i've decided that i'm going to take a break from all things hair related. goodbye blog, fotki, and discussion boards! the reason being that i just don't have much to say or contribute. i've got a rock solid hair routine, trusty styling methods and products, and quite frankly i'm tired of looking at my hair! i'll still be checking out other fotkis or be glad to answer any questions anyone might have, i just wont be updating for a while.
thanks for being so supportive of me, my family, and our curls!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
this curly girl isn't afraid of salons. and here's why!
after spending years on hair forums and discussion boards, i've noticed that many curlies avoid a trip to the salon like the plague. ive worked at a salon before, so i kind of have a different perspective on things. i dont think salons and stylists are the devil. and i think some of the issues folks have with not being happy with their salon experience is partly their own fault. don't get me wrong, not all of my salon experiences have been filled with puppies and rainbows. but out of the visits that ended in a hot mess, i can admit that i could have avoided it.
i think the key to finding a good stylist is to treat your hair like you would treat your child. you would'nt just drop your kid off at the first daycare center you saw or even one recommended by a friend, simply because they recommended it. but we tend to do that with our hair. we go to some random place and expect things to be okay. it took us God knows how long to figure out how to manage our own hair but we expect a stranger to get it right in the 1st 5 minutes of dealing with it. we don't ask questions, we don't watch how they are with others' hair. we don't tell them what we expect them to do and why we expect them to do it.
sometimes i hear people saying time is money and stylists don't want to spend the time trying to style curly/kinky hair because it takes too long. and they can;t make money if we're sitting in the chair all day. well yes, time=money. but i see it not only as the uneducated stylists don't want to spend the time doing our hair, but alot of times we dont want to spend the money on an educated or skilled stylist. once again, would you drop your kid off at the cheapest daycare in town just because it was the cheapest? or do you look for one that meets your requirements/expectations as well as your wallet?
countless times i've heard people say that they avoid going to a salon because all stylists are scissor happy. whenever you ask for a trim, they always give you a haircut. having worked at a salon and being a customer at a salon, ive seen both sides of the coin. there are some stylists who think scalping you is a trim. but ive also seen clients in denial about their hair. they want to hang onto raggedy ends that they think aren't that bad. i am fully ready to admit, that i have avoided getting a trim this month because i know i'm going to need more than i want taken off. no matter how much i baby my hair, i still get breakage, split ends, and single strand knots. and the longer i go without a trim, the more hair needs to get cut off. i wish i were one of those people who could say i havent cut my hair in a year or more because i just haven't needed to. but i'm not. and i'm going to have to put on my big girl panties and get the trim. if i would have been real about the situation and had it trimmed months ago, i wouldn't be in this situation. and as much as i'd like to blame my impending trim on an overzealous stylist and her scissor happy hands, i know it's my own fault.
some people complain taht stylists won't just look through the hair and trim only the damaged ends (search and destroys) without considering the overall shape of the hair. as a stylist, you can't do that and apparently a lot of people don't realize that. if any of you watch project runway, its kind of like how the designers throw something together when they run out of time right before judging. they sew models into dresses instead of having proper closures, they have pin things instead of hemming them correctly, they glue things on, etc. in real life, a designer wouldn't sell the finished product like that. asking a stylist to do a search and destroy is kind of like asking a designer to glue you into your outfit and then getting upset when they wont do it.
the best salon experience i ever had was this past november. i walked in knowing id pay a pretty penny for my service but it was well worth it. i went to a stylist who was ranked at the salon as a master stylist (they cost the most) and i was very vocal about what i wanted, what i didn't want, and why that was the way it was going to be. near the end she even admitted to me that even though she is the professional and always trusts her own judgement, she valued my opinion because she knew that i was knowledgable when it came to my hair and hair in general. it wasn't the best salon experience because it was the greatest my hair ever looked leaving a salon. as a matter of fact, i left the salon thinking "i cant wait to get home so that i can fix my hair!" but my appointment was for color and the color looked great. it was a great salon experience because i walked out of there with a feeling of trust. i know she will listen to me in the future, she was open and interested in learning how to style my hair, and she knows that i am not in denial about the state of my hair.
i think the key to finding a good stylist is to treat your hair like you would treat your child. you would'nt just drop your kid off at the first daycare center you saw or even one recommended by a friend, simply because they recommended it. but we tend to do that with our hair. we go to some random place and expect things to be okay. it took us God knows how long to figure out how to manage our own hair but we expect a stranger to get it right in the 1st 5 minutes of dealing with it. we don't ask questions, we don't watch how they are with others' hair. we don't tell them what we expect them to do and why we expect them to do it.
sometimes i hear people saying time is money and stylists don't want to spend the time trying to style curly/kinky hair because it takes too long. and they can;t make money if we're sitting in the chair all day. well yes, time=money. but i see it not only as the uneducated stylists don't want to spend the time doing our hair, but alot of times we dont want to spend the money on an educated or skilled stylist. once again, would you drop your kid off at the cheapest daycare in town just because it was the cheapest? or do you look for one that meets your requirements/expectations as well as your wallet?
countless times i've heard people say that they avoid going to a salon because all stylists are scissor happy. whenever you ask for a trim, they always give you a haircut. having worked at a salon and being a customer at a salon, ive seen both sides of the coin. there are some stylists who think scalping you is a trim. but ive also seen clients in denial about their hair. they want to hang onto raggedy ends that they think aren't that bad. i am fully ready to admit, that i have avoided getting a trim this month because i know i'm going to need more than i want taken off. no matter how much i baby my hair, i still get breakage, split ends, and single strand knots. and the longer i go without a trim, the more hair needs to get cut off. i wish i were one of those people who could say i havent cut my hair in a year or more because i just haven't needed to. but i'm not. and i'm going to have to put on my big girl panties and get the trim. if i would have been real about the situation and had it trimmed months ago, i wouldn't be in this situation. and as much as i'd like to blame my impending trim on an overzealous stylist and her scissor happy hands, i know it's my own fault.
some people complain taht stylists won't just look through the hair and trim only the damaged ends (search and destroys) without considering the overall shape of the hair. as a stylist, you can't do that and apparently a lot of people don't realize that. if any of you watch project runway, its kind of like how the designers throw something together when they run out of time right before judging. they sew models into dresses instead of having proper closures, they have pin things instead of hemming them correctly, they glue things on, etc. in real life, a designer wouldn't sell the finished product like that. asking a stylist to do a search and destroy is kind of like asking a designer to glue you into your outfit and then getting upset when they wont do it.
the best salon experience i ever had was this past november. i walked in knowing id pay a pretty penny for my service but it was well worth it. i went to a stylist who was ranked at the salon as a master stylist (they cost the most) and i was very vocal about what i wanted, what i didn't want, and why that was the way it was going to be. near the end she even admitted to me that even though she is the professional and always trusts her own judgement, she valued my opinion because she knew that i was knowledgable when it came to my hair and hair in general. it wasn't the best salon experience because it was the greatest my hair ever looked leaving a salon. as a matter of fact, i left the salon thinking "i cant wait to get home so that i can fix my hair!" but my appointment was for color and the color looked great. it was a great salon experience because i walked out of there with a feeling of trust. i know she will listen to me in the future, she was open and interested in learning how to style my hair, and she knows that i am not in denial about the state of my hair.
Monday, February 8, 2010
haircuts!
finally, the man got a haircut (given by moi)! we decided to make a day of it and he gave the munchkin her first trim as well.
the man's hair
the munchkin- pre hair trim
daddy did a great job!
the munchkin- post hair trim
the man's hair
the munchkin- pre hair trim
daddy did a great job!
the munchkin- post hair trim
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
i'm bunning it!
that's right. the wash n go's number one fan, me, is taking a break and wearing my hair up in a bun for a while. i tend to struggle with my hair once it gets to APL (arm pit length) and longer because its just too much hair for me to deal with. wearing my hair up in a bun allows me to ignore my hair (yay!) while still protecting it from damage. on the weekends i wear my hair in a wash n go.
random bunning tips:
- take down the bun at night time/bed time. if i keep my hair up, it wont dry. and if it doesn't dry, my hair mildews. i had to learn that lesson the hard way. :( i'll put my hair into one loose braid at night so it dries out, but it still stays stretched out a bit.
- move the bun around a bit--it doesn't stress the hair as much. if i start with a high bun, then the next day i'll smooth it down to a low bun or vice versa.
- raw shea butter is a bun's best friend! i use it to smooth my (wet or dry) edges down/ i also make sure that i put some on my ends daily. it makes my hair sooooo soft and gives it a nice shine.
- if you have thin/fine hair like me, try using a scrunchy, sock, or donut to create your bun. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Donut-Bun it gives me the illusion of having fuller/thicker hair.
random bunning tips:
- take down the bun at night time/bed time. if i keep my hair up, it wont dry. and if it doesn't dry, my hair mildews. i had to learn that lesson the hard way. :( i'll put my hair into one loose braid at night so it dries out, but it still stays stretched out a bit.
- move the bun around a bit--it doesn't stress the hair as much. if i start with a high bun, then the next day i'll smooth it down to a low bun or vice versa.
- raw shea butter is a bun's best friend! i use it to smooth my (wet or dry) edges down/ i also make sure that i put some on my ends daily. it makes my hair sooooo soft and gives it a nice shine.
- if you have thin/fine hair like me, try using a scrunchy, sock, or donut to create your bun. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Donut-Bun it gives me the illusion of having fuller/thicker hair.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
winter hats for curly kids
check out www.curlyzebra.com
theyre satin lined winter hats for kids. sweet.
theyre satin lined winter hats for kids. sweet.
happy new year!
i hope everyone had a safe and happy new year celebration!
i havent made any new year's resolutions yet, but im thinking of making some hair resolutions.
my hair golas for 2010 are:
- to start treating my hair better. that means regular conditioning treatments and very gentle combing/brushing.
- avoid random hair cutting. :) only get trims and shape ups as needed.
- be healthier! drink water, eat better, and possibly even throw some vitamins in there.
i think these are pretty realistic goals...but we'll see!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
perfect curl product: raw shea butter
winter is here and my hair has been feeling it! my hair has looked pretty nice but has been feeling dry to the touch. ive been doing deep conditioning treatments, being a bit more heavy handed with my conditioner and oil and nothing seemed to work. last winter i had alot of growth and there were two things that i did differently: (1) i wore my hair up alot and (2) i used shea butter. so this year i told my sister to buy me some shea butter for christmas and now im back in business!
for 1st day hair, i applied my leave in + castor oil to my hair like i always do. then i took a few dabs of shea butter, rubbed it in my hands to melt it, and then smoothed it on my hair. my goal was to concentrate it on my ends, but i did apply it all over. it has been a while since ive used raw shea butter so i was hoping that the castor oil combined with the shea butter wouldnt result in a greasy mess. and it didnt. woo hoo! for my 2nd day hair, i took my hair out of the pineapple i sleep in and then applied the shea butter on my dry hair, the same way i did it on my wet hair.
its only been two days, but im starting to remember why i love shea butter so much. its great for sealing my ends, keeping my hair soft, reducing static flyaways, smoothing edges, and its a great skin moisturizer! i even used some on the man's coarse, thick type 2 hair. i used some to smooth his flyaways and to soften his dry, raggedy ends (he desperately needs a haircut).
3 cheers for raw shea butter!
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