Lea, are those two-stranded FLAT twists (connected to the head)? I'm curious because the scalp ends seem to be pretty tight. If I don't connect my gal's to her scalp, they'll unwind a bit at that end by the end of the day even though I twist them separately to the right, then together to the left.
Here's an unrelated question for those of you with older girls (or other moms who went through this phase yourselves): What should I do about my 8-yr-old constantly asking for me to let her "keep my hair down" (aka, "flat"). She'll want me to put the front sides in two puffs or barrettes, but then leave the back "down" or "flat." But as we all know, there's no such thing as "flat" when you have curly hair, regardless of your race.
As a compromise, I have done thin twists on the back section, but that's very time consuming and it doesn't look very good anyway. (Her twists don't stay as tight for some reason, even though I do them when they're damp).
Will she outgrow this, or eventually insist on a hotcomb or flat iron when her friends start to relax their hair? I have no intention of relaxing it due to everything I've read about how it weakens/breaks the hair (and the spirit of a young Black girl living in the dominant, White society). Curly hair is so "in" right now, even with the Pantene products. Yet I can't find any "Relaxed and Natural" Pantene products that will "define curls" without the added alcohol that is so drying on her hair. (There is a curl defining gel and a leave-in "smoother," but both have alcohol in them and are designed for fine, limp curls. Plus I don't think she's old enough to be able to pick out her girls if they tangle during the day, or be able to squirt more spray/gel as needed during the day. Isn't this meant for older girls and women?
I'm just curious what ideas others have come up with, or if this has become an issue for you, yet? Another girl in my daughter's first grade class told her she has "ugly hair" the other day. And surprise, surprise, this 6-yr-old African American girl has relaxed hair!
Ugh. (I'm not mad at the girl, but at our society that tells her that "curly=ugly".)