A few things a new natural should know

1. It is natural to have more than one curl type or texture on your head.
If you have 2 or 3 curl types on your head that is normal and not unique. It is common for the curl type to be loser above the nape area. It is also common for the curl to be tighter in the crown. It could also be the opposite for you. 

2. Shrinkage is natural. How much your hair shrinks is most likely not different from the next natural.
Shrinkage is a sign of healthy hair. Shrinkage is actually your curls filled with water. Shrinkage should not be viewed as a bad thing. It is just what happened to curly hair. Most do not like shrinkage because it takes their length. That is just the nature of curly hair. 

3. Two factors to growing longer hair.
UNDER THE SCALP IS HAIR GROWTH 
How much your hair sprouts from under the scalp each month. The average rate of hair growth per month is 1/2 inch. You might get more or less than the average. How much your hair grows each month is based partly on genetics, hair regimen and your health. 

HAIR ABOVE THE SCALP IS GROWTH RETENTION  
How much of that growth you keep on your head. How much growth you keep is called, length retention. You can greatly affect your length retention depending on how you handle your hair. Most people who feel their hair does not grow, are really having a problem with length retention, not the hair growth. Their hair regimen is not conducive to them retaining length. 


4. Know your normal hair growth rate
It would benefit you to know how much your hair normally grows each month.  Then your will notice the change, if  your hair begins to grow slower. Simply track your hair growth every 30 days, for 7 months. At the end of those 7 months calculate the average from each monthly rate. 

YES YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR NORMAL HAIR GROWTH RATE

5. Get use to finger combing 
The fastest way to retain length is to finger comb. When you do not comb or brush your hair you will retain more length and reach your length goals faster. Combs and brushes pop and break curly hair.  The top cause of breakage is raking a comb or brush through your curls. 

6. Just like food natural is always better
Buying products with the most natural ingredients is important. What you apply to the hair goes into the scalp. You want the ingredients to be healthy as they lay on your scalp and seep into your hair follicles. It is worth spending a few dollars extra for a better quality product. Than it is to use products with cheap ingredients. Those cheap ingredients work at first, but they lead to dry hair and breakage down the road. Avoid a setback, invest in healthy products. 

Stay away from

Aussie Moist

Garnier Frutus

Pantene

Hello Hydration

and most other brands with cheap harsh ingredients.

7. The deal with porosity     
You will see a lot said about hair porosity. Someone will recommend the water sink, float test. The popular sink float test for porosity is not accurate.  Do not get  tied up in trying to figure out your porosity. Most have it wrong. You can use any product you like that you are not allergic to. All hair absorbs water, some might take a few seconds  more to absorb it but they still absorb it nonetheless.  Those who claim to be low porosity still have shrinkage. Think about that. It is okay to know your current porosity, but that does not dictate which products you can or cannot use. Porosity is important for your stylist to figure out when giving your any type of chemical service. 

Protective styling the Coily Queens way

 

VeeTwists with extensions

Protective styling: Covering your natural hair with fake hair for an extended period of time or wearing your natural hair in a style in which your ends are not loose.

For the most part this is what the term "protective styling" means to those who commonly use it. They feel their Afro texture hair will not retain length unless it is covered with fake hair or tucked away. A large number of women with type 4 hair strongly feel they cannot retain length without protective styling in this way. Having 4C hair I find that to not be the case. I have grown my hair using extensions and not using extensions. I retained healthier growth without using fake hair. Having achieved long length both ways, I have come to view the term "protective styling" differently.



Protection from what?
So what are black women protecting their hair from? Some will say from the elements, the sun, the atmosphere. But our hair is made to withstand the sun, unless you are one who spends hours in the sun. Most of us work inside. The air hot or cold will not damage properly groomed hair. Our hair keeps the head warm and works as a filter. If Afro hair has to be protected from the elements, then why does white hair or Asian hair not need protection? Afro hair is made mostly of protein the same as any other group. The truth is Afro hair is just as strong as any other hair. What it needs protection from is styling methods, improper use of style tools and harsh chemicals in hair products. Those are the things which cause Afro hair to break or any hair to break.

Skinny braids!

Simply covering your hair with fake hair alone does not protect the hair. There are many people who experience breakage when they remove their braid extensions or weaves. Many times the hair will thin out when coming out of a weave. The person received length but now their ends are thin and see through. In order for fake hair to protect your hair you must follow a moisture and strengthening regimen before applying the extensions and while in the extensions.You must also remove the extensions in a healthy way. 

The Braid, Retain and Grow method is the absolute best method to use before you apply any type of hair extensions or weaves. This method will help you retain the healthiest growth from your protective style.

BRAID RETAIN AND GROW COVERS:

Preparing your hair for the braid process

What to do to the hair as it is getting braided

How to take care of your scalp while in the extensions

The best way to remove your extensions to avoid breakage. Get the BRG method.

Nails are filed and oiled, so no snagging the hair.

How the CoilyQueens Regimen defines protective styling
Protective styling under the Coily Queens Regimen involves: maintaining regular protein treatments, finger combing and keeping the hair hydrated. Protective styling is not applying fake hair, it is styling your hair gently using your God blessed fingers.  The CQR does not use combs, any type of hair brush or blow dryers. Using combs and brushes only snap and pop Afro curly hair.  Daily styling is achieved using the fingers only. When you follow the Coily Queens Regimen your hair will be soft, free of knots and easy to untangle. This makes it easy to style the hair with your fingers. On this regimen you are free to enjoy your hair daily and not have to cover it with fake hair all of the time. You can rock twist outs, wash and goes, braid outs daily and still retain length.  Hair is free flowing and able to  grow freely while you enjoy your hair, the same as other groups.

My everyday twist out!

Two strand twist out

Flat twist out!

Bedtime set in about 12 medium twists

How I set my hair at bedtime. 

I massage my scalp with a natural oil and lubricate my strands. Apply a moisturizer only if needed. Then I two strand twists in medium sections. In the morning I untwist, style with my fingers, shake and go. Easy breezy Coily Queen!!!! You can be one to on the Coily Queens Regimen start today!

Easy Breezy Coily Queen!!!

 

The top 3 products for growing your 4C hair to waist length

 Shea Moisture Curl & Shine shampoo

Afro curly hair thrives on moisture. Your hair care regimen starts with a good cleansing regimen. Hair should be washed weekly with a non sulfate moisturizing shampoo. You want your hair cleansed but not stripped. No shampoo does it better than Shea Moisture Curl & Shine hibiscus and coconut shampoo. This shampoo is sulfate FREE. It cleanses your scalp and leaves your hair tangle free. It  contains no harsh ingredients and is PH balanced for the hair. Using PH balanced products for the hair is the first step to finding your curl pattern.

A Seamless Comb

Hotcombs.net

 Growing your hair to great lengths requires you to preserve your hair strands. Brushing and combing, weakens your protein bonds and leads to breakage. Weekly breakage leads to no length retention. Finger combing is still the number one way to preserve your hair, however using a seamless comb is the second way. Once you use a seamless comb you will never again allow a comb with seams to go through your hair. A seamless comb is something you must experience for yourself. Worth the small investment. Best comb is the HS703WW styling comb.

Aphogee 2-step treatment

 

Aphogee 2-step treatment

The secret to growing your hair to waist length is to preserve your hair strands. Hair is a fiber and like most fibers it gets worn out overtime. Giving your hair regular good protein treatments is the key to growing your hair to waist length. (Always follow instructions on the bottle) More information on protein keratin  treatments here.

Faster hair growth from Scalp Brushing

 Have you heard  that brushing your hair, 100 strokes a day, increases hair growth? One hundred brush strokes daily over a period of 3 months, will increases your hair growth. How does brushing your hair for 100 strokes daily affect your hair growth rate. As the brush strokes through your hair each stroke applies just enough stimulation to your hair root, when the scalp is stimulated blood rushes to the hair root and meets up with the nutrients in your body and growth is then stimulated to push up from the hair root.  The problem with this technique is that while brushing that much may be okay for straight hair, it is not good for Afro curly hair. Not even relaxed Afro hair. 

Brushing Afro curly hair leads to broken spaces in the hair shaft, these hairs become weak over a period of time, and they break or become thin. If you are on a healthy hair journey put your brushes away, even a modified brush (a brush in which some bristles have been removed) is not acceptable for a healthy hair journey.

But I have an alternative for you, a soft bristle or medium bristle tooth brush. That is right a toothbrush. Some of you may already have an toothbrush you use to lay your edges down. But for this technique you want to make sure your toothbrush is clean and completely free of product. Purchase a toothbrush with white bristles, so you can see if you are pulling any hair out as you brush your scalp. If so,  that means you are being to rough or that your toothbrush bristles are to hard.

How to use a toothbrush for scalp stimulation: Start with dry but moisturized hair

1. Lubricate your hair with a natural oil of choice.
2. Parting you hair with your fingers apply oil to your entire scalp then smooth through your hair strands.
3. Pour a little oil onto your soft bristle toothbrush.
4. Part hair with your fingers then take your toothbrush and brush scalp in short downward motions, the same as you would with a regular brush, except you concentrate on the scalp only.
5. Do not brush in circular motions, this creates knots and tangles.
6. Again your brush strokes are short downward strokes in sets of 3's.
7. Once you do your 3 downward short strokes on your scalp pick up brush from scalp (do not drag brush against scalp) and move to next area on your part, keep on your part until you have reached the end of your part. 
8. Gently part the next section with your fingers and repeat your 3 downward strokes through the part once again. 
9. Once you have brush stroked your entire scalp, go back to your starting part and repeat the same steps over again. 
10. When you have repeated the scalp stimulation treatment twice over your scalp, then gently massage your scalp with your finger tips (not nails) to cool the scalp down. Do the cool down for one minute.
  

 Important:

Please read instructions well before starting this treatment.
Concentrate applying brush strokes to scalp only.
Do not use brush stroke stimulation on your hair if it is already breaking or weak.
Do not apply brush stroke stimulation on wet hair.
As you do this treatment be conscious of how your hair behaves.
If you feel popping or breaking, ease up on the amount of pressure you are using.
If after easing up on the pressure you still feel popping, then stop the treatment.
During you scalp brush stimulation, randomly check your brush to see if you are pulling any hair out. If you see more than 5 hairs in your tooth brush ease up on the pressure or maybe your toothbrush bristles are to hard and you need a softer one. 

Cleaning your stimulation brush:

Clean brush after each use
Clean toothbrush with a anti bacterial soap or shampoo, removing all shed hairs from it.  
Allow brush to air dry
Or you can store brush in some alcohol in a cup  when not in use.
Rinse thoroughly before each use.

Other benefits:

Helps to stimulate natural sebum flow.
Provides body and shine to your hair.
Keeps build up off of scalp.
Exfoliates the scalp.
Improves hair growth rate.


Usage period:

You can do this scalp brush stimulation treatment 3 times per week, or every other day.
You will see increased hair growth with continuous treatments over a  5 to 12 weeks 
period. 

WATCH A VIDEO DEMO OF SCALP BRUSHING. SUBSCRIBE WHILE YOU ARE THERE!

No More Breakage!

Lightly flat ironed hair

About 2 weeks ago I made my second most valuable hair care purchase, I ordered a seamless comb. Actually I could not make my mind up so I ordered 3 different styles. I had  contemplated on purchasing a seamless comb for awhile but I guess I didn't fully believe one would make that much of a difference in my hair care regimen. 

But I was proven to be wrong.

Because I follow the CoilyQueens™ regimen I finger comb most of the time.  Three years ago I gave up using a comb on my hair because every time I did, I could feel my hair being ripped out and even hear it snapping. Since my hair was healthy at the time, I came to the conclusion that Afro hair was not meant to be combed. Thus I started finger untangling and combing, and my hair started retaining more length thus getting longer. But I kept thinking about the seamless comb and what, if any, difference it would make in my hair care regimen.

So what exactly is a seamless comb and 

what is the big deal?

A seamless comb is exactly what its name implies, it is a comb which has no seams. You can tell from handling a seamless comb versus a regular comb that it is made of quality materials. Grab one of your personal combs and run your fingers along the teeth of the comb, you will feel a line or seam. Now some combs have larger lines than others but all cheap combs are made with that seam. When you comb your hair especially black hair with a comb with seams, those seams glide through the hair and snap the hair as you comb your. How many times have you felt the ripping and the snapping, and heard it also? So the big deal is that a seamless comb allows you to comb your hair without ripping it out or causing any damage. Trust me they do work!

You can tell by the smile on my face that I am happy with this purchase. This is two of the 3 I ordered, these two are my favorite ones. On the left side is the Hercules Sagemann number 703WW. It is a styling comb good for detangling short or long hair. All of their combs are made by hand and come with a guarantee to be seam free. The style 703WW cost me 10.95. So you can expect to pay double the price of a regular comb. The seamless comb on the right is a Magic Star jumbo rake comb and it costs 17.50. This comb glides through your hair like butter. You will see no broken hair in the comb, unless you hair is shedding. You will get no breakage from these combs.

A closer look at the 703WW styling and detangling comb. These combs are chemical and heat resistant. As soon as you hold this comb you can feel that it is made of a higher quality than just your average $5 comb. If you are on a hair journey why not use the best on your hair, you deserve it.

On the left is a another look at the Magic Star jumbo rake which cost me 17.50, this is one of their best sellers and when you use it you will know why. On the right is the third comb I purchased and it is the HS5580 styler comb it has wide teeth and is designed for curly hair. This comb helps to enhance the volume and bounce of your roller sets or curly styles. 

Cost 11.95.

I have never had a comb to glide through my hair without snapping some of my hair. When you are a slow hair grower such as myself you understand the importance of keeping the length you have. I still recommend finger combing 90% of the time, but there are certain styles that look better when we use a comb, so when you need a comb use a seamless comb and not a comb poorly constructed with seams that rips your hair out as you use it. 

A closer look at the HS5580 styler comb. Designed for curly hair or hair which has been roller set. Chemical and heat resistant with antistatic guard. All of their combs are non porous so you do not have to worry about mildew or mold.

Did I say I love these combs? Yes I love these combs! No seams equals no breakage. Do not settle with combing your crown of glory with cheap combs which contain seams which have no consideration for your hair strands and rips them or weakens them. Find out more about seamless combs at hotCombs.com, this is where I order my combs from. You can also check Sally's Beauty Supply for seamless combs. Seamless combs come in any style a non seamless combs comes in but it doesn't break your hair. If you desire longer stronger healthy hair with no breakage then purchasing a seamless comb is a must.

"Taking down your braid extensions"

Step five of the Braid, Retain & Grow technique

 .

  

It's time to remove your braids.

 If your goal is to grow long healthy hair, then never leave your braids extensions in your hair longer than 10 weeks and never make the braids micro small.

 




This is the second most important step within the BRG-Step five technique. If you mess up your extensions removal process all of your hair growth and hard work will be destroyed. Thousands of black women have achieved great length while wearing hair extensions, only to be left with thin, scraggly hair, because they did not remove the hair extensions correctly. You do not have to be one of those women; read this article in its entirety and gather all of your tools before removing your single braids, twists or cornrow extensions.

Braid, Retain & Grow-Step five will show you how to eliminate breakage when removing your braid extensions or cornrow weave base; it will also show you how to reduce the shedding which occurs during the removal process. Before you begin taking down your braids, realize that on average, you shed between 70-100 hairs a day. When removing braids which have been in for weeks without any manipulation, you will experience lots of shedding. This shedding is natural, this is the hair that would of come out on a daily basis if you hair were not braided up.

Grapeseed oil

Before you start your braid extensions removal process, you will need the following items: a thick conditioner, seamless medium teeth comb, a plastic sandwich bag, hair clips,  grapeseed oil, manicured fingernails free of snags and plenty of time and patience. 

 



1. Be sure your fingernails are freshly filed and oiled. Your fingers will do most of the work when removing your braid extensions. If you have any hangnails and snags in your fingernails this will break your hair, so give yourself a manicure before your begin and oil your fingernails really good.

Add oil to braid if your natural hair sticks to the extension hair

2. If your hair is short and you are absolutely sure where your natural hair stops in the braid, then cut your braids one inch below where you know your natural hair stops. This will save you several hours in removing your  braid extensions. Only cut your braid extensions if you are sure where your natural hair stops. If you are not sure, then start at the end of the braid extension and using your fingers unravel your braid or twist. If you find that your natural hair has matted or stuck to the extension hair, then apply some of the grapeseed oil to the your hair as you are unraveling the braid. If you come across a snag or knot do not tug or force it, stop apply some of your thick conditioner to the knot then continue to slowly unravel the braid carefully.

TreSemme is the recommended conditioner for braid removals

3. Once you have removed the extension hair from your natural hair, apply a generous amount of conditioner to that piece of your hair. You will do this after each extension that you remove. Allow the conditioner to soak into your hair for about 7 minutes. You will repeat removing the next extension and adding lots of conditioner to the section for about 5 braids, then go back to the first braid you removed and start to untangle each section of your hair.

4. You will use only your fingers to untangle your natural hair and remove all knots or tangles from each section of your hair, using as much conditioner as you need. Many times you will feel a  knot where the hair extension was attached and sometimes you will see an accumulation of lint and dust. You want to gently unravel this slight knot, this is where most people loose the most hair in removing this tangle. Start by gently pulling your hair horizontally, continue until you feel the hair is untangled, then start to untangle in a  downward motion. You will do this for each section of your hair until it is tangle free. Once you have untangled 5 braids then clip that hair out of the way.  Once you get a larger section untangled then add more conditioner and grapeseed oil and put that section into a big twist, so your hair stays untangled as you finish your entire head. 

5. When you have removed all of the hair extensions, and

Soak each section in conditioner.

you can run your fingers through your hair fairly well, then you can comb your hair (if desired) using a seamless comb. A seamless comb is a comb which has no lines on the teeth of the comb, so it does not snag and break your hair as you comb it. The CoilyQueens regimen recommends that you do not use a comb at all but that you use your fingers, but if you must use a comb invest in a comb which does not break your hair.

6. After you have shampooed and deep conditioned your hair and allowed it to air dry to style, all of the shed hair should be removed by now. If your hair is still breaking or shedding after you have shampooed and deep conditioned, then you may want to try a black tea rinse to give your strands a little reinforcement or if it has been 6 weeks since your last hard protein treatment now is the time to give yourself one before you experience to much breakage. Remember braid extensions of any type should not be kept in for longer than 10 weeks, keeping them in longer will result in unnecessary breakage.

7. This is the hair extension removal process for the Braid, Retain & Grow method, if you would like to know the entire regimen to ensure that you receive maximum growth benefits from your braid extensions, read here about the whole method,  Miss Vee's Braid Retain & Grow method.

Nail health and growth from Mineral Rich

Keeping your fingernails healthy and snag free is very important to your beauty regimen and in maintaining your natural hair. What do healthy nails have to do with hair, you may ask? Well as a woman with tightly coily hair, I rarely use a comb so I finger untangle my hair 95% of the time. In doing this, it is extremely important that I keep my nails filed and free of splits and snags. Because if I do not my coily hair will get entangled within my fingernails and cause breakage or splits in my hair shaft.

How do I maintain my fingernails?

I keep my nails filed and free of splits as much as possible. So I keep a 3-way buffer handy at all times. I keep one in my home office and one in my bedroom, so if I get a snag I can address it immediately. And before shampoo days, I make sure my nails are snag and split free. 

My nails have a tendency to split really deep in the corners and this really hurts and hair gets caught around this split. So I brought a home gel kit, that I apply every two weeks to keep my fingernails from breaking really deep in the meat and keep my nails looking good. This also keeps my polish from chipping and getting in my hair.

I found this liquid vitamin supplement called Mineral Rich and I take 2 tablespoons of this supplement daily. This make my hair and nails grow longer and stronger.

 January 1, 2013 nail length, notice the growth near the nail root? This is 2 weeks from taking Mineral Rich liquid vitamins. Top/bottom pictures.

 These are my fingernails after two more weeks of taking Mineral Rich vitamins. Notice only the thumb nail is short when I started out it had a deep split in it that had to grow out, and it did.

 Both photos show 4 weeks of nail growth from taking Mineral Rich. Notice how healthy my nails look. My nails have a thin layer of gel as a protective coat with polish only.