Natural Hair Agenda Series: Time Saving Hairstyling Tips

If you are like me and find yourself always rushing to get out the door in the morning, the last thing you need to worry about is styling your hair. The following hairstyling tips should help.

When it comes to washing hair, a great time saving tip is to prepare your hair for washing the night before you wash. Take down, detangle and pre-poo at night and then wash and style in the morning.

When it comes to styling, you can achieve beautiful natural hairstyles without spending hours doing them. Simple styles like chunky/curly fros, updos, puffs and wash-in-gos are easy to do and can be done minutes before you leave the house. For textured looks, aside from wash-n-gos, spritz your hair with water at night, and put in 8 to 10 large braids or twists.  

Depending on how long you want your texture to last, you may want to add an alcohol-free gel, curly pudding or hair milk. In the morning when your hair is dry unbraid or untwist. You can then just add a headband for a puff, put a twist on either side and pin them back and wear the back out, or put your hair in an updo.

Styling your hair at night or even the week before is a great way to save time. Small Two-strand twists and box braids are my favorite time saving hairstyles. Although it may take 4 hours or longer to put them in, once they are in they are very versatile, can be rinse and or washed and can last for months.

Two-in-one styles are also great time savers. You can make two-in-one styles from styles such as box braids, two-strand twists, flat twists and even wash-n-gos. Braids and twists can be transformed into so many styles, including updos, buns, braid-outs and twist-outs. Wash-n-gos can be transformed into textured puffs, and updos as well.

Check out the videos below for time-saving quick hairstyle how-tos on various hair lengths.

Quick Hairstyle Videos

Toliahli
Blakealexis
Naptural85

Stay tuned for more articles from the Natural Hair Agenda Series.

Guest Blogger Laquita Thomas-Banks is one of the Natural Hair communities most noted writers. Her credits include writing for Clutch magazine and its sister site Coco and Cream, the Examiner.com as the DC Natural Hair Examiner. She also writes natural hair articles for Pumpsicle, AfroGlitz, Living No Lye, Sanata International print magazine, and a guest blogger on Kinnks.She was also featured during BOND Inc’s Spotlight.

 

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Product Review: Knot On My Watch

Alright Curly Girls, I had to get this product review out to you as quickly as possible. In fact I'm so much in a hurry to put this out that I'm sitting underneath my dryer as we speak typing this review. I had to share with you this product line that I've recently fallen madly head over hills over. I "heart" Aunt Jackie's Curls and Coils (AJCC) line.

I was first introduced to them during a Natural Hair Expo that I attended in Kansas City, Kansas a few weeks back. I hadn’t heard of them before attending the expo. But any rate, I was given a few samples of their products.  Being the overly obsessive product junkie that I am, I decided to give AJCC’s Knot On My Watch a try on my wash day to detangle my wild and unruly mane instead of the products I normally use.  As you can imagine my skepticisms in trying this new product because every line on the market swears that they are the best thing since slice bread and that their "stuff" works better than the 50 million other natural hair products that are out there on the market. So naturally, I put little energy in believing that this stuff even worked because I figured that they were amongst the most that did just OK.

As many of you naturalistas know, detangling is the devil and a pain to do because of all the work that’s involved. I honestly dread washing my hair some days because I know that once I’m done washing and conditioning the real work begins with detangling. I threw caution to the wind and slathered the stuff in my hair real good and went to combing and BAMM!!!  Just like that my wide toothed comb slid right on through like silk. Just to make sure that I wasn't crazy and that this goodness in this small white packet wasn't too good to be true, I slid the comb through in a different section of my hair and again the comb slid straight through.

SIDEBAR: Ladies, lean in for a minute now and please, please,  please don't think I'm crazy but I was so excited about this stuff that I started doing a country church shout right there in my bathroom. I literally had a tear in my eye because this Knot On My Watch was so amazing. Not to mention the smell was heavenly.

Do you know how much time I saved using this stuff? I don't think you all realize the magnitude of this great find.  Do you not know the amount of agony and pain that I will no longer have to endure because of my new best friend!!! If you are looking for a product to aide you in your detangling defiantly give Aunt Jackie's Knot On My Watch a try. I couldn't wait to share the news with you all. This is defiantly a keeper and a true staple.

Stay tuned for more product reviews from the Aunt Jackie Curls and Coils line.

Natural Hair Agenda Series: A Quick Lesson on How Conditioners Work

Conditioners, aid in detangling, fighting frizz, strengthening and preventing damage to your hair by locking in moisture. But exactly how do they work?

Most conditioners fall into the category of surface acting conditioners. They are formulated to work on the outer layer or cuticle of the hair strand. Deep conditioners - the ones where you are instructed to keep on from 15 to 20 mins with a plastic cap and/or heat - contain ingredients that are humectants (moisture retainers).

Deep conditioners penetrate the inner core, the cortex, of your hair supplying moisture and protein. They also contain hydrating ingredients such as aloe, wheat germ and olive oil. These conditioners, are called pack conditioners, and are heavy and creamy in consistency.

 
Leave-in conditioners do not penetrate the hair strand, but are formulated to quickly coat the hair and protect it until the next washing. They are lightweight, and will contain lighter conditioning agents, which add little weight to the hair. 

Each hair strand has three layers and the cuticle is the outer layer which protects them. The cuticle consists of scales that cover the hair strand. Everyday styling, combing/brushing, washing, and the strands simply rubbing against each other causes friction and raises the scales on the hair strand. Conditioners work by coating the hair strand, making the scales close against the strand smoother.

When the scales on the hair strand become severely damaged via harsh chemicals, bleach, sun, etc. the hair strand is weakened, begins to break down and layer by layer the cuticle begins to disappear exposing the cortex layer which it once protected. Once the cortex is exposed, split ends appear and the hair eventually breaks.

Again, conditioning your hair is a way to keep the scales on the hair strand smooth and therefore protecting the cuticle. Also after conditioning, when the hair dries, it is coated with a thin film,  and prevents static electricity from building up and 'frizzing' the hair. Our hair carries negative electrical charges, ingredients in conditioners carry positive electrical charges. The negative charges attract to the positive charges, which cancel each other out and therefore reduces static electricity, again eliminating frizz.

The thin film left behind by ingredients found in conditioners like panthenol, amino acids and Vitamin B5 also help raised cuticle scales on each hair strand to lie flat, which enhances hair color creating luster and shine. Flat cuticles also make the hair strands smoother and detangling much easier.
 
Conditioner Info:
h2g - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A851627
About.com - http://beauty.about.com/library/bltips531.htm
Pioneer Thinking - http://www.pioneerthinking.com/beauty/hair/conditioner/
Motown Girl - http://motowngirl.com/index.php/deep-conditioning-tips.html

Stay tuned for more articles from the Natural Hair Agenda Series.

Guest Blogger Laquita Thomas-Banks is one of the Natural Hair communities most noted writers. Her credits include writing for Clutch magazine and its sister site Coco and Cream, the Examiner.com as the DC Natural Hair Examiner. She also writes natural hair articles for Pumpsicle, AfroGlitz, Living No Lye, Sanata International print magazine, and a guest blogger on Kinnks. She was also featured during BOND Inc’s Spotlight.

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