Dry Twist Out

Ladies, I've tried blowing my hair out a little bit and then twisting to maximize volume. However, I think I may be using the wrong product to twist my hair. Can someone offer advice??

My routine to do this:
1. Co-wash my hair with Suave's Shea Butter/Almond conditioner.
2. Apply a heat protectant (always been a struggle for me to find one - right now, I have Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum) while my hair is still damp.
3. Use my dryer (with a comb attachment) to blow dry my hair. Perhaps I need to not use the attachment to minimize breakage??
4. Twist my hair using XXXX. Ok, it seems, depending on which product I use to twist, that my hair still shrinks. Maybe because the produt is water-based or I am using too much of it?? I've used Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercream and a mixture of Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and Shea Butter.

I'm wondering if I'm using the wrong products or if I"m just not doing the method right or need to add another step? My hair just does not seem to retain the fullness after I blow dry it versus after I twist it.

Instead of using a hair dryer ... why don't you try air-drying. Twist on damp hair (95%) dry. I get the best twist outs on wet hair - better definition.

I use Koils By Nature Butter or Shea Butter mix, Afroveda Hemp Seed Lock Twist Roll Butter, with a small amount of a gel. wouldn't use a water-based product, that will promote shrinkage.

Doing larger twists. After about the second day you should have volume.

Use can also stretch your twists with hair clips.

Heat is a no no.

Blonde - when I let my hair air dry, it gets all shrunken - should I let it be a little more wet when I twist?

The only thing I have in-house to mix up a twist potion are Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter, Shea Butter and a little Olive Oil - but it's not EVOO.

I will try to do bigger twists and see if that helps. My hair is fine and thin, so it's hard for me to make it bigger, I think.

My hair shrinks a lot too, so I do this: I wash/cowash, add Kinky Curly Knot Today and then braid my hair in 6 braids--three on each side--to stretch my hair out a bit. I let my hair dry for a couple of hours on its own then I unbraid each section and, with the blow dryer on low/cool, I dry it the rest of the way, stretching it out with my fingers. I then twist up (usually a couple of twists per section) and add a little KCKT or some other moisturizer at the ends and pin curl them. Next day I have nice loose defined curls. I find when I twist wet, it takes a few days to loosen up and I don't like the tight tight curls.

I got maximum stretch by twisting, air drying and then retwisting the hair once it was fully dry. Basically, twisting twice, first while wet, then while dry. I use the healthy hair butter too along with a water based leave in and oil.

Erica5417--what you do sounds great. Just one question, is that a lot of manipulation for your hair? I'm seriously confused (and scared!) by all of the warnings about over manipulation, so I do the bare minimum. Obviously you're doing something right, your hair looks great, but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on the manipulation question...

I do exactly what Erica stated:

My freshly washed hair w/damp twist:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Products used is typically my shea butter mix.

What my hair looks like when above twist are removed the next day:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I will either leave like above or retwist.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
What my hair looks like retwisted on dry hair.

And for more volume, I just fluff out my hair from the smaller twistouts:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

At answer your question moonchild, no it's not a lot of manipulation when you retwist. Basically you are only combing/detangling during the wash process. Therefore when you untwist/retwist, you should only be using your hands/products. Any loose strands should be gently removed w/hands.

Not sure if it might be too much manipulation for some. Works for me though. Here is my growth from May 2009 to about December/January 2010 and I've been using this method since my hair was long enough to twist.

[url=[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]][/url]


[url=[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]][/url]

Wow - all of your suggestions are great. I am a little worried, because I basically look like I big chopped recently when my hair is wet and I've been natural for almost three years! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Like moonchild, I don't like the tight little curls look, which is what I get with KCCC and Eco Gel. I'm confused as to how you all can get stretch out of your hair when it's wet - I mean, I have little curls hanging when it's wet, but my hair seems to shrink once it starts air drying.

I am planning on twistin tonight and I will post some pics so maybe someone can tell me what I can maybe add.

@ Erica - So, you twist your hair and then let it air dry and then just re-twist? I usually twist my hair at night before I go to bed - is this when you do this method?

@BlakButterfli, yes. I twist friday night, air dry and then retwist in the morning. After a few hours, I take down and fluff.

You both have convinced me to try this next time I wash!

I use this method also (when I really want to stretch, sometimes I'm just lazy lol). I actually got the idea from the 2 ladies above (Erica and Ooop). It works great for me.

You could also try banding. I did this last night. It stretched my hair even further than it's ever been. And then I twisted dry tonight.

@ Juices n Berries - I've seen everyone posts about that - what exactly is banding?

Ok, so last night, I co-washed my hair and (without using a heat protectant) I blow dried it. While the blow dryer was hitting it, I was kinda pulling at my hair to stretch it. When it was almost dry, I wet my hands and ran them through my hair. I then used Carol's Daughter HHB to twist, sealing with a touch of shea butter and a itty bitty amouth of olive oil.

My hair is bigger today, but the curls are not really defined. I usually get the most curl definition when my hair is wetter, so I may do that next time and then once I take it down, use my dryer to help me stretch the curls.

The picture link is not letting me post photos, but I'll try later

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ok, here are the pics. I am pretty pleased with the volume of my hair, but I need to work on getting the curl definition down.

I am with E!! I do like 10-15 big twist the night before. When it's 100% dry I twist and use clips to hold them down. My hair is EXTREMELY curly and twisting on wet hair is a big no no. I leave my twist for aprox 4-5 days and when I do my twist out, my hair is moist, defined and full. My profile pic is my first successful twistout using this method.

Products used: Koils By nature Body n Hair butter and gel. So for me it is a combination of the tecnique and product I believe. Before the challenge ends I will try the technique and diff product to see what happens and vs versa. I will come back with results.

My hair is at it's biggest when I wet set with flexi rods. I'm confused as to whether the volume or twisting is more important to you. If the twistout texture is most important you can stay with the chunky twists and turn them into a twist & curl by using rollers at the end. If you simply want big hair, I think the best idea is to wash hair as normal, set in the flexi rods (you can pick a set of about 5 for $4 at the BSS) smaller for more definition but a shape closer to the head, and larger for a stretched, airier style. Then once completely (completely!) dry carefully unroll them and fluff with your fingers or a wide tooth comb...

I hope this helps!