Hair over Health???

In the quest for long luxurious locks, or big beautiful hair we can sometimes get carried away with trying everything and anything possible, (no matter how questionable), to achieve our goals in the shortest time frame possible.  But at what cost?  Rarely do we stop to think about how these hair experiments are affecting our overall health.  The following are a few hair growing schemes with potentially harmful effects on the body.

Vitamin Junkies:   I've heard people raving about the newest hair vitamin/multi-vitamin they've come across and how they're completely ignoring the dosing instructions and taking double or even triple the dose to get better results.

FAIL!  Vitamin toxicity is real people!  Just because it's easy to get vitamins off the counter does NOT mean you should be poppin' them like gummy bears.  First of all, it is wasteful because your body only takes what it needs then flushes out the water soluble vitamins it doesn't need so those extra vitamin pills you just took just went straight through you and down the can/lav/toilette.  More importantly, it can be dangerous because there are certain vitamins - fat soluble ones like A, C, D and K- that our body does not get rid of so easily.  This means whatever doesn't get used is then stored in your body and accumulates over time potentially leading to vitamin toxicity a.k.a. vitamin poisoning.  You can experience vitamin toxicity with water soluble vitamins as well but fat soluble ones have the most potential to build up.  If possible, please consult your physician before beginning a new vitamin regimen or at the very least follow the dosage instructions on the bottle.

High-Protein Diets:  Another potentially harmful practice I've seen bounced around hair forums is the introduction of a high-protein diet to increase hair growth.  While getting enough protein in your diet is very important, a long term high-protein diet may accelerate the loss of kidney function in people with pre-existing problems.  According to this article as many as 20 million Americans are at risk for reduced kidney function but are completely unaware of it.   For this reason you may want to stay on the safe side and consult your physician before beginning a high-protein diet.


The Mixtress:   Mixing your own hair concoctions can be fun. I enjoy mixing up my own oil blends, hair/body butters and sometimes I'll even add a little bit of oil or humectant to my conditioners to make them more nourishing for my hair.  However, there are times when people get so confident in their mixing abilities that they consider playing around with chemicals that could potentially harm them.  I have seen someone ask for advice on making their own relaxer...at home.  Not to mention, someone asking if she could apply pure lactic acid to her hair or products because she read somewhere that lactic acid loosens curls.   When I read posts like these my usual gut reaction is to place my hands on my head and yell "NOooooooo! Don't do it!" at my computer monitor, because unless you are a chemist with access to a state-of-the-art lab with proper ventilation, you should not be messing around strong alkalis, or acids.  Thank goodness, these women asked before they attempted to do these things because all I can hear are ambulance sirens in my head when I think of what could have happened if they didn't.

Let's face it, many of us want long hair and we want it fast but we shouldn't get our priorities mixed up. A healthy body will produce healthy hair.  You can't have the latter without the former so try focusing on having a healthy body first and your hair will follow suit.  Getting optimal hair growth may be serious business to some of us but what's the point of getting it at the expense of our health?

How to Winterize Your Hair Routine

 
With Fall quickly creeping up on us, I thought now would be a good time to discuss ways to protect your hair from the winter chill.  If you're fortunate enough to live in sub-equatorial climate that doesn't experience huge seasonal changes then consider yourself lucky as you probably don't have to think of newfangled ways to protect your hair from the elements.  However, if you're in the same boat I'm in - that is, stuck in a place where the changes are quite extreme - it is probably a good idea to start thinking about how you will protect your hair from the elements.  Fall and winter tend to be problematic for kinky/curly naturals because the air tends to be drier, (hair that is prone to dryness + dry air = NO M'AAM!),  it's cold, often windy and don't forget the icy temperatures.   Here are a few tips that should help you ease into the cooler seasons without a setback to speak of:

1. Hide Your Hair:  Just as the bears go into hiding during the winter, consider applying this same practice to your hair.  Wear protective styles like twists, braids, updos, buns.  My personal new favorite is braided hair under a full wig.

If you choose to wear your hair loose this winter consider wearing a head scarf or silk-lined hat whenever you're outside then removing them when indoors.  The goal is to keep your hair from being dried out or experiencing wear and tear from the cold and harsh winds.

2.  Moisturize + Seal:  During the winter you may notice the dryer air tends to leave your hair drier and more fragile than usual.  Therefore, moisturizing your hair then sealing it to prevent the moisture from escaping becomes more pertinent.  Consider doing a deep conditioning treatment at least once a week then sealing the moisture in with a hair butter or oil of your choice afterwards.  

3. Good Nutrition & Exercise:  Often times we think of hair care as being entirely external but the truth is internal health plays an integral role in the health and growth of your hair.  If your body is not receiving adequate nutrition it will manifest in your hair as hair-fall or thinning hair and/or slower growth.  You may notice slower growth during the winter months.  I can only speculate as to why but my guess would be blood circulation slows in the cold thus resulting in slower delivery of nutrients to your hair follicles.  Or it could have something to do with a vitamin D deficiency since many of us tend to spend more time indoors during winter. Whatever the reason it wouldn't hurt to give your hair, (and body) a boost by eating nutrient dense foods or if you don't trust yourself to eat better during the holiday months, consider a multi-vitamin or hair,skin and nails vitamin, (Note: always consult a physician before starting a new vitamin regimen).  Also consider working out or getting some physical activity to help boost your circulation.

4.  Re-evaluate Your Products:  With the seasonal change you will notice that some products don't work as well as they did in the summer.  Humectants like glycerin for example function by pulling moisture from the air into your hair.  This is great for those humid summer months where there's plenty of moisture in the air to pull into your hair.  However, in the winter when air tends to be dry humectants have the opposite effect.  With no moisture to pull from the air they instead pull the moisture in your hair out into the dry air consequently making your hair dryer. Humectants work best when the dew point is between 1.5 - 10°C so keep that in mind if you still choose to continue using them during the winter.

Et voila!  With a little effort and care you'll make it through the harsh winter months beautifully.  Happy hair growing everybody!

Tangle Busters!

Tangles, matting and single-strand knots are the bane of my existence and while I've come to accept that it might not be possible to completely eradicate them that hasn't stopped me from trying.

Over the last 2 years I've stumbled upon a few game changers in my war against tangles, knots and ssk's.  I rarely get ssk's and knots anymore and I accredit it to these methods/products.  My hair still tangles but the ones I do get are easy to undo as opposed to the monster matted tangles of yesteryear.

So without further ado, say hello to my little friends:

1.  Washing, Conditioning and Air drying in Sectioned Braids/Twists - If you're not yet sick of me talking about working on hair in sections you will be.  This method has made detangling so easy for me, consequently reducing the time and stress that goes along with it.

2.  Pre-detangling with "Slippy" Products:

Behold the magical slippery awesomeness that is Africas Best Kids Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil + Shea Butter Detangling Lotion, (Whew! what a mouthful). 

On the rare occasion that I come across a knot or tangle that the aforementioned product can't quite loosen up I use this as back up:

Tangles, knots and ssk's bow down!  No tangle is a match for this stuff.  As soon as this deep treatment hits my hair I can literally pull the tangles apart until they are no more.  I generally do not believe in "magic" products, in fact when it comes to hair I feel technique and handling far outweigh the good that any product could do.  However, there are exceptions to every rule and for my fine, kinky strands this is one of them.  The only catch is it does have cones which some hair enthusiasts are heavily opposed to, (In my defense, I use it to detangle prior to shampooing my hair so I don't suffer any build up from it).  

3.  Oils:

If you are 100% cone free you may want to consider using oils that have a lot of slip.  Sesame, Sunflower, olive and castor oils all give me the best slip, especially when combined.  Surprisingly, coconut oil does not give me enough slip to undo some of the tangles my hair is capable of.  I remedy this by blending it with any or all of the previously mentioned oils. 

Lately, I've implemented heavy oiling into my regimen/routine and it has cut down my ssk's tremendously.  I really have to search far and wide to find those little suckers now.  If you find yourself battling with single-strand knots you may want to give heavy oiling a try.  I will talk a little bit more about it in a future post so keep your ears and eyes peeled. 

Product Review: Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish + Shine

So I finally got around to trying my Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish + Shine shampoo and conditioner samples.  I had originally picked the nourish + moisturize samples, but Aveeno had run out of those at the time.  They were kind enough to send me these nourish + shine samples while I waited for the nourish + moisturize samples to be back in stock. Here are my findings:

Hair stats: Tightly coiled hair.  Superfine individual strands with high density/thick hair.

 AVEENO ACTIVE NATURALS NOURISH + SHINE SHAMPOO:

 

Claims:  This shampoo does much more than nourish and cleanse - it effectively removes dirt and oil, and prevents build-up, to illuminate the dullest hair, giving it shiny, vibrant life. Scientific studies show that just three washes helps repair damage providing the three key elements that give hair life strength, softness and shine.*

This exclusive formula, infused with nourishing wheat complex and shine enhancing palm extract, is designed to feed your hair by replenishing moisture and enhancing reflectivity of dull or damaged hair. It targets the weakest part of hair - fortifying the hair shaft with protein where it needs it most.

First Impressions:  The shampoo is transluscent/pearlescent white in color and smells delish!   It has a light, pleasant scent with subtle fruity notes.  Not fruity as in a berry scent...but more like an exotic fruit from some tropical part of the world.  The consistency is quite runny so just be ready for it when pouring it out.

My Review: I don't use shampoo often but this one of the best of tried.  The smell is just divine; if only it lingered.  It lathered easily and did get my hair clean without making it feel stripped.  Did I mention it has slip?  This is probably the first time I've walked out the shower after using a shampoo with hair that was knot-free with minimal tangles.  I doubt it is possible for a shampoo to fortify hair since it get's rinsed out pretty quickly, but my hair did look dark and lustrous right after.

Score: 4/5


AVEENO ACTIVE NATURALS NOURISH + SHINE CONDITIONER:                      

Claims:  This conditioner does much more than nourish and condition - it smoothes and hydrates to illuminate the dullest hair, giving it shiny, vibrant life. Scientific studies show that just three washes helps repair damage providing the three key elements that give hair life - strength, softness and shine.*

First Impressions: This conditioner is white in color and has a thick consistency like whipped custard.  The scent matches that of the shampoo but lingers longer.  Did I mention this stuff smells amazing!  If I didn't know any better I might just buy it for the smell alone. 

My Review: I liked this conditioner.  It was thick but easy to distribute and my hair sucked it up like a sponge.  I could tell it was very hydrating because my fingers began to prune the way they do after spending way too much time in the bathtub/pool.  It had enough slip to help the shower comb glide through my hair.  Then something quite remarkable happened...it defined my curls.  Keep in mind that my hairtype is 4b and my tiny curls are rarely ever discernable to the naked eye but sure enough I could see several tiny, perfectly defined slinkys forming on my head that I never even new existed.

After rinsing it out and airdrying my hair had some sheen to it and felt stronger.  I felt that this conditioner was more strengthening than softening - my hair did not dry very soft but it wasn't crunchy either.  I expected as much since it has protein in it.   Most proteins generally strengthen not soften and have to be followed by moisturizing deep conditioning afterwards

Overall this is one of the better conditioners I have tried and I would recommend it for curly girls who are looking to have more curl definition.  If you are trying to go cone-free or if you are allergic to wheat this one is not for you.  My fine strands love cones because they keep the tangles at bay and make detangling a breeze.  I just make sure I clarify my hair every month to get rid of build up.

I gave points for the scent, detangling capabilities and strengthening properties.  It lost some points because it did not leave my hair as soft as I would have liked when dry. 


Score: 3.5/5    

It's My Hairyversary!

Today marks 2 years to the day that I began transitioning to natural and I feel like a little celebration is in order.  Cue the music! :



On this muggy, August afternoon I was planning on straightening my hair, (I plead temporary insanity),  to begin the process of gradually getting rid of my relaxed ends but with these high summertime temperatures and the humidity I doubt it will stay straight long enough for me to accurately trim.  It takes me a few hours to straighten my hair and I would be incredibly frustrated to see all that effort shrink up within minutes, (please refer to tip #5 in the short-hand guide to transitioning).

That said, here's where it all began:

 

This is a pic of my hair as I was removing twists 5-6 months after my relaxer breakage fiasco (2009).  Even though it had grown in some, the hair loss was still pretty apparent.  Note the hairless patch in the center of my nape.  There were a few more patches like this around my hairline as well.  I was in love with my new texture but those patches were not pretty.  The good news is it did get better...


Here's how long my hair was, (flat-ironed) this May, 2011:

Look out for an update on my current length as well as a trip down memory lane in the near future...

A Short-Hand Guide To Transitioning In 7 steps

                                 (Twist-out on my stretched transitioning hair)

When I began transitioning I new I didn't have a clue about how I was going to maintain the two different textures on my head.  All I knew was that I didn't want to relax it again and I wanted a simple routine that I could live with to retain the most amount of growth in the shortest amount of time possible.

Here are a few things I've learned as a long-term transitioner that I hope you will find useful as well:

1.  Set Goals:  What are your goals for your hair?  When would you like to achieve them and how do you plan to achieve them?

Example:  My short-term goal is to have full, thick, waist length stretched hair and a natural mane that would make most lions blush.  I think that 3-3.5 years is a reasonable amount of time for me to achieve this goal.  I plan to reach my goals via hardcore low manipulation/protective styling, limiting the amount of heat I use on my hair, staying on top of my moisture/protein balance, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise. 

2. What is your hair type? : Is it tightly curled, loosely curled, wavy or straight?  Is it porous or not very porous at all?  Are your individual strands fine/coarse? Is your hair density thick, medium or thin?  All of these will determine how you go about caring for your hair.

Example: I have tightly curled 4b hair with 4a around the perimeter of my head.  It is quite porous.  My individual strands are fine but the overall density of my hair is thick.  From this information I can deduce that my hair needs to be handled with TLC because it is quite fragile (every twist and turn presents an opportunity for breakage).  I can improve its resiliency by doing regular deep conditioning treatments, sealing my ends regularly, using shampoo less frequently and protective styling often so that I am not manipulating it too much.  My hair does best with benign neglect.

3.  Work in sections:  Once I started washing, conditioning, air-drying and styling my hair in sections I cut the time it took to do my hair in half while simultaneously reducing the number of tangles I got.  Fewer tangles = shorter detangling time = a happy transitioner.

4.  Strand tests:  When trying out a new product for the first time always test the product on a small section of your hair.   This a great way to find out which products agree with your hair while avoiding potential disasters that come with the discovery of products that do not.
 
5. Try to Avoid Frustration:  Please do not attempt to wash, detangle and style several months worth of new growth and relaxed ends 15 minutes before you are heading out to the movie theater.  That's just asking to put Murphy's law into motion.  So unless you've got mad skills, I would recommend you set aside a day to pamper yourself and your hair so that you don't feel rushed and have ample time to react if something doesn't go as planned in your routine.  I'm sure it will not take you all day to do your hair but giving yourself some "me time" will help foster positive feelings about your hair.  You will see doing your hair as a way to spoil yourself rather than seeing it as a chore.

6.  Take pictures:  Take a few starting pictures then take a picture of yourself in the same spot in the same positions if you can so that you can track your growth.  There have been times where I thought my hair was not moving at all then I'd look back at older picture and realize that it had either thickened up or grown since.  The pictures are what kept me from relaxing my hair early into my transition because the progress was right there in front of me.

7.  Find a support system:  Transitioning to natural may be something new to you and there will be times when you feel like giving up or frustrated with your hair.  In these situations it's nice to be able to have a little support be it from your family or friends.  If, however, they can't give it to you there are hair forums, blogs and youtube gurus out there to inspire you to keep at it.  The first year is always the toughest because of the learning curve so just hang in there.  You'll be glad you did.

If I had to squeeze just one more tip into this list it would be patience. Patience is a virtue and you will need plenty of it to make it smoothly through your transition.  Not everyone hits the ground running...some of us have to crawl first before we get there and when we do success is just that much sweeter. 

Feast Your Eyes On These:

Don't you just love the mailman?  I received my new samples of the Nourish + Shine shampoo and conditioner  from the Aveeno Active Naturals Nourish + Hair Care Collection.  I've been waiting on their arrival like a giddy school girl for the past few weeks and can barely contain myself!

Expect an unbiased review of these products in the very near future.

My Hairytale

For those of you who may not know, I have been transitioning to natural since August 19 2009.  My journey to natural happened quite accidentally, (The understatement of the year).  After my last relaxer everything seemed normal when I went to bed that night (I did get some relaxer burn but relaxers always burned me regardless of careful I was).  However, morning would reveal that all was not well as I awoke to find globs of hair strewn across my pillow.  Needless to say I panicked and made a mad dash to the bathroom mirror to see how bad the damage was.  My eyes widened and my mouth fell agape as I realized my once armpit-length, (APL), locks were no more.

A good portion of the hair at the back of my head had broken off to an inch or less in some parts.  The front was all choppy with some strands at armpit length and others that had broken off to chin and shoulder.  The only way to salvage it was to buzz the back and nape area and give myself an asymmetrical bob to make those accidental layers look not-so-accidental.

During this period of folliculicide (Don't think you'll find that one in the dictionary),  I was going through other external stressors.  I'd always put on a tough facade and acted like nothing could ever get me down but the timing of this hair breakage was truly the straw that broke the camel's back.

In the past I was one of those girls that could never understand how anyone could cry over getting their hair cut, ("How vain could they possibly be?" I thought; "It's just hair"), but one day as I stared at my boyish figure and my oblong face framed by this amateur ear-length bob something in me cracked and I could feel my cheeks heat up before the tears began to well up in my eyes and for the first time I understood.

It goes without saying that I have not picked up another box of relaxer since .  Let it be known that I don't knock those who still choose to use them (heck, I had great looking relaxed hair up until that fateful day and I've seen many women grow their hair successfully with a relaxer), but my experience with that last relaxer was so traumatic I developed an aversion to it.  Once bitten, twice shy I suppose.

In a way I'm actually glad it happened.  I'd been considering going natural those last few years because I was getting so sick of the chemical process.  However, giving up my APL hair to start anew was not something I was brave enough to do at the time. Maybe this little accident was just the push I needed.

Oh and just in case you're wondering which relaxer kit I used on that fateful day...it was a "kiddie relaxer".  I kid you not.

So what's your story?  What sparked your decision to go natural?

Hello Happy People

Well, here it is folks!  I've gone and done it now.  I actually put my procrastination on the backburner long enough to start up a new blog.  Mission accomplished!

Now where was I?  Ah yes...Dear reader, welcome to my blog.  I am Helix and I hope you will honor me with your presence as I share my love for helical hair and my passion for fashion as well as a plethora of my other loves, (food, fun and photography), sprinkled in.  So bookmark me, friend me, tell your mamma and your sister and your second cousins twice removed about me and lets get this show on the road!