Did you know that keeping you hair off your shoulders is in itself a protective measure?
Hair can struggle to grow past the shoulders if it's constantly having to rub against clothes and chairs. The rubbing movement weakens the ends causing split ends and an increased risk of breakage. The problem is exacerbated if the tips of your hair are not properly moisturised. When I learnt the benefit of keeping my hair off clothes I changed the range of styles that I wear a little: instead of having an afro roaming free all the time I pull my hair up using a hair band, clip or plaiting one large corn row sideways from one side of my head to the other. Updos are a great of way of getting hair off clothes. Short hair is naturally protective in that it doesn't reach your clothes anyway. The only worry then becomes protecting hair ends from the elements: sun, wind, cold and air conditioning.
Pinning style for:
The LOC method and the LCO method are two common methods for moisturising hair used by people with naturally curly, coily or kinky hair.
In the LOC method, liquid is applied first, then oil, then cream. In the LCO method, liquid is applied first, then cream and oil is applied last. Each layer is applied successively so as to seal or lock in the previous layer.
What works better? Should you use the LOC method or the LCO method?
Try both and then go for what works best. Here's a good strategy: LOC one half of your head and LCO the other half, that way you'll be able to distinguish which side retains more moisture over a 3 to 5 day period. Personally, I like the LCO method. You might also like: 13 Top Tips for Keeping Natural Black Hair Moisturised - No More Dry Hair!
Neno Natural Rating: 3/10 if I am being generous.
Alarm bells should have been going off when I walked into Tia's Natural Hair Salon and realised that all the pictures on the wall were of people with locs and of the 6 or so stylists: 4 had locs, 1 had poorly maintained relaxed hair and the one doing my hair had relaxed hair that was under a scarf. She later revealed it was damaged. This should have been an indicator that knowledge on dealing with freely floating natural hair may be low low low. I will rate by category as follows:
3. Knowledge of natural hair: 1/10
Above and beyond knowing that natural hair is unrelaxed hair I didn't feel my stylist knew anything about the science of black hair. Natural or not. Some of the silly things she said included:
4. Product ingredients knowledge: inconclusive I didn't test her specifically but many things in the salon had petrolatum, maybe locs are better with petrolatum, I don't know. She recommended QP Elasta Conditioner which has petrolatum but I'm still going to try it because AfricanExport gave it a positive review. When I pulled up the video of AfricanExport reviewing the product I asked if she knew her and she said no, "I don't watch any of 'dem' American people they have nothing to tell me," at that point I felt like walking out because I love Americans. So, I asked which British naturals she knows and she didn't know any. Fair enough. I won't mark her down for that.
5. On combing cautiously and sparingly: 2/10
She combed FAR too liberally. She just kept ripping her comb through my hair without a care. I asked her to use my specially-designed-to-be-gentle wide tooth comb and she did, but said she preferred hers because it combed the hair more finely. THAT'S THE REASON I WANTED HER TO USE MINE. 6. On pulling: 5/10 She pulled the edges too tightly but she spared the hairline upfront that's why this is a 5 rather than a 3. I asked her to pull more gently when she started at the back. She did but not before retorting, "Every time I touch your hair you have something to say." For any Americans reading this, don't be shocked customer service in the UK is (on average) not what it is in the US! My whole head hurts right now confirming that she pulled too tight. 5. On using heat with caution: 3/10 She was going to start blow drying without asking me! If there is one thing every seasoned natural knows it's that many naturals can be 'funny' about using heat and you should ask before using it. I am one such natural I had conditioned myself to accept a blow dry, because the last time I had cornrows the tangles caused a real headache. I asked her to put the heat on medium so she did. She insisted I need to blow dry my hair regularly because my hair is too course and will tangle much less. This is something I might try because my hair does tangle A LOT and I saw today that it wasn't breaking from the blow dry. That my hair survived is testament to a very good deep condition the night before!
The Big Chop
In a big chop or BC, you cut off all the relaxed hair.
This is the quickest and easiest way to go natural. The result is normally called a TWA or Teeny Weeny Afro. I would recommend getting your hair cut by a salon. Tell them that you want the relaxed hair only to be cut off. My aunt walked into a white men's barbershop to do her BC and she's regretted it ever since: apparently the barber took an electric shaver and before she realised it he'd shaved her hair off very close to the skin. Her hair has been thinner ever since! The Advantage of "doing the BC" is that you start learning to manage and understand your natural texture immediately. The disadvantage of a BC is that many girls prefer longer to shorter hair so they are reluctant to cut it short. I regret not doing the BC because I realise now that it would have grown back, that's what hair does! Transitioning
Transitioning involves leaving the relaxed hair as it is and cutting it off bit by bit as the natural hair grows. You can transition by braiding/twisting your hair.
I did both. All my relaxed hair fell off at the back (an involuntary BC as it were) and I snipped the remaining relaxed hair off bit by bit over a period of eight months. The advantage of transitioning is that you don't have to cut all your hair off.
The disadvantage of transitioning with a mixture of natural and relaxed hair is that it detracts from learning how your natural hair works and plus having two textures on your head looks a little silly.
I tried to hide my relaxed hair by sewing my own little cap (see picture to left) and I looked VERY silly. I still haven't forgiven my hubby for letting me go into work looking like this. This picture offends me, I only keep it as a reminder of the fashion disaster and how far along I have moved from geek to chic (& sometimes geek chic).
One of the biggest mistakes girls make is thinking that their hair can be entirely forgotten about just because they wear a weave or a wig. Neglecting the hair under a weave or a wig is a recipe for a mega disaster!
You still need to wash your hair every 7 to 10 days to ensure that it doesn't get very dry and hence easy to break when you unplait the cornrows. How to wash hair if you have a weave or a wig
Nope, the skin would be softened, raw and vulnerable. The same theory applies to your hair. Shampoo and conditioner need to be rinsed out thoroughly!
How to avoid tangling your weave as you wash your hair To avoid getting your weave all tangled, wash your hair standing up in a shower or sitting in the tub so the strands flow down your back. If you wash your hair bent over a tub your weave will flow down your face during the wash and then down your back when you stand up again, this movement will encourage tangling. Drying hair under a weave
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By Heather Katsonga-Woodward
I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx Categories
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