Twists and Braids

Hairstyles such as spring, micro and kinky twist braids have become very popular among men and women these days. Earlier, braids were seen as hairstyles for African-American community only. But now, everybody wants to look unique and exotic and hence, people are always ready to experiment with their hair. Most people usually get it done at salons by a professional hairstylist. But these procedures can cost a lot of money. So if you are looking for easy to do hairstyles at home, then here is the basic technique for the same.

Twists and Braids with Natural Hair

Twists & braids can be carried out in two ways, i.e. with natural hair and with hair extensions. If you have long hair, you can do this black hairstyle with your natural hair itself, by the following procedure.

Step 1: Wash your hair with shampoo and apply some leave-in conditioner on it. When the hair is semi-dry, you may start the procedure. Wet hair are easier to braid than dry hair.

Step 2: Divide your hair into smaller sections in such a way that your scalp is visible in between these sections. These sections should ideally be not more than an inch in size. The smaller sections you make, the better your braids will look. Put rubber bands on all these sections, so that it is easier for you to make the twists & braids.

Step 3: Start with one section of hair at a time. Divide this section of hair into three strands, i.e., left, right and the center. Take the hair in the right strand and pull them over the hair in the central strand. This way the left hair will come in the center. Now take your hair in the left strand and pull them over your hair in the center. This way the left hair will come in the center. Now again start from the right side and pull the hair over the central hair. Repeat this process till you reach the end of the hair section. While making hair braids, remember to keep the hair very tight so that they are held together nicely. They can also be made using two strands instead of three.

Step 4: On reaching the end of the section, tie the hair with a rubber band so that the hair do not come out. Spray some water on your hair so that it becomes wet and moist again. Now take another section of your hair and repeat the same process as mentioned above.

Kinky Twist Braids Using Hair Extensions

For doing this on short hair or medium length hair, hair extensions are needed. Below is the procedure for doing so using hair extensions.

Step 1: Wash your hair and apply a leave-in conditioner. When it's semi-dry, start with the procedure.

Step 2: Divide the hair into four sections, right from the forehead, down to the neck. Tie rubber bands on each of the sections so that the hair can hold together.

Step 3: Start with one section at a time and make a kind of a small square by parting the hair. Now apply a gel on the hair as well as the extension so that they are held together firmly.

Step 4: Start braiding your natural hair first the same way as mentioned in the natural hair procedure, till the end of hair, in this small square of hair. Now add the extensions at the end of this braid and continue braiding. When you are done with braiding, dip it in hot water. This will give a kind of crinkle look to the twists.

Step 5: Repeat the process on the other three sections as well.

As you can see, hair twists are quite easy to do, though they may take a lot of time, almost three hours. You may take the help from someone while doing them at the back of your head. Twists and braids can be done on any kind of hair, whether straight or curly, and aids in hair care as this is perhaps the only hairstyle which makes the hair look trendy without the use of any chemicals.