The one product everyone should have in their stash

I'm writing this post as public service announcement to everyone I know.  I don't want to be the cause of people going out and buying more product, but I still feel obligated to share this message, especially after an interesting Facebook exchange I had this week.

The product I'm talking about is It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In.  I've written about this product a couple of times before but I don't think I've truly expressed how import it is to me.  It all started when I saw a video of Tia Williams proclaiming her adoration for It's a 10 after it melted away her tangles.  So I went out and got it.  What I LOVE about this product is that it does it's job.  I bought it for one reason and one reason only, to deal with my tangles.  And that it does.

Whenever I have stubborn tangles, that once before would worry me, I simply walk over to my product stash and reach for my trusty friend.  A couple of days ago, I was contacted by a young lady who found herself in a dilemma when her hair matted up after removing her braids. My advice was to try using oil during the detangling process and, if she could, go out and by It's a 10 Leave In.  Turns out the young lady just happened to have a sample size of the product handy from her birch box kit. It was sitting there, unused, awaiting this special day.

I requested a follow up report after she used the product to let me know if it worked for her like it did for me and Tia.  The next day, I received an update.  She was able to rid herself of all the tangles using her sample sized savior.  What if fate hadn't intervened allowing her to have a bottle for  this very moment?  In her earlier message, she threatened to cut her hair if the issue hadn't been resolved.  Haven't we all been there? Suffering from tangles so severe that we figure cutting them is the only way out?  I dunno about you but I have. Now, when I get extreme tangling, I smile to myself knowing that in moments, the tangles will be a thing of the past (with very few casualties).

So that is why I'm recommending that everyone have this product on hand just in case.  I don't break out my bottle often, but when I do, I'm so glad I have it.  One thing I haven't done is actually use it as a leave-in which I will experiment with next wash day.  I'm not quite sure if I should test out their "lite version" of the leave-in for my roller set or stick with the original.  I'm also wondering about the rest of the product line since I already enjoy the original and the Keratin version..  After reading that Gabrielle Union swears by the It's a 10 conditioner, I'm contemplating  if I should try it for myself.

HAPPY ENDINGS: Sealing your ends for ultimate length retention

Life has been pretty darn good ever since I learned of Yayha's technique of applying additional protein products to the ends of our hair.  I've seen a noticeable improvement in the number of the small broken hairs that I used to be plagued with.  I didn't think things could get any better....until now.

Somehow, I stumbled upon another technique that also fortifies our ends and I'm excited to share it with you today.  This technique, my friends, is known as "sealing the ends." 

 

 

Here's how it would work.  You moisturize your hair as you normally would.  Perhaps you are employing the L.C.O. method where you start with a liquid, then your moisturizer followed by some oil to seal in the moisture.  But wait!  You're not done yet.  Finally you go back and apply another layer of oil to the ends, sealing them with even more moisture trapping goodness. 

 

Which oil should I use?

Preferably, when you are sealing your ends, you might want to reach for something that's a bit heavier in consistency than what you normally use on the rest of your hair.  I've experimented for the past several days using my Unpetroleum Jelly, which basically consists of castor oil, coconut oil, beeswax and vitamin E.  It has a thick consistency like Vaseline so I "diluted it" by mixing a little coconut oil into the mix and applied it to the last 3 inches of my hair. 

 

I also experimented with just plain coconut oil and pure vitamin E.  So far, I really like how the vitamin E feels in my hair.  As the weather conditions get harsher, I may experiment with even richer products like castor oil or pure shea butter.  This idea reminds me that I need to whip up another batch of my "Mega Omega" oil blend which I know my ends will love.

 

If some of you are concerned with walking around with greasy, oil ends, may I suggest to you to try this method at night if you want to experiment with heavier oils.  This gives the product ample time to absorb into the strand overnight.  It's been a few days since I've been utilizing this method and so far so good.  Depending on how your hair responds, you may only need to do this every few days. Or perhaps nightly, if you normally wear your hair out.  Maybe you find that you only need to seal once a week if you are constantly protective styling.  Your hair will tell you what to do. 

 

 I have a new found sense of confidence in the health of my ends.   First I learned a way to make them stronger, now this method for keeping them moist.  The timing couldn't be more perfect since drier air is fast approaching.  I should also mention that this method has been long revered by naturals to keep their ends in tip top shape.  Add this to the list of lessons we've learned.  I will keep my eyes and ears open for any other tips on creating amazingly healthy ends and post them as a part of this series. 

 

Do you have any special tips to keep your ends in tip top shape?

 

 



Seasonal Shedding? I'm not about that life

We've got to think on our feet and stay ahead of the game when it comes to this hair journey thing.  Right now, the only thing on my mind, is how to successfully avoid the excessive seasonal shedding as much as humanly possible.  I'm not talking about your normal, everyday shedding.  No, what I speak of is the viscous, non stop shedding that takes normally place right around the end of the year.

I look back to years past when I was plagued with an incredible amount of shedding.  Because of my relaxer touch-up schedule, I normally relax at the end of the year. So year after year, I would endure battle the shedding while having a bounty of new growth.  Shedding + New Growth = Tangles (massive ones).

Not this year though.  I think I have learned some tricks to help thwart my shedding. I intend to employ these techniques whole heatedly starting now. My focuses will be simple.  It's really all about making sure my scalp is well cared for while ensuring adequate circulation to the hair follicle.

Already, I'm noticing an increase flakes and dryness in my scalp.  This is not okay.  I see it as a sign of impending danger.  So I am taking the first step in my plan to prevent excessive shedding by increasing my water intake.  It's not as hot as it used to be and I'm noticing the need to drink lots of water is subsiding.  So I have decided to become more regimented in my water drinking.  Which means going back to having clear goals around how much water I consume.  Right now, I shoot for 2 liters or more a day.  Another reason why I'm drinking lots of water is maintain proper circulation throughout my body.  I have a sneaky suspicion that our circulation isn't as high in fall/winter season as in summertime which could be a factor in the shedding.

Another reason why I'm ramping up the water intake is because I'm constantly reminded of a conversation I had with a friend.  She told me that her stylist was always able to tell when she wasn't drinking enough water based on the condition of the scalp.  Then I think about some of the experiences shared on a forum when they challenged themselves to drink more water.  Several stated that their hair began to hold moisture better, others talked improved skin benefits, etc.  We, too, shall drink our water so we can experience all of that and more!

Along with the additional water intake, I also focusing on manual stimulation/circulation as well.  For over a month, I've challenged myself to exercise my scalp daily. This could include massages, scalp brushing, and even hair pulling.  Whatever I takes to bring more blood flow, I'm with it!  Whenever I consistently exercise my scalp, my shedding decreases. So, I'm committed to keep this up throughout the rest of the year.

A couple of other things I will keep doing is stimulating the scalp with essential oils on wash days (and more frequently if necessary).  Then I also need to make sure I drink lots of bamboo tea throughout fall and winter months.  The tea contains hair healthy nutrients that help my hair and scalp tremendously. Back in my vitamin rotation is cayenne pepper which is amazing at increasing internal circulation on so many levels.

 I've already employed these strategies and so far, so good.  I look forward to completing the fall/winter season without the paralyzing fear of having to battle unnecessary shedding.  Wish me luck.

Happy Endings: Can this process help stop your ends from breaking?

This  post is the third installment in a series of conversations we have with a hip length blogger by the name of Yahya, If you haven't had a chance to read Yahya's regimen in this post, stop whatever you are doing and head over there now.....I'll wait.

Her regimen is so detailed that I'm sure everyone learned from her sharing.  Me included.  Days prior to learning about her regimen, I was going for a walk when a thought crossed my mind.  I reflected back to scalp massage session I was engaged in prior to bed.  The good news was that my hair didn't shed much at all during the session.  I attribute that to my daily scalp massages.   Now here's the bad news, the amount of short broken hairs, although not excessive, was too much for my taste.  I thought to myself "if there was a way to stop, or minimize the breakage to my ends, I would be forever grateful."  After sharing my intentions, I allowed myself the freedom to continue to focus on other thoughts, knowing the answer would somehow appear.  
 

Little did I know that a solution would come to me within days.  As I'm reading Yahya's regimen, I happen upon a line that stopped me dead in my tracks.  When she said "another thing I do to my ends is to treat it with more protein than the rest of my hair," it was like a bolt of lightning struck me.  Everything she said made complete sense.  I was so intrigued by her comment that I reached out to her to find out more detail around her process.  

Here's what she stated:

"In between every other wash, like every week and a half, I co-wash my ends with a protein conditioner. Only my ends.  This also helps give my hair  some volume.  Sometimes, if I feel my ends really need it, I'll baggy them after co-washing, like a little deep conditioning treatment.  Half the time when I use protein throughout my hair, I don't apply to my new growth, especially if it's a medium or heavy protein.  When I start flat ironing my new growth, what I will do is add some protein ingredients to my caramelization treatment to give it a little extra strength against direct heat." 

 I was not privy to her exact process last week when I first posted her regimen.  But I was still excited about the idea of focusing protein on the ends.  So I decided to do something a little different last wash day.  It was time to do a strengthening treatment using my Pure Protein.  (*Side note* I love Pure  Protein because it can be used with my favorite moisturizing conditioner.  This helps me avoid having overly stiff hair following my by-weekly protein treatments.**)   I added half a capful, to a small portion my Silicon and Kamechon mix and proceeded to apply the deep conditioner  to the ends of my hair (probably the last 3 inches or so).  Once done, I waited for 15-20 minutes before mixing in more conditioner to the blend to dilute its protein contents. Then I applied it to the rest of my hair.  So the conditioner on my ends had greater protein levels then on the length of my hair and the conditioner remained on my ends longer than the rest of my hair.

Did this work?  You bet it did!  I have noticed less breakage overall but more importantly, fewer of the little broken pieces which have plagued me for so long.  I manipulated my hair quite a bit with finger styling just to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Although it didn't stop my breakage 100%, I do see the potential in this process adding even more strength to my hair as time goes on.  It's been a while since my ends have felt as strong as they are now.  This will make a huge impact in retention in the long run.  Thank you again Yahya, for helping to inspire us.

MUST SEE!! My Komaza Hair Analysis Results (PIC HEAVY)

This is one of the most exciting posts that I've written in a while.  A dream of mine finally came true.  For the longest, I've wanted to have my hair analyzed and now I can scratch it off my bucket list.  You may remember from part 1 of this series that I sent over some hair samples to the good folks at Komaza hair care.  Once they received the hair and analyzed it, I was contacted to discuss the results via phone consultation.

To be honest with you. I was deathly afraid of what would come back. Why?  Because for the past 4-6 months, I've been pretty negligent with my hair.  I haven't been giving it the attention it deserves and was experiencing, first hand, the result of my actions.  I was so nervous, in fact, that I trimmed (cut) around 2 inches so I can get a head start on getting everything back on track.

The person on the other line was super friendly.  She took her time to discuss my results and answer any questions.  There were lots of pics but I wanted to show you the most interesting ones.  So without further adieu, let's get started....

There were several slides of my hair roots included in the summary.  She stressed that they look closely at the root to see if there are any signs of thinning.  All of my shed hair had a full, healthy bulb. In her words, "healthy root means healthy growth."  I'm glad to hear that.

This was probably one of the coolest images. Check out this knot.  Years ago, I was plagued with single strand knots but lately, not so much.  In fact, if I hadn't seen this pic, I wouldn't even thought about single stand knots as a concern. But now that I'm confronted with this image, I will be on the lookout to determine if this is a random occurrence or something I should be worried about.

There were several pics depicting various types of breakage.  Some at the end of the strand, some in the middle.  Just looking at these pictures make me cringe.   The stress point damage (below), she said, could be caused by me wearing a bun in the same place day in and day out.  The mid shaft breakage could be contributed to over manipulation coupled with lack of protein.

Another thing she mentioned was that I seemed to have obvious product buidup.  She invited me to introduce a baby shampoo into my regimen. The recommendation of a baby shampoo is so my scalp does not get irratated due to my seborrheic dermatitis.

Even with the graphic images depicting violent breakage, the consultant told me that overall, I had healthy hair.  I was shocked.  These pics completely freaked me out.  Honestly, I thought I'd have to shave it all off and start all over again.  She told me that she had to search the samples to find examples of breakage for the sake of the discussion.  Believe it or not, she said that, overall, my hair had good elasticity and took several firm tugs before the strand broke. Although most of my distressed strands showed signs of cuticle lifting, she said that severity of the lift was relatively minor (considering that I was relaxed) and could be easily be addressed. 

Oh, she also acknowledged me several times during our conversation for the amount of water I drink daily (takes a long swig from water bottle).

We talked specifically about what actions I should take based on my hair's strengths and opportunity areas.  I took copious notes and will discuss my next steps in full detail in a follow up post.  Even though I'm a veteran at this hair game, there were still some new insights that I got from the consultation. Can't wait to share with you!!!!

What do you think of these pics, pretty crazy huh?

If anyone is thinking of of doing this in the future, you can use the referral code 8n2sA6 to receive a 5% discount off the cost.

The one true secret to thick, healthy ends revealed!

My philosophy, throughout my hair journey, has always been to create healthy hair by systematically seeking out and identifying my hair's major concerns (one by one) and working feverishly to eradicate them. Over time, I've focused my attention on managing moisture levels, addressing breakage, creating a healthy scalp, avoiding shedding and promoting thicker hair. Now it's time to turn my attention to maintaining thicker, fuller ends.

Thin, weak ends are common place for those of us who relax our hair. In any given day, one doesn't have to look far to find someone who relaxes and struggles to maintain thickness from root to tip. Often, when I read emails from some of you asking about hair advice, one of the areas I'm asked about is regarding creating healthy ends. Currently I'm at point in my hair journey where my focus is shifting to the ends of my hair. If I'm able to overcome this issue then my hair will be the best it's ever been. Thick, healthy ends must happen. Since I don't do much protective styling, I was a bit stumped as to how I would get these results.

It was while writing an email that I came to the conclusion that the ends of our hair will thrive under only one condition. One thing (and one thing only) makes it possible for us to have strong thick ends. And that one thing ladies is.....protection. Before you dismiss my advice as something you've heard before, let me just say that this "protection" I speak of goes way beyond the typical protective styling mantra that you've heard over and over again. Sure, protective styling is obviously the holy grail of protection. It's also fastest way to promote beautiful ends. But I'm a woman who believes in a holistic approach to addressing any and all issues. With that said, let's talk about the other means that you can protect your precious ends beyond just protective styling.

So what are some of the things we have to protect our hair from?


AIR (Dryness)

The greatest strength of protective styling is it's ability to provide unparallelled protection from the drying effects of air. Having our ends tucked away for the duration of the day is ideal. I remember the days when I used to do lots of protective styling under a baggy. When I took down the bun at the end of the day, my ends felt (and looked) amazing. If I were disciplined enough to maintain that practice day after day for an extended period of time, I'm certain that dryness would not be a concern for me. Avoiding dryness is key because anything and everything that is dry is highly susceptible to breakage. Moisture gives the hair the ability bend and flex without the concern of damaging repercussions. If your ends are seriously dry, begin to incorporate protective styling into your regimen right away. Other options would be moisturizing and sealing the ends on a regular basis or misting the hair from time to time to amp up moisture levels. Whatever you decide to do, don't allow your ends to remain in a state of dryness.

Breakage (weakness)
This week, while I was doing my hair, I noticed that most of the hair I lost, while styling, were not the long strands with the bulbs at the end (shedding) they were the little short little hairs (breakage). One thing I DO NOT mess around with is breakage. If left alone to it's own devices, breakage will rob us of every inch of progress ever made. Immediately I reacted with a (needed) minor trim and some coconut oil to elevate protein levels. Now my ends are behaving again thanks to my quick action. On next wash day, I will conduct a light protein treatment to address any lingering concerns and prevent future excessive breakage. Protecting your ends from breakage is essential otherwise you are bound to have thin looking, even ends. Anytime you see excessive breakage, act. Don't ignore.....act.

Heat

Do you protect your hair from heat? Or are you one of those people the pass the flat iron over the ends three or four times to makes sure your ends look super straights and perfect? If you find yourself grabbing for the flat iron day after day and exposing your ends to heat, then you are asking, no begging, for damaged ends. As the protector of your ends, your job is to do everything you can to keep your ends from succumbing to the damaging effects of heat. If that means investing money on an ultra-high end heat protectant, then consider it. If that means putting the flat iron away for a while, so be it! A while back I wrote a post discussing what happens when we actually comb our hair. Each time we do it, we are chipping away at the protective layers that cover the hair shaft. One practice that I've incorporated in my regimen is avoid combing on an every day basis. I'm happy to say that I've mastered the art of finger styling. Pretty much the only time I truly use the comb is on wash days when I'm trying to remove shed hairs. Even then, I make sure I'm using some specialized tools to help me with this process. Laying off the comb has helped me preserve thickness overall and I'm sure it's benefiting my ends as well.

FRICTION

One thing I pay close attention to is the type of material my hair brushes up against on a regular basis. On long flights and car rides, my hair is almost always tied up in a cute scarf. Even when laying on the couch to watch a movie, I'm aware that I need to tie my hair up. There's no difference, to me, between laying on the couch and when I go to bed at night. In both cases where I know that my ends will be rubbing back and forth against material, I make sure I use protection. Another way I manage the friction that occurs from just my normal practice of wearing my hair down is by reapplying a light layer of oil on my ends from time to time throughout the day. I've gone as far as to tie a scarf around my car's headrest for those times when I'm wearing my hair down. Whatever it takes to get the job done.



Relaxers
Every time I stretch my relaxer application, I'm protecting my hair (and my ends). But I know that stretching is not enough. I also have to ensure that I'm taking major precautions to protect the length of my hair every time I relax. So that means that I'm taking the time to apply some sort of product that acts like a barrier between my previously processed hair and the relaxer run-off. Protecting your ends everyday is important but one must never forget to elevate the protection levels on relaxer day. It's critical if you are serious about healthy hair.

Ourselves
I save this one for last because, for me, this is THEE most damaging influence on my hair. My constant (mindless) hair fondling has cost me big time in the past. There was a point in time where I would play with the back of my hair non-stop. Guess what happened....just guess. Yep, my nape quickly became short, broken and fragile. It was all my fault. A few times in my life I've seen women with 4b/c hair with serious length. Most often, they wore their hair in a simple pony tail. From my observation, I'm pretty certain those women wore the same style almost daily without much manipulation or touching. If I were one of those women who wasn't so obsessed with my hair, I guarantee you that I'd have way more length. More than anything, I need to protect my hair from myself. There are certain areas that I tend to go for whenever I wanna play in my hair. Wouldn't you know it, those are the same areas that seem to always struggle the most. So I've decided to take some of my own advice and allow myself the chance to truly benefit from all the my hard work without sabotaging it.

Remember that our ends are the senior citizens of our hair. They are fragile and require much more care and attention then our new growth. Yes, our hair needs moisture and strength but even moreso, it requires our protection. That is what allows our hair to thrive. I saw a sign once at a local park. The sign was located in a heavy populated area where pedestrians enjoy playing Frisbee. The sign said "please use the sidewalk, the grass is resting." It had several brown spots from being trampled by park goers. What would happen if no one were allowed to walk over that grass for months? That area would be so green, lush and thick. That's what I'm doing with my hair, I'm officially "resting" my ends for a while and soon I'll be able to enjoy full, thick hair from root to tip.

I protective style with extensions but my hair is still damaged!

From time to time I get an email that sounds something like this: "I need some advice. I recently took out my weave but my hair is thin, tangled and damaged." I don't know what happened, I've been protective styling for months, why does my hair look so bad?"

As a matter of fact, I had the exact same conversation the other day with a woman I met at a social event the other day.

Normally, when we decide to hide our hair with extensions or braids, our end goal is to retain length and promote thickness. So let's talk a little bit about how we can make sure that happens. I'll first start off by saying that protective styling with weave isn't something I normally do so technically, I'm not an expert on this subject. I have worn sewed in extensions once but it was a horrible experience that I would never forget. Looking back, if I could get the chance to make that decision again, there's a lot I would do differently.

First, I would think about my goals. Am I protective styling to give my hair a break or promote growth? Do I want to create thicker hair when it's all said and done? How will I do it?

Start by addressing any current issues

Normally, when we opt for extensions, we come to a place where we no longer want to deal with our hair and so we seek out a way escape our current situation. Here's the problem with that logic, if your hair was damaged or weak prior to the install, chances are you might find the same issues staring you in the face when the extensions come out. Now let's talk about what to do before your weave install. Putting first things first, the absolute best thing to do (weeks) before your weave install is to identify and address all hair issues. Simply putting your hair in a weave won't suddenly make spilt ends disappear. Prior to protective styling with weave, see if your hair requires any of the following:

-A thorough detangle

-Deep conditioning/hot oil or steam treatment

- A protein treatment

-A trim or a mini-cut

-A clarifying scalp treatment

Opt for weave styles that work with your goals

Once you've got some of the hair issues under control, then you can focus on and decide what type of weave you will be wearing. All extensions are not created equal. There are various methods of installing from using glue, crochet needles, sewing in, braiding, twisting, etc. If your end in mind is to create health and thickness, go with an option where the installation method works with your goals not against them. You don't want glue in tracks if your intention is to create healthier hair. You also want to avoid weave styles that add a bunch of tension on the hair strand. Styles that require beaucoup bags of weave that add 25 lbs of extra weight on your head will do you no favors. If your edges are a concern, getting micro braids isn't an option. There are a multitude of hairstyles available to you so take time to learn about the pros and cons of your hair styling options.

Don't forget about your hair

I'll never forget the time I wore braids back in the day, my morning preparation time was cut in half. I didn't have to do anything to my hair before walking out the door. Luckily for me, 6 weeks was probably the longest I could stand to wear a weave. I can't imagine what the condition of my hair would be if I went 3-5 months or longer without having any access to my hair. When we get extensions, we tend to do things that we normally wouldn't do like go swimming everyday in a chlorine filled pool or start gelling edges down to match the weave texture or go longer without washing, etc. These actions are out of the ordinary us. We sometime use extensions as an excuse opportunity to do things that are not so good for the health of our hair. Even leaving the hair alone and not moisturizing or washing for 2 months is cruel and unusual punishment for your hair. Before choosing your protective weave style, think about how you will care for it during the time when your hair is hidden. That way you avoid any surprises when the weave comes out.

Feed your hair and scalp

Often, when we protective style with weave. We just leave our hair alone and let it do it's thing. I think this is a huge mistake. To me, this is the perfect time to proactively focus on promoting growth. Knowing that every inch of hair will be retained is even more motivation to focus on our growth. If I were to protective style with extensions, I would make certain that I maintained my habit of taking vitamins or continued with healthy scalp massages and so on. The weave will take care of preserving your ends, now you've gotta make sure you are ramping up the growth to maximize your experience. Also, don't forget to do things like moisturizing and sealing whenever possible. Everything will dry out if left along including the hair that is protected under the extensions. Sometimes moisturizing and sealing will be easy, like when you are wearing braids. Other times, it might get a little tricky and you may have to find creative ways to get to your hair (like using a spray mister to moisturize your cornrows). Either way, make sure you still do it from time to time.

Start the healthy hair process again as soon as you have access to your hair

So after hiding your hair for months, you've finally decided to see how your hard work paid off. You take the weave out and "ta-da" you've gained and retained some length. The biggest mistake you can make at this point is start (excessively) playing with your hair, using heat constantly to show off your newfound length, etc. Yes, I understand how exciting it is to enjoy your hair, especially, when you are seeing some viable growth. One thing you must remember is that a seed is most vulnerable when it first sprouts. The same thing goes for the length achieved after weave styling. This type of retention is a bit "un-natural" because it occurred under special circumstances. Your hair thrived under an ideal environment so your job is to continue to create the ideal environment even after the weave is gone.