hugmyhair

Date

June 26 2014

Written By

Bold Apps

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5 Things To Do When Your Natural Hair Products Are Not Working

Written By Bold Apps - June 26 2014

Posted by Lil  By: Jessica Simien of JessicaSimien.com Shortly after I did the big chop, I was on the verge of becoming a natural hair product junkie. At the time I didn’t even know what a product junkie was but looking back on those days of frantically trying to find something to make my hair “act right,” I definitely was becoming a product collector. One lesson I quickly learned was that everything will not work on my hair. Not only that, some products will work for a while and then suddenly they will not yield the same results. You can tell that your products are not working for you if they cause your hair to become hard, dry and/or brittle, leave flakes or any type of residue on your hair or it is left on anything that your hair touches.  Luckily there are a few things that you can do if you find yourself with products that are not working. Use the five tips listed below to find something that works for you and get rid of what doesn’t.   1. Try to find someone that you know or can find on YouTube who has hair that is similar to yours in texture and length. This is sometimes very hard to do, but it can be helpful when deciding what you want to try on your hair. 2. When I started coloring my natural hair, shampoos that contained sulfates no longer worked for me. Prior to me adding color to my tresses, sulfates were not a problem. Always check your product labels to compare the ingredients of the products that don’t work with those that do. 3. Swap products with friends or family members. This helps you save money while trying to find something that works for your hair texture. Simply exchange a product that doesn’t work for you with one that doesn’t work for them and you both get to try something new at no additional cost.  4. Observe your hair and get to know it better. Pay attention to what your hair likes and dislikes and how it reacts to the environment and weather. This will give you an idea of the kind of products you need.   5. Don’t get discouraged. If you are having trouble finding a brand that works well with your hair, consider an all-natural regimen.  Hug My Hair offers several products that you can try if yours just simply aren’t getting the job done. Check them out here.  Happy Styling!

Date

June 19 2014

Written By

Bold Apps

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Chemical Free Hair

Written By Bold Apps - June 19 2014

Posted by HMH Blogger

By Patience Muia Soon hair relaxer sellers especially in black dominated regions will run out ofbusiness due to the fact that more women are opting to do away with chemicalsand go natural with their hair.

 

Manywomen are accepting their hair as it is and even encouraging their children togo the natural way as well. Most people associate long straight hair withbeauty but this is a wrong misunderstanding. The decision to go natural isnever easy but I can guarantee you that it is always worth the sacrifice.Personally I just can’t stand those [people who equate chemical free hair tobeing less effective.  Such kind of mindssorry to say, suffer from lack information on the beauty of chemical free hair.

 Chemicalled hair restricts what we do like for example going swimming, working out in fearof sweating and much more. Unchemicaled hair gives you freedom from suchslavery and makes you more flexible. With chemicalled hair your salon visitsare cheaper; your hair is fuller and healthier. Unchemicalled hair helps yousay goodbye to the weakened strands you get from chemical damage.  Youshould understand that chemicals make your hair delicate and prone to damage.You always have to put a lot of effort In order to treat and chemically hairunlike chemically hair. At times we tend to think that unchemicalled hair ishard to maintain in the sense that it is difficult to style, fears that we maynot get the right texture with unchemicalled hair, we also think that unchemicalled hair is unprofessional and that we do not have a face forunchemicalled hair, we fear losing length while transitioning, but these areall wrong. The best favour you can do to yourself is doing away with chemicalsfor your hair.  In real sense, natural hair gives self-acceptance and confidence. Love your hair and do not work against it. It will give you results that you will not regret.The only way you can show great love for your hair is by letting it be natural free from chemical damage.

Date

June 12 2014

Written By

Bold Apps

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My Natural Hair Is Too Thick

Written By Bold Apps - June 12 2014

Posted by HMH Blogger
Let me begin by telling you that there is nothing wrong with having thick hair. Actually to some extent it is a blessing rather than a pain. You should be proud of it because I am sure with thin hair it would be more of a problem as you'd have less to work with. I know thick hair could be hard to manage if you do not know how to handle it properly. You should be happy because thick hair can survive damage unlike thin hair. You can try taming your hair with twists, braids and more versatile styles. Although thick hair takes a lot of time and energy while detangling, drying and styling, everyone will admit that a thick afro bush looks pretty good dope. Here are some tips to help you manage your beautifully thick hair: Keep your hair hydrated  This plays a great role in making your hair look better and elastic. Try cleaning your hair with a sulphate free conditioner.  Keep your hair stretched This prevents your hair from coiling on itself so much hence minimising breakage during detangling. It also seals moisture from roots to ends. At night pin your hair in loose Bantu knots and cover it with a silk headscarf. Use quality products Ingredients play a great role. Natural oils fortify hair and protect it from heat. The more natural you keep your oils, shampoos and conditioners, the better. Hair cut Don’t assume this. You will not regret getting a hair cut because it shapes your hair to look better and less thick. A natural hair advisor Call her a natural hair big sister or whatever but she should be someone with hair similar to yours and whose hair you really admire or you really think is well kept. Ask them how they take care of their natural hair or how they manage to keep their hair neat and smart. Natural hair may seem hard to manage and maintain but with smart approaches you can find it so easy, you feel that your hair is not giving you a headache or a hard time, you love your hair more and as a result become more confident.

Date

June 05 2014

Written By

Bold Apps

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"Expectation vs Reality is the Reason Why Many Struggle to Grow Healthy Natural Hair"

Written By Bold Apps - June 05 2014

Posted by Lil 

I was reading some BGLH articles (one of my favourite natural hair websites) and according to Domineque Michelle,  "culture - not texture - is the reason many struggle to grow natural hair." I agree to an extent, but I also think that what we expect to gain from natural hair vs the reality has a lot to do with why many of us fail to retain length after we Big Chop.

Domineque goes onto explain that whilst she was raised with her mum lovingly washing, greasing and braiding her tresses, her sister grew up in a place where if you didnt chemically straighten your hair you were perceived as unkempt. Whilst the thickness and health of her hair was being maintained, her sister's hair was thin, breaking and "caked with grease." 

I'm not the only one who grew up within a similar environment to Domineque's sister. My hair was relaxed when I was about 9. I was so excited that in the history of 'child me's' memorable events- It is way up there with my first period. "Good hair" was relaxed hair - it was the norm in my culture and I finally got to be normal.

At 11 I'd convince myself almost daily that my hair looked just like the girl's on the Dark n' Lovely relaxer kit....until I caught a glimpse of my reflection and reluctantly faced the reality of my disobedient hair.

 

At 14 "wearing my hair down" meant I'd have to look at people I was talking to with my head tilted at an angle so that my hair didn't look as skinny as it really was (like a sheet of paper).

At 15 I stayed well away from School corridor wall displays as I didn't want to be the girl who leaned back and left a grease stain on a fellow pupil's art work.

At 16 I was wearing extentions on a regular basis and during transition periods I would plait my natural hair into what I thought was a pretty impressive style, only for people to say "when are you doing your hair again?"

 

I remember being 17 and riding the bus and noticing that not one black person had natural hair; nothing but a sea of weaves, wigs and extentions. At the time I'd just taken extentions out and was letting my scalp 'rest' before I bothered it again. I think that was when my 'pro natural hair' seed was planted, I made a subconcious decision to learn to love my natural hair in it's natural state.

ALAS, the 'love' part came with time, and trial and error, natural hair wasn't what I expected it to be AT ALL.

Hair in its "natural state" is obviously something I didn't mind when I was 8. However, at 18 when I did the Big Chop I did not understand why combing my hair was so painful, and why so much of it ended up on my floor. Why did it look like one dry brown shrunken mass as opposed to hundreds of black tight shiny curls? Why didn't I feel attractive anymore?

The expectations versus the reality of natural hair is the reason I think many struggle to grow healthy natural hair. Some people's expectations are just not thought through and can sometimes be as much as a phase as opposed to a lifestyle choice. Furthermore, when we don't get what we expected, we lose our focus and want to turn back time.

Expectation - Pride in loving who you are

Reality  - Shock at getting to know and trying to love who you really are and the unwelcome desire to un-chop your big chop

Expectation - Save money

Reality - You become a product junkie in a quest to excecute the perfect twist out/wash and go with curl definition

Expectation - You'll find yourself a handsome natural husband to go with your handsome natural hair and take #selfies together like the cute Kooples.com couple :D

Reality - I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but at least 3 of the five natural hair bloggers/vloggers I follow are married to/with white men, based on that small experience and narrow frame of reference I have concluded that white men are attracted to natural hair more than black men are...

 

Expectation -   You won't have to do anything to your hair, just let it grow out naturally and it will navigate it's own way into becoming Esperanza Spalding's hair twin

Reality - NO. If you don't handle your natual hair with the upmost patience and care, comb it only when its moist and stretch the ends to avoid single strand knots you will not experience length retention for a very very very long time.

I could keep going, but i'd rather hear your expectations and realities - please comment below..

Admittedly, there is no one answer as to why some of us struggle more when it comes to growing natural hair, the trick is not to assume it will be easy. Products are only part of it, the rest is diet, exercise and lifestyle. Do your research and have patience. The chances are your hair is growing just fine, but you must first get to know your hair in order to love your hair and remember to look after the ends of your hair in order to retain that length!

Date

May 29 2014

Written By

Bold Apps

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SPOTTED - Natural Haired Beauty on Instagram

Written By Bold Apps - May 29 2014

Posted by Lil

DEMELSA #Hugmyhairbeautyspot

 

H. Introduce yourself 

A:My name is Demelsa Watson. I'm 20 years young. I was born in Surinam but i've been living in the Netherlands now for 13 years.
H. Describe the moment you were spotted by Hug My Hair
 
A: I was spotted by Hug my Hair a few weeks ago on my Instagram.
H. Have you always rocked and loved your curls/kinks/coils? if not how did you come to embrace your natural hair? 
I've been natural my entire life but I didn't always rock my curls. I was straightening my hair a lot which damaged my hair very badly without me even noticing. it was one day when I was looking through my pictures and noticed my hair had been the same length for years, even though my color did grow out.. this was the moment I decided to take better care of my hair and to finally see something of my growth.
H. How would you describe your hair texture? 
A: I have several curlpatterns on my head! hahaha. My hair is pretty thick and I'm not so much into the hair typing system but according the hair typing theory I would be somewhat of a type 3b/3c. the sides and back of my hair is very curly and those are the parts that shrink up the most. the front portion of my hair is a looser texture and has a more wavy pattern when wet.
H.Tell us one 'Do' and one 'Don't' for your hair type 
A: Do - comb when wet. if I even come near my hair with a comb when it's dry I get a lot of breakage. it also damages your curls and they end up really frizzy. 
Don't - use (too much) heat. I used to use heat ALL THE TIME and it really took it's toll on my hair. I used to blow dry on high heat and after that flat iron on the highest temperature. I was addicted to my flat iron. with every sign of revertion the flat iron came to the rescue. this resulted in a lot of split ends, mid shaft splits and breakage. I haven't used heat for over a year and a half now and my hair is longer, stronger and the healthiest it has been in a long time.

 

H. What advice would you give to somone considering going natural? 
A: Dare to try different things when it comes to products and hairstyles. Don't get discouraged when something doesn't work for you, just keep going and try something different.
H. How do you love to wear your hair?
A: I change hairstyles all the time hahaha. styles that I wear frequently are buns, twists and braids. when I wear my hair out it's usually a twist or a braidout.
H. How often do you wash your hair and what products do you use?
A: I wash my hair once a week. I shampoo my hair every three washes, I use the Yes to Carrots shampoo for this. If I'm not using shampoo I use Apple cider vinegar diluted with water or cowash with Yes to Carrots conditioner.
I always do a deep condition every wash, for this I alternate alot between products (I'm a bit of a product junkie I admit). Deep conditioners I love are the Sheamoisture deep treatment masque, Syoss Oleo Intese heat activated conditioner and I just tried this one recently and fell in LOVE; Jane carter solution replenishing conditioner.
 
To moisturize my hair I use the Loc method. I use the Yes to Carrots conditioner diluted with water as my leave in. I then seal with extra virgin olive oil and after that I apply shea butter mix.

 

H. Describe your WORST hair day 
A: I've had a lot of baaad hair days! gosh.. I think the worst was when I first tried a wash and go. my hair shrunk up like crazy and had the weirdest shape hahahaha. I just ended up putting my hair in a puff in an attempt to look presentable.
H. Is there a blog or website where we can find you?

You can find me on instagram: @DemelsaaW

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