Friday night, your Rituel Texture® is complete, and now you have to decide what your week will look like. Same hair, same products, three very different results depending on what you do in the hour that follows.
Wash and go, twist out, and braid out are not three difficulty levels of the same thing. They are three ways to wear the same texture, each requiring different amounts of time and preparation, and resulting in different visible lengths. Here is what truly separates them, and how to choose based on your hair and your week. None will hold on poorly prepared hair: our step-by-step tutorial details the six steps of the Rituel Texture® that precede styling.
What the three have in common
All three start at the same point: at the end of the Rituel Texture®, once the hair has been washed in two steps, coated with a mask, detangled with a comb, and coated with Crème Coiffante. They are styles, not hair care methods, and the hair itself determines what they will look like. Dry hair, weighed down by residue or left tied up, will not hold its shape, no matter what product is applied over it, and the styling is then blamed when the problem actually began three hours earlier.
They also share a constraint that everyone underestimates: they are done on still-wet hair, and they cannot be touched during drying. Every time you run your hands through a strand as it sets, you undo exactly what you were trying to achieve.
Finally, none of the three is the house definition method. For that, we have a second proprietary method, the Rituel Définition®, which is performed in the salon by trained stylists and whose process we will not publish until it is finalized. The three styles that follow are something else entirely: ways to wear your hair that you can do at home.
The comparison chart
| Criterion | Wash and go | Twist out | Braid out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Styling time | One morning the first time | 45 min to 1.5 hours | 30 min to 1 hour |
| Visible result | The same day | The next day | The next day |
| Pattern achieved | Curls as they are | Defined spiral | Soft wave |
| Visible length | No stretch | Slight stretch | Significant stretch |
| Volume | Moderate | High | High |
| Hold | 2 to 4 days | 3 to 5 days | 3 to 5 days |
Style 1The wash and go
The principle is the simplest of the three: no braids, no twists, no rollers. Apply the styling product to soaking wet hair and leave it to dry without touching it. The final shape is the one the hair takes on its own.
This also explains the disappointments. On coily hair, the curl that forms is a tight curl, which tightens even more as it dries: shrinkage is part of the result, not a failure. And the name is misleading, because the method takes a long time. A texture that curls spontaneously only needs the product to be distributed quickly; coily hair does not clump on its own and requires sectioning and applying product strand by strand. Allow one morning the first time.
We will not repeat the instructions here: the technique, the amount, the four causes of failure, and the question of gel are detailed in wash and go on coily hair, the method. Above all, remember that this is the only one of the three styles that gives a result the same day, and the only one that does not stretch the hair at all.
Style 2The twist out
Here, we do not leave the hair to decide. We twist two strands around each other, section by section, on damp hair coated with Crème Coiffante, and the twist determines the shape. We leave it to dry, then untwist it.
The result is the clearest definition of the three: regular spirals, with significant volume and a slight visible gain in length, because the twist stretches the strand a little. It is the method that suits all type 4 textures, including the tightest, where the wash and go often disappoints 4C hair.
One detail makes all the difference, and it is the one we neglect: you must only undo it on perfectly dry hair. If it is still damp, it will frizz in a second and the previous day's preparation will be wasted. This is also why the twist out is prepared in the evening, to be undone the next day.
When I do twists or a twist out, I stop before the ends: I deliberately leave a little moisture at the tips. Then a touch of Crème Coiffante as a finishing touch, which I melt in with a hair dryer. This final step makes the difference between a clean pattern and one that puffs out.
Ghana Elin, founderThe twisting technique is that of twists, which can also be worn as a style for several days before undoing them.
Style 3The braid out
The same principle, but with three-strand braids instead of two-strand twists. The difference seems small; yet it completely changes the result. A braid constrains the strand on three axes instead of two, stretches it more, and leaves it with less roundness.
This results in softer and longer waves, less tight than a twist out, with the greatest visible length of the three. It is the style to choose when you want to gain apparent length without stretching with a hair dryer. It is also slightly faster to do, because the braids hold on their own and require less re-doing than twists.
After undoing, massage the roots with your fingertips to lift them and add volume, without ever opening the waves themselves with a comb, which would turn them into frizz.
Which one to choose
The question is answered in two steps: how much time do you have, and what effect are you looking for.
If the result is expected for the same day, there is no need to hesitate: the wash and go is the only one that does not require an overnight drying period. In return, it does not stretch the hair at all, and the visible length will be the shortest of the three. If you have an evening ahead of you, the choice then comes down to the pattern. Clean spirals and a lot of volume call for the twist out; longer and more fluid waves call for the braid out.
Your hair length sometimes decides on its own. On very short hair, twisting or braiding becomes difficult, and the wash and go remains the most practical. Conversely, on long hair, the other two become significantly more appealing, because the stretch is visible.
There is no need to choose once and for all, either. The style is decided at the end of each routine, depending on the week ahead, and alternating with a protective style during busy weeks remains a good idea. Other ways to make length visible are gathered in stretching coily hair.
Making the result last
A defined pattern does not wear out from the top, but from the night. It is the hours of rubbing against the pillow that flatten the roots and open the strands, and that is where the difference between two and four days is made.
The three rules common to all three styles
- Apply the product to still-wet hair. On hair that has already dried once, the pattern will not set. This is the leading cause of failure for all three, by far.
- Do not touch it while it dries. Every check undoes a strand at the exact moment it takes its shape.
- Protect it overnight. A silk scarf and a silk pillowcase preserve the result for two to three days longer. See our nighttime styles.
In the morning, resist the urge to re-wet it. Spraying water every day lets water enter and leave the hair fiber several times a week, and this alternation eventually makes it more porous. A touch of Crème Coiffante warmed between the hands, applied only where the strand has flattened, is enough to put the whole thing back in place. On a twist out, you can also re-twist a few sections in the evening to start with a clean base the next day.
When the definition no longer returns, do not prolong it for another day with product: it is a sign that it is time to wash it again, and the next routine will start from a clean base.
None of the three gives the expected result?
Our experts will review your styling with you online, from preparation to product distribution, and identify what is blocking it beforehand rather than on the day itself.
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