Not as scary as I thought it'd be

But perhaps because it isn't on YouTube, privy to the criticism of millions of hair people. Alas, it's only a minute long...



So here, I have taken the time out to make some pretty nice twists on my own without help and with a cut on my finger (ouch!). I left the last one to do for the video, as it's much easier, with my hair, to not have a foot high fro in the way.



I decided to make this because most people with natural hair (that hasn't been locked) have a tiny bit of it, only a few inches, so they can coil/twist their hair with a comb in seconds. Most of the videos I've found are of people with tiny amounts of hair that they can twist in no time, after they've used a ton of gel. In my video, I show that I have my Aussie Leave In Creme, my Magical Gro oil, and my water bottle.



In order to prevent my usual puffy roots, I begin by plaiting the hair close to the scalp, then comb it out to keep the ends from knotting. Then I use a teensy bit of the creme, run it through the section, get the two sections made from the plaited three, twist it out, and near the end, grab some oil and finish by coiling. I use only a little bit of product because I hate buildup on my hair (it makes my scalp itchy).



As you can tell, twists are NOT like dreadlocks. And I've got some pretty nice length (before it shrinks) and sheen!

Horror Hair

Once, while I was in my first year of college in a small town a few hours away, I had a serious Hair Horror event. It was like a big trick was played on me, and I didn't know what had happened until the end.

I was wanting a trim, maybe a wrap, but really just wanted my ends clipped. When you have Natural hair, and you wear poofs/puffs a lot, the ends of the hair dry out quickly and get quite crinkly. The ends become permanently split and damaged if they aren't wash or regularly rehydrated, so after a little while of mistreating my ends, they needed to be clipped. No problem, and at my university they had a Cosmetology department--apparently with someone who knew how to do Black Hair.

I'm thinking, it's a college! There are black people all over the place, so one of them must be in there! Yeah, no.

I go there, told that I'd have to pay $45 for this, because of my hair type. Alright, no problem. But before I know it I'm going to the shampoo chair, and she's getting it wet. Of COURSE she thought nothing of it, until it actually got wet and huge and started to mat when she... I'm going to have to change the format of this to better explain it.

After she got it wet, and realized that it was growing from it's previously pressed flat state to a matted fro (she was white), she put a towel over it and disappeared to somewhere. She came back with a different shampoo and conditioner set, and said that I'd need to get a deep conditioning treatment that she called a ProtoPack. She continued the wash, not even attempting to get close to the scalp (where all of my product buildup is). She then started applying a protopack, much like the Olive Oil Hair Pak in my products post. But it was smaller yet, and required two. Okay, no problem...

My hair was huge, and continued to mat as she put it ON my hair, just squirting it about and trying to move it around, and my hair just kept swelling. Imagine a full on 70s fro. Right here, where at most black salons they would put in a leave in and a cap and put me under the dryer for 30-40 mins to set the chemical, she decided to do something else. Because she couldn't find a cap that would fit my hair, she found a Walmart bag and put it over my head... And then...

She decided it would be a good idea to give me a tour of the Cosmetology department, around the little salon, and to the back where the classrooms and ALL of the people were. I'm walking around in a cape and a blown up Walmart bag when I should have been under the dryer in a real cap and not dripping water down my shirt ad back.

Eventually she put me under the dryer, but because my hair had grown so extensively it wouldn't cover properly, and the heat would melt the plastic bag, she had to keep it far away from my hair. She then went on a smoke break... Actually two smoke breaks. By now, and hour and a half had passed, and they would be closing in an hour.

Once I got back in the chair and she started to dry my hair... But instead of separating sections and detangling the hair (which wasn't completely free of the conditioner) she went at it with a diffuser and just waved it about drying it in a hard, dried out, crunchy fro. I wanted a trim! Possibly a wrap if she could get there but... Gah!

She then stopped drying once she realized she was running out of time. With half an hour left, and a fro-set, she had a lot yet to do. She started breaking my hair to get it into sections, and although she didn't have a pressing comb, she swore by her FLATIRON. She started separating into thick sections, and coating the hair (the hair shafts!) with beeswax, hard, smelly, beeswax. She then just started racing over the sections because her teacher was telling her that she needed to wrap up. She recruited two other students to work on other parts of my hair, and they were passing the beeswax back and fourth just laying it on and making it sticky. That's as good as putting vaseline on it, just stickier. They were all using their irons, at different settings, on different parts of my hair.

With about 20 mins to go, the teacher came by and said that she'd have to close down the register and that I'd have to pay now for all of the work they were doing. ???!!! I started to give her the $45, but then she said it was doubled because they used two ProtoPacks on my hair. ???!!! And that if I had come earlier they wouldn't be running late.???!!! She was the very one who said that her student knew how to do black hair! Her basis? Her boyfriend is black. Anyways...

By the time they had gotten through it all, I had 80's "pump it up" hair. I refused to be seen walking around campus like this so I just tied it back as best as I could.

I was actually planning on going out that night, to Applebee's with some dormmates, and as soon as I got back I had to rewash my hair, condition it, and dry it. I did this in less than half an hour, and I braided it in the next 15-20. Shows who's getting paid for what!

It took the rest of the week to get the beeswax out, to where my hair stopped binding itself to mats.

So today in class

It was brought up, something rather important actually, that this blog could have a different purpose: To educate, or really, give a small base for people with black hair who live in small areas with little support. I'm not exactly sure what I would include here, because when you live in predominantly white areas the only hope for getting hair care from anyone is to go out of town.

Alas, it would be good to make my source a little bit of a personal reference, because I have the horror stories from moving to a small town with no black hair stylists, and testing the waters with the locals. I talk about these traumas briefly, but I suppose I should explain one more definitely in the next post!

Hair Happening 11/8

So, this morning before church I had a Hair Happening. I guess nothing really happened, I just washed my hair with it in it's twists. Just a quick rinse with a cream shampoo and conditioner, and then I pulled it back and clipped it.

I would post a hair plan/regimen, but I don't think mine is too developed. But here are my prducts/tools!

Combs: I have a big pack of combs, but I primarily use...

Wide Toothed Comb/Rattail Comb

Shampoo: I have used many, but I'm circulating...

Vo5 Moisturizing Shampoo (and Conditioner)

Pert Plus Deep Conditioning Formula For Dry Hair (2in1)

Mizani Botanifying Conditioning Shampoo

Suave Naturals Shampoo

Deep Conditioner: Every once in a while, when I've gone a while without softness,

Organic Olive Oil Replenishing Pack Hair Conditioner

Regis DesignLine Olive Oil Hair Masque

Leave In Conditioner:

Black Vanilla Leave-In Conditioner, Carols Daughter

Aussie Moist Leave-In Conditioner

Hair Dress:

Hair Milk, Carols Daughter

Khoret Amen Hair Oil, Carols Daughter

African Pride Magical Gro

HOLY Wah! That's long! I'll have to make a separate post about everything else!

Do the Twist

Two Strand Twists.

So looking around for information on things, I realized that twists are really the next step below locks--minus the drying and matting and backcombing and damage. I don't really need to go into a real explanation on how to do it, but I suppose I'll copy and paste some directions onto here, and a pic of my own hair from when I did it a while back.

"Step 1: Comb your hair properly so that, once inserted at the hairline, the comb smoothly moves through the entire length of the hair and comes out easily.

Step 2: Separate the hair into small sections with your fingers. You can also use a comb for this purpose, but that will allow the scalp to be more visible. Though combed strands are easy to be unraveled, they will not give a much natural look. So, part the hair according to your wish.

Step 3: Start making sections from the nape (in the back, above your neck). Once you have a section ready, pin-up the rest of your hair with the help of butterfly clips to avoid interruption.

Step 4: Now, hold the section in your hand and separate it into two parts. Start twisting the two parts around each another. Confused? It's easy, just bring the left part over the right and lightly pull the right one. Now right part will become the left. Again repeat the above process, left over right. Go on twisting these two strands till you reach the ends of your hair. No need of using a rubber band at the end of the twists as the coil of the hair is enough to hold these strands.

Step 5: Now, start with the next section. Continue making sections and twisting them across the width of the nape. Once this row is done, start with the next row above this one and continue towards your hairline.

Step 6: Once you finish twisting the entire volume, blow dry the hair. Make sure the hair is totally dry from scalp till the ends." -Mamta Mule, Buzzle.com

So, I don't do the blow drying as I don't like to put heat on my hair, and I don't think there is really a step by step method to doing this. But, alas, I do things simply!

Here is a picture of my hair twisted from a while ago!

Finger Coils

Now, there is a difference between Two Strand Twists and another variation called Finger Coils, and I can't find any Step By Step tutorials on that, only videos. So, I'll use the one I found and learned how to do them from! Apparently I can't upload video, cause I don't have it saved to my computer, but when I figure it out, this link below will turn into a video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjdcJIKIRjg

Other than that, I have a picture of my own hair with coils.

Now there is a big difference here. Not really between the pictures (though, the coils are much more shiny and beautiful and interesting), but between my hair and most of the people's hair in videos. I have long hair, it's thick, and it's not weak at all (as "not weak" as African American hair can get). I don't have to worry about it unravelling, or not coiling properly, or getting flat. I can sleep on it (wrapped, of course) but it always bounces right back whenever I move. It holds its sheen, but whenever I add product, it builds up so fast... It gets icky.

Most people who use twists/coils have gone through a big chop and have little to work with.

, there's a BIG difference!

I'm fancying I will have to make a post on products soon!

--

The Buzzle quote can be found here:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/two-strand-twist-technique-step-by-step-two-strand-twists.html

Just so you know

So, just so I can clarify, I'm very opinionated. And although I know a lot about hair, I'm not an expert, I don't know all of the terminology, and I'm not a hair stylist.

I am African American, I have natural hair, and I have gone through a lot of styles and have had super traumas with living in predominantly white areas... I have the horror stories!

And just to avoid confusion, I have twisted hair. My hair is in two-strand twists in my profile picture, not dreadlocks! It may look like I spent a huge post hating on dreads while I have them, but I don't. They are two-strand twists, and I reckon I'll post about them!

A Different Type of Type

The last post was on Hair Typing, putting a label to the curl pattern in your hair--and also, the amount of care that needs to be given to it. A type 1a can get away with a shampoo once-twice a day only, with little to no conditioning or moisturizing needed, but not easily manipulated by heat for curling or shaping.

But this kind of Type has to do with the amount of process that has been done to your hair.

It's not really a rating system, more like the level of chemical that is in the hair and defining or correcting the hair pattern.

Types of Hair:

~Virgin Hair: Has NEVER been exposed to any chemical processes, as well as some forms of heat.

~Natural: Is not treated by any chemicals, in it's natural state without any processes. Virgin hair also falls under this category.

~Relaxed or Permed: Generally, most black women have RELAXED hair, chemically straightened with products and chemicals. It is rare to find a African American who perms, or chemically curls their hair as it is naturally curlier than most.

~Texlaxed/Texturized: Relaxer is mixed with oil or butters and used for a shorter amount of time to loosen the curl of the hair but maintain texture, where an undiluted relaxer would make the hair nearly bone straight.

~Color treated: Dyeing the hair in order to change or correct the color.

~Locks*: Hair that has been formed into nearly permanent sections of matted hair. I will not elaborate here, as it is not a hair type/process I find normal.

~Transitioning: Between the natural and any chemically treated hair types.

*I have this extreme dislike for DREADLOCKED hair. I have classified it here as a hair type, because there is nothing like it and no matter how anyone tries to explain it otherwise, it is NOT Natural.

This is a terrible metaphor but imagine getting a hair cut, then using the clipping and glueing it to your chest. You now have chest hair. None if it is attached to your body, or grows from your follicles, but it's chest hair... technically.

That is not natural, and neither is letting your hair break and mat and dry and bind. Having dead hair attached to living hair isn't having long hair, it's having add-on's, equivalent to a weave. Just a lot more tacky.

I won't even post a picture of it, as I find it quite offensive. Hair mats, yes, and when it does it can usually be attributed to natural occurrences and reactions followed by rapid drying. Example, my hair is naturally very thick and very curly. When it's wet it shrinks by more than half and coils into a bit of a mop. If I don't quickly get moisture/conditioner into my hair before it dries, it will dry shriveled and tangled, sticking to itself and as the warm wet hair becomes cool and dry quickly, the shafts themselves tend to bind. It mats and it takes a lot of time and care to get the solid mass mat out.

Locked hair has been dried out critically, terribly damaged and broken WITHOUT chemical treatment. Dreadlocks are not good for anyone, and the amount of damage that needs to be done to Caucasian hair to loc it is just sickening.

Enough Ranting on Dreadlocks, on to another section.

--

Relaxed hair is damaged hair. The chemicals, Guanidine or Sodium Hydroxide strip the hair shaft, thinning the cortical layer down. This chemical, not only damages the hair, but also the scalp. There are many rules, one of which is to not scratch your scalp before or after a relaxer as it would lacerate and burn your scalp, most likely causing it to blister and bleed.

Relaxed hair breaks. It is weak, fragile, and has been robbed of its elasticity. Nearly any process put on top of relaxed hair (heat, color, brushing even) can do even further damage and cause large amounts of breakage--even a "chemical crew out". This is where, to my knowledge, the hair falls out in big chunks and can't handle even the simplest handling. This is when someone would, and most do, decide to Transition.

Transitioning is usually when someone with relaxed hair decides to revert to their hair's natural state. Relaxing hair is PERMANENT, therefore they have to maintain their relaxed hair as well as their new growth (natural hair at the roots), and protect the sections and their joints. What I mean is, natural hair is generally strong, thick, has it's coil pattern intact, and the shaft and cuticle are whole and complete. And when relaxed hair, thinned drastically and bone straight is connected to coiled hair, the joint (line of demarcation) is very fragile and breaks off easily. Someone transitioning would keep the hair in styles that would protect it (buns, braids, wigs, extensions).

Another option in Transitioning is called the "BIG CHOP," where we cut off all of the hair that is relaxed, going from some length to nearly none at all--usually one inch or less. This is where Natural hair and it's care comes in, which requires an entirely new post... A whole blog even! But I'll do my best to illustrate the needs and treatment of Natural hair over time, as I have Natural hair, have experienced relaxed, texlaxed, and transitioning and natural hair, and basically know what I'm talking about.

I have a good amount of length so I must be doing something right, hey?

***I have referred to some terms from Nappturality.com, found (here).

Hair type

Here is a chart I found for hair typing (and as class is ending, I am going to be going and have to work on this later on!)

This typing chart was found in the Long Hair Care Forums, created by silvergirl in "Her 4b is not MY 4b."

Reference

Now that is an awesome chart, but it's a bit elaborate. Most Chart types only go to letter C or D, and this is going to H. But when looking through it, it makes perfect sense. I don't have the most extreme tough hair, like G and H, but it's 4D because of it's softness, but seriously irregular pattern and length distribution.

It seriously looks like a mushroom when wet! Here is a pic from last year, but the treatment of it hasn't changed much!

First Post

This is the first post in my blog "Digital Hair Media" (title may change), which I am making for Assignment #3 for my Introduction to Digital Media course in university. I have come up with the idea to create a hair blog, a personal resource, which will illustrate as much about black hair care and culture (of my own experience and through referenced information) as I can.

For the purpose of the assignment, which is due on Tuesday, I will be beginning with a number of general posts about hair care and products, and am not planning on expanding this to a fully developed blog in less than a week. I will, instead, be spending the next few posts covering some general bases: Hair typing, processes, and the do's and don'ts of African American hair care. This is, of course, to the best of my ability.

I have not, as someone with natural hair, experienced or used certain methods on my hair that I will be explaining, but I will do my best to be accurate and give links to my resources.

YouTube and Google will be primary sources for images and tutorials!

(easy-hairstyles.com)