Taming your tangles, your hair will thank you

There is nothing more frustrating and time consuming then having to deal with a head full of tangled hair. Not only do you have to spend more time on your hair, you're also risking additional breakage as you detangle.

Here are some tips on how you can keep your tangles at bay.

* You need the right tools and supplies. I probably have over 50 combs and brushes in my arsenal. Over the past several years I've been in search of a special comb or brush that I could use daily without the fear of causing more damage to my hair. I have a couple of favorites that I like.

1. Sally's has a bone comb set that I bought a few years ago. It comes with a bunch of various combs in all different sizes and for different functions. There is even a rat tail comb that I use when I rollerset. When I use these combs properly, I have no concerns that unnecessary breakage is happening because of the comb. The beauty of these combs is the smooth surface and seamless construction. I remember the days of old when I would comb my hair and find single broken hairs caught on the seams of the comb. Breakage is frustrating on its own, you don't want your comb getting a piece of the action.

Another helpful piece of advice would be to finger comb your hair before runnning a comb through it. When you use your fingers, you can feel tangles much more easily and work them out with much more care than you would with a comb. Its one thing if your comb causes your hair to break, its a whole different feeling when you experience breakage from your own bare hands.

*You need the right technique. All the fabulous combs in world won't help your hair if you aren't detangling properly. Whenever you are getting ready to detangle, you should begin with a mindset that the activity alone can possibly cause damage. Think of your hair as fragile strands of silk, better yet, think of your hair strands as being as fragile as a spider's web. You are the spider. You must carefully and gracefully navigate through your entire head of hair without disturbing the beautiful essence of it. In other words, don't just run a comb through your hair.

1. Section your hair. If your hair is as thick as mine, it can be overwhelming to detangle your entire head of hair. If you try to take it all on at once, your arms will inevitably become tired and your will take shortcuts just to finish. That's why I recommend sectioning. Sectioning your hair into four pig-tails should be enough but if you want to be even more careful, you can use smaller sections. The smaller the section, the easier it will be for you to locate snags and to carefully work them out of your hair. Sectioning just helps you to put things into perspective. You soon will learn the most difficult parts of your hair prone to matting when you detangle by section. Then you can carefully navigate through your hair without concern. If you tend to go a few days without combing, I recommend smaller sections.

2. Use short strokes. We've all heard that you should begin detangling a section of hair from the bottom up. I like and have used this technique. But for some reason, I have not been able to faithfully use it. If you can, more power to you because it works fabulously. I, on the other hand, have been using a different technique. I take a small section of hair maybe a couple of inches wide. I then take my trusty comb and carefully work it through my roots. Once I have loosened all of the shed hairs, I grab my roots with one hand and begin using very short strokes, with my other hand, to work the shed hairs down the length of my hair. As I move down with the comb, I also move my other hand further down so my hand is only a few inches away from the section I am combing. I never comb a section of hair from root to ends in one stroke. I am not running the comb down my hair, I am working the comb down my hair. There is a huge diffence between the two.

I hope you get the idea of how I detangle. Trying to explain it in writing is a bit difficult. My method is essentially the inverted version of detangling from the ends up. When you do detangle from the bottom up, you use one hand to hold your hair about two inches from the ends then you begin to detangle that small section. Once that section is detangled then you move your hand an inch or two higher until you finally work up to the roots. Please remember that even though I detangle from the root down, I still work on one section at a time (1-2 inches). I NEVER run the comb down the entire length of my hair unless I have already detangled the entire section. The reason why I start from the root down is because my shed hairs tend to remain close to my root. The curly new growth easily winds around other hairs and begins to create a tangle. I found that when I started from the bottom up I would not get to the "root" of the problem until the very end. Whichever way works best for your hair, while causing as little breakage as possible, is the method you should use faithfully.

Other tips for detangling:
*Lubricate-If your hair is dry, it will have a tendency to snap when you manipulate it while detangling. Always start to detangle by using your favorite oil or product on dry hair or leave-in conditioner on wet hair. Tangles are extremely frustrating when rollersetting. Keep a spray bottle of water handy.

* Don't wait too long. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to save the length of my hair by bunning only to loose tons of hair in the detangling process several days later. Loosing up to 100 hairs a day through shedding is not uncommon. Those hairs, if not combed out, will likely end up latching on to other hairs. The longer you go without combing your hair, the bigger the headache later on. Even if you are protective styling, try to see if you can safely detangle your hair every so often.

If you can perfect the way to detangle your hair with as little breakage as humanly possible, you'll be rewarded more length in the long run.

-Here's to the health of your hair.

Tag-I'm it! Six quirky things about me

I was tagged this morning by
Traycee to share six quirky things about me. I hope the crazy revelations I am about to unveil do not change how you look at me going forward.

O.k. so here it goes.

1. I have the strangest obsession with picking fruit from trees in public. If I can't reach the fruit, I beg my husband to climb the tree and get the fruit for me. Once I have it, I take it home and set it on my desk. I never eat it.

2.I carry on full-fledged conversations with my self from time to time. I think that I am the funniest person in the world. I laugh the hardest at my own corny jokes.

3.I haven't eaten beef or chicken in over a year and a half. Sometimes I wish I hadn't because now I can't stand the thought of consuming it.

4. My brother and I share the same brain. We can finish each other's sentences. I used to wish I had a sister, but he is much better than a sister 'cause he never asks to borrow anything of mine.

5. Sometimes the thought of reaching my hair goal makes me sad. Then I have no goal to strive for. I have an intense passion for reaching goals. Sometimes I think I subconsciously sabotage just so I can have a goal to reach.

6. I like the fact that I turned 30. I feel like like I have matured into a woman like a ripe peach hanging from a limb......ready to be picked.

I've also tagged Hairly Obsessed,Fourty is the New 20,Braids4grow,lesbianbap,Beauty Logic,My Hair Story

Can you gain length without protective styling?

There was a time during my hair journey when I would pin my hair up in various buns, wraps, and other means of hiding my hair from seeing the light of day. I did this in hopes of retaining precious length that would get me to my hair goal. Protective styling did work but I soon grew tired of wearing buns day after day. Don't get me wrong, I like to wear the occasional bun from time to time, but I also wanted to enjoy the fruits of my labor by allowing my hair to flow freely.

So how do I stay on track with my goals and still enjoy my hair?

Create a fool proof routine- If you are still in the experimentation phase of your hair journey where you are working to solidify your routine, you may want to continue protective styling until your are comfortable enough with your results. You want to make sure your hair is getting the right amount of moisture and strength from your routine. If so, you can more comfortably wear your hair any way you like without having to worry about the condition of your hair. I also feel more comfortable displaying my tresses if I wash every 4-5 days instead once every 7 days. After about a week, the moisture levels aren't as potent and I begin to wear my hair up in order to avoid possible damage.

Protect your ends-Just because my hair is not in a bun doesn't mean I'm not thinking about my ends. Even when I wear my hair down I take precautionary measures with my ends. First, I make sure to rollerset my hair so my ends are straightened by a roller, not a flat iron. Once out of the roller, I make sure to add some of my favorite moisturizing oil to my hair and especially my ends. Finally, I seal the deal by taking a minute or two during the day to add product to my hair.

Make judgement calls-I know that the simple act of wearing my hair down daily could potentially rob me of my hard earned length so I am constantly checking the condition of my hair to see if I am experiencing excessive breakage. If I am, then I trim and style protectively to help my ends recover. Or let's say I am wearing a really fuzzy sweater to work. I know better than to let my hair rub up against the sweater all day. Hot summer days where I know that a lot of sweating will be involved are also murder on my ends. If my hair becomes wet and is allowed to dry without the support of the roller, my ends will be the ones to suffer. I avoid that situation altogether by pinning my hair up in a cute style in an effort to keep the worst case scenario from occurring.

Protecting your hair from the elements is one of the absolute best ways to retain length. But if you are like me and you like to flaunt what you have, then there are ways around bunning every day. You just have to be a little smarter with your hair. I was able to reach my hair goals when I was baggying and bunning. I was also able to reach my hair goals without hiding my hair everyday. If you do decide to wear your hair out more often, keep a close eye on your results. If your hair still thrives and remains healthy then more power to you.

My shine enhancing routine: Did it work?

Since my last post, I have incorporated my shine enhancing routine twice. Yes, twice.
I wanted to make sure the same results could be duplicated. There were slight differences each wash but the end result was still amazing.

The first go around:
I followed the routine I posted with only a few minor tweaks. First off, I used a neutralizing shampoo because I relaxed a few days prior and wanted to make sure I washed every bit of relaxer out. After using the neutralizing shampoo, then came the Suave clarifying.

I then mixed a few squirts of honey with my Suave Milk and Honey conditioner. I left in for a few minutes and proceed to rinse.

I purchased my Hennalucent from a huge beauty supply store that specializes in wigs and weaves. That's probably the reason why the powder hardened until it formed one massive block. I literally had to use a blunt object to pound the Hennalucent back into powder form (next time I'm going to Sally's). I decided I would mix coconut oil into the powder since it would melt nicely with the hot water. Though I tried my best to recreate the natural powder structure of Hennalucent, it formed into small clumps when I added the water. I had no choice but to use it as it was.

Though I had the issues with Hennalucent, it washed out without any problems. The very last step was to rinse with vinegar. I had no apple cider vinegar so I used plain 'ole white vinegar. I poured a little in a bowl of water to dilute. Then I poured the mixture on my hair and rinsed with super cold water. I used warm water throughout the duration of the process to allow penetration of product.

Then I rollerset my hair and went to bed without sitting under the dryer. The next morning, when I awoke, I sat under the dryer under the cool setting.

When I removed the roller, I was absolutely floored at how fabulous my hair turned out. Just like my co-worker, each individual strand proudly displayed its intense shine. Not only that, my hair was light, silky, and absolutely gorgeous. My hair almost rivaled the look and feel I experience after a blow out, with the exception of the straight roots. I opted not blow dry my roots because I had obviously done a successful job of sealing the cuticle layer. I was deathly afraid of undoing the great results of sealing the hair shaft by using direct heat.

The second time I mirrored the routine almost exactly with a few minor changes:
1. I used Aveda Smooth Infusion conditioner instead of Suave Milk & Honey.
2. I wash in the morning so I actually dried my hair under a cool setting for the duration of the drying process.

Same results of intense shine and fabulous hair.
I know that I said that this routine would not necessarily be a staple, but forget what I said. This is definitely a keeper for me. I even purchased Apple Cider Vinegar just to make it official. I also plan on rotating conditioners because the Smooth Infusion conditioner did not impress me the least bit. I can't wait to get some non-expired Hennalucent so I can really experience the full benefits.

So to finalize my review, this routine will be my official routine until further notice. The steps are fairly simple and straight forward. Because my hair comes out so wonderfully, I won't be tempted to slip into a salon for a blow-out every now and then.

Finally, I must apologize to everyone but my $35.00 digital camera is acting up (what a surprise). I plan to officially step into the 21rst century and purchase a real camera in the very near future. Clearer pictures will be posted so stay tuned.

Get your Shine on! My routine for enchancing shine.

-That's not me in the picture, btw, but I hope my hair will look this shiny in the near future.

My hair goal is to have healthy, shiny, even-length, mid-back hair. I work on the healthy part every-time I deep condition, rollerset, and moisturize my hair. But what about the shiny part?

One of my coworkers has gorgeous hair. Mind you she does not have type 4 hair, her hair is more of a type 2 (she's West Indian). Being the hair crazed person that I am, I grabbed one of her shed hairs from her seat one day and studied her hair closely. Two things jumped at me right away, shine and elasticity. That one strand of hair shined brightly under the fluorescent lights, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought to myself, "If I could replicate even some of that shine, image how healthy my hair would look."

To be completely honest, I have not intentionally focused on achieving increased shine before then. Shame on me for not doing so because shiny hair is one indication of healthy hair. Shiny hair happens when the cuticle layer of the hair is sealed. Up close, the cuticle layer looks like shingles of a roof. Imagine the damage that can occur when the cuticle layer is raised, exposing the more delicate layers of your hair. I want my hair to shine from across the room. So tonight when I wash, I am going to incorporate all the shiny hair tips that I can remember.

Here's what I plan on doing:
1. Pre-poo for 45 minutes using Alma oil.

2. Wash the length of my hair with a clarifying shampoo. To remove buildup. Buildup is a culprit in robbing your hair of its shine. I'll probably also use my Aveda Smooth Infusion Shampoo.

3. Use a honey and oil blend to condition the hair. (I've seen recommendations for using olive oil online, but I am thinking about using coconut or avocado oil instead)

4. Use Hennalucent neutral to further enhance my shine. I remember using it years ago and mixing with oil. I think I'll include oil this time as well.

5. Conduct a final rinse with an acidic liquid, namely apple-cider vinegar or lemon juice. This will quickly seal the cuticle layer of the hair.

6. Use the coldest water setting to further seal the cuticle layers.

7. Rollerset and dry under a cool setting.

8. Use cool blast function on my blow dryer just before I remove my rollers.

If this works as well as I hope, this will officially become my shine enhancing routine. I probably won't do it every wash, but I definitely will keep it in the rotation.

If you have any shine enhancing tips you'd like to share, leave a comment.

Too busy for your hair?

Three healthy hair habits you need to maintain even when you're swamped

We all go through times when we are so busy, we're lucky if we even get a decent shower in, never mind our hair. The last thing you want is to become so engulfed in your work that you begin to backslide on your hair maintenance. You know what happens if we neglect to give our hair some TLC for even a short period of time, we end up having to make up for the neglect with months of deep conditioning, trimming, and babying just to get back to where we were.

If you want to avoid neglecting your hair when you have little time, just remember these three tips:

1. Nightly Care- I don't care how late you stayed up getting your work done, you still need to commit to spending just a few minutes every night adding a moisturizing product to your hair. Something special happens during the night when your hair gets some time to absorb moisturizer under a silk or satin scarf. By the time morning comes and you are ready to run out of the door, you need'nt have to worry about what condition your hair will be in when you remove the scarf. This habit is a life saver for both you and your hair when you are running short of time.

2. Fabulous Hair Accessories-The very last thing you want to do when you are short on time is try to style your hair. Running a comb through your hair when you are in a hurry is not cool. That's when we end up with broken hairs at our feet. Avoid this action all together by stocking up on fabulous hair clips, pins, headbands and other hair accessories. When your hair is adorned in a fabulous accent, you automatically reduce the amount of combing you have to do. Accessories give a hint of glamour when we are sporting our protective styles. When we know our hair style looks fabulous, we aren't constantly trying to manipulate it. The less we manipulate, the more our hair thrives.

3. A Solid Hair Routine-Most of our hair routines consist of many intricate steps involving various healthy hair potions in order to get our hair just right. The problem with that is we can't always rely on our 20 step hair routine when we have little time. What we need to do instead is to create a basic hair routine that works just as well. The basic routine should include your favorite shampoo, moisturizing, and/or deep conditioner. Don't skimp on beneficial steps such as a pre-poo if it has a positive impact on the health of your hair.

The most important part of the solid hair routine is your styling method. If your hair only looks right when you roller set, then you must make sure that you roller set. You do not want to experience undesirable results only to go back and have to re-wash and style your hair all over again. Worse yet, you do not want to cause more damage by air drying if your hair reacts adversely to this stylig method. When you look for ways to shorten your routine, remember that your goal is to still achieve very similar results.


Now is the time to plan for those occasions when we can't provide as much time to our hair as we would like. Take a look at your routine and figure out the most beneficial steps and products. The ones that contribute the best results. Those are the key actions that you want to keep and improve upon. They are going to be life savers when you have little time.

Take a few minutes and mentally go over your hair routine. Decide which steps can you omit if you had to and which steps absolutely have to happen. By doing this now, you are saving both your time and your hair in the future.

-Here's to the health of your hair.

Stretching Relaxer Tip: Taming those edges with no heat

This week will be by 8th week since I've relaxed. I can usually go to about 10 weeks on average before finally having to do something with my head. My biggest new growth obstacle is primarily focused in one area, my edges. It doesn't matter how great my hair looks after a rollerset, I still have those curly edges to contend with.

I implemented a critical thinking approach to solving the problem. By asking myself "which tools and techniques work best on smoothing my edges I came up with this short list:

*Tying my hair down flattens my edges
*Using a blow dryer and a round brush after a rollerset straightens my edges
*Using a water based product loosens the curl on my edges

I eliminated the second option as a method of choice for two reasons.
1. That kind of heat and pulling on a regular basis is going to get me in trouble.
2. My Supersolano was knocked off a table by my dog and is not working. Needless
to say, I was not happy about that.

So I was left with two options. But instead of choosing one or the other, I decided to incorporate both. What I pretty much do is spray a little Biolage Leave In tonic around my edges. I use Biolage because it is light enough to use on a daily basis without hideous buildup. You can opt to use any water based leave in that you like. Feel free to use only water if that is your fancy. Some might use aloe or NTM Silk Touch Leave-In. Its whatever your hair likes.

Once the product is in, I use a brush to smooth my edges back. (I use the kind of brushes a brotha would use to brush waves into his hair. The kind with the bristles close together.) After the hair is smoothed, I tie it down with a scarf. The scarf helps the hair to remain in place as it dries.

This is my no-heat method to taming those wild edges of mine. It works pretty well. The fact that I can use this method daily is also a major selling point. I hope you are just as pleased with the results as I am.

-Here's to the health of your hair.