How to Braid Twist African Hair

African twist styles are great for any special occasion or everyday wear. Achieving this seemingly-difficult style is not difficult. An African braid twist is a combination of both a traditional three-strand braid and a traditional two-strand twist. Braided twists are more commonly referred to as Senegalese twists.

Things You'll Need

• Synthetic hair (choose your color and length)
• A burning candle
• Rat tail comb
• Silver hair clips
• Boiling water (depending of your style of choice)

Instructions

Wash and prep

1. Wash and condition your hair. Moisturize your scalp with a deep conditioner or hot oil treatment. Be sure that your hair has time to recover from a relaxer or dramatic color treatment. Braiding your hair too soon after chemical treatment, before four weeks, can cause extreme breakage. If your hair is extremely damaged you should consider treating it for at least two months before braiding your hair.

2. Part your hair into a small sections. Start by taking the desired amount of synthetic hair and wrapping it around your natural hair. The more synthetic hair that you decide to add, the more thick your twist will be. It is best to use a moderate amount of synthetic hair because thinner twists look more natural.

3. Braid the two strands of synthetic hair and one strand of your natural hair as if it were a three-strand braid containing all of your natural hair. Stop braiding after crossing strands twice, then time transition to two strands by dividing the middle strand of hair.

4. Cross one strand over the other until you reach the end of the synthetic hair strand. This technique is referred to as the two-strand twist. At this point you can decide if you want a closed or open ended twist. Closed twists have burnt tips so that they do not unravel. The ends can also be secured using rubber bands. Open-ended twists are braided into large sections (ends only) and dipped into boiling water.

5. Dip hair into boiling water for 10 seconds per section. Remove the braid and allow it to dry. After it has dried unravel the braid to reveal a wavy texture. Burning the tips of synthetic hair is a bit more difficult. Burn the tips of the hair with a candle. The ends of the hair will liquify and be very hot . After a few seconds, blow on the tip of the hair and twist into shape. The end of the synthetic hair strand will harden.

Tips & Warnings

• It is best to use synthetic hair for Senegalese twists. Human hair will quickly unravel and can not be burned at the ends for safety reasons. Unlike synthetic hair, it will not melt.

• The burning technique of synthetic hair ends should only be attempted by a hair professional. The smell that is produced from burning synthetic hair is strong. Be sure to have good air circulation to reduce the smell of burning hair.