Calling all naturalistas: Do you have urgent tress questions? If so, you’re in luck. Every Thursday, natural hair blogger extraordinaire CurlyNikki will be solving your curly hair conundrums! Submit your questions by emailing them to BeautyEditors@essence.com.
READER QUESTION: I love how your twist-and-curls turn out. Can you please share how you achieve this look?
CURLYNIKKI’s RESPONSE: Here’s a recent photo of my results after using the twist-and-curl method. To achieve a looser curl with tons of volume, here’s what I recommend:
- I applied Qhemet’s Moringa Tree Conditioning Ghee throughout to moisturize my hair.
- I applied Ouidad Mongongo’s Oil throughout to protect my hair.
- I blow dried in sections to achieve a ‘Diana’, not a ‘Brazilian’. If I get my hair too straight, it won’t hold a set, and the volume will be M.I.A.
- I separated my hair into two large sections. Using my finger to part from ear to ear, I had a front half and a back half. I secured the back half with a clip.
- I applied a little more Moringa Tree to the front section and proceeded to create chunky two strand twists toward my face. I ended up with six twists.
- I did the same with the back section, only I twisted down toward my neck. I ended up with six twists. So in total, I had 12 twists.
- I lightly spritzed all of my hair with the MopTop refresher, concentrating on the ends and rolled the last 3 inches of hair on flexi rods. I used two twists per flexi because I could only find six.
The next morning, I excitedly released, fluffed!
Nikki Walton, founder of CurlyNikki.com, is a successful psychotherapist and creator of the most credible online source about natural hair care, maintenance and decoding the psychological ties between black women and their hair. She’s the author of the forthcoming book, Better Than Good Hair.