Low Manipulation Challenge/hangout 2018 (braidouts, Twistouts, Bantu Knot-outs, Rollersets, Etc.)

[YvetteWithJoy]

I’m going to test the out with you this weekend
Clay wash
DC with TGIN honey Shea (maybe)
Detangling brush with TJ tea tree conditioner
Leave-in lightly applied SM curl milk ( Sally’s version)
Argan oil (but I’m strongly leaning to buy CHI silk infusion instead ) or PM supper skinny serum?
Style in 3 flat twists/ braids instead

Yay!

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I'm going to try an adaptation of the method and style below.


I don't know if the plan below will work to achieve comparable results. It's a complete experiment.

1. Cleanse: Soultanicals ayurvedic poo bar (discontinued)
2. Detangle: Curl Junkie Repair Me
3. Balancing DC: Curl Junkie Repair Me under microwaveable thermal cap
4. Heat protectant: Texture ID Foam (from Sally's)
5. Ends care: Jakeala Shea Amla Parfait
6. Blow dry serum: Fantasia IC whatever-whatever
7. Blow dry: Lescolton paddle brush dryer
8. Twist butter/crème/gel: ??? Bronner Brothers Firm Hold Curling Gel for the strong, week-long hold???

I did steps 1-3. Instead of the Soultanicals poo bar, I used the 22nd Century Natural (Woman) shampoo bar.

I don't know why I keep forgetting how great that bar is for my hair. I was able to finger detangle with it, and it kept my hair elongated so that it didn't retangle. Upon rinse out, my hair was hydrated, strong, clean, and just overall looking and feeling great. I really need to primarily use this bar (and use a chelating poo every now and then) and nothing else.

I tested two front areas with the rest of the steps. Everything worked great, except the Bronner Brothers gel on dry hair may not work too great. I hadn't thought of that. It didn't seem to sink in. That may not matter. I'll see once I return home and untwist those test sections.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Did my wash and go and liked the results, but I'm really trying to see how long it will last and what my hair will be like when I wash it out.

 

[faithVA]

I'm going to try an adaptation of the method and style below.


I don't know if the plan below will work to achieve comparable results. It's a complete experiment.

1. Cleanse: Soultanicals ayurvedic poo bar (discontinued)
2. Detangle: Curl Junkie Repair Me
3. Balancing DC: Curl Junkie Repair Me under microwaveable thermal cap
4. Heat protectant: Texture ID Foam (from Sally's)
5. Ends care: Jakeala Shea Amla Parfait
6. Blow dry serum: Fantasia IC whatever-whatever
7. Blow dry: Lescolton paddle brush dryer
8. Twist butter/crème/gel: ??? Bronner Brothers Firm Hold Curling Gel for the strong, week-long hold???

I love a flat twist out. It's so simple and it looks so good.

You may want to put some small perm rods on the ends of your twist to make sure you get just a bump of curl on the ends. Your hair may curl without it but my ends tend to just stay straight when I flat twist.

I would twist with something non water based to prevent any reversion. I have to do more twist since my hair is so short. So I use a light to medium hold so I get more waves. I tried a firmer hold and my waves were too defined and I had to separate more. With the lighter hold my hair was more fluffy and I really didn't have to separte to hide the parts.

Can't wait to see your results. Are you doing just 2 twist?

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I love a flat twist out. It's so simple and it looks so good.

You may want to put some small perm rods on the ends of your twist to make sure you get just a bump of curl on the ends. Your hair may curl without it but my ends tend to just stay straight when I flat twist.

I would twist with something non water based to prevent any reversion. I have to do more twist since my hair is so short. So I use a light to medium hold so I get more waves. I tried a firmer hold and my waves were too defined and I had to separate more. With the lighter hold my hair was more fluffy and I really didn't have to separte to hide the parts.

Can't wait to see your results. Are you doing just 2 twist?

Thanks so much! You're so helpful!

I'm trying just two flat twists.

So . . . I did my best, you guys. I was running out of steam at the end, losing track of whether hair had twisting product or not, etc.

The right side is a little loose in the back. If I don't exactly like tomorrow's results, I will retwist.

I'll share the results. Here are the twists. You were right, @faithVA: I had to put something on the ends.

 

[faithVA]

Thanks so much! You're so helpful!

I'm trying just two flat twists.

So . . . I did my best, you guys. I was running out of steam at the end, losing track of whether hair had twisting product or not, etc.

The right side is a little loose in the back. If I don't exactly like tomorrow's results, I will retwist.

I'll share the results. Here are the twists. You were right, @faithVA: I had to put something on the ends.

The longer the hair it seems the less you have to do. Hopefully it turns out nicely. If not like you said you can retwist. When I do flat twist outs I find I can retwist for a week and the style holds. I can't say that about any other style I've tried.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

It's not looking too good, you guys!

Mm.

I believe I know the problem: Too much Fantasia IC blow dry serum. Too much product in general.

However, I'm going to work on this until I master it. I love the simplicity and wearability of the two flat twists.

This gives me a hair goal--something to work on. Yay!

Ideas:
I think I was heavy handed because I worry about heat damage. I can work to avoid heavy handedness. Also, I might try to straighten with my steaming brush next time: Those straightening results easily held definition from twists.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I wore my hair in a messy bun all day, then I applied Hairveda Red Tea Heavy Cream to try to increase my hair's pliability so that I could try twisting again. (Earlier I applied too much product, and my hair was stiff and weighed down).

This time I applied 4 flat twists on each half.

I hope this works to produce a wearable for church tomorrow. Otherwise, a ponytail it will be.

Aside: My days and nights are getting reversed. I'm going to try to force myself to sleep.

 

[janaq2003]

I can't get flat twists to work. They tangle when I take them down which destroys the pattern. I detangle and moisturize and seal thoroughly each section before the twist.. what gives??

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

The results of flat twist out attempt #2 are attached.

It is too soft to last very long. At least my hair has lots of movement (again)! One thing I did right: Gel down my flyaways at my roots.

I learned a lot with this week's attempt to do a flat twist out on blown dry hair.

The lady from the video claims this as a length retaining style. I don't know about that. I saw slight hair loss from blow drying. I don't know how "retaining" this style is of fine hair. I'll see if I can reduce damage on future attempts.

 

[Always~Wear~Joy]

I did a bun for a few days because I was just so busy but I redid my set last night. A braid and curl with flexirods on the end. I had to go back to the set because buns are just not that healthy of a hairstyle for me at this length-I don't like that tugging on my edges.

Have you seen this tutorial to eliminate tension on edges when doing buns? It has helped me so much

 

[FoxxyLocs]

The results of flat twist out attempt #2 are attached.

It is too soft to last very long. At least my hair has lots of movement (again)! One thing I did right: Gel down my flyaways at my roots.

I learned a lot with this week's attempt to do a flat twist out on blown dry hair.

The lady from the video claims this as a length retaining style. I don't know about that. I saw slight hair loss from blow drying. I don't know how "retaining" this style is of fine hair. I'll see if I can reduce damage on future attempts.

I think I posted about this before, but my twist outs and braid outs on blow dried hair never last long and they don't have as much definition as a wet set. I've been trying to figure out how to overcome this because I do like the extra stretch from blow drying. As soon as the outside air hits it, it looks like I didn't do anything to my hair at all.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

I think I posted about this before, but my twist outs and braid outs on blow dried hair never last long and they don't have as much definition as a wet set. I've been trying to figure out how to overcome this because I do like the extra stretch from blow drying. As soon as the outside air hits it, it looks like I didn't do anything to my hair at all.

Thanks so VERY MUCH for sharing that. As I was blow drying and watching the small but definite damage it caused, I was thinking, "I would probably feel SO MUCH BETTER doing this on wet hair."

My issue is that my hair is so coily, that flat twisting becomes very difficult to do. It's the "pick up additional hair to add to the twist" part that gets difficult. It's hard to pick up extra hair when it's super coiled with the hair next to it.

I'm thinking about trying to flat twist wet hair that is saturated with something super slippery and detangling, such as Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion or Shea Moisture High Porosity Moisture Correct Masque. (I've seen a YouTuber use the later as her leave-in.)

 

[Alma Petra]

I can't get flat twists to work. They tangle when I take them down which destroys the pattern. I detangle and moisturize and seal thoroughly each section before the twist.. what gives??

Hmmm in my experience these out styles are best to be done on damp rather than soaking wet or dry hair. If it's soaking wet, you are liable to take it down later when it's still not yet completely dry and so it will frizz up. If you do it on dry hair, it will not completely mold to the shape you put it in and so there will be very little hold. Again it will frizz up. What I do is I let my hair dry a little with the leave-in in it and when it's damp I add my gel and then twist. The gel will add additional moisture but not too much.
Other than this, another reason that can make hair tangle is unhealthy ends. These tend to snag and wrap around each other when you try to separate the curls so the separation will result in frizzy curls. The solution is either trimming the bad ends or applying a good protein treatment or olaplex.

 

[Rocky91]

I can't get flat twists to work. They tangle when I take them down which destroys the pattern. I detangle and moisturize and seal thoroughly each section before the twist.. what gives??

what products are you using? Damp or dry hair?

 

[Rocky91]

The results of flat twist out attempt #2 are attached.

It is too soft to last very long. At least my hair has lots of movement (again)! One thing I did right: Gel down my flyaways at my roots.

I learned a lot with this week's attempt to do a flat twist out on blown dry hair.

The lady from the video claims this as a length retaining style. I don't know about that. I saw slight hair loss from blow drying. I don't know how "retaining" this style is of fine hair. I'll see if I can reduce damage on future attempts.

Your hair is very pretty!! If you have fine strands like mine, the blow dryer isn't really our friend in the long run. Perhaps you can try it on banded hair. I can get my hair pretty stretched out without heat.

 

[Rocky91]

Hey ladies! Weekend hair plans?
I straightened my hair and got a trim. I'm going to take a picture and then honestly....go back to a curly style. I don't like straightened hair at this length. It's so flat and boring.

This week's challenge? Style 1x and leave it alone!! I am not doing the "low" part of low manipulation very well lately. I've just been having so much fun with styling my hair.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Your hair is very pretty!! If you have fine strands like mine, the blow dryer isn't really our friend in the long run. Perhaps you can try it on banded hair. I can get my hair pretty stretched out without heat.

Thanks so much. And good idea!

 

[Alma Petra]

The results of flat twist out attempt #2 are attached.

It is too soft to last very long. At least my hair has lots of movement (again)! One thing I did right: Gel down my flyaways at my roots.

I learned a lot with this week's attempt to do a flat twist out on blown dry hair.

The lady from the video claims this as a length retaining style. I don't know about that. I saw slight hair loss from blow drying. I don't know how "retaining" this style is of fine hair. I'll see if I can reduce damage on future attempts.

Lovely hair as always!
You can stretch your hair by putting it in bantu knots or even regular twists and allowing it to dry stretched. These are much easier to create than flat twists.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Lovely hair as always!
You can stretch your hair by putting it in bantu knots or even regular twists and allowing it to dry stretched. These are much easier to create than flat twists.

Thanks so much!

Mmmmm! You've got me thinking! I might try bantu knotting for stretch. That sounds easier than everything I've been considering.

How many bantu knots do you think I should install if I have a high density of hair (tons of strands on the head) and want to stretch out my hair to later twist it? TIA!

 

[Alma Petra]

Thanks so much!

Mmmmm! You've got me thinking! I might try bantu knotting for stretch. That sounds easier than everything I've been considering.

How many bantu knots do you think I should install if I have a high density of hair (tons of strands on the head) and want to stretch out my hair to later twist it? TIA!

I used to put my hair in 4 knots and this kept it stretched but my hair is low density. Try 8 maybe? Consider doing them after combing with a detangling conditioner if combing does not affect your hair adversely. And also consider keeping your hair held taut in your hand after combing and then proceed to install the knots if your hair tends to tangle up immediately if you let it loose.
My hair becomes stiff with water so I used to undo and redo the knots once dry to make the hair more malleable but I guess very few people have my problem.

Using small hair bands or bobby pins to keep the knot in place will allow you to avoid putting too much pressure on the roots. The bobby pins allow the hair to dry quicker but they need to be of good quality and to be placed carefully lest they should damage the hair. Install the knots on damp rather than wet hair (for example by blotting excess water with a paper towel) to decrease the drying time and you may consider sitting under the dryer for quicker results.

All these things can also be followed if installing 2 strand twists. But I have not personally used these to stretch my hair before.

 

[Shavonn]

Late to the party.

Current Hair Status (natural? relaxed? length?): Natural
Styling Goals: Twist-outs and rod sets. I want to allow as little tangling as possible and foster long-lasting moisture in my hair.
Length Goals: SL while curly
Current Routine: DC almost everyday because of dryness, wash-n-gos
Products: Throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak so I'll have to update later
Why does low manipulation work for you? I am losing a lot of hair detangling all of the time and this is because I am doing the wash-n-gos as a practice
Pictures of your current styles (if you have them)
View media item 129742

 

[CurlyWhoCrux]

Late to the party.

Current Hair Status (natural? relaxed? length?): Natural
Styling Goals: Twist-outs and rod sets. I want to allow as little tangling as possible and foster long-lasting moisture in my hair.
Length Goals: SL while curly
Current Routine: DC almost everyday because of dryness, wash-n-gos
Products: Throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak so I'll have to update later
Why does low manipulation work for you? I am losing a lot of hair detangling all of the time and this is because I am doing the wash-n-gos as a practice
Pictures of your current styles (if you have them)
View media item 129742

I noticed you DC everyday because of dryness. Do you wash everyday? I wonder if you have build up from the DC’s that prevent more from going in your hair strands and somehow causing dryness that way.

 

[janaq2003]

what products are you using? Damp or dry hair?

I used camille rose almond jai.. no gels or anything.

 

[Shavonn]

I noticed you DC everyday because of dryness. Do you wash everyday? I wonder if you have build up from the DC’s that prevent more from going in your hair strands and somehow causing dryness that way.

I think so. I'm actually in the middle of watching a bunch of vids about low porosity hair and she just said that. Going to work up a new regimen.

 

[Rocky91]

Late to the party.

Current Hair Status (natural? relaxed? length?): Natural
Styling Goals: Twist-outs and rod sets. I want to allow as little tangling as possible and foster long-lasting moisture in my hair.
Length Goals: SL while curly
Current Routine: DC almost everyday because of dryness, wash-n-gos
Products: Throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak so I'll have to update later
Why does low manipulation work for you? I am losing a lot of hair detangling all of the time and this is because I am doing the wash-n-gos as a practice
Pictures of your current styles (if you have them)
View media item 129742

Nice to have you hun @Shavonn. I would love to see your hair, but I think your album is locked.

Let us know what products you are troubleshooting-I have tried way too many products and maybe I can help.

 

[Rocky91]

I used camille rose almond jai.. no gels or anything.

Interesting, that's my current fave and it is very smoothing.
It honestly might just be the nature of the style on your hair. I don't do flat-twists at all because I think it's hard to do and I don't like the results/tangling. So I stopped trying. And I see people with very similar hair to mine that have beautiful results but hey, that's how this hair thing works.

 

[Shavonn]

Nice to have you hun @Shavonn. I would love to see your hair, but I think your album is locked.

Let us know what products you are troubleshooting-I have tried way too many products and maybe I can help.

Ha. I didn't see the setting. Made another because I couldn't figure out how to change the other.
View media item 129744

 

[FoxxyLocs]

Thanks so VERY MUCH for sharing that. As I was blow drying and watching the small but definite damage it caused, I was thinking, "I would probably feel SO MUCH BETTER doing this on wet hair."

My issue is that my hair is so coily, that flat twisting becomes very difficult to do. It's the "pick up additional hair to add to the twist" part that gets difficult. It's hard to pick up extra hair when it's super coiled with the hair next to it.

I'm thinking about trying to flat twist wet hair that is saturated with something super slippery and detangling, such as Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion or Shea Moisture High Porosity Moisture Correct Masque. (I've seen a YouTuber use the later as her leave-in.)

It is harder to flat twist on wet hair. The method I use is more like doing a single two strand twist and then connecting it (close to the root) to another individual two strand twist. I get very close to the same result as a flat twist, but I'm not really doing the "pick up additional hair" part. Kind of hard to explain without a visual. But it keeps the hair more separated and I don't worry about it tangling when I try to take it out.

 

[FoxxyLocs]

So about my wash and go. I'm on day 4 now and it's still holding up nicely. I need to get to day 7 and then I will put it in a bun for the next 7 days until I can wash it again.

I used As I Am Naturally leave in and twist defining cream. I bought the curling jelly but it did absolutely nothing for my curl definition so I ended up using Eco styler krystal gel.

My hair is still soft now and doesn't feel dried out. There's some very slight crunch in some spots, but it's not bad. I do want to try other gels though, just to see the difference.

The As I Am products worked fine, but I think I could find something that gives me more definition. I've seen my hair more defined in the past, but I never paid attention to which products gave me that because I was always focused on twist outs or other styles, so curl definition didn't matter. Now I feel like I have to experiment with products all over again to find the right combo.

I really liked Darcys Botanicals, but her store seems to be closed. I bought Curls blueberry and coconut hair milk to try, and Aunt Jackie's don't shrink flaxseed gel. I was going to try Cantu products but they aren't black owned.

This pic is fully dried, day 1. Idk how to make it smaller.