8 Reasons Your Twist Out Looks A Hot Mess

Have you been trying to get a super cute and defined twist out for the longest and it still comes out looking crazy? I have. I’m still trying to achieve the perfect twist out, and I’ve been on my natural journey for almost two years. If you’re like me and don’t know why your twist out hasn’t come out right, you may be guilty of one of the 8 actions below:

1. You Don’t Detangle

The first step to getting a nicely defined twist out is making sure that your hair is detangled fully. Some people don’t like to detangle too often for fear of unnecessary breakage, but this is an important step if you want great curl definition. Otherwise, once you take down the twists to separate and fluff, you’ll have more frizz than you wanted.

You can use a few different tools to detangle your hair such as: Tangle Teaser, Denman brush*, or a wide tooth comb*. Just make sure to detangle in sections and detangle from ends to roots.

2. You’re Borrowing Hair

What is borrowing hair? Borrowing hair is when you take hair from one section and bring it to the other as you work your way down the twist. It’s a common problem because sometimes there may be less hair in one piece.

However, borrowing hair is bad because it can create tangles in your hair when you take down the twists. If you’re a newbie to Twist Outs, it may be easier for you to keep the two sections completely separate, only bringing them around to twist. It will lead to less confusion!

3. Your Hair isn’t Wet Enough

Some naturals (like myself) prefer to do twist outs or dry hair because it gives hair a more elongated look once it’s taken down. However, for the best curl definition, twist outs should be done on wet hair that has either been freshly washed or spritzed with water. If your hair is dry there is no hydration, but if your hair is wet the curls will clump together and there will be minimum frizz.

4. You’re Using the Wrong Product

This reason is up for interpretation. Every natural is different, and different products work for different people. Water based and creamy stylers are great because they provide that extra hydration and they lead to less frizz later on than hair butters*. You can use a light moisturizer topped with a styling gel for hold and shine. Be wary of heavy butters* if you want as little frizz as possible.

5. You Need a Trim

Did you just cringe? A lot of ladies hate the thought of trimming their hair, but if your ends are damaged they have to go. There’s no getting around it. Otherwise, when you do cute low manipulation styles like Twist Outs and you follow all of the rules above, you’ll have amazing curl definition… until you get to your ends. Bushy ends are NOT cute and they take away from the overall look. Make sure your ends aren’t damaged and you don’t have any split ends.

6. Your Hair Didn’t Dry

I know we’ve all been here before. You do a twist out on wet hair but don’t have enough time to let it dry fully. And you don’t want to go outside looking like Felicia from Friday, so you take it out KNOWING that it isn’t dry.

Unfortunately, taking down damp twists leads to frizz, because there’s still moisture in your hair. The curl definition also hasn’t set by this time. The best time to take down twists is when your hair is completely dry. Not a minute sooner.

Drying time depends on the length and thickness of your hair; so ladies with longer hair that don’t have time to kill would probably be better off sitting under a hair dryer* to set their twists. Otherwise, doing the style in the evening and letting it set overnight is a good idea.

7. You Didn’t Coil Your Ends

When you twist your hair, you don’t have to twist ALL the way down to the bottom – I actually recommend against it. Twisting all the way to the bottom makes your life harder when it’s time to take down the style because you will have a hard time separating those pieces.

Instead, try twisting until you get about half your pinky’s length to the bottom. Then, take your ends between your thumb and pointer finger and coil them. This eliminates breakage in the long run and gives your twist out a nicely coiled end.

8. You Fluffed too Much

Even though you should fluff your hair after taking out your twists to give your hair volume, it’s important not to fluff too much. How do you fluff correctly? You fluff your hair by taking a pick (or your hands) and lightly pulling up at the roots.

This will give your hair added volume. Make sure not to fluff the entire length of your hair, because it will ruin the curl definition. You know you’ve gone too far if your hair changes from a cute twist out to a frizzy fro. Not to say there’s anything wrong with a frizzy fro, but that defeats the purpose of trying for a defined twist out!