I felt the need to clarify
that this blog is about my experiences with my hair as a black woman. Its not
meant to give professional advise on hair, but rather tips and suggestions.
I'm not a hairdresser, but
a black woman trying to find ways to take better care of my hair.
I'm hoping for this blog to
be a platform where we as black women can give one another tips about our hair
and share the good, bad and down right embarrassing experiences we've had with
our hair (hence you may leave comments or email me). Let's please do this while
still being polite towards one another, and if we don't agree on certain things
then that's fine. Not agreeing simply means that we give other people more
options on how to take care of their hair.
I aim to interview women whose
hair I like as well as interview professionals from time to time. Also,
although I mainly blog about relaxed hair, I will be writing about other types i.e natural, dreds, weaves, wigs etc. I would like for this to be a platform
where we can let our hair down (excuse the pun) and hopefully help each other
through bad hair days coz we all know there's nothing worse than a black
woman's hairstyle gone wrong EISH.
Monday, 14 May 2012
Dry hair
As women with naturally dry hair, winter should be one of our worst enemies. This is because as winter hair is dry (cold air cannot hold much moisture), it tends to dry out our hair. The following are tips on how to take care of our hair in winter.
General causes of dry hair
General causes of dry hair
- Using shampoos with sulfates
- Using products that have alcohol - alcohol can dry our hair out
- Not moisturising hair properly
- Dry winter air
- Not drinking enough water
- Relaxers and colouring
- Excessive usage of direct heat (blow dryers; tongs; hot combs; straightener
Solutions for dry hair
- Avoid shampoos with sulfates. If you however, cannot afford sulfate free shampoos, make sure that you condition (preferably deep conditioning) after shampooing your hair.
- Wash with conditioners only. I am not suggesting that you stop using shampoo's all together, but if you wash your own hair, alternate and opt to co-wash only on certain days.
- Opt for moisturisers without alcohol
- Drink LOADS of water. The required amount of 1.5L to 2L per day
- Protect your hair from dry winter hair. Wear protective styles such as buns, braids, corn rows.
- Try going for longer periods between relaxers and try to stay away from colouring your hair too often.
Taking Pills for hair growth
Ever since my hairline
dilemma, I have been seriously considering taking pills for my hair.
My only problem is that I don't know how they will affect the rest of my body. I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure whether these pills would be as good as taking vitamins, but surely if they were bad they wouldn't be sold in reputable stores right?
This has become a real issue for me because on the one hand I think these pills could help boost the health and length of my hair, but on the other hand I don't want to ingest stuff that does nothing for my body, other than giving my liver more toxins to get rid of.
I think I will do more research on the effects of these pills on the body before making a final decision. If anyone can help please do
My only problem is that I don't know how they will affect the rest of my body. I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure whether these pills would be as good as taking vitamins, but surely if they were bad they wouldn't be sold in reputable stores right?
This has become a real issue for me because on the one hand I think these pills could help boost the health and length of my hair, but on the other hand I don't want to ingest stuff that does nothing for my body, other than giving my liver more toxins to get rid of.
I think I will do more research on the effects of these pills on the body before making a final decision. If anyone can help please do
Glycerin vs hair moisturisers
While still being in my
blissful state of denial about my hairline I decided to go natural. The plan
was to stop relaxing my hair and then deal with the two textures that would
result from it (the relaxed texture of the ends of my hair and the afro resulting
from my growth).
As I was going natural I decided to only use glycerin as a moisturiser and you know, I now get why my mom used to moisturise my hair with it before I started relaxing. It makes hair very soft. I don't know how it would work on a fresh or relatively new relaxer but I found that my hair stayed soft all day long. I have very dry hair and ordinary hair moisturusers tend to give it a wet feeling/ texture and then by the end of the day my hair is dry
Now that my hair is boy zone I'm only using a mixture of glycerine and castor oil (with drops of peppermint oil to conceal the smell of the castor oil) on my hair. I must say it makes it soft, but the hair looks a bit dull so I'm still looking for something else that I can add for a shinier look.
As I was going natural I decided to only use glycerin as a moisturiser and you know, I now get why my mom used to moisturise my hair with it before I started relaxing. It makes hair very soft. I don't know how it would work on a fresh or relatively new relaxer but I found that my hair stayed soft all day long. I have very dry hair and ordinary hair moisturusers tend to give it a wet feeling/ texture and then by the end of the day my hair is dry
Now that my hair is boy zone I'm only using a mixture of glycerine and castor oil (with drops of peppermint oil to conceal the smell of the castor oil) on my hair. I must say it makes it soft, but the hair looks a bit dull so I'm still looking for something else that I can add for a shinier look.
I’m a mad hatter
Looking at the mirror last night made me grateful to be sleeping alone.
I'm back to wearing my stockings at night but it’s strange because I'm doing it with very short unprocessed hair. If anyone were to come into my room, they'd think I'm mad as a hatter. The reason is that I have decided to start taking care of my hair even at this length in order to get it to be healthy and long (fingers crossed)....
Talking about wearing stockings on my head to bed at night, how many of you ladies wear them? The reason I'm asking is that my male friends think that it is not sexy at all. They say that it’s a bit of a turn off. One even suggested that women should at least wear coloured stockings (mine are brown, but I was told that it’s not a sexy colour hahahaha). Some even think that a doek is just as bad, but then they expect our hair to always look fierce REALLY??!!
I've decided that when I get married I will tell my husband that the stocking is joining us to bed, whether he likes it or not. I hope that by that time I will have pretty fierce hair and so it will be even more justifiable. I don't think they realise how helpful our stockings/doeks are, they:
I'm back to wearing my stockings at night but it’s strange because I'm doing it with very short unprocessed hair. If anyone were to come into my room, they'd think I'm mad as a hatter. The reason is that I have decided to start taking care of my hair even at this length in order to get it to be healthy and long (fingers crossed)....
Talking about wearing stockings on my head to bed at night, how many of you ladies wear them? The reason I'm asking is that my male friends think that it is not sexy at all. They say that it’s a bit of a turn off. One even suggested that women should at least wear coloured stockings (mine are brown, but I was told that it’s not a sexy colour hahahaha). Some even think that a doek is just as bad, but then they expect our hair to always look fierce REALLY??!!
I've decided that when I get married I will tell my husband that the stocking is joining us to bed, whether he likes it or not. I hope that by that time I will have pretty fierce hair and so it will be even more justifiable. I don't think they realise how helpful our stockings/doeks are, they:
1) Make it easier to keep certain hairstyles
for longer periods.
2) Silk doeks aid in retaining moisture (cotton pillows can dry the hair)
3) Help protect our hair from really bad split ends, the hair can get damaged when rubbing against the pillow
4) Waking up with a hairstyle that's still intact means we save a little more time when getting ready in the morning
5) Help keep the oils and gels we use on our hair and not on the pillow (reminds me of the stickers on taxi windows which say "your hair style looks nice, but not on my window"hahaha)
2) Silk doeks aid in retaining moisture (cotton pillows can dry the hair)
3) Help protect our hair from really bad split ends, the hair can get damaged when rubbing against the pillow
4) Waking up with a hairstyle that's still intact means we save a little more time when getting ready in the morning
5) Help keep the oils and gels we use on our hair and not on the pillow (reminds me of the stickers on taxi windows which say "your hair style looks nice, but not on my window"hahaha)
Later!
BREAKAGE
One of the main reasons why we cannot grow our hair to the lengths we desire is the dreaded "B" word *cues horror film music*
I'm talking about BREAKAGE. As black women, we naturally have coarse hair that tends to dry out very quickly, resulting in hair that breaks easily. We also tend to use combs almost, if not daily, which can also lead to hair breakage. Next time you comb your hair, pay attention to the process. I bet it will probably go something like this: you moisturise your hair (without parting it in sections), take your comb (most of us use close teeth combs) and start combing through your hair. Now if your hair is even slightly fra, you may hear it actually being pulled out of your scalp (while you make the funny faces that go with the pain). Then once we have achieved our desired style, we.....*horror film music again*.... look at our comb and remove the mass of hair on it, casually throw that away, wash our comb and hands, then walk away happily.
What we don't realise is that the mass of hair that we casually throw away is the difference between our current length and our desired length. There are two mistakes that we make while combing our hair:
1) not moisturising properly
2) using close toothed combs
The best way to moisturise hair is to do it in sections. Divide your hair into 4 sections and start moisturising from the ends up to the roots. Remember that your ends are the oldest part of your hair, therefore, they are the most fragile part. If you have some growth, remember that the part of the hair where the relaxed hair meets the growth is also most prone to breakage as its where two different hair textures meet.
Now that the moisturising is covered, lets talk about combing. Its best to either use a wide toothed comb or finger comb through your hair. You may also then use a soft brush (I prefer baby brushes) after combing to flatten the hair more if desired. Be careful not to comb your hair in all sorts of directions as too much manipulation could cause the hair to break.
The wide tooth comb - I prefer to use this one
The close tooth comb - I try to stay away from these
In addition to these, remember to also add protein to your hair care regiment. Protein aids in keeping our hair strong. The key is to maintain a balance between moisture and protein as too much protein can also cause breakage.
I'm talking about BREAKAGE. As black women, we naturally have coarse hair that tends to dry out very quickly, resulting in hair that breaks easily. We also tend to use combs almost, if not daily, which can also lead to hair breakage. Next time you comb your hair, pay attention to the process. I bet it will probably go something like this: you moisturise your hair (without parting it in sections), take your comb (most of us use close teeth combs) and start combing through your hair. Now if your hair is even slightly fra, you may hear it actually being pulled out of your scalp (while you make the funny faces that go with the pain). Then once we have achieved our desired style, we.....*horror film music again*.... look at our comb and remove the mass of hair on it, casually throw that away, wash our comb and hands, then walk away happily.
What we don't realise is that the mass of hair that we casually throw away is the difference between our current length and our desired length. There are two mistakes that we make while combing our hair:
1) not moisturising properly
2) using close toothed combs
The best way to moisturise hair is to do it in sections. Divide your hair into 4 sections and start moisturising from the ends up to the roots. Remember that your ends are the oldest part of your hair, therefore, they are the most fragile part. If you have some growth, remember that the part of the hair where the relaxed hair meets the growth is also most prone to breakage as its where two different hair textures meet.
Now that the moisturising is covered, lets talk about combing. Its best to either use a wide toothed comb or finger comb through your hair. You may also then use a soft brush (I prefer baby brushes) after combing to flatten the hair more if desired. Be careful not to comb your hair in all sorts of directions as too much manipulation could cause the hair to break.
The wide tooth comb - I prefer to use this one
The close tooth comb - I try to stay away from these
In addition to these, remember to also add protein to your hair care regiment. Protein aids in keeping our hair strong. The key is to maintain a balance between moisture and protein as too much protein can also cause breakage.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Hair Photos
To be honest, I had decided
that I would not post these photo anymore because I now have short hair,
however, I decided to post them after all. I figured that there might be a
reader who has the length that I used to have and could therefore benefit from
the photographs. I used to do these hairstyles when my hair was getting a bit fra. For the hairstyle on second and third photographs I would just braid it overnight (after moisturising it) and then undo the braids in the morning. Then, believe it or not, use this old woven belt - I saved it from an old outfit and made a fabulous (even if I say so myself) hair band out of it. The first photograph is just a simple set that I then accessorised with a hair band.
So here goes ladies...
So here goes ladies...
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