Mini Twists Curled With Curlformers

I curled A's mini twists with Curlformers lastnight. I didn't add any product, just sprayed them with water to dampen them. She slept in them and these are the results. They curled really well. We both love the results.






In this video you can see how I put a couple of the Curlformers in. I used the extra long & wide Curlformer styling kit.

Fishtail Braid On Mini Twists

If you all read my previous post then you know I was experimenting with fishtail braids. So, with her first style done with her mini twists I decided to do a side fishtail braid. The gorgeous flower is from Flowerz In Her Hair.

Click here for the original fishtail braids post along with a video tutorial.

Mini Twists: More Info + Your Questions Answered

Here's the mini twist post I promised! These were inspired by KinkyKurlyQueen, I posted her video earlier, you can view that here.

I shampooed A's scalp on Wednesday night using Giovanni 50:50 Balanced Shampoo. I rinsed the shampoo and I deep conditioned her hair for 15 minutes with Bee Mine Bee-U-Ti-Ful Deep Conditioner. I just left it in while she played in the tub. I rinsed the deep conditioner, got her out of the tub and added a generous amount of Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer. I put her hair in 4 large cornrows to stretch it out for styling. She wore her hair in the 4 large cornrows the next day. That night, I decided to try to do her mini twists. I removed her cornrows and added a generous amount of virgin coconut oil (Vitamin Shoppe's brand) to her hair. I split her hair from ear to ear and tied off the top section. I looked at the back of her hair and began to feel a little overwhelemed. It wasn't as stretched out as I would have liked and I wasn't sure how I should part her hair so I just began parting sections at the nape. I added a tiny bit of Bee Mine Curly Butter to each section and immediately knew it was just too heavy for her tiny twists. Maybe it was a combo of the curly butter and coconut oil but it wasn't working. I did about 6 mini twists and after noticing how loose the twists were at the roots I threw in the towel.

I decided to band her hair in 4 sections and work on it the next day. And that's what I did. The next day I removed the bands from the back section of her hair. Her hair was already parted from ear to ear. I took another look at KinkyCurlyQueen's mini twist picture and decided this time I would part at an angle, or slant. See picture below.



Already her twists looked better from the day before so I just continued parting at an angle and twisting. This made the process go by much quicker. After the back section was down I moved to the top right section. I parted at an angle from about her forehead to right infront of her right ear. I continued parting at an angle (or slant) the entire time until I was completely finished with her twists. I highly recommend parting sections off (about 3 or 4) and parting at an angle the entire time. Finish one section at a time.



I got some questions on our Facebook page about the twists so I decided to answer them here, too.

How long did the mini twists take?
They took about 6 1/2 hours but we took breaks, changed positions, watched some DVD's, etc.

What products did you use?
The products were already added the day before. I used Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Vitamine Shoppe's brand). Next time I will not be so heavy handed with the coconut oil, lol.

Are these sister twists or regular two strand twists?
These are regular two strand twists. I didn't make them as small as KinkyKurlyQueen but I did them exactly how she did them in her video.

Did you blow dry her hair?
No, I do not blow dry her hair. I banded her hair in 4 sections.

How long will you leave these in?
As long as they will last! I will be happy with 3-4 weeks.



I have never done twists this small on A's hair before so this will be a learning process for me as well. I have no idea what to expect. I don't know how long they will last, though I'm hoping for 3-4 weeks at least. A absolutely LOVES it! I asked her what she thought and she looked in the mirror with a big smile and started giggling. We're going to have some fun styling these so check back for updates!

Mini Twists Inspired by KinkyKurlyQueen

Check back later for more info and pictures. In the mean time, check out KinkyKurlyQueen's mini twist video below.

Cornrows & Twists - Protective Style Update

Guest blogger, Aisha, shares update pictures of her daughters most recent style. Also, Aisha has a tumblr so feel free to check it out!


1 week update pictures:






Curly twists:






A week and a half update pictures:

The back was rooled up and tucked under. I used bobby pins to secure it. The front was left loose.





This style lasted for 2 weeks.

Fishtail Braids

I've been wanting to experiment with different braids lately so I decided to learn how to do a fishtail braid. I watched a few videos on youtube first and didn't get the technique until I watched the one below. I think she explains it pretty well.

I tried it on my own hair first (below), I'd recommend using a mirror until you get the hang of it. It looks choppy on my hair because I have so many layers. I think the key is grabbing smaller sections to cross over and make sure you have a tight grip on both sections. When I did the braid on my hair, I kept letting each section go to grab hair and cross over, I need to work on that.

I tried it on A tonight. I think it came out pretty well for my first time trying this braid in her hair. I split her hair into two so the picture you see above is the left side of her head only. A fishtail braid takes much longer than a regular braid, at least I think so, so patience is key. My hand was actually cramping when I tried doing it on myself, no problems when I tried it on A though.

Hopefully I will get good enough at this braid to post an actual style and not just practice pictures.



Great video I found from this youtuber.

Kinky-Curly Winners!

Thank you all so much for entering the Kinky-Curly giveaway! Huge thanks to Shelley for this awesome giveaway. We had so many entries but as you all know, there could only be 3 winners. And the winners are...

who said...

&

who said...

& last but not least...

who said...

Congrats ladies! You will each receive a Kinky-Curly Go Natural tote bag containing 8oz Come Clean Shampoo, 8oz Knot Today Leave-in Conditioner and 8oz Kinky-Curly Curling Custard. Please email me your mailing address by February 24th. beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com

Sister Twist Out

I took A's sister twist style out and these were the results. I love sister twists outs. They almost appear to be curled locs. Since she had beads on the ends, her ends are still pretty straight, if that bothers you I'd recommend rolling the ends on flexi rods or perm rods for a little while for them to curl up.

Click here for the sister twist video tutorial.



Guess who lost another tooth?

Video Tutorial: How-to Sister Twists

I finally found the video that taught me how to do sister (or rope) twists! It looks like they added it back 8 months ago. If you're not familiar with sister twists, go under Labels in the left side bar and click sister twists, you will see some of the styles I've created. I hope this helps! Please note: I have not tried any of the products mentioned in this video.

Sister Twists & Cornrows with A Splash of Color

The weather has been lovely so I really wanted to do a fun and bright style in A's hair. Read below for instructions.





Instructions:

• I washed and detangled A's hair the night before. After washing and detangling, I moisturized her hair and placed it into 10 medium sized braids, 5 on each side of her hair.
• I let her wear those braids to school the next day so when she got home her hair was moisturized and stretched out, ready for styling.
• I began by parting her hair from ear to ear. After I had my top section parted I tied the back section off.
• I started near her right ear. I just parted straight back, making a square and tied it off with a colorful rubberband. I didn't have any virgin coconut oil near by so I just quickly dipped the rubberbands in Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer and made sure I added a little extra moisturier to the sections I was banding. After placing a rubberband on this small section, I did a sister twists. To create a sister (or rope) twist you just split the hair into two and start twisting one section clockwise and the other counter clockwise, then you start twisting around one another all the way to the ends. Once I got to the end of the twist I added some beads with our beader.
• After doing the first section I cornrowed one section back, banded it at the end of the cornrow, then did a sister twist.
• I then split a larger section on the top, about enough for two cornrows. Instead of cornrowing, I decided to split that large section into two and make 3 small squares in each of those sections. I banded them at the base, then pulled them over to the section on the other side, banded, and repeated. I did the same thing on the other side.
• I added yet another cornrow and continued this pattern until the top was completely finished.
• I untied the back of her hair and started at the nape of the neck. I parted three sections in the back, banded at the base, then twisted and added beads. I continued parting squares in the back and twisting until the back was finished.
• This process took about 2 1/2 hours

Note: I don't like leaving rubberbands in for too long, especially not around her edges so I will keep the rubberbands in the front in for about a day or two then back them out and probably just cornrow those banded together sections.

As you know, I love to switch up styles. You can see a couple of options below.

Cornrows & Twists - New Protective Style

Guest blogger, Aisha, shares this cute protective style done on her gorgeous daughter, Anisa.





Instructions:

• Freshly done - Cornrows and Twists Anisa's hair was washed/conditioned two nights prior to doing this style. Products used: Bee Mine Bee Nourished Ayurvedic Herbal Shampoo Bar ( I love it!!) HEHH Conditioner Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk Bee Mine Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer

• I parted the hair into three sections - I had one portion in the middle and one portion on each side.

• I cornrowed the two side sections in a curved design. The two sides do not match. I wanted each side to be different. Each side does, however, have a cornrow going straight down on the side. While I was braiding, the middle portion was tied off with an ouchless band to keep it out of the way.

• While I was braiding Anisa's hair, I did not finish the cornrows, meaning I did not braid her hair all the way down. When I was finally finished braiding her hair, I started twisting. I did not make parts. I simply started grabbing sections of hair to twist. I applied the hair milk and lusciuos moisturizer to her hair while doing the cornrows and twists. The Bee Mine Bee Hold Curly Butter would've been a good choice as well but I was out.

• I did not use any rubberbands or ponytail holders on her hair. It's simply cornrowed and twisted. I did use a few pins in the front (top) to keep the twists out of her face. Anisa will sleep with a satin cap each night. She also has a satin pillow case.

A view of the back. This style can also be worn up.


Ready for her school pictures!