I love a beautiful twist out with definition and fullness. The gathering of hair intricately grouped and stretched outward is absolutely stunning. Whether you want your hair to stand up or lie down, nothing turns heads like a voluminous afro. When it comes to stretched styles and me, I have a love-hate relationship. Here are the many reasons I have retired my twisting and braiding days.
Humid weather
I reside in Texas. I think that concludes this talking point. Do I need to expound? The only time I can walk outside and not expect my hair to transform into a shrunken, picked out ‘fro is during the two weeks of spring that quickly transition into summer. Winter is non-existent here, so unless I plan to go outside only after 7pm in December (low temperatures”> then doing twist outs, flat-twist out, and braid outs are simply a waste of time. And if it rains…need I say more?
Nighttime maintenance
Due to the length and density of my hair, it takes me approximately two hours to twist and braid my hair, and I always re-twist every night because my hair always seems to lose definition by the end of the day due to the climate I live in. This gets annoying after a while and the quickest solution was not to twist or braid in bigger sections, it was to give up altogether.
Too Much Manipulation
Since I would opt to twist my hair every night, my hair started to experience more breakage. Wisps of hair would be all over my pillow (I would twist on my bed”> and the bathroom sink. If I wanted to get a handle on my bouts with dryness and breakage, then doing styles that required less time was imperative for me.
Detangling
I know this can be hard to understand but for some reason detangling my stretched hair is far more challenging than detangling a wash and go. Since my hair is already shrunken and each strand is clumped and entwined with strands that are nearby, I suppose this is the reason it is easier to detangle. Also, arranging my hair in a pineapple every night prevents matting that is usually caused when I simply cover my hair with a satin bonnet or only sleep on a satin pillowcase. It took me three years to finally master my wash and go, and I can attest that the combination of length and technique were major factors. Now, I only have to style my hair on wash day where as when I wear stretched styles I have to braid or twist every night.
I cannot lie. I envy the women in less humid climates and the women who only need 3-4 braids or twists for supreme definition. The time it takes to maintain the style that I loved dearly (i.e. flat-twist out”> was just too much for my new lifestyle. After a long day at work, exercising, cooking, and eating dinner, the last thing on my mind is twisting my hair. I just want to sleep.
Do you share the same experiences with twist outs and braid outs? Am I the only one?
