Threading take 1

Posted in hair journey, hair practices, hairxperiment by

My beautiful people, I know you have missed me and I missed you too!

Don’t think it’s you oh. It’s me. I’ve been so stressed lately. I was just off the radar on basically everything: Instagram, BBM etc. I feel like I might be going through a mini midlife crisis or maybe I’m just exaggerating. It happens.

I kept planning to post but never actually posted. You know how life has a way of just getting in the way. (feeling like a literary giant)

So yeah, threading. I’m not talking about eyebrows. I’m talking about threading your hair like the way we used to as kids. These days, people sometimes refer to it as “African threading”.

Last washday, I decided “oh what the heck, I’ll give it a shot”. And I did.

 

 

I used regular sewing thread because I’m yet to find the rubber one more commonly used for threading hair.

 

I folded it in two and went to work on damp freshly washed hair right after moisturizing and sealing.

I did this at night and did not take pictures. However I threaded a section of my hair in the picture below as an example.

  

As you can see, the threaded section on the right is way way way more stretched than the twisted section on the left.

I took down the threading when it was dry in the morning and put my hair in a puff. The ends looked a bit stringy so I combed lightly.

And the result of my first time threading experiment was a mega puff!

   

 

Alas it lasted not! Later the same day shrinkage be like…

   

Possibly the shrinkage could have been avoided if I had not used products with humectants (ingredients that pull moisture into your hair e.g glycerine, propylene glycol) but I highly doubt I have any products without them.

I had intended to maximize the stretched hair all week by avoiding water/products with water so it would not shrink but I got caught in the rain the very next day and my dreams of stretched hair were literally washed down the drain.

Tips:

  • Avoid humectants so as to avoid shrinkage.
  • Avoid water/products with water to lengthen the time your hair stays stretched.
  • Make it firm but not tight (unless you like headaches and hate sleep).
  • Leave space in between as you thread.(As seen in the picture above where I threaded one section). You don’t have to wrap the entire hair in thread (like yarn/wool locs). This makes it easier to thread and helps it dry faster.
  • Make sure your hair is dry before taking down the threading. If not, it would all have basically been in vain.
  • Be careful while taking down the threading. You don’t want your hair getting tangled with the thread because the thread has nothing to lose if you have to resort to scissors while you have hair to lose.

Overall thoughts:

I think threading is a good and effective way of stretching your hair. It’s also a great way for those who can’t/don’t like to twist/braid to keep their hair stretched. 

All in all, I would try it again if I can find a way to stop my hair from shrinking (if you have tips on this, please share). But for now, twists are much easier and quicker for me to install and take down even though they don’t give as much stretch as threading.

Have you tried threading? Do you have tips? What do you think of threading and would you try it? Please share!

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27 thoughts on “Threading take 1”

  3. Jen!!!!!!! Where have you been?! Yes We have missed you o. Hope you are good. Your puff look really good. I think the main reason for that shrinkage is because we are currently in rainy season when the atmospheric humidity is super high. Please don’t lay off water completely because you are trying to stretch, you would hate the condition of your hair after one week of no water contact. Trust me. What I normally do lightly coat the hair with a good buttery leave in and seal with castor oil or sheabutter. I noticed I had to do it once through out that week my hair was stretched. Result was moisturized and stretched hair for 7 days straight. You can battle the humidity by twisting or braiding on stretched hair. Puffs wont hurt too, just make sure too frequent. I’m thinking an anti humidity serums ( silicones) too but I haven’t tried it out yet.

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    • Hi Nafisah!! Yes, I’m very well!
      Hmm, never thought it could be the rainy season causing it.
      I need to find me a buttery leave in then. Any suggestions?
      And I should definitely look up the anti humidity serums.
      I need to make this threading thing work!

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  7. Threading is a staple for me. The only way I stop my hair from shrinking and also keep it moisturised is to ONLY use a water-based hair moisturiser. For example, Aunt Jackies Knot on My Watch. That helped me. See if it’ll help you too.

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    • Hi Josephine! Welcome to my blog; I hope you keep stopping by!
      It’s great that you’ve taken the decision to go natural. Well done!
      I’m sure it’ll turn out great.
      And don’t worry, my hair is scanty too. 😉

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  10. Jenny boo we missed you! I was wondering where you had been all this time, was about to call the po-po lol. Loving the mega puff ! I think it’s the humidity of rainy season that’s causing the shrinkage, I did a juicy twist out the other day and it didn’t even last a day before I had to re-twist it for the definition. Maybe you could add a light gel on top for hold?

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    • Aww! *feeling special* LOL!
      Now I believe it’s the rainy season too.
      Hmm, will definitely try gel. Thank you for the great tip!

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  11. I always have the same problem but because I’m not psyched about having uber stretched hair all day I could care less.
    Don’t stay off water/water infused products please.
    You can try Elasta’s leave in, it’s super buttery and light and smells yum too, it can be used daily too since it’s really light.
    You can also re-stretch your hair at night using twists/braids or I always use small elastic bands to stretch my hair in four sections, hope this helps.
    Your hair looks pretty by the way.

    Bookie Kunlere

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