10 Tools to Transcend the Tangles

Detangling.  Sort of a dirty word for curly, kinky and coily haired naturals.  Childhood memories of sitting between my mothers legs holding a cup of water as she sprayed Johnson & Johnson’s No More Tangles, then dipped a brush into the water to distribute the product throughout my matted mane followed by the snap, crackle and eventual pop of another broken comb. *sigh* These are not happy memories.  And while detangling is still unavoidable there are some tricks to make it much easier.

First and foremost always detangle hair when it is wet, preferably in the shower.

Second, avoid piling your hair on top of your head when washing.  This will only create more tangles and add to your frustration.

Third, use a good slippery conditioner.  This will coat the hair and help the comb glide through the tangles and snares without ripping and breaking the hair.

Fourth,do finger comb!  Your fingers are great tools for starting the detangling process.  Plus you can actually feel when you get to a tough snarl and work to untangle it.

Fifth, always detangle from the END to the ROOT. Starting at the roots will result in forming giant knots at the ends of the hair that can be impossible to remedy.

Lastly, use the right tool.  There are many tools out there that do a great job detangling curly hair.  So how do you find the perfect one? Check out some of these combs used by other naturals.

Wide-Tooth Comb: Considered a curly staple, there are many varieties like this Conair Shower Comb available at any drugstore for around $2. http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?skuId=445906&productId=445906&WT.mc_id=Shopping_Feed_Products_Google_Free_Listing

Detangling Comb:  Available at any BSS these combs have sturdy handles and curved teeth designed to glide through hair. http://www.sallybeauty.com/Detangling-Comb/SBS-502112,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair10

Shampoo Massage Brush: This is perfect for shorter hair curlies rockin a TWA.  While I would not even attempt to use on my own hair I have used these on my kids when they were younger and it worked great.

http://www.sallybeauty.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-SA-Site/default/Search-Show?q=shampoo+massage+brush

Denman Brush: They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and this brush is often imitated by styling toolmakers around the world.  These brushes will set you back a pretty penny though they are said to last nearly forever.  While they are worth the investment, you can get a knock-off from the dollar store that works well also. http://us.denmanbrush.com/denman-brushes.aspx Available at Sally’s Beauty Supply.

Kakakiki Kombbrush: This brush is said to work only in one direction with the hooks of the bristles pointed away from the scalp.  Available online only http://www.kakakiki.com/.  Review http://www.happygirlhair.com/2009/09/mysteries-of-kakakiki-reavealed.html

Ouidad Double Dentangler: This is a monster brush with long tines and a lot of weight, perfect for long thick curly hair.  Pricey, yes but if you like my sister have a history of snapping combs in two, it is worth it! http://www.ouidad.com/Double-Detangler

Magic Star Jumbo Rake: This comb is made of natural hard rubber and hand-sawn so there are no seams that can snag the hair.  Used world-wide by individuals and professionals. http://www.hotcombs.net/products/Magic-Star-Jumbo-Rake.html

Mason Pearson Detangling C2 Comb: Another comb with a popular following. http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/store/products/Mason-Pearson-Comb%2C-Detangling%23C2.html

Tangle Teezer: This fascinating compact brush is said to be amazing for detangling even the thickest curly hair.  Purchase it here in the US from Sally’s Beauty Supply in stores or online.

Hair Facts: Elasticity

Hair elasticity is the amount a hair strand will stretch and then return to its beginning length, without breaking. These measurements are classified as high, medium, or low. Usually, a hair strand with medium elasticity will stretch up to half of its length and then return to its original length. A hair strand with low elasticity will stretch up to one third of its length and will often break during this process.  A hair strand with high elasticity will stretch up to double its length, then return to its original length.

Elasticity is important because it is a measure of the tensile strength of your hair. Did you know that a healthy strand of hair can support a 100 gram weight without breaking?  That is the equivalent of 40 pennies being suspended from one single strand of hair.  Elasticity is dependent upon a healthy cortex, a hair shaft that has poor elasticity can break easily with grooming and with product application.

To determine the elasticity of your hair take a few strands of your wet hair from different sections of your head.  One at a time place each end of the strand between your thumb and index finger on each hand and gently pull.  If the hair stretches a bit, then returns to its original length you have medium elasticity.  If it snaps and breaks while stretching, you have low elasticity.  If it stretches a long way, then when released it does not fully return to its original length you have high elasticity.

While your elasticity can change with age, diet, the biggest factor is styling.  Over exposure to heat and chemicals are the leading reasons for low elasticity.

You can improve your hairs elasticity through hair care.

• If you have low elasticity you hair needs additional moisture.  Avoid using protein-laced products and look into a hydrating hair mask.  If you are looking to achieve elongation or straighter looks try banding or braiding wet hair, allow to dry then release.  This will gently stretch the hair without too much stress or heat.
• If you have high elasticity your hair needs additional protein.  Step up your protein products.  Avoid heavier styling creams that will weigh down your hair and further elongate your curls or waves.  Try plopping or pineappling your hair if long, else try twisting your wet hair to give your curls more life.
• If you have normal porosity remember to keep a healthy balance of both protein and moisture and keep doing what you are doing.

Remember to check your hair’s health regularly and vary your hair regimen accordingly.

 

Old-Fashioned Black Hair Superstitions

 

While reading and researching for the next meet-up I came across some hair myths related to Black hair and it made me think back to silly things I remember my grandmothers, great-aunts and god-mother said:

 

1. Remove and burn the hair from the brush after you are done styling to prevent someone from hexing you.
2. Don’t comb your hair outside or if a bird uses it for it’s nest you will go crazy.  Or that if you do comb your hair outside it is good carma if a bird uses it for its nest.
3. Never allow more than one person to work on your hair or your hair will fall out.  You always keep the same stylist and if he is busy you wait until they have an opening.
4. The “Growing Hand” is a label given to a stylist that is so good their manipulation of your hair will cause it to grow.
5. If a pregnant woman styles your hair you will become pregnant also.
6. If you cut a child’s hair before they can talk you will cut their speech.
7. If you shave a child’s hair too soon it will grow back nappy.
8. Once you cut your hair, place a lock in the Bible for good luck/protection.
9. It is bad luck for a woman to cut a man’s hair.
10. You should only cut your hair on a full moon in order for it to grow thick and healthy.

So there are a few from the book and a few I remember from my childhood.  What do you think about these myths? Do you follow any of these? What are some that you can remember?

Tips for Low Porosity Naturals

I talked about porosity a few posts ago but as a refresher, porosity is the measure of absorption in the cuticle layer of your hair.  The cuticle layer of your hair is arranged like shingles on a roof.  A tight, compact shingle pattern make penetration difficult yielding low porosity.

So how do you know if you have lo-po hair?  Well when you apply products, particularly heavy creams or butters, does it feel like the product is just sitting on top of your hair rather than being absorbed?  Do you have to drench and dunk your hair in water to get it wet?  Does your hair tend to resist chemical treatments like coloring?  If you answered yes then you may have lo-po hair.  Another way is to do a porosity test by placing a clean, dry, product-free strand of hair in a bowl of water.  If the hair floats at the top of the water you have low porosity.

So what is a natural with lo-po hair to do?  Well below are tips from NaturallyCurly.com member Marah Mizrahi on caring for lo-po hair:

Here are a few [product] suggestions. The Kinky Curly Line is a good one. Curl Junkie is another one that has decent products for low porosity hair. Tigi Moisture Maniac Conditioner. Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner. Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hair Remoisturizer.

Any line that has humectants and emollients that soften the hair. Try not to go oil or protein over board. Low porosity hair doesn’t need a lot of either one. Some low porosity folks find they are extremely oil sensitive and avoid mostly all oils, especially coconut oil.

I can’t recommend Carol’s Daughter because I don’t like the line at all. I also don’t recommend Miss Jessies or Mixed Chicks.

A lot of people with low porosity have to find ways to get things inside their hair shaft. Because the cuticle is tight what you try to do is raise the cuticle so the products can penetrate.

Ways to do this is use Very warm (not hot) water before your conditioner is apply. Another way is steam (some people invest in steamers or create their own). You can apply your conditioner to wet hair and put a plastic cap and sitting under a hooded dryer with conditioner on the hair which is basically a heated deep treatment. The most important thing is to get moisture in and the way to do that is raise the cuticle. Alkaline type solutions do this as well.

A controversial way to do it is to use baking soda treatments on the hair. Where you basically add a little bit into your conditioner and rinse it out. You have to make sure to rinse with cold water or use very diluted apple cider vinegar to close the cuticle back though. I say this is controversial because some people swear by it, others think it’s a bad idea to use baking soda in the hair.

Try to find water based products that contain humectants. A humectant would be like glycerin, pathenol, honey, aloe, fructose, glucose, hydrolyzed silk, urea, propylene glycol, etc. Ingredients that draw moisture to the hair.

You’ll have to test the glycerin because some folks feel they are glycerin sensitive. If you have very low porosity hair though as you describe..this might help you out provided you don’t’ live in an extremely dry climate and it’s probably one of the easiest humectants to spot on the ingredient list of products.

Avoid protein laden products. Look for richer conditioners with great emollients but not a bunch of unnecessary oils. You’ll probably want to avoid a lot of oily products, silicones, mineral oils, petroleum anything that can super coat the hair shaft since you already have a compact hair cuticle you don’t really need to use a lot of oily ingredients to majorly coat the hair. Because you want a decent amount of moisture drawn to your curls so if you use any oils just be picky and use the least amount you can.

Some low porosity folks actually prefer to use shampoo as opposed to conditioner washing only because of the fact that it (shampoo) ingredients helps to opens the cuticle. They look for a good moisturizing shampoo that doesn’t terribly strip the hair. Some are fine with sulfates,others are not. If you still want to avoid sulfates but use shampoo try to find a decent moisturizing one. Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose is a good one, so is Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo.

Thank you Marah so much for tips for the lo-po naturals.  The Cherry Lola treatment is also popular for lo-po naturals, this treatment can be found in my previous notes.  If you do Cherry Lola or another baking soda treatment be sure to follow with something  moisturizing! https://derbycitynaturals.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/cherrylola-no-frizz-protein-treatment/

Hair Cuticle Images.

Hair Facts: Porosity

Porosity is a key component to hair moisture.  Porosity is the measure of absorption in the cuticle layer of your hair.  Hair can be described as high, average and low porosity. The cuticle layer of your hair is arranged like shingles on a roof.  A tight, compact shingle pattern makes penetration difficult yielding low porosity. A loose, raised shingle pattern makes penetration easy yielding high porosity. In between is medium porosity.

Low porosity hair is resistant to water, heat and processing.  Products tend to lay on top of the hair shaft rather than be absorbed. Good deep treatments for low porosity hair include alkaline solutions like baking soda in order to open up the hair shaft.  Those with low porous hair should avoid thick creams or butters as they will not be absorbed and leave hair feeling greasy.

High porosity hair absorbs and releases product readily. For this reason it is more prone to dryness and damage from heat and processing because the cuticle remains open. Highly porous hair requires the use of oils, butters or silicones to seal the moisture into the hair to avoid evaporation.  Those with highly porous hair should use acidic solutions like vinegar to close the hair shaft.

Average porosity hair will absorb and retain water and products.  While you have a given hair porosity, you can change the condition of your cuticle through mistreatment.  Excessive heat,over-processing or harsh detergents can cause damage to the cuticle layer resulting in high porosity hair that is dry.  It is also said that frequent prolonged henna treatments can seal the cuticle layer resulting in low porosity hair that is also dry.

There are simple tests to help determine your hair porosity.  Grab a single strand of hair with one hand then using the other hand slide two fingers up the hair strand from the end to the root with the strand between them.  If the strand feels smooth or polished like rubbing wood with the grain, you have low porosity.  If the strand feels bumpy or ruffled, like when you rub velvet against the nap, you have high porosity.  Another way to test porosity is to place a single strand of clean, dry hair in a bowl of water. If the hair sinks to the bottom you have porous hair.  If the hair floats on top of the water you have low porosity hair.  If the strand floats in the middle you have medium porosity.

 

The pink sponge with its larger holes represents high porosity. The blue sponge with small hardly noticeable holes represents low porosity. The yellow sponge represents medium porosity.

Hair Facts: Density

Density is often confused with texture although they are different. Density is the numbers of hairs in an area. Density is described as thin, normal and thick.

If you parted your hair into 1”x1” sections then counted the number of hairs in each section this would be the density. In general, most people will have thin hair around the temples meaning this area will have fewer hairs. The scalp is easily visible in thin sections without parting because the area is less dense. You will also find that most people will have thick hair in the back meaning this area will have more hairs. The scalp is not visible in thick sections without parting because the area is more dense.

Why is it important to know your hair density? It aids in styling. If your hair is thin, you should part in larger sections to show less scalp and make the hair appear thicker. If your hair is thick, you should part in smaller sections to define better and decrease some of the volume. Thicker hair will require more product than thin hair as there are more hairs to apply it to.

Your hair texture and hair density are independent of one another. Course hair texture and thick hair density result in the appearance of “bigger” hair. Fine hair texture and thin hair density result in the appearance of lesser hair. Texture is an important factor to consider in chemical or heat styling, while density is not.

My daughter and I have “big” hair but it is not the same. I have a thick hair texture and normal hair density. She has medium hair texture and thick hair density. If you saw our hair in a ponytail it would appear similar. However upon closer inspection you would find that she has more hairs per square inch than I do, while my individual hair strands are thicker.

So why is density important?  It helps in determining how long a style will take and how much of a product will need to be used.  Those with very thick dense hair may not want to take on pixie braids or mini-twists as these tiny styles will take longer because they have more hair.  Also those with thin hair need not use as many rollers when curling their hair as they have less hair.

Hair Facts: Texture

Hair texture is simply the diameter of the hair strand. It can be described as fine, medium or coarse. Most people do not have the same texture all over their head; hair is normally finer around the hairline and nape of the neck. Your hair texture can also change as you get older; babies are born with very fine hair that thickens as they get older.

Fine hair also known as soft or baby hair can appear limp, thin and does not hold a style well. Fine hair is easy over processed in styling and can yield flyaways due to its lack of bulk. Fine hair in general has less protein and is often over moisturized.

Medium hair is normal, neither fine nor coarse, but just in the mid range.

Coarse hair is stronger and bulkier than fine or medium hair. Coarse hair normally requires extensive styling (higher heat, stronger chemicals, longer process times) in order to penetrate the hair shaft as it is somewhat resistant to styling. Coarse hair in general has greater amounts of protein and is often dry.

How do you determine your hair texture? Well this can be made from simple observation. Grab a single strand of hair at the root between your thumb and index finger and slide toward the end. If it feels barely there like cashmere sweater or baby hair then it is fine. If it feels substantial like a piece of thread then your hair is coarse. Somewhere in the middle then your then your hair is medium. Check different parts of your head (front middle and back) as you can find different textures in different parts of your head. You can also pluck a strand of hair and compare it to a friend’s or relative’s.

Why is it important to know your hair’s texture? The main reason is so you can anticipate how your hair will respond to styling processes. For example, when chemically processing hair (color, perm, relax, etc) fine hair will need the shortest amount of processing time while coarse hair will need to longest. In heat styling fine hair requires a lower heat and/or shorter time and will have a tendency to fall straight so sprays or gels are needed to help hold the curl. However, coarse hair will require higher heat and/or longer time and will have a tendency to retain the curls for longer without the aid of sprays or gels. Fine hair responds better to roller sets as opposed to a press and curl. Coarse hair can be roller set but can take a lot longer to completely dry so it is often easier to press and curl. It is important to note that no hair is resilient and that all hair can still experience permanent damage from extreme heat.

Hair Facts: 101

I realize that a lot of women do not know about the structure of their hair. Naturals in general get so caught up in hair type (spiral curls, s-wave, z-shaped kinks) and do not realize that hair type has nothing to do with the structure of their hair.

Hair type has as much to do with the structure of your hair as your skin color does the structure of your skin. Nothing!

If you really want to know the answers to these common questions: what products will work best, how to combat frizz, how to keep your hair moisturized, what is a good deep conditioner, how do I define my curls…then you need to learn about hair structure.

Hair is a biological material that grows from a hair follicle located below the skin on your scalp. The part that extends from the scalp, called the hair shaft, is not a living thing. The hair shaft, composed of a protein called keratin, is divided into three layers. The medulla layer is the innermost layer. The cortex is the mid-layer which giver the shaft its the shape, texture and stores water. The cuticle is the outermost layer and is arranged in a shingle like pattern covering the cortex. Your hair follicle is what determines how the hair shaft is comprised which is why when you chemically treat your hair your new growth is unaffected.

Ok so now that we have the science down what does that have to do with caring for hair?

Well, lets go back to the cortex. Depending on how the cortex is shaped, your hair shaft will be shaped differently yielding straight, wavy, curly, kinky or a combination. But that is just the aesthetics of hair the cortex also determines the structure of you hair: texture, porosity, density and elasticity. I will post each of these characteristics in a separate note to ease readability. By determining your hair’s texture, porosity, density and elasticity you will be able to make educated hair care decisions.