One of the biggest concerns that I, Kristen Lock run into is people wanting to have healthy hair. I know people who will spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on products that promise to make your hair healthy, shiny, and grow like a weed. Now I am not going to tell you that these products are worthless because many of them do have a lot of validity. In fact I myself like to use them, but before you go out and buy a million products that may or may not work you should focus on fixing the product from the inside out. Here are some minerals that you may want to make sure are in your diet on a daily basis to help your hair grow and stay healthy.

• Try increasing your Calcium intake. You can find calcium in foods like nuts, fish, bean, lentils, and sesame seeds.

• Or Chromium which will helps prevent hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, both of which can cause hair loss. If you eat beef or whole wheat bread this will help your overall daily consumption

• Copper will helps prevent hair loss as well as defects in hair color and structure. Eat green vegetables, whole grains, eggs, chicken and beans. to get your daily dose of copper

• Iodine will helps to regulate your thyroid hormones and prevents dry hair and hair loss so eat foods like Fish, seaweed (seeweed is often found in sushi) kelp, iodized salt, and garlic.

• Iron will help in the Prevenion of anemia and hair loss so eat foods like liver, eggs, fish, chicken, whole grains, green vegetables and dried fruits.

• Magnesium works along with calcium to promote healthy hair growth so eat lots of green vegetables, wheat germ, whole grains, nuts, soy beans, chickpeas and fish.

• Manganese, this is a big one ladies! This will help to prevent slow hair growth so eat whole grain cereals, eggs, avocados, nuts, seeds, beans, peas, fish, meat and chicken.

• Potassium will help with your bodies overall circulation which will promote healthy hair growth so eat foods like avocados, bananas, lima beans, brown rice, dates, figs, dried fruit, garlic, nuts, potatoes, raisins, yams and yogurt.

• Sulfur is a main component to hair’s structure so eat foods like Onions, garlic, eggs, asparagus, meat, fish and dairy products to get more in your diet.

The phenomenon of hair threading is growing pretty fast as a styling technique of choice amongst the urban community. I first learned about the technique from some friends, and when I read a recent post from Afrobella, I thought to share what I know about the process.

What is threading? (from Pantagraph)

This is a natural technique using cotton thread to remove unwanted body hair. It’s most often used for eyebrows, and other areas of the face.

• The threader unwinds a piece of thread, creating a circle and interior hoop, twisting that.

• The threader holds the midpoint of the thread with his/her teeth, and two other points with each hand, creating a tight triangle of crisscrossed thread.

• If the eyebrow is the area being shaped, the client uses both hands to pull skin above and below the eye taut.

• The threader then rolls the twisted part of the thread along the surface of the skin, using a back-and-forth rhythm, and appropriate use of tension, to create a scissoring effect, entwining the hairs and lifting those from the follicles. The precision method allows the stylist to remove a single hair or an entire line of hair. The process takes about five to 10 minutes.

I get so many people who want to know how to wash their cornrows so that they will not frizz as easily. I found this video and thought that this might help some of you out. If you watch the video and think to yourself that you do not have a net like the one displayed in the video then I would suggest using a stocking cap. The basic goal when washing cornrows it to not rub too much or too hard because this will cause premature frizzing. I hope this video was helpful. To video: Read more

Now if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time you are well aware that I think relaxers should be avoided like the plague. Why? They weaken the hair. They tend to make women of color feel as though their natural beauty aint natural enough and finally there are so many other looks that one could wear. But….. If perms are your thing, then I would advise you to at least consider no-lye relaxers. But even they have their issues.

I found a great video of a young lady (TracieMae) in Atlanta going through the process of chopping off her relaxed hair and starting anew. She chronicled her experience at Urbanbella an Apothecary in Atlanta. (My sisters on the west coast don’t know nuthin’ ’bout no apothecary). I would call it brave, but in the comments I saw a woman who went natural due to chemo and thought twice about my choice of words. But none the less I hope this inspires someone considering chopping their processed hair off and starting over.

If you are like any of my clients them I am sure you or someone you know have tried using Kanekalon hair and after a day or so those braids were itching like no body’s business! You didn’t want to take them out because they were either too cute or you spent too much money on them….maybe both.

Well if this is your problem here is a tip for you. Take your Kanekalon hair out of the pack and place it in a sink-ful of warm water mixed with 1 cup of distilled vinegar for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes have passed you should see a thin layer of film on the surface of the water. This will be the irritant that was causing the irrtation. Take the hair out of the water and let dry. If you are going to a shop to have your hair done it is best to do this the day before you get your hair braided because this will allow time for the hair to dry.

Wavy – locks of hair have loose “s” shape without ever creating the shape of an “o”. The bends tend to infrequent, only occurring about every 1 inch or greater.

Kinky – locks of hair have a zig-zag “z” pattern without ever creating the “o” of Coily hair. The bends are very small and frequent.

Coily-curly – locks of hair have a defined “o” shape” looped into a corkscrew affect with curly diameter approximately 3/8” and larger.

Coily-kinky – locks of hair are curled very tightly into an “o” shape with a diameter of 1/8” 1/4’’.

Its great to see the ladies of Danity Kane getting their cheese on in front of the camera. As for their hair, I’m liking all of them. Well all of them except… my mother taught if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say nuthin about D. Woods. I just have not been able to understand why her hair is having a scezophrenic battle. Don’t get me wrong the style is unique, but I think her face could be better suited with a short cut. Just my two, what do you think?

I count 4 weaves, all with varying degrees of success. I wish their album the best of luck as the girls seem to have genuine spirits.   Regardless of what I may say about their current look it is light years ahead of their pre-platinum days.

That’s not Aubrey, its an impostor.

Yikes, thank God for stylist.