Twist/Braid/Bun for Growth Challenge (7/1/2012 - 9/30/2012)

[Jewel08]

Hi Ladies!

This challenge is my summer regimen, it gives my hair a chance to have a break from roller setting. I typically c/o wash and either braid my hair in two ponytails for a quick set or 4 braids for more volume. I recently started sealing my hair with sweet almond oil and I love the outcome.

What are some of your favorite products to use for a braid out style, below are some of my favorites:

Treseme moisturizing conditioner
Salerm leave in
Sweet almond oil (to seal)

 

[Evolving78]

in my bun. i used some Scurl yesterday. it was hard and crunchy outside, but inside the house it is still moisturized and soft. i haven't applied anything to my hair today. i still have my hair in a bun.

 

[NappyNelle]

RegaLady Why did you poof? The photo was so pretty! (And I wanted that bun photo for later reference. lol) Your description does make it clear now that I had the visual.

Jewel08 Hello! Welcome to the board! Are you natural, relaxed, texlaxed? I like to use Hairitage Hydration Mango Tango Cloud and Fantasia IC Sparklelites Gel for braid outs. I get fluffy and moisturized hair with hold when I use that combo.

-PYT You have to try to dust yourself at least one time. It's so liberating. You don't have to take off much; just the teensy-ist end of the coil to gage the amount you may need to remove (unless you want evenness that is).

 

[RegaLady]

@RegaLady Why did you poof? The photo was so pretty! (And I wanted that bun photo for later reference. lol) Your description does make it clear now that I had the visual.

I don't likes my photos hanging around here for too long

But now you get the point. I thought I would be twisting this summer, but bunning (twisted and braided is doing me fine)

 

[nickmack]

Hey everyone
I was just wondering - was there ever a before/after picture thread for the Twist/Braid/Bun for Growth Challenge series? If not, are there any veterans present who can share their before/after pics?

 

[-PYT]

NappyNelle Oh, I've trimmed plenty of times. Even made a vid of it. Just want to find an easier method...trimming the ends of twists did nothing for my ends. I just want to shave it all off.

 

[MeowMix]

nickmack....oops you caught me. I don't have any

-PYT.....noooooooooooooooooooooo.

 

[isawstars]

So... I'm about to take down/redo my 2 week old twists... Yall convinced me to go longer... before I was doin 'em once a week...

So of course I wore my twists out day 1-5ish... Then I started wearing beanies because I thought the looked a mess. I baggied every other day... and it helped with the frizziness... and yesterday and today I've been wearing my twists out again (day 12 & 13)... and I like 'em better than fresh twists!

I was at the music store trying out guitars and a guy told me that I looked like "India Arie." And I didn't mind at all, because I know I looked cute!

 

[Jewel08]

Jewel08 Hello! Welcome to the board! Are you natural, relaxed, texlaxed? I like to use Hairitage Hydration Mango Tango Cloud and Fantasia IC Sparklelites Gel for braid outs. I get fluffy and moisturized hair with hold when I use that combo.

Thxs NappyNelle! I texlax 2x a year, I will try Fantasia IC for braid outs, sounds like you will get a nice set.

 

[NappyNelle]

nickmack I let my hair airdry before twisting, so the length difference isn't as dramatic as when I show the loose hair comparison. Nevertheless, here are some shots:

July 2011:

October 2011:

November 2011:

January 2012:

April 2012:

Basically, my bands fall past my chin, and my twists now rest at APL in the back. Last July, they rested above SL with lip-length (lol) bangs. I hope that helps to encourage you!

(ETA: If you want to see loose hair comparison photos, I can provide them. Sorry for the people who have seen my hair pics many times before. )

 

[MsDee14]

I need to catch up on this thread. Haven't been in here for a while! From what I see so far, everyone's hair looks beautiful!!

I'm still in my twists that I did Saturday. They are starting to look raggedy so I will be enlisting the help of my hair scarves for week 2.
I really want to do a flat twist updo, but I feel like the twists wont last more than 1 week.

I'm also making a new mix with Shea-butter and Aloe vera gel for when I twist next to see if I get better hold. I recall doing this last year and it worked great..so I'm hoping for the same results this year.

Keep up the great work ladies!!

 

[Victoria44]

I just got my first batch of amla and olive heavy cream, and I really like the texture! I'm going to twist with it tonight, i'm so excited I've heard great thingsss

 

[Rocky91]

My hair is blowdried right now, and in a messy, very lazy bun.
i will likely continue to keep it simple cowash and bun during the week, DC and twistout/braidout on weekends.

 

[cnap]

I'm still in twists.Wash day was yesterday,but right now me and my hair are not on the same page, so it will stay in this bun until it behaves

 

[nickmack]

OOOOOOOOOOHHHH NappyNelle Look at all that hair! That's some pretty amazing retention! I'm trying to fight the urge to add hair to some of my twists to give me enough length to pull my hair up. Lol...

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

I did a variation on the Degas Ballerina Bun. This time I twisted my hair around a hair stick. It stayed up all day with NO PINS!

 

[NappyNelle]

I just got my first batch of amla and olive heavy cream, and I really like the texture! I'm going to twist with it tonight, i'm so excited I've heard great thingsss

Victoria44 This is my twisting staple! I apply to damp hair, make 8 braids, and air dry (usually overnight). The next day I twist.

I'm still in twists.Wash day was yesterday,but right now me and my hair are not on the same page, so it will stay in this bun until it behaves

cnap That is a pretty bun. Your hair looks like it's behaving to me.

OOOOOOOOOOHHHH NappyNelle Look at all that hair! That's some pretty amazing retention! I'm trying to fight the urge to add hair to some of my twists to give me enough length to pull my hair up. Lol...

nickmack LOL I know we hair people need evidence that certain things work, and I could only tell the difference when I saw where my twisted bangs fell, or when my hair was loose. Then SO asked me what I did for my twists to stay curled, but hanging past my shoulders.

Before I had enough hair to pull up, I pinned them into up styles. I faked it till I made it.

I did a variation on the Degas Ballerina Bun. This time I twisted my hair around a hair stick. It stayed up all day with NO PINS!

Wow, lovely kinkycurlygurl! Did you literally tie your hair around the stick to keep it up?

 

[-PYT]

cnap your hair looks luscious Love all these hair pics NappyNelle!

I cannot stop touching my hair. It's so soft. I'm not ready to give Wen the credit So I'm going to give it to the castor oil and grapeseed oil that I twisted with

What you ladies doing with your hair this wknd? I'm going to keep focusing on not shaving it off

 

[kinkycurlygurl]

@Victoria44 This is my twisting staple! I apply to damp hair, make 8 braids, and air dry (usually overnight). The next day I twist.



@cnap That is a pretty bun. Your hair looks like it's behaving to me.



@nickmack LOL I know we hair people need evidence that certain things work, and I could only tell the difference when I saw where my twisted bangs fell, or when my hair was loose. Then SO asked me what I did for my twists to stay curled, but hanging past my shoulders.

Before I had enough hair to pull up, I pinned them into up styles. I faked it till I made it.

Wow, lovely @kinkycurlygurl! Did you literally tie your hair around the stick to keep it up?

Yep, sure did. Just wrap the hair around the stick and tuck the ends in to hide them.

 

[Tibbar]

I took my medium sized twists out and replaced them with smaller braids last week. Since then I've been co-washing every day and trying out some different conditioners and leave in products. My hair feels super soft and moisturized, but all this co-washing and product trying has left these braids a fuzzy mess... I'm going to leave the braids in a few more days to continue co-washing, but I think I will end up putting the twists back in.

 

[Caramelangel247]

I'm kinda sad and kinda happy.
My beautiful afro is find gone. I fell for the perm. My workout was making it too difficult to work with all three hair textures in my hair.

So I'm sad about my afro but my hair was so thick and each month it is the longest it has ever been in my life.

So I'm torn if I should continue my hair journey relaxed and see how far it goes. Eventually I will be 100% natural curls on my hair. But I think I would want to big chop the next time I go natural and I'm so happy to have more than two inches of hair I can't consider cutting anything!!

I'm co washing every couple days with me exercising. But I'm only putting my hair in a bun or clipped up. I'm paranoid about the band breaking my ends so I twist and use a clip to hold up since my hair is short.

What product do you use to twist your hair? I would love to twist my hair in transition but my smooth ends just unravel!!!

 

[NappyNelle]

Hi Caramelangel347! :wave Have you tried any gels, and setting your ends on permrods or rollers? A tacky product can help to maintain curl at the ends. (I'm natural, but my ends unravel all the time :lol)

I will mention MsDee14 and Leslie_C because they have mastered twisting with straight ends.

BTW, You can pamper your relaxed hair as just another leg on your journey. And if you decide to BC or transition, we can encourage you the whole way.

 

[Leslie_C]

Hi @Caramelangel347! :wave Have you tried any gels, and setting your ends on permrods or rollers? A tacky product can help to maintain curl at the ends. (I'm natural, but my ends unravel all the time :lol)

I will mention @MsDee14 and @Leslie_C because they have mastered twisting with straight ends.

BTW, You can pamper your relaxed hair as just another leg on your journey. And if you decide to BC or transition, we can encourage you the whole way.

Caramelangel347, ditto what NappyNelle said...you can have healthy hair eitherway and either way can be a healthy hair journey If you want to try to do twists you will need for your hair to have some texture to it, so do it on an old braidout or bantu knot out and use shea butter for hold. I have more experimenting to do because mine unravel a little bit too, but next time Im either going to do the twists smaller and/or braid the last inch or so to keep the ends from unraveling. Are you thinking of transitioning again immediately? How far were you into your transition when you relaxed this time?

 

[jprayze]

I spent all last week wearing my hair down...I waiting for the curls to go away but they held on. I twisted my hair tonight for a twist out...which will eventually be a twist out bun.

 

[MsDee14]

ditto what NappyNelle said...you can have healthy hair eitherway and either way can be a healthy hair journey :) If you want to try to do twists you will need for your hair to have some texture to it, so do it on an old braidout or bantu knot out and use shea butter for hold. I have more experimenting to do because mine unravel a little bit too, but next time Im either going to do the twists smaller and/or braid the last inch or so to keep the ends from unraveling. Are you thinking of transitioning again immediately? How far were you into your transition when you relaxed this time?[/QUOTE]

[USER=216296]Caramelangel247

I co-sign with everything Leslie said.
You can also curl the ends with some straws to give them a better hold and so they can have a more natural look..see attached pics.

I recently mixed some shea-butter with aloe vera gel and that is by far the best mix I've made to keep my twists from unraveling.

 

[isawstars]

Has anyone kept medium twists in for more than 2 weeks? thursday was wash say but i got a crook in my neck. My traps/neck muscles are achy... So i am waiting until i feel better before redoing and shampooing my twists.

My twists are super frizzy at this point. I am wearing cute beanies for now...my only concern is my hair locking.

 

[Leslie_C]

@Caramelangel247

I co-sign with everything Leslie said.
You can also curl the ends with some straws to give them a better hold and so they can have a more natural look..see attached pics.

I recently mixed some shea-butter with aloe vera gel and that is by far the best mix I've made to keep my twists from unraveling.

MsDee14 can you tell me how to make the shea-aloe mix?? Id like to try that! Im drying to put some twists back in...I may to it tomorrow If not then def tuesday.



Ladies, where can I buy those beanie hats? Id love those for lazy days off/running errands/twists halfway put in or taken out wear

 

[MsDee14]

MsDee14 can you tell me how to make the shea-aloe mix?? Id like to try that! Im drying to put some twists back in...I may to it tomorrow If not then def tuesday.



Ladies, where can I buy those beanie hats? Id love those for lazy days off/running errands/twists halfway put in or taken out wear

Leslie_C I don't know exact measurements, but my mix consists of:

Shea Butter
EVOO
Castor Oil
Essential Oils- Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Tea Tree
Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel

I put them all into a container and I whip it together. I don't melt the shea-butter because with the oils, the shea-butter is not that hard to mix and the whole mix becomes a very soft and fluffy.

 

[Leslie_C]

@Leslie_C I don't know exact measurements, but my mix consists of:

Shea Butter
EVOO
Castor Oil
Essential Oils- Eucalyptus, Rosemary and Tea Tree
Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel

I put them all into a container and I whip it together. I don't melt the shea-butter because with the oils, the shea-butter is not that hard to mix and the whole mix becomes a very soft and fluffy.

MsDee14 thanks, you should make a blog post about this mix, sounds awesome! Is it mostly shea butter with say maybe a tablespoon each of the rest and several drops of essential oils?

Have you ever twisted just past th natual hair and then flexirod set the relaxed part? I want to try that out soon.

 

[Rocky91]

why did my mom throw mad shade at my edges last night?? looking like, you need to loosen your buns it looks thin.
oh brother.
i really need to do a successful twist set because i don't want to regret all these buns. that will be attempted tomorrow.