Does Twisting Your Hair Make It Grow Faster?
One of the most popular protective hairstyles for ladies trying to keep natural hair is the two-strand twist. If you read lots of haircare opinions on social media, you should have come across posts claiming that twisting your hair will make it grow faster, but does twisting your hair make it grow faster?
In the general sense, two-strand twists will make your hair grow faster, but not because they have a magic formula or anything. Twisting your hair will protect it from external factors that make your hair grow slowly, creating an enabling environment for it to grow quickly. However, the twist doesn’t make your hair grow faster on its own.
In this article, I’ll dive deeply into this question even further to show you if you can get any extra advantages from twisting your hair. Then, I’ll answer the question that makes the basis for this article in extensive detail, before giving you some tips to make your hair grow faster.
What Does It Mean to Twist Your Hair?
It doesn’t make much sense to dive too deep into the complexities associated with twisting without clarifying what I mean by the term. So, before we jump into answering the question this article poses, what exactly does twisting your hair mean?
When I use the word “twisting” in this article, I’m referring to two-strand twists, a hairstyle that involves making your hair by twisting two little sections together until it forms multiple long twists, hence the name: two-strand twists. It’s common among people with natural hair.
The hairstyle is a protective one that prevents your hair from breakage and other similar problems that might impact it negatively. Since this section is not about listing the advantages of twisting your hair, I’ll keep the claims to a minimum.
However, you’ll notice that people often echo the idea that wearing two-strand twists can help grow your hair quicker, and it’s becoming an undisputed truth in the haircare sphere, especially on social media. But is that the case? Does twisting your hair make it grow faster?
Now that you do understand what twisting means and how it’s done, I think you’re in a better position to understand any arguments I might put forward later in the article. With that said, let’s move on with the crucial topic at hand.
What’s the Difference Between Twisting and Braiding?
There’s a misconception that I should also clarify to ensure you understand every single one of my talking points in this article. If you’re primarily exposed to braiding, you may be confused with my explanation, and such confusion has led to people conflating twisting, and braiding in the past. But what is the difference between twisting and braiding?
As the preceding section explains, twisting involves two small sections of hair (the strands) twisted together to form a long twist. On the other hand, a braid requires three of those sections intertwined to create a similarly long braid.
Braid and twists are of the same size, even as both do have different sizes across the board. If you’re experienced with haircare and hairstyles, you should be able to tell the difference between a braid and a twist at first glance.
When it comes to the discussion of which is better between braids and twists, we can keep talking about that all day without reaching a resolution. For one, both of the hairstyles are protective, so you should expect them to be naturally very similar.
Twists cause less tension to your hair than braids in most cases. They’re easy to install and equally easy to loosen, and they look pretty good. On the negative side, twists don’t last as long and they require frequent maintenance since you’ll have to deal with some coming off partly.
Braids, however, look better than twists when done properly, and is relatively low maintenance because you don’t have to deal with anything coming off. It does put more tension on your hair and it takes a lot longer to make than twists, which you can count as negatives.
Does Twisting Your Hair Make It Grow Faster?
Finally, to the main topic of the day. Since I’ve clarified what I understand as twists and I’ve differentiated between braids and twists, I think you should know just enough to read this section like a pro. So, does twisting your hair make it grow faster?
The straightforward answer to that question is no, twisting doesn’t make your hair grow faster since it does nothing to speed up the rate at which it grows. However, you may be experiencing faster growth whenever you make the hairstyle, and of course, it’s not a hallucination.
The reason why you think twisting your hair makes it grow more quickly is that it’s a protective hairstyle. When you wear it, your hair becomes less susceptible to manipulation due to its ends being tucked away. That attribute protects the hair from breakage and other negative effects that stunt hair growth.
Another way to approach the same point is this: if you can find an alternative way to offer the same level of protection to your hair without twists, it will grow just as well. In short, twisting isn’t making your hair grow faster, it’s just creating an enabling environment for it to grow at its natural rate.
If twisting doesn’t have any significant effect on the speed at which your hair grows, there must be a reason why it’s so popular among those advocating for natural hair. What are the benefits of twisting your hair that make it so popular? The following section will look at that in detail.
Benefits of Twisting Your Hair
Twisting has its fair share of negatives, but the positive effects of twisting your hair far outweigh the negatives, making it a compelling hairstyle for ladies with natural hair. With that said, it’s only fair if you ask about those benefits that make two-strand twists so special.
Here are some of the benefits of twisting your hair that should make you consider the hairstyle.
1. Versatility
One of my favorite benefits of twisting your hair is how much freedom you have with your hair, both before and after wearing the hairstyle. Before doing it, you can choose whether to make it tiny or huge, a decision that plays a big role in how it will work out for you.
After making the hairdo, you still have the freedom to choose exactly how you want to wear it. You can create several styles from your twists: ponytails, Mohawks, or even a simple bun; the possibilities are endless!
2. Convenience
Not only are twists easier to wear, but they’re also easier to maintain in the long run. In most cases, you won’t need to redo the hair for some time, which can range anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.
Even when you have to redo it, you can undo the twists in a jiffy and be done with everything within a very short time. The same cannot be said of its more complex sibling: braids, which take almost forever to make in the best-case scenarios.
3. Protects your hair
One of the primary reasons why the two-strand twist appeal to such a wide audience is that it’s a protective hairstyle. Most people who keep their hair natural are on the lookout for something that’ll make their hair suffer external manipulation.
Fortunately, haircare gurus have come up with a category for these kinds of hair, and twists happen to fall into that category. Not only are twists part of the category, but variations of twists and braids are also probably the only things you’ll ever see on a list of the best protective hairstyles.
Do You Need Long Hair for Twisting?
Another question that comes up often is about how long your hair needs to be to twist it. Since most of the samples you see online are those of models with insanely long hair, you may have the idea that you also need hair of similar length for twisting, but nothing could be further away from the truth.
I’ve seen reports of people twisting hair that’s as short as 4 inches, and the style still looks good for knee-length hair. So, it doesn’t matter how long your hair is, as long as you can twist it, you should probably consider twisting it.
Of course, that’s not saying the two-strand twist is the best hairstyle for every scenario, but if the length of your hair is the only thing drawing you back, I’m afraid you don’t have an excuse.
Conclusion
Twisting your hair is simple and wearing twists is convenient, but you’ve also heard claims that two-strand twists will help your hair grow a lot quicker. Are those people saying the truth, or are they exaggerating a bit too much?
In this article, I’ve explained what twisting means and how twisting your hair could make it grow faster. If you’re looking for a TLDR, twisting your hair doesn’t do anything to grow it faster. But being protective creates an enabling environment for your hair to grow better.
