7/11: 1 week Minitwists+ daily conditioning routine

For the last week I have been wearing mini twists as a protective style. I was hesitant about this style in the beginning, but it has definitely grown on me. For my hair type, they are starting to look like locs even though there are no signs of locking. I love the versatility and the ability to continue to style my hair even with the twists in. Before, I didn't like wearing twists because they were just there...not much flair or pizazz. But now, I am able to pin them to the side, throw on a head band, do flat twists, etc. The possibilities are endless, just like with natural hair.As of now, I plan on keeping the twists in for 3-4 weeks.

For the first few nights I experimented with ways to keep my hair stretched and moisturized overnight.

Night One: I tried Naptural95's (YouTube) hair wrapping method... I had a feeling that it wouldn't work because my twists are not nearly as long as her's are, but I figured it was worth a shot. I ended up using a leave-in conditioner mix to mist my hair and make the twists hang.

Night Two: I did four flat twists going all the way back. This also left my hair poking in random directions leaving me no choice but to spritz and reshape my hair.

Night Three: I followed Keythema's (YouTube) Moisturizing routine which involves making hair damp (not dripping) with a leave-in conditioning spray, followed by Shea butter or a Shea butter mix on the hair, focusing on the ends. I then chose to put the twists into 3 ponytails, banding the ends. The hair is then covered with a clear shower cap, and then reinforced with a hair wrap. This is also referred to as the "Bagging method."

This has become my ritual and I love the way that my hair feels every morning and throughout the day. My hair has remained moisturized and healthy. In the morning I just take out the bands, shake my hair and finger form the hair to fall the way that I desire. Because the hair is still moist, it is easy to rearrange and will dry in that form.

I don't have pictures yet, but plan to take some for the remainder of my mini twist term.

Until next time, stay nappily happy!

Banding

For those who don't know, banding is a non-heat method used to stretch your hair. This has been particularly useful for me because I have classified 4b/4c hair which tends to be fragile so I try to stay away from as much added heat as possible. Banding consists of sectioning off the hair (the number of sections depends of the length and thickness of your hair) and apply little cloth bands (no metal clasps) down each ponytail shaft. This keeps the hair in a semi-straight position as it dries leaving stretched hair. I have read that banding can be done on wet or dry hair, but I prefer to band on wet hair and have received better results this way. Due to may hair structure, I also tend to part my hair into 8 sometimes 9 sections and allow my hair to dry overnight while covered with a bonnet.

It looks crazy, I know, but works wonders for a no heat regimen.

From 6/14/2011

Today I did a twist out after co-washing out my shingle style. I did not really like the twist out. I think that because my hair is getting longer, twist outs are starting to look a little unruly. But, it may also be due to a lack of moisture, so I need to get my hair back to a happy moisturized state.

To attempt to redeem my hair, I banded my hair on dry hair. This was my first time banding on dry hair, but I read that it is possible. I first detangled my twist out by saturating my hair with shea butter. I proceeded to band my hair in 8 sections. I tend to section my hair by parting one section on each side of my head and then dividing the middle section into four. We'll see how this banding session works in the morning.