The Strength of Hair

One of the most interesting things about being a hairstylist is the large number of customers who have so much misinformation about hair.

Ewe, damaged hair!

Prior to becoming a hair stylist, I worked in the social service field. I could see the connection between this new phenomenon called "the internet" and the inquiry of hair care. It was as if every woman was on a personal quest to find out about the behind the scenes of hair. They wanted to know what is going and what is not going on in the hair salon. So to that point, it was in social work that I learned just how little information customers were getting about their own hair in spite of paying hundreds of dollars for months and for many years to have their hair cared for and styled.

The agency I worked for would on occasionally pay for hair styles to use them as incentives for positive reinforcement for clients. So while they were being motivated to grow via an occasional hair style, some of that was done in vane because many walked away with just that; a hair style. During that time many women revealed much disappointment in their salon experience by way of the conversation being focused on the stylist, social issues and gossip. The disclosed just how little hair care and care of their own hair was being discussed.This type of service was unfortunate. Those services were truly being paid for with the intent to promote a positive image of self. Many walked away feeling as if their incentive was purely for the financial gain for the stylist as they got a hair style for the moment.

While I no longer work in the field of of social service, as a hair stylist, I still see the conflict women have with their hair and their image. The struggle is real for those with textured hair trying desperately and consistently to find solutions to the challenges of caring for textured hair. 

Rather it is wash and wear, twist out, corn rows, press and curl, silk press, weaves, roller sets, braids, bantu knots, locks, coils, hair cuts, hair color, bald heads and everything in between; the challenge of how to achieve and maintain remains a very frustrating enigma. What is a girl or guy to do? How could it be, that I've spent hundreds of dollars on hair care products and salon visits and I am still not satisfied with my hair? 

The answer lies in the anatomy of each strand of hair. When people think of their hair or touch it, they often associate the head of hair as a bulk versus each individual strand. I feel in my heart that taking people on simple visual  journey of their unique fiber (regardless the texture) can help make the daunting tasks of hair care not daunting! Notice,I did not write easy or quick. Caring for textured hair is not quick or easy. Caring for textured hair is routine. It requires a regimen. Once you get into your regimen, it becomes habitual; not necessarily easy. The more you fight the reality of the regimen your unique fiber requires, the more daunting the task of hair care and hair styling will indeed be. 

To make hair care and hair styling compliment your lifestyle; take the time to get a clear understanding and knowing that hair care is something you must do for your hair on a daily basis.. From there pick a day(s), time(s), and commit to it. Hair care and grooming is very similar to oral care, fabric care and body care. If you don't do it in a timely fashion with the right products, right tools and the right technique; bad teeth, bad breath, faded clothes, bad skin and body odor is the result. So while you may tire of personal, oral hygiene routine, you do it. Ultimately, you get in the habit or routine of  managing them all. You understand what it takes in its entirety and what is required to preserve the life and appearance of them all.

This is a result of the wrong comb, products
and hair styling techniques.

Understanding the hair on your head is simple requires the same thought processes and acceptance that a routine is a must. To help you get your hair care routine mojo going below outlines a few VISUAL guided facts about hair and scalp that will give you a clear depiction of exactly what is going on top of that head of your!










Drum roll please:

• Know that the scalp is a microbial habitat that needs to be cleansed once to twice a week.
• See each strand of hair for what it's worth. One of many! 
• Each strand of hair has multiple cuticle layers that look like shingles on a roof.
• The objective in hair care is to keep those layers in tact.
• Keeping those layers in tact protects the cortex.
• The cortex where hair gets its the strength.
• The cuticle and cortex is strengthened by using the right products, styling tools and right technique.
• Wide tooth combs scrape, tear and compromise the outer cuticle layer; thus further compromising the cortex layer.
• Using water to style hair causes the outer cuticle layer to swell, buckle and snap. This too further exposes the cortex layer.
• Applying conditioners and synthetic oils to the scalp will clog the mouth of the follicle. 
• The mouth of the follicle is the tiny whole each hair grows from.
• When the mouth of follicle is clogged, hair growth becomes compromised rapidly.

There is much hype about the outer layer of hair as it relates to the cuticle. While cuticle care is vital to hair care, remember the color of hair and the true strength of hair lies in the cortex layer. And in hair care, the goal is to protect that cortex layer of the hair to ensure great curls, braids, color, weave, textures, waves, fros, kinks and everything in between. 

Seeming as color and strength are pretty much the primary goal or concern of many when it comes to the appearance and performance of hair, I hope this helps.

Do not make hair care difficult. Keep it simple. Find a routine that suits what your hair fiber calls for and stick to it until it changes. When the texture of your changes, change your regimen. The texture of your hair will change as you age. 

As long as you recognize that protecting that cortex is what is truly responsible for the integrity of each strand of hair, then you too will KNOW the strength of your hair!

That's Played Out (Part 1)!

The maximum absorption rate for hair to reap the benefits of a
hair conditioning treatment or hair conditioner is 1-20
minutes!

In my opinion, the social life of a cosmetologist is similar to a celebrity who goes out into the public and they are overwhelmed with questions about their last movie, television appearance or last music performance. Most times when we go out to dinner with a group of friends or to a party and we are introduced as a hairstylist the conversation, like those with celebrities, immediately turns to hair care. And like a celebrity who gets asked the same questions about their most popular performance, us hairstylists gets asked the same questions about the most hated service in the hair salon....drum roll please; THE GAWD AWFUL HAIR DRYER!

Every body and their great grand ma wants to know why do hair stylists put people under the dryer for a long time when getting a hair conditioning service only for the hair stylists to leave them, forget about them, go have lunch, talk on the phone, run errands, go to the beauty supply store, order products from the distributor right in their face, argue with their significant other, pay their bills, fuss at their children, get on Facebook, scroll Instagram, Tweet or text sweet nothings to their boo thang all while their paying customer sits under THE GAWD AWFUL HAIR DRYER!

Again, this is my Blog Nodogo and Ndogo is Swahili for small, therefore, I have to be brief. This Blog Ndogo will be a two part series.  First things first. When ever I am inundated with this question by the hundreds of people I meet at any type of gathering or party, I always respond in Kurtis Blow voice, "Hold up, hold up, hold up; that's played out!" If y'all old enough, y'all know the rest....LOL

I did some extensive research on this heated topic and let me tell you, there are many of school of thought on this topic. So to the point, readers were calling writers stupid and writers were calling readers stupid. To access this information on Google Scholar was like trying to get into Fort Knox (not happening dude)! So, I am not going to call my readers stupid and while I can not get into Fort Knox, I do know a thing or two and about three chemists to help me help my readers. So here goes it...

The reason sitting under a heated dryer is played out is because of this fancy word called NANO TECHNOLOGY or molecular weight. When it comes to hair care products, I have wrote and taught over one hundred times that the cost and quality of a product is strictly determined by what goes into it and the packaging. So, nano technology speaks to the quality of ingredient used to make the product do what the manufacturer thinks its customers are looking for. 

These molecules are so tiny they can actually penetrate that
very thin strand of hair. Can your egg do that? NOPE

If a customer wants a product that works quick, will not weigh her hair down and is priced within reason; then it is going to take three things. Those three things are very very tiny molecules (hence nano technology), a trained, skilled & certified hair stylist and of course MONEY. Cheaper, out dated products, eggs and mayonaise do not have the technology to penetrate the hair, repair it and wash away with out leaving the hair over processed and you sitting under the dryer for a long time. Why? Because their molecules are too large.

If a hair stylist is using hair care products that calls for sitting under the dryer for 20 to 30 minutes, it only means the molecules are larger and will take much longer to penetrate the cuticle to work. It does not mean the ingredients in the products are not working. They are working different on a molecular level. Which explains why those old school treatment takes a long time and may cost more money (yes you will have to pay that stylist for their time, even if you sit). If the product instructs the hair stylist to leave on the hair for 1-3 minutes or 3-5 minutes BINGO, it's on and crack-a-lackin! That means the molecular weight is very very tiny, the molecules can go directly to the section of the strand of hair that is damaged while the rest rinses down the drain and over processed hair is NOT the result. 

Cationic (ionic) molecule that can attract oil and dirt. It can penetrate the
cuticle layer of hair without DAMAGING it or WEIGHING it down...BAM!

Now, I know for some this will be good news and others will remain wedded to what they have been doing. Of course that is perfectly fine. Typewriters are hard to find, but people still use them. The mantra for the salon, The Reverence Design Team, where I work is "experience the science of hair care." We truly personify that mantra. We only use products with the latest technology. We are all trained and certified by the hair care companies who has this kind of of innovative, unique and affordable technology in their products. While I am all in favor of "Me Time," I also understand that "me time" is not isolated to hours in the hair salon. Their is a paradigm shift in hair care where women want to know what is being use on their hair. They also want it in a timely fashion. Using outdated products and practices will not damage hair in any capacity. A hair stylist who refuses to follow the manufacturers instructions, will.  What it will do is take longer and cost more money. 

Good news; in this case, new school trumps old school. Bad news, sitting under a hair dryer past 10 minutes in this day and time is played out.

In my Kurtis Blow voice, "Dontcha give me all that jive, about things you wrote before I's alive..." And that concludes part one of "That's Played Out."