How I Cut, Relax, Style Hair

Modern African American Male and Female Model Hairstyles Commentary

The history of black hair will amaze you

For the Women who Love Lots of Hair

10 Hairstyles for SHORT Curly Hair

7 Simple Things to Do to Your Hair When It Isn't Looking So Wonderful

1.  Moisturize it and then fluff it if you have hair that is easy on the eyes.
2.  Brush in one direction and tie back.
3.  Comb it to the side and place a hat on it.
4.  Take bobby pins and gel to hold in place--that is if you have some curls or fly aways that don't behave.
5.  Chop it.  (This tip may only be used if you have been contemplating for a long time to get your hair cut.  Otherwise, ignore the haters if you know your hair looks good on a good day, okay!)
6.  Wash, condition and use your favorite hair care product to: twist, braid, brush, curl, set on rods, etc.
7.  When all else fails, stay home!  People in good moods don't want to be brought down low with someone in their circle who is often talking about their "bad" hair while attempting to touch yours--they are supposed to know better not to touch a black woman's hair!

Natural Hairstyles

Down here in the dirty south more and more African American women are forsaking the perm and going with natural hair-dos.  This video by Craig D. actually provides some of the many hairstyles that many sistahs rock in the southern part of the United States.

The Latest in Natural Black & African American Hairstyles

Black & African American Hairstyles

Things Have Changed Over the Years in Black Hair...

Nowadays fake hair is in abundance!  Lots of long manes and tresses.  The magazines that are shown, I once owned back in the 90s and can I tell you, they were my hair bibles!  From decorating my real hair up to stand about five inches off my head to curly fros, whatever I was in the mood for, I wore it! 

Whenever I wanted to try something different back in the day, I got the magazines photographed.  

I kind of miss the looks back then because they just made sense!  What I mean is the looks fit one's face.  But these days far too often I see hair that doesn't belong on an African American woman's head.  The color, texture and style just isn't right!  It's like a white woman wearing an Afro, huh, what--doesn't look right.

  

These days, it seems the long mane is nothing more than a distraction from wide noses, thick lips, and dark eyes brought on by a certain elitist European influence, but I digress.  Once this long mane distraction is removed, you have a woman, simply put, a woman who has a face that can be spiritually read.  Those of you who know anything about spiritual gifts know what I am talking about.  But when one has something to hide, out comes the alter ego who needs some fake hair to match a certain persona, personality and to cover up imperfections, that she caused mind you, underneath.  I would know because all that hairstyle changing back in the day damaged my hair and caused me to wear wigs for awhile.  

Celebrities can get away with different characters and looks  because that is part of their jobs--they deceive the public into believing that they are who they say they are for that day.  But real people know that in the real world, your alter Shaquita, Tonya or Tammy, is still you--no excuses; and if she steps out of line, wig and all is forgotten about and you are told about yourself.

  No one cares how much "you look like..." (except superficial, immature observers who are obsessed with celebs)  all real people want to know is who you really are and how might you benefit them.  Sistahs, if you needed someone to tell you, "Try a different style and lose the long brownish mane with the part down the middle and the tresses," here's one.

I Love My Hair but Not the Pain...

Between Chris Rock's documentary about African American hair and the latest Sesame Street puppet singing about how she loves her hair, opportunists see the many dollars black women invest in their hair and they are capitalizing off of it!

The fact is black women do love their hair and all the creative ways we can do it. But love it all the time in every way, yeah right!? Let's be honest for a moment, if you had a choice between a painful experience with your natural hair or one that isn't painful using a hair product designed to make your hair manageable, which would you choose? Not everyone has the same texture of hair and not everyone uses the same tools for their hair, so who are these people who say, "You should love your hair!" I think I have a right to love my hair one day and hate it the next. Most of these people don't know what a nappy head is much less how it feels.

During childhood, I got my behind beat because of my frizzy head! So I don't have fond memories of my nappy head experiences. If I didn't sit still while my mom, grandma, or uncle comb and brush my hair, I was going to get hit with one of those two tools, you can believe dat! Hours of being told, "Sit still...hold your head...bend your head down...raise your head up...did you hear me? Cry again, hear? And I will give you somethin' to cry for! You better be still, I will hit you with this brush...hold still I said, you hear me..."

If I loved my hair for even little bit back then, it was quickly suppressed by negative experiences. "Don't you be swinging your hair like some white girl! Come on in this house out the rain 'cause you know what's going to happen. Get your nappy head over here...you think you cute cause your hair long, huh? Your hair ain't good, you need a perm!"

I wanted to know why I had to have a kinky head as if I didn't have enough painful experiences just being a girl. As a child, I recalled the hot comb burned my ears so many times--I'm surprised I have any ears! Oh and who ever experienced the pain of a hot comb through hair that had not thoroughly dried?! Ouch! What about that hair food popping off your hot hair burning those fingers? One day I asked God with my sore scalp, burnt ears, menstrual cramps, and other bad memories in mind, "Why?" The only thing that came close to an answer was something about Eve in the Garden talking to that snake and eating that bad apple while reading the Bible in private school as a kid. "So I have to suffer because some woman couldn't ignore a snake?" I asked myself later as an adult. Then certain relatives wondered why I didn't have anything to do with God for most of my young adult life. Eventually, I did come to God, but for other reasons and it definitely wasn't due to the stories in the Book of Genesis either.

Growing up, I liked the attention I got from my cornrows, hot presses, Quadra curls, perms, freeze curls, wet sets, bobs, french rolls, sculptured hairstyles, etc. I also liked the fact that I didn't experience nearly half of the pain I did once I became an adult.

So don't get me wrong, I love my hair today, but I can't speak for tomorrow.

Nicholl McGuire

Styling Options For Natural Black Women's Hair

Are you stumped when it comes to styling your natural black hair? Women love to change hairstyles often and are sometimes worried when they decide to go natural that they won't have enough styling options. Natural black hair is very versatile and there are plenty of styling options for your natural tresses.
Your natural tresses can be styled in many ways. Treating your hair gently whenever styling it is important to keeping it healthy and helping it retain length. When you style your hair be sure to comb it out slowly and gently. Before detangling put a product into your hair that provides a lot of slip. This is to help the comb slide more easily through your hair so you'll see less breakage. Use a wide tooth comb that doesn't have rough seams that will snag and cause breakage.
Use appropriate products that will nourish and not dry your hair when you style it. There are many products on the market today that are made specifically for naturals. There are also many natural oils and butters you can use.
Braids are very popular natural styles. You can wear braids in a variety of ways. You can wear box braids or plaits. Just section your hair and braid it into many individual braids. You can make the braids as big or small as you like. Cornrows are braids that are close to the scalp. They can be done in many different different complicated or simple styles.
Twists are my favorite protective styles. Twists can be done with two strands or three strands. You can also do single strand twists or comb coils. Twists can be done in individual sections like box braids or along the scalp in flat twists.
Bantu knots are like lots of little buns on your head. You take a section of hair and twist is around on itself until it forms a small bun or knot on your head. You can wear all of your hair in Bantu knots or you can wear only a section in them.
Straightening your tresses is another option. If you use limited amounts of heat your can avoid causing damage to your hair. You can get away with safely straightening your hair if you don't do it too often.
Rod sets are great for making many springy curls in your hair. You can use regular rod curlers and setting lotion to set your hair.
Up-dos are great protective styles that can be worn on a regular basis. French twists and buns can be worn as up-dos.
Wearing your hair down is another great option. You can wear an easy wash-and-go style. You can also wear your hair in a blow out or an Afro. You can put your hair in a high ponytail at the top of your head when you sleep at night to keep your curls fresh and give you second-day hair.

Heather Bettison has worn her hair natural for many years.

The Power of the Wig

Some of you African American men and women know about the power of the wig and if you don't then you are about to learn!

You see her walking down the street and she looks like one of us, the nose and the lips, but it's a little deceiving because of that nice hair on her head. It looks like Chilli's from the 90s musical group TLC. Her friend has some nice hair too, something like Tyra Banks. The two together are exotic looking, one a mocha mix and the other something like chocolate milk. Now these women with their straight and wavy hair -- bought and paid for -- are so comfortable in their wigs that they almost forget that the hair isn't real until it's time to take it off! Here lies the problem.

Whether it's a wig, an extension glued or sewn on, it isn't real it is fake. You know it and I know it, but the non-black man or woman don't know it especially if they aren't use to being around blacks in their natural state (you know 70s afros -- power to the people!) Case in point, I was one for hating wigs until I decided to cover up my share of bad hair days with one and then I grew to like it. I loved the flawless look it gave me. Rain or shine my hair, I mean my wig, was always tight! But the reality of this deception hit me not once, not twice, but about three times now. The "friends" that I won with the first impression in my wig, had treated me different when the wig came off!

The first occurrence happened when I had a shoulder length straight, black wig with flips at the ends. I assume that the white woman who interviewed me thought I was an Hispanic mix. I found out later she loved her some Hispanic folks! She was always asking me how I was doing and eager to help me, but one day I came to work and my co-workers were complimenting me on my natural hair while she was looking at me oddly. I guess my curly wet, set was too much for her! (See here.) Soon after, she seemed to act different. I guess my hair gave her the idea to do some snooping on my background too. I recall some lighthearted conversation when she wanted to learn more about "Where I was from?" I thought we went over that already, "hmmm..." I thought.

The next experience was when I met a man at a thrift store. I told him about some books I was selling. He was Indian. He looked me over and was smiling ear to ear. That day I had a wig that was black, shoulder length, and straight with bangs similar to the kind some Asian women wear. Anyway, he kept looking at my hair and me. I didn't like all that looking since he was old enough to be my dad, but I also needed to sell my books so I went on and made arrangements for us to meet. Everything went well with the transaction and at times he was looking at my hair as if studying it. Weeks later I see him in the same store and he claims he didn't recognize me, but then said, "I thought it was you." Guess what? I didn't wear my wig that day and his reaction toward me with my Halle Berry cut was, "What happened to your hair? Why did you do that?" Remember I said he was Indian. I think he figured me out as he really studied my face this time, "Oh she's black..." Funny, he didn't do too much talking to me like he did both times when he saw me in that wig!

The last experience was with a Mexican woman who was all smiles when she invited me over with my two boys at a park to sing a birthday song to her son. I wore the same wig that I wore with the Indian guy. She introduced me to the other women there, Hispanic and white. There was no evidence of a single black mom in the group except for me. But did they know I was black? Well she would soon find out, because one day while sitting at a library I see her and I am smiling wide, "Hello, remember me!" I say. She studied my face for a second looked at me like I was stranger and then when she realized it was me, she wasn't smiling much. Now if someone greeted you all smiles, wouldn't you smile back? Maybe she was too concerned about recruiting people to her group and wanted to know why I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon with the other moms, I could have asked her that, but she is looking at me like those other people looked at me when I took off my wig! Uh oh!
She was looking at my real hair and my face and back to my hair and my face again. So I made small talk since she seemed a little distant. She realized what I was doing and chatted for a little, still looking at me. "Yes honey, I'm black not a bi-racial Hispanic you probably thought I was!" I wanted to tell her, but I didn't.

When I think back to other experiences like one with a Filipino woman who was always calling me, "My sister," I realized that these people were trying to figure me out. I had to tell the Filipino woman, "I'm not your sister...I mean I'm a sister, but not yours." She said she would claim me anyway and suggested there may be some Filipinos in my family. Last I checked there is no Indians (you know the ones from India,) no Latinos, and no Filipinos.
Maybe that's why the Asians look at me with pity in their eyes sometimes, "Poor child, she black wearing our hair!"

Nicholl McGuire is thinking about making a national day for sisters who want to burn our wigs!

Hair Loss in African American Women - Hair Growth Tips For Black Women to Prevent Baldness!

Hair loss in African American women is quite a common problem. There are various reasons for this issue. One of the causes is the poor diet and wrong food. The others include some illness, medication, emotional stress, thyroid disease, etc. Women often search for measures to get rid of this problem.

Here are some ways to prevent hair loss in African American women:
· Use Natural Oils: Try some natural herbs and oils. It promotes the hair growth for black women. You may use the coconut oil or the oils that contain Vitamin E to massage into the scalp every day.

· Proper Diet: You must include the healthy fatty acids (Omega 3 & omega 6) in your diet. You must also start drinking the protein shakes and increase your daily water intake as well. Take as much green vegetables as possible. They would help you get the vitamin B.

· Certain Useful Tips: Do not put on wigs, baseball caps and weaves daily and let the scalp breathe. You may use glue for the hair weaves. Use the wide toothed comb in case you have curly hair.

· Hair Care: Avoid the hair styling techniques which pull them tight. Twisting and pulling may lead to hair loss. Use the products that are non greasy. You must also avoid the chemical products, as they damage the roots of your hair. In stead, you should use natural & organic products. The best choice in this regard would be Smart.

· Good Lifestyle: Try to make some changes in your lifestyle. Do not take too much stress as it is one of the main reasons for baldness.

· Consult Dermatologist: Consult your dermatologist in order to get the right idea about the cause of your baldness.

By Martha Wilson

Full Lace Wigs, the African American Wigs of Choice!

I can remember several years back when African American wigs where simply boring and old fashioned looking. It was not like you had great selections and options back then, though they were available but just not in a wide range of styles and colors. But now, thanks to the world wide web and today's innovators, all that has changed for the better.

The Newest Style Wigs for Black Women

Thankfully, today's african american wigs come in a variety of styles, lengths and colors, including a more superb level of quality. The wigs I am speaking of look natural to the naked eye when worn on your head! If you have not guessed it by now, I'm talking about full lace wigs that can be customized specifically for your needs for both women and men.

Change Your Style at The Flip of a Switch

That's right; you can literally change out your entire look when wearing full lace wigs. Gone are the days spending hundreds of dollars at your local salon or beauty shop. If you can learn to put one on yourself, you are looking at an exciting new way to looking different and stylish all the time and without spending hard earned dollars every week or two with a beautician.

Real Hair Wig - Timeless and Classy Looks

Of course most hair styles made for African American wigs come and go. You probably remember the old Jerry Curl hairstyle? Yep, they had this in a wig as well back in the 80's of course. Back then, Jerry Curls where the thing to have and wear as a hairstyle trend, especially for men. But thank goodness that trend has past and gone bye bye!

Oh My, Are the 80's Hairstyles Back?

Well technically, yes and no. Today's African American wigs are worn and created with the 'revolutionized' 80's look. The simple flip of the ends, front bangs etc...well it is more chic now when where lace wigs in this style. But remember, you can always 'change your style at the flip of a switch'! Though there are some full lace wigs made of curls (not technically Jerry Curl), there are however different curl patterns and textures that are current with today's hair trends and styles.

African American Wigs - The Movement & Making Strides

So now you know a little about full lace wigs for black women. The interchangeable wig, the wig you can change styles when you feel like switching out, the wig that is timeless and classy. I consider the full lace wig the 'Superwoman Wig', because when it comes to hair fashion and hairstyles, we like to be on point. One day you are Jane, the next day you could be 'Veronica the Vixen'!

By D. Grace