Newbies: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

 

Protective styles are hairstyles that keep your hair off your clothes. Clothes tend to be harsh on your hair, especially the ends. Protective styling is great for retaining length. Great styles are: Flexi-rods, Rollersets, Braids, Ponytails, Phony Ponies, Sew-ins, etc.

 

Going a while without getting a relaxer. Saves money and hair.

 

The point where the natural hair and relaxed hair meet.

 

Shrinkage
When your hair appears to be shorter because of the tight curls of your natural hair.

 

Breakage
Broken pieces of hair with no white bulb. Can be caused by too much moisture or protein. It can also be caused by poor hair care.

Shedding
Strands of hair with white bulbs on the root. Hair goes through a natural shedding phase, so don't worry if you're taking care of your hair and it suddenly starts shedding a bit. If you ARE worried, try using Garlic. It's been known to stop shedding.

 

This method is simple. You moisturize your hair, seal with an oil of your choice (I love Coconut Oil), and put on a plastic cap. You can leave on for half an hour or overnight. Your choice.

 

Texlaxed/Relaxurized
Not letting the relaxer take completely to the point of being bone straight .  Basically underprocessed on purpose. Great method for those who flat iron bone straight hair anyway. I've done it before and I love it. Gives your hair some thickness.

 

Going from permed/relaxed to natural.

 

A.K.A Conditioner Only Washing. Instead of using a shampoo, which can be harsh on your precious strands, you can use a conditioner. This way, you can wash everyday if you choose.

 

A.K.A Pre-Shampooing. This is a method used to give your hair some good treatment before washing. You can pre-poo with a protein conditioner if your hair hates deep conditioning with protein, or you can pre-poo with garlic and olive oil if you're experiencing breakage/shedding.

 

A Rollerset followed by blowing out the roots with a hot ( I mean HOT) blowdryer and a round brush. I love getting blowouts when I'm stretching because it gets my straight enough for me to keep stretching.

 

Massages to the scalp that get blood flowing to help growth.

 

Bumping
Replying to a thread to move it to the top of the page.

 

 

It's a growth aid used for horses but also for many women. It contains Sulfur, which is a great for growth. The makers of MTG (http://www.shapleys.com) have made a Human version called Sulu MAX GRO (http://www.suluhair.com).

 

Another popular growth aid. It's similar to MTG with the Sulfur, but it doesn't contain Mineral Oil. (http://www.growthspecifics.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very popular way of DC'ing among BHM and LHCF members is this one. Start by applying the conditioner on your roots, shaft, and ends. Put a plastic cap on and let your hair sit under a hooded dryer for 15, 30, or 45 minutes. Rinse and apply a leave-in. The reason why, in my opinion, this works is because the hair's dry and is dampened by the conditioner so it penetrates well. (SIDENOTE- This technique is best for those who can't get protein to work with their hair.)

 

A great way to stretch a relaxer. It's a mixture of honey, olive oil, molasses, bananas, cornstarch, water, vinegar, and wheat germ oil. You apply it like you would a relaxer, let it sit for 30 minutes with a plastic cap on, rinse, shampoo with a sulfate-free shampoo, condition, and rollerset and/or blowdry your hair and roots. Go to: (http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=66005&PN=1) for more info.

 

Dusting
A VERY light trim. Cutting only the damaged strands. About 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. Good idea if you don't want your scissor happy stylist to cut off your progress. A stylist cut 2 inches off my hair when I asked her for a light trim. *sighs*

 

Whose role is to hold moisture in the hair. Usually these contain high proportions of humectants.

Reconstructors

Usually containing hydrolyzed protein. Their role is to penetrate the hair and strengthen its structure through polymer crosslinking.

Acidifiers

Acidity regulators which maintain the conditioner's pH at about 2.5