The Great Escape

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there lived women who loved to adorn themselves. Taking time to look at oneself from head to toe with their own eyes was the way to start the day after prayer. As time went on and new things came into civilization, the mirror was introduced. After women completed their morning rituals (prayer, getting children ready, caring for their parents and the likes), they would adorn themselves in the mirror. Adorning had a different meaning for different people. For some adorning meant cleaning their body, for others adorning meant cleaning, rubbing on oils and applying perfumes and for another group adorning added hair styling to that adorning process. 

Today, adorning has taken a different path. Due to the paradigm shift in womanhood, motherhood, career, marriage and so; adorning is not quite the foo-foo frilly girly girl stuff it used to be. While spending two hours to get ready for the day is not on the minds or in the schedules of today's woman; there should be some time set aside to simply adorn, care for and prepare yourself as you go out into the world to do whatever pleases you. 

Family, career, spirituality, philanthropy and care for others are extremely important to many for varying reasons. However, nothing is more important than self. Self can sound so selfish. Well, because it is. Incorporating self first is priority one as you prepare for tomorrow today, right now. The story of the flight attendant instructing passengers to place the oxygen mask over their nose first in the event of an emergency remains a favorite analogy to many in encouraging others the importance of putting self first. 

The same can be said when making an effort to face the goals, task or challenges of the day. Putting your best foot forward every time you can is essential to doing your purpose or finding it. Putting your best foot forward begins or concludes with raising your arms to care for your hair as you enter the world of co-existing.

The misnomer that beauty takes a lot of time discourages many who are involved or is overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle demands of preparing for the day. This blog is to inform you that it does not take a lot of time. Taking the time to adorn yourself has many benefits. Some examples of those benefits are as follows:

Time will give you time.

1. Combing hair, 2-5 minutes
2. Washing your hair, 5-10 minutes
3. Learning how to care for your hair is a great stress buster, 5 min. to 2 hours
4. Curling your hair, 5-45 minutes
5. Blow drying your hair, 5-30 minutes
6. Braiding your hair, 5 min. - 2 hours

Some benefits to doing your own hair:

1. It can save you time from to and from travel time to the salon
2. It can save you time on the wait time at the salon
3. It shows your children who are watching your rituals that self-care is important
4. It affords you a chance to examine your entire body and notice if something is not right (i.e. lumps, bumps, moles, skin irritation, body odor and so on)
5. It shows your mate the importance of self-care

While taking the time to adorn yourself may seem like a waste of time, it is not. Refrain from ignoring all that you consider beautiful about yourself. Do not allow the frustration and confusion of not knowing how to do your hair, keep you from it. Take the time and make the time to learn your hair. Invest wisely. Understand that you only purchase 3 items to care for your entire body. Soap, lotion or oil and deodorant. Both are done with the use of a face cloth, loofah mitt and hands. Hair care should only consist of 3 items as well. Shampoo, conditioner (optional) and a styling agent (oil, cream, spray, gel, leave in conditioner and the likes). Hair can be styled with up to 3 things: comb, brush (optional) and your hands!

The impact is real today.

The great escape for many began at the onset of slavery. Not just for the slaves but for the masters, their spouses and offsprings as well. The "man's" main focus was control over all for the sake of land, money, and lust. The "man" or the master was not interested in hygiene or care of self. He knew that they key to mental and physical slavery was to deny self-care. Self-care connects one to their spirit. His goal was to break that spirit for control and money. That type of mental abuse and neglect carried over and was incorporated as a way of life for many. 

Sometime during the 1920's through 1970, people were no longer running. People were learning and embracing their culture and its practices. From the coiffed hairstyles of the 20's through the 50's to the Afros, cornrow braids and long hair of the 60's; people were loving and embracing the hair that made them unique. 

When was the last time you did this!

The momentum of the run has returned with the introduction of fancy marketing as companies and people brand themselves. Their goal is to promote their products and themselves by selling a possible solution to your fear of your hair and desires to look a certain way. The tactics seen on social media, print and TV are directly responsible for you not wanting to do your hair yourself. Self-esteem, lack of self-knowledge and history of your lineage also play a vital role in how you see yourself. 

In the end, It is important to beautify and adorn yourself. Both are vital to your existence as a human because again, they enhance and connect to your spirituality. Love yourself as you be yourself. Be open to growing and learning about yourself and your hair on a daily basis. 

Remember, "Beauty is, as beauty does, as beauty gets!"

Combs, Rakes & Pics Oh My!

I recall when I was in high school I had to take this elective class called “Think.” I remeber looking at my schedule (the one I did not make) and thought to myself, “What kind of class is this? I mean aren’t we already thinking?” I asked the counselor about the class and what it meant. He summed it up by telling me that the class was designed to improve my “critical thinking skills.” “Oooooookay!” was my response. While I don’t recall everything about the class, one think I do remember, was learning about analogies. As a cosmetologist,  I now use analogies all the time to help my clients “think” differently about how they care for their hair care thus making learning how to do it at home a lot more easier to comprehend and practice upon leaving the salon.

In 2011, Susan Yara, a writer for Forbes Magazines reports, “the PBA (Professional Beauty Association) reports the average price for a hairstyle in the United States is $45.00.” Considering many salons charge double that amount,  that makes the cost of many hair styles sizeable investments and to me that changes the way licensed professionals should do business. I began to see early on the paradigm shift in hair care move from one simple request to getting “my hair did” for the day to to what are your doing to my hair. To me that translates into, “how do I protect my investment?”

After I service a client, I always send them home with a comb. But not just any comb. The proper comb. Why the comb? Because, it all starts with the comb, rake or pick; oh my! That is right. Nothing undo’s the efforts of costly salon visit than a cheap comb. Nothing will rip, tear and snap hair than the wrong comb. And nothing will detangle, un-matt or reduce the tangling and tears than no comb at all.

Why the comb? Going back to that “Think” class, I will use an analogy to drive in why. A comb is to your hair what a broom is to the floor. Still don’t get it? Here is another one, A comb is to your hair what a toothbrush is to your teeth. (I know you bobbin’ your head cuz I can see ya!) Yeah, you get it now. If you have ever tried to sweep the floor with a cheap broom; it won’t collect the debris. And If you have ever attempted to brush your teeth with a over-used toothbrush; you will quickly reach in your “for guest only” stash of toothbrushes and crack that baby open as if it was a “break in case of emergency seal!”

The main purpose of a comb is to clean and detangle hair by way of removing hair that has completed its growth cycle so that new hairs can come in and to remove hair that is broke to reduce snarling and tangling. If you use the wrong comb or an inferior comb on your tresses (chemically altered or not), the result is unwanted damage, loss of length and/or irritated scalp.

Comb out Comb

There are basically 3-4 types of combs that have varying purposes. The first is a comb out comb or Afro comb. These combs should be made of rubber or a sturdy plastic. Rubber/plastic combs are easier to sanitize, they do not break and they glide easily through most textures (curly, kinky, wavy and straight), density ( the numbers of hair fibers per cubic inch) and length (how long the hair is) provided you have a great conditioner or detangler on your hair. Combs made of other materials or metals typically break or can not effectively detangle more dense thick heads of textured hair.  The second is the, long tooth comb out comb. This comb is shaped the same as the regular comb out comb and is best when made of rubber or plastic. This comb is the best for long, very dense and very textured heads of hair. The long teeth are the secret to an ouchless detangle and the long teeth on the combs can detalngle those hair textures and length. The third comb is a “all purpose” comb. It also known as a barbers comb. This comb is best for relaxed sleek styles. The all purpose come is also great for wrapping your hair, smoothing ponytails or combing bangs. The fourth comb is the “Pin Tail or Rat Tail” comb. This comb is excellent for parting hair to curl, flat iron or roll hair. The pin or rat tail comb is also use to section hair for chemical relaxing hair to make the suggested partings. These combs are best when made of plastic. The fifth comb is the “Rake” comb. The “rake” comb is best to create texture on thermal curled or roller set styles. Do not use wide or “rake” combs to detangle hair or use them as everyday combs. Remember the analogy above. A comb is to your hair what a broom is to the floor. And with that being written, ask yourself would you sweep your floor with a rake or would you use a broom? Ah ha, still bobbin’ yo head!

Well, that concludes my blog on combs rakes and picks; oh my! Be sure to take all this into consideration as you think about the investment spent on your tresses.