Category Archives: beauty

Time for a Hair Cut?

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UnknownThis time of year we are battling all manner of trichological tragedies: split ends, dryness, dandruff, breakage, etc., due to the aforementioned over-heating and dry weather. The question that I always battle myself is, when is it really time for a hair cut?

This question has become more strident in recent years, due to the fact that my Devachan cuts are far from Supercuts prices (as well as quality, of course) and I’ve been trying to grow it out for the past decade. I also have some complicated layers that I find increasingly difficult to shape myself.

The “time-for-a-hair-cut” indicators I use are:

  • You look in the mirror every day for over a week and see droopy, unhappy curls, and it’s been OVER four months since your last cut.
  • You look at your ends and see more splits than healthy strands.
  • You’ve tried an oil treatment and still do not see much improvement in the health, bounciness, and shine of your hair.

A few ways to prolong a cut:

  • Condition well each time you wash, concentrating on ends, and oil-treat at least once a week during the winter. This can become costly, even with the at-home recipe, but it’s important.
  • Try different types of oil treatments. Some focus more on hydration, some on protein-renewal. My favorite lately was a Hair Dew treatment I had along with a seaweed wrap at Bliss Spa in Soho, if you’re so inclined.
  • Don’t pull your hair up and leave it in a tight pony tail all day. For a greasy-day solution try a braid or two — it helps to protect the hair from environmental factors and is loose enough not to cause damage.
  • Wear a loose scarf or hat over the top of your head to protect the outermost layer of hair, which is naturally prone to the most abuse.

Winter Hair Care

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hair-christmasHello curly friends! I have been absent for a while, but I wanted to pop up for a quick reminder on winter hair care. As I’ve said in the past, this is probably the worst time of year for curly haired ladies living in cold weather regions, and not because of the frigid temps — blasted indoor heating dries out not only our nasal passages and skin, but our scalps and hair as well. Every week I wake up one day and notice that my hair resembles dry straw, and remember that it’s time for another oil treatment. These get expensive, since they use a lot of conditioner in both the treatment and cleansing phases, but they are absolutely necessary this time of year. The last thing you want is breakage when you’ve worked so hard to maintain your length.

In addition to weekly oil treatments of one kind or another, your scalp may need a little extra TLC. If you notice a weird kind of uncomfortable pain that radiates around your entire scalp, take a little dab of conditioner and rub it into your scalp as you would with body cream on your skin. This can be done when the hair is dry. The pain is just chapped skin, and the conditioner will soak right in. Don’t use too much though, a little goes a long way, and try to keep it off your hair as much as possible so that it doesn’t appear greasy.

Other than that, dress warm and cover up! If you’re looking for the best diffuser around so that you don’t have to go outside with wet hair, try this one. Its design doesn’t scrunch the curls and allows them to dry the way you’ve styled them. This also adds to the creation of hay-hair in the winter, so use it sparingly. I wash my hair about every 3-4 days or less this time of year.

Happy Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, whatever else you celebrate, and Happy and healthy New Year. I look forward to seeing you in 2013!

Lots of Love, your Shepherd to Curldom

My Waterless Week

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I’m a strong believer in making lemonade out of lemons — after I’ve stomped on, cursed at, complained about, and otherwise viciously abused those lemons. That being said, when we realized that the boiler in the basement of the old building we just moved into has gone kaput, and will apparently take weeks to fix just as we’re starting to get snow and frigid temps here, I was forced to face some hard truths when it came to my hair.

I feel your pain, little guy!

First of all, who wants to sleep with a wet oil-treated head when it’s freezing in your bedroom? Not me, which doesn’t bode well for my poor wind-bedraggled mane. Second of all, no matter how much I diffuse my curls after washing them, they will always stay wet and I’ll be freezing again within a matter of minutes. Now, it’s easy for you in your warm seat atop your ivory tower to say that I should just suck it up and wear warmer clothes. But friends, when you’re in a freezing apartment at night and the cold is so bad that it’s seeping into your bones until you sit in front of a space heater for a good 20 minutes, the last thing you want is long wet hair dripping down your back or soaking through your pillow as you try to go to sleep. Washing in the morning is even worse with temperamental winds that feel like ice picks hitting you from every direction.

So the aforementioned lemons needed some sweetening. How can I find a way to have fun with this? I knew I didn’t want to straighten my hair, I could be more creative. Thus began the 1-week wash-free challenge.

Some of you will say, “big deal, I go a week without washing my hair all the time.” Ladies or gents, this post is not for you. It’s for those of us whose thin hair gets quickly and easily greasy from product use, dirt and crud from city living, or sweaty work-outs. For those of you screaming “EWWW,” just remember that daily hair washings are a very new phenomenon as far as mankind is concerned, and is a product of our over-obsession with being squeaky clean and bacteria-free. Any crud in your hair is nothing compared to that on your jackets, shoes, and kitchen sponges. Also, VERY IMPORTANT: I am not saying shower-free. I am still showering and washing my body every day.

If you’re interested in how I maintained a relatively normal 7 days with work-outs, going to my office in Manhattan of all places from Monday to Friday, and doing all of my usual routine stuff, please read on for a daily play-by-play and you just may learn a trick or two.

Day 1: Sunday. I washed my hair after taking a nice jog outside. It was early enough in the day that I could sit in front of the space heater and wait for it to try completely before going anywhere. I used minimal gel, about 2/3 of what I usually use. The more product you have in your hair, the cruddier it will get.

Day 2: Monday. I woke up with clean hair; I had been careful the night before to keep it up off my neck by fanning it out over my pillow while I slept. Fluffed it up a little and left for work.

Klorane dry shampoo spray.

Day 3: Tuesday. It was starting to look a little tired, so I sprayed in some nice volumizing dry shampoo after I woke up. I prefer my natural powder brand, but in a pinch the Klorane spray brand gives you a much cleaner feeling. Fluffed up my roots and went to work.

Day 4: Wednesday. My hair held up pretty well after the dry shampoo, and I slept with a side braid to keep it off my neck and to reduce snarls. Still, when I woke up this morning my roots were feeling pretty stiff and greasy. I grabbed a boar-bristle round brush and my blow-drier. (My fabulous hair stylist/model friend taught me this trick for eliminating oil at the scalp and adding height to the roots.) I concentrated on my roots and lifted the hair with the boar-bristle brush while aiming the blow drier directly at my roots. I did this all around my head. I did not pull the brush through my hair in order to disrupt the curls as little as possible. This gave me a much more unstructured look, but I loved how full and long it appeared! Sometimes it’s ok to have a more tousled style. In order to make it a bit more organized, twist some of the curls with a slightly wet finger to add definition amidst the chaos. So far this was my favorite hair day this week!

The sock bun. Photo courtesy of Hello Giggles.

Day 5: Thursday. It was time to embrace the grease and try the famous sock bun. Looked awesome, and I wet the palms of my hands and ran them lightly over my hair around the crown (not touching the bun) and then put a light coat of gel on my palms and ran that over my hair as well. It kept frizzies in place all day. During my morning commute, in order to combat wind-fraying or impromptu humidity in the subway, I wrapped a light scarf loosely around my head.

Day 6: Friday. I woke up and felt once again that my roots needed a little lift and de-greasing. This time I reached for my Cold Spring Apothecary all natural dry shampoo made with no harmful chemicals or inhalants. I separated my hair into several different parts and sprinkled it directly onto my scalp. I then rubbed it in, carefully threading my fingers under my top canopy of hair so I wouldn’t ruffle the strands themselves. Next, I put my hair in a high pony tail so that the front of my hair maintained a little lift around the crown, and I braided the pony tail. Then I took several bobby pins and pinned the braid to the back of my head to disguise any greasiness or unkempt curls there. It kind of resembled the back of a corset, which was pretty neat! I then sprayed some hair spray around the crown of my head to keep flyaways in line.

Day 7: Saturday. I woke up for my morning run and employed the sock bun again, but this time with a much larger leg warmer instead. It was kind of funny running with this big sock on my head, but I also pinned it in place with tons of bobbies and put a thick cloth headband around my head to keep my ears warm and sweat off of my hair. When I got home I took it all down and it actually wasn’t bad! But it did need more body. So for my final act during this waterless week, I prepped to go out with my boyfriend and another couple for dinner. I grabbed a comb and started back combing my hair at the ends this time, not at the root. This gave me some extra body. Then I piled my hair up again on top of my head and smoothed back frizzies around my face, and did the leg-warmer bun again. With the added volume it looked amazing! The hair around my face was starting to look a little worn, so I drew some extra attention to the bun by wrapping a cool metallic headband I have around the base of the bun and clipping it into place. I felt very Hepburn-esque!

So here we are again at Sunday and I washed my hair the moment I woke up. I really enjoyed this experiment, and if we don’t get some serious heat in this place I can see it becoming a rather regular occurrence this winter. My hair is definitely no worse for the wear, I guess the oils from my scalp helped to keep it moisturized even without an oil treatment.

Lessons Learned:

* A week water-free isn’t so bad if you keep on top of scalp greasiness by blow drying it and using dry shampoo. Just limit aerosol use since it’s not good for you!

* Toward the end of the week, learn to work with the grease. Choose styles that require your hair to be plastered to your head, then just frizz out the ends for more body.

* The sock bun is a great way to limit sweat distribution throughout your hair while you’re working out! Just don’t use it if you’re going to be turning upside down or doing jumping jacks a lot, that could get messy.

* Wearing a scarf loosely over my hair instead of a hat elicits weird looks from strangers and co-workers. Still not going to stop doing it because it works!

* Not a single person seemed to notice that my hair was unwashed all week, and I suspect that my hair appreciated a break from the wash and dry routine.

Voila! I hope I’ve convinced you to try a waterless week yourself sometime, it really forces you to be creative, and there are lots of blogs with fun hair ideas that you should experiment with. Enjoy, and stay warm!

Strong-Hold Gels

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I had the pleasure of experiencing an evening at Devachan’s location on Broome Street last night, and as always, walked away with delightfully new-found knowledge. The woman who was washing my hair mentioned that she always thought she had straight hair, which I hear is often the case with wavy-tressed beauties, but is not something that I can begin to fathom.

It was when she started using a strong-hold hair gel that she found that she was able to maintain a more authentic curl in her hair, because the hold would cement the scrunched up curls that she created during the product application process. So I wondered if the reverse was also true–if I wanted to dry my curls by squeezing them in my usual downward-pressing motion to lengthen them, would it stand to reason that the strong-hold gel would retain the straighter strands that I’d created? Up until now, I’d always thought that the stronger hold gels were simply best at flattening hair down as much as possible. I definitely didn’t think they’d hold a wavy-haired persons locks to a curlier standard.

Well, alas my dear readers, it did! The curls dried much longer and looser (not flat, but loose and still voluminous) than they normally do when I wring them dry the same way. So new rule for strong-hold gels: They are best used sparingly on hair that is accustomed to lighter hold, maybe half the amount that you’d normally apply, but they are perfect for maintaining your hair’s shape if you want curls to have roughly the same pattern dry as they do wet. (ie: Scrunch hair upward for curlier strands, and wring them going from scalp to ends for longer, looser strands.) Be sure to scrunch the gel out once the hair is dry.

Note: Stronger gels will also stick to your hair and attract more dust, so be sure to use a cleanser next time you wash, and I don’t recommend using strong-hold gels as an every-day hair treat as they will really gook up your hair over time.

I Recommend: Devachan’s new DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel. Just use sparingly–don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Cast-Away Curls: A Gel Story

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Don’t fall prey to the crunchy curls!

It occurred to me yesterday that perhaps a lot of curly girls don’t know how gel is meant to work in our hair. This realization came about when someone asked me why my hair had looked “wet and crunchy” in the morning, and soft and bouncy that same afternoon. Yes, she was a straight-haired woman, but her question reminded me of how many curly girls I see running around with that same crunchy-wet look throughout the entire day.

I’m going to start by saying that it’s fine if you just like the way it looks. If you want your hair to be super tame, tamped down, and orderly, so be it! But to people who like my hair and want to find a way to achieve soft and bouncy curls, I explain that the gel should only be used as a cast while your hair is drying. Let me explain:

When gel is applied to wet hair, a chemical reaction causes the gel to harden as the hair dries; this is called a cast. It is setting your hair and allowing the curls to come together and stay together despite wind, humidity, and other such elemental strains. The longer you leave your hair in its hardened shell, the longer it will remain frizz-free and ready to be released from its chemical bondage. This works to our advantage if, say, we want to wash our hair the night before a big day but don’t want it to get ruined overnight. If you let it dry with the gel still hardened and intact, when you wake up you can scrunch, ruffle, and go with super-shiny beautiful locks. If you want to leave the gel cast in during the day at work so that it will look its best for a first date that evening, that’s yet another advantage.

Ahhh, that’s better.

When you’re ready to break the cast, you just turn your head upside down and scrunch your hair upward in an accordion-like motion. Then you put your fingers at the base of your hair follicles against the scalp and ruffle the roots–as usual, do not touch the hair shafts. This causes curls to separate, but not to frizz. As they’ve dried in their protective shell, they are cool, calm, collected, and ready to face the elements.

DIY Spray Gel

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In addition to my most recent post on proper conditioning at the beach and the pool, I wanted to share an easy DIY way to benefit from the wonders of hair-taming gel on the go. We all know that moment where we wonder to ourselves: Is it really worth letting loose and diving head-first into the pool, or frolicking with my summer love during high tide, at the risk of my beautiful curls turning into a poodle-y mess? Well, fret no more.

After applying your leave-in conditioner (again, be sure that you have experimented with the right amount of moisturizers so that your hair won’t look super greasy after application), spritz on some homemade spray-gel to keep strands in line.

Take 1/2 cup of your favorite gel and 1 cup of boiling water, stir them together, let it cool, then add it to a spray bottle. Easy-peasy! Experiment with amounts of gel vs. water over time to see what works best for you. Then just lie back on the beach towel and let your beachy-cool locks unveil themselves!

Spray gel recipe by Curly Girl

Beach Beauty

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I realized over the weekend, while lounging on the beach under a beating sun, that I should remind y’all to keep your hair hydrated during the summer! We equate winter with harmful drying conditions, but it’s just as likely to happen in the summer when you’re swimming in the pool or ocean and getting lots of sun exposure.

While you should continue the weekly oil or deep conditioning treatments in any case, another handy trick is to bring a bottle of special super-hydrating treatment with you to the beach. What I like is to get one of those little travel-size bottles, and I mix up a combination of quality daily conditioner, deep conditioner, and some hair oil. You want to have something that’s thin enough in consistency that it will not make your hair look all chunky and gross. You also don’t want to use more than necessary.

I slick a dime-sized amount on my long but fine hair, mostly at the ends, before I go into the water so that it is saturated and won’t absorb as much pool or ocean water. When you get out of the water and are back on your towel or chaise, put enough in the palm of your hand to be able to evenly coat both hands with a thin sheen of it. Wipe that through your hair from top to bottom. Always apply product in this way — going the other direction, or even side-to-side, will ruffle the hair’s cuticle and cause it to frizz and break.

If you don’t use too much, it should soak in by the time your hair has dried. If you do use too much, it’s ok, you will just have that beachy-wet look a bit longer. Wash it when you get home either way, since salt and chemicals will still be on the hair.

My recipe:

* 1 Tablespoon Moroccan Oil

* 1 Tablespoon One Condition

* 1 Tablespoon Heaven in Hair

* 2 Drops essential oil of your choice (I like sage or cedar)

Shake it up and enjoy! Depending upon how much you’ll need, adjust amounts accordingly.

Why I Love My Bangs

Aside

My first experience with bangs was in early elementary school. My mother must have thought it would be a nice change, or maybe I did, who knows. All I know is that I remembered throughout the remainder of my childhood and teen years that curly hair + bangs = horror and ridicule squared. They twisted this way and that, making me look like a sad dorky kid from some 70’s sitcom. Not cute.

So when I was in my 27th year and about to take on a new job that would initiate a very positive shift in my career, it surprised me that I wanted to try bangs again. I took out my shears, and in front of my mirror only minutes before my boyfriend was due to pick me up for dinner, I cut some bangs.

Now to preface this, I’d already been trimming and adding some layers to my hair myself, but this was still a really big deal. I cut them while my hair was straight (oops) so they were way too short when they curled up. Still, I was living in hipster haven Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the time, and half-way down your forehead bangs were actually in at the time. Who knows, maybe they still are. I went out and wore them with pride, sneaking glances in the mirror at the restaurant from time to time. It was terrifying, but so exhillerating!

Since then, I’ve had some variation of bangs at all times. Sometimes side swept, sometimes in the middle, sometimes short, sometimes almost covering my eyes. I just have to say I love them so much. They add incredible versatility to my ‘do, especially now that I have such short layers and a shag-like haircut.

Sorry to hate on you, Minnie, I loved you in “Good Will Hunting,” but you really should use a wide-toothed comb on those bang curls to loosen them up.

When I have my hair in the “pile” or “fountain,” or even a plain braid, they add some cool fringe to frame my face. When I want to hide, I can pull them forward, and when I want to see the world a bit more clearly I can put them to the side or clip them back. The top layer of my hair isn’t as ringlet-y as the bottom layers, but I can loosen my curls a bit further by pulling gel through them in a downward motion while I’m styling. Then when they’re dry, I rake my fingers down again to separate the curls a bit and add some nice coverage over my forehead.

Just saying, don’t be afraid… if your curls don’t have more than a 6-inch spring factor on top when dry, it’s worth a try. Cut them long at first, so if they suck you can always pin them back or sweep them to the side before they grow out in a few months. Or have a hairstylist do it for you, and they’ll do it right the first time. Trust me, ladies!

Disney and Pixar’s Brave

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I think I’ve found my new hero! I love that real curls are finally getting their due in Brave, an animated film by Disney and Pixar featuring a plucky Scottish lass with long, flowing red curly locks.

They’re such a paramount part of her image, and I love the association that curls have with strong, independent, and unique women! Take that, Cinderella.

The premise reminds me a bit of one of my Disney favorites, Mulan, which was also about a young woman defying her family to go off and fight more valiantly than any other dude in her village. She had to dress as a man to pass muster, but it doesn’t look like this firecracker betrays her true identity at all.

Check it out in theaters this Friday, June 22. Can’t wait!

UPDATE: Saw this on opening day at 11:30am (when 3-D tix in Manhattan were only $10–it felt like 1995 all over again!) and I loved it. The blend of character development and interactions, animation, and story line were as close to perfect as I’ve seen in an animated film, and I was fighting back tears at the end. The overarching theme, to me, was to always respect and value the lessons that your good-willed parents (specifically, the main character Merida’s mother, Elena) aim to instill in you. Don’t try to change who they are, because they’re only human and are doing their best to raise you right. Also, you should listen to your loved ones instead of projecting your own ideas of their intent onto them.

Those fabulous red curls adorning Merida and her three terror-inducing brothers’ heads definitely played a starring role and are the center of movie reviews web-wide. Hers were not restrained for one moment; even while Merida scaled sheer rock faces, galloped wily nily on her trusty steed, or flew through the air to grab a bear’s paw. In the movies, hair always seems to blow in the opportune direction. Woe is me.

I also give an A+ to the animators for including lots of curl clusters that did that wonky “not-quite-curling-in-the-middle-but-then-getting-back-in-line-at-the-bottom-of-the-curl” thing. You know what I mean. Definitely recommend seeing this one, but maybe not with Mom–unless you’re the super sentimental type.

That’s a Wrap!

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Click image to enlarge. That guy sticking up in the middle is the Freedom Tower, lit up with some patriotic red white and blue!

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a swanky hair blogger party hosted by Ojon in the penthouse of The Standard in New York City’s East Village. In addition to some excellent cocktails and a stellar view (at right), I learned so much more about curl textures very different than my own — my new-found knowledge will soon be cultivated into some interesting posts — and I immediately had to share an awesome product that I will be trying as soon as it arrives in the mail.

While speaking to a lovely woman from Essence.com about the perils of properly deep-conditioning at home, I mentioned how sad I am that I can’t fit my portable hood dryer into my Brooklyn apartment. She told me about the Hair Therapy Wrap, which essentially does the same thing as hooded dryers:

Courtesy amazon.com

You apply the deep conditioner or oil treatment, her favorite was Curl Junkie’s Curl Rehab, and microwave this thick towel-like cap until it’s nice and steamy. Then you put it on over your greased-up hair and leave it as long as you want. The thickness and something about the material retains heat really well, which is why it’s better than a regular old towel. Also, it won’t slip off as easily.

I’ll write another update once I’ve tried it myself, but I have high hopes! What a great solution to an often-messy problem.