Three-Strand Twistout (Best one I’ve ever had)
If you’ve been following my three-strand twist experiement, you’ll know that I found them cute but extremely difficult to do. My hands hurt for days. Plus they don’t look all that different from two strand twists…but you can tell the difference. Well anyway, I experienced the same amount of shrinkage even though they originally elongate the twist much more than two-strand twists do. Now in some instances they seemed to hold up just as well as two-strand twists. But for all of this, they just take too long to do to justify doing them again.
So I decided to go ahead and take them down today. And do what with my hair I wasn’t sure. I started to brush them out and just redo my hair in regular twists when I decided to see how well a twistout might look. And dangit…wouldn’t you know it. It’s the best one I’ve had in a very long time. Usually I take my twists out and because the back has a tighter texture, my hair is shrunken in the back and flat as a pancake in just one area which just ruins the entire twistout. So I usually just end up going ahead and shampooing my hair.
Well dang it! Wouldn’t you know it. This ends up being one of the best twistouts I’ve ever had. Now just the back is a twistout the; top is still in flat twists pulled back into a bun. So I also retwisted the top too so the whole do would be fresh. So here I sit, 12:33 a.m. trying to figure out how to preserve my twistout, because I’ve never tried to before. Do I just put a scarf on it? Do I try a satin sleeping bonnet? Don’t know. Will it survive me sweating in the scalp like I tend to do almost all the time? Will it just be flat and yucky tomorrow morning? Am I gonna have a big mess in the morning? Well I don’t know. I made myself take some pics so that I will at least have some memories of my three-strand twistout that I thought (and so did my niece) was the bomb.
Well…wish me luck. I’ll let y’all know how this turns out in the morning.
Ok…my hair is armpit length. How long would it ever have to be for my twists or a twistout to sit on my shoulders? My friend Kim’s hair is past her bra snaps in the back and her twists, twistouts and such all sit on her shoulders. But she’s also been natural for about 16-17 years…me only in my 5th year. So ok…will I have to wait another 12 years to have shoulder-length shrunken hair. Jeeze…I don’t even want to think about that.
The ends of my bun are secured with a ponytail band and rolled under. The slider barrette provides a bit of decoration for my hair. This do looks better with that part put into a ponytail. My twists will have a bit of a curl to them since they’ve been tucked under. I don’t untwist this hair though cause my top has a looser nap pattern and doesn’t hold a twistout definition very well. That’s when I really wish y hair texture in the top was as nappy as my hair in the back. Who’d have ever thunk I’d ever want nappier hair!
Wanna learn how to do a three-strand twist? Click here to watch my YouTube tutorial. Enjoy!
Nappturology 101 
Just happened to stumble into your site. Your hair is looking good to me. I often wore my hair like that but, I took the whole head a loose and it worked for about two weeks. My hair has different textures too. My problem was combing it out due to the wax and moisturizer I used to hold it together. It would cause lint and dirt to attach something fierce. Lots of dirt to wash out inaddition to the wax. Now I have Sisterlocks. It is still work to keep it looking good but, no wax to make twist hold. I just wet, twist, dry and untwist. I am good to go. By the way I used a scarf to tie my twistes up at night.
Thanks V.
Yeah, I’ve always been afraid to you heavy grease, pomades and waxes on my hair. Makes it dry and brittle…not to mention the fact that those types of hair dresses attracts soooo much lint and dirt.
My twistout lasted two good days, by day three it was history…even with the scarf.
That’s why I don’t do a lot of twistouts, I just don’t get a lot of bang for my buck!
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment. I love talking to my visitors!
Really nice!
Tip. Sleep with a satin cap to keep the twistout. You can get the caps in every beauty supply store.
Hey Masoesa. I’m not a big fan of my satin sleep cap. If my head can slide around my hair is so coarse it catches even on satin. Plus the cap traps the heat in and my hair sweats out. For me, it’s best to tie it flat to preserve the do (any do on me for that matter). I wrapped a scarf around it and that actually kept my hair looking nice for about two days. So I can see doing this one a couple of days just before I’m ready to shampoo or restyle.
Also discovered that twistouts are NOT summer time hair dos on my. On a hot, humid summer day, this do wouldn’t have lasted an hour.
Hi
I love reading on your website, thanks for the ideas. Ok my problem is that I am wearing twists that are part natural and part permed hair. I started wearing them because the chemicals weren’t working anymore, and I did not know what else to do. I want to cut my hair, but even though it would be at least 3 inches twisted, I’m not ready to have it that short. My problem is keeping them up. I redo my whole head every week, because letting it stay up longer makes it come out/breaks it off. I use beeswax on the ends, but it seems that it doesnt work as well on the back. any suggestions. Also, how do you do a 3 strand twist. I do notice my hair is growing really fast. Thanks for any info. God Bless!!
Thanks kocosmomma!
I’m not the best person to ask about transition styles simply because I slapped braids in my hair and called it a day. I simply couldn’t deal with the two different textures and like you, didn’t want short hair. So that was the best solution for me.
But beyond that, I think you’ve found a style that works for you. My hair is nappy, and I can’t go longer than four or five days before I have to start touching up my twists. So if you’re getting a whole week, I’d say gone withya bad self. Just remember that you’re going to be really struggling with two opposing textures until you’re ready to cut them off. The straight hair is the weak link. Make sure you’re doing protein treatments to help stave off breakage. I always used Nexxuss Emergency and that stuff worked like a charm.
I’m gonna say keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re not already a member, I’m going to refer you to Nappturality.com. Check out the Transitioner’s Forum. You’re likely get lots of good information there that can help you get through this period on your way to becoming fully natural.
Take care,
~Nappyme
Thanks kocosmomma!
I’m not the best person to ask about transition styles simply because I slapped braids in my hair and called it a day. I simply couldn’t deal with the two different textures and like you, didn’t want short hair. So that was the best solution for me.
But beyond that, I think you’ve found a style that works for you. My hair is nappy, and I can’t go longer than four or five days before I have to start touching up my twists. So if you’re getting a whole week, I’d say gone withya bad self. Just remember that you’re going to be really struggling with two opposing textures until you’re ready to cut them off. The straight hair is the weak link. Make sure you’re doing protein treatments to help stave off breakage. I always used Nexxuss Emergency and that stuff worked like a charm.
I’m gonna say keep doing what you’re doing. If you’re not already a member, I’m going to refer you to Nappturality.com. Check out the Transitioner’s Forum. You’re likely get lots of good information there that can help you get through this period on your way to becoming fully natural.
Oh here’s a link to a tutorial for three-strand twists. The lighting is a little dark but you can see what she’s doing.