Every kinky-haired sister out there knows that shrinkage is real! Too real! And a lot of us turn to blow-drying to give us some respite from that particular issue. It took me a while to finally get round to blow-drying my hair, and I saved it for a special occasion. It was my graduation! Whoopeedoo! It was sometime around my 2nd-year post-relaxer anniversary. I had decided to do a flat twist-out style I had seen on YouTube (I can’t find the specific video I watched, but there a ton of tutorials out there; just Google). And I thought to blow-dry my hair to get added length. So, I went for it.

After I washed, I had to rush out instead of styling a I was running late for an appointment. I hope I’m not the only one who grossly underestimates the amount of time it takes to style hair. Because this happens to me a lot! So I did my hair up in bantu knots and went out.

 

I got back on the grind immediately I got home. I used organic coconut oil as my heat protectant (I hear it handles high heat very well). I’m really not sure if this is what everyone should use, but it worked fine for me (although I found my hair a bit dry afterwards). I worked section-by-section, holding on to the end of each section and pulling taut (not too tight). Then, I directed air flow up and down the length of each section until dry. I believe this is the tension method. This was all done on a low heat setting, by the way.

I was amazed at the results! You can see the difference in length clearly. No debate!

I flat-twisted and kept that for a whole day, if not two. I can’t quite remember. I have mastered the art of going out with pre-unraveled hair, ie, my bantu knots, flat twists, or whatever sort of hair prep I have done. You just gotta wear it with confidence. 😉

 

I un-twisted and styled on the morning of the ceremony.

I purposefully went for an African, colourful look, and my outfit turned out to match the grad gown. How cool, right? 😀 I got loads of compliments. Lovely day, yes it was! Here are some pictures:

The hair stayed stretched and curls defined for a few days. The major issue is how to lay your head of hair to sleep so that the style is not ruined. Really can’t remember what I did to keep mine. Some people recommend pineapple-ing (Google) 😀

Give the style a try and lemme know what you think. I’m sure you’ll love it. 😉

xoxo