I have a female cousin who is not in tuned with the basic fundamentals of taking care of her relaxed hair.
Last week while at a family function, she nonchalantly moved a section of her hair aside so that she could reveal a massive area of baldness on her scalp.
I gasped in horror and quickly told her to cut off as much relaxer as she could (if she was willing) and to allow her hair to grow naturally (even if for only part of the year) before relaxing again.
She then proceeded to reminded me of a family wedding occurring in just a few short weeks and reaffirmed the fact that she could not attend the function without a fresh relaxer.
I then flashed back to the days when she would openly mock me for allowing myself to be seen in public with more than a quarter inch of new growth.
That's when I realized that my words were futile and no change would come about until she literally has no hair left on her head.
On the bright side......the red hair color she sports looks really nice.
For the past several of years I have had a very strong interest in the area of personal development. One of my favorite PD bloggers is Steve Pavlina writer of Personal Development for Smart People. His website is chock full of valuable content geared to help you become the very best person you can be. One of my favorite posts of his was the 30 Day trial entry.
The basis of the 30 Day trial is to develop a habit by committing yourself to doing just one thing every single day. Once you commit to beginning the trial, you must remain faithful until the full 30 days have passed. If you miss one day, you need to start over. Once you have successfully completed your 30 day trial, you can make a sound decision on whether or not to continue with this habit based on your results. Chances are, your new behavior will continue after the 30 days simply because of the consistent action that you have been taking.
I've decided to take on a 30 day trial that will benefit my hair. I thought long and hard about an activity that I can do every day that will make a positive impact in the health of my hair. I finally came to the conclusion that for the next 30 days, I will:
Focus on improving my nightly routine. I will add my favorite oil/moisturizer to my hair every single night sometime before I go to sleep. I'll take extra care to focus on areas that need it the most including my ends and any other weak areas. Along with this I also plan on making sure to tie my hair down properly using the best scarves, wraps, etc that will stay on overnight and keep my hair protected until morning.
The end result of my actions will (hopefully) be shiny, healthier looking hair in the morning, every morning for the next 30 days. My hair will also become stronger because of the reduced friction now that my wrap will be secured more properly to stay on all night. My hair will also be nourished from the nutritional properties of the plant oils that I will apply every single night without fail.
Let me just say that I have made this promise to myself before. My downfall usually occurs when I fall asleep while watching a movie or something and neglect to moisturize/oil my hair before bed. When that happens, I grab whatever head wrap I can get my hands on, and manage somehow to tie my hair down with both of my eyes closed. This action is extremely futile because my hair is already in disarray when I secure the scarf.
Understanding fully that I am functionally a morning person, I will overcome my obstacle by putting in place some measures to help me in my success. First I will set a daily alarm on my blackberry (Yes, its that serious)informing me of my need to prepare my hair for bed. I'll set my alarm for 6:30 m or 7:00 pm so I can make sure to do my deed way before the Sandman comes to visit. My second safeguard will be to segment my 30 day challenge into a 7 day challenge for four weeks. For me a 7 day challenge will seem more manageable(achievable) and I can assess my success every Sunday. During my assessment, I will notate any noticeable benefits and use the progress to motivate me to keep going strong the following week.
As you all may know, I'm going through a phase where I'm searching for the most optimal means possible of adding much needed strength to my hair. So far I've been introduced to the Nanokeratin system by my stylist. Along with that, I also bought Silicon Mix w/Pearl Extract in hopes of benefiting from the strengthening pearl ingredient.
Today, while browsing various blogs online, I noticed Dr. Ali Syed shared with his readers a fabulous presentation on the type of damage that can occur to our hair during the coloring, styling, and relaxing process. His presentation will be shared with professional hair dressers on his visit to Europe.
I am most grateful that he shared presentation with us. He presents some great information that we (common folk) may not see on a regular basis. That's because most of the information is highly scientific in nature. Dr. Syed immediately grabbed my attention on slide 48 where he shows the amount of cuticle layer loss which occurs during the relaxing process. Knowing how important the cuticle layer is to the health of our hair, I was disheartened to see how much loss occurs using a traditional traditional relaxer. According to the graph, the loss which occurs at the cuticle layer is about 90% more than in untreated (virgin) hair. Just before I started contemplating going natural, I noticed a third comparison of cuticle layer loss with the use of a fiber guard relaxer. According to the graph, the amount of cuticle loss with a fiber guard relaxer is about half of that with a normal relaxer.
I immediately went searching for more information on the fiberguard system. Apparently the fibergaurd system is one that is exclusively used in the Avlon's Affirm Relaxer with fiberguard. I found some reviews online and I thought I would share one or two of them with you.
"I use Fiberguard and I LOVE IT! It retains the tensile strength and elasticity of the hair, and it is excellent for color treated hair. My hairdresser uses Affirm and Fiberguard on my hair, depending on whether I have used color recently or not. Both relaxers work great. I used to use optimum before I switched to a hairdresser who used Affirm. That was 7 years ago, and I will not use any other relaxers. I urge you to try Affirm or Fiberguard."
"My stylist also uses Affirm Fiberguard on my hair, too. I have not had as much breakage since he's been using it. My last stylist used Affirm...not sure if it was Fiberguard and I always had really thick hair. After Hurricane Katrina I went through a stylist search and ended up using other brands. I had so much breakage and thinning. I found my new guy and he used Affirm FG and it is healthier. It is a plus for preventing/slowing breakage IMO. As far as CONS, maybe switching brands after using it for years was not a good idea. That is the only thing I can think of."
According to Avlon's website, strengthening polymers in the relaxer creme penetrates hair fibers leaving hair with significantly more tensile strength and elasticity after relaxing. The four-step system is also said to preserve up to 40% more of the hair's strength compared to conventional relaxers.
This information came to me at the most opportune time because I'm currently on the hunt for a new relaxer and I am seriously leaning towards ordering this product.
Right now I am experimenting with Mizani but I'm not totally sold yet. I have to admit that my hair feels extremely silky and soft right after application but after a couple of weeks, I'm no longer impressed with the appearance of my hair.
Prior to Mizani, I was faithfully using Deep Brilliance. I had no major concerns with Deep Brilliance, I just stopped using it because I could no longer purchase it from my local BSS.
To be completely honest with you, I have now reached a new level of thinking with regards to my hair care. I no longer want a mediocre product. I want a product working hard to protect the strength of my hair. I want my products to go to war against the evil powers that be which seek to damage my hair!!!! I will continue to search both near and far until I can honestly say that I have thee absolute best products for my hair.
With that said, I will politely finish off the rest of the Mizani relaxer and quickly replenish my relaxer supply with Affirm Fiberguard. If Avlon's claims are true, by this time next year my hair will be a force to be reckoned with.
Saturdays have become the primary day I set aside for washing and setting my hair. This Saturday was a bit more exciting than the usual, for me, because earlier in the week, I stumbled upon a new product that I was dying to try. The product isn't exactly new, its actually a new formula from the makers of one of my favorite products, Silicon Mix.
While on a recent trip to Miami, I ventured upon a newly opened beauty supply store that I could not help but explore. The shelves were barely full but that didn't stop me from gingerly strolling down the aisles in hopes of finding a special treat for my hair. The first product that caught my attention was Salerm Deep Impact moisturizing deep action mask. If it weren't for the price tag of $22.00, that product would be in my grips right now. I walked away from, and back to, the product a few times before finally deciding that this purchase was not meant to be. Looking back, I am glad I did because I just found in on Amazon for $15.00!
After tearing myself away from the Salerm mask, I found the product which eventually became my reason for stopping into the store in the first place, Silicon Mix Fortifying Hair treatment enhanced with Pearl Extract. Though pearl extract is mainly used in skin care products because of its wonderful effects on the skin, the high amounts of proteins, amino acids, minerals and micronutrients, also make it a superb ingredient to include in a hair product. Without hesitation I snatched up the smaller of the two sizes available for purchase. Next I quickly mumbled a short prayer asking God to make this product available in my city if I needed to replenish my supply.
Once my hair was thoroughly washed, I quickly reached for my latest purchase and opened the jar. The first thing that struck me as I twisted the top is the color of the conditioner. Its a light blue (I guess that goes with the pearl theme...not sure). After getting over the weird color I was introduced to its strong scent. Please be aware that this product has an extremely strong scent. The scent isn't bad, it's a mix between Febreeze blue rain air freshener and mountain breeze scented candle. I'm sure the makers had the best intentions but this stuff is really strong. I washed my hair yesterday and as of right now my hair is still scented. I don't mind it much, I just want to make you very aware of that possible side effect. If you plan on trying this product, you want to make sure to open in the store to see if you like the scent.
The texture of the product was much thicker in consistency than the regular Silicon Mix. For some reason thicker conditioners make me feel like I am applying a more potent product to my hair. Once the conditioner was in I put on a plastic shower cap and wrapped a Turbie towel around the cap then headed to my hooded dryer for deep conditioning. Before washing the product out I carefully combed the conditioner through my hair with my newly purchased shower comb for a bigger impact.
Rinsing this product out was not at all like rinsing out the regular Silicon Mix. The regular Silicon Mix leaves my hair silky and soft with tons of slip. Not with this one, this one left my hair feeling o.k. but not like the original. During the rollerset is when I could tell that something was different with my hair. The hair felt strong and protected (all while smelling like a freshly mopped floor). Once I took out the rollers I could immediately see the impact of the product. My hair was shiny, healthy looking and had a silky feel to it. The my curls were more loose than normal but did not frizz up in this 100% humidity (a huge plus). I immediately tied my hair down with a scarf and proceeded to let my hair settle (the reason I tie my hair down after removing the rollers is because I do not normally use heat to finish the hair after a rollerset. I use the tension of the wrap to tame the hair thereby creating a sleeker look). My hair has been hidden for most of the day but I did take it down for a few moments to play with it a little. I am absolutely loving the results and can't wait to use my new heavily scented product again next week.
I definitely think that this is a good buy and would recommend to anyone who likes the Silicon Mix brand. I absolutely love the way my hair feels right now. Even if you don't like Silicon Mix, this product is different enough from the original to make you change your mind about the line.
Take a gander at my pictures taken a day after my wash and set.
So I am back to adding carrot juice to my regular routine. A few years ago, I first heard of the healthy hair benefits of carrot juice on hair forums. If I recall correctly, a member of the board detailed her experience of when she was hospitalized and drank carrot juice daily as a source of nutrition. The side effects, she soon discovered, were healthier hair and clearer skin. As soon as I finished the post, I went out immediately and purchased some ready made carrot juice. Over the next several weeks, I made sure to have at least a couple of swigs of carrot juice a day in expectation of fabulous results.
Because carrots are loaded with nutrition, consuming it in liquid form is an extremely effective way realizing the benefits of this wonder-food. Let's take a closer look at the nutritional content of carrots and, more importantly, how it benefits our hair.
Beta Carotene-Carrot juice is, of course, loaded with beta carotene. The bright orange color is a testament of its beta carotene richness. In the body, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A. According to the label on my Bolthouse carrot juice, one 8 oz serving contains 700% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. One of the healthy hair benefits of vitamin A is that it helps your scalp to produce sebum, which is the natural oil your scalp produces to keep the hair from drying out. Relaxed hair can benefit greatly from the normal production of these natural oils. As sebum production increases, you should massage your scalp to keep the sebum form clogging the pores on your scalp. A little jojoba oil on the scalp also helps to manage overproduction of sebum and the potential for clogged pores.
Vitamin C-This wonderful antioxidant is water-soluble which means that it is not retained (stored) in the body. You should consume vitamin c rich foods on a daily basis in order to consistently realize healthy hair and skin benefits. Without the necessary amounts of vitamin c, you may find that you are experiencing excessive hair loss. Not only that, you may also experience premature grey hair if you aren't getting your C's. Another benefit of vitamin C is improved scalp circulation. Think of healthy scalp circulation like you would a delivery truck that drops off all of the merchandise for a retail store. All of the nutrients in the bloodstream are delivered to the hair follicle efficiently with proper scalp circulation.
Vitamin E-Also helps in scalp circulation because of the increased oxygen to the blood. Because vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, increased levels of this vitamin in your blood can help combat against hair loss and possibly help against premature greying. Not only can this vitamin promote healthy hair, it also has wondrous benefits for the skin. I sometimes apply the contents of a broken capsule to my skin before bed. By morning, I can visibly see a difference in the overall texture and look of my skin.
B Vitamins-According to fitday.com, carrot juice contains both vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. These vitamins are essential components of any healthy hair plan. They prevent hair loss and help maintain the vitality of the hair. B vitamins also help increase our energy levels. Take advantage of the increased energy by adding a workout to your daily activities and benefit from the extra blood flow to the scalp.
These are just some of the reasons why carrot juice should be incorporated into your diet. There's no need to sit and munch on a bag of carrots to reap the benefits, just keep a bottle of the organic stuff in the fridge and take a swig once or twice a day. Enjoy.
My husband's family reunion is over the July 4th weekend. After 3 months of stretching, I figured that a visit to the Dominican Salon would be just the thing to get me ready for my California adventure. Let me first start off by saying that I normally dread every trip I take to the salon. I actually begin having a minor panic attack over the thought of having some heavy handed, busy shampoo girl run a comb though my tangled hair.
The reason why I have such apprehension about my salon visits is because no matter how much I prepare for the experience, I still end up losing a ton of hair in the process. I preteat, detangle, and oil my hair before trip but they still manage to leave half my head of hair on the floor between the comb out at the shampoo station and the rollerset.
The good news is that I may have figured out how to minimize the amount of tangles I experience during the process. One of the joys of the wash and set, for me, is the heavenly scalp massage I receive as the stylist vigorously scrubs my hair. I normally just roll my eyes in the back of my head, sit back, and enjoy the experience. Yesterday, the tangles we so bad that I asked that the comb to be handed to me so I could attempt to undue the damage myself. As I worked through the massive tangles, I asked myself, "why doesn't my hair get this bad at home?" "why is this happening to me right now and how much hair will I have left when this is all over with?" The answer to my question became clear as day to me. The scalp massage! The way they massage the scalp is not condusive at all to tangle-free hair. When I massage my scalp at home, I take extra care not to cause or create tangles. Going forward, I will forgo my beloved scalp massages as a necessary sacrifice for the hair which I love so much.
Although I have long thick hair, one area where my hair could definitely improve is in its strength. Whenever someone (usually a stylist) does my hair without using the utmost amount of care, I end up losing lots of hair in the process. For years stylists have told me that my hair is not in the greatest condition and that I needed the healing touch of their hands to nurse my hair back to health. Judging from the amount of hair on the floor, I would usually decide not to take them up on their offer. My alternative was to take care of my hair at home. This arrangement worked well for me for two reasons:
1. I actually like doing my own hair and I have the patience needed to avoid causing any damage. 2. I usually experience more growth when I do my own hair as opposed to when I go to the salon.
So yesterday, the guy who did my hair (not my usual stylist) took a look at my hair and summoned an English speaking employee (the one who was responsible for the massacre of my hair that took place at the shampoo station) and asked that she interpret a message that he had for me. After listening to him speak in Spanish (in hopes of being able to miraculously understand what he was saying), I turned to my interpreter and waited eagerly for her explanation. She then proceeded to tell me that I needed have a special process done to my hair called Nanokeratin.
Nanokeratin, she explained, would help make my hair stronger by adding keratin to the hair. Her English was not fluent enough to convey the message completely so I quickly looked for someone else who could do some justice to his message. A second stylist told me that for a minor cost of around $250.00, I could literally have keratin infused into my hair strands from a revolutionary system invented by scientists in Brazil. According to her, once my hair received this treatment, it would once again regain its natural strength along with shine and softness.
I know that most of you are thrown off a bit by the price tag. I was thrown off by the fact that this is a new system created in Brazil (remember the Rio disaster of the 90's) If the claims of this product were actually true, $250.00 would only be a minor inconvenience for having a head of strong, soft, long, healthy, hair. I read somewhere online that unlike normal protein conditioners and treatments, the size of the keratin particles are so small that they literally bond to the weak and broken areas of the hair shaft. Normal protein particles are large and therefore lay on top of the hair which restrains the movement and ultimately causes that "protein hardness" that we all try to avoid.
Here is some additional information that I obtained from their website:
History
The Tanagra Nanokeratin machine is made in Brazil. Dr Fausto Silva discovered the system whilst working for the Cancer Research Institute in Brazil, trying to find a cure for skin cancer. Using Tanagra Nano technology on his patients� arms he had so far been unsuccessful in curing their cancer but found that the hair on their arms was becoming stronger and healthier. It took 6 years to develop this find, into a product, which could be used on human hair.
His company �TANAGRA� is now one of the biggest names in the hairdressing industry in Brazil for innovative products and services. The Tanagra Nanokeratin - Permanent Hair Repair System can be found in most salons throughout South America and is now available in many countries around the world, including Central America, USA, The Middle East, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
How it works:
Tanagra Nanokeratin is a revolutionary approach which uses the combination of keratin and nanotechnology to recover cuticle damage in the hair by replacing the hairs natural keratin lost through chemical and heat usage.
This advanced state of the art system produces keratin nanomolecules turning them into a micro mist which is then brushed into the hair. Unlike traditional keratin sprays, the Tanagra Nanokeratin process reaches the flaws and fissures of strands avoiding the hyper conditioning and the feeling of dry hair.
What is Keratin?
Your hair structure is a combination of a complex natural protein called keratin, and moisture. In normal healthy hair, keratin accounts for approximately 90% of the structure and moisture the remaining 10%. Keratin is principally responsible for the hair’s strength and resistance to general wear, while moisture is mostly responsible for its elasticity, flexibility, softness and manageability.
Unfortunately straighteners, colours, perms, blow drying, sun damage, pollution, pool chemicals and even everyday wear and tear like brushing can damage your hairs keratin and moisture levels.
How do you know your hair is damaged? Well your hair will feel and look coarse, woolly and dull. If we look at our hair through a microscope you would see cracks, splits and craters in your hair strands.
Now, with a breakthrough in advanced nanotechnology, scientists in Brazil have developed a brand new and permanent hair repair system that can ‘turn back the clock’ and restore your hair structure back to how nature intended it to be, soft, shiny and healthy.
The state-of-the-art Tanagra NANOKERATIN system uses nanomolecular keratin, particles so small that you could get millions onto a pinhead! An incredibly fine and powerful penetrating mist inserts them into the damaged areas of the hair structure filling them completely. Then the nanomolecules are locked into the hair with another mist, forming permanent and insoluble keratin, just like natures’ own!
The result is beautiful, soft and silky hair in superb condition with an incredible shine. The hair instantly becomes healthier and more manageable. The TANAGRA NANOKERATIN system quite literally puts life back into the hair! Repair is approximately 80% effective on the fi rst application, 90% on the second and 100% on the third application. The TANAGRA NANOKERATIN system uses the same keratin protein as would be found in your hair, but in its smallest possible size, which is then locked in to the hair structure for permanent repair.
TANAGRA NANOKERATIN is quite simply the fastest, most technically advanced and efficient hair repair system in the world. All hair types benefit from this new technology, but the most dramatic results are seen in extremely damaged porous hair.
Here is a lengthy youtube video produced by the company describing the process in detail.
I am extremely excited about this technology but I am also a bit apprehensive about using "new technology" on my hair. If I do decided to shell out $250.00 dollars for this Nanokeratin treatment, you guys will be the first ones to know. By the way, the stylist said the process could take like three hours because they have to cover every strand with keratin molecules.
I also read online that African American women who are natural do not benefit much from this treatment because the hair is already in a pretty healthy state naturally. Women with relaxed hair receive better results with this treatment.
First of all I must apologize for taking sooooo much time between posts. Right now I am about 3 hours away from catching a plane to the other side of the country. I'll be visiting my husband's family on the West Coast. In honor of the occasion, I made a visit to my local Dominican Salon. Here are some early pics. My hair looks better in person then in these pics. And for some reason my hair always looks better a day or two after getting it done.
By the way, my stylist recommend that I undergo some kind of treatment that is supposed to replace the keratin in my hair that is lost from relaxing process, styling, etc. Get this, the treatment will cost me around $250.00 and depending on the condition of the hair, I may require several sessions.
Over the next few days I will be researching the web for more information about this treatment and will post an entry when I have the details. I am extremely excited about the potential benefits if the claims are true. Stay tuned.
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