No I cannot read a page long email

One of the perks of being a blogger is that I always get new ideas for new research from comments or emails. I appreciate your emails even though I don't always respond in person. I do want to really say though, seriously I cannot read a page long email. I know some of you really need help and have specific questions and conditions, I will try and see what I can do about setting up a quick Q&A on the blog.

In the meantime, please do not write a page long email. I feel really bad when deleting it without reading because I know when it was written it was done with a need for help. Please, if you are really in need of advice, keep your question brief and to the point, it is really possible that I can simply email you a link to a previous discussion or think about a post in due time to answer your question.

Friday Fun: Wash and Go's don't work on 4c natural hair?

A little bit of self deprecating humour for you. It was rib splitting and after singing it all evening, I managed to infect my husband too :). In all seriousness, her hair is just like mine and I have tried and got the same mess several years back. If your hair does not naturally clump, forget about gel. For a wash and go with better results, braid the hair and let it dry before opening and fluffing it out. Forget about trying to get curls and instead minimize shrinkage going for the afro textured look.

Daily moisture may not be for you

I wrote this article for BGLH and for those who did not catch it there, here it is again. Many naturals preach about the virtues of daily moisture, some even advocate for moisturising hair twice daily. The idea is that moisturised hair is less susceptible to breakage and is easier to handle. However, what if your hair is not in that category?

1.Does your hair shrink to a third or less of its full length when wet?
If your hair is 6 inches long but when wet and allowed to shrink with no restriction goes to 2 inches or less, you are in the category of high shrinkage. Hair with high shrinkage will tend not to form clumped up curls and instead each individual hair coiling down has a tendency to tangle and intertwine with other strands.

2. How does moisture affect high shrinkage hair?
If hair is in a free and open style, this type of shrinkage will encourage complex knots where several strands interlock when moisture (water or a water containing product) is applied and the hair is subsequently manipulated with fingers, a comb or brush into a style. These complex knots are entirely preventable but when they do form, they can be difficult to undo and need to be cut off hence stunting progress.

3. What if hair is not free but in a protective style?
In a braided or twisted situation, hair will still shrink although in a more controlled manner therefore for example 6 inches may shrink to 4 inches instead of 2. There is however a potential shrinkage related problem, a term called meshing where several strands within the twist or braid intertwine. This is the reason why some people can detangle hair and braid or twist it but after leaving the style for a few weeks, the hair requires quite a lot of detangling during the takedown. If the style is left in place for long, matting is also a possibility.

4. Should you completely avoid moisture on high shrinkage hair?
No, it is not the case that you should avoid using water but rather you may benefit greatly from spreading out the sessions. If you can moisturise once a week or once every 3-4 days, you will be able to keep your hair in a more stretched out style with minimal shrinkage which is beneficial for people with high shrinkage hair who want to grow it out longer.

5. How will hair get moisture if you are only moisturising once a week?
The purpose of moisture is to help hair be more flexible and this is most important during manipulation. If your hair is generally in a protective style, you are not manipulating the individual strands on a daily basis but your hair does need to moisturised when you are taking down or putting in the style. Finding a good leave in conditioner and routine based on your needs is also key e.g some people advocate for heavy cream moisturisers and light oils or light water/glycerine mixes with heavy castor oil or indeed a variation of these combinations.

6. Who will benefit most and who will benefit least from not moisturising daily?
If your hair clumps up naturally, daily moisture is not a problem, you will encourage clumping and reduce tangling by using water based products frequently. Avoiding water based products can cause your hair to frizz and tangle, so water is really for you. If your hair feels dry and brittle because water causes it to shrink up tightly, you are in the class who may benefit from not using daily moisture. Avoiding this complete, tight shrinkage is the key to preventing unnecessary tangling and breakage.

The object of this article is not to be controversial but rather to again encourage every reader to think of their hair individually and not follow rules that may not suit your hair. It is not written with the intent of making people gather a complex about water or indeed have people ducking out of the rain, but rather to encourage a different way of thinking for those who need it.

Hair Moisture Secrets: Curl Activator

I am back and settled in UK again! As always I want to share something that I have discovered, or in this case rediscovered!

Initially 10ish years ago when I first went natural, curl activator was great for short hair. My hair does not form ordered clumped up curls, so this is not what I used it for; it was a moisturiser and styler for me.

However when my hair got longer, it was a real hindrance because the high glycerin content and water made my hair shrink and this did not help in styling or handling hair.

Fast forward to 2013 and I have rediscovered that all I need to do is use less and spreading well. Borrowing my own tip of the coconut oil fingertip tip (haha how many times can you say tip in a sentence), I have found that I can use curl activator without it causing my hair to shrink.

The softness is incredible and it lasts for days! I think if you are struggling for a moisturiser or if you have previously used glycerin and didn't like it, try out the fingertip tip!

For more information on glycerin (the active ingredient in curl activator), see this previous post. 

Still here, no internet :)

Lack of internet is one of the major foibles of moving house! I did decide to glide past here though and let you know that I am very much still around. Sorry I cannot get through the comments at this time but I did just find out that BGLH has a new youtube channel! Top quality stuff as usual!

I'm moving back to UK

The little Dutch foray is over and I am moving back to UK! I noticed just now that I never changed my location (did I forget or was that a Freudian slip?)

Anyway, there will be sporadic posts now in the next few weeks before we resume the normal Friday's post, hopefully you will all be patient with me :)

Does conditioner or oil really need to penetrate hair?

Oops I forgot to post this yesterday but here it is now! The question about whether oil or conditioner NEEDS to penetrate hair arises time and time again in the comments section and therefore I thought it deserved its own post.

Short Answer
No, the effectiveness of a hair conditioner or an oil is not based on whether it penetrates hair or not.

Long Answer
Different ingredients have different purposes, some work most effectively outside hair while others perform their best function inside hair. We also have to bear in mind that hair is individual, someone with bleached hair may require different ingredients than someone without it. Someone who regularly straightens their hair will require different ingredients too compared to someone who is heat free. Someone whose hair is drier and more prone to breakage, again will have different requirements to someone who really never experiences breakage.

Penetrating vs Non-Penetrating Ingredients
NON-PENETRATING INGREDIENTS
Ingredient	Situation	Reason why it does not need to penetrate
Surfactants e.g behentrimonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulfate, stearalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride, dicetyldimonium chloride	Used in a hair conditioner - rinse out or deep conditioner	These ingredients act on the surface of the cuticle to help smooth it down (remember that the negative charge in shampoo can raise the cuticle). They also soften the cuticle layer and when co-washing, these are the same ingredients needed to clean the surface of hair.
Hair softeners e.g the surfactants listed above, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, some polyquaterniums	Used in hair conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or a leave in	These ingredients again deposit on the surface of hair and soften the outside of hair..
Water	During a wash or for moisture	Water does not always have to penetrate hair. When cleaning hair, some water is necessary to wash extra product off. It can also help with creating slip for detangling when on the outer surface of hair. For proper moisture, some water needs to remain outside of the hair shaft to create a humidity barrier.
Silicones	In a hair shampoo or conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or  a leave in	Silicones in shampoo counteract the cuticle raising of the negatively charge surfactants. This leads to less damage and breakage to hair while shampooing. In hair conditioner they add slip to the outer surface of hair allowing easier combing. They need to stay on the outside surface of hair to be effective for these purposes
Mineral oil	In a leave in	Mineral oil is known not to penetrate hair. It is useful as a barrier from humidity after hair has been appropriately moisturised with water, humectants and/or a leave in conditioner.
Hydrolysed protein	In a hair conditoner	Protein can act to patch breaks, flaws and chips in the cuticle. For this purpose, the protein should stay on the outside of the surface.
Humectants e.g aloe vera, glycerin, honey   Oil or butter e.g olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, shea butter, castor oil etc	As as leave-in	Both of these products when applied to the outside of hair help to create a humidity barrier and keep hair moisturised.
PENETRATING INGREDIENTS
Ingredient	Situation	Reason why it needs to penetrate
Penetrating oils e.g coconut oil	As a pre-wash treatment on dry hair	Given sufficient time, coconut oil can penetrate hair and prevent it from expanding too much when soaked in water during a wash - (use the search button, tons of great info on coconut oil)
Water	During a wash, in a hair conditioner or when moisturising (dampening hair)	When water penetrates hair it softens it. This can help when detangling hair, provided detangling is done with care. Trapping the water inside the hair is also the key to having moisturised hair.
Hydrolysed protein	In a hair conditioner - rinse out, deep or leave in	Protein of the right size can penetrate hair and help to strengthen it.
Ceramides	In a hair shampoo or conditioner - rinse out, deep conditioner or  a leave in	Ceramides can penetrate hair in a shallow way, normally underneath the cuticle and just a little bit into the cortex. They act to replace the cuticle cement (a fatty acid complex that holds the multiple cuticle layers). In general hair that is relaxed or bleached benefits the most from ceramides as normal washing of hair in general does not greatly deplete the cuticle cement but some naturals do still like ceramides.