Braidout Bonanza Bombed Bigtime! HELP!!!!

sylviaetc · May 15, 2003

ok ladies, i did the whole braidout thing and my hair came out wonderfully wavy and bouncy and just LUSH! like a big wavy natural. i was loving it!!! ok so whats my problem? well, although i used s curl and a very minute drop of olive oil my ends were frizzy and dry, it was like the rest of my hair was shimmering but my ends were like dead. what more can i do to add moisture? and another thing, by the end of the day my hair was tangled at the ends too. i'm a 4b, shoulder len. relaxed in my 5th month< up until the 4th month i was having such a good hair "run"; now braidouts are saving my arse... *S*
i await your 2 cent's with open palms...

one more thing: i keep reading about hennalucent, what exactly is that?
sylvia

Peachtree · May 15, 2003

Don't even sweat it luv, try my advice.... u'll love your braidout ends

(hopefully

).

Currently, I'm wearing a twist out...very similiar but with loose waves instead of crinkles... however, braidouts are my fav

.

Tell me, did u roll your ends? If not, then there, problem solved!

Here's what I do...

After pre-treat, poo'ing, conditioning, leave in, & oil, I then braid the hair in 5 vertical braids. Here's my secret to nice, silky curly / wavy ends

1) Braid the hair but leave about 1" of hair un-braided on the end. (if your hair is shorter than shoulder length, then leave about 1/2" -3/4" unbraided).

2) With the braided hair still in 1 hand, spritz a tid bit of moisturizer on the unbraided end (making sure to *again* dampen the already wet end). Lightly squeeze away the excess. (u can use your S-Curl; I use my leave in or even water).

3) Immediately spritz a tid bit of oil on the unbraided end (make sure to spread the oil throughout the end). Again, lightly squeeze away the excess. (your olive oil would be perfect to use here)

4) Wrap an end paper around the unbraided end hair. (u'll notice that the end paper sorta' "clings" to the wet end.... this is good

)

5) Roll the end hair on a magnetic roller (I use sponge rollers cause they're easier to

sleep in . I steam the rollers, apply oil then wrap end papers all around it. Measures taken to make sure that the roller does not absorb the moisture from my hair.)

That's it

Follow the above steps for each braid. I kid u not, this really works

. I played around with "PERFECTING" my ends & this is the best technique I came up with.

BTW, I have braid out pics & newly added twist out pics in my album. The braid out is in "April 2003". I invite u to take a look at my ends... I have absolutely no problem with frizzies or knots.

Sorry sweetie, I don't know anything about Henna

HTH
God Bless,
Peachtree

divanrare4m · May 15, 2003

Peachtree, your hair is BEAUTIFUL! I especially liked May's pics. You are definitely my inspiration. However, I can't braid (it just doesn't come out right, to loose, and on wet hair - forget it!) Never tried a 2 strand twist.

sweetcocoa · May 15, 2003

Peachtree I agree, your twistout looks great....My ends also frizz. I'll try your technique. My problem is what do you do after you undo the twists(or braids)? I end of with parts and clumps of hair....how do you achieve the fullness with out frizzing it up? Thanks!

KinksnCurlz · May 15, 2003

Peachtree ~
I have a question, how did you do the 2 strand twist to make it look like a cornroll? Another question, how do you "steam" the rollers?

Nina_deF · May 15, 2003

Peachtree, I can't thank you enough for you're how-to pictures!
I'm currently sick to death of my hair and always wondered how to do a twistout!
Now I know, gonna do one tonight and cross my fingers that it'll come out looking half as good as yours!
Thank you!

atate · May 15, 2003

Your Twist-out is absolutely gorgerous! Congrats! It looks so soft!

1) Will your twist out come out the same if you sat under a hooded-dryer?

Lindy · May 15, 2003

Peachtree,

Your twist out looks absolutely gorgeous!! I'm going to practice doing those 2 strand 'cornrow-like' twists on my hair, so I can try doing my twist-outs that way!! (I just section my hair and twist the individual sections when I do mine...)

PrettyBrownEyes · May 15, 2003

Thanks Peachtree for the detailed step by step, even mentioning the poo, conditioner, etc. you used.

Your twistout is beautiful!

EXSQUISIT · May 15, 2003

peachtree your hair is magnificent. and the twist out was awesome. thanks for sharing

Peachtree · May 15, 2003

I'M SOOOO SORRY SYLVIATEC, BUT I GOTTA NAB YOUR THREAD FOR A BIT....I promise, I'll give it back

divanrare4m , thanks luv. My first attempt at braiding wet hair was horrible...a freakin nightmare. The hair was tangled & ugh

. The next time was the total opposite. So give it another try. Instead of cornrowing, try braiding in singles for crinkly shorter hair or twists for looser longer hair.

Hey sweetcocoa , thanks! Got me blushin'

over here. Ok, let me help u out...RabiaElaine gave me a wonderful lil tip to combat the frizzies when unbraiding the hair. It also works like a charm when fluffing the hair. Lightly oil your fingers before unbraiding / untwisting. This way, your fingers are not absorbing the oil from the hair, thus causing the aweful frizzies. I have a lil cup of oil & I like to dip my finger tips in it before touching the hair.

Now, girlfriend, go ahead of fluff your waves to get rid of the clumps. To achieve the fullness, I work with 1 braid at a time. There's 3 strands (to a braid). Take 1 strand & separate it in half (or thirds for more fullness). The key is to make sure that you're separating the strand from the scalp down to the ends with oiled finger tips. Do this throughout your hair. The more strands u separate, the fuller the hair will become, thus hiding the parts. Let me know how it goes.

Caramelhonee , steaming the rollers is not really necessary. End papers wrapped around the roller would work just fine. But here's what I do....
1) Place a sponge roller on my Caruso hair steamer til it's fully steamed
2) Lightly squeeze away any drips.
3) Lightly coat the outside of the roller with oil (all around).
4) Wrap an end paper around the entire roller. (remember to wrap end papers around the hair ends as well).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OR <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Dip a sponge roller in hot water; squeeze away the drips; lightly coat roller with oil; wrap end papers around roller.

Another nice thing to do is to sew a piece of satin cloth around your sponge rollers. I have to find mine...

Sweetheart, explaining the 2 strand flat twist is a lil more complicated. Let's start here..... Do u know how to cornroll? Pleeeezzzeee say yes

! It's just like cornrolling. Instead of having 3 strands of hairs (braid > pickup > braid > pickup, etc), you're working with 2 strands (twist > pickup scalp hair > twist > pickup scalp hair, etc). I know this is an aweful explanation so I'm gonna try to PM u a site that has a demo, ok?

I also like 2-strand twists "singles". Lindy told me about this one. It works really well also. The only difference between the two (singles vs cornrolling twists) is that u'll have to prepare many single twists if u want the hair closest to the scalp wavy as well. If u cornroll the twists, you're forced to pick up the scalp hair as u go along. So you'll only need a few cornrolls (as opposed to many singles) to achieve wavy hair close to the scalp. I hope this isn't confusing.

Nina def , thanks for the kissy kiss! I'm glad the pics were able to help.

If u run into any obstacles, then send me a PM. I'll try to offer more help. Just remember to oil your fingers when untwisting & fluffing .

Atate , thanks sweetie. I've never sat under my hooded dryer for the braid set, but this is definitely an option when I'm a lil pressed for time, u know? As a matter of fact, I might try this on my next braid set to get a clue how it'll turn out. I'll let u know how it goes....or let me know if u try it before I do.

Hey Lindy , thank u. I just mentioned u earlier in this reply girlie. Let me know how your 2 strand cornrolls go.

Prettybrowneyes , thanks dear. Just trying to help my sistas out.

Ms Jennifer , thanks luv.

Ladies, let me know how your braid outs / twists outs turn out

.

God bless,
Peachtree

Lee · May 15, 2003

Girl, I just wanted to tell you. You have beautiful hair. Keep doing what you are doing. That is the perfect length for me. Can't wait until I get there

. Seeing your hair is a good inspiration for me.

Robin41 · May 15, 2003

Peachtree you have to be the twist-out QUEEN! I've tried doing braid-outs and twistouts so many times and they've been total disasters. I don't know why but my hair just comes out either stringy or dry and it just looks a mess.

But I'm inspired by your instructions and photos to try again ...

sylviaetc · May 15, 2003

thanx peachtree, your advice is well received. i'm going to try it tonight. btw: i usually make two braids when doing my braidout and i do roll the ends, but i guess the problems come from braiding the entire length of the hair and then rolling the braid... i know, i should know better
*S* btw; i have to agree with everyone else your hair is too fabulous. i'm turning a whole new shade of green... *S*
sylvia

Laela · May 15, 2003

Hi

sounds like your braidout was the bomb!Question: How do you secure your endz to dry?

I use the small black hair rubber bands to do a loop (making the endz "curl") have you tried that? Also, you may consider trying another oil, like joboba, or a moisturizer w/ jojoba in it...

chynnadoll425 · May 15, 2003

Hey Peachtree,

Big up to you for all the braid out/twist out advise! You have the best ones I've seen yet girl! I've been having the dryness on my ends too and I'm gonna try the oiling and steaming of rollers tonight. I think it's mostly because I have permanent color and you know how drying that can be. But, I've been getting serious compliments on the braid out though; I'm glad I didn't give up on it.

I also wondered as did Atate, about drying under the hair dryer. You always say that your drying time was 20, 22 hrs. Do you usually do your braid outs/twist outs on the weekend. How do you allot for so much air drying time. Do you sport the twists or braids outside? I'm gonna also try them under the dryer in a couple of days.

Once again lady, thanks for your advise. You have the hair that most of us are dying for. Listen, don't sleep, I'm gonna get that hair really soon, ya hear! lol I had hair like that when I was young, so I know it can be achieved again!

Shine on,
Chynnadoll425

sweetcocoa · May 16, 2003

Thanks Peachtree! Also I have one more question...I have a few(mostly upper) layers left. Do you think my twistouts will be better when I finally get rid of all the layers...or should it matter? Thanks again for the 'oil tip' when seperating the twists.

KinksnCurlz · May 16, 2003

Peachtree -

I unfortunately didn't see your post until this morning BUT i washed, conditioned, etc. my hair last night and attempted the two strand and Good Gravy, it looked horrible. In any event, I did 6 cornrolls going down, applied olive oil and mango butter to my ends and went to sleep. Unfortunately, my hair was still wet in the morning and I had to go to work. But I do believe that if it were dry, it would have turned out beautifully so THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for your tips, pictures and advice. I will attempt the 2 strand or the braid out again tonight... when my hair is dry ;-)

atate · May 16, 2003

WOO HOOO... I tried the twist out last night!! Yeah.. go head.. go head.. I found a new style..! pump it up!!.. Okay, Okay.. let me calm down.

I had some up and downs with my twist out experience.

Ups- This gave me an excuse to buy some more hair products. I purchased the S-curl Moisturizer Spray and this product made a world of difference. I think if I did not use my twist out would have been dry looking.

Also, the hooded dryer really cut down on my drying time. I used a soft bonnet hair dryer for an hour to dry my 4 cornrow style twist. And then I went to sleep and let them air dry.
Downs-
In the morning my hair will slightly damp. I needed about 15 more mins under a hooded dryer but I had to go to work.

also, I can't cornrow to save my life so it took me awhile to get the hang of it. and some twist were tighter than others so half of my hair on my head had nice loose waves and tight busted waves. But if I continue to practice this style I will get the hang of it

I did not wear my style outside because of the way some of the waves came out. All of the waves were really nice but the wave pattern was too different b/w them so I had to just slap it in a ponytail. Because if I would have went outside, I would have clearly looked like I had a bad wig on!

But overall I give my twist out experience a <font color="red"> 7 out of 10 .

Peachtree · May 16, 2003

Lee , thanks for your kindness girl. My heart is warmed knowing that I inspire u. That's such a awesome feeling.

Hi Robin . Thanks for the "royal" title luv. You're a sweetheart. FYI to form nice braid out crinks / twist out waves, apply just a bit of tension to the braids / twists. Or better yet, apply a lil setting lotion to each braid / twist, 1 at a time. This should help to give the braids / twists more defined crinks & waves.

Sylvia , I started out braiding the entire length also. As a matter of fact, my ends were ok, but not nearly as nice as they were when I left the ends unbraided. Play around with the style for a while to see which techniques work best for u. It took me about 3 times before I perfected the style (for me). Another thing, braid / twist outs are a wonderful moisture retaining style. But in all honesty, I began wearing braid / twist outs just as a means to air dry my hair & not for the style of it. As soon as it dried, I would pull the hair back into a loose wavy bun. My point here? Just make sure that u care for your ends as well. Sporting this style is fun & cute too, but make sure to give TLC to those ends by wearing buns also. I really wish u success. BTW, thanks for your kindness.

Laela , thanks girl. I secure my ends with steamed sponge rollers. Yes, I've also used small black hair rubber bands to do a loop. I wasn't all that thrilled with the results though. Mainly because when it dried, the ends looks more like a "U'' than a nicely formed & "O" curl. I use Jojoba oil too & a few others on a rotating basis.

Chynnadoll , thanks sweetie. To combat the dry ends, before braiding each section try re-wetting the ends with your water based moisturizer or even water, add a lil oil to lock in the moisture, then proceed to braid / twist next roll the ends with end papers. This should solve the problem. I just use steam rollers as a precaution, but it's really not necessary though. I get the same results from just wrapping end papers around the sponge roller. Evidently you're doing something right cause you're getting those wonderful compliments.

As for drying, yes it takes a long time, depending upon how many braids I use. I know that I can sit under the dryer to speed up the time, but in all honesty, my main purpose for this technique is to give my hair a break from the hooded dryer until Sept 1, when my summer challenge ends. No, I don't solely do my braid outs on the weekend. I wash & do braid outs any day of the week. I understand where you're coming from, so let me just say this. When I know that I'm gonna be in public, I make an extra effort to part the hair nice & straight, as well as make sure braids / twists nice & neat. This way I don't feel embarrassed when wearing my braids or twists outdoors. I don't wear the rollers outdoors. Instead what I'll do is pull the length part of the braided hair back into a ponytail, apply a satin scrunchie to secure it, then finger roll the tail up to the scrunchie & use hair pins to secure the tail just under the scruchie. People think that I'm wearing a finished style, when in fact, I'm just trying to look presentable until my hair fully dries. BTW, I haven't totally ruled out using my hooded dryer if ever needed. Oh and another thing, I'm not gonna sleep,

; I'm keeping my eyes open so I can see your length girl.

Sweetcocoa , luv, honestly, I don't know. I'm thinking

. Once your layers are gone, I'm sure the braid out would be better. However, with layers, I don't believe it should really make a difference. I know that I'm rambling a bit here that's only because I've never had layers before. Oh, I just remembered something... my mom had layers a yr ago. I gave her a braid out often, as a cutzie moisturized style. Hers always looked beautiful. The shorter hairs just blended in nicely with the longer hairs. But as the layers grew out, her braidouts become much fuller. I really hope this helps a bit. The "oil tip"... you're welcome.

CaramelHonee , sweetie, it's gotta dry! Ain't no ifs, ands, nor buts about it. If u unbraid before its dry, you are sure to end up with a big frizz ball, that will just constantly swell as the day goes on. If you're ever pressed for time again just sit under a hooded dryer until completely dry. Those ends need to fully dry as well. If not, then they'll look frizzy. U definitely want the ends to look polished. You're welcome for the advice. Let me know how the second try goes.

...singing "Go Atate, it's yo' birthday"

. Girl, I'm so happy for you. That's exactly how I felt when it worked for me. See, now u know where to make your adjustments to perfect the style for u. Another attempt at it & girl, you will definitely have it down.

Speaking of wigs, girl I get stared at all of the time. When walking past people in stores, I get lil snobish under breath comments like "wig", "weave"& other stuff like that. I usually just laugh back 'em, under my breath. Just thought I'd throw that funny comment in.

Alright ladies, wishing u all beautiful braid & twist outs

God Bless,
Peachtree

chynnadoll425 · May 17, 2003

Peachtree,

My braid out today was on time!! All eyez were on me girl!! If someone isn't saying my hair smells so good as I walk by, they are eyeballin' me and/or paying me serious compliments. Thanks to your advise last night.

I oiled my ends more, added moisture and left about an inch of hair unbraided on the ends and WALLAAA - soft, shiny and carefree zigzag waves girl!

Everybody is asking if I used a wave iron or if the hair is a piece!! lol
Now I just need a serious trim and I'll be "scraight" (as my little cousin says!)

BTW, just wanted u ladies on the forum to know that I am working on 10 wks. post touch up come Sunday! GO GIRL-WORK IT!!! Don't mean to toot my own horn, but, toot toot! lol I can't believe it; no itchy-sore scalp, flaky scalp or PUFF THE NAPPY DRAGON goin' on! I would get these symptoms right at the 6 wk. mark in the past and would knock down doors to get that relaxer. Because of your advise, Peachtree, as well as the other ladies on the forum - I am managing to maintain a decent, attractive style until my next touch up. My roots may look like a teeny weeny afro, but they're so soft now due the extra, extra moisture of S-Curl and oils. Thanks ladies!

"HAIRS" TO MY SISTAS on the forum!! Until I "hair" from y'all again.

Shine on,
Chynnadoll425

Peachtree · May 17, 2003

Hey Chynnadoll, I felt so good reading your post. I love reading success stories, especially when my advice was used

So girlfriend, u were "working it" at the job today, huh

? BTW, "toooot toooot"

God Bless
Peachtree

lunalight7 · May 17, 2003

"Puff The Nappy Dragon"

Nina_deF · May 18, 2003

Hi Peachtree!
My first attempt at a twistout was pretty good!
I followed your instructions, twisted my hair into 4 rows, sprayed with my sons leave-in but had to use The Body Shops cocobutter on the ends (not the best choice).
When I got to work there was bewilderment in most peoples eyes! One actually screamed "Did you cut your hair???". My hair is half way to the bra strap but with my twist out it was above my shoulders (hey, didn't say it was perfect!).
My colleagues either pretended not to notice or wondered what had happened to my hair

. Of course, I got self conscious but every check in the mirror told me I looked good!

When I got home my oldest son stopped short and said
" Mom, your hair is beautiful!"

When my husband came home he just looked at me then gave me a huge hug and said "you're back!" (we met in N.Y.C. where i had access to good products and went to a hair salon every other week so my hair was long, think and beautiful).
So I am very satisfied and will be repeating the procedure to night!

BTW, I guess it's unnecessary to add that I work at an all-white office where I am probably the only non-arian most of them actually talk to on a regular basis.

hwell:

Lindy · May 18, 2003

Yep, the only drawback to the twist or braid-outs is that they do tend to shrink the hair up quite a bit...

sylviaetc · May 18, 2003

peachtree: per your advice did the braidout useing your technique and my hair results were BOUN! TI! FUL! *S*
thanx a bunch

sylvia

azul11 · May 18, 2003

[ QUOTE ]
I'M SOOOO SORRY SYLVIATEC, BUT I GOTTA NAB YOUR THREAD FOR A BIT....I promise, I'll give it back

divanrare4m , thanks luv. My first attempt at braiding wet hair was horrible...a freakin nightmare. The hair was tangled & ugh