Hair twists

Short twists worn by a young boy.
Two-stranded twists demonstrated on a hairstylist's mannequin.

Hair twists, flat twists, or mini-twists, are a hairstyle popular with Afro-textured hair in the United States, and sometimes with other hair textures. The style is achieved by dividing the hairs into several sections, twisting strands of hair, then twisting two twisted strands around one another. They can also be created with one strand of hair at a time, with a comb.[1] They are not to be confused with larger, longer dreadlocks, (or "locs").

Twists can be made when naturally curly hair is still wet and somewhat relaxed from soaking with hot water; when the hair dries, it will shrink, creating a tightly woven texture to the hair twists. Twists can also be done with dry hair for a different texture. Twists can be combined with other hairstyles at the same time, such as afro-puffs and Afro.

In order to maintain twist hairstyles, wearers are advised by hairstylists to cover their hair with a headscarf or durag at night.[2]

Twist out

A variation of hair twists is called a "twistout",[3] where twisted hair is untwisted to create a large, loosely crimped texture, similar in appearance to hair crimping on Caucasian-textured hair that is ordinarily straight.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Johnson, Kalimah (2008). Locs for Life: The Root to Well Being for African-American Women. AuthorHouse. pp. 39–41. ISBN 9781434357212.
  2. ↑ Ford, Gilly, and Helen Stewart (2003). Hairdressing: S/NVQ Level 3. Heinemann. p. 381. ISBN 9780435456474.
  3. ↑ Da Costa, Diane (2004). Textured Tresses: The Ultimate Guide to Maintaining and Styling Natural Hair. Simon and Schuster. pp. xxiv. ISBN 9780743235501.
  4. ↑ Da Costa, Diane (2004). Textured Tresses: The Ultimate Guide to Maintaining and Styling Natural Hair. Simon and Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9780743235501.