14 Steps to a Defined Twist Out

You probably read this and thought “14 steps to do what? You’re crazy!” But bear with me. Twist outs are a great low manipulation style that can last between washes. A nicely defined twist out can be worn for almost any occasion and can be the beginning of a bunch of gorgeous natural styles (two strand bantu knots or perm rods* anyone?)

Before we can even think about trying something more elaborate, we have to bring it back to the basics. The Natural Sistas take it back to square one and share 14 easy steps (some of which you may already know) that can define your twist out and make it pop!

1. Do this style on damp hair– our hair is more fragile when its totally wet. Lock in moisture using the LOC method after washing (liquid, oil, and cream), and then let your hair air dry for a few minutes. Then you’re ready to get started!

2. Section your hair– Sections are so important because they make the entire process easier. As said in the video, make sections large enough for you to make 3-4 twists at a time.

3. Use a good detangling product- If your hair is already detangled from your wash, then the next few steps should be a breeze. However, use a good detangling product such as Kinky Curly Knot Today* or Karen’s Body Beautiful Leave in Conditioner* that will help those annoying tangles melt away.

4. Gently finger detangle– Finger detangling should always be the first step. Gently finger detangling will remove tangles and knots without breaking off unnecessary strands of hair.

5. Use a detangling brush- Or a fine tooth comb, or a tangle fix. Just make sure that your hair is smooth, especially at the roots. This shouldn’t take that long because you already finger detangled well. Brush from the ends and move upward towards the roots of your hair. There shouldn’t be any knots in your hair and your roots should be smooth.

6. Section your hair…again– Separate one section into smaller sections. The smaller your twists, the more defined the final result.

7. Apply your styling product- This is up to you. Use whatever styling product you normally use, but make sure that it has decent hold. If you want this style to last for a few days while still remaining soft, you can use a combination of gel and a product like Shea Moisture* Curl Enhancing Smoothie.

8. Start twisting at the root- This part is so easy because you already detangled your hair to the root. Most curly girls suffer from shrinkage, but twisting from the roots will help stretch the style out a little bit (extra tip: Use bobby pins* to stretch the twists out once you’ve finished, this will give you a much more elongated look)

9. Detangle while you twist-This may seem self explanatory, but detangling while you twist is a key component in having a super defined twist out. Hold each side of a two -strand twist and twist downward; smooth the pieces down as you go.

10. Take care of your ends- As you can see in the video, she leaves a small amount of hair out at the bottom. Add a little extra product to your ends and gently curl or coil the ends. This will give your ends a nice uniform curl that will look amazing once you take down the style (for transitioning ladies: you can use perm rods* or flexi rods* to make the two textures blend)

11. Make sure hair is completely dry- Not letting hair dry completely before taking down twists is a COMMON natural hair problem! Taking damp twists down will basically push all of your work down the drain. You can dry your hair using a blow dryer* or a hooded dryer*. To avoid using heat however, you can go to sleep and let the style dry overnight.

12. Make your take down easy- Section your hair (yes, a third time) into two halves, as seen in the video. Doing this will make sure that you don’t skip any of your twists on the takedown. Just pull the twists out of the sections as you go along.

13. Unravel the twist at the ends- Put some oil on your hands to prevent frizz and start unraveling the twists. Begin at the ends and work your way up. If it seems like the twist doesn’t want to unravel, try going in the opposite direction. Work your way up until you completely unravel the twists.

14. Separate gently– To prevent frizz and keep your curl definition, separate curls by rubbing fingers and letting the curls come apart on their own. If it seems like the hair doesn’t want to separate it then don’t force it to. At the end of this you’ll have a beautiful, frizz free twist out.

These may seem like a lot of steps, but by using a combination of them you can make your twist outs come out better than they have before, just check out the video:

Share some of your tips for achieving a defined twist out below!