Nov 11, 2003

I discovered a new style this weekend.  I first saw it in my Natural Woman/Natural Hair book and then on an online personal picture journal.  The style: medium flat twists from front to back.  I tried this Saturday right after washing my hair.   But when I was done it looked nothing like the pics I saw! I maybe got two of them right, and one wasn't even a cornrow.  I refused to take a picture of this mess because if you saw it, all it would look like is rows of hair, no twists! I laughed and my boyfriend got a good one in himself.

But when I untwisted these bad boys the next day Sunday I got a completely different hair style! I guess I could say that it was my first flat twist-out. It lasted only a day, but I loved it :)

I'm definitely going to try this again... I can just imagine how it will look when I get the flat twists right!

Wash regimen:

• parted hair in 3 sections (like the letter "Y" upside down) and secured each section with big fish clips
• washed each section in the shower with my Revlon's Creme of Nature Detangling Conditioning Shampoo with a kneading motion& immediately applied my conditioner to each section at a time right after it was rinsed with warm water (Suave Naturals Coconut Conditioner)
• I made sure this time to work in the conditioner by rubbing it in my hair and working it in with my fingers from scalp to tip.
• I combed each section and re-clamped them with my fish clips
• after showering, I thoroughly rinsed each section under cold water with my fingers & re-clamped (clamping/braiding/twisting the sections you're washing as you go helps to keep your curl pattern stretched out. It makes working with your hair afterwards a lot easier.
• with my hair still dripping wet, I added my products: I decided to try my carrot cream I haven't used in a while as my moisturizer. I also added drops of Kemi oil to each section of hair.

Styling in Flat Twists:

• I combed out my hair and sectioned down the middle. I braided the side I was not working with yet.
• I cut a 1" piece of hair from hairline down to the nape of my neck. I cut out two pieces of hair from the hairline "piece1," "piece2"
• I like to do my twists from right to left, so that's what I'm basing my instructions off of.
• To start it (first movement)
  RightHand1- Took piece2 and pulled it counterclockwise over piece1; piece2 should be turning itself clockwise when doing this. Use a free finger to grab piece1.
  LeftHand2- Grabbed piece2.
• To continue (for all other movements)
  RightHand1- While holding piece1 in hand, cut out a new piece to add to it to piece1. Again, pull piece1 counterclockwise over piece2 tightly to stay close to scalp; new piece1 should be turning itself clockwise when doing this. Use a free finger to grab piece2.
  LeftHand2- Grabbed piece1.
• To finish(for ending twist)
  Twist excess hair like you would for 2-stranded twists.

Flat Twist-out:

• I rubbed my Kemi oil up and down each of my twists just to make sure they weren't dry when I took them down.
• I unraveled each flat twist from the tips moving towards my hairline
• I finished it off with a hairband.

I really can't wait to try this again. I'm sure I can perfect it the more and more I do it. I have never done flat twists before and now all of a sudden I'm giving my own instructions on how to do them! And that's really how it's going to be from now on, trying styles I've never tried before and keeping positive, no matter how badly I'm butchering them.