Who says that short hair is low maintenance is a lie!

So many of you have come into the salon especially new clients looking for my last hairstyle that I post on my blog. Yes it is gone! Cute for a while but high maintenance. I had to curl and flip practically everyday. WHO says that short hair is low maintenance is a lie. I tell my clients all the time that say "Im just going to cut it short so I wont have to deal with it" ... don't do it. I try to explain just how difficult it is too keep it looking good. Many women that patronize our business wear weaves for many different reasons. The majority of them wear weaves because it is low maintenance. I love weaves for so many reasons mainly because I can protect my hair while I try all of these crazy hairstyles. However some cuts require more effort too look good in the morning or during the day. This particular cut that I wore I wanted to keep it flipped and edgy so I had to keep curling it when the curls fell. The style that I love the most which is completely effortless is the long wavy look. I never curl just lay my edges down and go. I like to change my look regularly like I change my clothes.. as you all can see.

Fast forward..

I noticed when I took my hair out last week I had a lot of shedding. Now, I know I have been under quit a bit of stress lately and remember I texturized my hair a few months ago. I asked my assistant if it looked shorter as she was shampooing it and she said no. shhhhew!?%#.... I have to relax.. I can't afford to regress. I have slacked a little on my vitamins but I am constant on my protein pack from Starbucks every morning. Well at least 5 days a week. I am making Starbucks rich...

As for the texturizer it can be a double whamy, stress along with making the hair weaker from chemical relaxing. As many of you know even when we texturize it is the same chemical as relaxing your hair straight. The difference is we only slide it through quickly to loosen up the kinks when we texturize, instead of leaving it in and manipulating it until it becomes completely straight. Just a little FYI

If you don't know I will tell you again once you have relaxed your hair you must take extra steps regularly to maintain your hair. Regular protein deep conditioners is a must, as well as cholesterol and amino acids that help rebuild and restore what you have robbed from the hair. Take it from me, the older you get you must take extra steps to keep your hair and body healthy and strong. I know I am preaching again! I just want the best for us all.
Peace and love...
Until next time

Im feeling Bobs this month!

I decided to braid my hair up again after wearing some of my natural hair out. I had my hair long and wavy with a small portion of my hair out. It was loose wavy Indian Hair. I loved it for a while but I needed a change. Remember I texturized my hair last month because the nappy afro was out of control, so blending it with the Indian hair was easy with my Edges soft gel.

Here was my regimen:

Texturized hair: with Creme of Nature No Lye -just ran relaxer through for a few minutes

Whenever I shampoo I use: Marcella Ellis Soy Protein Shampoo

Conditioner: Organic Root Stimulator- Mayo makes the hair strong/ Marcella Ellis Soy Protein Conditioner adds protein and makes the hair soft with a shine

Sheen: I use Castor Oil with Mink Oil made by Hollywood Beauty. I use the pomade it does not weigh the hair down. I also use Elasta Qp and Mizani Shine

Edges: To lay down my edges I use Edges by Hicks Transformation for a soft hold or Marcella Ellis Brick for a week hold when my hair needs a touch up.

Now my hair is starting to draw up again I decided to braid it all up again and try another net weave for a month. I saw Rihannas new look in the video We gone run this town tonight and I was feeling the edgy look. My interpretation of raw and edgy for me, is a wild, spikey bob, with highlights and low lights. None of my hair is out its all braided up. Net weaves are versatile can be short or long..

Next month maybe something conservative but this month Wild and EDGY BOBS!

"Okay, so I broke down and texturized my hair!"

I was having another bad hair day this week. Only this time my daughter and my better half where ganging up on me. My hair has gotten so thick and nappy it was sticking out from the wig. I washed my hair with Marcella Ellis Soy Shampoo and conditioned it with my Soy Protein Conditioner as well as Organic Root Stimulator Mayo. Then I tried to pull it back in a scrungy, but because it is an Afro it did not stay put. I was too tired to try and cornrow it so I just pulled it back. Well after a few days of laziness of course the pony tail started to collapse and all you can see was a big Afro underneath my wig. I got tired of looking at it myself so I broke down and texurized my hair with Creme of Nature no lye relaxer. Now, I only use Design Essentials in the Salon, which, if ever I need a relaxer I would use this product. However, I knew that my hair was natural and I didn't want it to burn too fast before I loosened up the curl pattern. In cases like this I like Creme of Nature relaxer and Just for Me they give you the freedom of relaxing or texturizing very kinky hair without burning the client. So in goes the chemical and all I could think about is the fact that I had been growing out for a few months and I was so proud of myself. So I ran it through quickly only to texturize my hair and not relax it too straight. To my surprise my hair has grown a bit from the short Afro that I cut months ago to a nice length. The length is at the middle of my neck... not bad for only 6 or 7 months.

I have so much to tell you since my last blog! This one will be long.

I have so much to tell you I don't know where to start. I'll start with the most important thing the progress of my hair. Since my last post I had my hair tree braided and that only last me two weeks. I really didn't like the look so much after all. The fact that my hair was all braided was great however the styling options were limited. I could not pull my hair up with out it looking like a hat and since I really needed to pull it up while working out that was not a good look. SO out they come and I move on to my next look. I made a hand made wig in a short bob out of a very comfortable stocking cap. I used #1B and #30 with a few subtle highlights of #27. I cut the bangs short above my eyebrows and cut high lift layers in the back. Soooo Cute! I wore that for about a month. Everyone loved it. Under neath I am still deep conditioning my hair and cornrowing it back. It is now all natural because I cut most of the relaxer off. I thought I was going to have to texturize it but it seems to be soft and manageable from all of the treatments. My hair is really in good shape. When it is wet it looks like an afro after we dry it and braid it, the braids actually have grown down to mid neck. Myboyfriend asked me "When are you going to wear your own hair?" As if it is not hard enough to stick to this challenge I have outside pressure to stop wearing weaves. I told him "look you met me with a weave and you loved it, don't look forward to me wearing my own hair anytime soon." I had to explain to him that I am growing my hair natural and that is going to take some time. When I finally wear my own hair again I want it to be long and strong with no extensions added.

Because so many of us have stressed our hair out with chemicals and curling and wrapping and so on....this challenge is for us to get our hair back to its natural state, healthy and strong and non dependant on so many chemicals.
Fast Forward.
I went to Miami to the Black Film Festival as a guest of the founder's wife, Nicole Friday. Hi Nicole. I did her hair for a few of the events and she looked fabulous. I was introduced to so many celebrities and influential people it was fascinating. Of course I was networking and passing out my cards. I had a ball.
I wore my hair in another handmade wig. It was #1b natural Wavy hair very soft looking wave. I had so many compliments. It was gorgeous. Now that I am back I am thinking what should I do next.. I am definitely going to take pictures of this next style. I haven't given you all much visual. Stay tuned I will write again next week. By the way my daughter started her first business and she is only eleven years old. Of course she is following in her mothers footsteps. It is a product and accessory line for girls. Yes the same protein and conditioners that I preach about to all of my clients we are developing these new combinations for girls as well.. Stay tuned.....

Wow, My Client told me to blog again, I didn't know anyone was actually reading. THANKS!!

Hello Ladies,

Now I know that people are actually reading my blog. I feel so special! Thanks a million....

Let me up date you ladies on current events.

I have decided to keep this blog about me I just can't bring myself to tell any of my clients business... I don't want to loose any clients you know. Any way my life is so full of hair mysteries, disasters, experiments and so on. I'm sure I can keep you entertained. I try every procedure on my hair first before I test it on any of my clients. I figure I should have my own testimony of success or even failure. So since I have last posted I got tired of wearing the wig and I decided to start working out again with my personal trainer. This time I said let me get my hair braided into micros so I can pull it up into a ponytail. I'm thinking even if I sweat I can still maintain this carefree style. So I call my girlfriend which is the salon's braider, over to my house and we get started.

Here is my first mistake. I went to the beauty supply store that I frequent, they know me very well there. I'm looking for a deep wave 22" pack of braiding hair. The sales person, a young girl, is so eager to help me she pulls out all that they have in deep waves. I settle for Milky Way deep wave knowing in the back of my mind this hair is going to tangle. It looked better than all of the selections but me knowing Milky Way I know that it is a low grade. I buy the hair which is #1B and #30 and I leave the store. Had I really planned this out, a better choice would have been to order from California, Perfect Locks and get the Indian Virgin Hair. I have used their hair on some of my clients and it is absolutely beautiful. But me being who I am (sporadic) I know I don't keep a style for more than 2 weeks anyway. Hhhmm... could this be a sign of not being happy with myself. At least my girlfriends think so. They say I need to get therapy.. LOL! NO I just like to change my HAIR!! It ain't that serious....

Anyway back to the story.

We sit for about 7 hours and Voila!! I hate it. The hair is too curly. I look like Curly Sue! All I could do was pull it in a tight curly, bushy, ponytail. My boyfriend/ fiancee/ husband, or whatever we call ourselves for the week, comes in the house and gives me a high five. He says I like it baby. A high five... not a kiss.. or romantic words, a high five! Now I'm thinking am I looking home girlish because I wasn't trying to achieve that look at all. LOL!

I took that mess out in one week. Sorry but I didn't even take a picture. My girlfriend was livid. Oh well, she still loves me! I just couldn't take it another day, plus the hair was tangling. So I have been thinking about tree braids as a matter of fact I have been dreaming about tree braids. I really want them in my hair badly. I tried to convince my girlfriend to do them for me but she is still in a state of shock! She can't believe she spent 7 hours braiding my hair and I took them out so fast. So I have to give her sometime to heal. I know how to tree braid I just can't do it on myself so I have to settle for the wig again. At least for now.

About the health of my hair. I have been on a high protein diet trying to slim down for the summer. I noticed that my hair is getting a lot thicker. I have opted not to relax my hair for a while just texturize whenever it gets to nappy to comb. The organic root stimulator is really making my hair thicker as well.

I'll tell you a quick story about one of my clients, we'll call her X. This is the only story I will tell. It supports my theory of protein intake. When X started coming to me her hair was very weak and damaged. We first started doing the Malaysian Method where we sew in the tracks without braiding up the hair. The end result was beautiful however her hair was not in the best shape. We eventually braided up all of her hair and gave her a sewn in weave. She wanted to loose weight so she starts this high protein diet. She lost a few pounds and was looking great so she decided to body build and compete. Her intake of protein increased, she was eating boiled eggs, raw eggs, taking protein vitamins and shakes... By the time we took her weave out, her hair was at least 2 inches longer and her hair broke my comb. Now normally when a client's hair breaks your comb we are thinking "OH MY GOD" this is going to be a long day and a lot of work. But in this case we were both ecstatic. It was so strong neither one of us could believe it.

So I am following in her footsteps. I'll let you know my progress... Stay tuned!

Is anyone READING this????

I was reading a few blogs today and realized I need to update my own. Today I am asking if anyone is reading please join my blog. I am sitting here at the kitchen table and I realized I need to upload pictures to make my story a little more interesting. So I am uploading my current weave and explaining how I got here since my last post.




Holidays are long gone Christmas, New Years EVE , and now the Election. President OBAMA is safely in office and everything is back to normal. Back to business.
















Here is the weave I wore in Miami last month. I was there for my birthday Dec6- Dec 10. I had #1B in the back 12" tracks and #1B and #30 in the front with a part down the middle. The hair was by SEnsationnel. Sorry but the hair didn't last. I purchased the hair while in Miami. I just ran in the beauty supply store and bought something affordable. Remember I told you in my last post the Miami trip was short notice we just up and went. So I had to find a college student to sew tracks in my hair when I got there. The hair was not Remy and boy did I regret it. It was beautiful for a few weeks then uggh!
Fast Forward! I kept the weave in until just after New Years. While wearing the weave I shampooed my hair with our own Soy Protein Shampoo and Conditioner. Had it not been for the conditioner keeping the hair soft I would have taken that hair out sooner. The hair only last for about 2 weeks and then it tangles so bad it makes you want to cry. Our soy protein conditioner is amazing. It really softens and hydrates dry hair, your hair and the weave.



After taking the weave out I figured let me give my hair a break for a month. I deep conditioned my hair using Organic Root Stimulator Mayonnaise. People I live and die by this Product. It is enriched with amino acids and proteins necessary for the hair. If you don't believe me try it at least 3 times. Every time you shampoo your hair deep condition your hair with this product. If you have weak or damaged hair you will see a major difference. This product will add an extra layer to the cuticle shaft of your hair. You must sit under the dryer with a plastic cap 20 mins for best result. If you do not have a dryer then wrap you hair really tight with saran wrap and let it stay on your hair about an hour so that your body produces heat.






Now I am wearing a partial wig. 14" synthetic wavy #1. I have deep conditioned my hair and braided it only leaving a small patch out in the front to cover the wig. I am also still taking my hair vitamins and I have increased my vegetable intake. I am trying to speed up this hair growth challenge. I can't remember when I last texturized my edges. I know it wasn't in Dec or January, I have to refer back to my notes to see when. Stay tuned..

Well I guess I will stop counting the days...

I have been so busy that my blogs are not daily. For all those reading I apologize. I was in Miami last week for my birthday which was on December 9th. I had a blast. The first time I ever celebrated my birthday on the beach in the sand. Of course it was a last minute trip and I didn't even have time to get my hair done. My boyfriend/ fiancee or whatever you want to call him said Saturday morning let's go, and off we went. We packed in 15 minutes and got on the plane at 2:45. So typical of me, just care free, not worried about the economy, business being abnormal with many slow days. I didn't care I just wanted a break from it all and I was glad I did. I got my hair done by a young lady in Miami because as you know from my last post I had on a half wig. Can't walk on the beach or go swimming with that, it could have easily blown off. LOL! I had to find someone quick to sew in a weave, thank God for the internet. I found a college student that gave me the BOMB weave! I couldn't have done it better myself. I didn't even have to change it or correct it, it was perfect. I wish she lived in MD I would give her a job at the salon.



She first braided my hair backwards and for all those reading, any one braiding your hair in a circular pattern, stop them right away.. and run for your dear life. Circular patterns are very primitive and only amateurs braid in weaves that way. Anyway, she then stitched in my tracks very flat and smooth. I added color #1B solid in the back and #1B and #30 in the front, with a part down the middle. I thought I was Beyonce! LOL! It just blew in the wind,... it was gorgeous. Now that I am back home I just shampooed my hair with my soy protein shampoo and conditioner and it sure needed it because it was dirty and the tracks were starting to clump together. I bought Sensational hair from the beauty supply store while I was in Miami and now I regret it. It is not Remy hair.. trust me I know better, but it was all they had in this particular store, so I got it. I am going to have to take it out soon because as you all know it only last a couple of weeks.
I am still in my treatment phase so whats more important to me is the condition of my hair. My boyfriend thinks I am bald headed because I always wear weaves, so I want to surprise him when I take it out and it is just as long and strong as the weave. I can't lie I am addicted to weaves because they always look good, they are easy to manage, and you can flat iron and curl as much as you like without worrying about destroying your own hair. To make it short they make my hectic life much easier. If you have never worn a weave you should try it, you will be addicted to them quickly because they require less maintenance.
I am still taking my vitamins and infusing my hair with the soy protein conditioner. I also used a cap full of olive oil to help with my dry scalp especially during the winter months. I have about 4 new leave in conditioners that I have been testing for about 6 months on myself, my daughter and a few of my clients. One of them is strictly a vitamin and protein conditioner but it does not detangle my daughters hair. Her hair is extremely dry and tangles a lot, so I am probably going to combine it with the one that seems to work well on her hair. I can not eliminate the vitamins and protein from the ingredient however, it is just as imperative that the leave in conditioner detangles as well as repairs..
I know I have been saying this for a week but I am going to post pictures soon. I broke my digital camera and when we went to Miami we bought CVS disposable cameras. Hmmmm....Don't worry pictures are coming........