Weaves & Extensions

Wearing weaves and extensions is a great way to protect your real hair when done correctly. A lot of women think it is ok to wear weaves/extension and completely ignore their real hair. This is FALSE! Many people wear these protective styles to help their hair grow to longer lengths. But if you are ignoring your real hair for 2-3 months at a time your real hair will be dry, brittle and it will break off, making your "protective" style pointless. Here are a few tips I have to take care of your natural hair and weave/extensions to keep both looking right!

TIP 1:  WHATEVER YOU DO BEFORE GETTING EXTENSION PLEASE DO NOT RELAX YOUR HAIR RIGHT BEFORE INSTALLING WEAVE. A relaxer weakens the hair and adding the tension to the hair by adding braids right after WILL lead to breakage and bald edges! If you want a touch up wait at least two weeks before in stalling any extensions!   

Before braiding your hair up for a sew in or if your just getting braids give your real hair a protein treatment (For more information about protein treatments CLICK on the April folder above then click on   " The essentials to having long beautiful tresses" and  on "Protein treatments I use")! Giving your real hair a protein treatment will add strength to the hair, and insure that your is strong enough to be braided up for a long period of time. Doing this will help your hair to not break off when taking down your weave, or taking out braids. REMEMBER to deep condition after the protein treatment to add moisture back into the hair and to reap the benefits of the protein treatment.

TIP 2A: After installing the extensions you have to still take care of your real hair! You must wash your hair once a week or once every two weeks. If you are wearing synthetic hair use a sulfate free shampoo. If you are wearing human hair I would say use a sulfate free shampoo as well. These shampoos are gentle and will not damage the weave. Focus the shampoo in your scalp. If you have a sew in with a net you can not do this. Gently massage the shampoo into the scalp and rinse out. There is really no need for you to add shampoo to the extension (unless you've added product to your human hair extensions), when you rinse the shampoo out the shampoo will run down the extensions picking up any dirt. REMEMBER never wash your hair or extensions by adding shampoo and balling up the hair on top of your head. All this does is make the hair matted and tangled.

TIP 2B: Add a deep conditioner! This will add moisture back into your hair after shampooing. Apply deep conditioner to scalp and braids let it sit for up to an hour with a plastic cap the rinse out. Your hair will thank you for it!

TIP 3: Add oils to your scalp every other day. CLICK on April folder above the click on" promote hair growth with oils." You can use any oil of your choice. Apply oil with an applicator bottle so that the oil only gets on your scalp and not your weave. If you are wearing braids you can add the oils through out the braids. This will keep your hair moist preventing breakage and promote hair growth.



                              Applicator Bottle




TIP 4: To keep your sew in looking on point it is important to detangle it regularly this goes for synthetic and human hair. When your weave is past shoulder length the ends tend to rub against your clothing throughout the day causing matting. To keep this from happening us a paddle brush start brushing at the ends of the hair. Once the ends are completely tangle free move up the hair and carefully brush the tangles out. If you brush too hard or too rough it can make the fibers in your weave frizz up. So for that sleek look REMEMBER to brush the hair gently and with care. Detangle the hair a few times a day. Or you can just clip the hair up so that the ends are not rubbing against anything to prevent matting.

paddle brush

TIP 5: Wrap it up! Wearing a sew in or braids it doesn't matter wrap the hair with a silk or satin scarf! Cotton scarves suck moisture out of the hair that's a huge NO NO! If you have braids, gather the braids in one direction, secure it in a ponytail, tie the scarf around the head and that's it! If you have a sew in and your natural hair is braided in a circular direction under the you can wrap you hair in a circulation direction. Help the weave stay in the wrap by using bobby pens, then tie your scarf. If your hair is braided straight back under the weave you can do a cross wrap. It is hard for me to explain it in words, so you can check out youtube clip below.  There is NO EXCUSE for you not wrapping your weave or real hair at night! If you wrap your weave/extension every night it will look nice and neat for weeks! Click on this link to see how to do a cross wrap. http://youtu.be/XPzJk--fHuQ

Want to know how to do a sew in click these links:http://youtu.be/kw2S2RWdBO0
                                                                            http://youtu.be/N9DqropVdw4
                                                                             http://youtu.be/yYezwKg45OQ


Want to know how to do a full sew in click this link:http://youtu.be/NIl2ar8DwS0



Want to know how to do a sew in with an invisible part click this linkhttp://youtu.be/mhcuWep74oI

Want to know how to braid hair click these links:http://youtu.be/jztzFjO-moM
                                                                        http://youtu.be/vz_LiYjIGD4




If you have any question leave a comment below and I will try my best to answer ASAP!

My Skin Care

A lot of people comment on my skin and say how nice it its. I think its ok, it could always be better lol. Here are the items I use Morning and night.



I Start off with a cleanser: Ultra Glow Black Soap. This soap helps to control acne and is a natural exfoliate. I also use black soap for my body as well and I have seen a new glow in my skin. You can find this product at Walmart by the black hair care products, it is about $3.

Then I tone my face, using L'Oreals HydraFresh Toner. It is aways important to tone the face after cleaning it because it balances out the skin's pH levels, removes dirt, oil, and make up left behind, and shrinks pores. I enjoy the toner because it is alcohol free and does not dry my skin. I purchased this item at Walmart it is about $6.

Finally I moisturize. I don't use a regular "face" lotion a lot of those are on the pricey side and I'm doing everything I can to save money. So I use the Equate (Walmart brand) daily moisturizing oatmeal lotion. It's compared to Aveeno's oatmeal lotion. It has the same ingredients, is less than half the price and you get more product. I bought this at Walmart for about $4.

Hair Tips

Here are some hair tips that I have learned so far on my hair journey!

For Natural & Relaxed Hair:

1. Deep Conditioning Tip: When rinsing out your regular conditioner, rinse it out with warm-hot water. This allows the cuticle of the hair to open right before you apply your deep conditioner. When the cuticle is open it makes it easier for the deep conditioner to do its job and penetrate through the hair. When rinsing out the deep conditioner, rinse it out with cold to cool water. This seals the cuticle shut and locks in moisture.

2. Blow Drying  Tip: When blow drying the hair before flat ironing, you want to make the hair as straight as possible. Use a paddle brush to help straighten the hair when blow drying on high heat. Blow dry your hair in 4-6 sections depending on how thick your hair is. Make sure each section is dangled well! When each section is dry  instead of turning the blow dryer off, hit the COOL SHOCK button. Blow dry the section a few times on cool. Remember HEAT OPENS the hair cuticle causing FRIZZ , COOL AIR/ WATER CLOSES the hair cuticle leaving hair smooth. This makes it a lot easier to flat iron. Remember to use a heat protector whenever you put heat in your hair!

2. Dangling Tip: ALWAYS USE A WIDE TOOTH COMB! When using a small tooth comb like a "rat tail comb" the spacing between the teeth are way too small to get through the knots and tangles we have, resulting in a lot of unnecessary breakage and hair loss. When dangling, start from the ends  slowly and gently work your way up to the roots (Always be gentle to your hair never rough). Always comb or brush your hair in sections. Following this tip will save you a lot of hair!

Promote Hair Growth With Oils

We have learned that hair grease is like food to our hair! Well in most cases it not! Its filled with synthetic ingredients that clog our pore, make our hair feels greasy, and provides a thick layer of shine that sit on top of the hair making our hair appear to be moisturized but really its just sitting there! Now if hair grease is working for your hair, and you like the results, then by all means don't fix something that is not broken! But if you are not happy with your hair length and your still using products like grease that are not made by African Americans! You might want to try a natural alternative that will actually treat, nourish, and promote hair growth through oils.






Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This is a medium oil that conditions the hair and scalp. It works to prevent hair loss and is a great cure for dandruff.

Coconut Oil: This oil when massaged into the scalp promotes hair growth, conditions and blinds to the proteins on the hair shaft and ends to rebuild hair and make the hair even stronger. This is a light oil. This oil come in a solid form and when heated it turn into oil!

Jojoba (Ha-ho-ba) Oil: This is a great oil for hair that is prone to breakage. Jojoba oil is a great moisturizing oil, it penetrates into the hair cuticle to lock in moisture! ( Very light oil).

Castor Oil: This oil is very thick! This oil promotes THICK hair growth. Just add it to the scalp using a color applicator (you can find a Sally's Beauty Supply). Massage into scalp 2-3 time a week.

Sweet Almond Oil: Smells great! Also used for the skin great for massages ;). The fats and fatty acids in this oil nourishes any hair type.

Safflower Oil: This oil contains high levels of vitamin E, which hydrates the hair. Because of the high levels of fatty acids this oil is recommended for ppl with relaxed, color treated, and other chemically treat hair.

Peppermint Oil. This oil is lovely. I creates a soothing cool feeling on the scalp (great to use in the summer). This oil also stimulates hair growth and balances pH levels. When using this oil mixed it with another oil. Peppermint oil alone can BURN YOUR SCALP.





Grape Seed Oil. If you like the feeling of your hair not being weighed down, this oil is for you! Its a very light oil, it absorbs into the hair quickly, has vitamin E and reduces frizz.



Argan Oil:  Gets rid of frizz. Helps protect hair from split ends, prevents breakage, and is a natural heat protector when blow drying or flat ironing the hair. This is also a very light oil and can be pretty pricey.  If you find argan oil that's under $15 for a small bottle (this oil is always in small bottles) Its not really argan oil. Buy 100% argan oil for these benefits!






Lavender Oil: Can improve hair texture. Must be mixed with other oils to promote hair growth.




Rosemary Oil:  Promotes healthy hair growth, helps stimulate blood flow to the scalp. This oil is very light
and does not clog your pores.

An easy way to apply oils to the hair and scalp is to add them to a color applicator bottel. This way you can control how much is applied!

All this oils can be found at a grocery store in the cooking isle, except for Castor Oil (can be found in the pharmacy department, its used to a laxative), and 100% Argan Oil (can be found in some expensive hair salons or on line amazon.com) . You can also shop around online for all this oils for the cheapest price. I myself do not use all this oils right now. But I do plan on it once day lol! I hope this information was helpful happy growing!!!

My Personal Hair Growth Challenge

First before I introduce you to my hair growth challenge let me give you a little back ground on my hair history. I have always had long  and thick hair! For me it is mainly genetics, from both sides of my family. When I was in Elementary school of course my mom or cousin would braid my hair. Adding barrettes and beads to the ends I guess to make it look more festive LOL! My mother would press it with a hot comb only on special occasions. Even after pressing it she would braid it right back up. My hair grew very long wearing "braids" as a protective style for my hair. In Middle School my mother had enough she couldn't or didn't want to do my hair any more it got too long and thick for her to handle. She told my dad she was going to get me a relaxer. He told her not to " It's gone break her hair off." She asked me what I wanted. I wanted straight hair like her so I said I want a relaxer ( I should have listened to my dad!). Got my virgin relaxer done i was juiced! And surprisingly my hair thrived off of the relaxer my hair grew even longer. I remember getting picked on because I had long hair. People putting tape in my hair, pulling my hair, making nasty weave comments! HATERS!!! LOL By the time I got to high school my hair had broken off a lil but it was still well past my shoulders. I remember I cut my hair a lil pass my shoulder length,  it grow back so fast girls kept asking me how I did it. At the time I really couldn't answer them because I really didn't know! My senior yr I cut my hair again thinking it will grow back and longer by prom! I was SOOO wrong! my hair was dry and all senior yr it stay at the same length I was pissed I had to get extensions for prom! In college I decided that my hair was much thicker and longer before my relaxer so a lil over a yr ago I decided to transition from relaxer to natural. I grew my hair out to arm pit length (APL) the relaxer in the back of my head BROKE OFF I was so hurt! I thought i was doing good my hair was growing and keeping its length. I did research and found out why. All my research is in the "hair essentials for beautiful tresses" post. Dec 31, 2010 I cut off all my relaxed ends about 5 inches, which left me with a shoulder length fro! Its cute though I love it! I've never felt more liberated.

            From January 2011-April 2011 I have been wearing protective styles and taking vitamins. My hair has grown from shoulder length to right above arm pit length! It grew about 3 1/2 inches in 4 months. If I keep this up my hair should be really long in no time. My goal is not just to have long hair but also to have healthy hair, and to know how to take care of my hair myself and not pay someone else to do it and NOT get any length in the process. So this is going to be my photo diary of my hair growth I'll try to post photos every 2-3 months.


My Personal Challenge: Using Minimal heat styling, Doing braid outs, moisturizing  and sealing, Taking multi vitamins, Washing my hair once a week. Doing mild protein treatments every other week, doing strong protein treatments every 6 weeks, and trimming/dusting my hair every 2 months. I plan on doing this challenge for six months it will end in OCTOBER. This challenge isn't just for natural hair you can be relaxed as well. If you want to do this challenge with me leave a comment below  and I will give the specifics. HAPPY GROWING!

VITAMINS I AM TAKING: Hairfinity. If you are interested in these multi vitamins check out there website hairfinity.com. Taking these helped my hair grow on average about an inch a month. Plus with all the B vitamins I had a lot more energy.

LENGTH CHECK PHOTOS!

April 22, 2011

Popular Hair Growth Terms

When Doing your own research for hair growth you will definitely find a lot of terms that describe hair length!
For Example:

SL (Shoulder Length) A lot of these are common sense. This is when the ends of the hair sit right on top of the shoulders.

APL (Arm Pit Length). When the ends of the hair reach to ones arm pits. I am between shoulder and arm pit length.

MBL (Mid Back Length). When the ends of the hair reaches the middle of the back pass bra strap. There is also BSL (Bra Strap Length). My goal is to reach MBL.

WL (Waist Length).  This is for the ladies and men who's hair reaches their waist!

Protein Treatments I Use

Some people have protein sensitive hair. When they put a strong protein alone in their hair the hair reacts by feeling really dry and brittle even after conditioning. For these people I suggest you use conditioners with light proteinn in them like my fav deep conditioner by ORS Replenishing Conditioner. This products has light proteins like silk amino acids the softly rebuild the hair structure by strengthening and conditioning the hair at the same time. Now ME on the other hand, a light protein is nice on my hair and the silk amino acids do make my hair silky but it does not put a stop to my breakage! I need stronger protein! My Favorite is ApHogee's Two Step Protein Treatment. This treatment is a salon treatment that can be done at home, just make sure you follow the directions to a "T." This treatment is for seriously damaged hair! Hair that is constantly breaking off and in need of extreme protein. This treatment should only be done every 6-8 week NO SOONER! This product really works! It smells HORRIBLE but it does the job! You apply it to the hair from root to ends make sure all of your hair gets the protein. Get a hand blow dryer and dry the hair. Now for ppl who do not do protein treatments this can get a lil scary lol! While you are drying the product on your hair, your hair is going to get EXTREMELY HARD literally you can knock on it and hear a sound lol! That's perfectly normal! when your hair is getting hair that just means the protein is working and rebuilding the hair. When the hair is in this state DO NOT comb or play with your hair. Too much movement to the hair when the hair is hard can litally snap off very easily. Even when rinsing the product out do not touch the hair just let the water run through it. No fear! When you wash the protein out your hair should not feel hard any more NOW REMEMBER! RIGHT AFTER YOU WASH THE PROTEIN OUT YOU MUST APPLY A BALANCING CONDITIONER!. You can USE the balancing conditioner that comes with the protein pack and/or deep conditioner after. I deep conditioner with ORS. After I do this I have NO BREAKAGE and I see my hair get longer as the weeks pass! Find out if your hair is protein sensitive before trying this product. This product is no joke!  You can find this product at Salley's Beauty Supply. I buy the packet because the bottle of this stuff is pretty pricey. The packets are only $3 and some change. I try to use it ever 6 weeks.

When I do not what to do a strong protein treatment something like a medium protein treatment works for me. I make it myself! I use Two eggs ( if your hair is shorter than shoulder length you should just use 1), Mayo (regular mayo that you put on sandwiches), olive oil, and coconut oil I don't not measure i just add enough so when I mix it up its creamy texture( you can add whatever oils you like!). I use this mixture as a Pre-Poo protein conditioner. This Conditioner is safe to use once a week, Just to add shine, body, and strength to the hair. I put it all over my hair from root to ends, then I apply a plastic cap leaving it to sit for a hour then rinse it out and shampoo, condition, and deep condition my hair as normal. Now when washing out hair with egg in it, remember to wash your hair with cold water, if you u do not you'll find scrambled eggs left in your hair! Coconut oil also bindes to the protein in the hair to keep the hair strong.