STYLE OF THE WEEK: YARN WRAPS

By Hadassah Agbaps - November 20, 2013

So, the style of the week heading is not totally accurate because I've been rocking this style since the 29th of October and will be taking it down pretty soon!
As usual, the stylist predicted a two months lifespan and thank God she decided to be a stylist not a prophetess because I will be taking down my style at the 3 week mark to give it at least a week to recuperate.

So, why yarn wraps?
Well I really loved the loc'd hairstyles I saw on the Ghanaian women and as I was searching for wedding hair style inspirations for a client, I kept seeing beautiful loc'd updos some of which I posted on Instagram. 
I couldn't sleep. 
I wasn't happy with my free hair anymore....I wanted  locs......I needed locs!

Of course I knew my hunger for locs would be short lived because I wouldn't be able to commit to it....I can't even commit to a style for more than three weeks! 
I always want a change......but now the change was locs!

While going about my daily duties, I spied a lady with what looked like locs.
 She had yarn wraps. 
It looked a bit stiff and I felt it was because she made it thicker. 
I decided to google up the style and saw a picture I would never forget.



It kept playing in my mind and I could visualize myself rocking locs.

One day I couldn't take it anymore. So I went to the stylist that evening (around four) armed with the photo and the yarn and told her I wanted to 'wrap my hair with wool'.
'But Aunty it's late now...why don't you come early tomorrow by 7am and we'll start. This style takes time!'
'No!' I said quickly....I didn't think I'd tolerate another night of waiting. ' Do it now....wherever we stop, we'll continue tomorrow''.
She looked at me and sighed....probably wondering how she ended up with a strange customer.

First, I have natural hair, then I come to her in braids and tell her to loose them one at a time, then I tell her not to comb, then I tell her to make the parts in squares (neater IMO), then I don't let her apply cream on my hair, scalp or extension....offering her instead, some strange vanilla smelling concoction which seems to be the secret to having manageable natchi hair.....strange indeed.

She started cutting the yarn into sections. A shorter one to braid my hair with and a longer one for the wrapping. I gave her 8 strands of yarn for the braids and 2 for the wrapping.
 When she began wrapping I was so scared of the pain....because I heard yarn wraps were painful....but I felt nothing....she was gentle.

We had done a little less than half of the hair before closing time so I turbaned my hair that night and the following day.

BIG MISTAKE!!! 
Never under estimate the pain! 
I felt nothing when the wrapping was going on but when I wanted to sleep, the rather stiff locs hurt so much I felt like I was five again with the pain from newly threaded hair! This is threaded hair but funkified with yarn....but mehn, I think I could tolerate pain better at five!
I wanted to take down the hair....I tried but due to the length of the locs, it took a long time to unwrap even one loc and I couldn't cut it because the wrap was exactly the length of my hair! 
How I wished then that I had a TWA!

I slept with dried tears on my face.


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11 comments

  1. Please, is this not African Threading with knitting wool? You can make it, and it will be very flexible. The trick is to make sure it is not parted too big, and then make sure the stylist only uses 2 or 3 strands to wrap each. This way, it is light and flexible, no matter the length.

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    1. Thanks for the tip. I tried doing it myself but it is really work especially if your hair is longer so you can't make it short. The stylist did use two strands to wrap the hair but I think she wrapped too close so there wouldn't be any gaps.

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    2. When I did this hair, it took me like 7 hours o. My hair is very long too, and I did not want it to be parted big, so it could be flexible. As long as you are ready to sit down, you will get what you want.

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    3. Lol! I'll try to be more patient. In fact the real reason I did the hair over two days was because I didn't want to sit down for 7 hrs plus...I get 'behind ache' lol!

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  2. Oh no!!!!!!!!! I want to get them done :( but you're discouraging me with this post.

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    1. Sorry dear if I'm scaring you. I just wanted to be really honest but the good thing is that I'll do it again because I know now where we got it wrong and the adjustments we should make next time...

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  3. I'm so glad I read your post! My sis sent me the link, after I'd cried constantly that the hair was hurting really badly. I agree with you- the wrapping at the base is what hurts the most, but unlike your instance, I didn't lose any hair as I was very clear with the stylist and we took out sections I felt were too tight, and she didn't pick any of my "baby hairs" at the hairline. Tomorrow makes it a week since the hair was wrapped and I'm glad to say I can laugh now without hurting.
    I'd love to send you pictures of mine if you're interested, and I hope you'd make posts on styling the hair, so a sistah can look fine. ;)
    P.S- do you feel like you're reclining on firewood when you sleep at night? 'Cos I do!

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    1. Thanks for reading!
      You described the feeling exactly!!!! It did feel like I was reclining on firewood...lol!
      Infact, that was why I gather it all up on my head like a horn so it will be away from my face and body!
      *I hope we are not scaring peeps away from this style.....*

      And....Yes please, do share your pictures! The style is worth it in the end.
      I'll try to update with styling inspirations but if you're on Instagram, you can find them on @nappilynigeriangirl

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  4. Hy,pls i have this hairstyle in mind,pls how many packs of wool did u use?. tanx

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  5. I think the issues you had were due to a couple of reasons: 1. You used 8 strands to braid (I will assume she braided all the way down and stopped where your hair ends). You should've used 2-3 strands to twist, not braid the hair. The more strands you use in the extension base, the stiffer the strand will be. Also, Senegalese or rope twisting the base gives it more mobility that braiding. 2. Use at least 4 strands to wrap the base extension. The more strands used to wrap the base, the quicker it is to wrap the length of the base, more strands=more surface coverage. 3.Wool is thick, cotton is a lighter more pliable option. It also doesn't tangle in your hair, so the take down process would've been easier. You should've used Red Heart or Carron 100% cotton yarn. 4.Hold the base when wrapping. If you don't hold the base, it will continue to twist on itself and create extreme tension at the root. I currently have yarn wraps in about the same size in a blond color and mine are down to the middle of my back below my bra strap (I am 5'6"). I did my own, and it took me about 4 days alone but I took my time and frequent breaks. After about 3 days, they were pretty flexible and it never hurt to sleep on (they were actually quite comfy). I encourage you to try this on your own, it is a great and easy style choice.

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  6. Here is a picture of my blonde ones:

    blob:https%3A//mail.google.com/83357921-026c-4320-92e0-c33321f55c59

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