Its All About Protection

So the fall months are here and its important to protect your curls from the harsh cold air. I have tried my hand at sew-ins and braids in the past but my go to style protective style for this season are wigs. I think wigs get a bad rap because people don't take the time to find natural looking ones that look just as good as sew-ins or quick weaves. The don't have to be expensive human or remy hair wigs they can be inexpensive regular synthetic lace fronts and still look fab (and as a college student I'm all about inexpensive). Wigs have all the style and versatility of any other protective styling without the commitment to a certain hair style for weeks or months. You can just braid up your hair for a few days or however long you like, and when you don't feel like wearing the wig just take it off, undo your braids and rock that fro.  Not to mention when you go to bed at night you can take the wig off, you cant take a sew-in off to go to bed. Since your hair is already braided up from being under a wig you can just spray your hair with a little water, rub on some oil to seal it,  put a satin bonnet on and hop in bed. No mess, no fuss. Now I'm not down playing other protective styles i just think wigs are a bit easier for me because I like to wash my hair weekly and switch up hair styles often. But do what works best for you. As long as those ends are protected, and you remember to always moisturize and seal, you're doing it right. Just because you have a protective style does not mean that you can neglect your hair. If that's the case the protective style would probably do more harm than good.  Here are a few of my protective styles over the past year.

This was my first sew in EVER!! I used 2  of the 12"packs of the the Cuticle Remy XQ. I got this hair off of ebay.  

This was my second sew in. I used the Virgin Indian  wavy hair from http://www.hairaddictonline.com/ .
I used 12" on top and 12-16 for the rest of my head. 

                                                 

Meet Drew! This is a curly lace front made by BESHE. I loved this wig. She is really big so if you aren't ready for some BIG hair then you are not ready for Drew. The longer you have her the bigger and more natural looking she gets . You can find Drew at http://www.hairwigharlem.com/beshe-synthetic-lace-front-wig-lw-drew.html

sell hello to my fro! This is a wig I made myself using kinky comber wefted hair. I just glued the tracks onto a    dome cap and called it a day. The company offers pre-made wigs but at the time of my order they were out of the wigs so I  just get the wefted hair and made a unit myself, I think it turned out well. 

Meet Estelle! Isn't she lovely. I wanted a change form curly hair so I could fight the urge to straighten my natural kinks. She looks amazing but be warned she does tangle and shed quite a bit. 

Journey to the Center of the Curl

Hair anatomy:
         You would think with all the products, vitamins, and all around hype about hair that the structure of the hair would be more complicated than what it actually is. Lets start from the inside out beginning with the Medulla. This structure is only present in large thick hair. The Medulla doesn't serve much of purpose. The next layer us the cortex. This layer is one of the more important ones. This is what contains the pigment, and gives the hair strand its color. It also hold the moisture and is responsible for the strength and elasticity of the hair. It is important to keep the hair moisturized in order to keep the cortex in good health. Try products that are water based and contain things like hydrolyzed proteins to provide moisture and strength to the hair strands. The outer most layer of the strand is the Cuticle. Much like the cuticle of the nail its main purpose is protection. The cuticle protects the delicate protein structures within the cortex. The cuticle is is not one long smooth covering although it may feel that way when you run your fingers along the length of your hair . The cuticle is actually  more like shingles. one layer upon another. These layers can lift up when doing different things such as washing, or styling the hair. If the cuticle is not laid down it can result in loss of moisture, causing the hair to become dry and brittle.  It is important to use styling products have a slightly acidic pH ( between 4.0-7.0) that is close to the pH of hair to lay down the cuticle. There are products that are pH balanced, but if you are looking for a more natural approach try adding aloe vera juice/gel to your products to bring down the pH. It is also important to seal in the moisture. You can so this by so once you have added your pH balanced products make sure to add an oil. I personally am a fan of coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil. There are tons of other options out there for every one though you just have to find the oil that works best for you. Along with moisturizing and sealing it is also important to manipulate the hair as little as possible. This will protect the cuticle from wear and tare and also allowing you to retain more length in the long run. Try protective styling or if that isn't for you try low manipulation hair styles, like a bun or puff. Just keep you hands out of your hair as much as possible to prevent split ends and breakage. I know its hard, but its possible