1. Make sure your hair is moisturized.
2. Make sure your hair is detangled. If you have a Denman brush or Tangle Teezer, now is the time to use it.
3. Make sure your hair is smooth. Think of your fingers as a flat iron and smooth your fingers down your hair strands. If you feel any rough patches, apply more conditioner to that section and keep smoothing until it feels soft and smooth to the touch.
4. Set the braids or twists the same way you will wear your hair. If you wear a center part, set the braids or twists that way with the front two sections framing the face and braiding or twisting the middle section straight back. If you wear an off center part to the left or right, braid the hair that way. If you prefer to wear your hair straight back, you might try cornrows, flat twists or just setting the braids or twists so that they are all going towards the back. You don’t want to manipulate your hair too much. Make sure the way you’re braiding is as close to the finished style as possible. Frizz happens when we try to move the part or do something different than the way we set the hair.
5. Don’t use a comb to part the hair where you don’t want a part because the part will show and you will have to manipulate the hair to hide the parts. This is where the set has the potential to be ruined. Instead just gather sections with your fingers and try to use the same amount of hair for each braid for a more uniform set.
6. While braiding, be sure to keep the 3 sections of the braid separate. Do not mix hair from one section of the braid with the other. Keep the 3 sections of the braid separate from root to ends. If you braid to the ends, this will be an issue. You might consider braiding as far down as you can without mixing sections and then add a roller  or start a finger coil to ensure that all 3 sections of the braid stay separate. Use this same method for twisting with 2 sections of hair.
7. If your hair is prone to puff or frizz, use smaller braids or twists to prevent frizz.
8. Use oil or butter after applying conditioner, but before starting the braid or twist to prevent frizz and to seal your hair. Just lightly dip your fingers in an oil or butter and smooth over strands before starting each braid or twist.
9. Make sure hair is completely dry before unraveling the braids to prevent frizz.
10. Use a seamless end of a rattail comb or very carefully with your fingers to unravel the braids and start from the ends up. If you want more volume, you can separate the unraveled braids from the root to ends using the rattail end of a comb.
11. If your hair is prone to frizz and you don’t want frizz, do not finger comb. It will make your braid out or twist out frizzy and ruin the set.

It’s 2011, here are 11 things you can do to improve the health of your hair for the New Year…

1. Love your hair now! Stop having “I hate my hair” days. When you learn to appreciate your hair in all it’s glory, you begin to care for it more consciously and you will see dramatic changes. If you’re feeling a little blah about your hair, focus on what you love about it: the color, the shape, it’s bounce, it’s sheen, the fact that it can hold a style or that’s it unique. Find something dope about your hair to focus on and watch it flourish.
2. Stop over-processing your hair, fall back on the chemicals like dyes and relaxers.  They can really ruin your hair.
3. Cut back on heat.  If you’re using a flat iron every week, try cutting back to every other week, perhaps once a month, once a quarter or maybe never.  Try alternatives to get the straight look like wraps, roller sets, and low wattage hot air brushes (do no use a boar bristle attachment… that’s bad news… look for the plastic bristles). 
4. Shampoo your scalp not your hair.  If you’re going to use a sulfate shampoo, try diluting it with filtered water and use a color applicator bottle so that the shampoo only gets to your scalp.  
5. Stay away from Scissor Happy Stylists.  Unless you’re using a lot of heat on your ends, there’s no need to get a trim every 6 weeks.  I’ve gone a whole year without a trim, some people go longer. I’ve decided 6 months is my threshold for full on trims, but you have to decide your own threshold, but don’t feel like you absolutely have to trim every 6-8 weeks. Long hair is not for everyone, in which case, trim trim trim away. 
6. Watch how you’re combing and brushing you hair.  If you can’t devote 10-20 minutes to detangle your hair,  I strongly suggest you just pop on a hat, scarf, wig or whatever and do it later when you do have time.  Trying to comb your hair in a rush is the reason why most women with curly kinky hair don’t retain length.  Unless you’re sectioning your hair and being very careful, every time you’re raking that fine tooth comb or boar bristle brush through your hair, you’re basically giving yourself a daily hair cut.
7. Stop wearing too-tight ponytails, braids, etc.  You’re causing strain to your hairline and this can lead to Traction Alopecia.
8. Stop sleeping on cotton pillowcases bare headed.  The friction is bad news for naturally curly hair.  Instead, try a satin or silk pillowcase or satin bonnets/scarves and satin pillowcases just in case the bonnet/scarf slips off or you can’t do satin pillowcases. A few years ago my esthetician recommended I change my pillowcases everyday to avoid breakouts. I have a few sets, so I am able to change everyday or every other day. I also have several scarves and bonnets that I rotate during the week and wash weekly. Using a clean satin/silk pillowcase and scarf everyday would be optimal.
9. Stop ignoring your scalp.  I recommend you give yourself (or have someone else give you) a 10-15 minute massage at least once a week using good hair oils. 
10. Spoil your hair with moisture! Splurge on luxurious deep treatments and nutritive oils. Do weekly steam treatments, hot oil treatments, deep treatments or steam towel wraps. 
11. Subscribe to Mane & Chic!

I used to do Mayonnaise deep conditioners when I first started being more conscious about the way I cared for my hair. I loved it because it was so cheap and I could use as much as I wanted without worrying about the price. Also, I’m not a big mayonnaise kind of girl, so I’d buy some if I had a craving for a sandwhich but then I’d end up just using it on my hair since I knew I wouldn’t finish the jar.

You’ll want to use a homeade mayo or a natural mayo that you can buy at a natural food store. You can google a recipe for mayo and it typically calls for egg yolks, vinegar, an oil and water. The eggs add protein, the oils are emollients, the water is for moisture and the vinegar helps to maintain the proper pH of your hair. Some recipes will call for other ingredients that you can skip when making mayo for your hair: lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper and mustard.

You can doctor up your natural store-bought mayo by mixing in an extra egg yolk, add honey, adding more oil or a little more vinegar (apple cider vinegar is best).

If you can find a store-bought conditioner that’s salt free then good for you, but it’s going to be hard. That’s why if you’re going to do the mayo deep conditioner it’s going to be better to make it yourself. Salt can have a drying effect, but it is high in minerals and acts as an astringent and antiseptic so it isn’t all bad. Just be aware of that when using store-bought mayo.

Once you have it all mixed up and it’s all creamy, just maasage it into your scalp and apply from root to tip. Apply a plastic cap and leave it in for at least 30 minutes. You can also use the condition and re-condition method here. What’s that? It’s when you reapply the conditioner 3 times in 10-15 minute intervals and use a heat source: steamer, dryer, hot towel or conditioning cap.

Extra Tips:
You’ll want to make sure your hair is detangled and sectioned off before applying.

You can do this on hair before it’s washed or after. Experiment to find what method works best for you.

I used to do Mayonnaise deep conditioners when I first started being more conscious about the way I cared for my hair. I loved it because it was so cheap and I could use as much as I wanted without worrying about the price. Also, I’m not a big mayonnaise kind of girl, so I’d buy some if I had a craving for a sandwhich but then I’d end up just using it on my hair since I knew I wouldn’t finish the jar.

You’ll want to use a homeade mayo or a natural mayo that you can buy at a natural food store. You can google a recipe for mayo and it typically calls for egg yolks, vinegar, an oil and water. The eggs add protein, the oils are emollients, the water is for moisture and the vinegar helps to maintain the proper pH of your hair. Some recipes will call for other ingredients that you can skip when making mayo for your hair: lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper and mustard.

You can doctor up your natural store-bought mayo by mixing in an extra egg yolk, add honey, adding more oil or a little more vinegar (apple cider vinegar is best).

If you can find a store-bought conditioner that’s salt free then good for you, but it’s going to be hard. That’s why if you’re going to do the mayo deep conditioner it’s going to be better to make it yourself. Salt can have a drying effect, but it is high in minerals and acts as an astringent and antiseptic so it isn’t all bad. Just be aware of that when using store-bought mayo.

Once you have it all mixed up and it’s all creamy, just maasage it into your scalp and apply from root to tip. Apply a plastic cap and leave it in for at least 30 minutes. You can also use the condition and re-condition method here. What’s that? It’s when you reapply the conditioner 3 times in 10-15 minute intervals and use a heat source: steamer, dryer, hot towel or conditioning cap.

Extra Tips:
You’ll want to make sure your hair is detangled and sectioned off before applying.

You can do this on hair before it’s washed or after. Experiment to find what method works best for you.

Many of you are rocking straight styles for fall and winter. Cross wrapping is one way to preserve your straight style when you’re asleep.

What is it? Cross wrapping is just another technique for wrapping that is kinder to your edges.

1. Detangle and divide hair into two sections.
2. Smooth the hair and gather the two sections as if you’re making low pony tails.
3. Overlap the sections by pulling the right side up and around the left side of your head and secure with clips or pins.
3. Now pull the left side up and around the right side of your head and secure with clips or pins.
4. Add a silk or satin scarf. It would be a good ides to pull the clips out at this point.

There are so many variations on this technique. Seeing someone do it will be more helpful, check out these videos.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8F3dDni96I (skip to minute 4:24 to see technique)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_aSKOC7szQ (skip to minute 3:00 to get to the actual cross wrap technique).
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN4YBXJRVxc (skip to minute 5:00 to see the actual cross wrap technique).

A reader asked me to do a post on how I trim my hair. Maybe you’re expecting some elaborate explanation or an in-depth step by step of how I trim my hair, but you won’t get it because the way I trim my hair is not involved or complicated. I simply pick up a pair of high quality hair shears, twist my hair, cut split ends and then unravel and cut straight across.

I use professional shears and I have a couple of pairs. I recently posted something on the importance of using high quality shears. A lot of women think that because they are using hair shears as opposed to house scissors that it’s good enough, but you really need to invest in an amazing pair of scissors or you will be doing your hair more harm than good.

I’ve been cutting my own hair since high school. It’s all very intuitive and organic to me. I just cut off what I feel is necessary and if it’s a little uneven I don’t care, but that may not be for you. I cut my hair dry or wet, it depends on how I feel. I wear my hair in braid-outs with flexi-rod set ends, so sometimes I just trim a few millimeters off the braid. I typically set my hair in the same number of braids, the same thickness… so it makes sense for me to cut it this way.

I polished my skills by reading books like Curly Girl and Curl Talk: Everything You Need to Know to Love and Care for Your Curly, Kinky, Wavy, or Frizzy Hair. My only advice is ‘less is more’. You definitely want to start with small cuts because you can always go back and trim a little more off, but once it’s gone it’s gone, so be very careful. If you feel you have no natural ability and you aren’t confident with trimming your own hair, you should leave it to the experts until you’ve researched self-trimming and experimented with a small section before you try to tackle your whole head.

By: Erin Kelly

About the Author
From a young age I was fascinated by how one can change not only their outer appearance but there inner self as well with beauty products. For as long as I can remember, my grandmother, now 87, has always had the softest, most luminous skin, and still does. She honestly glows and not only from her daily lotion rituals. But because she has always taken the time to care for her outer self, which makes her feel good, her inner self radiates this beauty.


To me, beauty products are not about making someone look better, to me they are about adding to the beauty we already have. Taking care of ourselves not only keeps us healthy and vibrant looking, but feeling that way as well. When we feel good on the inside, we emit that on the outside.


I love trying new products and I love the excitement of finding a new beauty product that makes me feel and look my best. I love blogging and writing about beauty and beauty products so that I can share them with my readers in hopes that maybe they too will find a product that makes them feel good as well.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Hair Cutting Shears – A Buying Guide

Curly, kinky, highly textured hair usually breaks as a result of an imbalance of the moisture and protein levels within the hair strand according to hair expert Audrey Sivasothy. She has written an amazing article entitled “The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balancing for Black Hair Care”. Click here to read it. Read it and give it a thumbs up on that site if you find it helpful. Here are some things that you will learn after reading the article.

• Why hair needs moisture
• How to find the right moisturizing products
• Ingredients to avoid when purchasing moisturizers
• How and why you need to seal in moisture
• The role oils play in the moisturizing process and how to use oil the right way
• What is protein as it relates to hair
• Why some women need more protein than others
• How to recognize the difference between protein based and moisture based hair problems
• How to create a hair regimen to combat protein/moisture imbalance
• How to do a wet assessment to troubleshoot hair breakage issues
• Product Recommendations for protein-based products and moisturizing products

Curly, kinky, highly textured hair usually breaks as a result of an imbalance of the moisture and protein levels within the hair strand according to hair expert Audrey Sivasothy. She has written an amazing article entitled “The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balancing for Black Hair Care”. Click here to read it. Read it and give it a thumbs up on that site if you find it helpful. Here are some things that you will learn after reading the article.

• Why hair needs moisture
• How to find the right moisturizing products
• Ingredients to avoid when purchasing moisturizers
• How and why you need to seal in moisture
• The role oils play in the moisturizing process and how to use oil the right way
• What is protein as it relates to hair
• Why some women need more protein than others
• How to recognize the difference between protein based and moisture based hair problems
• How to create a hair regimen to combat protein/moisture imbalance
• How to do a wet assessment to troubleshoot hair breakage issues
• Product Recommendations for protein-based products and moisturizing products

Skin Deep: cosmeticdatabase.com is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.

You might be very surprised to see that some of your favorite products have high hazard scores. I saw that many of the products are targeted towards women and children have ingredients that cause developmental/reproductive, toxicity score neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity,and even CANCER. Pretty F-ing scary huh?

Here are some links to the most hazardous cosmetics on the market today. I strongly suggest you search the database for products you may be using that may be causing you harm.

HAIR COLOR
RELAXERS
SHAMPOO

The scores go from 0-2 Low Hazard, to 3-6 Moderate Hazard, and 7-10 High Hazard. You might be shocked to see that some products you use aren’t as safe as you thought.

WHAT TO DO WHAT TO DO?

If a product you’re using has a high hazard score, I suggest removing it from your home and lives ASAP. If your product has a moderate hazard I suggest looking for a safer alternative. I’m still on that journey trying to find the safest most effective hair care products. I’m not the authority on what’s safe and what’s not. Readers ask me all the time, “What do you think about XYZ” and my answer to that is my opinion shouldn’t matter, it’s your hair, your body, your health. The database has been helpful to me in making more educated cosmetic purchases and I thought it only right to pass that information onto you. There are people that would put ANYTHING on their heads and then there are people that are 100% organic vegans that are super strict about their hair care purchases. Organic cosmetics ‘ain’t for everybody’, you have to decide for yourself what you will and will not accept in cosmetic products you use and purchase.