From my previous post about my washday which can be found here, I styled my hair using rubber thread as it is locally called. 
I prefer to use this thread because it stretches and gives a shiny finish. 
. The thread was left in my hair for two days for my hair to completely dry underneath and I was careful not to make it tight. However, there was a particular part of my scalp that kept hurting despite my efforts and I only realised later that, that was where I had my worst relaxer burn four years ago. Hmm…it seems that relaxer did more damage that I thought for that area to remain sensitive and tender till now.
Anyway, I tried to record a video while I was installing the thread but my lighting was bad and it came out a bit dark. I do have a video of the takedown which is a lot clearer.Maybe I’ll upload it on YouTube and Instagram later in the day and also update this post.
The takedown was really simple. I just located the knot I tied with the thread around my ends, undid them and pulled till they came off. As I separated, my hair felt very dry and a bit tangled so I applied some Monoi Oil on it.
From my experience, here are some Tips:
- Before threading detangle properly. Otherwise, your hair will end up matted when you take it down.
- Moisturise your hair with your trusted product before you start threading. To get a soft, stretched finish. I only moisturised with a leave-in conditioner and though my hair was not weighed down, it felt very dry.
- Make sure your hair is completely dry underneath. If you compare these results to those of last year, (the post can be found here>African Threading<) you will see the difference.
- If your hair feels dry after you take the thread out, and you want to moisturise it without causing shrinkage, use a detangling moisturizer. I used Aunt Jackie’s Knot on my Watch on DRY hair. This is important, do not spray water! The point of choosing this kind of product is that it already has water as its first ingredient and using it on dry hair will enable you to keep the stretched look without compromising.
- How much your hair will be stretched depends on how much you pull your hair when installing your thread.
I hope you all have had a wonderful week. If you’ve tried African threading or you’re thinking of trying it out let me know in the comments below!
19 comments
beautiful… i once did this with wool (yarn) but i heard it dries the moisture in one’s hair
I replied your message earlier today but I just noticed it didn’t go through.
Anyway, Thank you Oluchi! and yes I’ve always questioned yarn braids. I’m not sure how what is used to make sweaters can retain moisture. 0_0
True! I even did it again yesterday and by morning all the moisture in my hair was gone
**crying face**
Not so much.. Shea Butter fixed it. I only thread to retain length after wash 🙂
Your hair turned out great!
Been wanting to try African threading but I gave up when I didn’t find his rubber thread.
I’ll search again and try it
Thanks Jen! 🙂 You’ll have to go to the open market where they literally braid people’s hair outside. That’s where I bought mine. Each role was for N20 so I bought all the lady had. Haha.
Sent from my iPhone
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Chinwe,
Your hair is so beautiful, I love how threading is an organic, heat-free stretching technique.
Yes, I threaded my hair recently as a protective style (pic is on my blog).
It’s the most protective style I’ve ever done, and easy to manage too. I simply spritzed with a water and glycerin mix. When I unwrapped the thread three weeks later, my hair was soft.
is it immediately after washing the that one will do the African threading or after the air is dry?
You can do it on both damp and dry hair. In this post, I did it on dry hair.
Do you ever use flat iron on your hair or a comb out blow dryer? Would you recommend the use of these items or not?
Hi, Mariam!
Heat is bad for natural hair because it can damage our strands but if you use it in moderation as well as with a heat protectant, you can still enjoy the versatility of natural hair.
Personally, I am yet to straighten my natural hair with a flat iron. Maybe I will one day in future but for now I haven’t because I personally don’t feel like. However, I have blow dried my hair, (not exactly with a comb attachment I don’t like them either lol), I use the tension method about 3-4 times in the past 5 years of being natural. I have a YouTube video for a recent one I did coming up this month so I’ll put it up in the coming weeks.
I hope this helps. 🙂
I like to buy some plastic thread please
How much are they?
Thanks.
Helen
Hi Helen,I apologise for my late response.
Please where do you live?
Hi Helen,
I apologise for getting back to you so late. Where do you live?
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