Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Finally! Twists
After mulling it over for about three weeks, I finally sat myself down and put in twists for the first time. It didn't seem to take as long as I thought it would... but maybe that's because I wasn't working on a deadline.
It was surprisingly easier than I thought... and actually kinda relaxing. Just sat down with my products, my clips, and watched an episode each of Seinfeld and Law and Order while I twisted.
Products? I used Giovanni Direct Leave-in right after rinsing out my weekly deep treatment, and sprayed a little Kinky-Curly Spiral Spritz on each section in hopes of hold. (I gotta say though, the spritz seemed to quickly dry out my hair if I didn't twist a section right away, so I had to re-wet with water.) I coated the ends with the Alaffia body butter (still got the same jar, Katie, it's paying for itself!) and coated it all with coconut oil.
It didn't come out half bad. The pros: Super easy to do, quite relaxing, and a cute way to switch it up a bit. And, if you like to be creative like me, there are endless possibilities when it comes to spicing it up. The cons: Parting equally is a bit challenging. And the frizz, dude. The top of my head has already started puffing up, and a few of the ends are trying to rebel, so I gotta figure out how to handle that. (Suggestions anyone?) Also... shrinkage. I was kinda hoping the twists would stretch my hair a bit, but no such luck.
So I can finally say I twisted. :o) I'll leave 'em in for a few days -- something tells me they'll frizz out sooner than later -- and then figure out where to go from there.
It was surprisingly easier than I thought... and actually kinda relaxing. Just sat down with my products, my clips, and watched an episode each of Seinfeld and Law and Order while I twisted.
Products? I used Giovanni Direct Leave-in right after rinsing out my weekly deep treatment, and sprayed a little Kinky-Curly Spiral Spritz on each section in hopes of hold. (I gotta say though, the spritz seemed to quickly dry out my hair if I didn't twist a section right away, so I had to re-wet with water.) I coated the ends with the Alaffia body butter (still got the same jar, Katie, it's paying for itself!) and coated it all with coconut oil. It didn't come out half bad. The pros: Super easy to do, quite relaxing, and a cute way to switch it up a bit. And, if you like to be creative like me, there are endless possibilities when it comes to spicing it up. The cons: Parting equally is a bit challenging. And the frizz, dude. The top of my head has already started puffing up, and a few of the ends are trying to rebel, so I gotta figure out how to handle that. (Suggestions anyone?) Also... shrinkage. I was kinda hoping the twists would stretch my hair a bit, but no such luck.
So I can finally say I twisted. :o) I'll leave 'em in for a few days -- something tells me they'll frizz out sooner than later -- and then figure out where to go from there.
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A few tips:
-To stretch your twists, once done, blast them with the blow dryer while stretching them downward. Helps them to extend a bit -- kinda like blowdrying your hair with a pick. It won't be hanging hard, but they will be a little longer.
- I'd suggest you use gel next time. When I twist, I apply a leave in, then I use an Open Market inspired product: Garnier Fructis curl cream (heavy hold). I also will use aloe vera gel sometimes, but the Garnier works well. Also, as I'm doing each twist, I coat it with castor oil to seal in moisture, then once again on the ends.
- To cut down on frizz/puffing at the crown, make sure your hair is pretty well soaked when you do your twists. Not a spritz. It needs to be wet. Then, coat it with your products (gel or oil or what have you) to seal that moisture in. For those wayward twists (and to give me a little more control) I'll pin the twists down as I do them, row by row, with duckbill clips. keeps them close to your head. I sleep at night with a scarf tied around them tightly and then oil and shake in the morning.
- For those rebellious ends: twist all the way to the end. Don't be lazy and stop when you get close. Follow through. And coil them with oil once finished.
- On parting: take a rattail comb and place it behind your ear. Draw a line, through your hair, with it, all the way to your other ear. You've got two sections now. From there, just part the lines across -- don't worry about getting perfect lines within each line. I'll make some of them smaller to make the twists fuller in places, and thicker to thin them out in others (see Follies hair). After a few times, you'll get the hang of it! Glad you finally tried it! Yay for variety!
One more thing: wow, that was a long comment I just wrote. My bad.
Lol! Thanks T Dot. How did I forget to hit you up before I started?! Ah well, I know for next time... and so does everyone else! :o)
For the puffy roots, try braiding at the roots and then continuing with twists.
For shrinkage, I twist on almost dry hair or completely dry hair. It takes longer but the length shows more.
Dunking the ends in a little water helps them to curl/coil up.
Forgot to add that they look beautiful! I like twisting my hair too, it's nice during a movie :)
Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I'm going to try them the next few times I do twists. Meanwhile, I'll be putting up all your suggestions as a separate post. They're too good not to share. :o)
Hello :) I found your blog (randomly) pretty recently! I twisted my hair yesterday and also loved the process! Before doing it, I googled for tips and didn't find too many that were as good as the suggestions here! I will leave my hair as it is for now and do better for next time! :)
Nadienne ~ Welcome! And yeah, these tips are new to me too! I guess we'll both be guinea pigs when it comes time to twist again. :o)
If you want to have those smooth even twists with little shrinkage start with a good pre-poo and a co-wash. You don't have to use the expensive stuff either. I use a cheap drugstore cholesterol deep conditioner like Queen Helene. I mix in coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, collagen, silk amino acids, keratin, and honey. I know, it sounds like a lot but all the ingredients are easy and cheap to buy either at your local drugstore, online or at the health food grocer. I just like to add a few table spoons of each and upping the conditioning. I then co-wash with a cheap 99cent conditioner like White Rain, Vo5, or Suave. Hair comes out so soft and smooth. By the way, I usually condition overnight as I sleep. I also always twist when hair is very wet with a good leave in conditioner. I use Devachan Condition One. Smells great. I then twist with some Palmer's Olive Oil--bought at the dollar store and Miss Jessie's Butter Creme(the most expensive item I use these days). The butter creme has a more oil based hold and keeps the frizz down for days. You won't have to use much cause it's pretty concentrated.
I have very little shrinkage as my hair air drys and I don't have to blowdry or use hairclips. Also twist to the ends and coil aronnd your finger to tame the ends. I have the same problem with crazy wild ends.
The more you do it the easier it gets to get the partings even. I don't have perfect lines cause once it's all done I can't see much of my scalp anyway! As lond as the twists are going in the right direction for the style I'm going for and the twists are of equal thickness I'm good to go!
Miss T.
tgirl ~ Whoa! I'm just now seeing your comment and wishing I'd seen it earlier! Thanks for sharing (and I had no idea you could buy collagen... well I did, but I thought only for lip injections, not in a bottle, lol). You truly rock too. Thanks for stopping by!
such great tips! i'll keep these in mind for the next time i get the courage to try twists again. mine alway come out looking wimpy, but i shant admit defeat just yet!
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