After seven years with natural hair, there’s not much to say about my hair care. And I love that stability, because it means most of what I’m doing is working for my lifestyle. But here I am, so what’s new?
Well, one fine spring not long ago it was time to ditch my cornrows and winter hats. I also happened to be Going Through It that year, and I wouldn’t have the time or patience to devote a lot of attention to a more involved regimen. I needed a protective style that was low maintenance, low manipulation, easy to remoisturize, detangle, and freshen up–and it had to look stylish, too.
The most recent addition to my roster of signature styles that’s been working for me is Kimmaytube’s 10 twist bun. It’s been almost 2 years living in these twists–11 twists, for me. Here’s my experience.
Maintenance & the 10 Twist Bun
Most importantly, the style is built on reused parts. I use 11 sections because my crown area is dense. At first, I was skeptical I could work within the constraints of these same parts. I’d tried before but none of my other styles cooperated. But by pairing the reused parts with this 10 twist bun, it quickly became the key to less stressful maintenance and styling sessions.
When your hair is already sectioned, that’s one less thing to do. It cuts down on time when detangling and makes the process more predictable. I know I can be done in under 2 hours, and if I’ve been good with keeping my natural hair stretched and moisturized all week, it can sometimes take only one hour.
I wash in these same twists after detangling. No, I haven’t felt the need to unravel them during the wash. And when it’s time to set my hair afterwards, I can work quickly and efficiently through the mangeagable amount of hair in each section. Kimmaytube used rollers to set her twists, but I normally just stretch and pin them down or braid the twists into pigtails and pin those down.
Kimmaytube is also big on midweek moisturizing. After seven years natural, I still struggle to stay on my game, so don’t feel bad if you find yourself slipping. But here again, I find working in the exact same number of sections, which keeps my hair more or less in the same condition week after week, makes the task easier to tackle. I know what to expect and how to handle it. I do have to unravel my twists to get adequate moisture uptake, and then they go right back up into twists, ready to be styled.
Styling & the 10 Twist Bun
Buns are dead simple, which makes them super quick and easy to style. The only thing I hadn’t liked about tradiational buns was having to leave my hair in a loose state, which I personally don’t enjoy. The 10 twist bun solved for that. I could keep my twists and have a good looking high or low bun.
You can style your hair in the same twists as you set and dried them in, but you’ll get more stretch, pliability, plumpness, and smoothness, if you do a quick re-moisturize and reset before styling, like in Kimmaytube’s tutorial.
She instructs the use of a banana clip to gather the twists. You need a banana clip. Listen, I tried other hair tools and my 10 twist bun was not as secure or perky. Whether high or low, make sure you twist in the direction your bun will sit, taking extra care that the roots are not loose.
You also need some length, of course, but you can fake it till you make it in the way you arrange and pin your ends. What I did on occasion was to unravel the ends after installing the clip, and then I re-twisted the ends loosely to add some volume to the bun. This also helps with low density (i.e. skinny) twists.
My 10 Twist Bun Results
Speaking of length, the retention is noticeable. Since I’m in this protective style all the time, and not inflicting as much mechanical damage as restyling loose hair would, I’ve made some modest gains. I don’t break out the tape measure anymore, but I’m currently at bra strap length throughout most of my natural hair.
Yes, I still get fairy knots and breakage (see my struggle to maintain good moisture habits), but the 10 twist bun really helps buffer against that.
If you’re in a phase of your natural hair journey where you like playing around with different styles, you’ll probably find this regimen monotonous. But if you’re looking to build stability into your routine, save time, and look chic to boot, I can’t recommend the 10 twist bun enough.
What new hair styles are you loving right now? Let me know in the comments below. ❤ Don’t forget to subscribe! ❤ Hit that follow button to know when I post more articles on natural hair, self care, art & illustration.
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