What Should I Buy: My recommendations for you and your hair type

What Should I Buy: My recommendations for you and your hair type

#1 Question I get?

“What am I supposed to be using for colored hair/fine hair/limp hair/more volume/less volume/curls/etc”

It’s actually a bit of a loaded question because about 75% of the time the client genuinely has no idea what their hair type really is.

Crazy, right?

Like everyone should have at least a vague idea, but like defining what type of skin or acne you have- it can be troublesome to figure it out.

SO LET’S TALK BASICS:

First, lets talk about the wave pattern of your hair. This one is pretty easy- you have straight, wavy, curly or extra curly.

And don’t be fooled, sometimes you whole head does not fall in line. You may have parts that are straight and some wavy. It happens, and it’s totally normal.

Straight is as is implies- no bends, no waves.

Wavy- again, as it implies, it has soft bends. (Think beach waves, or how curls look on day 2)

Curly- Spirals, corkscrews. Shirley Temple goodness right there.

Fun fact: Finding a naturally curly celeb actually took me a moment. (Another good example would be t-swift).

Extra Curly- This is where it gets a tiny bit confusing because you’re like “Isn’t curly and extra curly the same”

Answer: no.

Extra curly is so curly that instead of making complete curl bends, it almost goes into a zig-zag shape. Think Lenny Kravitz, or Erykah Badu.

Can we just take a moment to bask in Erykah Badu’s beauty?

Ok, so now that we figured out our wave pattern. Let’s talk abouttexture.

Texture basically relies on your hairs’ actual thickness on just one strand of hair. This is where fine, medium, and coarse comes from. So if the strand feels thick, it’s coarse, “normal” is medium, andfine is when you can barely feel the hair strand at all.

What you really need to know from this is that fine hair is more prone to breakage during a chemical service like coloring or relaxers. Coarse hair is the opposite challenge- more difficult to process during chemical services. Medium hair, you’re in luck- there’s no special problems for you.

Next we talk about porous hair- one of the many hot bed issues in the salon.

Porosity is exactly as it says- how porous your hair is. Does it absorb a LOT of water, or only a little? Do you reapply product a lot and your hair just absorbs it like it never happened?

(If you want a quick test, get a cup of water, cut off a little of your hair and drop it in the water. If it absorbs like crazy and sinks- you got yourself porous hair. If it hangs out at the top- low porosity. And if it’s anything in between- it’s normal. )

If your hair feels dry, straw-like, brittle, or generally a bit rough- you need to stop whatever chemical process you’re doing and GIVE YOUR HAIR A DAMN BREAK.

I’m talking to you, blondie. Stop lightening your hair over and over again expecting it to get lighter (once you get to white I’m sorry, there ain’t no where to go from there), and let your hair just have a minute to breathe. 99% of the time when someone has dry, brittle hair- it’s because they keep slapping on the bleach.

Put some oils on your hair, stop using heat for awhile and give it a rest. Your blonde-erexia isn’t helping you anymore.

If you have dry hair and your excuse isn’t lightener- you may just need to switch up your products to something that imparts moisture. You’re probably just predisposed to be dry, especially if you live in a dry climate (California, Arizona, etc) or if you aren’t drinking enough water and insist on skipping conditioner for some reason.

Understand this when it comes to porosity- if your hair absorbs a lot- hair coloring might be difficult for you. You’ll end up with darker ends and lighter roots (unless you to go to a professional who knows what they’re doing and understands the basic rules of hair). Try to avoid box dye 1, because it’s bad for your hair and 2, your results are going to be insanely uneven.

Density (again like it implies) is how much hair is on your head. A lot? A little? Do you have to have you hair “thinned” or do you cringe at the idea of anyone cutting off the 3 hairs you have left on your scalp?

Reach back and stick your fingers in your hair at the scalp. Can you feel your fingers against each other or do you just feel a wall of hair?

Keep in mind, usually at the top of your head and around the temples is where you’ll have the lowest density. The highest is usually around the back of the neck or backsides of your head. And sometimes one side of your head will have more hair than the other.

Don’t worry, it’s totally normal.

And lastly, for kicks, elasticity. 

Really, this is just the hair’s ability to stretch without breaking. Much like a rubber band, hair is supposed to be able to stretch and is actually a tell-tale sign of it’s strength. It should stretch a little and then return to it’s normal state (like a rubber band). If it stretches a bit and doesn’t break- you’re good. If it breaks- you might need to start introducing products to build the strength back up.

Blondes- if you are lightening your hair and when you wash your hair- it feels stretchy like it’ll never go back to normal and has a gummy feeling. That’s not good. It doesn’t mean your hair is suddenly “so soft!” In fact, this is a terrible offense. It means your hair has officially jumped off a cliff and will never go back to normal. Try to deal with it til it grows out or cut it off. Sorry, but that’s what you get for overlapping lighteners and generally acting dumb.

Ok, so now that we’re at the end, what did we discover?

For reference, my hair is fine, VERY high density, and wavy. It’s pretty porous too because my hair and skin normally run dry. The elasticity is pretty good too because my hair is just a fighter like that.

So for the next few weeks, I’ll be going through hair products designed for all the natural hair types. Keep an eye out for yours!

And btw, I’m serious blondie- stop lightening your hair so much,

-SamanthaK