Tangle Teezers: Pay Attention...

The Tangle Teezer....

Okay so if you are at all into hair, : ) I'm sure you've heard of this new detangling tool called the Tangle Teezer.   It claims to detangle, smooth, and minimize breakage. When I first noticed The Tangle Teezer taking off in the natural hair community I really wasn't interested because I figured it was just another fad that would blaze in and out of the natural hair community like the denman brush.  But, after many convincing reviews and youtube video's I decided I had to give it a try.  And here's my assessment:

Pro's:  After the first use I must say that it did detangle with EASE, as well smooths, and stretches the hair making it easier to apply twists, and braids for my stretched out styles. I also loved  that it gave my hair a blow out look without having to use the blow dryer. That to me was very impressive. It also took less than 8 minutes for me to detangle my hair. Awesome, loved that!

Con's: When used with water or product the brush slips out of your hand a lot, (no biggie, I could deal with that. But, what I couldn't accept were the short broken pieces of hairs, that I noticed in my brush afterwards?  I believe this Tangle Teezer was breaking off my ends.



My Tangle Teezer



Now, I don't know if you can see this, but what I am showing you are short little pieces of hairs that came off in my brush. That's not good! Short hairs typically means your hair snapped off!  The first time it happened I was somewhat in denial. I tried my best to ignore it because this brush seems to work so well!   So I gave it another try, making sure my hair was wet, and saturated with product, and I was a lot gentler with it. Still small broken hairs. I even tried it a Third time!(I obviously didn't want to give up on it) The third time wasn't as bad because I was extra gentle, however,  I've decided that the Tangle Teezer it's not worth the potential damage to my hair.  

 I don't want to look up 3 months later and my hair is shredded to pieces because I didn't want to take the time to detangle my hair the proper way. (with my fingers, in the shower, followed up with my Jibree showercomb!) Even when I was using the denman brush I never noticed broken pieces of hair after a dentangling session? So the Tangle Teezer is a no go for me.  Thankfully, I noticed early on, the potential damage it could be doing to my hair.  

 If you are currently using this brush, and can't see departing from it, consider the possibility of having to depart from your precious strands because this brush caused you to have a ton of split ends or breakage. I"m not saying that this will be everyone's experience, but I will say be careful, and pay attention to the hairs in your brush. Are they long shed hairs, or short broken off pieces? Also, examine your ends more regularly and see if you notice a difference. And if so, you may want to consider doing what's best for your hair, and stop using this brush.  (I've found another use for it, I've taken it to my Manican's head, and if I had a dog, I'd use it on him/her?)  Just my two cents!!! 

 Healthy Happy Hair growing!!

       

Trimming Natural Hair

Trimming Natural Hair

Since I've been natural the topic of trimming has been one of the most complex that I've come across. When I first went natural I would trim every two months like clock work, based on the fact that I didn't like how my ends felt.(Not a full proof technique, but its what I did.)  For some reason my ends would get this dry crispy feel no matter how much I moisturized or sealed.  So I would twist my hair and trim my ends.  After many online discussions with naturals who'd been at this for a while, I found that a LOT of women were not trimming the ends of their hair at all, but simply preserving them to maintain their length.  I was told that by trimming my ends so often that I was cutting off my progress, or that I could be trimming off perfectly good hair?  I also noticed many women were growing their hair nicely with this practice, so I continued to seal and protect. This seemed to be working, I had a good  7 month stretch, and then the dry crispy rough ends returned....



Dry & Crisy ends





Opposite side



I did everything to "repair them" (the jury is still out on whether or not that can be done once weathering has set in, but that's another post!)  My hair begin to get a lot of tangles,  knots, and snags.. so the ends had to go!

My hair grows in layers so I don't trim directly across

Twist should be same thickness throughout

After much research I've learned that ends should be trimmed regularly about a 1/4 inch every 2 to 3 months to get rid of weathered splitting ends. (From what I understand the ends of our hair begin to naturally split at about 3 months.) Of course, how well you take care of our hair could determine the frequency of your trims on an individual basis. Also note that: frequent blow outs and heat styling could increase your need for frequent trims. As well  as, hair that has been chemically treated. All of these things will increase the rate at which your hair age,  causing it to become weak, dry, and split. 

   

This is the diagram that I use as a guide for my trims

Source:( http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/)

This guide has proven fairly accurate for me, (I choose to trim in twist verses braids) and I use small sections of hair to twist, to ensure that it's even within that twist. My hair grows in layers so I section my twists accordingly.  

I am so pleased with my trim. My hair feel and looks great! No more crispy  weathered ends!   It's healthy and thriving...



If you've been on the fence about whether to trim your ends. Do it! You do not want to hinder your growth progress by holding on to ends that can damage the rest of your hair.  For me. taking off 1/4 inch every 3 to 4 months is all apart of healthy maintenance and does not hinder my growth progress but helps it along.  It also gives me a peace of mind, because I know  I am doing every thing I can to ensure that my hair is flourishing at every stage. So ladies keep your hair Healthy and Happy. Trim those ends...   

A Natural Hair Mile stone for Chan!

Braid outs!!




   Okay, so I've been growing my all natural hair for about two years, 17 months all natural. And this entire time I've been dying to get an acceptabl braid out.  When I was relaxed I could do beautiful braid outs with no problem, but I soon learned with natural hair, (especially with my thickness) that it was no easy task! Every time I'd try one it would be a flop! I finally realized what I was doing wrong. No. 1 I wasn't allowing my hair enough time to dry, so when I'd take my hair down the next morning, my definition would be gone in minutes!

First successful one!

This photo is actually the next morning, of the first successful one that I've had, I was so excited that I didn't want to touch it!  I've been doing them all week and I've also learned not to braid the hair too wet but about 95% dry,(dry in big twists) this helps my hair stretch, and gives it time to dry overnight. 



Day 2 Braid out

I love the diversity that each day brings!!(once the air hits it, it gets fuller! loves it)

Whenever I want a slightly different pattern or look, all I have to do is plait larger or smaller section, and with less or more product, I love making progress with my natural hair! Please visit my fotki album to learn more about about the steps I take to perfect my braid out styles!(they can only get better from here : )

http://public.fotki.com/chawthorne/13-24-all-natural/16-18mos/page2.html 

Alisha Embraces Her Newly Natural Hair!

(A Healthy Happy Hair testimonial)

Meet Alisha!

Alisha is a  local Real Estate Agent, who I've had the pleasure of meeting through community service work.  We would often speak on hair, because I at the time,  was transitioning to natural hair. Alisha  has tried being natural  a couple times and has never quite known how to maintain it.  So after awhile,  Alisha decided to give it another shot, and chopped her relaxer off.  Needless to say, I was ecstatic that she actually went through with it!  However, the months to follow would not prove to be a easy for Miss Alisha, but  with a little help she's finally settling in.  Here is what she had to say:

"When I came to Chan I was busted & disgusted! I was  so frustrated because I didn’t know how to take care of my hair in its natural state.  I made the plunge (for the third time) to cut all my relaxed hair off and embrace ME; and then did what many of us do—hide under wigs because I didn’t know what to do with it. 



Alisha pictured w/ex Dallas Cowboy Coach



And, then  Healthy Happy Hair to the rescue….

 I called and made an appointment with Chan, and it was at that appointment where she EDUCATED me on proper hair care.  Chan advised me on everything from how to read product labels to the proper order in which to use them.  She taught me how to wash/co-wash, deep condition, and style my hair using quality products and sound techniques. I left there with a better understanding of my hair and how to maintain it!



Wash -N- GO





Puff Close-up



Puff

So, as I begin on my third (and final) journey of natural hair care, I will always be grateful to Chan for helping me learn to love & appreciate my kinks & curls!!  I now know, that GOOD HAIR = HEALTHY HAIR!!