This may be shocking to some, old news to others…. Let’s talk about washing your hair. “Your hair grows better when it’s dirty.” Not true. As a matter of fact, it’s the exact opposite. Your hair grows quicker and will be healthier when your hair and scalp are clean.Your scalp needs air! Heavy oils and products can clog your hair follicles and cause blockage, causing the hair shaft to suffocate and not grow.

This past week I was talking to one of my clients and she told me that it wasn’t widely known that if your hair doesn’t lather the first time around, it’s dirty. In other words,  a clean white lather equals clean hair. So if you shampoo your hair the first time and you don’t get lather, rinse and wash again. But if you wash your hair often, the exact opposite is true— you may only need to wash your hair once before conditioning. I was shocked to know that kind of information is not common knowledge. But I guess after doing hair for six years, everything seems common knowledge to me.

If your hair tends to be oily, a good first wash shampoo would be a tea tree shampoo to remove excess oils that cause excess dirt. Otherwise, Nioxin shampoo’s and conditioners are great for a healthy clean scalp. The Nixon brand has so many products that promote hair growth coming from the concept of clean scalp and hair. I love the Nixon Scalp Renewal. It’s a microdermabrasion (exfoliation) for the scalp. Think of your scalp as an extension of your face and skin. Just as you would give yourself a facial, you need to give your scalp the same love and attention.

So, if you hear someone telling you that you need to “oil your scalp” with Dax grease or that leaving your hair alone or letting it stay dirty will cause it to grow…tell him or her the truth.  If you follow my advice I guarantee that you’ll be able to see the difference in your hair!

Happy November! Most of you might not know that November is actually National Diabetes Awareness Month.

“Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles.” (American Diabetes Association)

I am invested in the research and efforts that go into fighting diabetes because my mother and grandmother both live with the disease…and biologically I’m prone to follow suit. Furthermore, diabetes is affecting our whole community– 3.7 million or 14.7% of all African Americans aged 20 years or older have diabetes (stat from the ADA).

With all that said, there are many ways you can get involved in crusade against Diabetes….

One way that will make you feel good on the inside and look fabulous on the outside comes from one of my favorite beauty lines, 3 Custom Color Specialists!

During the month of November and December, they are donating 20% of the proceeds of the sales of TAI™ Lip Shine ($19.50) to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Funds will be used to support the ADA’s efforts in contributing to diabetes research, information, and advocacy.

The lip shine is divine bronze color and looks great on all skin tones! Order a 3-pack ($58.50) and you’ll get free shipping (just enter TAI at checkout). What a great Holiday gift!

So, please join in on this amazing cause and literally kiss diabetes goodbye!

Products are everywhere! Which ones work best for you? With all those products on the shelves, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and leave the store spending more than you wanted. And you might not be sure that the products you chose are going to work right for you. Experimenting is inevitabe (and necessary) to find the best ones. Well, I’ve tried quite a number of products and wanted to share with you some of my faves for different hair types at a variety of prices.

For Breakage: You need a good reconstructive and protein building shampoo and daily conditioner. Here are a few:

• Tigi Bed Head Dumb Blonde system
• Paul Lebrecque Repair Shampoo and Condiditon
• Kerastase Bain De Force Shampoo, Ciment Anti-usure and Forcintense Treatment Conditioners

Salons offer various proten treamtents that be customized to your specific concern. Some proteins are stronger than others they are NOT all the same.

For Dry Scalp or Psoriasis: Washing your hair weekly is best for you. Try the following products:

• Nizoral Shampoo weekly
• Use Kiehl’s Silk Groom Serum on the scalp
• Nioxin Scalp Renewal Treatment every 4-5 weeks

For Relaxed Hair: Remember it is important to change your shampoo every three months to avoid your hair building up a sort of immunity to the product. A few weekly or daily shampoos include:

• Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Shampoo and Conditioner
• Alterna Hemp Organics Repair Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner
• Nioxin Cleanser and Conditioner #7
• If your hair is very dry, try Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner

For Color-Treated Hair try:

• Alterna Hemp Organics Color Hold Repair Shampoo and Repair Treatment Conditioner
• Goldwell Kerasilk Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner

For Natural or Curl Hair check out:

• Mixed Chicks Shampoo and Deep Conditioner with the Leave-in
• Kiehl’s Silk Groom for moisture during the day

Good Leave-in Conditioners and Heat Protective Products:

• Bed Head’s Ego Boost
• Lanza Strait-Line Thermal Defense
• Kiehl’s Silk Groom

The Best Finishing Products:

• For Shine: Mixed Chicks Hair Silk is by far the longest lasting shine I’ve ever experienced. It’s flying off my shelf.
• For Hold: Paul LeBrecque’s Straight Finish and Bed Head’s Hard Head
• For Flyaways, Separation or a Sleek Ponytail, Updo or Bun: Bed Head’s Manipulator

Give some of these products a try and let me know how they work out for you.

Once every two to three years or so I get the urge to cut bangs. The problem is that after about a week my forhead starts breaking out and I can’t find a flattering way to brush them to the side. Also, if not done correctly, bangs have the potential to transport me back to my tweenage years, which as a working professional  I don’t really need to revisit.  So, as the urge to cut wells up once again I’m deciding to do a little research before my next salon visit. I need a style that says both autumn and ease. Bang styles can speak volumes about someone’s personality, but at that root of it there are some basic guidelines the must be followed.

Slightly below the brow: particularly for fall, bangs that are slightly longer frame out faces nicely. It also creates a warm and cozy look that is hard to get away with when temps are high.

Full not sparse: gaps and thinness in the frontal fringes are counteractive to the seamless statement that bangs create.

A crisp line: uneven staggered cuts look homemade not salon styled.

Flexible not stiff: bangs that are pasted the forehead are not only a target for excess oils and irritation on the forehead, but they create an unflattering helmet head look.

Rhianna arguably has the best bangs in the game right now and I’m hoping that my impulse cut comes close to the sleek but practical look she’s able to flawlessly maintain.

What do you or don’t you love about bangs?

From Fashion Week to the financial meltdown, this fall has been full of highs and lows. When the economy takes a downturn, style trend seem to reflect that. Everyone is scrambling to stay cute and save their pennies. We are recycling our wardrobes and trying to add a few new things that change our look by accessorizing and adding a piece here and there.

As with fashion, hairstyles are also affected by the economy. Hair stylists and trendseeters are taking their inspiration from different eras including the 60s (Think Ashanti), 70s and 80s. As we continue the season, we will be seeing less of really long hair (think Brandy) and less of shorter hair styles (think Rihanna). And those in the middle (think bobs) should consider growing their hair to a mid-length between the chin and shoulder. The hottest look with be no more than 3-4 inches below the shoulder with a deep side part or one right in the middle with soft layers and a textured waves look that works well on most face shapes. Alesha Renee, Ciara and Beyonce are all wearing this look.

This new hair trends gives you a way to update your wardrobe by dressing up your hair. It also offers versatility since you can the part. It will also allow you to do more glamorous looks of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

I guess it was inevitable that Halle Berry would join the ranks of celebrities hawking their own signature fragrance. Women’s Wear Daily reported the details recently. Next March, Halle by Halle Berry will hit midtier (think JC Penney) and  the mass market (drug stores and other kind of outlets where you can get things at a bargain). I don’t know if I am disappointed or impressed. Maybe because Sarah Jessica Parker’s scent are in department stores (so do far less sophisticated celebrities like Britney Spears) and I think Halle deserves to be in better company.

But then I remembered that Halle is not one to get caught up in status for status sake. Proof positive: she has been one of the faces of Revlon for years (12 to be exact). Potential customers are used to seeing her face plastered in their local Wal-Mart or CVS. Anyway, Halle has teamed with Coty (who I believe had the same strategy for Shania Twain) and they expect to place this scent in 10,000 locations worldwide. And the suits at Coty expect Halle by Halle Berry to pull down more than $50 million in its first year. That means a lot of women will want to smell like Halle since the fragrance ranges between $17-$35 for eau de parfum.

It is obvious that diversification is the name of the game if you’ve got a well-known name. And as a black woman perhaps Halle Berry understands that as she gets older those good roles may become few and far between (even though she is an Academy Award winner).  But I truly hope she will steer clear of licensing her name for clothing. (Rihanna didn’t heed my advice). Or becoming a shadow of herself in years to come like Elizabeth Taylor did with the whole White Diamonds campaign. And although she is fortunate enough to command a decent salary for the roles she does take I am also sure that a Hollywood lifestyle does not come cheap. So for Nahla’s sake I do hope that the scent attracts a following.

Its been a while. But I’m back and excited about the topic this week.

My cousin came over this past weekend and she’s growing out a short, short cut. She wants to continue to grow it long, but in the process she needed suggestions for maintenance and versatility. We are going to explore a technique that can incorporate both maintenance and versatility and still give you a finish you’ve been waiting for. So, the topic this week… “What can I do with my hair?”

I cater to the woman on the move. So the first issue I hear from a new client during a consultation is always maintenance. They want to know how to care for their hair at night or how style it differently so they can do less in the morning.

I currently offer an “At-Home-Training” session for my clients where I teach a group or an individual at home daily maintenance and styling quick fixes. I am going to give you some of that same information right here and now.

Whether short, medium or long lengths you should never over do your hair with heat. Using heat everyday….is over doing it. Part of daily maintenance is to keep your hair healthy. Using too much heat can lead to damaged hair. You want to achieve optimum hair health and learn to maintain it. Most people use heat daily because of what happens to their hair at night.

Tip #1 comes from my first post “To Cut or Not to Cut” . In ““ In the post I suggest using a satin or silk pillowcase at night. Satin and silk materials are woven tightly and don’t soak up your natural oils and can leave your hair in perfect condition in the morning, not all dried up. Cotton pillowcases not only suck your natural oils and moisture, but the loose woven material can also grab your hair and can cause breakage.

Wrapping is a popular technique in the community. I personally don’t like “wrapping” hair at night because I feel the hair lays toooooo flat and if your hair tends to be on the oily side, your hair can possibly can get too oily. I enjoy hair that is light in weight and allows for every strand to move separately.

Investing in a great hair cut can be considered Tip#2. With a great cut, little maintenance is needed. The days of having to force your hair into style with heat can disappear. (If you read my post “Dream Cut”, a great cut can take you a long way.)

The first two tips involved easy sleek maintenance. Lets throw some versatility into the mix for the third tip.

If you are a texture girl, or want to something new, Tip #3 is for you. Try a “carefree tousle”. If you have long hair, try pulling your hair into a ponytail at night and twist your hair until it in turns into a bun and secure with bobby pins. In the morning, take out the ponytail and let your waves flow. Hint: the tighter the twist, the smaller the curl. You can also try pulling your ponytail in different height positions to create texture at different levels creating different looks. If your hair is medium length, this can work for you to. Instead of the one ponytail, you can create multiple ponytails or twists.

Another technique for medium to short hair lengths would be to pin curl your hair at night and enjoy the texture in the morning. Keeping in mind that the smaller the pin curls, the tighter the curl in the morning. You can choose to pin curl your hair to the base creating a full curl or just the bottom for tuck or flip. In keeping with texture, if you’re a morning girl, try heat rollers when you get up and let them work for you while you dress.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

I have been hanging on to this little glass bottle of goop for a good two years now. The expiration date has long passed and the tinged color and odd smell are what’s left to show for it. But, it doesn’t matter, I just can’t bring myself to toss it. It is by far my savior when it comes to unexpected blemishes. No matter how great our skin cleansing routine we are all bound to get an unexpected visitors every once in while. 

I discoverd Miss Oops gel a few years ago and I am seriously hooked. It really works like nothing else that I’ve tried. The problem is that it seems to have been discontinued–so now my hunt begins to track down a new bottle, and possibly convince the company to add it back to their roster of brilliant products. I’ll keep posted. In the meantime, if you’ve found a can’t miss blemish buster please let me know.

Although they’ve dropped one of my favorite products, I’m still loyal to the line because they’ve got some other good stuff too. There is also an great item called the http://www.missoops.com/products/details.php?product_id=5 rescue sponge that works wonders to remove deodorant from clothes. It seems like a regular dry sponge but it really gets the white marks off. This company is brilliant! Too bad I didn’t think of these things, I could be typing this post from a villa on the beach!

I love color! Unfortunately my hair doesn’t. Well technically, I know it used to hate color when I relaxed it, but I haven’t tried color since I’ve become 100% texturized and I’m looking forward to it.

My hair has always been fine. When I was in college my hair stylist suggested color to bulk it up by opening the hair shaft and depositing color. I didn’t quite understand then what he meant, but I went for it.

Well…I get the concept now, but unfortunately when I was in college I didn’t know what I know now and apparently he didn’t either. My hair was relaxed and fine and we colored my hair a really light brown. I found out the hard way that relaxed fine hair can’t handle a “light” brown…Now I know you can’t do an over all “light” shade using high volumes of peroxide if your hair is fine and relaxed. Needless to say my hair started falling out. We nursed my hair back to health with weekly protein treatments and a cut! Lol.

I want you to learn from my mistake. If you’re thinking about color there are a few things to consider:

• First and foremost…your commitment. Is it real? Will you keep up with it?
• Is your hair natural or chemically treated? Are you a hair color virgin?
• What colors best suit your complexion?

Let’s explore some answers these questions.

1. Color is commitment.Decide your level of commitment; temporary, semi-permanent, permanent.The same level of commitment you have is the same level of color you want.

2. Have fun with your color! If you are a natural, no chemicals….Your hair can generally do almost…I said almost anything. If your hair is fine, tread lightly. Start off with medium based tones and some highlights.

As I mentioned earlier from my personally hair tragedy, the more chemically treated your hair is, the more color will further cause damage your hair. When I say further damage, I say it because if your hair is not virgin, it’s damaged. Opening your hair shaft for any chemical service is damaging to the hair shaft. This is why conditioning is so important to our hair. However, our hair can handle a certain level of damage as long as we treat the chemically serviced strands with protein treatments to strengthen what we damage.

If you have a texturizer and your hair is generally thick you can have fun too! Stay away for any type of all over blondes though. You may need to be careful. If your hair is thin and you have a texturizer, stay within the lines of medium to light browns or reds.

If you are relaxed, be careful.Your hair is already chemically processed and you will be adding another chemical thus making your hair “double processed”. If you have never colored your hair before and you have a relaxer, its even more important here for you to ask your colorist to give you a strand test to see how your hair responds. Get a strand test in a not so obvious place and test out the color.Wait two weeks and see how your hair responds. As a general rule of thumb, stay in your dark to medium tones.

You can add highlights if you wish, but make sure they are thin and not chucky, so if the hair breaks over time, you don’t lose chucks of hair. 

3. Now let’s talk tones.
The main idea of hair color is to compliment you skin color. Not match. Stay away from colors that match your skin. Try rich colors like chestnut, deep golden brown or mahogany with warm (red) skin tones.Choose caramel colored highlights. For cool skin (very light or yellowish) tones try honey, wheat or even taupe shades.

Any questions? As always, feel free to ask me.

Are you losing your hair and you don’t know why? Take a second and examine the hair that you see in the shower or in the comb/brush. There are generally two types of breakage: from the root and damaged hair. If it is from the root its internal.You can detect this type of breakage by white bulb at the end of the hair shaft. This can be caused by a variety of reasons: stress, change of eating habits, and change of medications including birth control.

Stress. If it is stress, try Yoga or some meditation routine. Take it easy. Life can’t be that serious. Or you shouldn’t make it.

Eating Habits. This type of hair loss is called Loose Anagen Syndrome. Let’s first understand that our hair is mostly made up of proteins. Thus, a primary necessity for healthy hair is adequate protein intake. Vitamin E and C or beta-carotene, specifically acts as anti-oxidants, protecting our hair to stand up to pollution, chemicals, cold, sun, stress and medication. A balanced diet is required for healthier hair. This should take precedence over our “diet” to lose weight.

What is a balanced diet? It should consist of “55% carbohydrates, especially those of slow assimilation (e.g. pasta, rice & potatoes)30% Lipids, half of which should be monosaurates like olive oil, a quarter should be polysaturates like groundnut oil and sunflower oil and another quarter of saturates like butter, cream, cheese, animal fat etc. 15% should come from proteins (found in cereals). Fruits and vegetables should represent in volume, half of your food intake.”

Medications. There are soooo many medications that have a side affect of hair loss. They include those you take for high blood pressure as well as birth control pills. Talk to your doctor about alternatives if you are losing an abundance of hair.

An additional solution may include taking a hair, skin and nail vitamin. Try Nixon’s Hair Skin and Nail. If your hair loss continues after taking the above advice in addition to the vitamins, contact a Trichologist.

REMEMBER: Our hair is what we eat!!!!