Tag Archives: style

Full Disclosure: Product Substitutions

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I’d love to tell you that I just stick to buying these 8 products, but the truth is that I still have some of that experimental energy that I had long before I started my curly transformation. In other words, I don’t try every product I see on the shelves that promises sleek, shiny, frizz-free hair, although I am tempted. No, my better-educated self turns every product right around to look at ingredients before even considering trying something new.

As I’ve mentioned on the Products page, hair likes to shake up the routine. If you use the exact same things the same way every day, your hair will start to lose some of its luster and it will get very monotonous and boring. Using varying amounts of a product, or experimenting with different application techniques can help, but if you take a total break from those products for about a month, you’ll notice that your hair is happier when you return to using them. That’s why I usually have at least one alternative to every product I use regularly. Below is a list of some of those substitutions, and how I like to keep things interesting.

1) Conditioner: This work horse may contribute the most crucial element to your hair’s health and appearance. Too much and it may look greasy, too little and it looks and feels dry and becomes more prone to breakage. When I want to take a break from Devachan’s One Condition, I use Ouidad’s Balancing Rinse conditioner. I’ll use it for maybe a week before switching back to One Condition, because it does eventually leave my hair feeling a bit less moisturized than I’d like. It’s a thinner formula so that may contribute to it. I also like Argan Oil conditioner, but wouldn’t use it more often than once a month or so.

2) Styling Gel: There are so many ways to take a break from gel. You can use only one gel for slightly less hold and control, instead of using one in the shower pre-towel-drying and one as a finishing gel immediately after towel-drying. You can use different finishing gels, although I always like to keep Devachan’s Angell as my base. I love Ouidad’s Climate Control, but surprisingly I couldn’t stand Curl Quencher on my hair. I’d suggest going to their site, they have it set up a lot like naturallycurly.com now and you can shop by curl type. I also like Devachan’s Volumizing Foam when I want a much less contained look, and I substitute this for finishing gel, while still using the Angell base.

I never use any creams, however. I’ve tried so many, and recently tried Carol’s Daughter’s Hair Milk (which had great moisturizing ingredients, by the way, so it probably left my hair better off in the end) but it didn’t hold my curl at all, which meant that day 2 I already needed to wash and re-style. I like when I can go at least 3 days between washes, which means the perfect balance between not-too-dry and not-too-greasy product application.

3) Hair Treatment: I recommend using some form of hair treatment, be it oil or deep conditioner, at least once a week. You can use those little bottles of essential oils on your ends, you can use a great deep conditioner like DevaCurl’s Heaven in Hair, you can use any of the homemade treatments in Curly Girl, including a slight variation on the amazing Oil Treatment featured on my site, or you can try some great conditioning treatment that you find on your own, as long as it has the key moisturizing ingredients high on the list, and not too many that you can’t pronounce toward the bottom. As always, look for any types of oils, glycerin and glycol derivatives, aloe, and words that you understand first. If there are any ingredients you don’t understand, Google them. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can recognize them once you’ve looked them up.

4) Refreshers: Lastly, I want to be sure that I hammer home how much I love Cold Spring Apothecary’s Citrus Ginger Sea Salt Spray to revive second- and third-day hair. There are a lot of these on the market now, but you have to be sure that they have moisturizers to counteract the drying effect of sea salt. When I use only four pumps distributed throughout my hair by tossing it back and forth, it re-awakens my hair and re-defines lost curls. I only use this when I really feel that I need it, and always use it sparingly. Don’t add this to your hair if it feels like there’s already too much product in your ‘do.

Extensions: Do or Don’t?

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As a curly girl, I’ve often considered the merits of extensions to add volume and length to my hair. I’ve never understood how curly extensions would work, though, especially in a weave (which stays in for roughly three months full-time, sans clips) when you get sweaty, knotty, or wash it. I know that curly weaves have been around for quite some time, but the logistics were lost on me. Plus, is it worth getting them? Does it damage your hair?

Courtesy: Lugo's Hair Center

I pondered these musings with my hairdresser recently and was told that she opted for weave extensions when she had her hair tragically shorn by an un-knowledgable stylist. She was sick of waiting for her hair to grow out, so she went full-steam-ahead and had real human hair incorporated into her own. I asked whether this was damaging, and she grimaced and suggested getting the clip-in kind if I was worried about damage.

Also, it’s important to consider that there are different hair types. While ethnic hair is actually more brittle than caucasian hair, there is also a lot more of it to begin with. If I were to get a weave and have to thin out some of the frayed or damaged pieces once I removed them, I’d look half bald. Not a good look for anyone.

The stylist direct me to Lugo’s Hair Center, which is a weave and extension online shop that specializes in curly human hair. It’s permed so the curl will stay intact when you wash. You purchase the hair and have it attached to clips, or bring it to your salon to have it weaved in with your natural locks. There is a broad color palette and they pride themselves on their deft color-matching service.

I personally opted out of the weave, but I may still try the clip-in extensions at some point. They’d probably look amazing with fancier do’s (think weddings, prom, cocktail parties, special events, etc…).

 

My Soapbox

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Good morning friends! So, I don’t mean to sound like I’m preaching at you all from atop my lofty soapbox, but I just have to be serious for a few minutes. Bear with me.

I’m sick and tired of being inundated with glossy magazines telling me what trends I should try, how I should look, what I should wear, and how I should look while wearing them. Usually it’s based on some stylist’s ideas, or celebrity looks, and as someone who used to work in the glossy industry I can tell you it’s mainly BS. Everything is written and photographed and manufactured to sell–sell clothes, accessories, make-up, hair care products, and advertising for the worst of the above. I mean everything.

When I worked for a certain shall-not-be-named publishing house, the magazines had sample sales where large conference rooms would be crammed with TONS of unused make-up, hair products, and even clothes and accessories. Literally, it would make you sick. Or filled with the glee of a 5-year-old on Christmas morning. These items were all sent to the writers completely free and completely full-sized, we’re not talking small samples here. Whenever a magazine features a product, look, or style, there is most likely some advertising or partnership behind it.

So while I’m probably damaging the prospect of any magazine favoring my blog henceforth, I just can’t pretend I don’t feel this way. So the jig is up, ladies and gents, I am saying it’s OK to be the way you are, just be the best of yourself. That’s what this blog is all about, finding a way to be happy and in love with the hair you were given at birth, and how to make it shine.

I guess that’s my mission statement!

Oh and I still love my magazines, don’t get me wrong. They are crammed with lots of helpful and fun tips, stories, and important health information. Just be sure to take some of it with a grain of salt. Figuratively speaking, of course 🙂

The Curly Shag

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courtesy: seagullhair.com (No, this isn't me. I wish!)
This will work for curly hair of any type, as long as you don't cut layers too short. Be sure that you have it cut while your hair is dry!

I love my hair cut. Best part is, it works with any curly hair type. I have what I like to call a “curly shag,” a la the image to the left.

I needed to have more body on top, so one day I just started snipping layers around my face, since my long hair was dragging way too much. Right away I noticed that the curls came back to life, and my hair started drying much more quickly. It’s a great way to thin out thick hair, while adding volume and bounce for thin hair, since shorter top layers aren’t as weighed down. Great for a spring look if you don’t want to lop all of your hair off.

This cut is also very easy to manage! I recommend pairing it with wispy bangs that gradually get longer going from the middle of your forehead toward your temples, then blending that with your longer layers.

Curly Hairstyles

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One thing that always peeves me is how hard it is to find good examples of curly hairstyles. As if it’s hard to make curly hair look great! Quite the contrary, my dears. I, myself, have quite a few stand-bys that I like to sport, and it often looks professionally done (despite taking 5 minutes or less to “do”).

1) The Pile: This is the easiest and most becoming, in my opinion. It also works on any length that is long enough to pull into a pony tail. There are modifications for shorter hair, but we’ll get to that shortly.

What you need:

  • 1 thin elastic hair rubber band (“Ouchless” with no metal bar, preferably)
  • About 4-8 bobby pins, depending on your hair thickness and length

How it works:

  • Put your head upside down and gather all of your hair toward the middle of the crown of your head. How far toward the back or toward your brow is up to you.
  • Gather the hair into the elastic. Wrap the elastic around your hair once or twice. Only twice if it’s loose enough to slide right off once your put your hair upright. Never more than twice, if you need to wrap it more than twice get a newer, more elastic band.
  • Flip your head back up slowly and fasten the elastic band where you want the pony to stay on top of your head. Pull the hair up and out of the pony-tail holder so the elastic is as close to your scalp as possible. It looks kind of Victorian era, which is what I love about it, but it’s also a pretty quick and easy up-do sort of look that works at the office or at a fancier event. Experiment with how many curly tendrils you’d like to have escaping around your face for the best effect.

For shorter hair:

  • It will take time to perfect this look if your hair is too short to get into a pony tail, but you can use just bobby pins. Start with pieces on top and start positioning them the way you’d like them, a little higher up on your crown perhaps. When they look good, use as many bobby pins as it takes to keep it that way. Then continue to go down your head doing this with every layer. The bottom later can be pulled up and criss-crossed over the back of your head, and bobby pinned to stay that way.
  • If your hair is so thick that the pins aren’t cutting it, try using mini claw clips instead.

2) The Side-braid: I’ve mentioned before that I love this look, it’s so medieval. I often braid my hair when I’m sleeping since it’s so long that it gets tangled and matted to my neck in warmer weather. Just loosely braid your hair down the side of your head, as a french bread if you’re so adept, or you can bobby-pin stray tendrils if you can only manage a regular braid. I usually like to keep some hair around my face, but you can switch it up.

3) The Fountain: The regular claw clips also come in handy to simply twist your hair from behind in one large twist, then fasten it to your scalp toward the top of your head. If you have enough hair it will spout out of the top like a fountain. As with the other do’s, you can bobby pin any stray hairs in place.

photo4) Headbands: Until recently, I had equated headbands with those stiff plastic things that gave me headaches if worn too long in the 80’s. Much has changed since those days, there are some great options that don’t squeeze your head so tightly and are much more fun to wear–even more so when you mix and match. My favorite is to twist my hair in the back of my head and to pin it up with as many bobby pins are needed to keep in place. Next, I add on headband in the usual place, and one more toward the back to elongate the front-to-back direction of my hair, as seen at right. Use a few bobbies to keep the bands in place, and voila!
Headbands pictured are from LF.

NOTE: Bobby pins have a frizzing effect if used too liberally, so don’t attempt a highly pinned look if you want to let your hair down later on in the day. If you want to pin pieces back, go with the mini claw clips, as they come out easily and ruffle-free.