Hide or Seek?

Now that winter has set in many of my guests have been telling me they have been noticing halo frizz. WHY would that be and how could it be happening? Now that the summer humidity is over with, we have a different problem to contend with. Instead of moisture being readily available, (and almost too plentiful in some places!) our hair is now on a desperate search for moisture in the environment and it is not finding it! So, where does moisture hide in the winter time? It hides where cold people like to be: in the boiling HOT shower, over a steaming bowl of soup, your mug of coffee, or, for me, standing over the cleansing basin all day. You will find that there is no in-between with steam. Your hair either must hide from it, or is constantly seeking it. I myself must protect my baby fine strands from the steam of my shower unless I want to look like the Heat Miser. My hair will lose definition, fall flat, and become lifeless if I leave it uncovered for a hot bath or shower.  The following tips are for those hair types that must hide from the steam in the winter, and I will cover in another post how to seek steam and use it as an advantage for those whose hair type benefits from it.

 I have many clients lament that they wear a shower cap, but there are some fatal flaws we can make such as leaving out the hairline, which just so happens to be extra vulnerable to frizzing since the hairline is where some of our shorter baby hairs live. One of the best ways to protect your hair from the steam is to place a hair Buff on your head first, THEN place your shower cap over that. THE MOST IMPORTANT YET VERY SIMPLE STEP IS AS FOLLOWS: Do not remove either the Buff OR the shower cap until you have left the bathroom. That steam is hanging out in your bathroom just waiting to tease up those baby hairs with it's sweet, steamy caress.

Another issue people can come across is feeling the need to adjust curls after sleeping, and they reach for a wet product to do so. This is a tough one to suss out, but if your hair is the type to frizz like crazy when you are in the shower, chances are you shouldn't be using something water-based to try and refresh with. Instead, use a cream or oil based product to settle down frizz, or better yet, prevent the friction on your curls in the first place by sleeping in your buff, or a topknot with a satin pillowcase. If you find you must settle a few curls down, take the approach of placing a small amount of your desired touch-up product (typically not gel) like a leave-in, cream, or pure, unadulterated oil, directly in your palm and moving from the root to the end, sweep the product onto the misbehaving curl and wind it the direction the curl naturally turns.

So what about exercise? This one can be challenging as well because we must work under the premise that the hair will get wet with perspiration. Since this is unavoidable, you can place your hair back away from your face by either wearing it in a topknot of pinning with bobby pins. I do not recommend a headband as the combo of tension and moisture will cause a dent or crimp in the hair, but you could try a buff or a half buff headband. First though, before exercising, use a good coating of spray gel or place some light hold gel on your fingertips and work it all around your hairline, sweeping away from your face. As your hair dampens, you will then have the extra coverage of the gel already present, and your hair will fall into a cast again as it re-dries. Once you are dry, flip forward and scrunch/shuffle gently at the root.

If you are planning to do some major cooking, opening and closing the oven door, standing over roiling pots of boiling water, you could put on your buff, or you could keep some plastic elastic caps tucked in between your cling wrap and tinfoil for such occasions. If you are like me, you will enjoy pretending to be a lunch lady and scaring your kids with your high-pitched Julia Childs impersonation. Plus, this keeps your lovely locks protected from enthusiastically flung bits of food and keeps your DNA out of the dinner.

Curl Kebabs!

So I have been gone awhile, but wanted to touch base with a new video covering a method I created born out of necessity. Recently I had a major surgery involving my skull and spine, and in addition to having a limited range of motion, I am missing about a quarter of my hair on the underside. Naturally this is making my hair seem less voluminous; and without being able to clip or plop, downright flat! This has been a blessing in so many ways, including bringing me a little outside the box to be able to experience some challenges some of you may face with limited motion, or for those who don't like to clip or plop. Click the link for  Curl Kebabs!

Flax Seed Gel

Have you ever made your own products? I definitely have, and I love to play in the kitchen so it satisfies the curl lover and the chef in me!
I am linking back to my friend and leader of Curly Hair Artistry, Scott Musgrave's blog post where he featured my gel recipe. Let me know if you try this and how you like it, or if you made some alterations to your own gel!
You can find Scott's blog and my concoction here.  Happy curling!

'O' Clipping Version 2.0

I really, really want everyone to understand how to use clips in their hair; it is such a great tool to have in gaining height and volume! Sometimes we just don't feel like using small clips, though. Small clips do have their advantages, such as more precision and smaller sections which can be great for certain hair types. When placed properly, small clips have mighty strength in numbers. However, for those days where you have less time, if you find you are not using your clips at all because they frustrate you, or if you want to hike up those tresses to the heavens, these clips do just the trick! This is great for all hair types but I think those with heavy, thick, or long hair will especially appreciate this technique with these larger and easier-to-handle clips.  Happy, happy clipping!

Top View

During the drying process

After air drying and shuffling...no diffusing!

That's Deep!

So many of us experience dry hair at this time of year. Whether it's from a rough transition from winter or because with warm weather comes more headbands, hair ties, and chlorine, we all could benefit from a deep conditioner now and then. Many sit in my chair and say "I never have time!" but I encourage you to take a little time out of your hectic schedule to give your hair some TLC; relax with a good book or movie! It's a great excuse to spend a little time on YOU and you'll be rewarded with great hair!
I find that when I do a deep conditioner, I like to detoxify my hair by either using a gentle-lather, sulfate-free cleanser; or a Malibu Hard Water/Swimmers treatment packet. This way, the hair is prepped and ready to accept the moisture I am trying to give it. These treatments can also "press the reset button" on limp and lifeless curls. Both hard water and chlorine can be so tough on hair; and I will address these specific problems in a future post to give you some ideas on how to deal with them.
For now, choose a silicone-free deep conditioner or an oil of your choice and try both of the following methods of application to see which works best for you.
Your deep conditioner can be applied however you wish, both on wet or dry hair. It is very beneficial to apply it on dry hair because the hair is like a sponge, accepting readily what you put on it first. This method works especially well with hair that tangles easily or is low-porosity,  as you can use this as a pre-cleanse softener. You can also sleep with the deep conditioner in your hair if you simply tie it gently with a ribbon elastic hair tie or wear a shower cap. Just lay a microfiber towel or old tee-shirt over your pillowcase while you sleep. While the exchange here is that you may be using much more product to evenly saturate the hair, you may find that your hair just eats up that moisture like never before!
On the other hand, the benefits to applying deep treatments on wet hair are that you may use less product and achieve a more even application. Another positive is that you are able to use warm water to open the cuticle further, allowing for great penetration of all that beneficial hydration. When applying deep conditioner to wet hair, always squeeze out as much water as possible and you may even want to blot a little with a microfiber. I then recommend applying to the ends first working up to midway through, then using the remainder left on your hands for the top and part-line. Next, exit the shower to give the conditioner some time to work it's magic. You can sit under a hood dryer, or if you don't own one, try the method I show you in the video below! Cold water seals the cuticle back down, so I always recommend this as the final step after any conditioning.

'O' Clipping

I want to talk a little bit about clipping your hair. I have so many clients that come in and tell me that they have tried it in the past and just couldn't get the hang of it. Usually the reasons why are that they are using the wrong type of clip for their hair or that they are attempting to clip at an awkward angle, (either from underneath the curl or because they are crossing their arm in front of their face). I get many complaints that the little hairs around the crown get caught around the top of the clip and cause snagging on removal.

All of these issues can be virtually eliminated by clipping the way I show in this video. Something that we used to talk about in beauty school was wrapping rollers "off base" to create more volume in the hair. Well, here we are using the same idea, allowing the hair to fall off base with your head tilted to gain maximum volume while leaving the clips heads exposed to hasten and simplify removal. One thing I did not mention in the video is how to approach the back, and that is very simple. Just look way up at the ceiling (I almost arch my back) and grab a section, aiming the clip down towards the floor. I never attempt too many at the back of the head because we do not have eyes back there! This portion of your head will have to be done by feeling and you don't want to be fishing clips out back there that got put in sideways or upside down. Less is more until you get the hang of it.
As for the type of clip, the choice is yours. I love Vinyl Single Prong clips by Marianna, but outside of Amazon they can be tricky to find. Heavier hair, however, may weigh these smaller clips down so that they sag which is never good. So for my curly hair friends that have long, heavy, thick or dense hair, you may like the stronger larger style clips a lot better. There are all kinds of clips and it's a personal thing so I encourage you to explore what works best for you!

Plop it Like it's Hot!

Maybe along your curl journey you've heard of a method called "Plopping".  Despite a rather unfortunate name, it can really be an asset to us in our arsenal of curly tricks. Plopping is a method of compressing the curls from ends to scalp using fabric. "What type of fabric?" you may ask. The possibilities are endless and I recommend experimenting to find which fabric is right for your curls. T-shirt material can be great and is easily sourced from home,  just find one that has worn thin and cut the top off right under the arms, then make a vertical cut down the belly. Voila! You have an approximate rectangle long enough to twist on the sides and and tie in back. Jersey is slightly absorbent but not overly so, just be sure not to plop for too long as your gel can make the curls stick to the fabric.
 You may want to try a stretchier material which I find takes out less moisture- in some cases (and depending on your porosity) can be a benefit. I, myself, have plopped my hair using a king- sized jersey pillowcase, a long sleeved T-Shirt, a handkerchief, and even the PinkTag plopping towel which some of my clients have purchased in my shop.
 My current favorite is called the Jac-o-Net nylon veil net, and is a wonderful choice for so MANY reasons! Firstly, the Jac-o-Net Veil Net is made of tulle, meaning that it completely aerates the curls. Why is this so great? Well, if you have long, thick curls that take a long time to dry you can either sit under your hood dryer with the net or you can TAKE OFF YOUR DIFFUSER and use your dryer directly! The veil keeps your hair tightly compressed and unable to frizz, yet still open to the air! Another reason I love this is that you can see through it to tell whether or not you have achieved the proper angle; you can see the curls compressed down like an accordion.  The best part is that your gel will not stick! These nets are triangle in shape and there's plenty of room to wrap the tails around the front.  Just throw these in your delicates bag when washing and they will not tear; or you can simply wash in the sink and hang/ blow dry.
There are many different takes on how you should plop, but I believe you should start with wet hair that already has your products of choice applied and then blot gently with microfiber or jersey before proceeding to plop. I also recommend a maximum of 20-30 minutes depending on thickness and length, but if you can go longer (or even overnight) that is great! Personally I follow what I call the 10-10-10 approach and I will explain that in a future post.

I describe the different fabrics and how to get the correct angle every time in my video here.  Please forgive the awkward ending, I get sad when I have to say goodbye! Happy Plopping!

Me, before and after with the veil net!!

Lovely results at my shop with the veil net!