10 Twist-Out Tips

I first tried doing my own twist-outs about seven months ago.  From the very first day, I really fell in love with the look and the ease of maintenance.  Since then, I've been practicing them on my hair practically every week.  I've had a lot of trial and error.  Here are a few of my own personal twist out lessons.


My first set of twists
End of June 2012



1. Dampen your hair and pull out every curl before washing.  I especially start with this step if I am starting with an old twist-out because my curls tend to wrap around each other by day six or seven.  Once the water runs through my hair, any section that is the tiniest bit tangled will be very tangled by the end of cowashing.  This step takes a little time and my hair ends up in a huge afro when I'm finish.  However, it cuts down on detangling later.  I found that when I start with this step, I get less than half of the shedding I was normally getting.



June 2012

2. Deep conditioning makes a difference.  Deep conditioning adds much needed moisture to my hair and it lasts for days.  There were some weeks that I didn't feel like going through the trouble to deep condition my hair.  Boy did I pay for it!  My hair wasn't soft or shiny. Also, I didn't have the same level of definition.  Lesson learned!  Always deep condition!

3.  Don't split your hair into four sections to do the twists.  I have seen many tutorials on twist-outs or braid-outs.  Many times they will say split your hair into four parts.  It seems like it really worked for them.  I quickly learned that it wasn't for me.  Since my hair isn't as thick as others, the part straight down the middle doesn't go away after I untwist my hair.  It sticks out like a sore thumb and it really looks strange.  I have tried shaking my hair, pulling it out a little at the root and separating the curls to camouflage the area.  Every time it was an epic failure.  My solution was to stagger my parts so that they camouflage each other as soon as I take out the twists.  By starting with staggered parts, I don't have to touch my hair too much once I take down the twists.



My hair after I unraveled the twist.
June 2012

4. Lots of styling cream equals a longer dry time.  My styling cream (Tresemme Naturals) helps to set my hair in the twists and hold in the moisture.  However, too much could result in a longer dry time.  It's alright when I don't really have any place special to go, but there are times that I need to have my hair completely dry in the morning.  I use a t-shirt to help squeeze out the water and excess product.  If I still have wet hair in the morning, I sit under a cool drier. 

5.  Don't twist all the way to the ends.  I have often heard people say this.  However, I made this mistake on a few occasions on some of my own twists.  Needless to say, I was sorry I did.  My hair became tangled on the ends.  I had to add water and conditioner to the tangled sections to help them slip apart, which worked for the most part.  Other areas had to be clipped off.  Really, you should stop about an inch from the ends and twirl the rest around your finger to help set a nice coil on the ends. 



Jan. 2013

6.  Moisturize and pineapple at night.  I never really worried about moisturizing and pineappling at night when I was wearing wash-and-go styles.  Twist-outs stretch my hair, so my hair rubs against my clothes a lot more than it does with a wash-and go.  Also, in the winter, my hair tends to dry out easily.  I use oil and/or conditioner to keep my hair moisturized before I do my night time pineapple.

7.  Spray a mist of water to refresh your curls in the morning. Just like with a wash-and-go, water can refresh your twist-outs in the morning.  However, only spray a very light mist of water, like 1-2 sprays.  Too much water could result in frizz.

8.  Lubricate your fingers with the natural oil of your choice before unraveling.  I actually mentioned this in another post, but I thought I would mention it again because it works so well for unraveling twists.  They slip apart with ease.  It just makes the process go a lot faster,.

9.  Don't touch!  I say this often, but I have to admit I have a very hard time following this rule.  I find myself playing in my hair without even realizing.  It leads dryness, frizz and split ends.  I have cut down on touching, but I still make this mistake every so often.



Jan. 2013

10.  If you get any frizzy spots re-twist them.  I wet my fingers with water and smooth it on the section that I want to re-twist.  Then, I add a little more styling cream and re-twist the section.  It will be dry in a very short time as long as you don't use too much water and product.  It won't look like the first day however it will give you a few more days out of your style.












These are just a few of the most important lessons that I have learned about my twist-outs.  I probably could have named a few more and there are definitely more lessons to learn.  However, these few changes have helped me really love twist-outs.

What would you add to this list?