How to Create Two Strand Twists on Natural Hair
Hey Naturalista! If you're one of the many African-American women who spent most of their lives learning to care for relaxed hair, natural hair care can be a mysterious and often frustrating adventure. Depending on your natural hair’s curl pattern, it may be prone to tangles, especially when sleeping. This can lead to breakage and slow the overall growth of your hair.
Fortunately, there are a lot of protective styling options you can use to help keep your hair healthy and detangled. The most popular are twist styles, and my personal favorite to use is the two-strand twist for a quick overnight boost in volume for your hair. Plus it can last up to two weeks if cared for properly!
If you have natural hair and haven’t tried two-twists, I suggest you give them a try. Sometimes doing twists can seem tedious, and at first it may take you longer than you’d like. But the more you do it the faster you will get! It helps to watch a funny TV show or listen to your favorite playlist while doing your twists - it makes the time go so much faster. Trust me. Also make sure to have some snacks and water nearby - for me, having a glass of wine is key.
Here is how you can create a two-strand twist:
What you need:
- Wide tooth comb
- Hair ties or clips
- Your go-to base moisturizer (I like to use Coconut Oil or Argan Oil)
- Your favorite styling cream or mousse
How to create:
Start by washing your hair and allowing it to dry a bit. When beginning any long-lasting style, even an overnight one, I recommend co-washing your hair. This helps to keep the moisture locked in! Let your hair air dry prior to styling, especially if you are going to sleep afterwards. You need the twist to dry out as much as possible, so don’t sleep on freshly twisted damp hair!
While your hair is damp part into 4 sections with your hair ties. At this point, you want to determine where you want your part to be (if any) as it will be how the hair will lay when you remove the twists. I chose to go for a partless style here.
Start with your first section, and apply your base moisturizer to the hair. As you rub in the moisturizer, gently detangle your hair with your hands or the wide tooth comb.
Now take a small portion of the hair and divide it in two. Use about a fingertip worth of your styling cream and apply from root to tip.
Begin twisting! Once you reach the end of the twist, apply a bit more moisturizer to the ends. Then move on to the next twist in the section
Continue to follow these steps for all four sections of hair. Try not to give up, you might feel like quitting once you get to that fourth section. I know I always do. It helps to bring a glass of water (wine) and remind yourself about the money you’re saving and how bomb you’re going to look the next day. :-)
Before you know it, you’re done twisting! Just cover your head with a satin cap or bandana and relax. The next day is the easy part. Take some of your moisturizer and lightly apply it to the twists, then undo the twists.
This style can last a good week or so, just make sure to keep it moisturized and you can re-twist here and there as needed. I found that this style makes it easier for me to do other hairstyles afterward, like curling or straightening. Although I have short, natural hair, I have found that this style works well for all hair lengths and textures. So feel free to give it a go ladies!
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