4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave?

[dlove]

Two strand twists is my new hair style. I plan on doing twisting every two weeks. My twists will lay straight back for now and as my hair grows I will pin it up and try new styles. I am a hot comb/flat iron length checker.
I'm really curious to know if you have retained length o from continuous two strand twists- no weave. I had a friend who was natural like me but decided to relax her hair after 2 years. She had APL hair but told me her stylist had to cut her hair to collar bone because of the constant twisting. IDK about that one...friction from the twist causing splits?

Thanks in advance,
Dlove

 

[cuteazz1]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I am currently wearing twists but I am noticing my hair getting caught in my clothing and I also spend a lot of time messin with the ends...twisting,pulling,and touching the newly formed knots(never had knots before)..I love my twists but the knots alone will hinder my retention.

 

[LightEyedMami]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I love twists BUT if i don't deep condition and moisterize/Seal before i put them in i will get knots and breakage like you wouldn't believe, i have had alot of setbacks from that recently and have learned my lesson...also for me i have learned that doing them TOO small makes me lose more hair as well.

 

[anon123]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I have mixed feelings on twists. On one hand, they allow you to not have to manipulate the hair for a long time, which is good. On the other hand, in my head at least, the ends like to knot together and each half of the twist seems to want to be become a dreadlock unto itself. Well, not as severe as a lock, but the hairs don't want to let each other go, and getting them apart is sometimes not easy.

You should check the Twisting for Growth challenge. I think a link to the challenge can be found in the sticky at the top of the page that has all the links to challenges in it.

 

[Eclass215]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I can say that when I first went natural and had enough hair, I used to wear my hair in twists ALL the time. Like, that was my style and nothing else. The very first time I straightened my hair it was great; my ends were a little dry and I needed a slight trim, but otherwise everything was as healthy as it could be. I actually have my hair in twists right now for the first time in a very long time and I forgot how much I love it!

 

[Nonie]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I don't know how much growth I got, because retention was a-whole-nother story. I really believe in protective styling for retention, but I didn't do it. I mostly just let my twists hang and I don't use products so besides friction from my scarves in winter, I also didn't have any protection from drying air. So I know my ends suffered. I think if I'd emulated JustKiya or Mscocoface and worn my twists in protective styles 24/7, I think I would have had a lot of growth because I didn't experience any tangles and wasn't manipulating my hair much.

 

[lilsparkle825]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I know your question is specifically for twists without hair added in, but my sister has been in braids/twists with extensions for the past 11, almost 12 months and she has retained ALL of her growth. She is now APL and will probably reach BSL before I do! Like Mwedzi said, it's something about the ends twisting up that make her hair thrive with the extension hair vs without it (she wears regular two-strand twists in between me doing the twist or braid sets). When she has the two-strand twists on just her hair, she has to be extra extra diligent about watching her ends for tangling.

 

[loolalooh]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I will say twists help me retain length better than leaving my hair out altogether. They are also easier on my edges than braid extensions or buns. I get a little knotting on the ends, but not enough to keep me from retaining length.

 

[BC2/4/06]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I have been natural 4b three and a half years and I have recently stopped twisting my hair due to laziness this pregnancy. My hair has many splits in it and I couldnt figure out why. But now having gone three mos without twisting or combing my splits are subsiding.

I believe the manipulation from twisting caused the splits and breakage. So daily i rinse with water maybe a liitle conditioner and finger comb. Then i lightly dry with a towel wrapped on my head. Apply smooth down butter treat seal with castor oil and make a puff with a scarf.

Id always believed leaving my hair loose would damage it but im finding just the opposite. Dont know what Ill do when winter approches though.

 

[glamazon386]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

OP Your friend must have had knots that had to be cut out.

 

[bludaydreamr]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I will say twists help me retain length better than leaving my hair out altogether. They are also easier on my edges than braid extensions or buns. I get a little knotting on the ends, but not enough to keep me from retaining length.

This is my experience with them. I have worn a puff for about 3-4 months and I have realized the hard way, my hair needs to be partially streched (reduce tangling) and twisted (to protect my ends). I have to keep my ends more protected like limiting the time my hair rubs against my clothing, using more product when I twist, and moisturizing my ends more frequently.

 

[spritex]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I am currently on my personal twists for growth/retention challenge and so far so good. What I have noticed regarding the parts of the twist that really stick together - if my hair is detangled beforehand and i use loads of a moisturizing leave-in, even though the parts stick together they are very easy to seperate. The only time I had issues with them being hard to serperate was when I did not detangle thoroughly or was less than generous with the moisturizing leave-in.

 

[Harmony0221]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

When I wear twist on a continuous basis I do see grow. I just can't take the knotting. On the other hand I so wear them very small. Does anyone have a problem with knots with larger twist?

 

[Maracujá]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I also have mixed feelings about two strand twists. My first and second year as a natural all I did were two strand twists, they made it easier to detangle my hair but I was getting no significant growth. So I switched to braids, which give me growth but dry out my hair and thin out my ends.*sigh*

 

[preciouslove0x]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

Ohhh goodness. These responses are NOT what I was expecting. I was looking forward to the day that I could do nothing but two-strand twists. My dream has faded just that quick erplexed I have 4b hair too so I guess I would be one of the people who should avoid constant two strand twists at all cost because I am already having problems with knots forming at the very ends of my strands.

How about using extension hair at the last three inches of your hair when two strand twisting? Would that help any (with the knots that is)? I really wanted to be the two strand twist queen

 

[Bun Mistress]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

I have only flat twisted my hair (all last summer) and did retain but I also had SSK and a little breakage. I used afrodetangler and this kept my ends ok. I braid now with now extensions and I havent had any breakage but its only been a month.

 

[nikolite]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

Twists used to be my best friends, now not so much. When I had shorter hair (Ear/Chin length) I'd wear them all the time and my hair did grow. But the longer they got the more they started to tangle and the ends dried out. And the more I moisturized them with water and sprays and whatnot, the more they would swell and tangle. Cute no doubt, but after a while my length seemed to top off (at around collarbone length). They took me that far, but I went the rest of the way to APL using cornrows and braids mostly.

I also did my twists small because I have thin hair, and I couldn't wear them more than 7-10 days without them knotting/tangling too much. It actually may have been the re-twisting every week or so that harmed my hair. I also had this bad habit of clipping the ends of my twists off in order to remove them. I didn't care about length at the time, just the cuteness of the style. But if I hadn't been doing that for so long I think I'd be at BSL/MBL by now.

Yeah, so twists are a goner (although I think you'd get better results from well-cared for twist extensions. Box braids on my own hair are my new best friends. No tangling, no knotting, longer-lasting style (4-6 weeks instead of just 1-2 weeks), thus no breakage, and lots of elegant updo options.

 

[Ms Lala]

Re: 4b naturals: How much growth did you get from wearing two strand twists- no weave

Shea butter on the ends of my twists really helps w/knots. I also do not twist the very ends of the twist. I leave them loose and kind of twirl them and they curl up on their own w/moisturizer. It is too hard taking them out and they tangle when I twist to the very end. I would say the last half inch to inch isn't twisted. I also find that micro twists tangle and mat easier on my hair. I do medium or large twists now.