“Over, not under” twist that increases curl and volume and gets 37 Facebook likes!As the content editor at NaturallyCurly, I was pretty positive that I knew all there was to know about natural hair, be you wavy, curly or coily. Seriously, the vast amount of tips that I contain within my brain and share with all those who dare to step into a space in which I exist with textured hair is impressive, even by my standards.
I am consistently mocked by friends on weekend nights when I say, “Oh my gosh, her hair is amazing! Be right back!” Upon returning, without them having to ever look in my direction, they respond often in a monotone cacophony, “Was her hair curly? Did she let you touch it? Was it natural? What type was she?”
Most of my friends don’t even have textured hair, but they would be able to tell you that their hair is a type 1 and be able to give detailed instructions on how to use a curling iron combined with a heat protectant to get waves for a night out.
This is my life. That, and trying to convince men with curly hair to get a curly cut and let me document it for the community — you know who you are!
Anyway, yesterday when I left the office to meet up with the Huetiful team, I was expecting to come back with a flurry of stories about how to straighten your hair without chemicals, how their products are sulfate and paraben-free and how their steamer seriously, SERIOUSLY, rocks! Of course, if you pay any attention to NC.com’s Facebook page, you know that instead, I got myself a wavy hair lesson from a natural hair model.
An “under, not over” twist that stretches curls.Here is an outtake of the conversation that has, only a day later, changed my wavy hair life:
“I WISH I had hair like yours!”
“Are you kidding? Those loose waves are in right now. Everyone wants that!”
“Well, I want more curl. I have the waves, I want a different look. More like yours.”
“Okay, then just two-strand twist,” Pash said, so non-chalantaly, as if this piece of information should have been something I was born knowing.
“What? That’s for stretching your curls out. That wouldn’t work on my hair.”
“You don’t know how to use them to get more curl? Seriously? Sit down. Let me show you.”
And so the schooling began. First, she did an “over, not under” two-strand twist. That’s the photo you see above. Then, to prove to me that I was wrong about two-strand twisting, she did an “under, not over” two-strand twist. This slight differentiation in hand movement is apparently what changes a two-strand twist from a hairstyle that stretches your curl to a hairstyle that increases it. Who knew?
So today, follow me on my “I don’t have Pash here to help me do this two-strand twist TIGHTER” journey. Even without her expertise, I managed a two-strand twist on my second-day hair and it was easy! Coming from a girl who can’t braid, that’s saying a lot!
My “roll out of bed,” second day hair look. I’m a true wavy in that second day hair is generally ridiculous hair.Two-Strand Twisting for More Curl and Volume
This is me with second day hair. Let me begin by saying that Pash showed me how to do this style on dry hair because my hair was dry at the time of meeting her. Doing a two-strand twist on dry hair will get you more volume, but it will not increase curl. To increase curl, you must do it on wet hair.
For a wet hair two-strand twist, part your hair into four sections. Comb the product through, and then two-strand twist following the same instructions that you would for dry hair.
Let hair air dry in the style, or sleep on it, and then gently unravel in the morning and shake it out. BOOM — more curl and more volume.
Step One
To begin, take a small section of your hair and separate it into two pieces. Then simply begin twisting, moving one piece of hair to the other hand.
Now, here is the tricky part. This has to be done TIGHTLY. You must begin at the root and move in small sections, keeping hair as tight as possible.
Step Two
As you begin to move down your hairline, be sure that, with each twist (or with each time that you switch a piece of your hair to the other hand”> you are grabbing another piece of hair as you go, much like you would when you French braid.
Depending on your dominant hand (mine is my right”> grab another piece each time you switch strands and at it to the strand in your hand.
Step Three
Continue twisting all the way down. Once you get to the end, you can either use a rubber brand to hold the twist in place, like I do here, or simply let the wave/curl in your hair hold it. The second option here works best on wet hair. Don’t add a rubber band to wet hair, as it could possibly pull it. Instead, simply let it hold it on its own.
Final Outcome
And at the end, you will have an amazing twist hairstyle that looks like a French braid (which is impossible for me to do on my own”>!
Just for reference for all of you ladies, take a gander at all that volume in my hair with Pash and Michelle. I left the two-strand twist in for about an hour, and when I took it out, volume galore!
Happy styling, curlies!
