What to Do with Bad Hair

Coming from someone with the naturally somewhat curly hair from hell and since I have been a stylist for 20 plus years, I know what bad hair is. Half of my hair is waving and other parts are curly and well, it makes for a huge mess most every day. But believe it or not I thank God for my hair everyday. At least I have hair after all that I do it trying to get it to do what I want.

When you are stuck with a head of hair that has it’s own mind you need to figure out what to do to make it work. Make it submit to your needs and wants. I am here to give you a few simple tips.

Perms- people will tell you that your hair is gorgeous the way it is but you have to live it. People who have naturally curly hair take heed to what I say about perms. Do it. Just remember that you hair will snap down to at a minimum two sizes smaller than the rod they use in your hair. So go bigger. The first perm solution breaks down the bonds in your hair making them pliable. The second one reforms them to the shape of the rod. So if the shape is the size of a pencil on naturally curly hair or even slightly wavy hair, you will end up with the size of toothpick. To decide on a good size for you hair, straight curly or whatever, you need to remember that your hair is like an electrical cord. It will only bend so far in a loop before it pops straight again. So to do the test on what size you should get- take a small section of your hair and put your fingers about 4 inches apart, if it’s long enough, if not just do the best you can. Then without letting go try to make a loop in your hair. Did you see it pop straight? The smallest perm rod you should use is the one that is the same size of that loop just before it popped straight. You curly haired people need to go a size to two sizes larger.

What the perm will do for your hair is break it down so that you can control it instead of it controlling you. People will try to tell you not to damage your hair, but some hair really needs it to make it easier to handle.

Shampoos and Conditioners-If you have just had a perm they usually tell you to wait three days to wash your hair, that is myth now. If you had a perm and the stylist for some God awful reason could not use the second solution, your hair would still be ok. I have actually done it on very fine hair. I rinsed out the first solution and the hair was very fragile so I left the rods in and sent the girl home, telling her to not take the rods out and return the next day. She did. Then I gently removed the rods and misted her hair with the second solution, let it sit for 7 minutes then rinsed her hair. She had gorgeous curls that anyone would be jealous of.

How I judge the washing component after a perm is by looking at the curls themselves. If they are strong and bounce back up when I pull one down, then you can wash it the next day. If they are a little weak then depending how weak I would tell you two to three days. Your stylist is telling three days to be safe. I have told people with very long heavy hair to wait up to a week to wash their hair. It’s like having a broken arm, the more broken and fragile it the longer you should wait to use it, but it’s only sprained then you can let it rest over night and then use it all you want. You would need to judge your own hair since I am not there or ask your stylist if your curls are strong.

Also, the shampoo should only be used on the scalp to remove dirt that has settled. The shampoo molecule has a head and a tail to it. One end likes dirt and the other likes water. When you scrub your scalp you are removing the any settle dirt or oil and then when you rinse the water grabs the molecule with the dirt attached and it pulls it down your hair, gathering any dirt that is on the hair shaft. When you scrub all of your hair you are removing the natural oils that make it shiny and soft. If your hair is long then you only want to wash every few days.

Conditioner should be applied to the ends of the hair to replace oils that have been lost. You should be able to feel where your hair is driest and apply the conditioner mostly through there. There are a few a types of conditioners you can buy so lets clear that up really quickly.

Moisture makes your hair soft so if you have rough hair then you want to use a moisture conditioner but not every day. You can add too much moisture and make your hair limp. Your protein bonds in your hair make your hair strong and springy, so for limp hair you need a conditioner with some protein in it like a reconstructing conditioner. But not every day, too much can cause the hair to become brittle. Detanglers are just conditioners that help to fill the hair shaft where it has missing natural oil or where the hair has been roughed up from heat or abuse. The new conditioners that are out that make your hair smooth and say that they cure splits ends, well, there is no cure for split ends, what they are doing is coating your hair shaft with waxes or silicone and it’s like band aid. They won’t hurt the hair but extended use can cause your natural oils to be wasted, that is why your hair started to look oily. Use a little bit of baking soda with your shampoo to strip the build up off occasionally, that will help. Detanglers can be used everyday, they have no effect on the moisture or protein levels in the hair.

The best way to have good hair naturally is to drink water and eat right. Your hair is your bodies natural wasted product, same with your nails. All the vitamins and protein your body doesn’t use to run itself used to make your hair and nails. You can take a vitamin called Biotin and it will help your hair and nails grow faster and along with drinking enough water, you will have beautiful hair.

Product- First of all there are two kinds of product that you can use to style your hair after the shower. There are products that you use to style the hair which say that you should apply them to the hair while it is wet. The second are finishing products that you should use after your hair is done to hold it in place. Well, I am going to break all those and tell you what you should really do with them.

The styling products that say apply to wet hair before drying, yea right. Your hair is full of water and you are going to take a product that you spent way too much money on and put it in your hair. What you really need to know is the manufacturer wants you to spend more money on their product so they tell you to use it that way so that you will need more. When you put that product on wet hair you are diluting it with the water that is in your hair and most of it is dripping off. Also, how can you get that product to stick to your hair when any room you would have in your hair is already filled with water. Your hair is like a sponge. Yes, it will absorb just about anything, when it’s not already full. Try using a sponge that is already filled with water, I am sure already have. It will only pick up so much water. That is how your hair works. What you really want to do is dry your hair until it is barely damp and then apply your product. When you style it after that you will see a completely different reaction. The hair can actually absorb the product and you will need less of the product to get it to work. Work with the product to figure out just how much of it you really need. Start with small amount because you can always add more. The finishing products obviously should be used to finish and you may not even need them once you learn to use the styling products properly.

Hopefully these tips will send you on your way to loving your hair. There are so many things to teach people and every head of hair is different. The best thing you can do is get to know it, don’t hate it. Work with it. You are the only one who has to deal with your hair, learn to figure out what it needs and how to get it to listen. If you have any more questions or would like some advice be sure to look me up, you can find me on the net under HM Weimar or leave a comment with this article.