The Three Universal Hair Categories and 2016 Trend Analysis

There are three ways to describe hair universally:

• Loose natural
• Locked natural
• Permed (Permanently relaxed or Permanently curled)

Loose natural hair can be thermally straightened to look like a relaxer or it can be worn in its natural state.

As far as wigs go, they have become as common as lipstick in 2016.  With people changing hair length and haircolor on a daily basis, "wig shopping" has been the new "girls outing."

Blame it on the weather!  Blame on people wanting a look that they were not born with.

You can now wear any curl pattern that you desire through the use of the crochet braiding process in about two hours. Corkscrew coils?  No problem.  Romance Curls? No problem.

2016 Hair, especially "Black hair" has floored me.  I tell new customers that I actually service more hair than I do weave so that they know that my specialty is "haircare."

All the weaves.  All of the uniform sew-in's. All of the wigs. My head has been spinning lately.  I often ask myself - will the trend to wear your own hair come back any time soon?

The barbers must be seeing an increase in women with short afros. What happened to mens' demand for long hair?

More and more people have found hair partners, and they maintain each other's hair at home.  YouTube tutorials are cutting out the hairdressing profession.  We are going back to the time before Madame C. J. Walker started beauty salons.

Surprisingly, going to the hair salon, now means washing, conditioning, and blowdrying BEFORE you get to the salon to get the sew-in, crochet braids, or individual braids.

Natural hair practitioners can now provide almost the same hair services as cosmetologists in North Carolina.  Cosmetologists are also licensed for esthetics and nails as backup plans.

Is the hair extension/wig industry recession-proof?  Will all the protective styling mania end anytime soon?

Feel free to comment.  This article is more about you the audience than me the hair professional. Inquiring minds want to know.  Will the commercial hair demand ever peak out?