How To Do A Twist Out On Natural Or Relaxed Black Hair

Get curl definition if you haven’t got any on your natural hair or get hot waves on your relaxed locks!

Black hair comes in a variety of textures from lose s-curls and corkscrew curls to very tightly curled pen springs and kinks. Defining your own texture is easy with leave in conditioner*, some gel or a variety of curl defining products on the market, but sometimes you may want something different. Also if you have no definable curl pattern in your hair, you may want to add texture without resorting to chemicals. An easy way to do this is with the twist set.

Here’s how you can achieve this style

• Begin by washing and deep conditioning* the hair. Add some leave in conditioner* and seal the hair with your favourite oil.

• Starting from the back begin to section the hair into about 2 inch sections and apply a little curl styling cream or gel to the section. Create a fairly firm 2 strand twist with the hair. This is created by twisting the 2 sections of hair in same direction then twisting them over each other in the opposite direction. If your hair is natural then there will be no need to secure the ends as the hair should hold the twists quite easily. If your hair is relaxed then secure the ends with small rollers which also leave the twist set with a natural look.

• Sit under the dryer for about 1 hour or until the hair is completely dry, alternatively, air dry overnight.

• Starting from the back again, begin to unravel the twists. You should have dry and defined twists once you have unravelled them all.

• If your twists were small enough then there will be no need to separate them. In actual fact, the twist set looks better and lasts longer if it is not separated. All you have to do to make the hair look fuller is to use a pick to lift and fluff out the roots.

• If your twists were a bit larger then carefully separate them to create volume without losing too much of the curl definition. Use a pick to lift and fluff out the roots. This hides the parts and creates a fuller look.

For the upkeep of the twist set put a small amount of moisturizer in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together and dab and scrunch through the hair to distribute evenly. Try not to disturb the curls too much.

• Pin up your hair or ‘pineapple’ it to avoid the curls drooping overnight and cover with a satin bonnet*.

• In the morning just fluff out the hair and you are ready to go.

• Another way of saving the style if you are planning to wear it more than 3 days is to moisturize the hair and re-twist in large sections every second evening. In the morning take down the twists and fluff out the roots.

For the visual learners among you, here is a fab video that will show you how to achieve this style: