Search Results: Ajia Eberhart
In the wonderful world of sleek and unique hairstyling, we admire the creativity of polished twists, braid-outs, perm or flexi rod sets, and flat twists alike. Whether it’s one of our favorite YouTubers or a beautiful Instagram famous naturalista, one of the first things we notice is their baby hair perfection–also known as having edges laid for the gawds.
However, the real question about baby hairs are what do they actually say about the health of our hair. Are they a sign of breakage or simply new growth?
What do baby hairs actually say about the health of our hair? Are they a sign of breakage or simply new growth?
According to New York City dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Neil Sadick, it is difficult to spot the difference between short hairs growing in and short hairs as a result of breakage without a trained eye or microscope.
Snap, crackle, pop… breakage
Sometimes achieving beautifully sleek buns, fro hawks, and blow-outs means putting a lot of tension and heat on each strand. The end results in strands decreasing their elasticity and eventually leading to snapping and breaking. Blunt, split hairs, and hairs with white ends are immediate signs of breakage as a result of mishandling your tresses. These short damaged baby hairs are usually found in areas that suffer the most from tugging and pulling–the nape, sides, and around the crown.
New growth or breakage?
When most people talk about baby hairs they are primarily referring to the hair along our temples and side burn region. Contrary to popular belief, they also appear throughout the nape and crown. Some hair experts suggest that when sectioning the hair, small strands that appear amongst longer hairs are signs of new growth, especially in areas where breakage is less likely to occur.
The ends of new growth vary from those of broken hairs because they are tapered. This allows them to lay flat against each other and not snag like broken hairs. Sadick suggests that when placing the hair in a ponytail to make note of the length of flyaway. Dr. Sadick says long flyaways show growth of those sections. Pieces that are no longer than the base of a ponytail are a result of breakage.
Keep every part of your hair healthy
When handling your baby hairs, amongst other things, its important to remember they are more delicate than other areas of our hair. Always Keep an eye on the amount of tension and stress placed on the frontal region will allow for better damage control. Bi-weekly deep conditioning will help minimize the amount of trauma placed on hair. Always use a heat protectant when straightening or using a heat styling tool.
If you’re someone that uses hair pieces with metal parts replace them without Ouchless and metal-less hair pieces; metal pieces cause snagging and will eventually leave the ends frayed. Last but certainly not least, do not buy products that promise to fix split ends; only a good haircut can fix those.
Baby hairs are the children of our growth cycle. Nourish them to health so they’ll grow up to hair glory.
Women have been game changers in many social and political aspects of history. With much doubt and little faith, historically those on the outside looking in thought women couldn’t achieve the goals they set out to accomplish. This month, our Natural Who Changed History is Shirley Chisholm, notable for breakthrough successes as an African American woman in national politics.
Beginning the journey
Shirley Chisholm’s journey to political activism began after her receiving her Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College and Masters of Art in elementary education from Columbia University. As the director of several nurseries and child care facilities in lower Manhattan and Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY, she became an authority figure for issues regarding child welfare and early education. Seeing that these particular issues were ignored by politicians, Chisholm involved herself in local politics to try solving these problems.
Following her years as a local political activist, Shirley Chisholm became a New York State legislator; her successes included having unemployment benefits made available to domestic workers. Her biggest program was named SEEK, Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge. This program sought to provide disadvantaged students with the opportunity to receive an education and take intensive remedial classes.
Activism: from local to national
In 1968, Chisholm ran for a position in Congress defeated two opponents making her the first African American woman elected to Congress. Throughout her time as Congresswoman, she was placed in committees that challenged her to work in areas she was unfamiliar with; However, while in these committees she helped establish the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children”> program to help end malnourishment of mothers and their children.
Shirley Chisholm was known for hiring an all women’s campaign staff
Shirley Chisholm was known for hiring an all women’s campaign staff; more than half of her staff were African Americans. Her goal was to empower women to be politically involved and saw that there was more discrimination for being a woman in a male field than racial discrimination.
Impacting minority women’s politics
In 1971, Chisholm became a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Shirley Chisholm continued to pioneer the political atmosphere and blaze new trails. And in 1972 she placed a bid for the Democratic party Presidential nomination. Even with the national support of many Black women and the help of her sorority, Chisholm wasn’t taken seriously by her male colleagues. It is rumored that some males of congress attempted to work against her by disrupting her campaign trail. Her pursuit to run for President of the United States made her the first major-party black candidate and the first woman to run for Democratic nomination. Unfortunately, Shirley Chisholm didn’t make it past the primary elections; However, in later years she remained politically active and returned to Congress.
Her pioneering legacy continues
Shirley Chisholm may not have been able to win the Presidential election but the work she accomplished is felt and appreciated to this day. As an African American woman pursuing national political activism, she has–and continues to–inspire many young women. Her “Unbought and Unbossed” mantra inspires young girls to challenge the status quo and be the voice of change. Shirley Chisholm is a pioneer for political inspiration for minorities.
Understanding your hair texture is the most important rule in natural hair care, it is crucial to establishing a proper care routine. Still, many naturalistas are unsure of what their hair really needs. Knowing the importance of hair texture can mean the difference between beautiful bouncy styles and dull limp hair, for example.
Are you fine, medium or coarse?
Hair texture describes the overall thickness of your individual strands of hair. The three types of hair textures are fine, medium and coarse. To determine the texture of your strands, it easiest to compare those strands to the thickness of a standard string of thread. When the hair strand is thinner than the string of thread, your hair is fine. Hair strands with the same thickness as a thread are classified as medium, and thicker than the thread are coarse, according to CurlyNikki. Keep in mind, these three textures are not specific to any specific curl pattern — someone could have Type 2b wavy hair but have coarse strands, and Type 4c coily hair can be fine.
Keep in mind, these three textures are not specific to any specific curl pattern
What is Fine Hair?
Fine hair is the most delicate of hair textures; it is fragile and can be damaged easily from over-manipulation and direct heat. Fine hair is lightweight, airy, and has a level of transparency. It tends to feel like feathery baby hairs. The appearance and structure of fine hair is caused by its lack of a medulla–because there is only a cortex and a cuticle, fine hair cannot withstand extreme styling practices and chemicals.
Some of the misconceptions about fine hair are that fine hair is unable to achieve volume and cannot maintain structured styles. Both of these are false, for someone with fine hair it’s a matter of the method they use and products they apply. Choose a regimen consisting of gentle, lightweight ingredients that will not weigh down the strands and enhance the possibility of greater volume. A regimen based on lightweight ingredients prevents the cuticle from being clogged and causing the hair to appear oily.
What is Coarse Hair?
Coarse hair is the most complex of hair textures; it is the strongest and can resist damage from styling. Coarse hair strands are heavier and don’t have the light movement of fine strands. Coarse textures appear to be full in body and feel wiry. Coarse hair contains the cortex, cuticle, and medulla, which contains the proteins that allow a higher tolerance for heat, chemicals, and hair color (bleach”>.
Coarse hair is associated with kinkier hair types, which is the origin of the misconception that coarse hair does not grow.
The texture of someone’s hair doesn’t determine their growth rate. Another misconception about coarse hair is that it’s unmanageable; this is false. The manageability of coarse hair comes from proper care and a good moisturizing routine. A regimen for coarse hair requires heavier moisturizing products such as shea, mango, cocoa, and kokum butters. Coarse hair drinks these ingredients up to soften the strands, making them less wiry and reducing the potential for breakage from dryness.
Low Porosity and Texture
While caring for fine or coarse hair, it is best to consider the role that porosity plays. Low porosity hair simply means that the cuticles of the hair strand lay flat, and is commonly found in unprocessed hair. This hair type takes extra effort to get moisture inside the shaft, however, it is difficult for moisture to leak out once it has been penetrated.
Low porosity hair–for both fine and coarse hair–is not product specific. Rather, the dosage of products applied matter. Low porosity hair still requires conditioners and oils, but to a smaller degree than medium or high porosity.
If you have coarse, low porosity hair…
For someone with coarse, low porosity strands, a thicker product may need to be watered down slightly so the ingredients will penetrate the strand versus just sitting on top of the hair.
If you have fine, low porosity hair…
For fine, low porosity strands, instead of watering down thicker substance using a product with a more fluid and milky consistency would allow for your strands to benefit from the ingredients. Applying the right dose of product will result in lasting hydration, flexibility, definition, and softness of the hair strands.
To sum it up
Understanding your hair texture and porosity can help ease a variety of hair issues. Caring for fine or coarse hair with low porosity is about the quantity of the products being applied. Fine and coarse hair low porosity hair cannot flourish if they are weighed down or not receiving proper moisture. Lastly, our hair cannot be great if we don’t first understand what it truly needs.
An essential part of natural hair care is having regular trim sessions. that we should, with good practice, fit into our hair regimens. However, the question is how effective are these trim and cutting session we put our hair through; are the ends being cut with precision to better the condition of our hair. There has been an item gaining popularity in the hair market commonly known and marketed as cutting lotion.
What is Cutting Lotion?
Cutting lotions come in a milky ointment or in the form of a spray. They ease the process of razors and shears against the hair and the surface of skin. Professional barbers use them to minimize the irritation caused by the friction of the blades during shape-ups. The newer cutting lotions also have been containing added ingredients to aid in the manageability and protection of hair and skin.
Cutting Lotion versus Styling Lotion
Styling lotion is commonly used to prepare our hair for a great style for the following day; in some cases it has a soft hold to eliminate the need for a gel of styling foam. Cutting lotion has the moisturizing benefits of helping with moisture retention, protection against friction with any hair tools, and allowing cutting tools to glide through strands or against the skin. The major difference between a cutting lotion and a styling lotion is that a styling lotion may temporarily mask the damage of hair making any visible hair trauma less noticeable while cutting lotion has a formulation that helps seal the cuticle layer to prevent split ends. A cutting lotion should be used regularly by those of us who get regular trims and want to keep our edges crisp.
Cutting lotions are making such a big splash in the hair market. Here are some to consider trying:
Mizani 25 Miracle Milk
This cutting lotion is loaded with many benefits from moisturizing to strengthening to professional. The miracle milk has multiple uses as a moisturizer; it works as a leave-in conditioner, controls frizz, conditions transitioning hair, and much more. Miracle 25 also prevents damage from hair brushing. It seals the cuticle, primes hair for styling, and prevents split ends. Last but not least, the Mizani Miracle Milk is also safe on color treated hair, making blow drying easier by evening out porosity.
Blade Gilde
The Blade Glide cutting lotion comes in a silky formula that allows shears and razors to pass smoothly through the hair and against the skin. Similar to the Miracle Milk, Blade Glide also can be used as a leave-in conditioner and helps in balancing out hair porosity. This particular product has an added bonus of extending the usage of the blade. Blade Glide moisturizes the skin in the process, making it easier for the blade to pass against the skin with little irritation. For precise cuts with shears, Blade Glide keeps the hair wetter longer and helps it retain moisture during styling.
Tressa Cutting Edge Cutting Lotion
The Tressa Cutting Edge cutting lotion comes packed with many different keratin amino acids to deeply strengthen the cortex of the hair strands. The keratin and silk amino acids work together to repair cracked areas in the shaft and cuticle of the hair which helps with better sealing in the moisture of hair. Tressa Cutting Edge ensures thermal protection for heat usage, too.
Diamond Cut Cutting Lotion
The Diamond Cut Cutting Lotion helps prolong the longevity of the blades and razors while conditioning all hair types for clean cuts. This product helps control the motion of the hair and disorderly ends for a polished finish. The Diamond Cut, unlike its competitors, works to combat potential brittleness of the hair and ensures your texture and ends are smooth and free of split ends.
RedKen One United
The Redken One helps even porous hair, safe for ombre and color treated hair, and provides lightweight results. One of the unique qualities about Redken’s One United is its anti-static formula for those with a frizz halo.
To sum it up
The new popularity of cutting lotion is one to support a healthier hair movement. Healthy hair leads to longer hair and longer hair comes from proper care and length retention. Having precise cut ends will absolutely help with achieving hair goals by preventing snagging of your ends around each other. If you get regular shape-ups, a cutting lotion will take your hairstyles to the next level.
Quick styling results is something we all look for. When it is all said and done, we pray our gorgeous strands don’t suffer from heat damage; we will try any possible concoction before accepting the harsh reality of heat damage. There are many ongoing theories and discussions about correcting heat damaged strands. Understand the facts about heat damage, the falsehood of the myths, and the solutions.
What is Heat Damage?
Heat Damage is the result of applying excessive heat from a blow dryer, flat iron, or other heat appliances at high temperatures. Our hair strands contain keratin protein which aids in the strength of each strand; when heat appliances are set too high, above 400 degrees, the keratin protein that gives strength begins to melt. Heat Damage alters the pattern and structure of the hair strands on a physical and molecular level which causes the curl to loosen and eventually become limp, straight pieces of hair.
There’s propaganda in the natural community giving women hope that heat damage is reversible.
I always say the first step to recover is acknowledging the problem; however, many believe in the dozens of home remedies that will bring their curls back to life.
- Myth: Curls that have been loosened or have become straight from heat can be revived by a protein treatments.
- Truth: Curls suffering from heat damage cannot bounce back with the application of a protein treatment because as a result of direct continuous heat, the shaft and cortex are essentially destroyed. Once the strand is dead there’s no revival process; otherwise it would be a zombie hair strand, pun intended. A protein treatment can help with make lightly damaged curls (slightly loosened”> appear to have a little more bounce because of its restoration qualities filling in missing areas of the hair shaft. There’s no promise of complete restoration but it gives your curls a reasonable level of hope for maintaining a regular shape and structure (Essence Magazine”>.
The Recovery Process
Going forward in our hair journeys and our love for the benefits of heat application, we need to make sure we’re going into this potential battle with a plan and some knowledge.
-
Discontinue using heat: Sometimes we start out saying we’ll use heat occasionally but that’s easier said than done once you achieve perfect volume that’s giving you life thanks to your trusty diffuser. If you find yourself in a place in your hair journey where you’re using heat more than 4 times a week, regulate yourself by giving your hair a break. Look for alternatives to achieve that same volume that your diffuser gave you without the heat. Make a plan t go at least 3 months without heat application and you’ll notice a great difference in the overall health of your hair.
-
Use a Heat Protectant: If you’re absolutely against the the idea of not using heat at all in your hair regimen, using a heat protectant with some silicones. Heat protectants help lower the porosity of the hair to protect the cortex and helps reduce moisture loss from the inside of the hair shaft.
-
Increase Protein Intake: During the time that your hair is trying to revive its luxuriousness, increasing your protein intake will allow for the new growth coming in to be stronger and more resilient to damage. Not only will nourishing your body with protein from the inside help with growth but applying protein from the outside will give your curls some bounce, shine, and strength from the outside, according to Bustle.
-
Protective Styling: Styling heat damaged hair can be one of the most difficult tasks in hair history; No matter how much gel and product we put on that section of hair for a braid out, it always manages to look like oodles and noodles. Protective styling while suffering from heat damage can make the recovery process easier because it gives your hair the opportunity to be in a at ease while the damage grows out (Ebony Magazine”>. A few important things to remember while protective styling is to moisturize and nourish your hair and maintain a proper trim schedule to rid your hair of damaged ends.
-
Patience: Great things come to those who wait and miracles don’t happen overnight. Heat damage recovery could take place from six months to a year; be patient and explore new styles. And if you’re feeling extra spontaneous create your own innovative styles to match your swag.
-
Let it go: Be like Elsa! Sometimes heat damage can be so bad that waiting for it to grow out is heartbreaking because you have to look at it every time your wash your hair. The last time I went to a hairdresser she insisted on straightening my hair and when i went to wash it there were straight ends all over. I reasoned with myself that its only hair and it will grow back soon enough so I cut it myself. Realistically holding on to damaged ends doesn’t benefit anything except an ego. Holding on to damaged ends weighs down on the hair which puts strain on it while its growing; cutting away heat damaged ends will allow the hair to grow back in faster because its not carrying the dead weight of damaged hair (bustle.com“>. Make peace with yourself, your hair, and the situation and just let those heat damaged ends go.
In the end, heat damaged hair is no good; not for your hair nor yourself.
If heat is a most use to your everyday life, be wise and use protection to prevent the horrid reality of heat damaged and setting hair goals back of because of a simple mistake that could’ve been avoided. But lastly, always remember healthy hair over damaged hair.
There’s a plethora of curly hair advice and information for topics like moisture, texture, and density–while proteins tend to be the black sheep of natural hair conversations. Most naturals still don’t understand how crucial protein is for the strength of our tresses.
Performing regular deep protein treatments is incredibly important to aid in retaining length as well as helping with moisture levels. In between the 3-4 month gap of each deep protein treatment, the protein balance of our hair needs to be maintained in order to minimize breakage.
Most naturals still don’t understand how crucial protein is for the strength of our tresses.
Maintaining an appropriate protein level in your hair comes from a number of things such as a balanced diet and applying products containing hydrolyzed proteins. First, let’s work our way from the inside of the body, outward.
Protein from the Inside Out
When we exercise and work to build muscle, we know we should eat eggs, meats, and veggies with a high concentration of protein to build that muscle. The same protein we ingest after workouts helps form strong and sturdy hair strands that continue to grow. If our bodies lack protein, that new growth has a weak foundation, is fragile, and is much more prone to breakage. Simply applying a topical protein treatment would help but will not provide hair strands with optimal levels of protein internally that can withstand weekly manipulation from styling.
Protein from the Outside In
Over time, the hair follicle chips away, increasing the potential for breakage. This happens over time with the wear and tear of excessive styling and manipulation. Applying products that contain hydrolyzed proteins allows hair to maintain the results of the deep protein treatment for a longer time.
What are hydrolized proteins?
You may be asking yourself, “What are hydrolyzed proteins?” Hydro=water, meaning that proteins such as animal, wheat, and silk that are broken down by water infusion are small enough to penetrate the shaft of the hair. Hydrolyzed proteins are found in leave-in conditioners, styling products, and other hair care products. Choosing the right hydrolyzed protein for you is based on individual hair needs and hair preferences.
How to find the protein you need
-
Keep a schedule: Performing deep penetrating protein treatments on a regular basis is much better than waiting for breakage to occur. Much more length will be retained if the issue of breakage is caught prior to it actually beginning
-
Know your proteins: Try two or three products that have different proteins, i.e wheat protein, silk proteins, etcetera; examine which type of protein your hair prefers.
-
Know your balance: Get an idea for how your hair feels when it’s at an appropriate protein and moisture balance. Many naturals don’t know how their hair feels in its strongest state which can cause the misleading of diagnosis of potential hair problems
-
Be fearless: Don’t be afraid to incorporate salon-grade protein treatments into your regimen; a little goes a long way. They’ll provide all the nutrients and ingredients necessary to bring your hair into its best condition.
When’s the last time you did a protein treatment?
During my freshman year of college, young and naive, I liked a boy and I thought highly of myself as a beautiful young black woman.When I went to tell my friend that I liked him, he said to me, “That’s flattering but you’re just a black girl. No offense but there’s nothing exciting about a black girl.” I was intellectually confused and emotionally unbothered by this because to me black women are intriguing. I thought of his obsession for my roommate and asked myself, “What is it that makes her so sought after by himself and his roommates.” The main reason for their obsession was due to her being of Spaniard-German descent with deep fiery red hair and olive green eyes; not to mention she spoke three languages and knew how to belly dance. It was beyond me how they found every racial mixing attractive but they placed African American women at the bottom of the totem pole.
Recently, Scott Eastwood, son of actor Clint Eastwood, made a statement saying he likes mixed women because “they have a little flavor.”
After this statement and seeing the obsession men have with women that look like Kim Kardashian or women that identify as black and something, its fair to ask the men of the world where they draw their definition of what an attractive woman is; Is it from the example of a woman in your life or from a pure fetish for exoticism. Where does it say that women are only considered desirable if they are Black and Caucasian, Jamaican and Brazilian, or any variety of cultural diversity.If by “flavor” you’re referring to the zeal and excitement of one’s cultural background, there is plenty of that in the African and African American culture; just because two women identify themselves as African American does not mean that their cultural ideals are one in the same. Like any other cultural group there are variances depending on location and other factors. Even with 55 countries in Africa, not every group nor tribe is the same; they all carry their own uniqueness. Lupita Nyong’o displays her “flavor” every time she steps on the red carpet.
Mr. Eastwood and other men alike, do see the attraction and relationship with a mixed woman as a competition for who’ll have the most unique and intricate woman to talk about? Does it boost your ego to brag about your significant other being a woman of the world through her diversity? A woman could be have the most intricate background and be completely ignorant of any aspect that makes her culture unique.
So Mr. Eastwood and all other men alike, my final question and thought to you is, why narrow your perspective of a woman’s level of attraction to her degree of mixed cultural background? In the grand scheme of a relationship does that actually equate to if she’ll be a phenomenal woman and mother?
For many years Black beauty has come under heavy scrutiny although it has been the innovator to many existing cultural practices. Black women are constantly under fire from society subliminally calling us animalistic for accepting their natural hair; we are also criticized for wanting to be caucasian because some women wear straight weaves or wigs. However, society doesn’t accept the same criticism when Black women reverse the dialogue on others.
Black beauty is the originator to many cultural structures of today.
When we see how women in other cultures use intense eye makeup to draw attention to their face, its easy to think of Egyptian rulers that used makeup to symbolize importance. Black beauty has influenced the vibrancy seen throughout cultures in Brazil, the Caribbean, and East Asia. Special events like Jouvert and Carnival, in which mostly women of many centuries of mixed ancestry celebrate their culture through dance and song share ties to traditional African tribes. The influence of black beauty onto cultures especially those of the African diaspora maintains its originality and allows for continual grow.
When we speak of the influence of Black beauty on other cultures, the concepts of cultural appropriation and cultural exchange arise.
Cultural Exchange happens in a manner with respectful communication of distinctly different cultures to understand each community’s customs. The blending of separate cultures through cultural exchange allows for a new fusion of traditions that continue to uniquely flourish. Cultural appropriation is negative due to the dominating race taking cultural aspects of an oppressed race, making them part of their own for monetary purposes. These conflicting issues are not interchangeable because of their outcomes. Recently, Zendaya Coleman wore faux locs to the Oscars representing her identity as a black woman; Giuliana Rancic responded with insensitive negative commentary. Kylie Jenner wore faux locs but was described as edgy and trendy.
As Black women have begun embracing their natural hair openly, media became more open about their criticism of natural hair.
Instances like these are exactly what angers black women. We shouldn’t have to be submissive and act as if these issues don’t bother us.
Black women have been told for years that our natural hair and beautifully curvy bodies were unacceptable but now other women are trying to achieve perfect full lips, the “Kylie Jenner Challenge”, and enhancing other areas that are usually associated with the natural beauty of black women.The social views of natural hair have transformed over decades but there is limited acceptance through its portrayal by media platforms.
Looking back to the early 90s, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill defied the status quo of straight silky hair by rocking their dreads and head wraps; media didn’t speak to their style but it was simply identified as ethnic.
As black women have begun embracing their natural hair openly, media became more open about their criticism of natural hair.
In 2014, InTouch Weekly had a section called Double Creature asking, “Does your pet resemble a celebrity?” comparing Solange to a dog.
The media cosigns the idea that hair in the 3a-3c range is acceptable but 4a and above are unattractive. The media coverage today of natural hair is better than it was 10 years ago given the emergence of black celebrities wearing their natural hair. More media correspondents showing support will potentially lead to a more socially conscious beauty community.
NaturallyCurly World, weigh in with your thoughts–do you think Black beauty and culture is “popular”? Are Black women forced to accept the media appropriating their norms?
