Protective Hairstyles Advice

America is fascinated with fear.

America. Ah, the land of the free and the home of the brave! Right? Wrong. We might be free, but we most certainly are not brave. While some are brave in fighting the enemies in war to protect our homeland, others are not when it comes to having some heart to fight the ignorance and care for their hair. 

As a cosmetologist, fear in hair care behooves me. To be honest, it was working with women who were afraid of their own hair while working as a social worker is what got me behind the chair in the first place. 

Exhibit A - The famous coveted "protective
silk" scarf.

Yep, during my social work days I can not tell you how many women had children services involved in their homes for lack of hair care, abuse with hair care, trafficking drugs for hair, fighting over hair, stealing hair; they got into all kinds of mischiefs about hair. Well, everything but caring for their hair or their children's hair themselves. Why? I asked myself that question on several occasions. 

The same answer I got over 15 years ago is the same answer I get today. Fear. Don't get me wrong, America is a great place to live. However, if there is one thing I would like to change about our country, it would be our abuse and misuse of fear. Quite naturally in some instances. fear serves a great purpose. Like when there is a bear, you broke your momma's lamp or your water broke. We all can agree, a good dose of fear comes naturally and quickly in those examples. Yet, when it comes to hair, why is there so much fear?

In this blog, I will take on the fear that many women have in caring for their hair under the guise of "protective hairstyles." Yes lawd, these people with this natural hair movement need to go somewhere and sit down. I get the natural part, but the movement throws me. For starters, the guise of "protective hairstyles" that are being promoted by this natural hair movement is moving people in the wrong direction in many instances. Because this topic can get long. I will briefly cover 3 ways that "protective styles" within the natural hair movement, unknowingly promoting "NO HAIR CARE." 

Exhibit B - The most recent "protective" hairstyle, "Latch Hook" braid style.

The first way is fear. There are many women out there who are abandoning hair care in the name of protection for fear. They actually believe that if they comb, can't comb it, wash it, use sulfates, use man made products that their hair will fall out. That is not true. Have no fear because "protective hair styles" are just a fancy way of saying, "keep your hand out of your hair." That concept works great for those who just won't stop combing, weaving, styling, coloring, relaxing and everything in between every time you turn around with their hair. Yes, braiding it up will temporarily suffice. 

The "temporarily suffice" leads me to the second way that the "protective hairstyling" is unknowingly promoting fear and a clique mania within the natural hair movement. Protective hairstyles purpose is to physically cover the hair to reduce friction that often causes breakage and loss of length. Protective hairstyles do not clean hair. Nor does protective hairstyles fortify and reconstruct hair. If protective styles in all its array of choices are your prerogative to protect and grow your hair...then; "Do what you wanna do!" (In my Bobby Brown voice). Protective hairstyles simply cover your hair. Nothing more and nothing less.

But, make no mistake protecting and growing hair will never result in strong, fortified hair that will withstand the rigors of manipulating hair in its many ways. Manipulating hair is typically done via braiding, wrapping, flat ironing, combing, brushing, wearing a scarf, chemically altering it, getting it wet and so on. Hair needs protein to fortify the second layer of hair to keep it strong enough to handle manipulating it. Hair also needs reconstructors to repair the cuticle layer which is responsible for the shine and feel on our hair.

How many braids do we braid on a daily?
Me say, "Money, I mean many many many!"

The third and final problem with the promotion of "protective hair styling" is cleanliness. Next to dehydration, nothing weakens and compromises hair in every way imaginable than dirty hair. Keeping your hair covered, braided or with weaves to keep your hands out of it to keep from breaking your hair off and losing your length is understandable. However, what you really need to understand is that the yeast, dirt, and growing bacteria is the perfect breeding ground for hair eating and follicle (the tiny hole that your hair grows from) compromising micro-organisms that will always result in weak, limp, damaged, over processed, lackluster, thinning, smelly, scaly scalp, lice, and nit infested hair. That is; when you take it down.

I so get the importance of embracing what God gave you by way of hair texture. But what good will pointing out the beauty of your God given hair (regardless your race, texture and length) if you do not wash it properly with the correct products formulated for your unique hair fabric? What good is protecting your natural hair if you cover it, braid it or  "weave" it and you will not wash it and fortify it? What good is it to boast and brag about being natural and going natural when you are too busy to care for it? What good is it to be "natural" if you do not want to learn how to do it yourself or invest in someone who can?

Hair nits. The struggle is real. Do not use hair straight
from the package. Clean the artificial hair first.

I will reiterate how I get the movement. I understand. I too promote braiding it, covering it , and weaving it. But, where the movement is going and who are allowed to go on it, remains something of an enigma to me? Using fear and ignorance, coupled with unresponsible leadership will continue to move those with hair in the illusive wrong direction of protective styles that require no care, no treatment, no cleaning, no nothing; well not at least for 3 weeks to 3 months. That will never suffice and result in strong shainy hair. 

In closing, would you Google a movement, followed its directions and buty their endorsed products to protect your vagina like that?

Exactly!

Long Hair Do Care

Long hair starts with clean hair.

Believe it or not, beauty has a behind the scenes. The beautiful and fortuitous honor of being a cosmetologist is knowing and seeing the beauty of those scenes. 

When you think of "behind the scenes," what comes to your mind? Make up, people who do the hair or the stylists who provide the clothes and shoes. Perhaps you think of the other people associated with them. For example, their wealthy husbands, fancy cars, host of decked out cribs and hired help to make all that beauty pop. Now of course that is the "controlled" behind the scenes of beauty. That is the superficial part of beauty. That is also the fake part of beauty. 

The true behind the scenes of beauty is the personal commitment to it via one's well thought out and executed plan to genuinely and authentically be beautiful. Of course there are things that accent us as humans to make us beautiful. Things such as our attitudes, body type, appearance of skin, eyes, scents, well manicured nails, pampered feet and the likes. Of all the things that capture and reflect beauty; none quite accents it all like long luxurious, thick, flowing, bouncy, colored, curled, coiled, braided, weaved, silky, straightened, locked hair. 

Long hair is achievable.

The beauty of behind the scenes is what it is...behind the scenes. Behind the scenes of long hair is clean hair, is combed hair, is coated hair, is hair whose ends are in tact, is hair that is pre-genetically determined to have it long. It is also hair that is obviously very long hair by not allowing untrained, non caring, scissor happy individuals who do not know much about hair; let alone long hair even touch it.  What you see when you see long hair is not only what people do to it behind the scenes to achieve it but in your face as well. When it comes to having long hair, regardless the many ways one can have it; only the few, the proud, the dedicated, the committed and the pre-genetically determined can have it. Don't shoot the messenger. Don't hate. Congratulate. Get with the program.

Long hair is not about taking vitamins and spending lots of money in the hair salon or the beauty supply store. Long hair is about caring for the ends of the hair so that as it grows, which it will rather you take vitamins, pills or not, so that they do not break off. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Long hair do care!

For those who have textured (curly, kinky, wavy and Afro) hair, achieving long hair can be a tad bit more difficult than those who have straight hair. For most, hair has the ability to make it's own oil called "sebaceous oil." The scalp secretes it naturally. However, if you have textured hair (curly, kinky, wavy or Afro), the oil has a difficult time flowing from the textured regrowth to the ends. So the objective in hair care is to get the oils from the scalp to the ends so they do not break off as it grows naturally from the scalp. In addition, coating the hair with oil versus water based moisturizers will guarantee that your ends will not break and snap because they are doused and saturated with water, heavy minerals, waxes and resins from those kinds of hair care products. I know there are a lot of women reading this with textured hair who absolutely hate oily hair. But coated hair does not translate to into greasy shellac coated hair. Coated hair simply means combing your hair to re-distribute the oils that your scalp produces and what you add to it.

Too much emphasis are put on growth when it is the ends of the hair is where the attention has to be. That explains why many complain that their hair has been the same length for the past 3 years or so. The manufactured hoax of growing hair is getting utterly and ridiculously out of control. The hoax is deliberately designed to keep you focused on growing and lengthening. Women and men are spending hundreds and thousands of of dollars to grow hair. And some are even throwing in the towel and is just outright buying it because they are fed up with the "lies" that they too can some day have long hair. 

Alopecia is NO laughing matter.

The truth of the matter is hair grows for free rather you take a pill or not. The other part of the truth is that some people will never have hair no matter what they do because they may have a disorder that keeps their hair from growing. Disorders such as alopecia, balding, thinning and good old fashioned aging are typically the culprits. Who helps those people? Nobody. Nobody tells people or remind people that alopecia is hair loss disorder that is connected to a break down in the immune system. So instead of telling and reminding them of that; they lie. They lie. sell and tell them to take hair growing pills, vitamins and use hair growing greases, creams and steroids to grow their hair. Liars. They are all liars. 

Women who feel they can never have long hair hair fall into what I call "groups." The first group is the "Don't Care Group." This group is where the largest portion of women world wide who refuse to care for their hair and do what it takes to keep it on the head as it grows out because they sincerely believe bought into they hype that they don't have do anything to their hair but grow it in order to get it long. How sad.

The "Aston Martin" of protein
for hair!

The second group, I call "The Same Ol' Length." This is the group who gets to that unwanted bowl or frumpy chin length hair who gives up and cuts it back off only to revisit that length over and over again. The last group are the infamous, notorious and rebellious "BIG CHOPPERS." This group are thee official renegades of getting long hair. As if chopping off hair is a bad thing, because it really is not. But what it is for most is a vicious return to not caring for hair. They end up being a slave to hair by way of the new age multi-billion dollar money making schemes called: natural hair, transition hair, protective hair styles, chemical free hair styles, organic hair styles and the likes. 

What do I have to say about all this to these groups? "Women and men across the globe, get your billions back!" And yes in my H&R Block commercial voice and yes the music is playing. Come on people, the time for this nonsense to stop is now. Turn off the constant chatter of growing hair and listen to your hair. Look at it, spend time with it and keep other folks out of it.

The beauty of the behind the scenes of achieving longer, stronger, shiny hair is good old fashioned dedication to simplicity. I promise that if you follow these simple steps, you will be amazed by how much longer your hair will be. 

Regrowth/new growth is strong.

For those of you who do not know or even realize it, but long hair is old hair. The longer the hair, the older it is. Hair grows from the scalp. The regrowth is very strong and has less stressors on them as it relates to heated styling tools, environmental stress and hair care products compared to the mid shaft and end of hair. Therefore the less you care for your hair as it grows out the more fragile and susceptible your hair will be to breaking and splitting as it grows out. Everything must be done to ensure that the ends of your hair remain strong and in tact. If not, it WILL snap off at the line of demarcation between the regrowth and long (old) hair. So get ya mind off just growing your hair!

Step 1: Dirty hair is the coup de grace of all hair at any length. For those of you who have a strong desire to have long hair, nothing makes it happen like CLEAN hair. So please, shampoo you hair at least once to twice a week. Do not listen to those folk who tell you that textured hair can not be shampooed frequently. That's like saying you can not wash denim as frequently as you do your rayon shirts. Once any fabric is dirty it needs to be cleaned. If not, all fabric will tear. 

Step 2: Next up would be the comb. Comb your hair to de-tangle and to coat it. That is correct. I wrote it before, so I will write it again. A comb is to your hair what a broom is the floor and what a toothbrush is to your teeth. Enough said. Long hair is old hair. Combing your hair frequently as it grows with the proper comb helps to de-tangle it so it does not snap off and break. And combing your hair helps to distribute the oils that your scalp produces to the ends as well as the oils you add to your hair. 

Long hair reflect inner beauty.

Step 3: Protein. Human beings are lean mean protein making machines. Hair is actually made of a protein called keratin. Keratin is protein. Most people sincerely believe that hair needs moisture. No, hair needs protein. Removing protein from hair care is like removing bones from your body. Yep, that is absolutely how vital protein is to hair care. I have heard many people profess their absolute disdain for protein. To that I respond, "Protein is to hair like the word automobile is to cars. All automobiles will get you where you want to go, the question is...how do you want to arrive? All proteins strengthen, the question is the source. What is it about the BMW that makes you want it over a Ford? What is it about Daily Hair Rx Xtreme Liquid Repair Spray by Philip Pelusi that makes one wants it over Placenta? For those who want long hair, have long hair or and want to see their hair grow longer; I say add quality protein to your hair care to up the ante for longer stronger hair. 

Step 4: What they don't tell you at the hair salon is that hair grows every day all day. Hair grows approximately 1/4th in in about a month, give or take a centimeter here and there. The objective to having long hair is to keep it as it grows from your scalp. Hair cutting is as essential to maintaining the health of hair as cutting your nails is essential to great nail and toe nail care. Getting hair cuts on a routine basis is vital to keeping your length. The question of cutting hair is how much to cut off and how often. I am not not who takes kindly to the term "Free Trims." Combing your hair down and then taking the shears to simply snip the ends is the quickest way to lose the length on tresses. Understand that every hair grows from its own tiny hole called a follicle. So combing it "all" down to trim hair is about as effective as using hedge trimmers to cut grass. In order for hair to be cut properly, a meticulous precision cut is imperative. 

Human hair strands do not grow
at the same rate like dog (animal) hair.

The life expectancy of one strand of hair is about 7 years. When the seven years is up, a new one starts to grow in again. For the record, all of your hair strands are not growing at the same time. The key to achieving optimal length from your hair is to have a hair stylist who knows that human hair is nothing like animal hair or hair weave. Because all the hair does not grow in at the same rate, the "comb down, FREE TRIM" is now ineffective and counter productive to getting longer hair . In order to see the length on your hair that grows every day is to keep the scissors out of it. I would not not cut my hair or have it cut monthly, for you would be cutting the length off. However, I would make it a point to have a precision cut by a well trained hair stylist who understands your desire to have long hair. If you wait about 10-12 weeks that would give you close to 1 inch. When you get your precision cut, the skilled and proficient hair stylist would cut about 1/4 inch, leaving you with almost 3/4th's to keep on your head; hence length. I use this approach with the Lunar Hair cutting concept to maximize the body's natural ability to grow hair in sync with the moon that influences blood flow and hormonal activity to increase the likelihood for hair to grow, stay strong and long.  

Hair growing pills can help but your hair
will grow for free regardless!

As you can see, getting long hair is not all they hype that they have cracked it up to be. All the hype about growing pills, super growing vitamins, protective hair styles, braiding hair up and all that jive is just that....jive. Behind the scenes and in front of everyone, hair grows rather you take vitamins, wear braids or not. The name of the game is clean hair, combed hair, coated hair, strengthened hair by way of protein and hair cuts; nothing more nothing less. All the other stuff is hype. Hype can help, but it is not the cure all. It is not a means to the end. At the end of the day, you have to care for it as it grows out. Hair, like teeth, do not take care of itself. If you do not make the time to care for either properly; fake hair and false teeth is the only resolve to the quest to have real long healthy hair and a healthy smile. 

Hair weaves have become a great alternative to having long hair when you simply can no longer wait to have it, if your hair will not grow, or it is simply your choice. What ever the reason, having it yourself is possible provided you do not have disorder that prohibits it from growing. If the latter is not the culprit to having long hair; I plea to you to give your hair a chance yourself. As you mature, grow your hair care with you. Invest in quality hair care products by hair care companies who offer money back guarantee and stand behind the products they manufacture. 

Hair weaves are a great option when you want long hair now
or if your hair can not grow due to genetic or medical
conditions.

Long hair does not equate to care free hair. Protective hair styles do not result in long hair that is strong and can be worn upon taking down the protective style. Long hair does not come from sewing in hair, gelling hair down or pulling it back "until it grows out." Long hair is not about buying the latest trend in hair care. Long hair is "do care" hair.

Long hair is a reflection of the simplicity of hair care, a healthy body and or genetics. Don't believe me? Just ask someone who has long hair; they know.