Hair Rolling at Night

Rolling your hair at night is a chore for the medium to short length women. Pin -curling works for the longer hair women.

I suggest starting with a little Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment (bought from Sephora). It is a oil treatment. Use sparingly throughout the hair. Then follow up with Big Bad D's "Glass Curling Creme" (King Premium Products). It has Amino acids for strengthening as well as moisture and shine to assist in nighttime curling.

The main purpose in rolling hair at night is to keep the hot tools out of it in the morning.

For those who wrap their hair at night, don't stop if it is working for you!

A 100% silk scarf is best for breathability of the hair. The next best material for nighttime coverup is the satin polyester scarf. By all means, please get rid of the cotton scarves! Cotton is breathable, but it absorbs a lot of moisture from the hair.

As far as rollers go, if you see a lot of hair in your rollers (i.e. exposed sponge rollers) then you probably should try some satin rollers or the hard rollers if you can stand them.

Seeking a Dermatalogist for Hair?

Black women, if you decide that you need a medical opinions on your hair and/or scalp, please schedule with a Black dermatologist.

Most of the White dermatologists are only going to tell you something like "you have midshaft fragility." Or "You need to cut all of your hair off and come out of the relaxers." or "Don't braid your hair too tight."

Do we really need to pay a White dermatologist to tell us something that we could have "guessed" on our own? Some of the White dermatologists have went as far as instructing how to put in your own relaxer and touching your cornrows to tell you how tight a braid should be.

Most dermatologists are not cosmetologists, and most White dermatologists have not braided hair in their life.

Please by all means go to a dermatologist that has hair texture closer to your texture, and if you don't know if they have kinky hair or not, then ask at the time that you are making an appointment. It may take a few months to get scheduled with a Black dermatologist because they are not as plentiful; but I would trust their opinion on hair and scalp before I would trust a White dermatologist.

Please understand that I am not being racist; but I am discriminatory when it comes to Black hair.

Hard Press versus Soft press

A hard pressing service is an old school art that is dying. The beautician has to know how much heat to silken the hair without burning it up. If done correctly, the hair becomes very humidity resistant. However, a downside, if done enough, the hair will lose its natural curl pattern when it is wet. The hair protein loses its natural behavior. (Please see my separate article on the "effects of heat" which describes the nature of protein.)

So if you ever want to have "wash and wear" hair, then you should not seek hard pressing on a regular basis. You should embrace your natural curl pattern.

A soft press service is a healthier option, but it can be unpredictable until your hair gets trained. Getting your hair trained can take several months; otherwise, your straight look may last for about 5 minutes in high humidity weather. Can you say "instant afro?" and a feeling of "wasted time and money?"

My conclusion on naturally curly hair is to wear it curly. If you want the occassional straight look, buy a great looking wig and get it cut and styled.

Bodiphier Natural Relaxer is my choice!

I am approaching my second week with the Bodiphier relaxer, and I am still loving it. I can wear my hair "wash and wear" or blow-dry straight. The blow-dry straight lasts for about a week before I get frizzy/puffy.

Oh yes. I also discovered the perfect gel for my "wet and go" look. You have to guard this secret or at least let people know about this blog. Okay?. Biolage Firm Hold Gelee is the BEST moisturizing and defining gel that I have discovered thus far. It's not too stiff, and it enhances every type of curl pattern that I have used it on thus far. This product is so good that I would be willing to discard every other curl defining gel in my salon. Mainly because many of the other curl products do not work on every type of curl pattern.

For example: Paul Mitchell Foamming Pomade - did not deliver good results with coarser/curlier textures nor medium textures with oily scalps. However, there is a huge population of more hispanic looking textures that it works wonders on.

I will be definitely offering the Bodiphier Natural Relaxer at my salon as well as the Biolage Gelee. They are both in a league of their own.

Watch the Waves

This article is dedicated to inner beauty, encouragement, and inspiration. Enjoy!

From my memory:
I am reflecting on a time as a little girl on vacation at the beach. I may have been preteen age.

I never learned to swim, but I remember walking very slowly into the ocean trying to keep my balance. I kept walking and walking into the deep blue. I got chest level deep, then I saw a huge tidal wave out in the ocean headed towards me. I turned as gracefully as I could in order to attempt to walk back as quickly as I could, but it was no use. The water was going to cause me to lose my balance if I did not tread it slowly. So I held my breathe, kept my back toward the incoming wave, and braced my body for the impact of it so I would not fall over.

Believe it or not, absolutely no water went over my head. When the impact of the water never came, I turned my head around and realized that by the time the huge wave got to me, it had curved over, smoothed out, and flowed right over my shoulders. I was thankful, relieved, and happy. I then started walking back to shore. That was enough anxiety for a day. When one reflects on blessings like this, one realizes that God is protecting us and teaching us lessons.

For me:
1) I was venturing out too far into the ocean.
2) I was on the wrong path; it was time to go back to my base.
3) It was not my time to leave this world. (An undercurrent or the waves could have swept me away which was unknown to me because I was unfamiliar with the water.) God knew that He had more work for me to do. His purpose for me had not been served.


We all need to be thankful for second chances. Make today a good day!