So I have a no-braid method that is easy on the natural hair and secure.
For this style (natty-looking Bohemian twists) I used Nafy Collection synthetic extension hair. It's brilliant and does not damage your hair as a lot of kinky extension hair can. Sensationnel kinkytwist braid hair is also nice to useand it's softer. Both brands look and feels just like natural hair. I don’t like to use human hair because... (let me be honest) 1. It creeps me out and 2. Even if it didn't creep me out, it would be too expensive an exercise for a style like this. With synthetic hair, you can wash and reuse it if you look after it when you are wearing the style, my method ensures that the hair does not tangle. There is no crossing over of hair to wrap around like in braiding the base and the hair is removed easily and undamaged when it is time to take them out.
WASH YOUR SYNTHETIC EXTENSION HAIR. If you suffer from itchy scalp or an allergy to synthetic hair, it may be the hair's coating. Most types of syntheic braiding hair has a coating on it that can be irritating to skin, much like latex. You can soak it before hand in 4:1 water to ACV for 20 minutes to remove the irritant from the hair. You will know the coating is removed when you see the white film form on top of the water! Then give it a good rinse and shampoo. Dry thoroughly by laying it out on a cotton cloth before using.
Here is my method in steps, twisting right over left:
1. Section your hair, and divide the section into two equal pieces.
2. Fold over a length of the extension hair so that the ends are even.
3. Twist the middle of the extension hair twice to make a coil.
4. Place the coiled center of the extension hair over the parted section of your hair.
5. Hold in place with your left index finger.
6. Grab your hair and the extension hair and coil together to the RIGHT until tight.
7. Do the same with the other side, but ensure you also coil to the RIGHT. If you do not coil the divided sections in the same direction, your extension will not be secure at the base.
8. Once both sides are coiled, begin to twist right over left. While twisting, coil the rightmost section to the RIGHT once (away from the direction of the twist). You can either do this by twisting your wrist or by rolling the hair between your thumb and index finger.
9. With the first two twisting motions, twist tightly, one twist on top of the other, at the base of the two strand twist.
10. Twist to the length desired, keeping the tension even.
11. When you get to the end, you can either cut the hair, curl the ends using the boiling water method or let it remain loose. I don’t recommend burning the ends when you do kinky twist extensions. In my opinion, it’s fine for braids, but looks unnatural on kinky (Marley) twists.
So depending on the hair you use you can end up with a dread-looking twist or a smooth twist. Putting these extension in should not take any more time than doing twists without extensions :)
