Twist It Up Twist It Up!

Hey Ladies and Gents! ;-) 

I have received MANY questions about twists on relaxed or transitioning hair. 

So, I decided to do a quick post on it. 

Now you all know that twists were my signature transitioning style. I wore them about 90% of the time to minimize manipulation and keep my hair tangle free. 

On to my tips..

Trimming Twists on Relaxed or Transitioning Hair

I put my hair in some twists today and after doing my second twist, I  noticed my ends looked thin. 

So, I decided to cut about .5- 1 inch off each twist.

This is some of the hair I trimmed off

The trim made my ends look much better. The last time I dusted/trimmed my ends was on September 1st and although that wasn't too long ago, this was needed.

I plan on keeping these in for about 3 weeks since it took me almost 4 hours to install. 

Twists Regimen and How I Style Them

I received a few emails regarding my twists regimen, more specifically asking how I keep them neat. 

I'm going to tell y'all one thing...my twists DO NOT stay neat throughout the two weeks I keep them in, but I am able to fake the funk. 

Anyway..if you are interested in learning more about my regimen and how I style the twists...keep on reading. 

Weekend Wrap Up- The Pineapple FAIL Edition

I had my hair out on Friday in a braid-n-curl and tried to preserve the look by pineappling(is that even a word?) my hair.

So, at the end of the night, I put my hair in a very high loose ponytail then wrapped with a satin scarf. 

I was left with this mess. LOL. 

I didn't even want to try and work with this, so I just put my hair back in twists and called it a day. Luckily, I already washed my hair before removing my twists, so I didn't have to deal with dirty hair. 

Kinky Twists on Relaxed Hair

I spent Saturday installing Kinky Twists in my sisters hair. I twisted her hair last year, but this year was much easier! It only took about 7 hours this time around. 

Reasons why it was easier:

Her hair was longer than before

She did a braid-out the night before, so her hair was much more textured

I did them a little larger
They are still pretty long, but shorter than last time

After installing, I trimmed the ends then boiled them in hot water. We weren't feeling that look, so we twisted the twists, put rollers on the ends and boiled again in hot water. Much better! 

I also sprayed her scalp with a mix of Apple Cider Vinegar and water to prevent any itching.


The great thing about Kinky Twists is that they get better with age.  

Here are the results:

HOTD featuring an Old T-Shirt

Remember those chunky twists I did? Well the only way I think they look cute is if I wear a headband/scarf. So..in an effort to ditch my flower hair accessories and use up what I have..I thought this would be a perfect time to wear some hair scarves 

Today, I wanted to wear these orange accessories my friend bought me, but didn't have any hair scarves to go with them. So..what did I do? I cut up an old t-shirt and used that!  

Twists Styles for Transitioning and Relaxed Hair

As said before, I am in a twists challenge. So, for the last 3 months I have been wearing twists for a duration of 2-3 weeks out of a month. I typically do my twists small because I needed them to last a pretty long time.

Here are a few styles I have done done with them.  

Put a Straw In It

Although I didn't go away for Memorial Day weekend.. I still had plans, so I wanted to make sure my hair was clean and styled. It was very hot/muggy and I knew wearing my hair out would be a fail. So after shampooing my hair,  I decided to twist it...as usual!!

I hate how stringy the ends look due to the relaxed hair, but I also didn't want my twists to look super short...So, instead of doing a bantu-knot out or using my satin rollers, I curled the ends with some straws.

I just cut the straws up so they would be about 1.5-2 inches long. Dipped the straw in water, rolled the ends then secured each straw with a bobby-pin.

Curled Twists

During the week I typically wear my twists in a bun or some sort of up-do (Kind of like how I used to bun my loose hair during the week, but instead with twists). On weekends I like to wear the twists down, so I can enjoy them a little more. I would either do a bantu-knot out or a twist and curl. This time it was a twist and curl.

 I just:

• sprayed the twists with my Aloe Vera Mix (Water, AVJ, Vitamin E oil, Safflower Oil, Essential Oils)
• sealed that in with some shea-butter (I take a small chunk of shea-butter, put it in the palm of my hands, spray the chunk with my Aloe-Vera Mix, then rub my hands together to create a creamy consistency)
• did 5 flat twists
• put satin rollers at the end of each twist.  
• Put some aloe vera gel on edges
• wrap hair with satin scarf and let hair set overnight
• in the AM take out rollers and flat twists
• flat twist the left side of hair and pin down

These were the results:

*These are 2 week old twists.

Twists Update

Happy Sunday!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

I haven't been posting that much because there isn't really anything going on with my hair and I sometimes feel like I blogged about EVERYTHING on here.

So..just wanted to give y'all a brief update on my twists.

I re-did them last Saturday and have been loving the ease of having my hair twisted.  

The only draw back is that I can't wear my hair down unless curled because they look SOOOO THIN. Hence the below photo.

So..I curled them on Wednesday with some satin rollers and have been wearing them in a curly ponytail since then.

To care for them, I:

Spray my new-growth with my Aloe-Vera Mix daily and nightly

Spray the length of my hair with water and seal with Safflower Oil or coconut oil every few days

Oil my scalp with my Sulfur Mix twice a week

Cornrows and Twists

Twists with my own hair will most likely be my go-to low-maintenance/protective style during this transition...even when I'm natural!! 

I do plan on wearing my hair out 1-2 weeks a month, but as said in my regimen post... my hair will be in a protective style for 2 weeks as well.

This month I decided to do cornrows in the front with twists in the back.

In these photos I just finished doing my hair and purposely did not braid my edges tight. Once I wrap my hair the edges will be smoothed down.

If I wear my hair down, I'll probably curl the ends.

Twists on Relaxed Hair - Week 2

I'm treating these twists like my hair is loose in terms of styling...so this week I will do a mix of high buns, braid-outs, low-buns and up-do's.

This way, I won't get bored and want to take em' out.

Twists on Relaxed Hair- Real Hair

I have been wearing my hair in a braid n' curl for the past 2 weeks..with some bunning in-between, but I wanted a little break.

So, I decided to do some twists again. This time, it only took me about 1.5 hours. It was completely spur of the moment, but I think I will keep them in for about 2 weeks.

It makes getting ready in the morning sooo much easier!

Regimen:

Oil Scalp twice a week

Spritz hair daily with Aloe Vera Mix (Aloe Vera, Glycerin, Oils)

Wrap nightly

That's about it!

Braids and Curls

I was getting really bored with my twists, but knew that I didn't want to take them out because I'm trying to stay in low-manipulation/protective styles until December.

So..I added some corn-rows to the side and put the twists in some bantu-knots.

And this is what I got

I know I could have done some flat twists..but I'm more of a braiding gal. One day I will perfect my flat twists and do those instead.



The Twists are Back

It took me 4 hours to do the twists this time mainly because I made the back twists larger then before.

I will keep these in for 2 weeks then I think I may do some cornrows next.

All down # Fail

Pinned to the side- now this is better!

I experienced some breakage last week...nothing too excessive, but enough to alarm me. I would see short broken hairs like every day and it just freaked me out so I told myself that I would stay in protective styles until the end of the year. Now twists aren't a protective style unless the ends are tucked away...so I'll probably bun them during the week.

*Don't mind the super shiny face/forehead

Took the Twists Out

 I wanted to keep these in for 2 weeks...but a Henna and Indigo Treatment is calling my name. Plus, I will be going on a trip soon and I would like my hair to look "fresh" for it.

Before removing each twist, I coated them with V05 Strawberry and Cream Conditioner. They were so soft and I had virtually no breakage. I separated and lightly finger detangled each twist as I removed them.

I was left with this..and a GREASY face!

Two-Strand Twists on My Relaxed Hair

Because my new-growth has been getting tangled easily, I decided to put some twists in my hair to avoid any extreme knots during the week.
This is one time I really wish I were natural because these would look sooooo much better. The relaxed ends make my hair look stringy! But for now, they will do.

I will wear them either in a bun or in a faux bob. Because I did this with my real hair, I need to protect my ends by keeping them tucked away.

                                                            Twists rolled and tucked under

#Ew....I will not be wearing them down...AT ALL!

Hotmess! lol

Kinky Twists on Relaxed Hair

For 2012 results, check out this post.

I did my sisters hair last weekend in Kinky Twists. She typically wears her relaxed hair down everyday and wanted a change/break. She also wants to stretch her relaxer.

I thought this was going to be easy because I did kinky twists for someone before. But the big difference was the last person I did them for, was natural.


So, in order to blend in my sisters straight relaxed hair with the Kinky(Marley) hair, I had to:

* Start off  braiding
*then on one half of the small section, I braided the marley hair with her hair until her hair stopped
*then I twisted the braided section with the loose kinky section

*** For Future Reference, I will work off of more textured hair such as a braid-out!******

This took me about 12 hours

I really wish I taped it, because it's a lot easier to show then say. Next Time I will though.

For Maintainence She is:

Spraying daily and  nightly with African Pride Braid Spray
Putting Kinky Twists into 6 Large Twists Nightly
Securing with Perm Rods
Tie down edges with silk scarf
Tuck Rest of Hair in Bonnet

*These pics were taken a week after doing them

And this is how she usually wears them