Could YOU be your hair's worst enemy?

Check out this piece on Examiner.com on the many things we could stop doing to help restore our hair to health. You may be surprised to find that you are committing one or more of these unhealthy hair offenses every day!

 

 

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/you-may-be-stunting-your-hair-growth

Take the natural plunge...but read this first!

Contemplating the big step of whether to go natural or keep your relaxer? One really big question is how will you look? You’ve had a relaxer since you were in fifth grade and can’t even remember what your kinks/curls look like. For you the benefits of letting go of the “cream crack” definitely out way the cons, but you are in Cooperate America, you work on high profile cases, your colleagues are mainly non-minorities who may not "get it" and frankly you cannot take the chance of losing your creditability just because you have decided to be true to your own creed.

Fear is associated with any major change in life, even if the change is a good one. Think back to when you got married or had a child, graduated from college or decided to go back to school. All those decisions were for the better but involved a certain amount of risk. Similarly, the choice of whether to maintain a relaxer or free your natural locs can be a source of anxiety.

Unfortunately, all risk cannot be removed from a controversial choice, but here are a few suggestions that may make going natural (if that’s what you really want to do) just a little easier.

1.     Try to ensure that you keep your transitioning tresses as healthy as possible. Keep your hair moisturized and manageable. For tips on maintaining moistrure in your natural locs click here or for products that promote healthy hair click here.

2.     Don’t want to go from long relaxed locs to a super mini fro, which may be all the new growth you have developed in the process. Don’t chop it all off. Maintain your two textures by seeking out a professional who is well versed in helping to make the transition from relaxer to natural. Let yourself get used to the curls first, give it time to get some length to it and then (when you are absolutely ready) cut the relaxer and enjoy your natural freedom.

3.     Finally, get a preview of how you may look once the relaxer is all gone. Some natural seekers are going for dread locs or twists. Some want a bountiful afro still other are searching for cascading curls. You may not have noticed but there is a wig to simulate all those looks. Pick one up, try it on and get a feel for how you will look with a “natural”. The wig is a fairly inexpensive, non-committed way to see if this is what you really want and if you will really “love” yourself in curls as much as you think you might love yourself in curls

My own little experiement with natural locs!

The fact remains, this is a big step. It is an affair that must not be entered into lightly. BUT if you do decide to take your look back to Eden, stay empowered, be informed and keep it healthy!

For all sorts of tips on all hair types and updates on what’s hot for fall 2012 click here.

FALL FASHION SHOWS DEBUT NEW LOOKS FOR FALL: EXAMINER.COM

Fashion week unveiled some interesting new trends that can make getting through fall not so “ho hum”

1.    The high bun: Reminiscent of your days as a ballerina at your first recital this spin on the bun can be achieved several different ways. Pull hair up into a high pony, tease then tuck. Do a loose, effortless “just left the gym” look. A tight top not with long fringy bangs looks cute as well. Just remember, the higher the better!

2.    Bangs: Bangs are really not a new style, stylist just keep re-inventing the look to make it fresh and new each season. Thick, blunt, wide bangs are back in as seen on the run way at Marni. Layered and pixie-ish are still all the rage for short hair. A high bang, way above the brow, defined by long hair on the sides can make for a dramatic look. Be sure to choose a bang style that best fits your face.

3.    The braid: Braids just won’t stop! Summer time boasted all sorts of fancy frocks filled with braids. The fall continues the trend. Braid head bands are in. Messy side swept braids are in. Braided bangs are in. French braids, cornrows and twists of all sorts are in.

4.    Color: No more is outrageous color reserved for the fashion misfits or anti-fashionista. The run way was flooded rivers of color! The Haider Ackermann show demonstrated bold, colorful hairlines on wet, slicked back hair. Katy Perry- esque color chunks showed up as well. Locs that looked as though they had been dipped in water color made an appearance too. It seems anything goes as far as personal expression and color is concerned.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE FULL ARTICLE @ EXAMINER.COM

REVIEW: Naturally You by Motions

In a quest to keep my daughter's thirsty curls quenched, I will try new things from time to time.  Call it luck or coincidence I stumbled upon this product that works but then again not so much...

Let me explain…

The latest product in review is Naturally You by Motions. We are all familiar with the original Motions hair care line. There are products that I love within the line and some that just do not deliver. If you have had this kind of up and down relationship with Motions you may have abandoned usage by now in search of a much more reliable source for hair care.

Given a lead from a reader I decided to track down (no easy task) this new addition to the Motions line of hair care products to see if it was any more promising than its original counterpart. I literally looked high and low as this product is not sold at all the locations referenced on the Motions website. I called around and stopped in hoping to find this "wonderful" new product for natural curls.

The long and short of it is that the Hydrate My CurlsPudding is pretty good. It added shine and luster not to mention moisture to my 2 year old’s curly cues. The shampoo and conditioner, however, did not perform as well. In all honesty, her hair dried out tremendously and it was very difficult to detangle. I was quite confused as the products are all marketed together claiming that continued use in combination with one another as a complete hair care system will make your hair care experience even better. Not the case for me.

Day two after playing and rolling in her favorite blankie...not too bad.

Washed and Hydrate My Curls was applied.

In it’s defense, Naturally You is very new on the market so I feel an "all new and improved formula" coming on in the near future.

Note: the Hydrate My Curls does build up so I wouldn’t use it every day. My favorite hair care product for her curly styles is still Organics: Texture My Way. I still have yet to find any "natural hair" care prodcut that can out perform it in terms of adding moisture without adding build-up while maintaining soft supple curls all day long.

Still my all time favorite!

As natural hair care products go, I would not give this line a failing grade, but I do not think it will live up to the hype. I will not be purchasing another round.

Click Here to see Naturally You for yourself

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EXAMINER.COM for a different perspective

Examine the science of hair

Check out my page on Examiner.com for a slightly different perspective on hair care. There we take a look at fashion and what’s trending in health and beauty. We also focus on breaking the down the topics you are most interested in and that best serve our readers like how to REALLY stimulate hair growth. From science to fads to celebrity styles, it’s all covered on my professional page @ Examiner.com. Subscribe today to get updates!

Growth Update

It’s no secret that the tragedy of having to repair my little one’s precious locs was the motivation for this inspirational hair blog. Thus far we have gotten so much positive feedback from parents celebrating our efforts to inspire, encourage and inform. Some have said that they wish this page was around before their daughters reached adulthood, but that now they use some of the tips on their own hair. Still others try these simple but useful tips on their young daughters who are currently toddler and youth age. Either way, we are glad that sharing our stories have given hope and inspiration to our faithful readers. AND There is still more to come...

Now, here is a little more inspiration to offer for parents who have had a tragic hair experience like ours. Just to recap, my now five year old was born with a head full of fluffy dark locs. Her hair was strong and coarse and beautiful. At about the age of three and half I decided that it may be best to take her to a “professional” to maintain her hair health. Her hair was healthy and there was no indication of breakage or split ends. She hated for me to tackle her head full of hair so I thought that maybe she would act better for someone else.

So sad that I figured out too late that my task is a gift. I should have just endured the tears and the tantrums of a little girl. If only I had had a crystal ball, I would have never conceded to my fatigue and bewilderment from her carrying on. BUT unfortunately I did concede and the result was severe heat damage to my oldest daughter’s hair. My belief is that the dryer was way too hot and her hair was burned or singed. At that time she had several inches of beautiful, long pony tails. Since I first noticed the terrible damage till now, I have trimmed off at least 6 inches or more of her hair.

This story, however, does have a happy ending. Below is a current photo of her new hair growth.

Huge healthy puffs, yay!!

I think you may be able to see the braids down her back on this very poor iphone snapshot. Doesn't help that she is wearing a black t-shirt, huh? LOL!

It is not quite as long as it once was but it has grown out quite a bit. She and I are very happy and hope that her hair health continues.

What has contributed to the new growth? First, as with any form of health, it begins from the inside. We made sure to increase the protein in her diet (which is quite a task in its self since she does not eat red meat and barely eats chicken). We added Omegas as well; not to mention lots of hydration like water and Vitamin Water Zero. After we made sure her diet was satisfactory, we made sure to nourish the outside as well. This blog has chronicled much of our journey to discover the best products for her hair and the hair of my younger daughter as well. Without rehashing all the products, the consistency shared by all the products that actually worked was moisture and detangling ability. We applied pre-shampoo treatments prior to shampooing by weekly (we would go three weeks sometimes). We decreased heat, eliminating blow drying and when we did decide to use a flat iron or straightening comb, it was used with caution ensuring that the dial was not turned up to hot. All of the above served to promote and maintain growth. Half way through our process I discovered Doo Gro, Stimulating Growth Oil. I use this on both girls’ hair. I don’t know how much affect it has had on growth by its self, but it adds moisture to the scalp and some of the ingredients stimulate scalp circulation. These attributes can’t hurt. We have a ways to go, but I believe we are on the right track.

Stay on this journey with us and let’s keep finding new and innovative ways to keep our little ones healthy and beautiful.

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Shake it up for a change

If you are like me it is hard to change. AND staying in the same old rut can be easy and does not require a lot of thought. Two Heads keeps me searching for new ways to twist the tried and true but still keep it fairly easy on mommy (and daddy).

The below is my five year old sporting a spin off of the same old two pig tails style that every little girl has worn at least a million times :-).

Usually, when we do this style, we simply part her hair straight down the middle and pull each side of her hair up into two pig tails. We accent with barrettes on either side of the part and call it a day. Well, this particular day we wanted to be a little risqué and take a departure from the norm.

So this time we started with a zig zag part (which can be a little tricky). The part takes a little time because you want each zig and zag to be sharp and definitive so you may need to practice. By the way, I purposely have a little more hair on one side than the other. I love how it looks a little off set. I then zig zagged a little piece to the side at the nape of her neck to add a little interest. And finally we added two tendrils on each side to accent her little face. Instead of leaving the pig tails loose or braiding them like normal, I looped them over into puffs. I still added barrettes on either side and little tiny accessories to the tendrils. As you can see the tendrils are loosely twisted.

And there you have it…a little twist on the old school pig tails.  Shake it up!

Skirt: Target

Leggings: Target (2 seasons ago :-) can't believe they still fit)

Top: A gift from her grandmother

Sandals: Gymboree (last season)

Hair accessories: Walmart (believe it or not ;-))

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