Alright Ladies and Gents... as I promised a couple of days ago, here is a detailed account of all the prep work and items used and upkeep information for my new hairstyle!!! (^_^)
After watching numerous video's on youtube featuring various women ( and a handful of men ) and their techniques, hair purchases and product lists, I decided I had gathered enough information to do my own.
In the previous blog I wrote a list of items that I used. So let me just get straight to it...
On October 10th I washed and deep conditioned my hair.
I washed my hair with a combination of Aztec Secret Bentonite Clay, apple cider vinegar, water and aloe vera juice. I made sure that the mixture was very watery opposed to paste like ( remember how I talked about the ayurvedic kalpi-tone experience??? Well, I was not going to make that mistake again ) With the mixture thin opposed to thick, it made the formula easy to apply to my scalp and the rest of my hair without pulling at my roots or messing altering the textured of my hair. Naturally because the mixture contains clay, the ingredients start to stiffen while drying. I allowed the product to do their thing for about 20 minutes, then I washed the DIY shampoo out of my hair with first warm water, detangled my hair under the showerhead via sections, and re-rinsed my scalp and hair with ice cold water. The idea of using the warm water/ ice cold water was to keep the hair shafts first closed to rinse out majority of the cleaning agent, and then with the cold water , open the hair shafts again to suck in as much water as possible. I then took my Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque and generously applied the conditioner to my scalp and hair. I did not wash the conditioner out of my hair because I wanted to make sure that my hair was very well conditioned before I installed my twists. I then pulled my hair into a lose bun and covered my hair with a silk scarf. On October 14th wet my hair under the shower head making sure that my hair and scalp were wet. I then re-applied the deep conditioner with leave in conditioner and sectioned my hair into 5 parts, finger detangled my hair via section, and twisted each section. The 5 parts that I made basically served as a dividing template for how I was going to start installing the twists. Since I have never actually installed any form of extensions in my heir before , I knew that I wanted to be able to see what I was doing at least in the beginning. So the first section I started working on was the right side of my head. But before I speed ahead... let me back track a little bit!!!
In watching the youtube video's there were a lot of people talking about whether they blow dried their hair or flat ironed their hair before installing their set of kinky twists. To me, since I have not used any form of heating tools for close to two years and I was going for the natural texture look of my hair , I preferred to do my hair while it was wet opposed to blow dried or flat ironed. I also wanted to make sure that the products that I was going to be applying to my hair would be applied the same way I always applied them when I was putting my hair in two strand twists. Another thing I noticed in watching the video's was that there were quite a few people that were having difficulty installing their twists with the invisible method especially if they had decided to install medium or smaller sized twists. Some of them complained that with hair product it was very difficult to attach the added hair and their natural hair firmly. So they decided to install with the braid in method. I just simply did not like the way that looked , so I decided from the very beginning that I was going to take as long as I needed to achieve the invisible twist in method opposed to the braid in method.
So... after I had made sure my hair was parted properly, and moisturized, I set up the items I needed to install my twists:
- First... After I re-moisturized my hair and scalp on October 14th, I opened two packs of the T1B/ wine/burgundy tip hair. With each individual piece, I ripped it in half and put it in a pile. ( The pieces of hair are already cut into specific portions, but I pulled them apart because I wanted to maximize the length of the hair and make the pieces the size I wanted for the desired thickness of each individual twist) I used my rat tail comb to create the box size I wanted for my twists. Then I used the clips to keep stray hair or the other pieces from falling into the already parted and boxed hair. I took two pieces of hair from the pile and staggered the pieces so that one piece was about 5 or so inches shorter than one side, and about 5 inches or so longer on the other. What that did was extended the hair length from 17 inches to closer to 25 inches long.
- Second... I began to install the twists on the right side of my head. That way I would be able to see what I was doing in the mirror. It took me a while to get the hang of starting the twist with the invisible method, but after a while I got the hang of it. I divided the box'd part of my hair into two pieces, placed the extension hair in the middle crating an "X", twisted my hair in with the extension hair on the right side to the right about 7 times or so, and then twisted the left side of my hair and the extension piece in the opposite direction. I then crossed the twisted pieces over and continued twisting all the way down the hair. Before I created each twist, I made sure to spray my hair and scalp with the oil, water, leave in conditioner mix spray bottle and also apply my shea moisture curling soufflé and kinky curly curling custard gel mixture to my natural hair from root to tip. My hair easily blended into the textured marley hair without any of my hair sticking out. I credit that breakthrough to not blow drying my hair and leaving it in it's natural state prior to installing the twists. I managed to repeat this activity for the entire right side of my head and completed the section in close to 4 hours, and then took a 2 hour dinner break.
- Third... I took the pack of M1B/ Red with Red tip hair and separated about 1/3rd of the hair from the pack in the same manner I divided the T1B/wine/burgundy with burgundy tip hair. I then started working on the bottom back portion of my head taking one of the pieces of the M1B/Red hair and one piece of the T1B/wine/ burgundy hair and staggering the hair the same way I extended the length of the hair for the twists I installed on the right side. I used the same parting method to make medium box parts for the twists I was going to make, and installed them. I only used this color combination on the bottom back portion of my hair to create a bright highlight hat did not over power the hairstyle that I was looking to achieve. Basically it gave a very convincing ombre look to my twists when the whole thing was completed.
- Fourth... I finished the far back high light colored section, and then completed the rest of the back using only the T1B/wine/ burgundy hair. I also finished the left side of my head. That left only the very front and the middle sections of my hair to complete. But I had stopped working and wrapped my hair in a silk scarf once the clock read 4am.
- Fifth... I finished the last two sections of my hair. After looking at my handy work, I realized that there were several twists that were really loose ( mainly on the right side of my head, which was to be expected since I had not really gotten the hang of how to use the invisible twist in method all that well until I got into the back part of my head), so I had to take them down and re-do them in order to make them tighter at the roots. I started the front and middle sections at 12pm on October 15th and finished both sections as well as re-did the twists that were in need of repair by 4pm.
- Sixth... I dipped the ends of my twists (which literally reached the middle of my butt ) in hot water to make the ends smoother and look less like puffs of unattended hair...just tamed them up a bit. Then I cut the ends so that the length of all my hair was hovering around my hips instead of my tailbone. After everything was done, I made sure to spray my scalp with my oil, water, leave in conditioner mixture. It stopped my head from itching like crazy the first day I was able to wear them out!!! (^_^)
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| M1B/Red with Red tip hair on the left.... TIB/wine/burgundy with burgundy tip hair on the right!!! |
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| Extra Dark Jamaican Black Castor Oil |
I really have no idea how log it literally took me to complete this hairstyle. But, my guess is that it probably too between 13 -15 hours to complete. The great thing about the entire process is that I discovered that I was able to twist my hair faster and with pretty good accuracy after I got the hang of twisting the hair close enough to the scalp to make the twist tight. My fingers never developed blisters or were sore. And I know that is something really important . I remember installing braids in my baby sister's hair many moons ago, and I had sore blistered fingers like you wouldn't believe. But that to me just proves that there are some hair brands that make your fingers bleed , while other synthetic brands feel and act like real hair. I was pleased with the outcome of my hair because I realized that whenever the twists started looking old or loosened to the point of detachment, I can easily take them apart and redo them in less than 5 minutes. I do not have to schedule and appointment for my hair dresser to charge me half the price of my original hair style just for 3 rows of part detailed twists ... because I am my own hairdresser!!! Thank goodness for DIY ( Do It Yourself ) abilities!!! I have had these twists in for 10 days now, and I have re-done a few twists here and there since the original setting, but to be honest, I am very VERY pleased with my overall look and very proud of my accomplishment!!! I think I did a pretty good job, and I have the confidence that the next time I install them, I will be able to do them in 8 hours or less!!!
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| The front portion of my head where you can clearly see the invisible twist roots!!! (^_^) |
*** Maintenance ***
One of my biggest concerns with wearing my hair in this style was whether my scalp and roots would become super dry and unbearably itchy. I also did not want to cause more damage than good by having them in this hairstyle without being able to keep my scalp and roots moisturized the way I would like to. But so far...there have only been a few days where my scalp was absolutely itch central. I have parts of my scalp that have minor alopecia patches, so for those locations I made the twists larger and made sure that I kept those area's properly moisturized with water and oil. At one point I was worried that the itch would lead to my hair falling out in those itchy patches. So I looked up information on itchy scalp with kinky twists, and this is what I found from blackgirllonghair.com
Luckily, there are a few natural remedies you can try to see if you can finally win the war against the “itchies and the scratchies.”
1. Apple Cider Vinegar
A staple in the world of hair care, when diluted with water apple cider vinegar is used for its clarifying properties as well as its ability to help reduce hair porosity as a rinse due to its low pH balance. It also has anti-bacterial qualities that make it particularly helpful in treating an itchy scalp that is caused by bacteria build-up, and against any fungal condition (yeast on the scalp). Yeast don’t like an acidic environment so swabbing the scalp with an ACV solution can be helpful. Just be careful to make sure that you dilute it enough to a level where it is comfortable enough to put on your scalp, or else it will sting like crazy, especially if you have any abraded skin. The raw, unfiltered organic ACV is the best kind.
2. Aloe VeraIn case you decide to try the ACV, consider having some aloe vera gel on hand to soothe any stinging sensations that you may get. Aloe Vera can be used straight from the plant, or the organic gel can be bought commercially. Naturally emollient and calming, it is a great balm for the scalp that will also soften the hair and feed your roots.
3. Tea Tree OilMelaleuca Alternifolia, or simply “Tea Tree Oil” is ubiquitous in shampoos and conditioners for this very condition in large part due to its highly antiseptic qualities. It’s a triple threat to scalp irritations because of its anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. Again, Tea Tree Oil should not be used full strength and is best when used with a carrier oil. Which brings us to the next tried and true product…
4. Coconut OilEver seen a moldy coconut? That’s because the capyrilic acid in coconuts inhibit the growth of fungus. Incidentally, caprylic acid is also an active ingredient in a lot of vitamin supplements for women who are trying to suppress an overgrowth of candida (yeast) throughout the body. As always, look for the unfiltered, unrefined, organic extra-virgin coconut oil, cold-pressed if possible. It’s especially effective when infused with a few drops of tea tree oil.
After I read this information, I was immediately relieved because I had a spray bottle of aloe vera juice already waiting for me to use. So I sprayed my scalp with it, and no longer had the itching problem that I was experiencing. I also make sure to spray my scalp with my water, oil and leave in conditioner mixture every night before I go to bed. Every other day I try to apply a thin coat of extra dark Jamaican black castor oil on my scalp too because it is supposed to have remarkable healing properties as well as ingredients that are said to help you hair grow!! And I am all about that life!!! LOL
So... that in a nutshell is my complete Kinky Twist hair process. I hope you have enjoyed today's detailed blog!!! I shall return soon to give you an update on some of the new styles that I am going to try and experiment with since my twists are no longer too stiff to style. LOL
*** Special shout out to LaReinaMcMeanie on youtube. She was the ONLY woman to post a tutorial using the colors that I eventually ended up purchasing to create this style!!! Thank you soo much!!!***
Until next time love bugs ... మీరు త్వరలో చర్చ!
(Mīru tvaralō carca!) (^_^)
