Dry Detangling Curly Hair

The above photo is an example of what NOT to do when detangling your precious strands. 

Detangling hair is one of the most important processes to healthy hair and retaining length because many strands are broken or damaged during this process. Before I proceed, I must warn you, "Never Detangle Your Hair If You Are In A Rush." You will always do more damage than good if you rush through the detangling process. Bring your patience.

Some causes of hair damage during the detangling process are:

• Stripping of the cuticle layer by use of detangling brushes and combs.
• Shed hair that wraps around other strands creating tangles.
• Knots formed by styling and frizzy hair.
• Detangling hair from root to tip instead of tip to root. 

The best way to retain hair/length and limit damage is to first finger detangle the hair when it is dry. Hair is less vulnerable when dry and tangles can be easily seen and manipulated.

Why?

Hair is weakest when wet, this is because water breaks down the natural hydrogen bonds in the hair. Hydrogen bonds link the keratin chains of each strand. When hair dries the hydrogen bonds are restored (Hair is the strongest when the hydrogen bonds are linked or when the hair is dry). This explains why reshaping styles like roller sets, twists outs or spiral curls are most effective when the hair is styled while wet. When the bonds break as a result of water, the shape of hair changes, as the hair dries new hydrogen bonds are formed and the hair is reshaped.

Since hair is strongest when dry. Finger detangling the hair while it is dry is important because it not only allows you to easily see tangles and knots but your hair is less likely to break during this process. Finger detangling hair when dry will save more time and strands during the wet detangling process because the hair is mostly detangled. NOTE: This is a win win situation because hair is weakest when wet so the less manipulation the better. 

Crazy fact: Even though hair feels dry to the touch it is never completely dry because hair is hygroscopic. Meaning it attracts water from the atmosphere. Ever wonder why your hair frizzes when it is humid? This is why. 


To learn more about Finger Detangling wet hair and techniques, click (Finger Detangling Curly Hair).

Kurlee Girls That Rock: Tessa aka I Love Lucy!

Nappturalite Radio & Kurlee Belle: Getting Gorgeous with Greens

Hey Kurlees! Tune in to Nappturalite Radio this Thursday (October 25th, 2012) at 7PM EST. I will be co-hosting the show with Dawn Yerger! 

The Topic: "Getting Gorgeous with Greens"

Click on any of the below links to TUNE IN and Listen to past recorded shows: 

www.nappturaliteradio.com 

www.naturalhairradio.com 

www.blogtalkradio.com/nappturalite

Finger Detangling Curly Hair

I experience 80% less shed hair when I finger detangle. FACT! 

Tools:

A Good Wash Out Conditioner

Fingers

Spray Bottle 

PATIENCE

Time

Tips:

Moisturizing Shampoo's make finger detangling easy because it softens and makes the hair more manageable. 

Adding coconut oil or olive oil to dry hair the night before can aid in the detangling process. These oils provide lots of slip and make the hair soft. 

Part hair into small sections. The smaller the section the easier it is to detangle hair. 

Always use a wash out conditioner. Do not be afraid to pile on the conditioner! The more the better. 

Apply conditioner and let stand for at least 5 minutes then start detangling. Allowing the conditioner to stand gives the hair time to soften and become more manageable. 

Detangle hair from tip to root. Hold hair mid way between tip and root while detangling. Move hand closer to scalp as you detangle ends. Try to refrain from detangling from root to tip. I know this is a bad habit we picked up when our hair was relaxed but this is a no no with naturally curly hair. Always detangle hair in a downward to upward motion. Think the strings of an accordion.

After rinsing out wash out conditioner, apply leave in conditioner for further manageability. 

Knots are somewhat inevitably with curly hair. If you encounter a knot do not yank it out. I know it's very tempting to just tear it. DON'T. Gently pull out the strands that are in the knot until it is free. You need a lot of patience for this process, so do not wash or detangle your hair when you are pressed for time. 

Keeping your hair stretched in between wash days  this will help with the detangling process. Styles that stretch the hair: twists and braids. 

If you can hear your hair tearing then it means the hair is not wet enough and you are not using enough conditioner. Be sure to pile on the conditioner because you will rinse it away. 

The only way to retain length is to maintain your ends. Finger detangling helps reduce the amount of breakage and damage to your strands in essence helping you to retain length. 

Want to add to the list? Please leave a comment below. 

Michelle Obama Looking Stunning at Presidential Debate

In case you missed the Presidential Debate last night, we wanted to share these fabulous photos of FLOTUS! As I watched twitter blow up with comments about the President and Mitt Romney, I could not help but notice the comments on Michelle Obama's hair.

Here are some Tweets from my Twitter Line: 

Did Michelle NOT KILL IT Last Night?

Be You. Be Natural.

Follow Us on IG: KurleeBelle & Terrinique

Solange Knowles Dressed By African Designers on the Cover of Elle SA

Solange's wardrobe is as colourful as her personality. The stylish singer graces the cover of Elle South Africa in African mix and match prints. Printed top by Tart and shorts by South African designer Loin Cloth. We know that Solange loves colours and patterns. Check out her Brooklyn home featured in an earlier edition of Elle (Brooklyn's Finest: A Look Inside the Home of Solange Knowles).

Do you like Solange's Look? I think it's Cool. 

Naturally Curly: Curly Hair Growth Chart

The above chart is courtesy of NaturallyCurly.com. 

Have you been following the 5 Tips on the left?

Home Hair Recipes: Egg & Mayo Deep Treatment

Looks and feels like pancake batter! Mainly because I went light on the mayo and did not remove the egg whites. 

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup of Mayo

2 tsp Coconut Oil

2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 splash of Pure Vanilla Extract

How I mixed this concoction: 

1. Heated Mayo in microwave for 20 seconds. Reason: The fats and oils in mayonnaise will penetrate the hair strands better when warmed. 
2. Added eggs (for a thicker mixture just include egg yolk. I included the egg whites in my mixture-this made it pancake batter like in consistency.) 
3. Then added coconut oil, olive oil and pure vanilla. 
4. Mixed well. 
5. Applied mixture to dry hair from root to tip. 
6. Covered with plastic cap. 
7. Sat under a hooded dryer for 20 minutes. Then wrapped with towel.
8. Left the towel on for another 20 minutes to seal in the heat.  
9. Rinsed mixture out with cool water to retain the oil and moisture then shampooed with Kurlee Belle Almond and Shea Butter Moisturizing Shampoo. 
10. Sectioned hair into 7 sections using Aussie Moist Conditioner. 3 in front, 2 in middle and 2 in back. Detangled hair with fingers and braided each section. After letting the conditioner stand for 10 minutes I rinsed it out without separating the sections. 
11. Applied Kurlee Belle Thirsty Curls Leave-In Conditioner and sealed hair with Coconut Oil. 
12. Applied Kurlee Belle Kurl Defining Creme and braided hair into smaller sections (about 14 braids). 
13. Let hair air dry. 

*Remember always use a wash out conditioner and leave-in conditioner. This reduces tangles and knots. 

Eggs are packed with protein. Great for rebuilding strands and nourishing the scalp. 

Mayo is rich in natural oils that coat each strand and fill the gaps of roughed up cuticle to repair each strand.

Coconut Oil also fills the gaps of roughed up cuticles and gives more body to hair. It seals in moisture, prevents protein loss from hair, nourishes scalp and prevents dandruff. 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is strong enough to penetrate the cortex of the hair shaft and is a great antioxidant that contains vitamin E and vitamin A.

Pure Vanilla Extract was used to give the mixture a pleasant scent. 

After this deep treatment, my hair felt stronger and looked shiner. I love it because it is packed with protein and fatty oils which are good for dry, damaged hair. 

Will you try it? 

Why Black Women Straighten Their Hair.

Photo Source: MoptopMaven

I recently googled "Why Black Women Straighten Their Hair". The results of my search were somewhat expected and shocking. Many said because of self hatred, they want to look like white women, to make their hair more manageable, etc. Although, these maybe reasons behind why some black women straighten their hair, I wanted to get to the root cause of the issue at hand.

I found this study called "Why African American Women Try to Obtain "Good Hair"" conducted by Whitney Bellinger of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Although, this is a small study of 15 African American women, I think it provides great insight into the reasoning of why African American women straighten their hair.

I will provide you with a brief history into the psyche of why hair is a deep rooted issue among our race. In early African nations hair was considered a symbol of status, ancestry and identity. Nothing has changed from hundreds of years ago....today the most followed and celebrated natural hair vloggers and bloggers are those with big and long hair. Am I right? Or am I right? In the celebrity world, the most popular celebrities set hair-fashion trends and some women even follow their every move...Rihanna for example. Let's face it, in our culture hair is a BIG DEAL. This is not something that we picked up over the years. It has been ingrained in our DNA.

When slaves were sold and packed on the ships to sail to America. The slave owners shaved the heads of the slaves for sanitary purposes. They looked at the texture of black hair as being like wool and unsanitary. The shaving of the head in the mind of the slaves, stripped them of their identity and status. To further complicate matters, slave masters referred to the hair of their slaves as wool and would encourage slaves to groom their hair. Out of this formed the tradition of constant grooming. Sunday's were the days when slaves were free from work and would have time to groom their hair. Women that were adept at braiding would be encouraged in the trade and were praised in the community.  (Does this sound familiar to you? Was Saturday's/Sunday's the day you would spend all day at the hair salon with your mom? Did everyone fight to get an appointment with the best hairstylist in town?) As the saying goes, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." As technology and education advanced and we become more creative, the relaxer was invented. The relaxer allowed women with kinky curly hair to straighten their locs and become more like Europeans.

Fast forward to the future, one hundred years later, we see that most women do not know why they have a relaxer at all. In the study, most of the women interviewed admitted that they never knew their hair texture because it was relaxed at such a young age and they continued to get relaxer because that's what their mother did. Like mother, like daughter? For generations, we have been relaxing our hair and had no idea why were doing it in the first place. Crazy right?

The great thing about the Natural Hair Movement is the fact that tons of women are embracing their natural beauty in turn changing the image of African beauty. This is seen through many mediums, for instance, Oprah sporting her semi-natural hair on the cover of O Magazine, Viola Davis wearing her TWA (tweeny weena afro) at the Oscars and Vogue Italia featuring natural hair models in their campaigns. Although, natural hair is being embraced in the media there are still many women struggling to tame their hair into a looser or less coarse texture. Self acceptance is the first step on the road to happiness. If you idolize a natural hair blogger or vlogger, please keep in mind that your hair will never look like theirs. In fact, your hair may not achieve the longer length that you want but be thankful that you have hair and try to make the most of your texture. My hair is not perfect and has a mind of it's own but it is my hair and I love it! It may not reach down the middle of my back but I love every inch of it.

Embrace your natural beauty and do not let anyone tell you that the way God created you is unacceptable! 

The Secret to Long Natural Hair

Vogue Italia Loves Natural Hair

Two words: LOVE & BEAUTY