First and foremost, all prayers warriors please stand down. This post is addressing a completely different kind of enemy. The enemy to which I refer reveals itself in the form of Hair straighteners, blow-dryers, curling tongs and the like.
HEAT! Excessive direct heat is one of the biggest causes of damage to black hair. Heat breaks down the cuticle layer of your hair which is there to protect the hair fibres and shaft. A damaged cuticle layer leaves hair dry, brittle, and riddled with split ends.
If you already have split ends, unfortunately there is not much to be done about them. The only real solution is to trim them off with a sharp pair of scissors, keep your hair moisturised and ideally avoid heat completely.
To try and avoid heat after a wash, a good tip is to let the hair air dry. This means after washing, detangle hair GENTLY with a large tooth comb, blot it dry GENTLY with a towel and leave it out to dry for as long as necessary. No heat involved.
To give hair a straight finish, wrap it round your head after moisturising and sealing and tie tightly with a head scarf overnight.
Now I bet all this is going in one ear and out the other for some of you who simply cannot imagine life without your hair straighteners and blow-dryers. If you absolutely must apply heat to your hair, here are a few tips to help protect your hair.
1. Invest in a good heat defence product and apply it from the root to tip of your hair before applying any heat. A good product is TRESemme's heat defence styling spray. It protects your hair from heat to up to 230 degrees.
2. Use your blow dryer on medium to low heat. You don't need your hair to be crispy for confirmation that it is dry.
3. If you get a roller set, apply your heat defence as described and then protect your hair from direct heat with a perforated head scarf before going under the dryer.
Heat is the enemy people. Protect yourselves
xx
Styling tools
Heat Defence spray
Heat defence spray
Blow dryer on medium heat
Blow dryer on low heat
Head Scarf
Happy New year Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays.
I am not really one for new year resolutions but there are a couple of things I would like to see happen this year with regards to beauty.
Hair
I am starting on a hair challenge. The challenge is to retain at least 5 inches of my hair growth this year. I plan on achieving this by treating my hair Like.A.Bambino. No slacking off, No cutting corners, So help me God!
As I go along, I will let you guys know any new tips and tricks I discover.
I have taken pictures of my hair as it is currently and I will take pictures again in December to see if I hit my target.
To my sister/brother Thomas who doubt it is possible to retain 5 inches in one year, I can tell you for a fact that it is. On average, hair grows around 6 inches in one year. Yes some people are on the lower end of the spectrum and others are on the higher end of it but the aim is to retain as much as you possibly can.
If anyone out there is interested, please feel free to join me on this challenge. Give it a shot and see what happens.
Skin
I am hoping to be able to permanently clear up spots and hyper pigmentation (dark marks after spots aka pimples are gone) on my face this year. Again I will be sharing whatever works particularly well for me. Like with my hair, I have taken photos of my face as it is now to compare with my face in December when the challenge is done. Again, anyone who wants to come on this journey with me is welcome to do so.
And that's it! Hair like Rapunzel and a face like a baby's bum. That is not asking too much is it?
The best of luck to anyone out there who wants to go on this journey too. Please let me know in the comments if you are. It reminds me people are reading and encourages me to put up more posts, particularly relating to topics you enjoy.
P.S Let me know if you are interested in seeing current hair/face photos.
xx
