October | 2012 | HairBlues

chemical hair prof_ — AaaH ..best hair relaxer ever!

Many women prefer the convenience of chemically relaxed hair. What can we do when those chemicals cause other types of scalp problems? How do we avoid suffering from hair loss caused by chemicals in the future? Here’s good piece of advice that I found searching the Internet.

It’s best to consult with a professional to determine what your particular needs are when it comes to relaxers. And no, you cannot apply a lye relaxer over hair that’s been processed with a no-lye relaxer (and vice versa)! However, you can apply a different relaxer to new growth if your current straightener isn’t giving you the results you want. It’s not recommended to constantly switch relaxer types or brands. Once you find the relaxer that works for you, it’s best to stick with it until or unless it stops. via Lye and No-Lye Hair Relaxers.

It turns out that many hair care blogs have articles commenting on just this topic. I searched for some of the key points highlighted, which may help to reduce any problems that you are having due to chemically induced dry scalp with your relaxed hair. Read on and don’t forget to click the link at the end for a more detailed discussion about these topics.

♦ After your hair has been chemically straightened, wait 48 hours before you wash your hair. The chemicals need time to set.

♦ Once a week for the first month, apply a deep conditioning mask and cover your head with a shower cap to lock in heat.

♦ When you sleep, use a satin pillow case, this will help protect your hair by preventing it from tangling.

♦ When it comes to styling your hair, avoid using high heat blow dryers or curling irons. If you must use them then reduce the heat.

♦ Try to avoid using hair spray or gel as they can dry out your hair.

♦ If you want to colour chemically straightened hair, then wait 14 days before you do. via How to Take Care of Chemically Straightened Hair.

♣ Daily application of a moisturizing cream also helps. Avoid products that contain petroleum and silicones as these are often too heavy for relaxed hair. Instead, look for products that use oils like aloe vera, jojoba, olive oil and other natural oils. These are much lighter than the petroleums and silicones, and they moisturize your hair without weighing it down. via How to Take Care of Relaxed Hair | eHow.com.

HairBlues Recommendation: Check out the Just Natural website to find products for relaxed hair that will help you to moisturize your hair and scalp with organic natural products. Click the link below.

http://www.justnaturalskincare.com/hair-black/relaxed/-ALL-relaxed-black-african-american-hair-products.html

I hope this is helpful 🙂

Sometimes at HairBlues I like to take a “time-out” to focus on a particular topic: today’s pause is to consider (again) “what is considered Beauty”? In other posts I have discussed “Bald” as a beauty statement, and “how to deal with making your hair loss beautiful”. We’ve focused on weaves and wigs as beauty statements. In this post the focus is on African-American (Kinky Hair), and where we are as women who wear this hairstyle as a fashion and beauty statement.

Everywhere I go these days I see beautiful natural (kinky) hairstyles worn by both young and mature black women. As a baby boomer, I am only a little jealous that many of those styles had not been thought of when I first strutted my Afro hairstyle :). But, after more than 40 years since black women freed themselves from the stigma of having “bad” hair, and James Brown (the Godfather of soul) made it clear that being Black was something to be proud of (which included natural, unprocessed or straightened hair worn by black women) this discussion is still going on – that is to say – black hair not traditionally combed is not necessarily considered a thing of beauty on black women.

What a wonderful thing that black women have progressed even further to feeling comfortable with “wash & wearing” their hair without combing it out. I remember when I first did that over 30 years ago how mortified my Mom (rest her soul) was that I was going outside without “picking” my hair out.

Nowadays it warms my heart every time I see a young woman who has the freedom and courage to wear her “natural” hair. But, is there a price she is going to pay for doing that? Apparently, the answer is YES – for some black women. However, an article by Demetria L. Lucas, “Why Does My Natural Hair Get No Love”, published on The Root (http://www.theroot.com), suggests that oftentimes our conclusions about “not getting any love for natural hair” may need self-reflection, as well as self-reliance.

At Hairblues we agree: Beauty after all is not only in the eye of the beholder, but in the heart and mind of the “Beheld”.

See you at the next post!