As I explained before, I really love the L.O.C method. Since I've discovered the technique, my hair has not had a dry day. There is another method called E.A.S.E which is more of an application technique to ensure that every bit of hair contains product.
E.A.S.E. stands for Edges, All Over, Sections, and Ends. As you can imagine, every single strand will be covered with product when you do this.
I think the Sections portion is a little unnecessary. It just seems like a lot of extra product on hair that already has product. But still, I guess it would not hurt to do it.
Included is a video of the LOC and Ease method combined. And you don't have to do it every single day. I think the woman in the clip here did this at the beginning of a 5 day week.
I came across this hair video today by a young lady who created it to prove that natural hair can grow long with proper attention and care. I think more black people should know that their natural hair grows just as quickly as anyone else's--the reason why many black people don't have long hair is because they don't know how to take care of it and keep it moisturized enough to retain the growth and keep it from breaking off.
Anyway, so I was feeling the video. I liked seeing her comparison shots and hearing what she had to say about what worked for her hair.
Until she made a comment that turned me off. I don't even know the exact minute mark, but she was talking about how you should stay away from stylists that complain about your hair texture and try to convince you to get a relaxer. Right, right. That's very true because stylists who are upset about having to deal with your hair texture as-is probably won't have the best intent when it comes to caring for your hair.
She then went on to say that she once had a hair dresser tell her that her hair was nappy and that she was offended because she knows that her hair is no where near nappy. Then she made a little joke about how her hair does not "Snap, crackle and pop" and she snapped her fingers as if in a poetry club.
She was referring to hair that is very thick, kinky, or nappy that tends to pop and snap (along with snapping sound effects) when you run a comb through it.
In other words, she's natural, but at least her hair isn't nappy. At least her hair isn't like that.
And she's correct. I would describe her hair as kinky but curly, more loosely textured. It isn't nappy in the same way that I think of "nappy."
But I was offended by that because most black people DO have the kind of nappy hair she's talking about to some degree. My hair is the type she's looking down on. And that same attitude within the black community is why so many black women are so ashamed of their hair. They've been told all their lives that their hair is ugly and "needs" to be fixed, "needs" to be texturized, "needs" to be relaxed because it isn't curly or loosely-textured.
She's doing the same thing that the stylist did to her--passing an insult to women with hair that's more tightly coiled than hers. Honestly it is kind of disheartening to hear people with natural hair sneer their noses at kinkier hair. I've had natural people say similar things to me. Things like "I like your hair. At least it's not "straight out of Africa" hair." or "I'm glad my natural is like this and not THAT nappy."
I realize the brain-washing that has caused black people to feel this way, but I think it's unfortunate that there's still a hair hierarchy, present sometimes even in the natural hair community.
(pic source: tcdh.wordpress.com)
I think that she should be proud of her hair (which she is), but black women with kinkier hair textures should be able to feel that they can accept their hair, too, as nappy as it may be. Every natural or those considering going natural must find their own confidence in their hair but how are people with nappy hair (most black people) supposed to feel after hearing her say that she's happy that her hair isn't like ours?
Other than that, I thought the video was informative and well put-together. I liked her personality. Granted, her methods probably wouldn't work for my hair, or other black women on the kinkier end of the spectrum but they could be helpful for people similar to her in hair texture.
If you have been natural for a while, I am sure you have heard that glycerin is a seasonal product. Natural hair vloggers make a point to talk about how they use glycerin in the summer but avoid it in the winter. The reason being that glycerin is a humectant that draws moisture from the air to itself (to the hair) in the humid months, but does the opposite and pulls moisture out from the hair and out to the air when the weather is colder and dry, thus making the hair dry.
Many are saying that the theory that glycerin dries hair in the winter is a falsehood. Instead, glycerin holds in the moisture it originally has and can't release any of it.
Personally, I don't like glycerin that much. I've noticed that products heavy on the glycerin make my hair sticky, dry and mushy.
Nonetheless here's a video that explains it further.
If you are looking to make your own shea butter, here's your video. My hair likes shea butter and doesn't do too well with "light" creams and oils.
I'm not a mixtress, myself, but for those who have the time check out how she mixes her own shea butter creams using unrefined shea butter, castor oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, vitamin E and a blender.
She shows you two versions--one is a pomade consistency and the other more creamy and silky for daily use. I love how good it looks going in the jars.
Of course black hair grows. Hair, regardless of race, grows about 1/4" to 1/2" per month. Black people tend to have shorter hair because it can be hard to RETAIN this growth. If hair did not grow, there would be no need to retouch a perm or hair coloring. By the way, hair grows from the roots.
Some may wonder why black hair doesn't seem to grow long.
African American hair can be dry and if it breaks at the same rate that it grows, the growth will not be evident. The hair must be taken care of very carefully to maintain its health and black people, in general, are just figuring out what's necessary.
Also, 6 inches of natural kinky curly African American hair will look much shorter than 6 inches of straight hair.
I admit, I can be considered a Nappy Nazi by some. I really do believe MOST relaxed and weaved women really do hate their natural hair. Not all, but most do. (And Im not even totally against weaves for an occasional change, but I think that if you have to hide your natural hair ALL the time, that's a problem). I completely understand why.
But can one still be considered natural if they color the hair? My answer is yes!
You all know good n' well when someone talks about a black woman's hair being nappy or ugly, they are NOT talking about the hair color!
Some people go natural because they want to leave a cleaner, healthier lifestyle. That's not necessarily the case with me. I'm glad that I'm not possibly poisoning myself with chemicals every month, but that wasn't a concern when I decided to grow my hair natural. I don't necessarily eat clean or go out of my way to use raw or natural products on my body. I went natural out of acceptance for my hair texture. I just wondered why I just went along with believing that my hair wasn't good enough.
I dyed my hair a red color once. I didn't really like the results--it was a bright red---but I DID love the color that it faded into, a coppery color.
Here is a natural chick who knows the ins and outs of hair color. I love her style and think she's absolutely fabulous. Here are a couple of her videos.
This post is about the Nothing But brand Mold and Hold Wax. I give it a thumbs up. First of all, just like the Curly Pudding I talked about last time, it does not contain any of those nasty petroleums, mineral oil, pthalates or sulfates.
It does however, contain glycerin and dimethicones, but I haven't had an issue with that.
I bought the Mold and Hold Wax at Sally's for about $7.99. It is kind of clear with a goopy, tacky consistency. It's like light gel with some glue mixed in. It is thick and a little sticky.
I could immediately feel the results when I used it for my two-strand twists for the first time. Each twist felt firm and tight. When I finished, I could feel a slight weight with them (just slight, but I like that) and they were compact and shiny. The twists also lasted me nearly two weeks, whereas my twists have usually had it 4 days in.
So, I really love this. It didn't make my hair hard or flaky--in fact my hair stayed very moisturized in conjunction with a daily dollop of the Curly Pudding.
I don't honestly think this product would hold down my edges, but I think it could serve that purpose for someone with a looser hair texture.
I think that the most difficult thing for black women to overcome when trying to go natural is the acceptance of their hair as-is.
One of the biggest excuses reasons African American women have for not being natural is that their natural hair is unmanageable. Manageable in what context? Of course if you want it to be curly or bounce around in a ponytail like that of a typical biracial woman, the hair is going to be unmanageable because most our hair just doesn't behave that way. Sure the hair hard to handle if you have the expectations of a different looser hair texture for YOUR hair texture which is likely very different.
One of the wisest pieces of advice came from a poster on a natural hair care board who wrote an article about "Fearing the 'Fro."
So many black women are so afraid of their hair looking like an afro that they do everything possible to avoid it--trying to use gel to accentuate imaginary curls and trying to force the hair into styles it is just not ready for.
And no, I'm not saying that every natural should be confined to an afro all the time or avoid exploring styling options. And I'm not even saying that being natural doesn't involve some effort.
In my opinion, this continuous fear of the afro texture is what makes going natural so hard for many black women who may want to do it. Once you accept what your hair texture is, you can find information all over about how to keep it moist and healthy.
Today I saw something I've never seen--well, maybe I've seen it once before, but it's very rare. I saw a little girl who was about 6 years old at the restaurant I ate at tonight.
I couldn't even see her eyes because she had her hair in an afro that fell over them. It was a type 4 afro--not type 3 curls which is usually more acceptable. I was loving it. I was loving that somebody in her circle is telling her from a young age that her hair is okay the way it grows from her head.
She didn't see anything wrong with her afro hair being out like that in public and I was glad that her mother (grandmother?) or whoever she was with obviously had no problem with her being seen in public like that even though the woman's hair was relaxed.
I thought it was a great thing and I wanted to reinforce things and tell this little girl that I loved her hair. But I didn't.
Suddenly I'm reminded of this Sesame Street I Love My Hair Song. Enjoy.
This is the newest (as of now) blog for African American women with natural hair. Actually, it may end up being just me writing about things that interest me and my hair but oh well.
The blog is entitled Nappy Not Curled because I personally embrace the term "nappy." I have type 4 hair that does not curl or coil. It looks like the first image you think of when I say "afro." It's spongy, cloudy, cottony with no curls to speak of. It's just kinky afro nappy hair.
I realize that when most people describe someone's hair as nappy they aren't saying it in a positive way, however I describe my own hair as such because it gives the receiver a better picture of what my hair is with as little confusion. No, I don't have 'good' hair', ignorant black person. There are no curls to define, just naps. :) In other words, all of my strands do their own thing. They don't clump together to form coils or curls. Each has it's own crinkly or S shaped pattern.
In my opinion, many black women are unsuccessful with their natural journeys because they are disappointed when they see that their hair isn't curly like the next natural's may be. And then you see black women with obviously nappy hair (like mine) trying to claim curls. Nothing wrong with curls, but accept what you have. That's the point of it all.
I can do twist outs, afro puffs, etc and maybe people with afro hair like mine may benefit.
I plan to share videos, articles and just my experience with my hair. I don't plan to take pictures at the moment but that's a possibility.
So, that's my intro. I hope you come back to visit.
I am so glad that someone suggested the Nothing But brand for my hair. Each jar says that it does not contain petrolatum, mineral oil, parabens, sulfates or Pthalates--all the bad stuff that naturals usually look out for.
This product is pretty amazing. I really love it. It cost about $7 at Sally's and has a creamy consistency. Its texture reminds me of cream Noxema. A little of it goes a long way. The jar says that it helps with curl definition but I don't have curls so I can't say much about that. I can say that my hair has not had a dry day since using the Curly Pudding. I just take a little dab and run it through my hair each day and my hair feels supple and happy.
This product does contain glycerin, which may be of concern for some but that hasn't been a problem for me.
The L.O.C moisturization technique is probably the best method for moisturizing dry natural hair. One of the most important things for natural hair specifically is keeping it moist. Due to the structure of natural or nappy hair, it tends to be extremely dry--some more than others. The key to retaining moisture is layering and sealing moisture.
I am a minimalist when it comes to my hair and I always just wanted to use one product that worked. I didn't want to have a bunch of different products in my hair like a product junkie. But layering specific products really does work.
L.O.C stands for Liquid, Oil, Cream (and/or butter) and you would apply each to the hair in this order.
Liquid: The liquid you use is simply water. Or it can be some concoction (water mixed with oils or a liquid conditioner with water as the main ingredient). Take a spray bottle and mist the hair.
Oil: You can use any oil of your choice to seal the water into the hair cuticle. I use Oyin Humectant Pomade which is a bunch of oils in solid form.
Cream: Use a creamy lotion-like moisturizer or creamy leave-in conditioner to seal over the oil.
Some examples of creams to use might be Oyin's Hair Dew or Curl Junkie's Beauticurls leave-in conditioner. I personally use Nothing But Curly Pudding.
After this, you can use a thick heavy butter for one last measure. Jane Carter's Nourish and Shine is a good one.
I wish I had known about this when I first went natural. My hair used to be very dry all the time, but now I know how to keep it moist. You don't even have to do the L.O.C method every single day. I do it after I wash my hair and I only refresh it once with either (not all) of the L.O.C components once a day when I style.
