Success at last with flat-twist out

It has been more than two years since I last relaxed my hair, and more than a year since I started a natural hair care regimen. Whilst I have had fairly good hair growth over the last year, I have never managed to achieve a decent twist-out – until now!

I tried on many occasions to do a twist-out, sometimes with small twists and sometimes with larger twists but the result was always the same – a fizzy mess. Because of these hair disasters, during the last year the only time I have worn my hair out is after straightening with ceramic tongs, then curling with ceramic tongs, then sleeping in bendy rollers.

Even after all this effort, the humidity hits my hair the moment it is out, and after a couple of hours my beautiful curls have all but dissolved into a frizz – what is a girl to do? Also, after burning my temples and hands with extremely hot ceramic tongs; ruing with the time taken and being averse to heat damage (both to my body and hair), I decided to try a twist out once more.

I don’t know how the idea came into my head, but I decided to try flat twists instead of my usual twists. It was so quick – I washed my hair as normal on Thursday, and it took me about 20 minutes to section and flat-twist my hair, adding my usual leave-in conditioner and lubricating with my usual olive oil and coconut oil mixture.

This time I added shea butter to seal the cuticles – though I wish I hadn’t as it is so greasy and I had to wipe oil off my neck, which I found tedious, although it did leave my hair looking glossy and feeling very soft. I then used hair bands midway down each flat twist and at the ends. I then pulled the twists back in one and secured them all with another hair band.

This helps to stretch the hair, which is really necessary for me as my hair shrinks considerably and I do not blow-dry my hair after shampooing. Without the stretching I would end up with an afro, which is not the desired look I was seeking – I was hoping for a curly bob.

I kept the flat twists in for two days and undid them today to see if my plan worked, and much to my surprise it did. Success at last! Those of you long-term naturals are probably thinking ‘big deal’, but for me it really is. My hair is very soft, very fine 4b-ish hair which is not voluminous at all.

But the flat-twist out has given me new options for wearing my hair. For the last year I have only had my hair out on two or three occasions after a laborious process as earlier described. The rest of the time I have worn hats – so to finally be able to master a decent hairstyle means that I can finally have my hair out in lovely curls, without using heat.

I am keen to experiment further to produce better results. The curls could have been better defined and I wouldn’t mind them bigger. Also, whilst I really love the look, there is more frizz than I would like. But I have found some new hair care products that I think will help and will soon be buying and trying. But for now, I will be wearing my hair out until my next wash!

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