Moisturizing my Small Twists on 4C Hair - Attempt 1 (Unsuccessful-ish)

Hello Ladies, 

In efforts to document my hair journey, I'm throwing in the good and the bad.

This is a set of thin/mini two strand twists that I braided about 2 weeks ago. Originally, I wanted to keep them in for 2 months but after a weeks time I realized that I was delusional.

After the first wash my twists got fuzzy and lost their "neat" appeal.

I'm anxious for my hair to grow longer so that my twists will be fuller. This was the day after I had twister them. My hair has a teensy kick to it because I wore it in a bun that day. However, I wanted to curlrod my hair (ends specifically) to see if I would like it.

The crimping effect was from wearing my hair in a ponytail earlier that day.

LAVVV IT!

This is what it looked like a few days after i curled the ends. If you want to see what they looked like freshly curled, go here.

WASH DAY:

So I decided to rinse my hair 5 days after I originally twisted my hair. I didn't use shampoo or anything. I just rinsed my hair with warm water while massaging my scalp.

This is what my hair looked like fresh out the shower. My little coils are favorably happy. Thirst for moisture - quenched. You can see that I have a split end in there (second twist from the left). I still need to trim my ends some more..but from previous posts we know that this is work in progress.

Another picture. I was really excited to see these little curls in my hair. I typically don't see this

My parts look neat and all, but it's a bluff. My twists became more and more puffy as my hair dried.

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LENGTH CHECK:

Shrinkage is SO deceptive! lol

MOISTURIZE:

I split my hair in 4 sections before I began moisturizing my hair.

I moisturized my hair with Shea Moisture's Curl enhancing smoothie then  I sealed my ends using Argan Oil. (RESULTS summary below)

DRY TIME:

My hair wasn't fully dry in this picture but you can see how it's beginning to frizz.

You can see that the base of my twists were loosened after washing. The became a tad more unraveled as the night went on.

RESULTS: The next morning my hair smelled amazing but it was very dry and messy. Previously, when I used the curl enhancing smoothie on my hair, it was on dry hair that had been washed a few days prior. My hair already had products in it but needed additional moisture. Shea moisture gave my hair the yumminess, moisture, and softness it desired. Using the Curl enhancing smoothie on my freshly rinsed hair and sealing it with Argan oil clearly wasn't enough.

A couple of things I'm thinking are:

• I didn't seal with enough oil
• I may have under-compensated so not to use too much Curl Enhancing smoothie (like I had previously)
• I should have used another shea moisture product
• And/or I needed to partner freshly cleansed hair with more products since it had nothing in it to help retain moisture
• As far are the messiness of my twists, I think I'll do rope twists instead as they are tighter and more resilient than traditional two strand twists. No small braids for me because it's a pain to take out (too much time)
• Also, I won't be wearing twists this small again, I don't have the patience to take them out, also my ends are damaged and fragile, the smaller twists leave my hair more susceptible to damage and breakage. I'm actively trimming my hair, but I need to be mindful of the styles I put in my hair until I'm sure that all knots and splits are addressed. Honestly, lack of patience can ruin our hair. *guilty*

By no means am I saying that the curl enhancing smoothie doesn't work, because it does (I'll elaborate in an upcoming post). I'll continue to play with my products and share the experience with you. When I develop a stable regimen you will be the second to know (I'll know first of course!).

Till next time be well..