2019 Twist, Braid, Bun Challenge - No Hiding Your Hair

Chicoro

5 Year Shea Anniversary: Started Dec 16th, 2016!
Thank you, my dear! It was thanks to the enthusiasm of you and the other Queen Shea ladies that my progress has been kicked up a notch! I'm really glad that I decided to give it another chance.

How fabulous for you that Shea butter is helping and supporting your length retention process. I'm glad when you gave it a second try that it worked! Thank you for the feedback. That is so nice of you to let us Queen Shea Ladies in Waiting, know.
 

Meritamen

On a happy hair journey
1. What is your primary style (twists, braids, bunning, etc.)?
Twists that are worn up in a bun or braided with the ends tucked.

2. What is your style maintenance regimen?
The regimen is very simple because even though caring for my hair is sort of a hobby, I don't have a lot of time and I'm hair lazy.
- I shampoo and deep condition my loose hair once a month, then braid it to let it stretch while it air drys. After which I put my hair in twists the following day.
- From then on I care for my hair in twists for the month making sure to moisturize and seal every other day. I also continue to shampoo and condition my hair in twists and air dry them stretched in braids. I pay extra attention to my ends making sure to add more moisturizer and oil to them.
- I retwist the twists along the hairline and any other twists that look raged after a wash.
- My twists are kept in buns or braided up making sure to always tuck the ends.

I just started my hair growth journey with this regimen last month so it's still a work in progress. Still experimenting with hairstyles and methods like African threading to stretch my hair more.

3. Are you natural, relaxed, transitioning?
Natural

4. What do you hope to achieve from the challenge?
Hope to find methods that I can add to my routine that reduce single strand knots. Trying to go 6 months before my next trim.

5. How often will you restyle your hair?
I take down the twists and redo them once a month.
 
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snoop

Well-Known Member
I'm still going at it. I had my hair in medium twists two weeks ago, but didn't like it so switched to mini twists this week. Didn't like them either. Took them out yesterday and attended a festival with a twist out. I'm going to change my parts and retwist tonight or tomorrow.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Thanks for keeping this thread alive ladies. I needed a break from my hair so have put in box braids. Going to try to keep it put away for a while and maybe until the end of the year.

Will revisit twist in the fall and see where I am.
 

blazingbeauty

Well-Known Member
Still in the challenge! Prepood and washed yesterday. I will put my hair in a sleek crown bun today for the next two weeks.

The past two weeks I wore my hair in twists in a low bun. I washed weekly instead of every two weeks to re-twist and keep the style fresh.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I'm still just lurking in my own thread. However, last week I put in 2 strand twists which was the first time in months. My twists still look the same but I had a successful discover. I had tried spritzing my hair with various moisturizers and always ended up with dry, frizzy and sticky hair. I used the braid spray I bought for my box braids and it gives me the right amount of moisture without the stickiness. So when I do return to two strands full time, I now have the right spray to keep my twist moisturized.

I will probably do 2 more months of extensions before switching back to my twists for the winter.
 

blazingbeauty

Well-Known Member
I'm still just lurking in my own thread. However, last week I put in 2 strand twists which was the first time in months. My twists still look the same but I had a successful discover. I had tried spritzing my hair with various moisturizers and always ended up with dry, frizzy and sticky hair. I used the braid spray I bought for my box braids and it gives me the right amount of moisture without the stickiness. So when I do return to two strands full time, I now have the right spray to keep my twist moisturized.

I will probably do 2 more months of extensions before switching back to my twists for the winter.

People sleep on braid spray! When I took out my Marley twists, my hair was so moisturized because of the braid spray. It’s like s-curl but less sticky. I was so surprised - it’d been a while since I used a real braid spray vs a diy concoction. I’m glad you found something that worked for you.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
People sleep on braid spray! When I took out my Marley twists, my hair was so moisturized because of the braid spray. It’s like s-curl but less sticky. I was so surprised - it’d been a while since I used a real braid spray vs a diy concoction. I’m glad you found something that worked for you.
Usually people are suggesting the curl sprays which I have tried. And they were too sticky. For some reason I thought braid spray would be the same. Glad I was wrong. :yay:
 

Meritamen

On a happy hair journey
Ok, no more messing around, trying to get another two inches by the end of December. I played around with box braids with fake hair for 2 and half weeks, plus wore my hair out this week. That was fun but I saw great retention with having my two-strand twists up in a bun or braid. Going back to that for September. :)
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Ok, no more messing around, trying to get another two inches by the end of December. I played around with box braids with fake hair for 2 and half weeks, plus wore my hair out this week. That was fun but I saw great retention with having my two-strand twists up in a bun or braid. Going back to that for September. :)
Nothing wrong with a little break
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I'm going to do 1 more round of extensions and then get back to twist of some kind for the remainder of the year. For some reason my twist have been holding more moisture than they usually do which makes me feel I can have more success with them than I had before.

I'm in twist this week and next week and my get it braided up next Sunday.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I bought several products from Hair Rules and decided to give them a try tonight. I twisted tonight with the curl cream versus my regular gel. So far my twist have a little hang but have some plumpness as well. I usually have one or the other. I am interested to see how my hair dries and if my hair will hold moisture all week. Usually when I use a hair cream my hair dries sort of crunchy.

If this set holds up well I won't do another round of extensions, I will just stick with 2 strands for a while. Because they are staying moisturized longer, they are more wearable.
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
I just installed mini twists for the first time in months. I've been wearing jumbo twists all summer. I don't think that they helped my retention, but if I'm being honest it was probably less the style and probably more me.
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
I'm still twisting my hair, but now I've fully embracing medium twists. I like that they can be installed and taken down quickly. They're also a bit more forgiving "grid" pattern so that I can nurse my crown back to health without placing a lot of tension on that area.
 

Alta Angel

Well-Known Member
And see, I just found out the opposite. I twisted my hair in medium twists on Friday. I look like a crazy person. They look ratty and less "full". Mini twists or bust for me from now on. I guess I will be doing updos for the next two weeks...

I'm still twisting my hair, but now I've fully embracing medium twists. I like that they can be installed and taken down quickly. They're also a bit more forgiving "grid" pattern so that I can nurse my crown back to health without placing a lot of tension on that area.
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
And see, I just found out the opposite. I twisted my hair in medium twists on Friday. I look like a crazy person. They look ratty and less "full". Mini twists or bust for me from now on. I guess I will be doing updos for the next two weeks...

For sure. Mini twists are beautiful and yours always look amazing! I've pretty much worn them for 7 years straight. I'm embracing this change, even if it's for a short while.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I finally colored my hair so I put in 2 strand twists tonight. I will try to take pictures tonight. I think I finally have a good regimen for putting in my twist. I will see how it holds up this week.

After I condition, I spritz on my leave-in and then I put my hair into bantu knots and let it dry a bit. I take a quarter size amount of gel and apply it to each section. Then I add water and work the gel in to each section. Doing it all at one time makes my install quicker and keeps my hair moisturized while I'm twisting.

Only 3 more months to the end of the year I am going to try to keep to 2 strand twists installs.
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
Back into some freshly washed, medium sized twists. Afterwards, I threaded them into a ponytail. The goal is to moisturize at the beginning/mid of next week.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Took my twist out tonight. I shampooed and doing an overnight DC. Will twist tomorrow. I am looking forward to the day my twist are long enough to pull up into a small bun or something or they get some real hangtime. I would love to be able to do large twist that don't look super crazy.
 
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