Stop Sabotaging Your Growth — Protect Your Ends Starting Today

 9 ways to keep your ends from breaking

Stop hair from rubbing against your clothes

Protein treat the last 3 inches or all of your hair

Trim every 4th month

Do not use brushes

Watch your ponytails

Keep them well moisturized

Ditch regular combs for a seamless comb

Do not use blow dryers

Keep your ends tucked

Hair loss treatment

Treating hair loss can be a difficult task. This article will help you pinpoint the type of  hair loss you have. Then give you tips to help you seek treatment. 
  

First identify your type of hair loss

Thinning hair

BREAKAGE OR SHEDDING
You feel you have loss enough hair that your hair looks see through. It no longer looks as full as it did a few months ago. Understand that shedding 50 to 150 strands daily is a normal part of the hair life cycle. A shed hair will be the same length as the rest of your hair. Generally you can see the white bulb on the end of your shed hair. This white bulb ensures you that it has shed from under the scalp. If the hairs are shorter than the rest of your hair and have no white bulb that is hair which has broken above the scalp. 

NORMAL SHEDDING V/S ABNORMAL SHEDDING
It is normal to lose 50 to 150 strands a day. Shedding is a normal part of the hair cycle. It is abnormal for your hair to shed in clumps, on a consistent basis for several weeks. If this is happening to you. Collect all your shed hair daily, date it and put it in a plastic bag. Compare it each week. This will give you a good ideal as to how much hair you are truly losing, so you can better communicate with your doctor. Also make note as to any other symptoms you are having at the time. Make note if you are on your menstrual  cycle during the excessive shedding time. 

Accumulative shedding
Never mistake accumulated shed hair for abnormal shedding. There are certain styles in which we do not untangle our hair for days. When you have not untangled your hair for several days, your shed hair will accumulate.  When you do untangle your hair, the shedding will appear excessive.  Do not be alarmed this is accumulative shedding. 

Now decide whether your hair loss is from normal shedding or abnormal shedding. 

Balding (clean areas)
You have clean areas on your scalp. The baldness has been there for six months or more. Does the bald spot ever fill in? Or does it stay clean? Get someone to look at the area with a magnifying glass. Do they see open hair follicles or a smooth scalp? 


Breakage (split ends)
Your ends look raggedy and sparse. You can feel your hair snapping when you manipulate it. You find lots of hairs varying in length in the sink, your combs or shoulders. Your hair does not retain length. It has been the same length for 6 months. 

Solutions to your hair loss

Thinning
If your hair is shedding from the roots in clumps and has done so for more than 2 weeks, then see a doctor as soon as possible. There are many reasons your hair can shed from the roots excessively. Unless you know the inner reason for your shedding you should see a doctor as soon as possible. It can be a vitamin deficiency or a serious health conditioning causing this. 

Balding
If no hair will grow in your bald area and it has been longer than a month, it is also time to see a doctor. When you treat hair loss quickly you have a greater chance of restoring your hair. The longer you wait to seek medical treatment the harder it will be to reverse your hair loss or slow the progression. 

Breakage
3 main causes of breakage

• dehydrated hair
• style tools
• weak hair 

Correct dehydration by improving your hair conditioning regimen. Avoid heat styling tools, combs, brushes or any tools which pull on the hair. Increase the strength of your hair strands by doing a good protein treatment. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT PROTEIN TREATMENTS HERE

Get the most from your dermatologist visit. These visits can be costly, so it is best to be prepared before your office  visit.

1. Make a list of all your symptoms to share with the doctor.
2. Writing it down will help you not forget to share it with the doctor.
3. If you are paying out of pocket, ask the doctor for a cash discount.
4. Ask for a scalp biopsy on your first visit.
5. Ask to be checked for vitamin deficiencies.

Common mistakes naturals make (Pt 1)

 
You will frequently see people comment that your natural hair journey is about trials and errors. Personally I want to avoid as many trials and errors as I possibly can. This is not just in reference to hair but my whole life. Why? Because some errors have long lasting consequences. Personally I would want to know if the bridge is out ahead.

As  black woman I have already gone through lots of  trials with my hair, so any future trials that I can avoid, I will. So I have put together a list of errors I see people make in reference to their hair care. Many of these practices cause unnecessary breakage because they weaken the hair.

HEAT RELATED ERRORS

Blow drying or flat ironing the hair in order to check the length.
Afro hair stretches that is one of its characteristics. You can easily stretch your hair to check the length. You are on a healthy hair journey so why add heat in order to check your progress? Blow drying or flat ironing is adding  unnecessary trauma to the hair. If you plan on wearing your hair for a week in a straight style then that is different. Save the heat for when you are actually going to rock a straight style.

Blow drying or flat ironing, in order to get the hair braided.
If your braider cannot braid your hair in its natural untangled state, then find another braider. Afro hair is made to be braided. Blow drying or flat ironing will not make your braids look any better. It will make your hair dry out faster under the fake hair, then it will break off. The second cause of extensions causing breakage is the natural becoming dry and brittle while the fake hair lays on top of it. Starting off with heat is a bad way to start.

Straightening hair during the hot Summer months.
Let's face it we perspire more in the Summer time. Sweat equals moisture and salt. Moisture makes Afro hair coil up. Knowing this why waste your time, money and trauma to the hair. Avoid trying to hold a press in the Summer time. Anti humectants can only do so much. As the saying goes, we cannot mess with mother nature.

Going to a Dominican salon for a Dominican blow out.
The particular blow out they do is very damaging to Afro hair. Yes it is pretty, but at what cost? This service consist of  lots of heat while blow drying with a round brush. Then more heat with the flat iron. The blow drying method is the way many white women get their hair blown dry. It will look good for awhile, but eventually it will thin and break your hair. If healthy hair is your goal stay away from this type of service.

Blow drying the hair before you straighten it.
When you get ready for a flat iron or a press, eliminate using a blow dryer. Why use two stresses on the hair at one time? Remember your goal is healthy hair, so eliminate extra stress where you can. You can put your hair in big plaits and sit under a hooded dryer. To totally eliminate any drying with heat, put the hair in medium plaits and allow hair to air dry.  

Using grape seed oil as a heat protectant, when flat ironing the hair.
No matter what you have read this is not a good ideal. When you get ready to do something as harsh as squeezing your hair between two very hot plates you need to use something strong to protect it. Grape seed oil is not a good enough heat protectant. Choose a silicone based heat protectant. They work the best in protecting your hair. 

Not prepping weeks in advance of  straightening the hair.
Straightening is one of the harshest things you can do to your hair. The main cause of heat damage is using harsh heat on hair that is not properly hydrated. If you are having trouble retaining moisture then do not straighten your hair. Before pressing your hair, you should do a series of moisturizing treatments, to ensure your hair is hydrated enough to take the heat. You should do a protein treatment to ensure your strands are strong enough to take the heat. Always use a silicone based heat protectant when you straighten your hair. 

For a moisture regimen to prepare hair for straightening click here.

Not all errors can be avoided, but avoid the ones that you can.

Two hair checks you should do twice a month.

Sometimes breakage seems to just come out of no where, but the fact is, it started somewhere. Breakage does not just happen, it happens as a result of something you are doing or not doing. If you are on a journey to grow your hair as long and healthy as possible, here are two hair care checks you should do twice a month.

Hair check #1
HAIR WEBBING
(A COILY QUEEN TERM)

I created this term to describe what the hair does when it is not properly hydrated. It forms webs when you separate it. When the hair sticks  together in web like fashion this is called webbing. When the hair webs, this means your moisture routine is not working properly for you. 

This is a check up you want to do every other week. You always want to be proactive with hydration. Check four areas of your hair, the top, back and both sides of your hair for webbing. Just examine a small section from each area,  if more than two areas show webbing, this means your hair is not hydrated enough. Dehydrated hair left untreated will eventually break or split. So correction is in order. Before you blame your moisturizers, take a good look at all the other products you use on your hair. Certain harsh ingredients can pull the moisture out of your hair. Examine your cleansing and conditioning technique, be sure you are not missing any steps and you are shampooing and conditioning correctly.

It maybe time for a moisture infusion to get your hair hydrated correctly.  The nine day moisture treatment will help to get your moisture levels on the right track. Nine day treatment

Hair check #2
The sink test

Untangle your hair over the white sink in your bathroom. Examine the hair you see fall onto the sink. How does it look? If you see long pieces the length of your hair, that is normal shedding. If you see hair which is shorter than your hair that is breakage. If you see very small pieces of hair no longer than an eyelash, those are from split ends. Those small pieces of hair have broken off from your hair strands, and this has left a weak spot on your hair strand. This means it is likely that your hair will eventually break, even with normal manipulation. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

First shampoo and deep condition your hair correctly. Steps to correct deep conditioning here. Once you have finished and your hair is dry, smooth your fingers through your strands again. If you still see short pieces in the sink, then do a protein treatment asap, to stop the breakage.

WHAT WILL THE PROTEIN TREATMENT DO?

 The protein will stick to the individual hair strands, and give them the strength they need to survive manipulation. The hydrolyzed keratin protein will fill in any holes on the hair strands, left from the splits. After using a good protein treatment such as the aphogee 2 step, your breakage should stop by 50% or more. You should no longer see those short pieces in the sink. Be sure to follow the instructions of the protein treatment you choose.

Protein treatments Coily Queen recommended
Aphogee 2 step treatment
Shea Moisture weekly hair & scalp therapy
(lime green label)

TIP: IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN APPLY THE PROTEIN ONLY TO THE ENDS OF YOUR HAIR. DO THIS IF YOUR BREAKAGE IS NOT SEVERE. YOU HAVE TO BE THE BEST JUDGE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT CHANCE OR NOT.

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.