Here's what I used:
I co-washed that day with Aussie Moist, detangled with the shower comb, liberally spritzed wet hair with Nature's Shine Oil, and let air dry to about 80%. Then I distributed about a palmful of ElastaQP Mango Butter and got started.
This is a plain elastic headband(no metal), I got a pack of 5 from my local beauty supply for 99 cents. Part your hair wherever you like( I don't think it really matters where if you end up wearing it like I did) depending on if you want to do any pinning or flat twists or whatever to the front, put the headband around your head like a crown, and smooth your hair down as much as possible underneath.
This is the twisting part....you are basically twisting your hair around the headband in a spiral shape, but grabbing a little more hair each turn, like you would if you were french braiding or flat twisting. Continue doing this until you get past your ear, and then do the other side of your head the same way. Here's a tip for a smoother look or if you are doing this on relaxed hair: put some tension on the new section of hair as you grab it, and while you wrap it around the elastic. This will help to have a smoother look if you wear this as a "crown", and more defined curls if you wear it "out".
This is the left side, as you can see my edges got frizzy as they dried. I put more mango butter on them as I noticed it to keep them from getting too dry and breaking off.
Now here's where it may get a bit tricky, at the end. So you have both sides twisted all the way to the back, and you have a little mullet of hair hanging down, right? The original video I saw of this said to just tuck that hair into the back, but to my thinking there would be no curl in it. So I take the two tails and continue wrapping them around the elastic without grabbing more hair(since there isn't anymore to grab). I wrap the tails together, pulling them through the hole in the middle(between your head and the headband) until there isn't anymore length to wrap around and then just make sure the end is tucked around too. If you run out of room on the headband, just slide the hair already on toward your ears a little to make more.
And this is what you get! I usually wear it like this for a day or two, and slide the part of the band that is on my forehead back to the top of my head so it doesn't show. Just wrap with a satin scarf for bed and be sure to moisturize each day.
This is what it looks like when I take it down. Please be careful taking the elastic out, you have intentionally tangled your hair around it and it may not come out easily! I put some oil on my hands to coat my palms then unroll my hair to loosen it from the band, and then take sections and pull them off gently.
If I am wearing my hair in any kind of braid- or twist-out I am usually going for big hair, and this is no different. I don't like my hair too much in my face, so I wear the same headband to hold it back. It takes a little fussing with to get it fluffed how I want, but this one is a keeper for me, and a great alternative to sleeping on plastic rods!
On that note, I still love my rod sets and will continue to do them if I want a more polished looking curl, which this style doesn't not give(in my opinion).
Another reason I love this style: my hair is about mid shoulder blade, and it keeps it up off of my neck without pony-tailing it or using a million bobby pins. Also gives me a blunt edge, so it looks like my hair is cut that length.
If anyone tries this and it works(or doesn't), or you have a suggestion on how to do it better, please leave a comment or email me!
