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Category Archives: Hair Care Basics

Get Your Hair Out!

The sun is shining!!! After such a wet spring, it’s nice to finally see some good weather. I thought i’d do a quick post on making the most of late spring, as for most of us, our hair has been hibernating all winter and throughout the dismal spring rains. It’s finally time to let your hair out and now is a good time do it.

I’ve had a few questions from ladies concerned with caring for their ‘free’ hair because they are either just coming out of transitioning or have been natural for some time but have kept their hair in braids/weaves for a while and need to re-connect with their hair.

My Advice

Get Your Basic Regime In Order

Think about how you’re going to care for your hair. It’s going to be a daily affair from now on so it’s best you know how to work with it. Think of the basics. How often you’ll wash, condition, deep condition and use protein treatments. How often will you moisturise and seal your ends? And what products will you use? As the weather warms up the heavier products can be traded in for lighter ones as you may find you will moisturise and seal more often and you don’t want lots of greasy build-up unless you’ll be washing your hair more often too. Once you’ve decided on your regime it’s important to stick with it! You can adapt it as you begin to learn your hair’s characteristics, what it likes and doesn’t but overall be consistent with your hair care. It’s the biggest key to successfully maintaining healthy hair.

If you’re not sure where to start, i’d recommend you take a look at my Hairducation page. I’ve grouped together posts i’ve written about caring for natural hair. Start with the ‘Getting To Know Your Hair’ series and then read your way through the ‘Caring For Natural Hair’ posts. I also recommend reading the articles i’ve written on the Dia’s Website such as ‘Building A Regime’. It should help to give you an idea of how you could put your own regime together.

Prepare

Don’t just go head first into your hair. Prepare first. We’ve already looked at finding a basic regime. Think of what you’ll need to make handling your hair easier. Think of the styling tools such as combs, hair bands, pins and clips you’ll need to style your hair. Research your products and buy them in advance, ready for when you are.

Find A Style

I know there are those who are anxious about ‘freeing’ their hair because they fear they may not find a style that will suit them. My advice is find just one simple style that you like and that you can easily do yourself and stick with it for a while. It can be as simple as a bun. Just because your hair is out of braids doesn’t mean it has be in a grand afro (it’s fine if that’s what you want, lol). The goal here is to get comfortable with styling your hair daily and trying to be overly complex with your styles can lead to frustration if they don’t turn out well. Take it one step at a time. What you’ll find is most naturals (and all ladies really, including myself) have a go to style that’s simple and that works. And all they do is create variations of the same style. That’s what you need to find. After you find that style and have gotten comfortable with handling and styling your hair on a daily basis you will find yourself becoming more confident and adventurous with the styles you create. Remember, protective styles that tuck away the ends of your hair are best if you are trying to grow/retain length.

Accessorise

I love the way a hair flower can turn a boring bun into an exotic and sophisticated style. Accessories such as bands, bows, flowers and clips work wanders in transforming simple styles into something with more ‘wow’. Believe me, you can do the same style every day and just switch up the accessories. You’ll be surprised as to how different they make the style look. They can also be a point of inspiration. If you find a piece you like, it can spark a spot of creativity as you think of a way of incorporating that accessory into a hair style.

BE YOURSELF!

Most of all i’ll say, be yourself. It’s ok if you’re not the kind to fuss over your hair. It’s ok if you prefer simple styles over elaborate ones. It’s ok if you do. Don’t feel pressure to look a certain way. Your hair is just an extension of yourself and you should feel comfortable with who you are. Just do you!

I hope these tips help. Talk soon!

How To Find What Techniques REALLY Work For Your Hair

21 Feb

I’ve been asked in the past how i personally know what techniques work for my hair and which ones don’t and how they can figure out what makes their hair happy. My answer is and always will be EXPERIMENT! Experiment, experiment, experiment! Simple isn’t it?

Let me ask you this. If you’ve always done things one way, how can you be sure that way is the best way unless you have a comparison, something else to compare it to?

How do i know that my hair responds better to weekly rather than fortnightly washes? How do i know that detangling tools work better for me than solely finger detangling? How do i know my hair responds well to regular moisturising and sealing? Because i experiment. I’m always trying new/different methods with my hair. I’ll give you a few examples of some of my experiments.

Washing

I’ve gone two weeks without washing my hair on more than one occasion and i can feel the difference. After the first week, it seems that moisturising and sealing doesn’t work as well. My hair begins to feel really dry and straw like, as though the moisture isn’t getting through even though i’m moisturising daily. So i know that weekly washing keeps product build-up to a minimum so i get maximum penetration from my moisturising and sealing routine. My scalp becomes itchy if it’s not washed weekly too. I also find that my hair needs the weekly conditioning to maintain it’s optimum softness and manageability.

Detangling

I’ve also tried finger detangling exclusively for 3 weeks. I keep reading how finger detangling is ‘the best way’ to detangle your hair and so i thought i’d give it a try. I don’t use combs or tools to style my hair during the week and only fully detangle on wash days with conditioner and the Tangle Teezer. For those three weeks i washed my hair weekly and used no other detangling tools apart from my fingers. To detangle i sprayed my dry hair with my Detangling Spray (coming soon) and gently separated my strands before stepping in the shower to wash it, and again detangling with conditioner during washing. I thought i was doing a great job until the third week where i started to get tiny two and three strand tangles. It seems i was doing a good job removing the larger tangles but not so much the smaller ones. What i found was that i had loads of these two and three strand tangles and so was forced to bring out my detangling tools, but oh the work i had to do. It took me AGES to remove all those tiny tangles! I definitely did more damage than good with exclusive finger detangling. I personally know that detangling tools work better for me and are in better keeping with my overall lifestyle than exclusive finger detangling. I don’t have 3-4 hours to sit and pull apart every strand of hair. I have three kids!

Shampooing over Co-washing

This knowledge came about by accident. Since i’ve begun to formulate my own range, i’ve had to use my own hair to test out each product before passing them onto my panel of testers. That’s probably why i haven’t written so much about my routine in a while. It’s a bit all over the place as i test out new things. When i was developing my shampoo, i was forced to shampoo my hair weekly to test out different formulas. So for a few months i was shampooing every week, which i thought i would never do as i hate the way regular shampoos make my hair feel. I usually alternate between shampooing and co-washing. Once i was happy with my shampoo i went back to co-washing for a while only to find my scalp is no longer satisfied with it. My hair loves co-washing (can you say soft?) but my scalp does not. It does not cleanse my scalp as well as shampooing does. This also teaches me about products. Products DO make a difference. As i said, I’ve always hated the way shampoo makes my hair feel so i tend to steer clear of them. But my Aloe & Honey Conditioning Shampoo works so well for me and leaves my hair clean but soft and not stripped, that i’m pleased to shampoo my hair weekly. It’s no problem now. i co-wash only when i’m pressed for time, after intense workouts or if i need to add extra moisture mid-week in the summer months.

My Advice To You

Experiment to see what your hair likes. Try washing it weekly for one month and then fortnightly the next month and note the way your hair feels. In summer try warm water rinses/co-washes mid-week for one month and see if the extra moisture brings your hair to life or if it’s moisture overload. Try co-washing for one month and then shampooing and conditioning the next. How does your hair feel? Try moisturising and sealing daily for 2 weeks and then moisturising twice weekly (for example) for another 2 and see how your hair responds. You’re looking for happy hair (what does that actually mean?). Hair that feels soft and smooth. You’re looking for processes that bring out the best in your hair, that makes your hair easier to maintain, that minimises damage and split ends and that maintains a healthy scalp. Gradually you’ll begin to learn the processes and techniques that work best for you and your hair!

Until next time!

Getting To Know Your Hair – Balancing Moisture & Protein

15 Sep

In the last post i shared with you, what i feel, are the characteristics of healthy hair and the three key areas to focus on to maintain it which are – moisture, protein and pH. In this post, i’ll be discussing what i have learned about moisture and protein and how balancing these two elements will allow you to see a MAJOR difference in the health of your hair.

What Is Hair?

First of all we need to understand the hair structure itself. I will do a quick summery here.

In the picture you can see an example of a cross section of the hair shaft. The Medulla is at the very centre of the shaft (which, interestingly enough, is mostly only present in thicker hair types). Next we have the Cortex, which is the main structure of the hair and is where the hair’s strength and elasticity originate. It’s made up of bunches of long, fibrous chains of proteins that twist around each other to create the hair’s basic structure and here is where the colour of the hair is found. Lastly we have the Cuticle, which is the part of the hair that is visible. The cuticle is made up of several transparent layers of interlocking scales made mostly of the protein keratin, which serves to protect the hairs main structure. The cuticles can lift or close depending on pH, chemicals and heat. The condition of the cuticles is what mostly determines the hairs healthy appearance. The hair is made up of mostly protein (around 90%).

The Role of Protein

As mentioned above, protein makes up the bulk of the hair and is what provides the hairs basic structure and strength. Over time, the cuticles become damaged, either by natural weathering, excessive use of heat, chemicals and/or rough handling. Protein loss is a natural matter of fact. Even rinsing the hair in plain water causes some loss of protein. Although hair can never be permanently repaired, it can be temporarily patched up and strengthened with the use of protein. That’s why it’s important to supplement your hair care with regular protein treatments. Hair that has the right balance of protein is able to hold onto moisture well.

Natural hair or hair that has not been chemically processed is naturally stronger, as the protein structure of the hair has not been compromised. Natural hair requires less protein supplementation to stay healthy. Chemically processed hair including relaxed and dyed hair is relatively weaker as the chemicals in these treatments break up the protein structure of the hair and cause significant damage to the shaft. Chemically processed hair requires more protein to maintain a healthy state.

The size of the protein seems to make a difference too. It seems as though hydrolysed proteins are the best proteins to use in hair care as they are the right size to really stick to, and form temporary bonds with the hair (known as adsorbing). Click HERE for more on that.

The Role of Moisture (Water)

Water is very important in the composition of the hair. It gives hair it’s flexibility (elasticity), bounce and vitality and promotes normal and healthy hair growth. The proteins present in the hair are hydrophilic (water loving) and attract and bind to water. The absorption of water gives the hair its required moisture content which is essential for healthy hair appearance. Over the course of time hair loses its water content and needs to be replenished. Black hair in general is dry in nature. Because of the bends and kinks in our hair the cuticles at these points are always slightly open. Therefore water easily escapes, which can lead to dryness and breakage. It’s very important then, to keep our hair hydrated with water to maintain healthy, flexible hair.

A Balancing Act

It’s important to keep the hair’s protein and moisture content nicely balanced. Lack of moisture will leave the hair dry, brittle and dull and the shaft itself will appear thin. Imagine a carrot. With the right moisture content, it’s nice and plump. When that same carrot loses it’s moisture content, it becomes very shrivelled and much thinner in appearance. The same goes for hair. The right amount of moisture will create a fuller, healthier strand. Lack of protein will cause the hair to lose it’s structure. Hair will appear limp and will lose it’s ability to return to it’s normal shape when stretched.

Understanding Breakage

Hair breakage occurs when this delicate balance of protein and moisture is thrown off (aside from rough handling). Most of the time we are told that we need protein if our hair is breaking. Although this might be true, it may not always be the case. Our hair care practices have, over time, caused us to become very afraid of water. We see water and run a million miles. lol. We ‘moisturise’ with oil instead of water and don’t wash our tresses often enough. Most black hair types are so deprived of moisture that chronic breakage sets in. We will then run to all the protein treatments to correct the issue, which often makes things worse because our hair isn’t lacking protein, it’s lacking MOISTURE! Correcting your moisturising habits often solves the issue of severe breakage as the balance of protein and moisture begin to come in line.

On the other hand, once we get into the right moisturising habits we can easily forget about protein. Washing, co-washing, deep conditioning, misting, leave-ins, moisturising and sealing. All these techniques are great, however if not supplemented with protein, can begin to tip the balance to the side of too much moisture which then causes breakage as the hair’s structure becomes compromised.

Maintaining the right balance of protein and moisture will keep the hair strong yet soft and flexible. The perfect formula for healthy hair.

How To Balance Moisture and Protein

Most products fall into either of these two categories and organising your products into each one is a great place to start. Most hair products contain protein of some kind, including shampoos, conditioners, leave-ins and moisturisers but depending on where they are on the list will determine whether the product is more moisturising or more strengthening. Protein nearer the bottom of the ingredients list suggests a relatively low amount and a more moisturising product. If the protein is listed nearer the top (especially in the first five ingredients) than the product is more strengthening than moisturising. Ultimately you will have to experiment to see which ones make your hair softer and which ones make your hair harder (stronger).

Bring more moisture into your routine by moisturising with water and/or water based products and sealing with oils/butters on a daily basis (learn more about proper moisturising techniques HERE). Washing your hair more often (every three to seven days is recommended for black, curly & Kinky hair types, including those who are relaxed) with the use of moisturising shampoos (followed by a moisturising conditioner of course), co-washes or even just warm water rinsing, will help tremendously on the quest to gaining more moisture. Harsh shampoos strip the hair of vital moisture and can leave the hair dry, so be sure to use mild and gentle formulas that are Sulfate free and suitable for daily/weekly use. Moisturising deep conditioning (especially with heat) is also an invaluable moisture source and really helps to replenish moisture deep within the strand and keep it there for longer. Look for moisturising ingredients in your moisturising product range such as water (obviously), glycerine, fatty alcohols like cetyl and cetearyl alcohols, Aloe, panthenol (vitamin b5), honey and polyquaterniums, to name a few.

When it comes to protein, the mistake that most of us make is only scheduling it into our routine, using protein once or twice a month or even once every two months according to the timetable we have set ourselves (so very guilty of this, lol). Scheduling hair treatments is great and allows us to have a well thought out, systematic approach to hair care, however, we must be sensitive to the ever changing needs of our hair. We should be able to read the signs and adjust our hair care maintenance according to the hairs needs. Some of us don’t even use any kind of protein treatments at all. Keeping a selection of protein-rich products on hand including a protein moisturiser or leave-in conditioner and a rinse-out protein conditioner/treatment gives us the flexibility to use protein whenever our hair requires it. Look for hair strengthening ingredients in your protein product range higher up on the ingredients list such as amino acids, hydrolysed proteins (such as oat, wheat and corn), cholesterol and keratin to name a few.

Naturally we will use more moisturising products than protein, as moisture is more volatile and is lost more easily.

The best way to determine what our hair needs is to pay close attention to it. Does it feel soft or unusually hard/wiry? Does it break easily when handled? Does your hair retain moisture well or does moisture evaporate too quickly? Does it feel crunchy or limp and mushy? Noticing the little signs of moisture or protein imbalance will allow us to treat the issues quickly and effectively.

Wet testing is a great way to monitor your hairs health to determine whether it is balanced, needs more moisture or more protein and I will discuss this in more detail in the next post along with how to cater to your hairs protein/moisture needs by relying on the signs of the hair and not necessarily by just following a set routine.

I hope you’ve found this post helpful. Until next time!

4 Comments

Posted by mercz on September 15, 2011 in Balancing Moisture & Protein, Getting To Know Your Hair, Hair Care, Moisturising, Protein Treatment, Science Of Hair

Tags: balancing, cortex, Cuticle, hair's basic structure, medulla, moisture, Moisturising Natural Hair, Protein

Summer Hair–3 Step Moisturising

12 Jul

This summer, i’ve noticed my hair is just so dry. The warm air just sucks all the moisture out of it and my hair has felt very hard and wiry! Not good. Last summer i co-washed within the week to promote extra moisture and softness and it worked a treat. But alas, this summer, i haven’t had much time for the extra washes and pampering and IT SHOWS. But i have been trying out a new way of moisturising my hair nightly, which has made a HUGE difference in the softness of my hair. It’s a three-step moisturising routine, which really doesn’t take any longer than the two-step routine i’m accustomed to doing. Here’s what i do:

Step 1 – Spritz.
Using my trusty Aloe & Rosewater Spritz with glycerine. I spritz a section of my hair and smooth it in with my fingers. I always work in sections of four. It just works for me. As i don’t dry comb, when i take my hair down at night the partings are still definable.

Step 2 – Condition
Using my Creamy Leave-In Conditioner. I apply a small amount to my lightly spritzed hair and smooth it in gently, concentrating on the ends to make sure they are sufficiently coated.

Step 3 – Seal
Using my Shea Hair Butter mix or sometimes my Shea Hair & Scalp Oil mix. I use a small dollop of the butter, or a few drops of Shea Oil (that stuff is just so rich and smooth feeling, a wonderfully softening oil!) and smooth it over my hair, again making sure the ends are sufficiently coated. Then i twist the section and move on to the next one. I cover my hair with my satin head-wrap and head off to bed.

In the morning, my hair feels really soft. It’s working really well to combat the dryness from the warmer summer weather. If at the end of the day my hair feels oily but dry, i only do the first two steps before twisting, as the oil already in my hair is sufficient. This ensures my hair is properly hydrated without being overly greasy. I have tried just spritzing and sealing and just conditioning and sealing, and whilst they both work well at making my hair feel good, combining all three has seen the best results.

I’m still going to try to get in an extra co-wash in the middle of the week to help soften and moisturise my hair a bit more. Every time i co-wash i’m still amazed at how great it makes my hair feel! But at least i know, with this three step moisturising process, my hair is still getting what it needs to stay healthy and soft this summer.

Trimming Natural Hair – Is It Necessary?

27 Sep

A friend of mine once asked me this question, does natural hair need trimming? And my answer to this is yes, but not for the reasons most people trim their hair.

Let me explain myself.

For most of us trimming is more of a ritual we perform to reap the benefits of longer healthier hair. But through all the research i’ve done on taking care of natural hair one thing has been a consistent theme. Trimming does not grow long hair.

This is what most of us have been told through hairdressers and i guess is what everyone believes to be common knowledge but the ends of the hair strand has absolutely no communication with the roots. So trimming our hair to make it grow longer is actually NOT true. It will not make our roots grow any faster or cause it to grow more so than if we did not trim.

However, trimming hair is essential for MAINTAINING healthy hair and it is this maintenance that will help retain hair length.

So understanding the reasons why we trim will help us to determine how often.

The Right Reasons To Trim

Split ends is a term that everyone is familiar with. Due to chemicals, rough handling, harsh weather conditions and time, the ends of our hair become damaged. Once the shaft is split, there is nothing that can repair it. The only solution is to cut it off. If the damaged ends are not removed the split can travel further up the hair damaging more of the shaft. So it is very necessary to trim our hair to remove the damaged ends.

On this note i conclude that trimming the hair to remove damaged ends is absolutely necessary for maintaining healthy hair. And this along with other good hair care practices will see longer, healthier hair as a result.

The only time i can see the need to trim or cut your hair on a timely basis is to maintain a certain length or style, i.e a bob, or if you have reached your desired hair goal and want to keep it at that length.

How Often Should I Trim?

So now we have the RIGHT reasons for trimming, ascertaining how often we trim should be a lot easier.

I cannot give a definitive recommendation as to how often you should trim but my advice is this. CHECK YOUR ENDS REGULARLY. When and if you see some damage then trim it. If you do not, however, see any damage then there is no need to trim. It’s that simple really. So no, i’m not advocating getting your hair trimmed every six to eight weeks just for the sake of it. It just doesn’t make sense to me. If within that time period some damaged ends emerge then yes it’s fine to trim but if there is no damage then why trim? You will just be throwing away length.

The less you mess with your hair and the more care you take over it the less you find it needing to be trimmed. But if you constantly use heat, chemicals, dry comb, do ambitious hairstyle after hairstyle, use hair dyes and just abuse your tresses then you might find that you will need to trim much more regularly than someone who does, say, more protective styling and uses little to no heat.

How Should I Trim?

Full Ends Trim

I have come across many different ways to trim your hair. Most of us are familiar with the full ends trim (that’s what i call it). Where you section your hair and trim off the ends of that entire section, moving from the back to front, section after section until the whole head has been trimmed.

Dusting

There are other ways to trim the hair that i have come across. One being called ‘Dusting’. This is where you take a section and twist it one direction. Then you take your scissors and skim the entire surface area of the twisted hair. The scissors will trim off any hairs that stick out of the twist. The reason for this is that not all of our hair is the same length and just trimming the ends neglects all the other hair that does not reach the same length. Dusting trims all the hair irrespective of length.

Search and Destroy

This is where you don’t actually do a full trim, like the first example but you search your ends for damaged hair. If you find a split end then you trim that off. So this is more of a single strand trim. The advantages of this are that you will only be cutting off damaged ends and not disturbing the healthy. Full end trims don’t discriminate and all the ends are trimmed, the healthy and the damaged. But with this method you are more likely to save your healthy ends and grow your hair longer, quicker. The disadvantage, however, is that it is rather time consuming to sit there and examine all the ends of the hair.

Goal Length Trim

I read here about this technique which i thought was quite interesting. Firstly, you determine your hair length goal, for example shoulder blade length. Then when you are ready for a trim you only trim off the ends that that are passed your goal length. Eventually, over time as your hair grows and you trim at you goal length line you will find that your ends even out at this length and will soon become healthy and full and you will have achieved your hair length goal at the same time.

There are more ways to trim out there, i’m sure, but these are the ones that stuck out at me. If you want visual examples you can search through the videos on YouTube.

Summery

Trimming hair does not make your roots grow any quicker or any more so than if you did not trim, as your ends have no communication with your roots. Once your hair has left your scalp it is considered dead.
Trimming hair is good practice for maintaining healthy hair as part of a well rounded hair care regime.
There isn’t much need to trim hair on a timely scale as this can just cause you to lose unnecessary length (unless that’s what you want!).
Check your ends regularly. If damaged then trim, if not then LEAVE IT ALONE.
When necessary, determine how you wish to trim your hair and stay consistent with it.
Treat your natural hair with care. Moisturise often, Wash, co-wash and deep condition regularly. Minimise dry-combing and protect your ends. Caring for your hair properly will minimise the damage and the necessity to trim too often and will result in better length retention.
If you find that you need to trim your ends often then i would advise re-evaluating your hair care practices as something you are doing is causing more damage to your ends than just natural wear and tear.

Technorati Tags: Trimming Natural Hair

2 Comments

Posted by mercz on September 27, 2010 in Hair Care, Hair Care Basics, Trimming

Tags: Trimming

Nadia's Notes