Monday, November 28, 2011

Trim & Regimen Experiment

TRIM: 
I'm trimming 3/4" of an inch.  My method is to put my hair in jumbo twists and trim the ends of the twists.  (I recommend doing smaller twists for a more accurate trim.)  This is my first trim in months.

REGIMEN EXPERIMENT:
Normally, I twist my hair for 3-4 weeks at a time during the cooler months.  This time, I'll maintain my summer regimen and twist biweekly.  My hair is getting harder to detangle (as it grows), so doing so 1x every 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks will make life easier.  It'll also be easier on my hair.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Black Friday Natural Hair Sales!

Wasijiru
11/25 thru 11/26
30% off w/ coupon code BLKFRI30

Anita Grant
11/24 7pm to 11/30 7pm
20% off entire store with free global shipping.

Bee Mine
11/25 midnight to 1:00am
30% off w/ coupon code 1HR30

For more sales (Carol's Daughter, Darcy's Botanicals, Butters-n-Bars, etc.), check out this blog.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

HHB Does Not Promote Misinformation

A comment was left by one of my readers stating that Afro-textured hair is drier because the scalp produces less sebum than those with naturally straighter hair.  This is not true.  In actuality, African Americans produce more sebum in the scalp than Caucasians and Asians.  HHB does not promote misinformation.  I do my best to blog the facts when blogging facts.  The myth that the scalp of African Americans is naturally dry has been busted by scientific research.

Thanks,
Loo

SOURCES:
SEBUM AND SCALP
SEBUM AND SKIN

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Moisture: An Oldie But Goodie

Here is a repost from July 26, 2009!!  Just in time for the Fall.

What causes these dry ends?

Sebum is the hair and scalp's natural conditioner. In straight hair, this oily substance can generally move down the shaft to the ends fairly easily because of the direct path. The hair's close proximity to the scalp as well as continual brushing and combing also aid in the transport process. As for textured hair? That is another story.

The coilier your hair, the harder it is for sebum to travel down to the ends. Here's my analogy: Imagine oil running along a straight road versus a path full of turns and twists. In the latter case, the oil may slow down or even get caught at each curve. By the time it reaches its destination, only a fraction of the oil will remain. There is also the possibility that it may never reach its destination. This process is basically what curly, coily, and kinky hairs experience. Additionally, factor in a minimal brushing/combing routine and the reality that some natural hair works against gravity (i.e., stands up and out away from the scalp). We ultimately have a case in which sebum just barely reaches the ends of our hair, if at all.

Now the explanation above is just one of many causes of dry ends. Other reasons are listed in this post on moisture and length retention.

How do you stop dry ends (due to inadequate sebum)?
Since sebum may barely, if at all, reach the ends of textured hair, it is necessary to quench and condition those ends. Here are some methods that work for me and may hopefully work for others:

*Discard harsh regular shampoos
Shampoos with SLS and other strong ingredients strip my hair (including my ends) of their natural oils. The shampoo I use on a regular basis contains more gentle substances. Other options to explore are conditioner washing or using homemade natural cleansers instead of a shampoo. Some people also do a treatment with oil at a warm or room temperature prior to washing to minimize sebum loss from their strands. (Click here for hot oil treatments.)

*Lather once when you shampoo
Minimal lathering equals minimal loss of whatever sebum is on my ends.

*No direct shampoo on the ends
I rarely expose my ends to direct shampoo. I just focus on the scalp and let the water and lather run down the rest of my hair.

*Saturate the ends with moisture and conditioner
Pay the most attention to your ends while conditioning and moisturizing.

*Invest in good products
Each individual head of hair is different, but this post may be a place to start in terms of what sealants, moisturizers, and conditioners to try.

*Eat foods containing omega-3 and vitamin A
Few people realize that foods, such as salmon, cantaloupe, and flaxseeds contribute to sebum production. For the omega-3 post, click here. For the vitamin A post, click here.

*Airdry the hair in a protective style
Protective styling isn't reserved for the protection of the ends. It has the added benefit, in my case, of helping my ends absorb and retain moisture post a washing session.

*Sleep with a silk scarf/pillowcase
The same added benefit applies here too.

How do you stop dry ends (due to porosity)?

I believe that another major contributor to dry ends in black hair is high porosity. What causes high porosity? Well, a number of things including gradual wear and tear of the hair. I really encourage anyone who believes they might have this issue to read this extremely informative article: Part 1 . For solutions to the porosity issues, do check out Part 2 as well: Part 2 .


SOURCES & MORE READS:

SEBUM
SEBUM & TEXTURED HAIR 1
SEBUM & TEXTURED HAIR 2: Randy Schueller, Perry Romanowski. "Conditioning agents for hair and skin".
SEALING (OILS & MOISTURE RETENTION)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Playlist for November


On repeat: Braided bun

Sounds like: Sade

Interlude: bi-weekly washes & detangling; weekly moisturizing



Monday, October 24, 2011

Tension Method: Blow Drying Relaxed or Natural Hair

The "tension method" is a gentler way to blow dry your tresses.  Below are two video tutorials depending on your hair's state:

Tension method on relaxed/texlaxed hair:



Tension method on natural hair:

Ulavu.Com

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