Washday Blues + Techniques ALL napturals should master

I live in our nations capital, where despite the abundance of Nubian napturals in the Mecca, the salon selection isn't as diverse (on the pockets) as one would think. I make an effort to have a stylist for every coif. I have a braider, a presser, a twister, an up-doer and a timmer on deck.

This search has taken four years, and if one were to move, my life would temporarily be in shambles.

Many natural stylists in this area charge by the hour, and the longer your hair, the heftier the charge, and that's fine, but what you WON'T do is complain about the length of my hair and proceed to take your time coifing it. So for the past two years, I would only visit a stylists chair if I have an event to attend and need something speedy, if I had just taken down braids, or weave and wanted someone else to fight with my hair, or if I needed a trim.

One thing that I have noticed as of late, is that the longer my hair grows, the more reticent my stylists are to do it. If I walk into a salon for the first time I promise the stylists all head to the back to draw straws, where the loser has to suffer through my hair. Dominican salons are notorious for telling me ' mami, you'r hair is too long,' as if that would cause me to walk out. My (former) braider once told me that Sheeba was 'too long for Senegalese twists' and that she was going to have to 'charge [me] extra for the style.'

So I told her to charge me whatever she needed to complete my style and never used her services again.

I have long hair, and your job is to style it... questions, comments, and concerns about anything other than the health of my hair can be kept to yourself. Have any of you experienced the same reaction?

Because of this treatment, I often take it upon myself to wash and style my own hair and experience for myself the washday blues. This past Sunday was washday, and I did the unthinkable by forgoing hopping into the shower and washing my hair in the sink instead. 


Judge away....

But I cut my wash time drastically. I normally am in the shower for 2 hours sectioning, 'shampooing', conditioning, detangling, (and deep conditioning if need be). But on Sunday I completed all of the above INCLUDING sitting under my Beheutiful steamer in 45 minutes.

Praise to the Most High for shampoo hoses like this one: 

I have my life back.

With my shampoo hose, Jilbere comb, and Clorox wipes to clean around the sink afterwards, my washday blues are now a distant memory.

I am actually excited to wash my hair now that it's no longer such a labor intensive chore.

On another note, I was talking (coaching) a friend the other day on how to coif her hair other than her usual puff, and it dawned on me that there are 3 techniques that I think all naturals should master as their hair grows in preparation for maintaining it.

1. Moisturizing - your growth goal will miserably fail if you do not properly moisturize your ends. They are the oldest part of your hair, take care and cherish them. Click here for a primer on my L-O-C method.

2. Two-Strand Twists - are to naturals as rice is to the Caribbean diet. It.is.ESSENTIAL to surviving. Many of your hair styles revolve around this basic technique. YouTube has a plethora of videos that can show you how to properly twist to achieve your dream twist-out, up-do, bun, etc. This is my go-to style. I can get a three-week break out of a twisted style:
Week 1: twists set on perm rods for a curly do
Week 2: curls have dropped so I can either pin them into an up-do, bun, or half up/half-down
Week 3: twist out, preserved by pineappling at night.

3. Flat twists - are another great way to achieve a twist out. I also create Goddess-twists with three flat twists gathered into a bun, or for an up-do. Again...let YouTube be your guide and spend a few minutes practicing.

Here's a mash-up of many of my go-to styles many of these are styles I have worn and styles I have created for others:

If you take the time to learn these techniques now, you'll be glad in the future when you're searching for an easy low manipulation style to rock for the week.

Happy learning my loves.

Kinky Curly Chicken & Beer

By now you all know that I don't put anything in my hair that I can not eat. But there comes a point in time where one must draw the line, and for me that line was drawn when a friend asked if I put Crisco in my hair.

My grandma's shortening?? No thank you.

I have spent months lurking in forums and reading up on using Crisco as a moisturizer, shampoo, deep conditioner, and etc. but I can not and will not bring myself to slather the white artery clogger on Sheeba. 

I don't want to smell like chicken (I'm being crass. I know the only way I would smell like a 2 piece and a biscuit is if I put used Crisco in my hair) and more importantly, I fear the havoc that would ensue on my skin. I would look like a pubescent 14 year old. Thinking of using the product might even cause a pimple.

No ma'am. No ham. No turkey. 

Now one secret weapon in my arsenal of 'natural' hair products is beer. Yes, you read that correctly. I rinse my hair with beer from time to time. 

This all began years ago after a house party. I throw large game nights in the summer and often have guests bring adult beverages. There's always tons of bottles left over, and being a wine/ brown liquor aficionado, I needed to find something to do with the cases of beer left under my dining room table. 

A few hours of research later, I was standing in the shower giving Sheeba a beer bath. She loves it and may be an alchy. My hair has become super soft as a result of beer rinses.

Beer is made from fermented hops and yeast. Which creates a host of benefits for dry hair. Beer has B vitamins like biotin that promote growth, protein, sugars to strengthen and boost shine, and if wheat based, volumizing properties. The list was enough to make me pop open a bottle and pour away. 

You're probably giving me the grandma side eye and wondering why I'd pour beer in my hair over Crisco. The same reason you use Miss Jessie's versus Carols Daughter... I prefer to. 

I have also read articles speaking to the benefits of beer on your skin. So next time you happen to have a few brews left around the house, or discover an old case in the back of your outside fridge, take a sip and give your hair a beer bath.