Sunday, December 30, 2012

Mixed Feelings About Havana Twists

There's nothing quite like building up your expectations for months only to have them dashed to the ground. 
For months, I've been wanting Havana Twists. And to add salt to my wounds, I've been wanting Havana Twists with hair from Fingercomber. Like you, when I saw that "image," I fell in love.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
So, biting the bullet, I followed Fingercomber's suggestion and bought six packs of hair to achieve the look above. Since I've never worn extensions before, I practiced with some much cheaper Marley hair for a month until I deemed I was ready to use the Fingercomber hair.

First and foremost, DO NOT purchase this hair if your own hair is armpit length or longer. Mine is so I had to fold my hair in half so the Fingercomber hair covered my ends. After all, I'm doing this as part of my winter protection regimen so I can't leave the ends of my hair out!

Other complaints are that this hair is super rough and dry, sheds a lot and is incredibly stiff. The first time I used it, I didn't put anything in it so I could get a feel for how it was going to behave. Big mistake as quite a few of the ends of my twists kept unraveling. I'm on week two of using this hair so this time I used Organic Root Stimulator's Carrot Oil in an attempt to soften it up. I know Fingercomber says the hair will soften after a few days, so let's hope that's true.

My other complaint is Fingercomber suggests buying 5-7 packs of the hair at $12.99 each to achieve the look in the picture. Well...I did that, but I think it was overkill, at least for me. I'm very conscious about weight and tension on my roots, so I can't fathom using more than two packs on my head. While my hair was wet/damp, I sectioned it into two-inch sections and added two pieces of Fingercomber hair per section. My twists don't fall into a nice neat bob like the model's. I'm guessing the stylist cut the Fingercomber hair, but I can't do that for fear of cutting the ends of my own hair since my hair is longer than the Fingercomber hair.
Sorry, long weekend sans makeup!
In my third and last attempt to work with this hair, I'll add one weft of Fingercomber to a one-inch section of my hair. If that doesn't work, I'm done with this hair and will go back to my Marley hair which I LOVE!

Overall, I am deeply disappointed with the end results. The only thing I like about this hair is it gives me much thicker twists than what I'd have without it. This product gets two coils down. Seeing how I have four extra packs of hair, if you want to buy them for just $10 instead of $12.99 plus S&H, let me know. This product gets two coils down. It just didn't perform the way I'd hoped it would.

5 comments:

  1. I'm a little late but....I am looking at your photo and I think I can tell why some of the issues may have occurred. It "appears"(and I could be wrong) that the braid itself is not unified. I can tell where some parts of the braid may have been twisted slightly tighter than others, almost in a larger Senegalese style, which is why the hair doesn't fall as smooth as you would like. If any part of the braid is twisted even a little bit tighter than the rest of the braid, the braid begins to coil upwards. As far as the hair unraveling, the key is just setting the ends on a rod and either dipping in hot water or wetting with a setting lotion and blasting with a really hot blow dryer for a while, then letting them sit until the hair is fully cooled. To extend the braid hair past your own hair, you just take more hair wrap it around the mid-bottom of the braid, like you are starting an "invisible" twist onto the scalp (only in mid-air at the end of the braid). You can then make the braid as long as you want.

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  2. I used Marley hair for my Havana twists and I loved them when they were first done. But now a few weeks later, I do not like the way they look. The hair is almost coming out so its not a very protective style. I am wondering if The FingerComber head would be better. I really really do love the style itself. If you are still selling the hair, I would buy it.

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    1. I just did Havana twists with the Havana hair for the first time (also my first time ever adding extensions) and it was easy and I love it. I made mine a little smaller than the picture on the FingerComber website and hair pack but thats because I am tiny and already have alot of hair. Bigger ones would have drowned me. I would suggest the Havana hair for a more natural look. The hair feels rough but it appears very natural. The only issue I am having is with a little sliding on some twists and I am unsure as to why. I am assuming it has something to do with my installation method. If anyone has had this issue and has any suggestions please share.

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  3. Hi,

    I am a British girl . And I bought this hair with very high expectations. I WAS SO DISSAPOINTED WITH THE QUALITY of the hair I gave the box of 7 packs away to some kids in a homeless hostel. Although it looks very natural it is as course as wire wool. I have 4c hair but I fear after installation it would cause damage to my own hair with the natural friction of braiding. I also think my fingers would be torn if using this to braid my hair myself. Sadly it is not economically sound to send them back but I would recommend going to your local hair shop and having a feel of your human/synthetic varieties as you will fair much better. I did that and purchased 6 packs of marley twist hair. Sooooo much better. Used this before and I really don't why I doubted it. Also the recommended 6/7 bags is too much and you can not get a refund. Sorry fingercomber.

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  4. I ordered these and received them quickly but they didn't ship my entire order of 5 bags, only 3. To my diasappointment when I tried to contact them they have not responded in 5 days. I want a refund for the missing pieces or a notice letting me know they were out of stock SOMETHING. In the mean time they stole my money and the hair is not as soft as the hype says they are. My stylist made it work with only 3 bags but I wouldn't waste your money on fingercomber go with the Marley hair.

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