This is probably going to be the last style I am going to do on Z's hair before installing yarn wraps to her hair on next Wednesday. I chose to do corkscrew Ghana plaits on her hair because I have not done them this particular way since last year in October when I first attempted the style and was curious to see how they would look now that her hair is longer.
Style Removal and Detangling:
- Dampened hair with distilled water (spray bottle)
- Starting from the back, thoroughly applied Trader Joe's Tea Tingle Conditioner + Extra Virgin Olive Oil to section of hair
- Finger detangled section to remove shed hairs and knots from ends of hair
- the conditioner made my hands very cold during this process...probably because of the peppermint oil
- Twisted section and worked my way up the entire head resulting in about 7 chunky twists
- Rinsed hair with warm water (with twists still intact)
Styling
- Starting from the back, unraveled two twists and applied Shea Moisture Curl Milk to section of hair and sealed with Olive Oil
- Decided to do scallop parting to save time and eliminate activating my perfectionist tendency of making perfect box parts
- Click here to learn more about how I did scallop parting when I first attempted this style last year
- After making the part, I clipped remaining hair out the way with an alligator clip
- Took a piece of weaving thread and made a knot 3 inches from one end of thread
- Grabbing section of hair at the base, I wrapped the thread around the section of hair (as close to root) several times, using the knot as an anchor so the thread would not slip as I wrapped
- Was careful not to secure thread too tightly at the roots (to avoid causing pain and pulling/damage)
- See this video for a better visual of how to get the thread started and secure at the base:
- Once secure, I started wrapping the thread down the section of hair, making sure not to wrap too close to the previous wrap. This is the key to getting the corkscrew look at the end!
- At the end of the section, I held the thread taut and gently pushed the hair toward the base of the section
- This action is similar to pushing beads up on a string. The hair will "slide" in a corkscrew look
- The hair can be adjusted as needed to even up the spacing between each corkscrew
- When desired look was achieved, I moisturized the ends of the section, detangled section with a fine tooth comb, and folded the ends up. I continued wrapping the thread around the ends to completely hide them underneath the threading and keep them protected
- Watch this video for an excellent visual on this process
- I repeated these steps for the remainder of Z's hair until completed. I remoisturized each section with distilled water as necessary throughout the styling process
More pictures coming soon! It was late when I finished Z's entire head so the last thing on my brain was to take pictures. :-)
Update--Here are a few shots of her hairstyle:
Labels: African Threading, Ghana Plaits
