Hair NV Feature of the Day: Betsey Rene

I love hearing other Naturalistas tell their stories...Here's the story of one of my Hair Crushes...

 

Why I decided to go natural?

Well that's a funny story. It kind of happened by accident. Basically, all my life I was relaxed, but I was getting bored with just doing a doobie. I decided to experiment with weaves, which was cool, but my hair is pretty thin so the weave started to break my hair. Once I noticed that... I was like,  "nope not for me!" But I was still bored, so I decided to cut it (Rihanna style) because I was obsessed with her around July 2011. So I chopped it all off and hated it. I literally cried for like 2 hrs after getting it done.

I eventually got use to it and made that style my own! Since I was too scared to get it cut again in fear that I would look crazy, I decided to grow it out. While I was growing it out, I was going back in forth on whether or not I should relax it or braid it or weave it. I started doing some research. I kinda stumbled upon natural hair on YouTube and literally was addicted from that day forward.  I made my decision to go natural in late 2011. I transitioned with braids and protective styling for the most part, until I was more confident to wear my hair out.

My regimen?

Well that has changed from when I first started my natural hair journey. Before I used to co-wash and/or shampoo, deep condition, detangle once every week but now I believe my detangling skills were poor, so I was experiencing more mechanical breakage than actual hair shedding. Now I'm trying to "listen to my hair". I shampoo and deep condition my hair once every two weeks (because my hair doesn't need to be washed as often). I detangled in the shower and section into 6 parts and twist each part after detangling. I am currently using the L.O.C (Leave In, Oil, and Cream or sealant) method for moisturizing (which is amazeballs lol).
That's pretty much it lol. Pretty simple



Favorite Products:

Shampoo: Organix Acai Berry Avocado
Conditioner: Herbal Essence Hello Hydration or Creme of Nature Intensive Conditioning Treatment
Detangling Conditioner: Pantene Relaxed & Natural Conditioner
Leave in's: Kinky-Curly Knot Today or Shea Butter Leave In
Deep conditioner: Naat Brazilian Hair Mask
Oils: coconut, argan, castor, jojoba
Twist-out Styles: Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Carols Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey

Go-to styles?

High puff (definitely a life saver)
Bantu knots
Twists outs
Flat twists pinned back

 IG: aunaturaleb

To Trim or Not to Trim??

Trimming is such a controversial subject in the hair world. There is a school of thought that says you need to trim your hair every "x" amount of weeks, and then there is a school of thought that says trimming isn't necessary. My opinion has been influenced by what I've learned from research, training, personal experience, and general knowledge I've gathered in my young career. It must be understood first and foremost, that hair is DEAD. Yea, I said it.

Courtesy of Cosmetics & Toiletries              

The hair follicle (where growth occurs) is alive, the strand that you see, is not.  Secondly, it must be understood that hair grows from the root, not the ends. I'm not saying that trimming hair isn't necessary because it is, especially for those with damaged hair. Unbeknownst to most, hair is easily damaged. I've learned that hair is damaged in the following ways:

*Physical Damage:
- Heat Styling (flat ironing, blow drying)
- Combing and/ or brushing (which pretty much means regular/ daily styling)
- Washing and drying (the tugging and tangling of the hair)

*Chemical Damage:
- Sun Exposure (yes...the sun can harm your hair as well as your skin)
- Coloring/ Highlighting
- Perming/ Relaxing (Relaxed hair is permanently damaged!)

Courtesy of Cosmetics & Toiletries

This chart shows the levels of damage as it relates to the health of your hair. Very helpful I must say!


With that said, if you do the actions closer to the "bad hair" end of the scale, you will need to trim or even cut your hair, depending on the level of damage. Trimming your hair cannot MAKE your hair grow, but it does HELP you retain length. That is, in my opinion, where the confusion occurs! If your ends are damaged you will not retain length. The ends will break off from split ends, being weak and dry, losing elasticity and tensile strength, single strand knots, etc.
So the moral of the story is hair is DEAD and cutting something that is dead will not make it grow. On the other hand, trimming is essential to maintaining healthy looking hair and retaining length if you partake in any of the above damaging activities regularly. So I do not believe there is a set time of how often everyone should trim their ends.  I think it's subjective. My hair tells me when I need to trim it! When my twist outs and roller sets look frizzy at the ends, or if I can't smooth my ends out in a roller or curlformer set, I generally get the idea that my hair needs some tender love and care. So don't be afraid of those shears if you're goal is to retain length and have healthy looking hair.

Signing Off,

Hair I Stand's NaturalBornDiva88

*The diagrams and information discussed and shown in this post where obtained primarily from Cosmetics & Toiletries, Complete Cosmetic Chemist Training Program, Lesson 3: Hair Conditioners, Led by Perry Romanowski

HOTD: Curls, Curls, Curls I Do Adore

I've been in a really crazy mood with my hair lately....A real LOVE/HATE relationship. So late last night...I had an epiphany...I WANT CURLS! This led to my beloved Curlformers. This is, by far, my favorite hair style! I will put up a tutorial soon! This is great for transitioners because the curlformer leaves your hair nice and stretched and hides the two textures!!

What's the Tee? Cool, Calm, and Coiled

Introducing......

Cool, Calm, and Coiled 

" ...where you can find the freshest graphic tees of the season! Our designs celebrate the joy of being naturally empowered and encourage creative self expression!"

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a good friend's T-Shirt Launch party! Besides having a ball enjoying the ambiance, music, food...and EVEN a Spoken Word Artist, I was also able to get a pretty dope T-Shirt. The designer, and fellow natural hair enthusiast, Nicole Chavanne, has created some really unique, sassy, and powerful Tees. Her prices are extremely affordable! Don't believe me, go see for yourself!

 Go get yours, 'cuz I already got mines!!

And did I mention there was a Spoken Word Artist there also?? 
Check him Out on YouTube : Carnegie Kid

The video I recorded was too dark, but this is what he performed. Hope you like it!

You can get more information about Cool, Calm, and Coiled from:

Instagram: @cool_calm_coiled

Tumblr: coolcalmandcoiled.com

Twitter: coolcalmcoiled