Search Results: Dominique-Alexis
With prom just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how to wear your hair! Your hair should complement your dress and your makeup will complete the look.
6 Prom Styles for Medium Length Hair
Hot tools like Marcel irons and curling wands are easy, convenient means for curling your hair. An important thing to know and remember is that because tools can be very hot, they can cause damage to your hair if used incorrectly. There are three ways that heat weaken and damage hair.
The first way is by weakening and destroying the proteins that hair is composed of. Secondly, heat can disrupt the oils that help keep the strands together in the hair. And lastly, heat will dry out hair by withdrawing the internal moisture. If this happens too often, hair can be damaged easily through daily styling, which leads to split ends and breakage.
7 Steps to Minimize Curl Wand Damage
Get clean
Be sure to wash, condition, and blow dry your hair first. Applying heat on top of product build up is never a good idea. Different ingredients react differently to heat so your end results won’t be as good.
Deep condition
Preparing your hair before you style it is important. Make sure you’re doing your deep conditioning treatments weekly and moisturizing those ends every night.
Use protection
Use a good heat protectant. This will help create a barrier between your wand and your hair. Try to find one that contain either proteins or silicones. The protein will help to strengthen the hair and silicones will prevent moisture from penetrating the hair, which cause frizz. After applying the product, comb through to evenly distribute from root to tip.
Dry thoroughly
Dry your hair completely before curling it. After you’ve washed your hair, blow dry it thoroughly so you’re not frying those curls!
Go slowly
Try to only curl each section one time. Go slowly on each piece and remember that it’s how the curls are shaped when they cool off is how they’ll remain.
Start low
Never start styling your hair on the highest setting. You can always turn your wand higher but heat damage from high heat is irreversible.
Limit re-application
Try to limit re-applying heat. There are a lot of ways to fake the use of a curling wand. Check out this pin curl tutorial to preserve your style.
The bottom line is this: any type of heat applied to any texture of hair can be damaging. However, as long as it is used correctly and carefully, you can enjoy beautiful, long lasting results without having to sacrifice the health of your hair.
Curly hair is incredibly versatile. It can be straightened, curled, braided, and colored, just to name a few of the options that you have. Color can be either permanent or temporary, depending on how comfortable you are committing to having your hair color altered.
There are four basic types of colors: temporary, semi-permanent, demi-permanent, and permanent. The first type is temporary, which includes hair chalks, colored shampoos, and spray on color. These won’t damage your hair and allow for a little color to be added. Second, there are semi-permanent colors. These last for a few weeks at a time. Demi hair color lasts slightly longer but will eventually fade the same way that semi does. The last choice is permanent hair dye and this takes much longest to fadest.
As a Paul Mitchell cosmetologist, I do color all day, everyday and have discovered that they are many pros and cons to coloring your hair. I’ll list three of each here.
Pros
Time for a change
Whether it’s a streak of pink, a full-head color, highlights, or ombre, dying your hair allows for a change of appearance. It can be as subtle or dramatic as you would like.
Enhance your appearance
Are you tired of the same old look? Darker hair generally makes for a more dramatic, mature look while lighter hair makes you look younger and can give you a fresher appearance.
Be trendy
Let’s face it, everyone is doing it! Whether it’s to help you get over a break up or if you want to embark on a new career path, a new hair color can be just what the doctor ordered.
PICTURED: NATURALLYCURLY READER KRISTEN
Cons
Requires maintenance
I don’t think this can ever be stressed enough. Full-head color needs to be touched up every four to six weeks and highlights every eight to ten weeks.
May cause damage
Colors and dyes use a high pH to force the hair strands open and deposit color into them. This process can be incredibly damaging to your hair if improperly cared for before, during, and after the chemicals are applied to your hair.
Can be expensive
Believe it or not, but salon visits cost money. Make sure you sit down with your stylist before you begin and discuss what you are willing to budget for the color application and touch-ups!
I love coloring my hair. I think it’s a fun way to change your style up without having to cut your hair or alter the curl pattern. Talk with your stylist and together you can formulate a color and schedule that work for both you and your curls!
I love flat-twist outs! They create a slightly different curl pattern than twist outs and braid outs.
Like most of you, my curls don’t define themselves or match each other perfectly, but that’s okay! Here’s how I achieve a perfect flat-twist out!
Here’s what you need:
Directions
- Cleanse with either a sulfate-free shampoo, cleansing conditioner, or co-washing to help reduce the amount of moisture that you’re removing from your hair.
- Add a heaping amount of conditioner to your hair. Suave, White Rain, or V05 work wonders and don’t cost an arm and a leg. Start detangling by first using your fingers and then either a wide tooth comb or a Denman brush.
- Section the hair into manageable sections (four to eight different sections, depending on the thickness and length of the hair”> and clip all but one section of hair out of the way. Evenly distribute the leave-in conditioner of your choice with a Denman brush, and lastly add a shea butter or oil based product on top of that for strong hold.
- Twist that hair! You can use a wide tooth comb to part off neat sections or just grab at random and twist. I find that parting with a comb is better when you plan on wearing the twists as a style, while pitch-parting (no parts”> makes for a better looking twist out. Continue flat twisting all of the hair. Make sure that you twist the hair in direction that you want it to fall. Decide where you want your part to be and twist accordingly. Remember, the bigger the flat twists, the more volume while the smaller you flat twist, the more curl definition.
- Allow your twists dry completely before untwisting them. You have two options: 1″> unravel them once they’ve dry (which should take less than twenty-four hours”> for a crisp, more elongated flat-twist out or 2″> you can wait several days for a twist out with a deeper, more defined curls.
Tip: Once you’ve removed the twists, you have the choice of separating the curls for big hair or just wearing it more defined. The choice is yours!
Dominique-Alexis is a 17-year-old natural hair advocate and owner of her own natural hair care website, Natural-hair-care-info.com
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