Ask CurlyNikki

A curlynikki.com reader writes: “…your hair looks like it is jet black, is that all from henna? I’d love to get that dark shiny look.”

I know it sounds weird, but the color changes depending on the setting. It’s sort of like a rinse…a transparent copper-y rinse. Imagine drawing with an orange crayon on black construction paper—under most indoor lighting, the paper still looks black (albeit shinier), but if held under the light, just right, you’ll catch a glimpse of orange. Outdoors, in sunlight, my hair glows auburn, so much so that my sis and hubby call me “redhead”, but indoors it’s a rich black. There are some instances (back lighting, etc.) where you can really see the red indoors, but I can never really catch it on camera.

With that said, if your hair lighter than mine naturally (sandy brown, etc) the henna red will be very evident—your hair may appear auburn in most lighting conditions.

Many women use a two step indigo treatment to cover stubborn grays and dye the hair a rich, shiny, blue-black. I’ve never used indigo and don’t plan to, but the results I’ve seen look gorgeous. Hope this helps!

Later Gator,
Nik

Please leave your henna/indigo mix experiences below!

Garlic may offer a variety of health and hair benefits

It’s that time of year again…I’m definitely SHEDDING. It can be very scary at times, especially when you consider that I only do my hair once a week (sometimes twice). Lately, my hair ball could be mistaken for a small animal…not a good look.

I did a little research on seasonal hair shedding. I wanted to know if it’s a myth, or a real phenomenon. I was also curious about what the causal mechanisms are and what, if anything, we can do to curb it.

Apparently, there hasn’t been much ’scientific’ research dedicated to seasonal hair loss in humans (lots of studies in rats, minks and other small mammals). Several UK studies have concluded that seasonal hair shedding is an actual phenomenon, occurring in the fall and early spring of each year (similar to other mammals, we essentially replace our summer coats with winter coats, and vice versa. We typically shed anywhere from 50-100 hairs a day (telogen hairs, or hairs with little white or pigmented bulbs on the end…mine are almost always pigmented). The difference is, during the summer and winter, we probably shed close to 50 per day, but during the shedding seasons, we lose closer to 100 hairs per day. Generally, the hair loss, no matter the season, stays within that range. But of course, every head is different….you may shed a lot more than this…or a lot less. I use to get very anxious about my shed hairs, so much so, that I’ve been tempted (key word “tempted”) to count them. I actually started counting on several occasions, but it is a very tedious process, and actually only exacerbated the anxiety! And as you know, stress and anxiety can lead to hair loss…so, this would definitely be counterproductive!

Garlic supplements may help with hair shedding, but it’s good for your health, too, offering these benefits:

• Lowers total cholesterol (but raise the good-type HDL cholesterol)
• Produces more “natural killer” cells in the blood that will tackle infections and tumours
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces the risk of blood clots (that are responsible for most heart attacks and strokes
• Regulates stomach function
• Helps with arthritic pain

For those of you interested in a topical/stinky treatment, this one has been shown to be effective in several ladies (note: I haven’t tried it, nor do I plan to):

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of aloe gel
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of garlic juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons of chamomile (tea bag content is fine to use)
• 24 fluid oz of water




Directions:

1. Peel garlic and use a garlic press to squeeze the juice out
2. Mix it with honey and place the bowl in the fridge
3. Boil water with chamomile tea for about 30 minutes
4. Stir occasionally
5. When tea is done, take the bowl with honey and garlic juice out of the fridge
6. Stir in an egg yolk into the garlic juice/honey mix
7. Add aloe gel.
8. Use the mix and gently rub it in your scalp. When you run out of the paste, wrap a towel around your head.
9. Keep on your head for 20 minutes and wash once with a neutral shampoo (I used Johnson’s Baby shampoo). Rub in the second egg yolk and wash off using only warm water.
10. To finish off, wash your hair off with the previously prepared chamomile tea.




If you’ve tried garlic for shedding, please leave your experiences in the comments section below!

(This article touched on Seasonal Hair Shed only. If you’re experiencing excessive hair loss that is showing no signs of letting up, you should definitely seek the advice of a dermatologist. Other reasons for hair shed/loss are chemotherapy, childbirth, major surgery, poisoning, and severe stress.)

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  Related stories: Winterize Your Routine, Keeping Curly Heads Warm During Winter, Top 10 Tips for Fine Haired Curlies, How Do I Get Smooth Edges?, Growing to New Lengths,
  

Dear CurlyNikki: I’ve heard that I should change up my products when winter comes. Is this true? What should I avoid, and what should I buy?

A: Regimen tweaks are truly something to consider as the seasons change– your curls, which are already prone to dryness, crave even more moisture the cooler and dryer it gets.

What will I do to moisturize my situation, you ask? I plan to incorporate weekly deep treatments (haha, maybe), and shea butter for sealing. During the summer months I alternate between Devacurl Set it Free (SIF) and shea to seal my wet, conditioner laden ends. In the winter, my hair seems to crave the heaviness of shea so I usually shelf the SIF. As for styling, I will continue to do Twist-n-Curls and plan to dibble and dabble in protective styles, utilizing flexi-rod sets to create chic curly buns.

According to Tiffany The Curl Whisperer, curlynikki.com’s resident curly expert, we should avoid humectancts in the winter:

“In very low-moisture areas, dry climates, or during the wintertime, humectants can actually dry the hair out further by absorbing water from the hair itself when there is no moisture in the surrounding atmosphere. Because the sole purpose of a humectant is to find and absorb moisture, it will find it and take it wherever it can get it—and that includes yanking out the moisture from inside your curly locks, leaving you with a dry, frizzy mess.” — Tiffany, The Curl Whisperer

Examples of humectants (taken from NaturallyCurly’s CurlChemist):

• Diols and Triols: propylene glycol 1,2,6, hexanetriol, butylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, hexylene glycol, Glycerin, triethylene glycol, erythritol capryl glycol, phytantriol hexanediol or -triol, beeswax
• Humectants of biological origin: panthenol, sodium PCA, hyaluronic acid, inositol, glycogen
  Sugars and modified sugars: sorbitol, polyglyceryl sorbitol, glucose, fructose, xylitol, honey
  Hydrolyzed proteins: elastin, collagen, silk keratin, hydrolized wheat
  Ethers: Isoceteth-x, Isolaureth-x, Laneth-x, Laureth-x, Steareth-x, PEG-x (polyethylene glycol), Silicone copolyols

* I bolded the ones I run into the most, for your convenience!

Product to try:

• Curl Junkie Rehab Moisturizing Hair Treatment
• DevaCare One Condition
• Jessicurl Aloeba Daily Conditioner
• Jessicurl Too Shea
• Jessicurl Weekly Deep Treatment
• Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose
• Herbal Essence’s Hello Hydration or Totally Twisted (Walmart)
• Generic Value Paul Mitchell the Detangler (Sallys)

Product to shelf until spring:

• Jane Carter Solution Nutrient Replenishing Conditioner
• Curl Junkie Hibiscus and Banana
• Miss Jessie’s Creme de la Creme
• Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner
• Generic Value Matrix Conditioning Balm (Sallys)

As the temperature falls, and the humidity lessens, what will you add to (or omit from) your current routine to promote healthy growth, and beautiful, shiny curls?

Next week we’ll discuss seasonal shedding!

Dear Nikki: Help! I did my big chop last month not thinking about how cold it gets in Germany in the winter. Now it’s 34 degrees outside and I have no clue about hats and hair health. With a lot more hair to get under them, most of my hats don’t fit well. I want to look fabulous while keeping my head and ears warm, without damaging my hair. Any ideas from my sisters in cold places would be appreciated.

Dear Diva from Germany: I totally agree, your typical winter hat variety can leach the moisture (that you’ve worked so hard for!) from your curly strands, causing frizz, split ends, breakage, and worse of all…a ruined ‘do! Check out these satin-lined alternatives below:

I don’t know how effective these are (at shielding ears from the wind), but they’re sure cute, and you can stuff quite a bit a hair under there (and hide a satin scarf or bonnet too)!

Village Hat Shop

Curly Zebra- Hats for curly heads!

Tenderheaded.com -Silk scarves and head coverings

http://prettyanntoinets.com/- Submitted by Alexis!

You could also place a heavy silk scarf or shawl over your head to protect your hair and ears, and then cover with your coat’s hood. It doesn’t get ridiculously cold in NC (plus I’m too cool for hats, lol), but when I’m in STL, I’ve been known to slap on a satin bonnet under my woolen hat. I wore the over sized berets last year:

I don’t know how effective these are (at shielding ears from the wind), but they’re sure cute, and you can stuff quite a bit a hair under there (and hide a satin scarf or bonnet too)!

Next week we’ll discuss winter regimens. Regimen tweaks are truly something to consider as the seasons change — your curls, which are already prone to dryness, crave even more moisture the cooler and drier it gets.

Have a happy, and warm winter!
Nik

I started wearing my hair in its natural state in 2004. Although I’ve never had a relaxer, I always wore it straightened—whether it was blown out and pressed, or blown out and flat ironed. For the first couple of years into my natural journey, my hair was very dry and damaged. It would split if you looked at it wrong! During this early phase, I conducted frequent search-n-destroy missions (seek out splits and snip them off)—it was incredibly frustrating and disheartening, but improved the overall health of my hair. Today, I’m hard pressed to find a single split. My hair is finally thriving!!!

My strands are VERY fine and therefore susceptible to splits, breakage and tangling. It’s taken me almost three years to develop a routine that works for my hair. I am just now, for the first time since I was a little girl, maintaining length! So, I thought I’d list some of the things that have improved the condition (and length retention) of my fine strands…maybe it’ll help you too!

10.   Find a regimen and stick to it — Although my products change often, my routine stays the same. I try not to do too much to my hair and that seems to aid in length retention. This step will take the longest, lol. Product junky-ism is a real disease, and I’m in recovery. Relapses, however, are always right around the corner.

9.   Moisturize and Seal — Moisturize with a water-based product and seal with a heavier-oil laden one, or butter/oil. Some fine-haired ladies don’t do well with butters or heavy creams…I thought I was one of them, but my hair loves rich, heavy butters. I’m really feeling un-refined shea butter. My hair is shiny, moisturized, and happy.

8.   Stretch the ends — Find a low-mani way to elongate the ends of the hair. My fine strands curl up on themselves, knot and then split. Wearing a Twist-n-Curl, or flexi-rod set, really keeps my ends stretched out and happy. For some reason, they seem to retain moisture better in this state.

7.   Use the Denman sparingly — It’s very tempting to reach for the Denman to detangle…especially when the frizzy mess on your head is beginning to look like mission impossible. The Denman makes the process much quicker, and makes the hair much smoother, but for fine curlies, this comes with a cost. I had to learn the hard way that my wet hair, and any brush is bad news! The best way to detangle fine strands is with your fingers (and/or a wide tooth comb) and a crap load of moisturizing, slippery conditioner. It takes longer, but you don’t damage your hair in the process.

6.   Avoid product build-up at all cost - Do this by lo-pooing or using products that don’t contain cones or other ingredients that can build up over time. For me, build-up always leads to dry hair that tangles and breaks. I’m not anti-cones; my hair actually does quite well with amodimethicone.

5.   Only co-wash a few times a week — my fine strands didn’t do well with all of the manipulation, and over time I lost more hair than I should have. I did daily co-washing for a year or more and my hair never showed an inch of growth. Sad.

4.   Avoid protein — my hair just can’t handle it…not even in small amounts. My hair gets hard, brittle and will snap off at the slightest tug. I’ve actually read that many fine-haired curlies love protein. Try it out, assess the situation, and make a determination for yourself!

3.   Weekly Deep Treatments — this has been a tremendous help. I try to DT every time I wet my hair. Its hard, because I always feel pressed for time, but my hair thanks me later.

2.   Henna - Need I say more?! My hair has never been thicker, softer or happier. It also helps with number 8 since the henna elongates my curl.

1.   Gentle Handling — I know you’ve heard it before, but it can’t be said enough—treat your hair like old fine lace. Be patient when detangling and styling and please, please, please keep your hands out of your head as much as possible. I have serious HIF (hand in fro) disease, and I’m sure this adds to the few splits and knots I do get.

Ladies, chime in with other tips and advice for us fine-haired ladies!

Disclaimer: These tips may not work for all fine haired curlies; it’s just a starting point…

Hello CurlyNikki: I couldn’t help but notice how smooth your edges are. Do you use hair gel at all? Can you please tell me how you get your edges that way? Thanks so much!

Nikki: I stopped using gel a while ago. I realized that while it gave me a sleek, controlled look for a short period of time, my hair would quickly dry out, shrink up, and feel ridiculously crunchy!

While wet styling (twisting, bantu knots, or flexi set), I make sure to distribute the styling conditioner (usually DevaCare One) throughout my hair, paying special attention to the edges. When it comes time to twist the hair around my face, I make sure to smooth the shorter hairs into the twists. As always, it important to avoid touching the hair until it’s completely dry.

The next morning, I take the twists down, and choose whether to leave it out, or pull it up into a bun. If I decide on a bun, I use my hands only to secure the bun (combs and brushes will create frizz). To help the edges lay, I emulsify a pea-sized amount of shea between my palms and apply, in a smoothing motion, to my hairline. I then tie on a silk scarf for 30 minutes before leaving the house.

Every night after that, I apply a bit more shea butter, and tie the scarf on to preserve the hairstyle. The shea and the scarf does the work of a boar bristle brush with much less stress.

Not using water or gel to slick the edges, keeps all of the hair wavy and touchable. I love it! Remember, smooth edges start with the initial set.

Later Gators,
Nik

In the cyber world, there are several concoctions and magical serums floating around that promise to swiftly grow your hair to great lengths. I’m not in the position to review any of them…not even Boundless Tresses, which I used intermittently for 2 weeks. I believe that growth happens from the inside out. Obviously, we can’t override our genes, but we can MOST CERTAINLY maximize our growing potential!

The truth is, TLC and patience are the only sure things. However, from my personal experiences, I’ve learned that the following were correlated with faster than average (and/or healthier) hair growth:

1. Physical Exercise - Running or any other moderate/high intensity exercise (yay for Cardio) increases the blood flow to your scalp. Increased blood flow means that more nutrients are brought to your hair follicle. I purchased a treadmill last year, and used it regularly for 5 months. I’d put in a Deep Treatment (DT), don a plastic cap, and walk briskly (I don’t run, lol) for 30-45 minutes, 3 days a week. Killed two birds with one stone! Between the cardio, and the frequent DTs, my hair flourished!
2. Healthy Diet - Hair consists of protein, so it is essential that you consume enough. Incorporate foods from all the groups - especially protein. Nuts, poultry, vegetables, fruits, grains, eggs, etc. All contribute to healthy, growing hair.
3. Dietary Supplements - Biotin and MSM are ingredients every hair vitamin should contain. Biotin promotes cell growth, the production of fatty acids, and metabolism of fats. MSM lengthens the hair growth phase (which means that you keep more hair on your head). Using a combination of the two is beneficial for healthy hair. This winning combo, plus a quality multivitamin will definitely aid in the hair growing process.
4. Henna - If you do a search for ‘henna + hair growth’ on the hennaforhair.com forum, you’ll see that many women truly believe that henna has resulted in increased hair growth. I’m a believer too! My jump from shoulder length to APL last year was directly preceded by my first henna applications. Some ladies think that the actual process of applying henna stimulates the scalp (which we now know, aids in hair growth)., while others believe that the anti-fungal properties of it actually promote a healthier scalp. One could argue that henna stretches the curl, and gives the illusion of longer hair….whatever the mechanisms are, for me, it produced faster hair growth.
5. Scalp Massages - Nightly scalp massages (with castor oil, believed to promote growth as well) increase blood flow to the scalp and hair follicles. 5 minutes should suffice.

Of course, hair growth is nothing without an understanding of retention. Protective styling, moisturizing and sealing, frequent deep treatments, and delicate handling all aid in retaining the length you’ve worked so hard for!