Black / African Hair Tips

[Kawari]

BlkLadyLaw-I saw that documentary not too long ago, and it was quite interesting. Especially since we spend so much money on our hair annually and it can often seem that no one but us understands our hair.

I think the hardest thing for me is finding a good hairdresser. People can tend to forget that not all African hair is the same, and like any other hair, it comes in different textures too. It's not all the same, so we can't all use the same products or methods. Luckily for me, my dad has recently retired and I'm hoping I can find a local hairdresser to keep around. I haven't had one in about a year and a half because of all the moving we've done. Pain.

Here's to hoping this thread continues to expand with good advice.

 

[cyberfruit]

^ I haven't gone to a hairdresser since I was in the six grade (6 years ago!) because the hairdresser, who was Black, had no idea what to do with my hair. She gave this victorian style hairdo that was miles away from what my mother wanted (I think it was twistrolls with my hair loose in the back).

I now would like to have my hair done, but I don't trust hairdressers all that much.

 

[Belle Princesse]

I'm black (technically mixed) and I wish I never relaxed. Maintenance is such a pain and I can kiss any notion of a natural 'fro look goodbye. Unfortunately, I'm unwilling go natural and chop the relaxed part off.

But all that breakage I'm getting is depressing. I'm not sure if I need protein or moisture. Maybe both.

Try this...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/286359/hair_care_shedding_or_breakage_understanding.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/278612/the_fine_art_of_protein_and_moisture.html

http://forum.dirtygirlzsocialclub.com/showthread.php?t=747

HTH!

 

[Kawari]

^ I haven't gone to a hairdresser since I was in the six grade (6 years ago!) because the hairdresser, who was Black, had no idea what to do with my hair. She gave this victorian style hairdo that was miles away from what my mother wanted (I think it was twistrolls with my hair loose in the back).

I now would like to have my hair done, but I don't trust hairdressers all that much.

Ha, me too. I was in the 8th grade though. My last one was great-she actually took the time to "study" my hair first. She ran her fingers through it and checked the texture. Not many do that at all, and it seems as if they forget not all hair is the same, no matter what race or ethnicity. I wish I had a hairdresser for special occasions and to learn from because my mom (Filipina) doesn't have a clue and neither does my dad.

 

[cyberfruit]

^ The hairdresser just went to work on my hair without checking or anything. I have curly/frizzy/wavy hair that's pretty difficult to work with if you don't have any experience. If I can find a hairdresser who can work my hair like my mother, then all would be right in the world.

I'm pretty lucky; I inherited my hair from my Dominican mom despite the extra frizz (came from my AA father) and she's done all sorts of hair styles and has straighted it a few times without killing it. She doesn't believe in relaxing hair off the bat and she let me choose to have my hair the way I wanted. So now I'm trying to figure out how to work the massive amount of curls on my head.

I need help!

 

[Kawari]

cyberfruit-I guess the thing you might want to take into consideration is your lifestyle, budget, and time constraints. How would you like to wear your hair on a daily basis? Natural, up, down, braids, etc? Do you need to wash your hair often? You might want to try finding a few "natural" hair websites/forums for advice, particularly on products. Frankly, I had to go through the "trial and error" method before coming up with a routine that works for me.

Currently, I simply let the curls do as they please. I use got2be "Kinky" and something from Pantene. They both work quite well and allow me to maintain the natural and soft feel of my hair. My hair is simply curls in the front, but around the neck area it start's to get frizzy and I have to take time to curl them with my fingers. Natural is the way I'm going, although I do straighten for certain occasions. But I told myself I am never getting a perm again-unless I find a really good hair stylist that I know I can trust.

 

[deejoy]

I'm black (holla!) and have learned so much about my hair since I've grown up. My hair is thicker (was always long but thin) now that I'm learning not to fry it with so many appliances. Letting my hair air dry and wearing it curly has also improved my hair health too.

 

[cyberfruit]

cyberfruit-I guess the thing you might want to take into consideration is your lifestyle, budget, and time constraints. How would you like to wear your hair on a daily basis? Natural, up, down, braids, etc? Do you need to wash your hair often? You might want to try finding a few "natural" hair websites/forums for advice, particularly on products. Frankly, I had to go through the "trial and error" method before coming up with a routine that works for me.

Well, I'm a student so I definitely don't want anything special. Honestly, I would just like to be able to mix it up a bit. Day in and day out my hair has to be pulled back into a frizzy poof because I can't really do anything with it.

I've had my hair natural since the day I was born, and I intend on keeping it that way. I would like to put it down sometimes because I love having my hair down. I wash my hair once a week because it isn't oily, so it doesn't need more washings during the week.

I've been looking through many mixed and Black hair forums for advice and what salons to go to. I actually made an appointment at a Dominican hair salon in my area for this week, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[Kawari]

cyberfruit-good luck with that hairstylist! Let us know how it goes...

Welcome to the thread deejoy!

 

[classic1908]

I am still rocking the half-wigs hard. As for my routine, I go to my sister's salon weekly, get it washed, conditioned, blow-dried and flat ironed. I then put the half-wig on. My sister uses Redken. Oddly, most of her clients aren't AfAm. I've used Redken since the 70s.

 

[Kawari]

^Lucky, I only go to the salon once every few years. I'm actually probably pretty due soon.
I think it'd just be cool to have one person who gets my hair in person. Just one person....

 

[lalablossoms]

i heart my hair again so much and i learned to never say never

i said i wouldn't texturize my hair again but i did it myself and am in love with the fro, plus i went to a salon and go it shaped, and did a color gloss at home and my hair looks so good my grandmother thought it was a wig ( in a good way ) haha!!!, my hair is so easy to maintain and soft and silky and super versatile, it was trial and error with the texturizer so i wouldnt tell anyone to just go for it, i had to process it a few times a few weeks apart to get the right texture i wanted and time it right for different sections, talk about patience but now that i know it will be so easy, i'm a lil nervous about retouching but i'll let it grow a while first, its already been about 10 weeks and i've only redone the egdes and it still looks fresh so i'm sure i can stretch til 6 months so it'll be easier to not overlap new growth

 

[electricladyland]

i have curly, wavy, hair that tends to frizz and here is my routine:

wash hair (not daily though or it dries it out)
condition daily in the shower
put in conditioner and rinse just enough to get out tangles, leave in some conditioner (i use herbal essences which is surprisingly good for my hair)
while wet massage in garnier fructis hair putty and twist sections of hair.

The fructis is my daily hair treatment, but I really, really love bumble and bumble's curl conscious. I put it in while my hair is wet and curl hair in twists. The result is a natural looking wavy hairstyle that doesn't look hard, wet, or frizzy. It's the best product i've used and believe me i have experimented with many!

 

[Belle Princesse]

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but if anyone is suffering from dry hair in need of some love I fully recommend Lush H'sua Wen Hua treatment...your hair will love you for it!

I haven't done much with my hair lately other than flat iron it so I'm just going to apply some henna and trim my hair.

 

[MicheleIman]

I wish I came to thie thread earlier, I'm black (Irish-American & Barbadian) and have fine, thin hair. When I perm it, it can only stay in for the max of 10 minutes or I will have no body at all. I also have a sensitive scalp (ecezema) so it really was very difficult to put chemicals in my hair. So two weeks ago........ I cut it all off! I realize it made no sense to torture myself and my scalp, have my hair break off to try to have straight hair. I like the haircut now, but it is growing out like a weed. Any suggestions on how I can manage it now? My hair isn't thick like other girls so I'm clueless

 

[WheresMyUmbrella]

Ford Models has a video up about how to style kinky hair:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7FPOokVU7E


When my hair was natural, it looked exactly like hers, but my hair was so thick and took so long to condition/manage that I got fed up and just relaxed it. This video makes me want to go natural again!

 

[lesypersound]

soon, when i have the time, i'll use the great links in this thread to learn how to self-style longer curly hair--because i've been stumped for a while. i just get it blown out and ironed periodically and had small twists done two months ago (had it in for a month and half--really funky, cool!)--anyone else have ideas for styling?
blargh...all of it is just expensive and time consuming--as is all black hair, right? Hahahaha! ultimately, tho, i love my black hair. :]

 

[Kawari]

I wish I came to thie thread earlier, I'm black (Irish-American & Barbadian) and have fine, thin hair. When I perm it, it can only stay in for the max of 10 minutes or I will have no body at all. I also have a sensitive scalp (ecezema) so it really was very difficult to put chemicals in my hair. So two weeks ago........ I cut it all off! I realize it made no sense to torture myself and my scalp, have my hair break off to try to have straight hair. I like the haircut now, but it is growing out like a weed. Any suggestions on how I can manage it now? My hair isn't thick like other girls so I'm clueless

You might want to go out and ask a stylist about your hair. Congrats on cutting your hair though-you shouldn't have to suffer, especially when you have ecezema! Do you plan on wearing it natural? How long is it currently? Do you have a lot of breakage or is your hair naturally thin?

I am no expert at all so you should def try to talk to a professional! Good luck!

 

[gyal]

i would love to grow an afro like the girl in the video but i have relaxer in my hair. do u guys have any tips on how to easily get to that point? i don't want to cut my hair

 

[Kawari]

^Honestly, the only thing I can think of you doing is to cut it. What texture does your hair come out after you wash it? When I got my perms, after I would wash my hair the texture would be different and I would just leave it curly.