Hair Bulbs: Root or Damaged Ends?

Hopefully, everyone recognizes flat iron breakage by now, but I pulled this picture from my blog archive to show how damaged ends can look like a "hair bulb."

What is a hair bulb?  Many people feel that if they pick up a strand of hair from their bathroom floor and see a hair bulb on the end, then the strand was a hair that came from the scalp's hair follicle.  They feel that the "hair bulb" signifies hair shedding which could be normal versus breakage.

Well,  some hair that is broken by the heat damage can look like there is a "hair bulb" on one end, but it really is breakage versus shedding.

Breakage can be stopped.  1) Recondition or Treat.  2) Discontinue use of whatever tool is causing the breakage.

So if you see a "bulb," then please be open to the possibility of the bulb being the results of a damaged end of the hair generated from extreme breakage.  I would suggest a salon treatment for any major hair breakage issues.

The Unexpected Dreadlock: Removal of Commercial Hair

So you just took out braids or a sew-in weave and needed a relaxer the same day?  Have you ever had an unexpected dreadlock to form and attach itself to your own straight hair after the shampoo rinse?

Remember that a dreadlock is formed with shedded hair compacting and swirling around.  So if you have braids in for a couple of months, then you have a couple of months of shedded hair that has to be released from your head in one setting.  Can you see how an unexpected dreadlock can form?

So try to make sure your hair is detangled very well before applying a relaxer or shampooing the hair.  If the hair is just hard from spritz, then wet or rinse it first.  Once the hair is soft enough, begin combing it out with a wide tooth comb before shampooing it.

If you have your hair cornrowed or canerowed underneath a sew-in weave, then try not to shampoo but every other week.  Shampooing the hair too often with the hair braided down, sets or locks in those braids.  You can start to form an unexpected dreadlock just by shampooing too often with hair braided down.

A chelating shampoo is highly recommended under these circumstances.  A protein based shampoo will usually seal the unexpected dreadlock into place and you would need a low pH conditioner or apple cider vinegar rinse to assist in releasing the dreadlock from the ends.

For many of you, you are probably having an "Aw-haw" moment.  For those who have not experienced the "unexpected dreadlock," then count yourself lucky!

Three Years Natural and Still Longing for Length?

I just completed a Mizani natural hair class, and my final questions about natural hair behavior finally came clear.  Remember in my past articles, we have talked about the curliest hair being most fragile?  Well, I am going to take that discussion even deeper.

Imagine every twist and turn in a hair strand to be vulnerable for breakage.  So the most wiry, kinky, zig zag hair has the most possible break points.  Right?  So when you see people who have been "going natural" for three years and their hair is still not any longer than three years ago, you ask what is wrong?

Well, It is breaking.  It is tangling. It may be shedding more because it is tangling.  Then it is trimmed regularly to keep some shape to it and to keep it from tangling as much.  It is a vicious cycle.  For some women, only sections of the head may have a really kinky texture to it.  For other women, they are dealing with a full head of "hard to manage" hair.

So what do you do to stop the breakage and start gaining length?  Here are the choices that I have come up with:

1) Relax it -  Pros:  Relaxers, soft curls, and texturizers eliminate some of the break points by reducing the curliness of the hair.  Cons:  The scalp which is living may suffer damage.  Also, chemicals plus heat styling could still weaken the already vulnerable hair.  So you may gain length short term, but you may lose density long-term.

2) Lock it - Pros: The natural shedding of the hair drops down into the dreadlock and compacts so that you never lose length.  You may still get breakage if the locks dry out, but otherwise, you are never combing out any hair as when you comb out loose natural hair.  Cons: Dreadlocks are not always accepted by certain social classes, jobs, and work environments.

3) Hard Press it- Pros: Hard pressing will eventually permanently straighten the hair or train it to stay straight.  Cons:  Healthy hard pressing has become a lost skill set because of the relaxer/ creamy crack generation.

These are the only three choices for kinkier hair types who want to gain length.

If you have a loose natural curl pattern, then you should have no problems gaining length regardless of chemicals or NO chemicals.  This topic really would not concern you unless you have a child whose hair is kinkier than yours.

So in hindsight, I wished that I had started my dreadlock journey a long time ago.  My scalp was always sensitive to relaxers from my childhood days and continued into my adult life.  I was always tenderheaded.  My hair has always been very hard to manage.

I think that I and my mom have spent much of my forty something years trying to control my hair.  If I only knew then what I know now,  I would have chosen to lock my hair a lot sooner, but we are on God's time and ordered according to His plan for us.

I appreciate the journey and knowledge gained along the way.

Abnormal Shedding of Commercial Hair Weft

 When my client came in complaining about a gap in her thickness, I could not believe my eyes after I examined her tracks.  

Before I go into anymore details, the human hair extensions we used were from Lugo.  Lugo Hair Center has four locations:  Miami, Fl, Brooklyn, NY and two New York City locations.  My client(s) usually orders from the Miami, FL location.  Great customer service.  The semi-straight hair shedded a good bit but never tangled on my client.  This particular client decided to try the semi-wavy hair to see if it will hold the roller sets better.  The Miami location was out of semi-wavy, and the Brooklyn store was the first location to get the semi-wavy in stock.

 So five weeks later, there was nothing but weft left in the middle of one of the tracks.  I may would have expected that from a "cut end" but not the middle of the weft.  We called the Brooklyn store immediately.  They told us to ask for a reinforced weft next time.  We were told to call back the next day because the manager was gone for that evening.  The Miami store never mentioned reinforced wefts and checkwashing prior to application.  We will definitely make it a point to order from the Miami location in the future.    

A whole 2 inch area just missing?  This is abnormal.

Design Essentials Buzz - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!

The Good news: McBride Research, owners of Design Essentials brand is trying to stay competitive with the market. They now have a Professional Smoothing Treatment without the formaldehyde worries. They also announced an additional foam and setting lotion designed for the naturally kinky hairstyling trend.

The Bad news: The latest reformulation of their regular strength relaxer with Shea Butter is causing some shedding issues. (Please see separate articles on Design Essentials shea butter relaxer review) I personally had to switch all of my clients that were on this new relaxer into the new Affirm mild strength relaxer. Everyone is doing much better with the new Affirm relaxer. I even had another client to come to me who had been receiving the new Design Essential shea Butter relaxer service by another hairstylist. She felt her hair was losing thickness. I told her that the problem was probably with the relaxer not the hairstylist. Again, I used the Affirm Mild relaxer, and the results were healthy and shiny.

Now, for the Ugly: Pictured is the old formula of the Design Essentials Styling Spritz. It is darker in color than the newer hypoallergenic fragrance version.

According to the feedback on the grapevine, the new version of the Design Essentials Formations styling spritz is not working the same way. Yet, the company is saying it is the same "stuff" despite the fact that the ingredients list is not the same. Pictured is the old ingredient list from the old formula/bottle. (On a side note, I have some of this old formula to sell brand new if anyone wants to get their hands on it!)

Again, another example where the manufacturer is switching up formulas on us and "messing up" our money. We as hairstylists are on the front line dealing with our clientele. These company failures are at our expense initially, and we as hairstylists have no control. Product prices are going up and the economy is steadily challenging our ability to raise service prices. In the end, we all lose sometimes before we gain . . .

Shedding: Long hair strand loss

So you are experiencing shedding? In the fall, some shedding is to be expected. Also, one can shed 100 strands or more a day.

So what to do if you feel that the shedding or long hair strand loss is abnormal?

According to Design Essentials, their Stimulations Super Moisturizing conditioner can help stop the shedding. I believe the scalp tingling from this product goes a long way with deeper penetration into the scalp.

Essations has a moisturizing tea tree maintenance line as well. The conditioner/conditioning is more important than the shampoo. Any clients nervous about abnormal shedding can definitely benefit from this treatment.