Yarn braids vs yarn twists
Yarn braids vs yarn twists

Yarn braids vs yarn twists

Yarn braids vs yarn twists which is better, are you confused about wether to get yarn braids or yarn twit for your next hairdo? Unlike hair extensions, the price tag attached to your yarn doesn’t necessarily make it better for your hair.

staying away from any wool blends and choosing 100 percent acrylic yarn for braids; some people, however, have gone with the yarn twist route for their braids and found it protected their kinky curls from frizziness.

Even though most folks seemed to feel strongly that yarn braids was the way to go, I decided to use both in my hair to see for myself.

I bought a bundle of brown wool yarn for $20 and used mostly in the front of my hair, then bought two bundles of 100 percent acrylic black yarn for $2 and used in the back of my hair.

The amount of the yarn we needed was astonishing, so I also ended up unraveling a handmade brown scarf that was a wool, cotton, acrylic, and bamboo blend.

What I found was in my experience was that it actually made no difference at all in the weight or protection. However the 100 percent wool used for yarn twist was slightly itchy at times.

I was pretty glad it wasn’t the back of my head near my neck because it would have made for some sleepless, itch-fueled nights. Regardless of your hair type, I’d now recommend using a natural blend or acrylic for comfy yarn braids.

Yarn braids vs yarn twists which is better

Yarn braids vs yarn twists are both very similar hairstyles, they also require the same amount of time and hair to do both hairstyles, also they look very beautiful and trendy on anyone who would like to rock this cute and chic hairdo.

Also people are using yarn to create the dreadlocks hairstyle they are also called genie locs, yarn wraps, yarn locs, yarn dreads or wrapped extensions.

What is yarn braids

Yarn braids are considered temporary hair extensions that one can add to her hair. The yarn can resemble the original hair in color or have a more funky/fashionable appearance.

Even if yarn braids have been around for a very long time, their popularity has just recently reached the climax. The braids are similar to poetic justice braids but doesn’t have the length.

If you have beautiful natural hair and you are interested in protecting it during the cold months in late fall, winter and early spring, then yarn braids may be an excellent choice for you.

In addition to being quite inexpensive, this braiding style have become a fashion statement. On top of all, they are simply great at keeping moisture in your hair, keeping your hair safe from breakage.

How to do Yarn braids

  • Step 1 – Cut the yarn to the length you need it.
  • Step 2 – Make the part for a braid
  • Step 3 – Take three strands of yarn and make sire they are the same length
  • Step 4 – loop the yarn around your hair and twist the ends across each other
  • Step 5 – Braid the yarn in your natural hair
  • Step 6 – Divide the six strands of yarn into three sets of two strands
  • Step 7 – Continue the braid to the end of the yarn

How long can i keep yarn braids in my hair?

Since the goal of any protective style is to protect the hair, the last thing you would want is to keep the style for too long and cause damage.

Most women keep their yarn braids in for up to 5 weeks. However, some reported experiencing itches after only two weeks.

If you try to keep them more than 5 weeks, you either get a lot of build-up or your hair gets quite frizzy.

When wearing the braids, you should wash your hair regularly, once a week. Wearing yarn on your head is like wearing the same t-shirt day after day.

Hence, you need to remember that yarn is a material and you have to wash it in order for it not to stink or become coarse.

Benefits of yarn braids

Yarn braids are a type of protective style that uses yarn instead of braiding hair. Yarn braids offer many of the same benefits as other protective styles.

  • they help protect your hair from the elements
  • allow you to grow your hair longer
  • It gives you the freedom to experiment with a wide variety of styles.

Do yarn braids damage your hair

No, yarn doesn’t damage your hair if you keep vigilant about the build-up that will occur at the base of some braids or twists. I have had some breakage due to poor detangling sessions after removing the yarn.

Yarn braids maintenance

Yarn braids are also great for summer because they’re easy to care for. They lend themselves to a more Bohemian look, which means they don’t require much maintenance.

You can enjoy your summer without worrying about touching up your hair every few days. Also, they allow your hair to retain more moisture, keeping it healthier and stronger while in the protective style.

Protect Your Scalp From The Elements

After my first week in yarn, I realized that it was still important to keep my scalp protected in rain or on particularly cold days, just as I would in any protective style.

Keeping my scalp moisturized in yarn braids was pretty easy, I just used a spray bottle of homemade leave-in conditioner as I would in any other protective style which for me, is about every other day.

Yarn braids Requires Frequent Trims

My hair stayed tightly braided for the duration of the time I kept them in, but there was still some fraying that occurred in the yarn braids.

I figured this would happen to the ends when I introduced rubber bands, but I wasn’t expecting them to fray up the perimeter of the braid as well.

The cool thing about the yarn, though, is that it’s really easy to manage: I was able to trim any flyaways with a sharp pair of scissors I use for knots in my own hair.

Even though my yarn braids still required some form of maintenance every few days, it was still better than the hair maintenance I typically have to do to my natural hair.

Using a hand mirror before I styled my yarn braids for the day made sure I was on top of the fraying and I only needed to reach for the scissors a few times.

Investing in a large-satin bonnet prevented any extra fraying and kept my own hair from frizzing up as well.

What is yarn twist

Yarn Twists Are One of the Most Cost-Effective, Protective Styles. If you’re the experimental type that likes to play around with color and protective styles, yarn twists are a fun way to update your everyday look. Melding your natural hair with yarn will help give your tresses a break without altering you’re texture.

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How to do yarn twist

Condition Hair

Once the hair is free of yarn, I will rinse the hair with water and add a conditioner. I am using L’Oreal Total Repair Extreme Emergency Recovery Leave the conditioner on for at least 5 mins and then rinse.

Moisturize With Honey/Olive Oil Mix

Take equal parts of honey and olive oil. (1/4 cup of each) Heat in Microwave for 20 secs. Mix together and apply to damp hair. (Make sure it isn’t too hot) Cover hair with a shower cap and leave on for at least 20 mins. Rinse out and repeat Step 2 (Conditioner)

Comb Out the Hair

You will need to comb out the hair so it is free of tangles! (I like to give my daughter a little “free hair” time, so I will leave her hair “yarn free” for at least 24 hours)

Prepare the Yarn

You will need to cut all the yarn you plan to use ahead of time. This will save you TONS of time (rather then having to mess with it while you are twisting) I always use black yarn and sometimes I like to add some color.

In this case my daughter wanted “Seahawk Colors” so we did black, blue and green. You will want to cut the yarn twice as long as you want the length of hair to be. I always cut it way longer then needed so that I never run short for length.

Section Hair

Make sure the hair is conditioned and moisturized before you begin! I like to work with damp hair. Section off the nape of the head.

(you are welcome to start on any point of the head) Make a parting a little over an inch squared. Don’t stress too much over perfect partings!

how many packs of yarn for yarn braids – do you use for each twist?

If I’m doing small yarn twists, I use three strands of yarn for each twist and only two strands on my edges. If I am doing chucky yarn twists (larger sections for each twist), I use four strands of yarn for each twist and three strands on my edges.

Yarn braids tutorial – Twisting Begins!

Watch the yarn braids tutorial on how to anchor the yarn and do the twisting!

How to twist yarn braids

Decide on a Part

Choose where you want the hair to lay. I chose to part on my daughter’s left side so that her hair would lay over to the right. I also parted a section for her bangs!

How do you finish your ends?

I use to knot the end of the twist, cut the excess yarn below the knot, burn the knot and roll and seal. Then I started holding the end of the twist and burning it above my fingertips.

I would roll, seal and cut off the excess yarn. It was supposed to seal the ends and give the twist a candlewick effect. That didn’t work too well for me, and I went back to making a knot and burning.

Benefits of yarn twist

  1. Look like dreadlocks after a few weeks, so are more natural looking
  2. There’s room to be very creative and fun with the range of different colors acrylic yarn comes in
  3. Is gentler on hair than extensions and is lighter causing less stress to hair strands
  4. Able to keep moisture in longer than hair extension
  5. Hair can be washed, deep conditioned and treated in yarn twists/braids. In fact, washing makes the twists softer
  6. Inexpensive and yarn is easily accessible. One roll of wool in Bon Marche in Harare costs $1 of which I used three
  7. Is a protective style that can last weeks and even months if taken care of properly, but beware of hair actually locking

It is a money saver

You can buy 1 or 2 packs of acrylic yarn not the wool one ( this can dry out your hair) and have enough to complete your whole head for anywhere between $5 to $7 or perhaps even less.

Whereas with braiding hair you are spending $2.99 or so per pack and you will need about 4 to 5 packs of hair so you will at least be spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $15.00 or more.

Eliminate the mess

I am sure even  if you are neat you can create a mess with yarn, but it probably doesn’t  come close to the mess that you experience with weave.

It gets all over your house and the strands follow you around, the mess that comes with braiding hair is super annoying.

They look natural

As long as they are done properly you will not be able to tell that they are Yarn Braids. All you have to do is make sure that the end of the yarn is sealed and you have a beautiful braided style.

Get the look of locs without the commitment

With yarn braids you can achieve a similar look to dreadlocks without the commitment of locking up your hair. This can help you determine whether you do want to just go for it or it can be just a fun style to change things up with.

4 Reasons you need to try yarn braids on natural hair

1. They’re natural-looking

That said, a lot of women choose an acrylic yarn that’s close to human hair color (such as black or brown) for a more natural-looking braided style.

Just like regular hair extensions, acrylic yarn is secured onto the root with a few twists then braided towards the ends. The ends are commonly burned off to ensure a natural-looking tip. That’s all there is to it!

2. They’re low maintenance

Said to be easier to clean up than regular weave extensions, yarn braids are also relatively simple to manage. Yarn retains moisture too, which makes them a great protective hairstyle for dry-haired naturalistas.

However that also means they can get really heavy when wet, so you don’t really need to do much in terms of hair care: Just making sure your scalp and natural hair are clean before braiding.

An occasional application of SheaMoisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Daily Hydration Leave-In Treatment is enough to moisturize and dry shampoo will keep your scalp fresh.

We suggest to really lock in that moisture and Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Dry Shampoo to keep your hair grease-free and smelling pretty.

3. They’re super fun

Since yarn is cheaper and comes in a wide spectrum of shades, the world is quite literally your playground! Experiment with darker, natural hues, or run the gamut and try out every color imaginable.

Your hair will never touch a drop of dye or bleach—such is the boon of having this protective hairstyle. Bright, colored yarn does have a noticeable fade though, so fans of yarn braids say it’s best to leave them in no longer than six weeks.

4. They’re highly tweak-able

Yarn braids can be tweaked and personalized to fit every taste and commitment level. Some women like the look of a few accent pieces near the fringe (à la highlights), while others crave the whole shebang and go for the full protective look. However way you want your braids to look is completely up to you, so go on and get crafty!

How to do a Yarn Bob Tutorial

Watch the video below on how to do a Yarn Bob

How to do a Yarn Bob Tutorial

Yarn braids on VERY short hair tutorial

Watch the video below on how to do a Yarn braids on VERY short hair.

Yarn braids on VERY short hair tutorial

How to do yarn french (dutch) braids

Watch the video below and learn how to do easy and cute yarn french (dutch) braids

How to do yarn french (dutch) braids

Hairstyles with yarn braids and yarn twist

Short hairstyles with Yarn Braids

Short hairstyles with Yarn

As you can see here, you can have braids of any color or length. If you already have short hair then give this look a try.

Yarn braids bob

Yarn braids bob

The great thing about yarn braids is that you can try out color without having to dye your hair.

Yarn braids crochet

braids crochet

The red really makes this look pop and she has added some accessories as well.

Yarn french braids

Yarn french braids

These yarn braids allow you to have any length of hair that you desire. Add some color and some length to your life.

Yarn braids on natural hair

Yarn on natural hair

How cute is this style? If you are looking for a fun way to control your braids, this is a great idea.

Yarn braids over locs

Yarn braids over locs

If you have ever wanted to try a bright shade like teal, now is your chance to give it a go.

Yarn feed in braids

Yarn feed in braids

These styles typically can stay in for a couple of months, so you can try a few different colors throughout the year if you want to keep the style.

Braids with yarn wrapped around

Braids with yarn wrapped around

The style of a braid comes in many different forms. If you don’t want a standard braid, then you can try these twists.

Yarn braids on very short hair

Yarn braids on very short hair

You can have a casual, everyday style and still come out looking like a goddess with yarn braids.

Yarn dutch braids

Yarn dutch braids

You are sure to feel like a goddess with this look. The braids have been styled in a deep part to give you that sexy vibe.

Conclusion – Yarn braids vs yarn twists

Thanks for reading my post about Yarn braids vs yarn twists First, yarn braids are versatile. Unlike regular braiding hair, yarn comes in every color under the sun.

If you want to try an unusual color for the summer, like neon green or bright pink, yarn is one of your best bets.

It’s easier to find than brightly colored braiding hair, and it’s way cheaper and better for your hair than dying your natural hair. If you want to stick with natural browns and blacks, you can do that with yarn too.

Please checkout my other post about Can latinas wear head wraps, i am looking forward to your comments below!

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