Protective hairstyles you can rock !

Dangers of relaxing hair !

Scalp Irritation

Perhaps the most common side effect of hair relaxers, mild scalp irritation presents as redness, itchiness and a slight burning sensation at the application site. Some irritation during application is normal. However, symptoms should disappear immediately after the chemicals are rinsed away. Irritation that lasts for a few days after the process may indicate the need for a milder formula or a shorter processing time.

Chemical Burns

Chemical burns occur when the chemicals used to break down the hair structure are allowed to remain on the skin long enough for the skin to start to break down and dissolve. Severe chemical burns are not only painful but also can result in secondary infections, permanent hair loss, severe scarring and emotional distress. Chemical burns range in severity from first degree to third degree, with the most extreme burns requiring skin grafts.

Hair Damage

Damage occurs when relaxing treatments are performed repeatedly without sufficient time between treatments. Damage can also occur if the formula is too harsh or if too much time is allowed for processing. Damaged hair may appear dry, frizzy and dull. Chemical damage also makes hair more susceptible to further damage from the environment, sun, thermal styling tools and styling products

Breakage and Hair Loss

Once hair becomes overly damaged, it breaks and falls out. If you suffer breakage, postpone all chemical processes until your hair is healthy again. The most common sign of breakage is an overall thinning of the hair. However, some people experience a receding hairline as a result of extreme breakage at the front of the hairline. Although rare, some people even experience heavy, localized loss, resulting in bald spots.

how to flat iron natural hair bone straight !

1.  Begin with Well-Conditioned Hair

 You have to do your part to make sure you're only heat styling hair that's in a condition to take all of that heat without doing further damage. Only flat iron hair that's been regularly conditioned and cared for; otherwise, applying heat to dry, brittle hair is only prolonging the inevitable--a major cut.

2.  Flat Iron Clean Hair

The best time to flat iron your hair is immediately following a fresh shampoo and conditioning session (and deep conditioning if necessary). You have to press clean hair; applying heat to hair that has products and dirt in it is doing nothing more than baking these old products and dirt in. 

3.  Use Smoothing Balm or Serum

After shampooing and conditioning, apply a smoothing balm or serum to your hair. This helps much more if your hair is chemical-free, but relaxed ladies can benefit from it, too. Look for humidity-resistant formulas if you live in a climate where moisture-filled air makes a frizzy mess of your straightening work as soon as you step out the door. 

4.  Use Heat Protectant

Once your hair is dry, apply a heat protectant to each section of hair before you flat iron it. Don't get fooled, though--a heat protectant helps, but even the best brand won't hold up to heat that's too high.

5.  Avoid Oil Before Ironing

Applying a natural oil after you iron is fine. Sometimes you need a little weight afterward, but don't put oil on your hair before you press it. You won't get that lightweight, bouncy look you're after.

6.  Only Flat Iron Dry Hair

Only flat iron completely dry hair. Does this mean you have to blow dry it straight first? Not necessarily. You can always wet wrap your hair and sit under a hood or bonnet dryer until it's dry--this is a gentler drying method and the wrapping technique smooths your hair just like blow drying would. You can also let your hair air dry until it's about 80% dry, and then blow dry it the rest of the way. Flat ironing hair that's not completely dry will cause it to frizz up.

7.  Go Slow and Steady

Try not to flat iron when you're in a hurry. This is a technique that requires slow, controlled movement, but don't let the iron sit in one place for any length of time. Move it, but don't rush it. Begin as close to the roots as you can and pull the iron down in one smooth motion. If you hurry through it, you may have to go over that section again (and again). Remember: the less heat, the better. Making one good pass is better than making three or four bad ones.

8.  Adjust the Temperature as Needed

Just because your iron heats up to 450 degrees doesn't mean every part of your hair requires that much heat.Your crown area may be the curliest section, requiring high heat, but the hair on the sides of your head may be straighter, so turn the heat down when pressing that section.

9.  Iron Small Sections

Smaller irons (1 1/2 inches or less) are better for tackling small sections of hair. Try not to press pieces wider or thicker than 1 inch at a time. You'll do a better job of straightening the entire section when you don't have to deal with too much hair. Big, chunky sections won't straighten properly.

10.  Wrap Hair at Night

Now that your flat ironing job is complete, don't ruin all your hard work with no nighttime care! Wrap your hair at night and cover with silk or satin before bed. This way, your morning routine consists of little more than taking your hair down and combing through it. You already have the slight curve and volume -- no more heat is required.

What to do if your hair is breaking !

1. Stop The Hair Breaking Behavior

There are 3 common types of breakage: mechanical/manual (breakage from combing or manipulating hair), physical (breakage caused by heat appliances or physical elements such as winter air), and chemical (breakage caused by chemical treatments such as relaxers, Brazilian blow outs, or Keratin Treatments. If you notice more breakage or any hair loss, assess your routine and eliminate the hair breaking behavior.

2.  Learn the Best Ways to Handle Your Hair

As my hair gets longer, I have to make gradual changes to care for my hair.  That means preventing breakage by sometimes pre-pooing (pre-shampoo treatment) with coconut oil, using olive & coconut oil for an oil rinse, and shampooing my hair in twists or plaits.  Experiment with extra measures to minimize breakage in your hair.

3. Deep Condition Regularly

I deep condition my hair almost weekly to add an extra boost of moisture and breakage prevention.  After deep conditioning with any one of the many ways  you’ll notice less breakage and shedding.

4. De-tangle Damp Hair Not Wet Hair

Hair is its most fragile when wet. If you have highly textured hair that tangles easily, its best to lightly mist hair and de-tangle with a wide tooth comb before shampooing.  Shampooing in plaits or jumbo twists also prevents tangles and breakage.  

5. Trim Those Dead Ends

  removing split ends is the only way to prevent further damage on other parts of the same hair strand where split ends are present. 

6. Choose The Best Detangling Tool

There are tons of de-tangling tools and some are better than others when it comes to de-tangling with little or no damage at all.  

7. Moisturize Your Hair As Needed

Hair needs the perfect balance of moisture and protein to remain healthy or breakage free. Hydrated hair is not easily broken. If you notice popping of hair strands, that’s a good sign that moisture is needed.

8. Don’t Over Do It With Moisturizing

There is a such thing as over moisturizing. Your hair will feel spongy with you deep condition overnight, or baggy. You can remedy this by incorporating a protein-based deep conditioning treatment. 

9. Pay Due Respect To Your Scalp

A healthy scalp is good for growing healthy hair.  Cleansing your scalp at least bi-weekly and keeping scalp moisturize can prevent hair loss and scalp irritation. 

10. Give Your Ends Extra TLC

Your ends are both the oldest part of your hair and the most fragile.  They need a little extra attention.  Make sure you have your ends covered by applying product from ends to roots.  This is especially important when using the LOC method to moisturize hair.

 If you follow these steps continuously you will have bouncy, coily, soft non-breaking hair :)

How to Grow your natural hair !

Rule #1- Shampoo or Co-Wash at least once a week or every other week

 Whether you chose to wash with a shampoo or conditioner, in order to avoid product build up consider washing your hair at least once a week. I know most of you may have been taught that washing your hair dries it out…FALSE!! Natural hair requires water for moisture and to prevent breakage!!! It’s simple, water is now your new best friend and your dry hair depends upon it in order to flourish! Now because you need a clean healthy scalp for hair growth to occur washing the hair is a must but be sure to use a Sulfate-Free moisturizing shampoo or conditioner to avoid stripping the hair of its natural oils.

 Rule #2 Deep Condition your hair with a protein or moisturizing conditioner In order to prevent breakage and to keep your hair moisturized a weekly deep conditioning is a MUST!! You can either deep condition your hair with plastic cap under the dryer for a 20-30 minutes or without heat for at least one hour; again this should be done at least once per week. If needed, you can do a protein treatment at least every 6 weeks or whenever the hair feels very limp, mushy, overly soft etc.

 Rule #3 Detangle the hair after applying conditioner. Tangles lead to breakage. Always detangle wet hair with a wide tooth comb or denman brush after conditioner has been applied to hair.

 Rule #4 Rinse hair with cool water Your final rinse should be with cool water to close the hair cuticles.

 This is also a good time to do an ACV Rinse.

 ACV= Apple Cider Vinegar .. it  rinses help to remove some types of build-up from the hair while also closing the hair cuticles. ACV rinse can remove product buildup, restore the pH balance of the scalp and hair, and promote blood circulation in the scalp–which can stimulate new hair growth–and give the hair a soft, healthy sheen. Apple Cider Vinegar Mix 1-2 tbs apple cider vinegar 2 cups room temperature distilled water 

Rule #5 Always use a water based leave-in conditioner. After deep conditioning your hair you should ALWAYS apply a leave-in conditioner to your hair to retain moisture. A good leave-in is one that is water based.

 Rule #6 Keep your hair moisturized! Kinky, curly, coily hair is the easiest to break when dry that is why it is crucial to keep your hair moisturized at all times. Because the ends of your hair are the oldest and are more prone to breakage you should focus on moisturizing and sealing your ends every day. After applying your leave-in conditioner apply a water based moisturizer then seal the moisture in with an oil and/or butter to trap moisture in the hair. 

 Rule #7 Air Dry or Limit the use of direct heat. Stay away from flatirons/blowdryers which can easily burn the hair. Opt for a tourmaline / ceramic iron to straighten your hair. But be sure to only use it rarely.. Natural hair wearers sometime misjudge how damaging heat can be. The use of direct heat will at some point result in heat damage. Always remember to apply a heat protectant such as grape seed oil before using heat. Heat should only be used on clean hair.

 Rule #8 Wear protective styles. Protective styles are worn to protect the ends of the hair which are the oldest and are more prone to breakage. When wearing a protective style hair ends are tucked away, protecting them from rubbing against your shirt collar and/or being exposed to heat, the sun, or cold drying air.

 Styles may include two strand twists, flat twist, braids, buns, up-dos, weaves, or any style that helps to protect the ends of your hair. Protective styling is a good way to maintain growth retention. ***When wearing a protective style stay away from wool collars or hats. Staying away from wool collars and hats is a good idea if you want to prevent breakage. 

Rule #9 Know the difference between breakage and shedding. If you see a white bulb (hair follicle) at the end of the hair strand, this would be considered normal shedding. If you don’t see the follicle this may be considered hair breakage. 

Rule #10 Protect your hair at night. Always sleep in a silk/satin scarf or bonnet or use a silk/satin pillow case. Sleeping with a cotton scarf or pillowcase will cause the hair to dry out. Cotton is very absorbent and will absorb moisture from the hair.

 Rule #11 Keep your natural ends trimmed. You don’t have to trim as often as those who have chemically processed hair. It is recommended to clip your ends every 3-6 months. If you are natural and wearing color, I would definitely trim a little more often to prevent breakage. An easy way to trim your own hair is to try the two strand twist method. After twisting to the end, clip off 1/4th to ½ inch. Perform this on each twist until all of your hair is clipped. It is harder to detect split ends on natural hair but they do exist.

 Rule #12 Do not comb dry hair while it is dry. You should only comb your hair while it is in its wet state. This will remarkably cut don’t on any breakage that you may be experiencing and result in a thicker head of hair. Always use a wide tooth comb. (The only exception to this rule is if you are wearing your hair in a straight style which should be infrequent.) If you are wearing twist-outs, braid outs, bantu knot sets, afro puffs etc., you should be finger combing your hair on a daily basis and not combing it.

How to keep your hair healthy under weave

 

•  First it is very important to deep condition !
•  especially if you decide to wear a weave for a long period of time.  If you choose to wear a sew-in, be sure to thoroughly shampoo and follow up with a deep conditioning.  Keep in mind that you won’t be able to shampoo and condition for quite some time.  On the other hand, if you opt to wear a wig, remember to take the wig off to shampoo and condition your hair regularly.  Most of us sweat on the scalp, and will therefore need a regular shampoo.

 

• Wear your hair neatly wrapped under a wig and braided under weave.
•  Balling or folding hair can cause breakage.  Most stylists will either braid or wrap your hair if you are having a weave installed. Make sure that the hair is neatly wrapped.   By all means, do not wear your weave/wig over wet or damp hair.  This leaves a breeding ground for mildew, bacteria to fester.

• CO-WASH. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term co wash, it simply means washing your weave/hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. Most shampoos, especially commercial shampoos contain sulfate in them. Sulfates are powerful cleansing agents that strips all the oil from your hair. As we all know a black girls hair needs all the moisture it can get

• OIL YOUR SCALP.This is a tip that is highly ignored by women who wear sew ins. If you don’t oil your hair under your sew ins you can get dandruff and/or dry and brittle hair. Oil helps your hair with growth and shine. Just please do not over oil your hair. That isn’t cute. At all. So please take time out every night to oil your scalp. By the way castor oil and coconut oil promote hair growth.

Take Care Of Your Weave Too!

• Just because you have a sew in to protect your natural hair doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of your weave. The less products you use in your weave the better. Also, be careful when using heat on your weave. Opt for more heat less styles such as bantu knots or flexi rods for great waves/curls.

• Let Your Hair Breathe. Take Out Your Weave!
•  Take your hair out every six to eight weeks. Your hair should likely grow 1/2 to 1 inch beneath the weave. After you’ve taking out your weave use a deep conditioning treatment in your hair and get your ends trimmed if it is needed.

 In conclusion enjoy your weave girrllllllllll but make sure that you take care of it :)

Most annoying questions as natural hair girl

Ive been natural all my life and i've heard most of these, Here are the top most annoying hair questions. Many in which you should never ask a woman with natural hair.

• 1. Can I touch it? 
• 2. Is all that your hair? 
•  3. Is it hard to comb? 
•  4. What made you do that?
•  5. Are you really natural? 
•  6. Are you going to do/comb your hair? 
•  7. How do you wash it/that? 
•  8. Did you cut your hair? 
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•  What’s your most hated and annoying natural hair question? How do you respond to some of these annoying hair questions? Leave your answer in the comments.