Often, I have seen natural experts compare natural hair to a precious fabric. This is an excellent analogy and allows those of us "hard headed" naturals to think clearly about how to automate our hair care. It perturbs me to hear people complain about how difficult it is to care for natural hair. I have seen blogs and forums posting comments after comments about how hard it is to care for curly, kinky, and/or extra dry hair. Moreover, some naturals are so frustrated by their hair that they find that it is easier to chemically straighten and/or wear hair extensions and weaves. While I believe that each person must do what is best for him or her, I also believe that natural hair is not that difficult to maintain. Treat your natural hair like a precious fabric and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.
How are natural hair and special fabrics alike?
1. Both natural hair and special fabric have to be HAND washed. This means that the cleansing process has to be thorough yet gentle. Twisting or tugging can cause permanent damage resulting in tears, splitting, and shedding. Think of your best hand wash only fabric. ONLY gentle washing by hand keeps the fabric from becoming to stretched or mangled. The same is true with natural hair. Cleansing hair in sections (the use of butterfly clips, loose twists or braids) keeps hair from being tangled. I always cleanse my hair in loose twists and this reduces any unnecessary breakage and shedding.
2. Both natural hair and special fabric require SPECIAL PRODUCTS. I will not start the natural vs. commercial product debate, but my point here is to use products that are tailored especially for YOUR hair. Every head of hair is different, so this means using products that agree with your scalp and hair. Be mindful of ingredients that works well with your hair's special needs (hair type, porosity, etc.). For example, I use primarily products that contain shea butter, castor oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, aloe vera, etc.
3. Both natural hair and special fabric are AIR DRIED. Typically, special fabrics do not get arbitrarily tossed into a dryer. But, rather, they are air dried. Heat styling should be kept to a bare minimum. Why? Because excessive heat styling can break down the bonds of natural hair causing irreversible damage. Opt to air dry natural hair. Use a soft white tee to speed the drying process. This is called "plopping". Plopping safely dries natural hair. I "plop" my hair every time I cleanse it and my hair always dries fluffy and soft.
4. Both natural hair and special fabric need to be protected. Imagine you know that it will be a rainy day and you are wearing your best suede fabric. What do you do? You spray a protectant spray over it to protect it from weather damage. The same is true for natural hair. Protect your hair from nature's elements. On windy days wear a scarf or hat to keep your hair from being blown causing breakage. Wrap your hair on fiercely cold days to keep the moisture from escaping and causing excessive dryness. Even hot, sunny days can cause damage. Taking special precautions can save your hair in the long run.
Sometimes we do things to our hair that causes cumulative damage. Likewise, it is the little things that can result in length retention. I have learned to approach length retention one step at a time. This means that every single thing that I do can either cause length retention or excessive shedding and breakage. I choose to treat my hair like a special fabric and just as a fabric can be preserved, so can my hair. I hope these tips were just as helpful to you as they have been for me.
Dear Reader, what other tips can you share?
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Resisting the Urge to Re-Twist: Roll, Tuck, Pin& Shake!!!
I've been feeling a little blah lately about my weekly twisting routine. I do enjoy the benefit of a protective style that lasts me about a week. I have fine, fickle threads that like to escape into a tumble of fuzziness after over a week. Also, there is something serene about my weekly hair washing sessions. Since using Chagrin Valley shampoo bars my hair has been less tangled and my scalp is clean and healing from my seborrhea dermatitis. So, I make these hair wash days into my spa treatment complete with a deep treatment pree poo every week. I'll go into more detail about my revised hair regimen and growth plan in the next post.
My twist outs used to consist of unravelling my twists that I had in for a week, then re-twisting to get the same definition the next day and the day after. But, my fine strands would do a tangle job like you wouldn't believe and I'd end up with hair fighting with itself. So, I asked myself what could I do to get beautiful definition AND reduce the hair tangles? I came up with my tuck and pin method.
Before bedtime I spritzed my hair with my water, aloe vera juice, and oils mixed. Then, I added some hair milk to each section. Next, I rolled my hair on each side and pinned them down. I placed my satin head scarf on my head and I went to sleep.
In the morning I unpinned and unrolled each section. Then, I used my fingers to separate and style the sections. I shook my hair in a downward motion to add volume.
The result? Soft, bouncy small spiral curls that are presentable. No more re-twisting for me. I'm happy with the results.
My twist outs used to consist of unravelling my twists that I had in for a week, then re-twisting to get the same definition the next day and the day after. But, my fine strands would do a tangle job like you wouldn't believe and I'd end up with hair fighting with itself. So, I asked myself what could I do to get beautiful definition AND reduce the hair tangles? I came up with my tuck and pin method.
Before bedtime I spritzed my hair with my water, aloe vera juice, and oils mixed. Then, I added some hair milk to each section. Next, I rolled my hair on each side and pinned them down. I placed my satin head scarf on my head and I went to sleep.
In the morning I unpinned and unrolled each section. Then, I used my fingers to separate and style the sections. I shook my hair in a downward motion to add volume.
The result? Soft, bouncy small spiral curls that are presentable. No more re-twisting for me. I'm happy with the results.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Shea Moisture Cowash vs Nubian Heritage Cowash: Product Reviews
"It's been a long time I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to, step to.." Hah, hah.. I love Big Daddy Kane. Some of you younger people know that line from the sample in an Aaliyah song. Anyway, I've been on a little hiatus as I've been busy with my son, who is a senior in high school. So, my apologies to my followers and those of you, who have enjoyed my musings of being a "forgotten natural".
Recently, I hopped aboard the new product train and purchased first, the Shea Moisture Co wash and then, the Nubian Heritage Indian Hemp and Tamanu Cowash. I am a BIG Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage fan. These companies, which from my understanding are sister companies, produce some of the BEST natural products around and they are quite affordable. Now, usually I'm not an avid cowasher, but the allure of trying these products were great. Here's a breakdown on the comparison and contrast between the two.
Shea Moisture vs. Nubian Heritage
-silk protein and black soap -indian hemp, tamanu, and monoi oils
-thick and creamy consistency -creamy but not as thick
-tropical scent -perfume scent
-8 fl oz bottle -12 fl oz bottle
-vitamin e - vitamin e, pro vitamin b-5
- garlic extract
Both products have similar ingredients including: shea butter, mango butter, willow bark extract, kaolin clay, coconut oil, neem oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, aloe vera juice, etc.
In theory both of these products should work very well for my hair. After all, I've used several products from both companies with no issues. Well, with the exception of my hair's abhorrence to the Shea Moisture Raw Shea butter hair products. My hair can't stand something in that product line for some reason, but my hair does wonderfully with the Black Soap, Coconut/Hibiscus, and Yucca/Aloe hair product lines. So, imagine my dismay when I tried the Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus and my hair acted like I had given it something foreign. I was SO disappointed. Thinking that perhaps it was a fluke, I used Shea Moisture cowash three times over a two week period. Each time my hair was initially soft, but then became tangled and my scalp began to itch. Disappointed, I saw the Nubian Heritage cowash and decided to buy and try it, hoping for better results. Whomp, whomp, whomp.... The Nubian Heritage cowash didn't itch my scalp as badly as the Shea Moisture cowash, but my hair was temporarily moisturized and became tangled again!
Unfortunately, my final rating for both products is 1 hairball for the awesome ingredients, but not so good on performance. My scalp felt itchy and my hair was only temporarily moisturized. I will NOT be re-purchasing either cowash, because my Chagrin Valley shampoo bars cleanse my hair tremendously reducing itch and imparting shine on my hair. Although Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage produce awesome products, these cowashes were a bust. I ended up cleansing and conditioning my hair with my shampoo bars and my hair went back to being normal, soft, and shiny. If you have sensitive scalp, then proceed with caution using either of these cowashes.
Recently, I hopped aboard the new product train and purchased first, the Shea Moisture Co wash and then, the Nubian Heritage Indian Hemp and Tamanu Cowash. I am a BIG Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage fan. These companies, which from my understanding are sister companies, produce some of the BEST natural products around and they are quite affordable. Now, usually I'm not an avid cowasher, but the allure of trying these products were great. Here's a breakdown on the comparison and contrast between the two.
Shea Moisture vs. Nubian Heritage
-silk protein and black soap -indian hemp, tamanu, and monoi oils
-thick and creamy consistency -creamy but not as thick
-tropical scent -perfume scent
-8 fl oz bottle -12 fl oz bottle
-vitamin e - vitamin e, pro vitamin b-5
- garlic extract
Both products have similar ingredients including: shea butter, mango butter, willow bark extract, kaolin clay, coconut oil, neem oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, aloe vera juice, etc.
In theory both of these products should work very well for my hair. After all, I've used several products from both companies with no issues. Well, with the exception of my hair's abhorrence to the Shea Moisture Raw Shea butter hair products. My hair can't stand something in that product line for some reason, but my hair does wonderfully with the Black Soap, Coconut/Hibiscus, and Yucca/Aloe hair product lines. So, imagine my dismay when I tried the Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus and my hair acted like I had given it something foreign. I was SO disappointed. Thinking that perhaps it was a fluke, I used Shea Moisture cowash three times over a two week period. Each time my hair was initially soft, but then became tangled and my scalp began to itch. Disappointed, I saw the Nubian Heritage cowash and decided to buy and try it, hoping for better results. Whomp, whomp, whomp.... The Nubian Heritage cowash didn't itch my scalp as badly as the Shea Moisture cowash, but my hair was temporarily moisturized and became tangled again!
Unfortunately, my final rating for both products is 1 hairball for the awesome ingredients, but not so good on performance. My scalp felt itchy and my hair was only temporarily moisturized. I will NOT be re-purchasing either cowash, because my Chagrin Valley shampoo bars cleanse my hair tremendously reducing itch and imparting shine on my hair. Although Shea Moisture and Nubian Heritage produce awesome products, these cowashes were a bust. I ended up cleansing and conditioning my hair with my shampoo bars and my hair went back to being normal, soft, and shiny. If you have sensitive scalp, then proceed with caution using either of these cowashes.
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