As a child, my mother would sit me down and stretch my hair with thread. She would use water, a pomade and regular thread that she would fortify by overlapping it. The water was to moisturize and the pomade was designed to seal. Today’s alternative would be to M&S with our favorite products. She would do intricate, traditional designs with the thread or she would just stretch it to make my hair more manageable.
The technique is very simple. All you have to do is get a section of hair, moisturize it, seal the hair and then thread it. I use weaving thread to do this. If the section is small, then M&S a large area before you begin threading in small sections to save time. To thread the hair, you must do the following:
1. Wrap
the thread around the base of your hair approximately five times. This will secure the thread. Do not do this tightly, just enough to stretch the hair at
the base.
2. Start
wrapping downward; toward the ends of your hair. You can wrap tightly of
loosely.
3. Once you get to the end, begin wrapping upwards
for approximately 2-3 inches then wrap going back down so that your hair is
secured. That way, your hair will unravel easily. I know that many people knot
the thread, but do not knot the thread at the ends. This can cause damage
during removal.
This technique saved my life when I was transitioning to
natural hair. It may not be easy to get the hang of, but practice makes perfect
so put your blow dryer and hair bands down and pick up some very cheap weaving thread.
Bear in mind that you should be gentle with your hair. If it hurts, you are
pulling too tightly. Feel free to look at the following videos for inspiration
and a closer look at the technique.
Transitioning Hairstyle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQvLb9aJ2OI
AHT ponytail with extensions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMwR7dFRnFc
