The Evils of Heat Styling

So I have been going on and on about washing, conditioning with moisturizing products and sealing the moisture in. 

But there is something that can destroy evidence of all this hard work.

THAT IS HEAT STYLING!!!

For those of you that do not know what it is, here is a definition;

Heat Styling is when you achieve a hair style with the use of heat tools like hair dryers, blow dryers, curling irons, stretching combs, hair presses and flat irons.

Lets assume the hair is a bank account and every time you take good care of your hair by moisturizing and sealing, you are saving money in your account. 

However whenever you swipe those flat irons on your hair or blow dry your hair, you are withdrawing from the account.

I know you have to withdraw from your account sometimes,cos we all love to see sleek smooth hair (I am a culprit as well) but once too often and you could get broke!!!

Same with your hair, use too much of heat, and your hair goes broke.

This is because heat breaks down the protein bonds on our hair to straighten our natural curls. This results in breakage, split ends and damaged hair.

Instead of using heat, adopt no heat methods to style your hair like flexi rods, wraps, magnetic rollers. Protective styles are also good to retain mositure in our hair.

Also fall in love with the cool setting on your blow dryer and hair dryer.

If you must use heat, minimise use to at least once a week and use a heat protectant on your hair before applying heat.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD HEAT PROTECTANTS INCLUDE;

• Chi Iron guard
• Silk Elements Mega Silk Heat Protection Spray
• Ion Heat Protection Thermal Spray
• Fantasia IC Straightening Spray (pink bottle)

***UPDATE

 Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray is also another good heat protectant.You can also rollerset and let your hair airdry before flat ironing it to reduce the amount of heat used .

There are also some ways to achieve sleek looking hair without flat ironing.

1) Roller set your hair, apply a cream based moisturiser wrap your hair and apply cling film and sit under a dryer with cool settings for 5 to 15 mins.

SO WE ALL NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE HEAT AND PRACTICE HEALTHY HAIR HABITS TO GET BEAUTIFUL LONG HEALTHY HAIR!!

Building a Healthy Hair Care Regimen

Now  that I know my Hair Type, I can now start using hair products that work well with my hairtype.

Remember my hair is a type 4a/4b which means it needs moisture.

Because its relaxed, it also needs protein to repair damage to the hair.

First thing to get is a MOISTURIZING SHAMPOO.

The best moisturizing shampoo to use is a shampoo that is sodium/ammonium lauryl sulfate free and do not leave the hair feeling stripped, tangly, or squeaky, squeaky clean. These shampoos are gentle cleansers that leave the hair feeling soft and detangled. This shampoo is to be used weekly.

If you must use a sulfate based moisturizing shampoo, due to availability in your area, go with the sodium LAURETH sulfate moisturizing shampoo. This one will be more moisturizing. 

When looking for good moisturizing shampoo products, here are some general things to consider:

1. When a label says that a shampoo is a "moisturizing shampoo" or that the product "infuses the hair with moisture," this may not always be the case. 
2. Always check product claims against the ingredients. The ingredients will help you determine whether the shampoo formula you are dealing with is a moisturizing shampoo formula or not. 
3. You want a moisturizing shampoo that balances its cleansing ability with its ability to soften and moisturize the hair.
4. The main thing you want to look for in your moisturizing shampoo is the presence of sulfates. Sulfates are surfactants or detergents that are used in shampoos to help clean the hair.  Examples of sulfates include: ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate. 
   If your moisturizing shampoo contains MULTIPLE sulfates-RUN!!!!!! 
   A shampoo like this is not intended to actually moisturize the hair. It is ONLY formulated to remove stubborn deposits and buildup from the hair. A shampoo with multiple sulfates will be better at clarifying your hair than moisturizing it.
5. Even though you are avoiding stripping sulfate cleansers in your moisturizing shampoo, a shampoo is useless if cannot clean and lift buildup at all. Healthy surfactants you want to look for in a moisturizing shampoo are: Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Lauryl Polyglucose, Sulfosuccinate, Isethionate, Hydroxysultaine. These are called secondary surfactants, so they are much easier on the hair. Primary surfactants are the harsher sulfates listed above

EXAMPLES OF GOOD MOISTURIZING SHAMPOOS INCLUDE:

• Crème of Nature (red and green label) Shampoo, 
• Neutragena Triple Moisture Cream Lather Shampoo, 
• Softsheen Breakthru Shampoo 
• Dax Vegetable Oil Shampoo
• Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose shampoo(100% organic)
• Jason's Naturals
• KeraCare Hydrating Detangling Shampoo

Now you know we put different things in our hair that can cause build up and stop hair from growing. Due to this we  need to always use a CLARIFYING SHAMPOO at least once  a month

Clarifying shampoos strip the hair of product buildup and are great for starting the hair off fresh each month. Your hair will and SHOULD feel squeaky, squeaky clean after clarifying

EXAMPLES OF GOOD CLARIFYING SHAMPOOS INCLUDE:

• Pantene Pro-V Purity Shampoo
• V05 shampoos (entire line)
• Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo

Now that we covered the bases with selecting shampoos(One Moisturizing, One clarifying) next step is DEEP CONDITIONERS!!

The Back Bone of any Healthy Hair Regimen is DEEP CONDITIONING.

For your hair regimen, you need at least  two types of deep conditioners; One Protein Based and One Moisturising.

These conditioners should be used immediately after the shampoo and should sit on hair for a minimum of 15 minutes. For proper deep conditioning, let conditioner sit on hair for 30-45 minutes.

Protein-based deep conditioners  are used for rebuilding thining hair because hey, our hair is made up of proteins!!! Should only be used as the hair dictates.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD PROTEIN DEEP CONDITIONERS INCLUDE:

• Joico K-Pac
• Aphogee 2 Min Keratin Reconstructor
• Elasta Qp Anti Breakage serum
• Motions CPR Protein Reconstructor
• Organic Root Stimulator Mayonaise
• Aphogee Treatment for Damaged Hair

Moisturizing deep conditioners should be used after a protein deep conditioning to restore moisture and pliability to the hair

You may find that you can go quite a while without protein deep conditioning, and that is okay! Keep in mind that many moisturizing deep conditioners also contain some protein. Wheat and silk proteins are the most common gentle proteins in moisturizing deep conditioners. They tend to be extremely gentle and actually enhance the hair's elasticity by helping moisture bind within the cuticle. So, if you see this kind of protein in your moisturizing deep conditioner don't fret! You're still okay moisture wise!

So what should you be looking for in a moisturizing deep conditioner? 

1.) Fat

When looking at moisturizing deep conditioners, you really want a conditioner with lots of "fat" in it! Okay, what do I mean by fat? You need a moisturizing deep conditioner that contains lots of fatty alcohols. Fatty alcohols are "hair friendly" alcohols, unlike the alcohols found in finishing sprays which are often drying to the hair. Common fatty alcohols include substances like cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and myristyl alcohol.

2.) Humectants, Emollients, and Conditioning Agents

Humectants are substances that draw moisture from the surrounding air to the hair! Common humectants, emollients, and conditioning agents you want in your moisturizing deep conditioner are propylene glycol, sodium lactate, sodium PCA, hydantoin, glycerin, polyquarternium, glyceryl stearate, centrimonium chloride, and other natural waxes and oils.

3.) Silicones

You also want a moisturizing deep conditioner formula with a few silicone ingredients, or "cones." Silicones have gotten a bad reputation in many healthy hair care circles as scalp clogging, hair coating, moisture defeaters. However, all "cones" are not bad and many are quite useful. "Cones" actually help with your ability to effectively detangle your wet hair. Much of the sleekness and softness we get from rinsing out our conditioners is thanks to those pesky "cones"! Now if you are conditioner-washing the hair regularly (or washing the hair without shampoo), you don't really want to deal with "cones" too much. Silicones will build up on the hair without your shampoo's surfactants there to assist with removal. If your moisturizing deep conditioner is silicone heavy, you should consider clarifying the hair at least once or twice per month.

A conditioner with two many cones could unfortunately lead to dryness from a lack of moisture being deposited within the strand. If you use a conditioner like this, use it as a final conditioning rinse after you've already gotten your main moisturizing deep conditioning done. Some "cones" leave more 'breathable' layers on your hair than others. Amodimethicone and Cyclo-____ (any kind of 'cone') are the most stubborn "cones" to remove from the hair shaft. These "cones" often need to be completely clarified away.

AVOID

So what ingredients should you avoid in your moisturizing conditioners? 

You should basically try to stay away from moisturizing deep conditioners that contain petrolatum, mineral oil, heavy proteins, and other heavy oils. These conditioners will only coat your hair.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD MOISTURIZING DEEP CONDITIONERS INCLUDE:

• Crème of Nature Nourishing Conditioner
• Herbal Essences Replenishing Conditioner
• Keracare Humecto
• Mizani Moisturefuse
•  Elasta QP DPR-11
• Profectiv Growth Renew Root Rebound Conditioner

Now you have shampooed and deep conditioned, the next steps is to apply a LEAVE IN CONDITIONER!!!. 

As with deep conditioners, you need one moisturizing and one protein leave in conditioner!!

These should be used after deep conditioning and as a daily moisturiser.

The same principles that apply to moisturizing deep conditioners also apply to your moisturizing leave in conditioners and water-based moisturizers. You want WATER, FATS, HUMECTANTS/EMOLLIENTS, and just a little detangling support from light silicones.

 A little mineral oil in your moisturizing deep conditioner is passable since much will be rinsed away, but avoid it in your water based moisturizers and leave in conditioners if possible.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD LEAVE IN CONDITIONERS AND MOISTURISERS INCLUDE:

MOISTURE

• Profectiv Anti-Tangle Leave In
•  Profectiv Break Free Leave In 
• Elasta QP Oil Recovery Moisturizer
• Organic Root Stimulator (ORS) olive oil
• ORS carrot oil
• Luster's S-Curl, -GOOD WHILE ON BRAIDS AND WEAVES

PROTEIN

• Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong
• Elasta QP Mango Butter
• Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner
• Profectiv Mega Growth
• Profectiv Healthy Ends
• ApHogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer

A good leave in moisturizer is  Giovanni Direct Leave-In™ Weightless Moisture Conditioner. Contains enough moisture and protein for 4a/4b hair.

AFTER PUTTING ALL THIS MOISTURE AND PROTEIN IN THE HAIR, THE NEXT THING TO DO IS TO SEAL IT IN WITH OIL!!

Natural Oils: Used for sealing in water based moisturizers and helping improve the shine and pliability of the hair. 

Simply apply a light coating of the oil to the ends of the hair first, and work your way up. 

A dime sized amount should be enough for your entire head of hair. You don't want limp oily hair! 

Examples: Coconut oil, Olive oil, Almond oil, Jojoba oil, Sweet Almond oil, Carrot oil, Tea Tree Oil, Castor Oil, Vatika Oil, Amla Oil etc

If you can get a product that contains one or more of these oils!! thumbs up and let me know.

Following the oil application, MASSAGE YOUR SCALP!!! It helps improve blood circulation which promotes healthy hair growth.

I will list my selected products for my Regimen in a link on this blog. WATCH OUT FOR IT LADIES.

Note that this is a guide, and you donot have to use any of the products listed above. Just a little bit of trial and you just might figure out what is good for your hair type.

Coming up: The Evils Of Heat Styling and Some Hairstyles that can make and break your length.

XOXO. Mwah