Twist and Curl (TnC) – A Picture Tutorial

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This is a partial repost from my GOC blog.  The TnC is the foundation for almost every style I do.  Therefore, I thought a pic tutorial would be a good post to introduce my hairscapades;).

T n C posted on Mar 19, 2011 

I’ve never done a photo journal of my attempts at the famous Curly Nikki twist and curl (TnC). On FB, I would just post finished styles. But, on this blog, I think I’ll try to start documenting some of the techniques and products I use.  I’m not very consistent at all in number of twists, twist placement or styling products. I just go with what works that day. Therefore, pretty much every TnC I’ve done in the last year has turned out differently.

Anwho, decided to take photos and actually document number of twists, twist placement and products. This TnC will probably come out horribly! LOL! If it comes out well, I’ll hopefully have a “map” to help me duplicate it. So, I did a 2 step henna and indigo tx and deep conditioned with Darcy’s Botanical Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner. I’ve never used it after a henna, so hope it was sufficiently moisturizing! Then, I applied my diluted Kimmaytube leave-in. I dilute it with filtered water and apply it using a spray bottle (UPDATE: I no longer dilute my Kimmaytube leave-in. However, I have reduced the 2 tsps of each oil to 1 tsp of each). It was a little thinner than normal for some reason though. As a styler, I used a product I’m testing for a friend, Wonder Curl Butter Than Love. So, I want to see if I can achieve the same or similar results using it again. I did 8 twists using BTL only and then rolled the twists on pink flexi-rods. Then, I’ll sit under the dryer for a while on medium to low heat as my hair never, ever, EVER dries overnight and it was especially damp today. So, here are the pics of the twists (secured at the roots with bobby pins – that’s a first) and the twists set on rollers:

(I always connect twists in the back to reduce/eliminate an obvious center part.  I use a
Goody Comfort Flex barrette, because they never snag my hair!)



And, here are pics of the finished style. (Freshly released twists with minimal to no separating/fluffing.)

(Fluffed and separated at the end of the day.)

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44 responses »

  1. Nice work. I needed to see this since I am about to twist. You also motivated me to update my site. I moved most of pictures (not posts) from GOC to my site. Now, I when I do a GOC post, I’m going to duplicate it on wordpress.

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  2. Hey girl. First, how do I subscribe to your blog? I didn’t see the option. I created the e-mail subscription “button.” Do you have one on your blog? Also, I think I’m going to start with copying some of my style posts and informational ones. And then, like you, I’m going to copy from there to here too. Glad this post was timely=)!

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  3. Hi Shelli! Just writing to big you up on your new blog. I am so glad you bit the bullet and decided to let us all in on your secrets!

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  4. I know! I know! LOL! I finally have both my DSLR and laptop working at the same time. I will try to take some pictures soon. I’ve done several henna treatments and my curl has smoothed out so much. I am loving having less frizz this summer. The only thing is my greys have turned a coppery orange and look like copper wires mixed in with my hair! How many hennas do you think it will take to turn them red? I have done about 4 so far.

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  5. They are still orange after 4 hennas? Mine get red after 2-3. You’re using Jamila? What are you using in your mix? A little indigo would tone the color down from copper. But, again, my greys get red after 2-3 hennas with Jamila or Dulhan mixed with green tea and a tbsp or two of honey. Hibiscus tea in your mix or as a rinse can make it redder too according to my fellow GOC blogger/friend T-Kia (faithfavorandcurls). I’m so glad it’s working for you in regard to the smoothness & frizz reduction factors! I’m very excited to see some pics! In fact, I”m going to be asking all of your guys to send me stories and pics to share here=)! I’ll come up with a list of “interview” questions that can be answered if preferred to free form. So, get it ready missy. And the rest of you too;-).

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  6. You know, I ordered from Mehandi.com and I thought I ordered Jamila, but when I received the shipment, the manifest simply said “BAQ Henna from Pakistan”. The actual packaging is a yellow plastic baggie with a label reading “Henna from Pakistan”. I thought it was strange because I was certain that Jamila was supposed to be packaged in foil packs. I use the standard CN recipe with green tea and honey. Oh! The first two hennas were in the form of a henna gloss. I’ve only done two full strength hennas. I dunno. I guess I will finish up the henna that I have and try to make sure I get Jamila next time.

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  7. Shelli,

    If you go to the section for widgets, you should be able to add “links” to your sidebar. The just go to links > add new. You should be able to type in my website address from there. But I did notice our web pages seem different…..I don’t have the “wordpress” in my address either??

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  8. Umm you need to add mine to your blog roll LOL.

    So I was wondering if you used the bobby pins to secure the root. I did it a couple of times but I can never remove them without snagging so I stopped and use the silver clips now

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  9. Done. Also, I don’t always use bobby pins, but that time I did as the twists do tend to unravel. I use those big ones though and make certain the ends are not damaged at all as they will surely snag hair.

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  10. True but even when the ends of the pins aren’t damaged, I still seem to snag.
    Ok I’m beat. Going to bed now. I’m in whenever you set the meet up too. I’m in NY so you know we aren’t far.

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  11. Ok, so I’ve added some of you to my blogroll (hope you don’t mind). My blog is AHairStory.Wordpress.com

    I love this picture tutorial. I tried the twist and curl for the first time today. I had way more twists so I don’t know what to expect, but I think my hair is a lot thicker than yours. I think I may have put too many twists on each rod also. We’ll see tomorrow. LOL

    What’s the big deal with henna? I see everyone is doing it. Is it to color the grays or do people use it to loosen the curl pattern?

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    • Of course I don’t mind!! Can’t wait to see your TnC results. As to henna, it’s used to strengthen and thicken the hair. I didn’t want my curl loosened, but it did. Others are hoping it’ll loosen their curls, but it tends to happen more on fine curly hair because it is the weight of the henna on the fine hair that causes it. Henna can strengthen the hair, thicken it and give it a beautiful sheen. It can also reduce frizz. I also use it because of the color as it covers my grey hair and gives me lovely red highlights instead=).

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  12. I really like this. I have got to try this as soon as I take my braids out. I like the idea of placing the hairpins at the root to prevent too much bulk and getting a more defined look. I did a TNC before but with rods instead when my hair was a lot shorter. Thank you.

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    • Thanks Marsha!! I want to see pics when you try it. I actually use the bobby pins to keep the hair from unravelling at the root so that the waves start at my scalp. But, like you said, they would work to lay the hair smooth too and prevent too much bulk/poof (if that’s what you want).

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  13. Hi, just a little input. If you want your site to rank well (if that’s a concern), you don’t want to duplicate posts. Your site could get penalized for duplicate content by mother Google. A better thing would be to start the post on GOC explaining that you are talking about XYZ and then put a link pointing to your blog to read the details.

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    • Really?!?!? I didn’t know that. CurlyNikki sometimes re-posts to bring contests or ongoing posts to the front. I figured I would do that for the Meet-Up! Thanks for letting me know! I’ve been using links a lot, just not for that as it seemed like a good idea to republish the posts. Thanks for the information! Knowledge is power;-).

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  14. Ok. Confession, So I’ve watched tutorial after tutorial on youtube and picture tutorials on your site and CN’s. But I for the darndest cannot complete a successful twist out. I think it may be my technique, but when i take them down they are UNDEFINED. I have thick 3c/4a APL hair and my braid and curls are BOMB, but after several attempts with the twist and curl i’m finding myself at a loss. Im aiming for the look you have in the first pic.. Any Advice?

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    • Okay Ashley, give me a run down on what you are doing, what products you are using and how much. However, it just seems that for some people, BnCs work better and for others TnCs do. Your hair may just take better to the BnC. Did you see my post on washing/conditioning in twists? Do you do that? That seems to help my hair with TnC curl memory and starts setting it up to hold the pattern. Oh!! And you had curl loosening from henna like me, so less curl = less definition in a TnC. Buuuuut, if you wash/condition/DC in the twists, it might help you like it did me. Also, how many twists are you making? I don’t put a lot due to my fine hair. The four twist TnC works great for the volume I want and provides enough definition to make me happy. Oh, and one more thing. Have you tried allowing your hair to dry to about 75-80% before applying your leave-in and/or styler? If not, you may want to try that! Hope that helps and if you want to send me pics and tell me what you are doing, just shoot me an e-mail at skillswlob (at) hotmail (dot) com. 7/20/11 UPDATE: My email is now HAIRSCAPADES (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you!!Thanks!

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  20. OMG I would have never thought of this. I so have to give this a try asap. I tired to get this effect from Bantu knots but my hair is not thick enough at all. I think my hair would be a lot more responsive to this TnC. My only question is how do you maintain it.

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    • Well, see, the thing is, I usually only wear it out a day or two, then it goes up into a protective style for 5-6 days out of the week. When I do plan to wear it out for a couple of days, I pineapple it (high, loose ponytail), wrap a scarf around my edges and wear a bonnet, usually. Let me know how it works out for you!

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  22. Hello, Love your site and your hair is beautiful. I too would love this but don’t think my hair is thick enough. I wet my hair daily and most days it doesn’t dry before I must wet it again. I’ve been natural since 2009 and though I’ve retained some length, it’s sorta thin and I’ve always had very thick hair. I’m going to try your bun challenge, but that will be a first also. (fingers crossed)

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