How to Protect Your Natural Hair With Mini Twists

For those who cherish the beauty and versatility of their natural hair, finding protective styles that not only safeguard but also enhance its health can be a game-changer. Enter mini twists, a beloved styling option that not only serves as a protective measure but also celebrates the unique texture and beauty of natural coils, kinks, and curls.

What Are Mini Twists?

Mini twists are small two-strand twists individually created in small box section parts of the hair. This is a low-tension protective style that can be kept in for a few weeks with good maintenance.

What Are The Benefits of Mini Twists?

Wearing mini twists as a protective style promotes faster hair growth, allows your natural hair to be better easily maintained, helps reduce hair breakage and damage, and allow your coils and curls to retain moisture.

The secret to any healthy protective style is the right products.

Start with Clean, moisturized hair. Begin by washing and conditioning your hair with hydrating products suitable for your hair type. Apply a leave-in conditioner or moisturizer to ensure your strands are well-hydrated before adding a curling cream.

For mini twists, you will need a water-based cream. It can be tough finding the right products for type 4 hair but once you figure out what your hair needs, you’ll be able to feed it just that. Think of your hair as a plant and every week, make it a mission to properly water and feed it (with the right products).

Leave-In Conditioner

The As I Am Leave-In Conditioner helps to make type 4 curls and coils softer and more manageable. And because low-porosity hair can easily break, this conditioner contains ingredients that help prevent breakage and strengthen the cuticle layer.

We recommend sectioning your hair in four sections to apply the leave-in conditioner and detangle your hair with your favorite detangling brush.

Other Leave-In Conditioners:

Camille Rose Moroccan Pear Hair Conditioner

PATTERN Beauty by Tracee Ellis Ross Leave-In Conditioner

Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Hair Mask & Leave-In Conditioner

INNERSENSE Organic Beauty - Natural Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner

Styling Products

Any product that has a great consistency of water and is meant for moisture works great for mini twists. Divide your hair into small sections using clips or low-tension hair ties. Smaller sections will result in tighter and more defined twists.

Then, divide the section into two strands and twist them together tightly from root to tip. Continue this process until all sections are twisted.

Uncle Funky's Daughter Supercurl Miracle Moisture Creme adds wonderful moisture and softness to the hair with a good amount of hold for twists. Not only does it work well for all types of curls and coils but it serves as a creamy hydrator.

Other styling creams:

Mielle Organics Hawaiian Ginger Moisturizing Hair Butter

Aunt Jackie’s Defining Curl Custard

EDEN Bodyworks Curl Defining Creme

tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer

The Doux C.R.E.A.M Twist & Curl Cream, Curl Defining Cream

Moisturizer

Contrary to popular belief, natural hair, especially low porosity type 4 hair does not need a lot of oil. Oils, especially heavy oils like coconut oil, Jamaican Black castor oil, and olive oil can block the cuticles and sit on the hair. It’s also important to note that oils do not moisturize the hair but simply seal in the moisture.

When it comes to moisturizing hair in twists, use a lightweight daily moisturizer like the tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer. This provides the hair with maximum hydration and uses Shea butter to lock in moisture from the root to the tip of every strand of hair.

Twisting Your Hair

Stick to evenly sized amounts of hair for continuity and maybe even take the time to evenly part your hair with a rat-tailed comb if you’d like. To keep my hair in the best state for the products I constantly go in with my 360 mist sprayer, and I use the perfect detangler for me. Some like the denman brush, others a wide-tooth comb, I choose to go in with my EZdetangler brush.

Rocking Your Mini Twists

I’m sure by now you’ve seen the awesome ways you can rock your mini twists. Some of my personal favorites are space buns, a low bun, and pinning the side down. Just remember with any style you do, the purpose of a protective style is to put low manipulation on your hair. This means no tight-pulling hair ties or constantly wearing your hair pulled back. Give it time to breathe.

Need more inspiration for mini twist hairstyles? Click here

Maintenance

The best way to maintain mini twists will be by using a spray-based leave-in conditioner or water a couple of times per week. And in the meantime, you can retouch twists as you may need to. Other than that, I’m on to start my wash day after about 2 or 3 weeks of wearing my twists. Keeping them in for any time longer than four weeks will just leave you with more work to do and can potentially damage your hair. We want to leave our hair alone but not for that long!

By incorporating mini twists into your styling repertoire and following proper care techniques, you can protect and nurture your natural hair while showcasing its unique beauty. So, whether you're rocking your twists for a special occasion or as part of your everyday look, remember to embrace and protect your crown with pride.