Reasons to Start Your Own Kitchen Salon

Ingredients for my Winter Hair Mask

There are two trends in the natural hair community that have inspired me to make major changes in my lifestyle; greater interest in DIY hair care and greater interest in natural products. What started as a quest for healthy long natural hair has completely shifted my approach to my nutrition and expanded an already growing interest in reusing and recycling. It's amazing how much I've learned about the multifaceted uses of common items that are always in my kitchen and bathroom!

I'm sure many people are reading this thinking it sounds nice but time consuming- isn't natural hair time consuming enough? When I first started making my own hair products it was very time consuming. But I must admit I loved having an excuse to block off an entire day for pampering. Now that I have a routine and an understanding of how to balance the products, it doesn't take much longer to do my hair with purchased products than homemade products. Like with anything you improve with practice.

Still need to be convinced why you should try your own DIY Kitchen Salon? Check out the benefits I've reaped:

- I've save money because the items I use for my hair are already on my grocery list.

- I've expanded the use of packaging from previously bought products, saving a few more items from a direct trip to the landfill.

- There is no worry of harmful chemicals in my homemade products, its all natural and mostly food. If its safe enough to go in my mouth, it's safe enough to lather all ova' my booooooooody!

- Now that I understand how various ingredients work for my hair and body I can adjust the balance as needed. This is extremely important for moisture and protein balance!

- My hair has improved tenfold! It is much more resistant to breakage; maintains greater moisture and retains length (after eight years of staying at the same length without ever trimming).

- Did I mention I SAVE MONEY?!

So how many of you have I converted? How many already have a thriving kitchen salon? Tell us why you started your kitchen salon and what you love about it.

Those who are new to the DIY practice can go here for some tips on starting your own kitchen salon.

Rethinking Old Hair Habits

Rethinking Old Hair Habits
By Fran of HeyFranHey.com

Photo courtesy of heyfranhey.com

Check out my fellow Obie (Oberlin College alum) Fran of Hey Fran Hey, featured every Monday on the Black Girl Long Hair (BGLH) forum. This week she discusses her old hair habits, some she's discarded and some maintained.

In considering my old hair habits there are many I  let go and a few that I've returned to. I no longer buy cheap V05 shampoos and conditioners, but I've definitely returned to the simplicity of good ole' oil and water. Hmm... whoddathunkit?

What are some of your old habits? How many of them have you chucked and how many do you cherish?

Lessons in Mini Twists: The Cheat Sheet

So here's the thing: I'm not usually a fan of mini-twists. Rather I should say I am not a fan of putting them in and taking them out, but the duration of wearing mini twists is often a fantastic experience! One night I found myself putting in some of the tiniest twists I've ever done, and while I cursed myself in my head my hands would not stop. About 6 hours later (that includes making and eating dinner; talking on the phone; periodically checking Facebook...) I was very proud of the mini twists in my hair.

My best set of twists lasted over three weeks, but I usually can't keep them in for so long because they get frizzy. I'm amazed at those who keep their twists looking fresh for four weeks or more! What are your experiences with mini twists? Any of you able to reach an entire month?

Here's what I've learned from my mini twist experiences:

1. Twisting on wet hair and using a wet product like gel creates a tighter, longer-lasting twist, but also produces greater shrinkage. Twisting on dry hair using an oil or butter creates softer, less-defined twists that tend to unravel. I find lightly spritzing dry hair and mixing a light oil into gel products produce tight twists that last long and are well defined when unraveled. The twists also retain greater length because they are not saturated with water.
2. The rope twist method (rotating each section clockwise while twisting counter-clockwise or vice versa) creates tighter and longer twists that last longer than regular two strand twists. However the hair can get very tangled if the mini twists are styled often. I use the rope twist method for all of my twists, my hair will unravel otherwise. Tangles used to be a problem for me, but my three step unraveling method has nearly eliminated the problem.
3. Roller sets on mini twists can mimic many straight styles, like bobs and drop curls, but somehow manage to last longer. I wore a roller set mini twist bob to my two hour dance rehearsal and still had curls at the end! I have a theory that its something about the twists and natural curl of the hair, blah blah blah...
4. Trimming your hair while in mini twists is not always such a great idea, especially if a comb wasn't used to make straight and even parts. When I saw scraggly ends I kept trimming them. When I took my hair loose I noticed how uneven it had become because of my "arbitrary" trimming. Besides, those ends didn't look as scraggly when clumped in coils rather than randomly parted mini twists. Ooops!
5. Some natural recipes don't work so well with small twists- like yogurt-based hair conditioners. Even after several rinses I didn't get it all out, but it was a couple of days until I was alerted by a less than pleasurable smell (first noticed by my husband). Yikes!
6. When unraveling mini twists I follow three simple rules: Use lots of lubrication (oil, conditioner, etc.). Follow the coil (in reverse, of course). Be patient. I like using oil on dry hair for unraveling twists. My strands have a tendency to straighten and slip right out of the twists. When I wet my hair it curls tighter and is harder to detangle. When I rush I often create knots, but when I take my time and follow all three steps I can get through my whole head with very few knots!

If I said I was "Over" Natural Hair, Would You Believe Me?

This is wonderful autobiographical post written by Sunshine Abuwi of Natural Sunshine and Daily Dose of Sunshine. I have to applaud Sunshine for sharing her personal growth and as always I am in admiration of her honesty and transparency. A step towards umoja indeed!


If I said I was "Over" Natural Hair, Would You Believe Me?
By Sunshine Abuwi

A lot has changed in regards to my relationship with natural hair over the three years I have been natural. In the beginning I was gung ho. I was determined that every woman of African descent on the planet should go natural. I was strongly anti-weave and the mere mention of heat-treating natural hair was enough to make me angry. So much has changed since then.

Hair: Is It Really That Big of a Deal?

This was originally posted on "NaturalSunshine.com" May


I find myself flipping and flopping between wanting to learn more and more about naturally kinky hair, on practical, scientific, spiritual, communal, political levels... but why? Ain't it just hair? Isn't that what we call SUPERFICIAL? Being obsessed with vanity, appearances and things as frivolous as hair.

But what if hair hasn't been a frivolous thing in your life? What if you hair has been a source of embarrassment and shame? What if no matter what you did it never retained length; you never had that "get up and go" hair; doing it was painful and/or disappointing? What if your hair made you feel out of control of yourself?

That’s how I felt for a long time. Completely out of control! I did not understand how I could spend so much time on my “hair days” but even after years of giving up relaxers my hair was no longer, no softer, no more manageable than it was when chemically processed. I always managed to make my hair look nice, but I was truthfully unhappy not being able to accomplish what everyone should be able to do without trying- grow hair.

Jump to today and I am astonished at the amount of length I am retaining and I can’t lie, feeling hair on my shoulders for the first time since I was about 11 years old feels friggin’ great! I mean really, I feel sexy and glamorous and cool all at the same time. And what got me to feel this good about myself? My “superficial” obsession with growing long, healthy, natural hair, that’s what!

Seriously, I really put my mind to accomplishing this goal that I had pined for since junior high school when my long thick hair from childhood began its bout with chronic breakage. Let’s do the math: 5 years of bad relaxers courtesy of Chez Pia’s DIY Home Salon plus, 8 years of fumbling around with the mineral oil-filled “Black” products I recalled from my press n’ curl days that never made my hair look quite the same as my childhood pictures plus, 2 years of obsessive research and trial and error to figure it all out. I’d say its about dang time I stumbled across some answer! So yes, I am proud to be able to grow my natural hair long and healthy, but the sense of accomplishment doesn’t come exclusively from retained length.

The quest for healthy hair has led me to a healthier lifestyle and an expanded awareness of all that nature has to offer. I’m a Brooklyn girl (Brooklyn we go hard!) and growing up in NYC with very little exposure to natural landscapes had made me pretty ignorant about natural remedies. My mind was blown the first time I came across Avocado Coconut Milk Conditioner... WHAT?!

Baking soda rinses to clarify, apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinses to neutralize, olive oil to condition?! Then I began learning about essential oils, and teas and how to apply them to facials, steam baths, massages. A whole new world was opened up, Planet Earth was opened up to me, the world that I had always lived in but had been out of touch with.

So is this obsession just frivolous, superficial, nonsensical? I would beg to differ. I think the topic of hair is deeply layered. It is interconnected with so many other aspects of life: self esteem, health, nature, politics, culture, fashion, etc. Do I feel ashamed of my obsession with my hair, that I spend so much time writing, photographing, videotaping and talking about it? I most certainly don’t and neither should you!

Stay positive. Stay Beautiful.


~In Hair Solidarity,

Pia

2008-10: THE AGE OF NATURAL HAIR ENLIGHTENMENT

This post originally appeared on "NaturalSunshine.com" January 28, 2011.

Asien (from Natural Sunshine) asked me what happened two years ago to change my understanding and maintenance of my natural hair. Well I got a story, like to hear it? Here it go!

In the summer of 2008 I met a beautician who wanted to do only natural hair, she was so happy I came into the shop. I had about 4 inches of hair, that I had never cut and rarely trimmed the 8 years I had been natural by then.

I was telling her of my chronic issue with dryness and breakage, that I was very careful with how I treated my hair but nothing worked. She asked if I were using the same products that I did with a relaxer, and I was. That was the issue! I was applying chemicals to my virgin hair, and they were doing nothing for me. If I looked for natural products I would see better results.

She introduced me to the Caramel Treatment & Jane Carter Solution, and used those products in my hair. I loved the results! I got the CT a second time, but it was too expensive to maintain. It stretched my hair and made it easy to straighten. I had forgotten the name of the JCS line, so it would be a few years until I came around to them again.

I started using Nubian Heritage & Burt's Bees shampoos & conditioners which are generally 97% natural. My hair began to respond immediately. It maintained moisture and was softer. But I still had breakage! Then I started looking up ways to make conditioners with household foods.

If I were going to use products that were as natural as possible, why didn't I just make my own?! The day I met the coconut milk & avocado conditioner... I was enlightened! When baking soda rinse and apple cider vinegar rinse joined in... I was ecstatic! And so was my hair!

I chopped my hair off just before New Year's 2010, down to about 1 1/2 - 2inches. My hair was supple. It had shine. It had bounce. It still had constant breakage... WTF?!

Then I discovered the seamless comb in July 2010. At that time, my longest strands were about 4 1/2 inches. Now in January 2011, my longest strands are about 8 inches. 3 1/2 inches in 6 months, I'd say that's progress!

To wrap up this rather long stroll down memory, the lessons I've learned in the last two years are:
- natural hair benefits best from natural products
- a seamless comb helps to eliminate breakage and lessen shedding
- I really enjoy blocking out a few hours (or an entire day) to make my products, prewash, rinse, deep condition, stretch and style my hair! It is my ME TIME!!

I hope you all enjoyed my story.

In Hair Solidarity,

Pia