How To Care For Color Treated Hair

Hey Divas,

I'm on tv. I do my hair, with heat, five days a week-- and I have color treated hair! Could be a recipe for disaster, and though I do have some breakage, it could be worse. I take preventative measures, like keeping my hair well conditioned, moist, and NEVER laying down without a silk scarf.

I found this Jones Mag interview with celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephens, and she gives some excellent advice for color treated gals.



JONESMAG.COM: What are your top five tips for keeping color-treated hair healthy?

URSULA STEPHENS: First, Increase your conditioning treatments. Your hair need to stay hydrated. On top of a deep conditioner, I usually recommend a leave-in too. Try Motions Nourish Leave-In Conditioner. It’s enriched with natural ingredients like Vitamin E and silk proteins that moisturize strengthen and protect vulnerable hair.

Second, Try to avoid products that contain alcohol.

My third tip would be alternating your chemical processes – don’t relax and color at the same time to avoid breakage.

Fourth, take a break from your flatiron – unless you have a hot date!

And five, try letting you hair air dry – even if it’s only a few times a week, this will help maintain healthy hair.

To read the entire article click here.

Flyness and flat-irons,

Ike

Aron Ranen's Black Hair Documentary... and the history "Blacksploitasian"

African American women have historically had a vexing love-hate relationship with their hair that has translated into a billion dollar ethnic hair care industry. It is no coincidence that the first Black and the first female millionaire was a woman who marketed hot irons, hair relaxers and skin bleaching creme (quiet as its kept) to anxious Black women.

We arrived in America stripped of our clothes, our artifacts, and our customs. We were told that we were ugly. We were taught to hate ourselves in a natural form... though simultaneously touted as sexualized, exotic objects. Black beauty has a baffling history in this country, but no more complex than the history of Black American identity in itself. So, perhaps it is a firmly rooted insecurity (though not a monolithic one) that feeds the industry. How else might we explain that African-Americans are 12 percent of the population and account for 30 percent of all hair care products sold in America, and a whopping 70 percent of hair extensions and weaves sold domestically.

At one point our predilection for hair products was a huge asset to the Black community. Confused by our hair texture and beauty rituals, white companies overlooked the Black hair industry for many years. The Revlons of the world didn' t believe that Black women a worthwhile demographic to sell beauty to. Consequently, Black salons and hair care manufacturers created a thriving internal economy within the Black community that not only created numerous jobs at all levels but also created a space for Black entrepreneurhship and fueled the Black middle class. Money from the Black hair care industry even funded civil rights movement significantly because these were the backers who did not answer in any way to Whites.

So what happened? In the 1970's Corporate America took notice. They recognized a ripe opportunity for financial growth in the cosmetics industry through the Black consumer. They began to buy up small Black owned manufacturers, keeping the Black name, the Black model on the package, and perhaps a few Black executives around for advice. This was the first round of defeat.

The following decade, Koreans recognized the financial opportunity in the distribution of black beauty products. Aided by the American governement's immigration laws and liberal grants supplied to Asian immigrants willing to do business in Black communities, Koreans ultimately gained a monopoly over the distribution and sale of Black hair care products, wigs and hair extensions. Seriously, how many Black owned beauty supply stores are there in your neighborhood? Actually, when is the last time you seen a Black nail technician? Just curious about that one.

Nevertheless, moves were made to gradually block Black business owners from selling Black beauty products. The current market monopoly is identical to the Wal-Mart effect, except there is a deliberate factor of discrimination. Korean owned distribution companies purchase products at a discount from White manufacturers and Korean hair manufacturers (America has blocked the import of hair from China). They in turn sell products and hair whole sale to Korean proprietors which allows them to undercut the price of the products being sold by their African American counter parts. Thus, when a Black woman comes in asking for Dr. Miracle Hair relaxer and it's 75 cents cheaper at the Korean store than it is from the Black owned store, she supports the former. In this way, Black stores are choked out of businesss. I am friends with a couple who owns the only Black owned beauty supply store in the state of Connecticut and they can relate that it is an uphill battle for them to stay in business across the street from two Asian suppliers that arrived in recent years.

As you'll find out, what's happening now is that the few remaining Black manufacturers of products and supplies are being forced out of business as Korean companies copy their formulas, market them, and the distributors stop buying the original.

This is all a devastating phenomena to the Black community because about 90 percent of every dollar we spend on hair products goes OUT of our community. Furthermore, the beauty industry has been a crucial support within the Black economic infrastructure, one that we should fear losing, and eagerly want to regain. Unemployment is twice as high in the Black community as it is in the White community. Poverty and homelessness effects us at a much greater proportion than other groups. When are we going to begin to reform our own communities? The networth of Black America is that of a small country. We should feel obligated to recylce that Black dollar. We should be tired of being tapped. Most of the companie that we give our money to barely (if at all) hire Blacks or support Black business. So why are we so apt to support theirs?

Film maker Aron Ranen created a documentary profiling the Korean monopoly over the distribution of Black hair care products and and the efforts of one new grassroots organization, the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association (BOBSA), to counteract it. It is well done, moving, and worth being watched, discussed, and passed around. (Please email this blog to your girl friends and bring it up in the beauty shop as you wait to get your hair done). Aron felt so strongly about the plight of the Black beauty industry that he posted the entire work on Youtube for public consumption. I've embedded it in it's entireity below. You will be blown away. And next time you pull out your wallet to purchase some Dudley's or Dark and Lovely, please remember the impact that your dollar can make. Be a conscious consumer.

Love,

Ike

part 1


part 2


part 3


part 4 (update)


Purchase a dvd here: www.blackhairdvd.com

Blemishes Be Gone... For women of color

Hey Divas,

So i'm in the middle of taking an arabic exam that will surely add detriment to my class average when I look up upon recognizing a horrible sound. Is that the pitter-patter of raindrops against the window? I can't believe it! There was no sign of rain in New Haven as of an hour prior. Nevertheless, in a classic case of anapaphobia, I dash out of class, trying to outrun the raindrops as I make my way to my dorm room. I am not sucessful. To my disdain, the rain has ruined my 'do revealing the line of demarcation between my natural "pressed" hair and my bone-straight hair extensions.



Ahhh well. I pull out some Kay-Vel's, the best pressing creme ever, and turn up the heat on my electric straightening comb. Meanwhile I sit at my lap top and crank out a quick blog. In the midst of trying to figure out the intentions and logic really of my Sig-O (see "Fly Speak" for definition) I have been meaning to drop a little knowledge on blemish removal.



Now blemishes be they from cuts, scrapes, or acne scarring are tramatic for women of color because they significantly hyperpigment our skin and seem to last forever! I grew up with exzema, a skin disease that can go into remission but never truly goes away. In my adult age I have been able to control it beautifully but it is exacerbated by stress which is a daily reality for me. The stressful holiday season in particular caused a severe break out all over my chest and cleavage area. It was horrific as it left dark scars all over my smooth, almond skin. I was mortified. It was also around the time that my Sig-O and I began seeing each other and I remember wearing high knecks and button up shirts with knecklaces strategically placed to disguise the scarring.



Nevertheless, about a month later I was back wearing my v-necks. Scarring doesn't have to be the ruin of skin or of existance. It's not that difficult to treat, at home too. Most women are just misguided. Most lightening creams offered to women of color contain hydroquinone, a chemical that inhibits the enzyme tyrosinase and thereby restricts the production of melanin. That's right, "bleaching creams" don't literally bleach the skin. They reduce the amount of melanin, or pigment, that your skin can produce. Hydroquinone, found in popular products such as Ambi, does work but there are several caveats to be aware of. First of all, out of all the lightening agents, hydroquinone has the most severe effects if used for a prolongued period of time or on skin too sensitive to it. Furthermore, as it is a dangerous agent, over the counter products can only contain up to 2% hydroquinone which, to be honest, is not all that effective.



Hydroquinone is the most popular bleaching agent, but the least safe and the least effective. Other agents such as azelaic acid, kojic acid, and glabridin in adequate concentrations are more effective than 2% hydroquinone alone (thought kojic acid must be used in moderation) and will often be found in lightening agent in combination with hydroquinone. The best lightening agent on the market now is glabridin. It is the safest and the most effective. Glabridin is actually extracted from licorice and can be found in upscale lightening products such as Godiva, which I use and can attest that it is wonderful.



Please be aware, there is large market for skin lightening products directed towards Black women in Europe, America and the Carribean. Many of these products are cheaper, less effective, and very, dangerous. In fact, most lightening products that you may find in your local beauty store are banned in Africa for having negative, irreversible, potentially lethal effects. If you want a product that works, look for more expensive products that are marketed to other ethnicities such as Indian women, Asians, and Phillipinas (essentially any post-colonial society where there is an aversion to darker skin). This is a sad precaution to have to take but it is necessary. Manufacturers of these skin solutions are simply trying to sell a product. They have no concern about the health of their Black consumers.



Back to removing blemishes. The lightening agent is only half of the solution. The second process is chemical and mechanical exfoliation. Because the topical cream inhibits melanin production in the new skin cells, the goal is to remove old, dead, hyper-pigmented skin and encourage the fast production of new, healthy, and brighter skin cells. This is done in two ways. Mechanical exfoliation involves vigorously rubbing the skin with a pumice and loofah in order to slough away surface layer dead cells. This is good, but not nearly important as chemical exfoliation. Chemical exfoliation involves the application of an alpha-hydoxy (lactic or glycolic acid) or a fruit acid (like vitamin C) to the skin. These products essentially kill the top layer of cells and encourages their rapid replacement. High concentrations of like substances are present in chemical peels. These products are also essential in skin resurfacing (such as removing irritation after a rash or acne break out).



If a woman of color wants to get rid of a blemish she must use a product or products that combine a lightening agent with a chemical exfoliant. The best is glycolic acid. Two products that I use and highly recommend are Black Opal's skin retexturizing complex which contains high levels of glycolic acid and other fruit acids for safe and rapid results and Avene 'Diacneal' which contains 6% glycolic acid adn .1% Retinaldehyde. This product is one of the best on the market but quiet expensive.



If you have blemish prone skin and/or you're trying to get rid of a scar you should also remember to wear sunscreen. I actually wear an SPF 15 on my face year round and increase it (45) in the summer. The sun stimulates melanin production so nothing will work if you don't shield yourself from the sun. Also, while many women of color don't believe that sun can damage Black skin, it can. Prolongued exposure to sunlight increases your chances of developing skin cancer and premature wrinkles and it darkens your blemishes and makes them more difficult to treat. The best beauty remedy is prevention. Begin wearing sunblock today! I recommend Aveeno's Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15.



Lotions and creams that contain shea butter and vitamin E are also a good way to keep hyperpigmentation at bay and quicken your skins recovery. I hope this was helpful. If you have any specific questions feel free to leave them in the comments.



Flyness and funk,



Ike

conquer thinning edges

Hey Divas,

While I was home for the weekend, mom informed me about a wonderful hair solution. The ill-effect of most popular hair styles for women of color are thinning edges: chemical relaxers, pressing, hair extensions, twists, ponytails. Preventing hair loss from around the hairline is a frustrating struggle for many of us, but there is a solution. Pure Vitamin E oil is said to works wonders for restoring growth of the hair line when used in tandem with a style that doesn't put too much stress on the hair. It can be found at most health and beauty supply stores or on-line.

*Vitamin E also banishes blemishes!

-With flyness and funk

IKE