Dry scalp?

As a kid I always thought as long as I grease my scalp when I do my hair I won’t have to worry about dandruff. You see the Selsun Blue or Head and Shoulders commercials and think ok that is how people that get it get rid of it. What I have learned is that dandruff isn’t always about what you do with your hair. Sometimes it is simply about your skin. Think about it. Your scalp is just the skin on your head. It needs moisture just like the skin on your hands and feet. (If you are ashy, stop reading and get some lotion(you are being judged))
I have found three reasons for flaky scalp. One is hair related, and that is product build up. This is when you have so much product on your hair and scalp that it starts to flake off. This is pretty common and easy to fix. A good clarifying shampoo and a gentle scrub will get that product right off of your scalp.
Another reason is dry scalp. This one can be a little trickier. Sometimes a good moisturizing shampoo will fix it. Sometimes you need to moisturize it regularly, which is where we got in the habit of greasing our scalps. The only problem with grease on the scalp is that grease does not moisturize. Not only does it not moisturize, but it blocks moisture. So while it looks and feels good for now you are only exacerbating the problem. A good alternative would be a butter or oil that is absorbed into the skin. Just like they work for your body, they work for your scalp. I use Shea Butter or Grapeseed oil for me and my daughter if we have dry scalp. Coconut oil is also great for dry scalp (and cradle cap!). Also, you may want to DRINK MORE WATER!
The third reason is a skin condition. This related to dry scalp but it is more chronic. It could be a eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, or fungus. If nothing helps and your flaky scalp persists you may need to see a dermatologist to see if you have a skin condition. It may be something internal that you need medication for. Or your may be prescribed medicated shampoo or products.  
One last way to keep flakes at bay, scalp massages. They get the blood flowing to that area, which promotes a healthier scalp. Massages also help alleviate stress, boost your mood and promote hair growth.

Product Recommendation: Curls Creme Brule

Sometimes I struggle with writing product reviews because I understand that no product works the same on every person.  What works for me, may not work for you.  So I waited quite some time before doing this review. But now I feel confident in at least saying, this product worked REALLY well for me.

To be honest, I have been using this product for a while, well actually years, so this is a little late.  The difference is that now I have a comparison point.  You see, I found this product about 3 years ago and started using it on my daughter’s hair.  It has always worked well for her hair, but considering the fact that she is only 3, I had nothing to compare it to.

Earlier this year, I decided that I wanted to try a new creamy moisturizer.  I have dense, fine, coarse strands and I need a creamy moisturizer to make it softer.  I had been using Elasta QP Mango Butter and before that I was using Wave Nouveau.  I stopped using the Wave Nouveau because it moisturized my hair, but it didn’t make it softer so I felt like I needed something heavier. The Mango Butter weighed my hair down a bit and it started to become stiff.  I also wanted something that was less oily. Curls Creme Brule is a light creamy consistency, much like a lotion.  It has very tasty ingredients and not much oil.

I started out just using some of Dat Baby’s Curls moisturizer on my ends when I was wearing my hair straight early this year.  I said to myself, “self, I think I like this.” My ends were soft and they didn’t look dry or stiff, but I wanted to give it more time to be sure that it was a good thing.  Soon after, I decided to start working out regularly, and I have had my hair in a bun ever since.  But I continued to use it.  I still do my bun the same as before, but now after I spray my S Curl, I rub on a little Curls moisturizer, and then I seal with Whipped Shea Butter.  Every night I would moisturize and seal with all three again.  Soon, I noticed that I didn’t need to use all three and I would just use the curls some nights.  Now, I don’t need to moisturize and seal daily.  My ends feel really soft and moist with no breakage.  I moisturize probably 4 nights a week and that is moistly out of habit (and fear).

Before using Curls, I felt the need to moisturize and seal every day.  My hair would start out fine, but by the end of the day my bun would be hard and dry.  I feel like I have a different head of hair (lol I know that sounds corny).  I still want to try it consistently for 2 months or so on straight hair, but let’s be real.  I am not likely to even keep my hair straight for that long.  Best of all, you can buy Curls products at Target!  Won’t he do it!

Get yo life!

Everything that we do and don’t do to our hair affects the health and look of the hair.  It is so easy over time for hair to lose its life.  Chemically treated hair can become limp after a series of treatments.  Natural hair can lose its curl pattern over time with more and more heat usage, or when using too much heat at once.  This happens because in addition to our hair just naturally losing proteins and lipids, heat and chemicals break down the bonds of the hair changing the structure.  Depending on if you have actual damage or not, you may be able to get your life back, but it will take lots of patience and consistency.

The one thing we need to ALWAYS remember when it comes to hair growth is that healthy hair grows with a balance of moisture and protein.  Protein keeps the hair strong and resilient.  It gives the hair structure and life.  Moisture increases elasticity, makes the hair pliable and helps it to bounce back.

When the structure of the hair is compromised, it needs to be rebuilt.  This is done with protein, but that protein has to be balanced with moisture.  Otherwise, the protein will dry the hair out.  This is where things get tricky.  If you are new to proteins, a simple way to be sure that you are keeping a balance is to use a reconstructive conditioner weekly.  These conditioners state that they rebuild hair or that they make the hair both soft and strong.

Another consideration for rebuilding the hair is ceramides.  Ceramides are not proteins but they can have some of the same benefits.  Ceramides are natural lipids in the hair that hold the hair cuticle together.  When hair loses ceramides it becomes more porous, meaning it doesn’t hold moisture as well.  There are many products out now with “ceramide technology”.   To be honest, I find most of them not on the “ethnic hair aisle.” There are also some oils that contain ceramides like grape seed and wheat germ oil.

I recently started a new regimen to restore my curls after wearing my hair straight for a while.  This is what I do:

Shampoo and deep condition weekly alternating products each week.  One week I use Breakthru Fortifying Moisturizing Shampoo and Aphogee 2 Minute Keratin Reconstructor.  The other week I use L’Oreal Total Repair Extreme Reconstructing Shampoo and Conditioner.  After towel drying, I moisturize using the L.O.C. method.  I spray on S Curl (as my Liquid) add some of my Olive oil Grape seed oil mix (as my Oil) then a little Curls Creme Brulee (as my Cream).  I also add a little african shea butter (I have a jar that is whipped with Jamaican Black Castor oil, got it at my local bss).  I started using this method and products recently after seeing how well it works for Dat Baby. I am not using any heat on my hair right now so I have been wearing it in a bun.  After moisturizing I gel it up into a bun using the green Eco Styler gel.  Every night I take down the bun, leaving the pony tail and I moisturize with S Curl or Creme Brulee and seal with Avocado butter, braid the loose hair and then tie my hair for bed.

I have been doing this for a little over a month and I noticed my curls came back after about the 3rd or 4th week.  This regimen will not only help restore curls but it can bring life back to limp, chemically treated hair. You will be amazed at how different your hair can look with the right treatments.

 

 

Don’t be an askhole

Askhole – A person who constantly asks for advice, yet always does the opposite of what you told them.

On a regular basis people ask me for advice on hair care, and I love to give it.  I enjoy teaching, and sharing, and helping people (but mostly I like telling people what to do).  So much so that I started a blog.  Because it aint no fun, if the homies can’t have none.  Not only do I like to give advice, but I also like to follow up and see how things are going and hear about others’ experiences.  Often I will follow up with someone and they will share how their hair has recovered or grown, or that their hairstyle came out great!

But every now and then…  I follow up with someone and they say “Oh I didn’t do that yet.” Or they explain what they did, which was in complete contrast to what I told them would help.  My concern with this is not that they did not do what I told them to do, but that what they did has already proven not to work (definition of insanity).  I think to myself, if you knew better than I did

1) you wouldn’t have this problem in the first place.

2) what did you ask me for?

Now none of this would be so bad if these same people didn’t complain to me constantly about not getting results, if they didn’t ask me a question, do the opposite, then ask me again for the same advice over and over again (wash, rinse, repeat).  I almost prefer those people who do the opposite of what I told them and then try to avoid the subject if ever it should come up again.

Me: *notices the sides of Jane’s hair missing* “So how did it go with you coloring your hair yourself? (petty? yes, I know)

Jane: “Good, girl I can’t wait for the weekend to come my boss is on my nerves.”

Now I am not saying don’t ask me anything.  Everyone knows I love to talk hair!  I am just saying that if you notice that my answers get shorter and shorter, you have been judged and I have labeled you as an askhole.  Don’t be an askhole.

Why do I have to chose between being fat and being bald?

We have all seen the hashtag #blackgirlproblems.  It refers to some of the struggles that some black women have that other races may not have.  One of those struggles is being able to workout while keeping a straight style.  It’s like we have to choose whether to be fat with long hair or skinny with short hair.  Some women are lucky and do not sweat much.  I hate you.  Please leave.  (lol kidding)  For those of us who sweat at the mere thought of exercise it is a major struggle.  Trying to find a way to work out while maintaining straight hair is near impossible.

There are products out there to help keep the hair straight like those work out head wraps Save Your Do (by Nicole Ari Parker), which I am sure works well for someone who doesn’t sweat much.  But if you sweat a lot you can actually save your do better by just putting it up in a ponytail. Wrapping the hair while working out basically traps the heat making you sweat more and it prevents the air from getting to the sweat allowing it to sit on your hair.

For those like me, there is just no way to workout and keep the hair straight without straightening it every day.  We all know that the constant heat will only lead to dry split hair that will break.  The best options for working out are natural styles, braid outs, twist outs, wash-n-gos (I hate you all too), or my go to, bun life.  I just cowash my hair every couple of days and shampoo once a week to keep it clean.

In the end, although I hate it, I just have to live the bun life.  My health is more important than my hair. (I struggled to type that just now).  So I will not chose long flowy hair over a healthy lifestyle (all of the time).  My hope is that eventually I can find a work out plan that will allow me keep moving and healthy but with a lower intensity where I do not have to sweat so much and maybe I can find a balance.  In the meantime, I will wear my bun and find special occasions where I can let my hair down for a short period of time.

My new year’s resolution

I understand that I am a bit late for a new year’s resolution but this really isn’t my style.  I usually don’t do new years resolutions but this year something has got to give.  I have been on my healthy hair journey for almost 5 years now and I must say, I am not impressed.  I am very happy that I have maintained my hair at a longer length, however for this amount of time it could be much healthier and much longer.

I mean, I know so much about having a good moisture/protein balance, prepooing to prevent hydral fatigue, moisturizing daily with a water based moisturizer (not grease or oil),  and protective styling.  I have learned about maintaining porosity, trimming ends but not cutting the hair, seamless combs, using low heat, and deep conditioning.  I know how to do scalp massages to stimulate blood flow, clarify occasionally to remove product buildup, and blow dry in sections to decrease tangling.  I know all of these things and I am able to prove that they work, but somewhere I lost my motivation.

For the first 3 and a half years of my journey I was doing great.  I was prepooing with each wash, shampooing with sulfate-free conditioner every week, protective styling in buns, and clarifying and using protein as needed.  But for the last year, I have just been going through the motions.  I have not been paying attention to what was happening to my hair and what it needed.  Instead of giving it what it needed, I just cut it every few months to keep the ends looking thick.  I mean I cut my hair 4 times last year.  So there is no growth.  I went from MBL to just maintaining APL.

So this year, I resolve to paying more attention to my hair.  Going back to knowing what it needs, what is working, and what is not.  I want to create a regimen and actually stick to it.  I want to maintain full ends without cutting it.  And I want to see my progress in length.  I also want to do more research and learn anything else that I don’t already know or understand and I want to share that with all of my followers.  I will take a starting picture soon and update my hhj page.  Once I come up with a regimen, I will also share that and follow up on progress.  I would like to have an accountability partner.  If anyone else is interested in getting serious and focused on hair progress this year hit me up!  I will help you if you need help creating a regimen.

Are you addicted to heat?

It never fails.  Those of us born with curly hair want it straight and those born with straight hair want it curly.  We all want what we don’t have.  Using heat is the fastest way to get that curly or sleek look.  It can also be the most damaging way for those who abuse it.  Heat draws moisture out of the hair making it dry. It also breaks down the protein bonds of the hair making it limp.  How do you know when you have heat damage?

A lot of people say that it is when your hair does not revert back to its natural curl when wet, while this can be true, I think it is deeper than that.  Some people can grow a long, healthy head of hair even with it not being able to revert to its natural curl pattern.  This is called heat training.  Also, someone who is relaxed would not know if their hair can revert or not.

So how do I know if I have heat damage?  Look at the ends of your hair are they dry, split, and breaking.  Are the ends thin?  Has the porosity of your hair changed.  Is it more porous and doesn’t hold moisture well.  These are common signs of damage.  If you are taking care of your hair otherwise, this is a good sign that you may need to step away from the heat.

Using too much heat can cause a set back on your journey for longer, healthier hair.  You have to be mindful of not only how often you use heat, but what type of heat you use, and what you do to your hair before you put heat on it.  The hardest thing about using heat is that it has a different affect on everyone and just like anything else, you have to find the routine that works for your hair.

Make sure that you deep condition your hair well before using heat.  Use heat on clean hair to prevent a frying effect.  Use a heat protectant before applying heat. Do not use heat daily.  Some people can safely use heat once a week, while others may have to wait two weeks.  If you want to keep a straight style try wrapping your hair at night.  For a curly style, try pin curls or satin rollers.  Try air drying instead of blow drying, or air dry until you are almost dry and blow out the rest.  Wet set your hair on rollers instead of flat ironing.  If you want a straighter look just use bigger rollers.

Ceramic, ionic heat tools have been proven safer for the hair.  Hooded dryers with indirect heat are safer than the direct heat from a blow dryer.  Use the lowest heat possible to get the look you want.  Don’t start out with your flat iron on 450.  Try flat ironing at a lower temperature first like 360 and see how that works.  Keep going with a lower temperature to see what works.

You can get damaged hair to look better, but contrary to popular belief it can not be repaired.  The best thing to do is take preventative measures so that your hair doesn’t get damaged in the first place.

 

*One of the reasons I say that hair that does not revert is not necessarily damaged is that in some cases it can be repaired.  There are many cases where the hair continues to grow long with no signs of splits, breakage or actual damage. In these cases this hair is only in a weaker state (much like with chemical use) and the curl pattern can be brought back with a series of protein and moisture treatments.

Folica.com sale

Check out what I picked up at my local TJMaxx

After church this morning, I managed to talk myself into driving  to the new TJMaxx in Capitol Heights, MD and I am SO glad I did. I wanted to see if I could find Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner or Treatment Balm. I left there with a bag and a smile.

And look at the prices (pay attention to the compare to).

I lucked up with the Balm because I was satisfied with the shampoo and conditioner and I was walking away. Something told me to go back and look at the Chi products. The Balm was mixed in with the Chi!

I wasn’t looking for a shampoo because I am very happy with my Keracare Hydrating Shampoo. But I pay about $30 per a 32 oz bottle and figured I would try out the Joico for $17. I got the Color Endure shampoo only because it is the only sulfate free shampoo they had.  That Treatment Balm is totally worth the $20 I spent Wednesday, but if I can get it for $8 then I will stalk every TJMaxx in PG, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Montgomery  if I have to.

GHE

GHE is short for Greenhouse Effect. This is a method for making the hair softer and more moist, while providing the ideal environment for growth.  GHE is much like baggying but it has a slightly different purpose and technique. You would sleep with a plastic bag on your hair, but with GHE you would use oil or butter on the hair first and cover your whole head not just the ends of the hair. You would do this for five nights.

The idea is that the bag would trap your body heat creating steam.  The steam creates a tropical environment for the scalp to produce its natural sebum which nourishes the hair.  This is a great method for combatting dryness and brittle ends, and stimulating blood flow. Some also claim to see increase growth.

If you decide to try the GHE, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. You hair can get over-moisturized. Watch out for mushy, limp hair. If you think you have too much moisture stop and add some protein to your hair in the form of leave-in or reconstructing treatments. You may wake up with wet hair using this method make sure that you have the time for it to dry or plan a style that will work out with wet hair.  Having to blow dry your hair every morning defeats the purpose of the method. Also, you don’t need a lot of oil or butter before covering you hair. You will be producing more of your own natural oil and you don’t want to wake up with oily, wet hair every day.  I tried this method one night before wash day and my hair was sooooo soft. I played in it for about an hour before washing it.