How Does Washing Hair In Twists Reduce Breakage?

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Once you’re firmly past the TWA stage, even if you can’t tie you hair all in one place it’s best to wash your hair in 4 to 8 twists to minimize breakage. Once you master the technique it doesn’t take much time at all.

WHY TWIST DURING THE WASG PROCESS?

1. Tangling Is Reduced

When hair strands are bound together in a twist individual hairs can’t wander off and tangle around neighbouring hair. Less tangling means less breakage.

2. Tensile Strength Is Higher

There is strength in numbers. The twist as a whole is stronger than any individual strand. You can compare this to pieces of paper.

When you receive a load of mail and you tear a single letter it’s easy right? However when you try to tear just 5 pieces if paper in one go it’s a lot more challenging, correct? Increase this to 10 papers and it’s even harder.

This analogy also works if you use a shredder: a single piece goes through very quickly but 3 pieces go through much more slowly; increase this to 6 pieces of paper and your shredder gets jammed.

When Should You Start Twisting Your Natural Hair During The Wash Process?

When your hair is getting long enough such that you recognize tangling as a problem; this will happen earlier for some people and later for others.

If it happens early for you, use more twisted sections. As hair gets longer you’ll be able to work with fewer twisted sections.

At What Point In The Wash Process Should You Twist Your Natural Hair?

Right at the beginning of your wash process when you’re detangling.

Should you undo each twist as you wash the section?

You can but you don’t have to.

You will minimize breakage best by leaving the twist intact; that said, ensure that you wash the twist thoroughly to get product out.

Make each twist looser at the roots and tighter at the ends. The looseness near the roots will make it easier to massage the scalp and dislodge any oils and dirt there; the tightness of the ends will help to prevent the twist from getting undone. Normally, when I am in the shower I have to redo the ends because they start coming undone – that is normal.

In summary, to minimize breakage, twist hair during your wash. If you have thicker/course strands you may find that twisting makes little difference to breakage but it should still help with maintaining detangled strands.

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