You would think a twist out style would be simple: just add some product, twist your hair, and set overnight right? Well often times for many of us it just isn’t as easy as it seems. Here are the reasons why your twist out failed and turned out all wrong:
It’s Time for a Trim
Good style results are more achievable when your hair is in a healthy state. If your hair is thinned out, uneven and filled with splits it’s going to be challenging to make any style look good. Especially when you are doing a twist out the shape your ends are in matters because they are fully exposed.
You Didn’t Detangle Your Hair Thoroughly
Make sure your hair is tangle free by working in sections and making sure each strand has been detangled before you twist. It’s more time consuming but you are likely to have a better outcome. Use duck bill clips
Determine Whether You Like Wet or Dry Styling Your Hair
For some of us it just works out better to dry style and vice versa. I use to prefer dry styling because I was felt like my hair turned out more shrunken and dry, but that was before I discovered a new product favorite which I will get to later. I still feel that my hair has less shrinkage when it is styled while dry, but if I don’t feel like waiting around for that I am open to wet styling. In short wet styling often does produce more defined curls, while dry styling will give you the most stretched out full outcome. You will have to experiment and see what you prefer best.
You Haven’t Found Your Holy Grail Product
There are tons of natural hair products on the market, the trouble is finding the right one for you. Some will riddle your hair in flakes or even dry your hair out giving you terrible results. Unfortunately, you must go through a trial and error process to see what’s best for you.
Apply Enough Tension to Your Roots
Veepeejay using the clips
When you don’t have enough attention being applied to your roots your end result is just bound to suck. The front and back of my hair curl easy without me even putting in much effort. However, the mid section where my 4c hair texture is dominant it requires more tension to get a good result. This means I have to do smaller twists and make sure I grip my roots tightly, if I don’t it just comes out pretty frizzy. For those who may have trouble gripping your roots you may want to try clips
Coil Your Ends
The ends of your hair will make or break a twist out style. When you are nearing the end of your twist instead of tightly twisting all the way down, add some product to your ends and coil it around your finger. This avoids breakage when you are removing the twist and it gives you an overall better look once you remove the twist. You can also choose to use rollers on the ends of your hair, to ensure they have a smooth look.
Make Sure Your Hair is Completely Dry Before Removing Your Twists
Avoid Over Fluffing and Separating Your Curls
Of course you want your hair to have some body, but if you over fluff you will lose definition and cause frizz. A lot of the flatness we see is coming from the root, so try fluffing your roots with a hair pick
Hi Ariane,
I am brand new at wearing my hair natural. I love it, but it has been a challenge. Some days I love it other days I hate my hair style. I have been doing the braid outs but I think I will try twist out–my hair is very very thick and has a medium length. The front, back and sides of my hair for some reason will not hold onto the curl no matter I do. It is a different texture than the feels soft; I believe the texture in these areas is a 4c.
Any suggestions you have I would so appreciate. I know I have to be patient, it has only been 1 month.
thanks so much,
Germaine
In the areas where it is more challenging to define the curl you may have to do the twists or braids in a smaller size. Also make sure you apply the proper tension to the roots, the clips may help with this if you feel you can’t grip your roots tightly enough on your own.
Hi, I/m 16 yrs old bout to be in 11th grade and i have been natural fr like 5-6 years. Every time i do my twist out the first day i wear it my hair is glamorous. But if i try to continue it to the next day it looks frizzy and matted. and not as voluminous as it was the first day. I have high porosity 4b/4c hair. I have split ends and of course my hair dries out fast. And I don’t understand how to keep it moisturized either.
Hey! I also have 4b/4c hair and I’m really interested in growing my hair. The LOC method for hair : Leave in Conditioner then an Oil/Butter then a Cream ( Moisturizer or a Styler since you will be twisting your hair) is one way to keep your hair moisturized. Also you mentioned that you’re high porosity so maybe you should try a protein treatment or deep condition your hair with a protein treatment. Try to keep your hair moisturized (try aloe very juice as a leave in conditioner) as much as possible, even if it’s a spritz of water here and there.
If you want voluminous curls try a curling cream or a gel (they flake sometimes) that holds your hair real tight. Leave the twists in for as long as you need, spritzing them and sealing with an oil here and there whenever they get too dry.
I hope that helps!
I am 17 and have always been natural. I also have high porosity 4B/4C hair (it depends on the day lol). I recommend trimming your split ends. I know that it sucks at first bc you dont wanna lose the length but in the end it isn’t that much of a difference, and trimmed edges will make your hair look better. Whenever I do a twist/braid out after the first day, I split my hair into 6 sections and put coconut oil on each section and I just rebraid it so that i dont have the frizz. Putting rollers on the ends of my braids/twists helps me keep my curls and volume. I also put edge control on my edges then tie my edges up with a satin scarf, then i put on a satin bonnet over my entire head.
No matter what I can,t get the technique down also my hair is relaxed
Hi , i have been natural for a few years now but always wore weave and never really embraced the natural hairstyles til recently . I have 4c thick shoulder length hair with a little heat damage in the front of my hair , i recently been playing with braid outs and noticed when i try using leave in conditioner , a moisturizer and gel my hair on wet hair when braiding my hair after it air dries for about 2 days my hair itself feel very dry and brittle …any suggestions or what would be some good products to use .
Ah this is still such a great resource! I’ve been doing twistouts for ages now.. but I SERIOUSLY needed this reminder.. like trimming. I’ve been holding on to my length when I really need to LET IT GO. My frayed/ split ends won’t let my twist outs be great, so it’s probably time to say goodbye..