RELAXED!!

This TIPS are for my Relaxed friends that need to keep their HAIR HEALTHY!!

1) Be careful about cleansing

Relaxers can damage hair, causing it to lose its ability to retain moisture. Especially for black women, shampoos tend to strip away natural oils, so therefore, Hair should be washed at the salon once a week.


2)Reduce your amount of Heat-Intensive styling

Be careful not to over-style your hair through excessive blow-drying and setting hair. This can be done once a week especially after shampooing. For the first three days after getting your blow-set, you can finger comb your hair into place and pull it back for the rest of the week or style curl the ends with a curling iron.


Lots of Moisture

It is important to restore hair moisture, so therefore put a bit of hair grease on your fingertips and massage into scalp. Products that use mineral oil, are usually the best. To keep up the sleek-ness of the hair, it is important to deep condition regularly, using treatments that contain natural oils like avocado or shea butter. A treatment every two weeks is great!

HAIR and POLITICS

(Condellezza rice)


(Hillary Clinton)


(Margaret Thatcher, former U.K prime Minister)


(Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama)


One of the reasons I started a Hair blog (besides to promote my business) was to voice and hear opinions about the significance of Hair in our every day life.

It might sound a little far fetched, but how we dress our hair (male or female) often times influence the kind of feedback we get. For example try and give a presentation looking great from head to toe but with crazy unbrushed hair, and see how people respond to you. It's sad to say but our hairstyles convey alot of messages to the observer, stuff like whether we're single or not, bossy or not, wealthy or not, our religion, our sexual preference, our jobs and many more.

I am not a BIG fan of politics, but after watching an interview with Hillary Clinton, I got to thinking about why a majority of women in politics (esp. in the west) have the same hair style. It's so interesting they all seem to have this short, medium volume, hair cut. Someone explain to me why that conveys power? when did having masculine(ish) hair cuts equate NO-NONSENSE HAVING powerful women, isn't that going against "presenting a strong female front"? Meaning that as a woman participating in Politics, should you not be proud that you are a woman, and not work hard to hide it. Not to say that having short hair makes you less of a woman, but my question is why do a majority of female politicians wear their hair in the same style?

Although a majority wear their hair that way, there are those that don't such as the former prime minister of ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko and Cristina fernandez de kirchner of Argentina. I of course am biased because I am a big fan of long hair, but to me these women exemplify strong feminity. Not to say that one is better than the other, but that looking like a woman while running for public office should not be considered wrong, or trashy. I don't know about you but I like my female politicians to look like this:

Yulia Tymoshenko

(With her signature braid)


(Braids undone)



Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Creating Volume

One of the easiest way to create volumes is by rolling it with HOT ROLLERS. Moisturize your hair, and set it on Hot Rollers and then release. The size of your curls depends on the size of the rollers, so if you want tighter curls, use smaller rollers and if you want loose curls use bigger rollers. Hot rollers are quite a time saving investment for $80.

Try this SEXY do and have a SEXY FABULOUS WEEKEND!!

Weave Cleavage??

Well that is what my girl Naomi Campbell has been accused of displaying. According to the Mirror U.K, it seems like Ms. Campbell has been experiencing some hair loss due to Traction Alopecia (see early post for more info). I actually noticed earlier that she had been displaying some interesting receding hairline. Anyways I can't judge, all I can say is STAY AWAY from the tight braids and cool your hair with some lace wigs or regular wigs.



(courtesy of thisislondon.co.uk)


(Excerpt from Mirror.co.uk)
Expert Leonora Doclis believes Naomi may be suffering from hair loss brought on by years of using weaves to make her locks appear straight.
She said: "There is a possibility that Ms Campbell could be experiencing a condition called traction alopecia but, if so, it is a very mild case.
"Traction alopecia is hair loss caused by excessive and long-term pulling on the hair follicles.
"This can be due to hair extensions or weaves and results in deterioration of the hair's thickness."
Leonora, of the Belgravia Centre hair loss clinic in London, added: "It is possible to repair this condition by the use of certain treatments but the results depend on the severity of the condition and extent of the hair loss."

Back with a' BANG!!

Anyone that knows me know that I love BANGS!!! I mean first it is an easy way to look both stylish and sassy, and secondly it is the easiest ( sans plastic surgery) way to take back the years, and look playful and young.

Bangs are a great way to keep your style very versatile. You can make your old hairstyle sassy by adding bangs and if you like you can use it to cover up a problem area. Bangs can be either long or short, depending on the shape of your face. Looking for a way to change your look without doing anything drastic, then Bangs are the way to go!!!

For Bang "How tos" checkout these steps, courtesy of EHOW.com


Things You’ll Need:
• Mirror
• Hair tie

Step1
Use the hair tie to pull back your hair, if necessary, so you can take a good look at the shape of your face. Oftentimes, bad bangs are the result of a cut that doesn’t fit the person’s face.

Step2
Look in the mirror and determine the shape of your face. The six main face shapes are oval, round, oblong, heart, square and diamond.

Step3
Notice a round or heart-shaped face? Then, go with long, wispy bangs. Curving long bangs towards your face will downplay full cheeks.

Step4
Notice a round or heart-shaped face? Then, go with long, wispy bangs. Curving long bangs towards your face will downplay full cheeks.

Step5
Go for a gentler, side-swept bang with some length for a square or diamond-shaped face. The bangs should layer into the jaw line, which will help soften angular faces.

My Hair Experiment

so now I have my real hair, I have decided to go on a break from using chemicals, braiding, and doing anything to my hair. I have decided that I will either leave the mini afro I have or wear wigs, and in order to help resurrect my problematic areas (which is the thin,sensitive, temple region), I have started using Dr. Miracle Temple and Nape. My friends have all recommended and praised this product, I have tried it but have not put their claim of "Hair growth in 30 days" to the test. Apparently if I apply the product twice for 30 days, hair will grow in my problem areas. So yesterday was day four, and so far I have noticed that it seems to help.

I will be sure to let you know if I have experienced any MIRACLE.

Anyways, after doing some research I have to say that this product is not for everyone, especially those that have sensitive scalps.

The one thing I like about it, is the "menthyl" cool feeling that is supposed to stimulate blood fuel and help your hair grow.

Important Information to avoid Hair Loss

(Photo courtesy of skinandaging.com)

1. Do you wrap your hair at night? If you answered yes than you are doing a good job. Apparently wrapping your hair at night with a silk scarf protects your hair from damage and breakage.

2. It is good to wait between 6 to 8 weeks before getting a touch up. Relaxers were created for virgin hair, so relaxing hair that was previously relaxed weakens the hair thus causing it to thin out.

3. It is important to comb your hair especially if its weave from the bottom up, in order to avoid tugging on your hair.

4. *There is a hair disease caused Traction alopecia that is mostly suffered by black women.

Traction Alopecia.

According to Wikipedia…

Traction alopecia is a form of alopecia, or gradual hair loss, caused primarily by pulling force being applied to the hair. This commonly results from the sufferer frequently wearing his or her hair in a particularly tight ponytail, pigtails, or braids.
Traction alopecia is a substantial risk in hair weaves, which can be worn either to conceal hair loss, or purely for cosmetic purposes. The tight braiding and snug hairpiece cause tension on the hair that is already at risk for falling out.

More information on Traction Alopecia:
Traction Alopecia
Traction alopecia is hair loss that occurs as a result of continuous pulling of the hair. Pulling may occur from hairstyles such as tight cornrows or braids, weaves, ponytails or even hair rollers or curlers. Traction alopecia may also be due to excessive weight from long extensions or locks. Signs that the hair is being pulled too tightly are difficulty moving your forehead or temples, headache, and scalp soreness. Side effects of pulling too hard are breakage of hair strands and hair loss from the follicle. An even more serious side effect of chronically pulling the hair is an inflammation of the follicle and the appearance of small bumps (folliculitis). Inflammation can lead to destruction of the hair follicle and permanent hair loss. Over time, bald spots may develop along the hairline and in the area above the ears. Since the hair loss happens gradually, you may not even notice it until the bald spot develops or your hairline recedes significantly. If traction alopecia continues for a prolonged period of time, the follicles may become destroyed and hair loss permanent.

Treatment
It may seem obvious but it’s time to stop pulling your hair out. To save your hair, you may need to switch hairstyles altogether. However, if your hair loss is minimal and you want to continue to braid your hair or plait your child’s hair, for instance, you can make adjustments, such as wearing looser braids, plaiting the hair loosely and wearing shorter weaves or locks. Women of color often pull tightly on hair to make it look smooth or straighter in a ponytail or bun. A better solution might be to apply a hair gel or a dab of conditioner to the hair to help it to lie flatter and straighter. More manageable hair will look smooth and neat without all that pulling, so wash and deep condition regularly. To camouflage bald spots or a receding hairline you might consider brushing your hair towards the hairline or coloring the scalp with a scalp pencil. You can find scalp pencils at a local beauty supply store; apply as you would an eyebrow pencil, with short strokes in the direction of hair growth.

Once the pulling and tension have been eliminated, if there is active folliculitis, your dermatologist may prescribe an oral or topical antibiotic to reduce the inflammation. In addition, potent cortisone containing creams or cortisone injections may reduce inflammation. If severe scarring is present, hair transplantation may be an effective treatment


For more information check out www.traction-alopecia.com


**So please in order to avoid major bald spots in the future, avoid tight braids at all cause and loosen up that ponytail.