My Do: Senegalese Twists

If you follow me on Twitter, this change of hair do is no news to you, I tweeted a lot during the process. ;)

I've had a few hair rut moments this fall and have felt like I needed a break from my hair and everything that goes with it. I decided I should take a break and do something new, so I decided to try Senegalese Twists. I haven't had extensions in my hair since I was 18! Partly because I didn't want to have braids (on myself I associate them with my teen years) and partly because I didn't know anyone that could do them for me for an affordable price. I've been eyeing Senegalese Twists for a while, and first considered getting them done in London, but the I saw the YT series on BlackWomenHair's channel (thanks to Breanna Rutter for an amazing channel!) and I thought "If other people can do them on themselves, why can't I?" Of course I wasn't completely sure I would manage doing them because I've never worked with extensions before, let alone in my own hair. But there's a first time for everything, right?

So I tried to do a few twists in my hair before I actually attempted my whole head, and was surprised how nice even my first twist looked. So I decided when I had two days off in a row to get my twist on.

I prepared my hair by washing and conditioning (I DCed five days prior, and was out of DC so conditioner had to do, but I'd recommend a DC before putting extensions in to add extra moisture). Then I started twisting on damp hair, following the YT video's instructions thoroughly.

The whole process took me maybe 18 hours. Yes, it's super long. But it was my first time, so I did take it very slow, and I had to re-do a few twists here and there. Plus I realized when most of my hair was twisted that the ends were unravelling due to the fact that I wasn't twisting as thoroughly all the way to the ends, so I had to re-do the ends of almost half (!) my hair.

The hardest part was doing the back of my head, as usual. And getting the tapered look at the end. I finally decided to prep the hair like I'd seen Queen Moreen do in her extension video by separating the hair a few times and then gently pulling at the ends, it worked better for me than the technique in the twisting video.

I did have one mishap where I brunt a few twists on the stove when I was soaking them in hot water! Haha! Nothing major, but it have a few that are short and stubby, but you don't really see them unless you are looking.

So now I have waist length Senegalese Twists. We'll see how long I can keep them in, since I'm no pro and this is my first set I'm not expecting much. Keep your eyes on this space for more on my twists! ;)