'm just redoing my edges. When I don't have twists I find myself spending at least an hour at a time on my hair every two or three days. That is too much of an investment (for me).

 

Washing/Conditioning/Products

And I know that when I twist and re-twist my hair that I will give my hair and scalp the attention it needs. I dampen, co-wash, wash, and deep condition my twists regularly. I know that I will be able to apply oil and seal my hair quickly afterwards. It is very easy to run product over and through twists - a lot easier than trying to part loose hair and applying product in sections. I use all of the same products that I use on my loose hair, but with the twists, I don't worry about if the products are too thick. I just use them during the twisting process.

In my post Get the Fuzz Outta Here I talk about maintaining your twists. Check there for my overall advice.   

For me, twists are my old faithful style, but for those of you who switch back and forth, or who don't ever wear your hair in twists - try it out! You might love it.

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(Updated) Two-strand twist styles....

I've been looking back over the styles that I come up with, and I realized that I generally put my twists into updos. I love updo's and I feel that they are stylish and appropriate for any professional setting.  Secondly, and sometimes more importantly, it is a way to keep my twists looking good even when they are not as new or as neat as they otherwise could be.  There is nothing like an updo when you haven't had time to refresh your edges and your twists are going on a month old!

From the 2nd ed.

I've found ways to create new rolls, buns, bangs, etc., and I've detailed over thirty of them in the two editions of my ebook, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways ©, all rights reserved, (the new version is available here), and while some of the styles are loose, a good number of them are variations on updos. My definition of an updo includes chignons, French Rolls/Twists, braids, various buns, and even faux hawks.  I've included a few photos from the first version of the book below, (it is available on Amazon), and one photo from the second edition. I hope that it will give you an idea of some of the styles that I've included, and despite the way they look - every style is QUICK and EASY to do.  Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more hairstyles.

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