Hey, beautiful people!  With Michigan winter coming soon, I am moving back into more protective
styling, which means more shed hairs get trapped close to my roots and I get more tangling. I have to be careful when detangling because, even though my hair is high density, it is also very fine in most areas.   Thus, typically, I just finger detangle 1-2 times per week.  Every few months, however, I do a more thorough detangling session.

For those more thorough sessions, here are my favorite tools:

1. A good rinse out or leave-in conditioner with a lot of slip.  I like Herbal Essence Long Term Relationship Conditioner; Herbal Essence Totally Twisted Conditioner; Silk Dreams Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner; and Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Conditioner.  I have also used Oyin Hair Dew with my oil mix to get the job done.


2. A wide tooth comb.  After finger detangling and putting my hair in sections, I next use the wide tooth comb to get out the more easier tangles.  I have two Hercules Sagemann Magic Star Rake Combs that I really like because they are seamless.  However, sometimes I just use one of my $4 Diane or Annie Jumbo Rake Combs.  They are not seamless, but I have never had a problem with them.


3. Paddle Brush.  After going through a section with a wide tooth comb, I go in with my Conair Paddle Brush to get out the remaining tangles and some of the loose shed hairs that I missed with finger detangling and my wide tooth comb.  I have the old school square wooden handle one.  I am not sure that they make still make it because I no longer see it in stores, but the plastic and "velvet touch" handle ones are pretty much the same.  The only downside about my Conair is that it is big, which makes it hard to get close to my roots.  I may try the Wet Brush as it appears a bit smaller.


4. Tangle Teaser Or Similar Brush.  This is my final step before braiding up the detangled section.  I don't have a Tangle Teaser.  I have a Goody Tangle Fix, which looks the same to me; is cheaper; and works great.  This is good for getting any knots out of my ends, and for getting final shed hairs out of the length of my hair.  I am careful with this brush, however, because I have had heard of other ladies getting mid-shaft splits.

Hey, beautiful people!  With Michigan winter fully in gear, I put my wash n' go challenge on hold and put my hair into hiding, typically in braids.  I tried twists, and they just don't give my hair the same definition.  Also, I have to be careful because my is also fine, so it break easily with too much tension.


Right now, my regimen is to:
1.  Deep condition my hair overnight
2.  Shampoo as needed
3.  Detangle with rinse-out conditioner
4.  Add leave-in conditioner, light oil and styling cream
5.  Braid my hair



During the week, I typically keep my hair in two crown braids, with the last inch of hair at the nape of my neck cornrowed in a separate braid.  I intend to test out a number of the twist creams in my hair to determine which ones leave my hair with the most moisture, sheen and definition.

• Wheat Germ Butter Conditioner - Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Wheat Germ Butter, Avocado Oil, Polyquaternium 7, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, Germall Plus, Fragrance

• Mocha Silk Hair Milk - Water, Coconut Milk, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Palm Kernel Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Cocoa Butter, Avocado Oil, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Quaternium-79 Hydrolyzed Silk Protein, Polyquaternium-7, Panthenol, Germall Plus, Fragrance

• Low manipulation refers to styles that require minimum styling, and require little maintenance during the week.  Low maintenance styles tend to be "set it and forget it" styles.  This would include wash n gos, certain updos, and bunning.  Braid outs/twist outs are only low manipulation if you don't have to frequently re-braid/twist.


• Protective styling refers to styles that hide your hair, particularly your ends, to protect it from the elements.  This would include updos, bunning, braids, twists.  It would also include wigs.

For some people, especially those with fine hair, like me, low manipulation styles may be better than protective styles because frequent manipulation of the hair can lead to breakage.  On the other hand, for some, protective styles are better because their ends are easily damaged.

Hey, beautiful people!  After I posted my top 5 things that I learned last week, I thought of five more:

Ingredients:   Aqua (enriched with Aloe Vera), Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, Witch Hazel Distillate, Capryl Isostearate, Glycerin, Rice Bran Oil, Polysorbate 20, Behenoyl PG-Trimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetyl Alcohol (and) Butylene Glycol, Vanilla planifolia, Preservative [Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol and Sorbic Acid], Scent, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein (and) Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Silk Powder.

Promise:  A detangling, luxurious conditioner with rice bran oil and rosemary.  Leaves every strand silky smooth.  No silicones!

Scent:  Snickerdoodle cookies with strong hint of cinnamon

Consistency:  Buttercream frosting or softened butter.  In the jar, it looks like it will be heavy, but it spreads fairly thin in a good way.

1. Moisturize and your hair before applying any heat.  This may seem counterintuitive because water reverts straightened hair, but it is important to keep the hair moisturized because using heat will evaporate water from your cuticle.  When too much moisture evaporates from the hair or if the moisture evaporates too quickly, it can cause the hair to become brittle and crack.  Moisture also helps absorb and dissipate heat through the hair.  Thus, a good moisturizing conditioner is important.

2. Strengthen your hair before applying heat.  Use protein to reinforce your hair strands.  Heat damage comes from a loss of structural integrity to the hair strand, which is made up of protein. 

3. Make sure your hair is thoroughly clean before applying heat.  You would not want to bake in any dirt that is sitting on your hair.  Also, clean hair heats more slowly than dirty hair.

4. Buy Reputable Heat Tools.  It is good to be frugal, but don’t be so cheap that you burn all of your hair off in the process.  Your flat iron should have a temperature gauge on it so that you can adjust it to the proper setting.  Your blow dryer should have multiple settings, including low and cool.

5. Use heat tools on the lowest setting possible.  If your hair is unhealthy you should not be using heat; but, even if it is healthy, you have to be careful.  Healthy hair normally burns at about 450 degrees, but damage and scorching can occur at lower temperatures.  This risk is increased if you have fine strands.  JC of The Natural Haven has an interesting article on what happens to the hair at various temperatures.  Based on her article, the hair's structure begins to change at 320-347 degrees, well before burning.

6. Minimize the amount of heat used.  If possible, do not use a blow dryer and a flat iron.  Rather, airdry first, then use a flat iron.  Blow dryers “flash dry” the hair, which can make the hair dry, brittle and more prone to cracking.  Doubling up on heat also increases the risk of heat damage.  Also, limit the amount of passes that you do with the flat iron and try not to keep the flat iron on your hair for more than 3-4 seconds.  I’m sure you’ve seen the Youtube video of the girl, who did not know this lesson (if not, here it is).

7. Use heat protectant.  Christina of The Mane Objective has an article with a good list of heat protectant ingredients.  Beauty Brains also talks about what to look for in a heat protectant for blow drying vs. a heat protectant for flat ironing. For blow drying, look for glycerin and propylene glycol because they slow water evaporation, and hydrolyzed wheat protein polysiloxane copolymer (a protein-silicone hybrid) because it decreases the risk of cracking.  For flat ironing, look for conditioners that can penetrate the hair strand, like cetrimonium chloride.


8. Take Your Time.  Thoroughly detangle beforehand, which will make straightening easier and it will ensure that you do not rip your strands if using a comb attachment.  Make sure your hair is dry before using the flat iron so that you do not boil your strands from the inside.  

What tips do you have for healthy heat styling and avoiding heat damage?