Well, ladies... I successfully made it through another twisting session. It only took me two days, but I made it! LOL!
First, I washed, conditioned and detangled my hair in sections. After detangling a section I twisted it back up. Type 4a hair is really prone to tangles because it is highly textured and likes to coil around itself. After detangling..I found myself in the bed yet again... I didn't make it out that time, though...
The next day I rinsed my hair in the shower with the twists still in, got out and whipped up my styling mix. I have seen this mix on other forums referred to as EcoCustard, but I chanced upon this mix on my own. It works really well in providing hold and moisture, and on top of that, dries clear and soft to the touch. To make this I mixed a glob of EcoStyler Gel, a little Jamacian Mango and Lime setting lotion, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Whip it together with a comb until it turns into a pudding like consistency, and is pale yellow/off white.
Part each section, apply styling mix, and twist. You can either flat twist, two-strand, or braid/plait your hair. The key in getting the best result is to try to make each section as uniform as possible...you get a better curl pattern at the end. Pics below show my natural texture shot, shrinkage shot, twist pattern, and end result (pics at the top of this post).
I love that my hair is getting longer! It's actually easier to detangle and twist, and my hair looks more like a true "twist out" as opposed to a curly baby fro. I really need to expand my horizons and try other styles besides twists and fro-hawks, but it is a challenge with hair as tightly coiled as mine. Whatever I try to do to it, it pretty much snaps back to its original state. Maybe I will try stretching and dry styling next....
***REVISED 05/11/11 TO ADD PICS BELOW***
Your hair looks so great. I am so anxious for growth
ReplyDeleteThank you!I have been growing my hair out since October of 2008, with only one trim since then. Because it is so tightly coiled it took a while to see significant growth. Even now it looks like a baby fro unless I twist out.
ReplyDeleteHow tight is your hair pattern?
I'm very late on replying, but my hair is very tighly coiled. I don't really subscribe to the hair typing system but i would supposed i'm a 4b? LOL i protective style so often I tend to forget what it looks like but I think we have similar textures. I've emailed this post to a billion people and we all agree, your hair makes us drool. Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteYour hair looks fabulous! I haven't tried twists like that before but you have definitely inspired me.
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteWith such tightly coiled hair it can be very difficult to see a significant result from a twist-out. I have found that flat twisting works best because it pulls the hair tighter at the roots and gives an even pattern.
Still..the results look best on day one. By day two the undefined baby fro is back :(
Your hair is gorgeous!!! Do you have a full pic of the results of this style?
ReplyDelete*struggle2progress@wordpress.com
Giiirl...I will have to do some digging, but thankfully I have my hard drive at work with me :)
ReplyDeleteI will revise this post with the pics in a sec.
Thanks for reading!!