Hair Tip #15: Twists on Stretched Hair

One of my most go-to protective styles are twists! They are very easy to do, they last for several days and once I take them out, I love the curl definition they create! I find that they last the longest if I do them on stretched hair.

What is stretched hair? It is a way to stretch your curls out to show more length. There are many ways to do this without the use of heat. You can do this by twisting your hair, by braiding your hair, french braids, flat twists, etc. Once you remove the twists, braids, etc, your hair will be stretched to a longer length than it would have been in its natural state. Some people even consider stretched hair blow dried hair. Personally, I do not blow dry my hair even when I straighten it because it can cause heat damage!

While there are many ways to do twists, I get the best results on stretched hair.

Here is how I stretch my hair for twists:

• After my washing routine, I detangle my hair using a leave in conditioner (right now I am using garnier frutis) and wide toothed comb. I use clamps (just like the ones in the picture) to separate the hair as I detangle. I seal in moisture with oil (right now I am using Africas Ultimate Herbal oil and Hollywood Beauty Tea Tree Oil) paying specific attention to the ends.
• Next, I twist my hair in 8-10 large twists all over my head. If I am doing this in the morning, I pin it all back into an up-do. If I am doing this at night, I just put on my scarf and silk bonnet.
• The next day, after my hair has dried, I re-twist my hair into smaller twists. So each large twist turns into 2-3 smaller twists. This makes my twists longer in length then they would be on wet hair.

WHY are twists better on stretched hair?

• Longevity
• Less frizz
• More length
• Better definition for twist out

Can you see the difference??

Lots of length!!

Very little frizz!

Now this is just the beginning. No need to wear your twists in a frumpy style! I did these twists in the evening so I put in about 8 flexi-rods over night (which stretches it even more)

 Here is how it turned out the next day!

Curlies to the side :)

Very cute and easy!!

In a side pony with some pieces pinned up :)

I hope you can apply this to your protective style knowledge archives! This is a great way to make your twists look sheen, neat and achieve a beautiful twist out! I got so many compliments when I wore the twist out. Too bad I didn't take pics lol

Celebrating protective styling the cute way <3