If there’s any African hairstyle I love for its ease, it’s Senegalese twists. This hairstyle is super easy to achieve. Once you arrive at the salon and your hairstylist begins to work, rest assured they’ll be done in an hour or two max.
What about uninstalling it?
You don’t have to cut your twists to uninstall them as you would for other African braids.Y ou can loosen the twists by unwrapping each strand even without using a comb.Â
And that’s not all about this coiffure.
It’s also the perfect switch from regular box braids or knotless braids.
Now that I’ve succeeded in convincing you that you made a great choice wanting to wear Senegalese twists, let’s get into the deets about this coiffure. I’ve also included cute twists in this post.Â
So, get ready to feed your eyes, download them, and show them to your hairstylist too.
Why Wear Senegalese Twists?
Otherwise known as rope twists, Senegalese twists are a protective hairstyle you can achieve with or without hair extensions. It involves dividing a sectioned part of your hair into two strands and wrapping them around each other firmly.
They’re versatile as you can install them with your natural hair or opt for any type or color of extension be it attachment, baby wool, crochet, or Brazillian wool. You can also rock them chunky, thin, long, short, medium-sized, etc.
You can add curls too or combine them with box braids for more effects.
Senegalese twists are one attachment hairstyle that’ll never go out of style. You just have to expect more tweaks and variations that accentuate the beauty of this hairdo.
How Long do Senegalese Twists Last?
If your hair is relaxed, this hairdo can last up to six or eight weeks, depending on how you maintain it. It can also last that long (or less) if you’re a naturalista. It just depends on you.
But when your twists get old, they’ll still look good if you lay your edges with edge control and practise other maintenance measures you’ll soon learn about.
Are Senegalese Twists Bad for Your Hair?
No.
Senegalese twists aren’t bad for your hair. They’re protective hairstyles for both natural and relaxed hair. As such, they protect your hair from harmful manipulations, breakage, or harsh environmental elements.
But if care isn’t taken, this hairstyle can damage your hair. How, you ask?
If your hairstylist picks the twist too tight, the twists can pull your hair from your scalp, thus leading to hair loss.
So, the best thing to do is to ask your hairstylist not to secure the twists way too tightly on your scalp. They also shouldn’t exert much pressure when installing the twists.
How to Care for Your Senegalese Twists
When wearing this attachment hairstyle, always remember to moisturize your scalp with any of the natural oils for hair growth. Be careful not to overdo this so you don’t stuff your scalp with buildups that clog your hair follicles.
And when you want to sleep, put on your satin hair bonnet or tie a silk scarf. Hey help to retain moisture in your hair and keep your twists in shape especially if your pillowcase isn’t silk.
Types of Senegalese Twists
Ready to adorn your hair with cute rope twists? Choose from these styles:
1. Teeny-weeny Twists
This style of rope twist is thin or tiny. They consume more time to install and loosen too. But because your hairstylist has to use tiny portions of extension and section your hair into tiny parts, it winds up adding more volume to your hair.
In other news, your hair will look dense and full if you wear thin twists.
But be careful though, as this type can pull your hair from the roots.
2. Medium-sized Twists
This type is double the tiny twists. As such, they won’t take as much time as it would take to achieve the teeny-weeny twists.
3. Chunky Senegalese Twists
Jumbo twists are cute. They require less time compared to the earlier mentioned types of Senegalese twists.
Moreso, the fact that they’re chunky adds more details to your hair.
4. Short Twists
These twists aren’t long. They stop just around your neck or may go a tad lower.
6. Shoulder-Length Twists
As the name implies, this type of twists stops right or just below your shoulders. They are moderate and can be of any size, whether thin, medium, or jumbo.
5. Long Twists
This type goes beyond your shoulders to your lower back or waist. Though they consume more hair extensions, they’re attractive and are worth the investment.
7. Crochet Senegalese Twists
Instead of using attachment as your hair extension, you can go for twisted crochet extensions.
Compared to other types of Senegalese twists, crochet twists take up far less time. One reason is that it doesn’t require sectioning your hair or wrapping each strand together.
The manufacturers of the hair extension have already done that. You only need to braid your natural hair into cornrows and use a crochet pin to install the already twisted extensions to your hair.
8. Colored Twists
If you don’t want to stick to the regular black hair extension, go for other colors like red, blue, green, blonde, purple, maroon, gold, brown, etc.
It all depends on your preference and style. Go for mild colors if you’re conservative. But if you don’t give a damn about the attention, pick any bold color of your choice.
9. Natural Senegalese Twist
This style doesn’t need any hair extension. You only need your neat and well-prepped natural hair to achieve it.
You can do this yourself or go to a hairstylist who’ll divide your hair into sections and wrap each strand firmly around themselves.
Senegalese twists come in different types. But how you style and manipulate them will always set you apart from the crowd.Â
If you don’t want your twists to go all the way to the back, manipulate them into updos, crowns, doughnuts, or however you want. And don’t forget to add your hair accessories like gold cuffs, cowries, beads, scrunchies, rubber bands, headbands, etc.
That aside, here are other Senegalese twists hairstyles to inspire you:
