Natural Hair Crush: 'This is Us' Star Susan Kelechi Watson

I recently binge watched 'This is Us' and let me tell you, that show is amazing. I haven't experienced such a range of emotions while watching a T.V show in such a long time. It deals with real life issues, the acting is impeccable and it keeps you guessing.

So for those that watch/watched it; have you noticed how often Raymond's wife, Beth(Susan Kelechi Watson), switches her hair up?  I sure did and loved every bit of it. Loved it so much that I am dedicating this post to her.

Let's take a look at some of her beautiful hairstyles:

Laid back puff

I Need a Relaxer, My Hair is Shedding?

What is Shed Hair?

Shed hair is hair that has reached the end of its growing cycle and naturally falls from the scalp along with its tiny, white "root or bulb" attached. 

I never understood what people meant by, "I can tell I need a relaxer because my hair is shedding more".
How does not putting a chemical on your hair and sometimes scalp make you shed more?

My theory is this:

• Their hair is  breaking from the line of demarcation. They see long strands of hair and assume that it could be shed hair
• They are experiencing Seasonal Shedding- There is a time of the year where people shed more then normal
• Their shed hair is not falling out like normal because it is getting stuck in their curly new-growth so when combing, more hair comes out
• In some cases they could have an allergic reaction to a new product they tried..which resulted in hair loss (which could sometimes look like shed hair)

My point: Getting a relaxer because you are experience breakage at the line of demarcation, is valid.
I always suggest to do a protein treatment a week before then relax(be at least 8 weeks post). But to get a relaxer because of shedding, isn't the solution. Shedding and a Relaxer has no correlation.

*I did a blog post on ways to slow down excessive shedding in the past, but I will do another post shortly
*You can search for the older post using the search bar

20 Random Hair Facts

For your reading pleasure.... :-D
I will touch on some of the facts in future posts.


Fact #1
Most people have around 100,000 hair follicles in their heads. You cannot increase them. You are born with it and no products can make it grow more follicles. However some people might have more due to genetic reasons. Some examples
Red heads - 90,000 hair follicles

Black hair - 110,000 hair follicles

Blond hair - 130,000 hair follicles

Fact #2
Your hair turns gray because the pigment cells known as melanin in your hair follicles are not working properly. The hair bulb usually degrades in production as you age or when you are stressed.

Stress is a major cause of hair loss and can cause Telogen Effluvium.
Fact #3
Forty percent of women by the time they reach menopause will have female pattern (hereditary) hair loss. Over 50% of men by age 50 have male pattern hair loss.- Ummm scary! haha

Fact #4
As you age, the ANAGEN or growing phase shortens. If someone with a five-year ANAGEN can grow to a length of 60 cm before it enters the shedding phase. If their ANAGEN period drops to three years as they age, their hair will then grow only to shoulder length before it falls out or is brushed out.

Fact #5
Usually people will only notice that you are balding when you have lost almost 50% of the hair in your scalp. When you reach that stage, it might be too late to recover back all your hair.

Fact #6
When you are born, you have around 1000 follicles per square centimetre. When you reach 25, it falls to around 600 per square centimetre but can vary depending on the individual. By your mid 30s to 40s, your hair follicles will reduce to around 300 or less. After that, there won't be any significant drop.

Fact #7
Each follicle can grow many hairs over a lifetime: on average, each grows a new hair around twenty times.

Fact #8
When your hair is wet, it can increase its length by up to 30% and still return to normal length after it's dried. If you stretch your hair too often (while wet) you can damage it and cause breakage to the hair shaft.

Fact #9
Depending on the individual, the hair follicle can grow up to 1 metre in length before it stops growing.

Fact #10
Waist-length hair is 80-90 cm long, and will have taken about seven years to grow. Shoulder length hair will have taken only about three years. Thus only people with long ANAGEN times can expect to grow their hair down to the waist.


Fact #11
If you damage your scalp, your hair follicle will start a new growing phase. Cuts and wounds will cause the hair to grow around them provided that there is no scarring in the hair follicle

Fact #12
The width of the hair shaft is determined by your genes, and is not affected by anything you do to your skin or to the hair shaft itself.

Fact #13
Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body.

Fact #14
Your hair is made of keratin, the same ingredient as your fingernails. Keratin is a type of protein generated by your body's stem cells.

Fact #15
A strand of hair has a thickness of roughly 0.02 - 0.04 mm, so you'll need around 20 to 50 hair strands combined together for 1 milimetre of thickness.

Fact #16
Your hair's strength is equilavent to a wire of iron. You can only rip it by applying a force of approximately 60kg after stretching it to about 70%

Fact #17
Usually East Asians hair are often very straight and always black in color. Caucasions have the most varied form of hair. They range from the fair-skinned people of north-west Europe to the widely varying peoples of the Indian subcontinent. Their hair may be either wavy or straight, and the diameter varies widely too. The color ranges from black to a pale blond that is almost white, including just about every possible shade in between. People with African origins usually have black and curly hair. It tends to be dry and woolly. - Not feeling that word..haha

Fact #18
You can't repair split ends on your hair. The only way to get rid of it is by cutting it.

Fact #19
If you pluck out one of your hair, a new hair will start to grow from the hair follicle.

Fact #20
Hair loss by changing shampoo is one of the most asked hair facts.Shampooing frequently can result in more hairs in the TELOGEN phase to fall out faster especially if the hair is shampooed more energetically than usual. This is why, whenever there is a change in the shampoos or conditioners, or a move to new brushes, loose hairs are often found for two or three days after the change.
The extra hair loss has nothing to do with the product and will settle in a day or two. Usually, you will find that the hair that you lost will start to grow back almost immediately.

http://www.surviving-hairloss.com/Hair_Facts.html

African American Hair Care Myths

Today is just re-posting day...haha.
I saw this on http://www.sizta2sizta.com/ and wanted to share this with my readers. Many people have misconceptions about black hair care. To me, knowledge is key. The same way I would study for school, research a new place to live, research new ways to improve my job performance...is the same way I research hair care. Don't believe everything you hear/read...even from me...research it and you will sure find out if it's the truth or not

Pink= Notes by Ms. D

Myths about black hair care

Myth # 1 - Black women can't grow long hair.

That is simply not true! All hair including African American hair grows on average of 1/2 inch per month.
I have seen soooo many women with my hair texture (4B/4C- Very kinky) with bra-strap or longer hair on forums such as www.longhaircareforum.com, www.forum.blackhairmedia.com and even in my family(mom, aunts and cousins). It is possible for us to grow long hair! It just takes finding the right products, regimen and knowledge to get us there. While some people just "got it" and have had long hair all their life...for those who haven't..it's time to make some changes to get you to that point.

Myth # 2 - There are pills and greases that can grow hair.

Although there are many different vitamins & minerals that can add great benefits to the health of your hair "there is no such thing as a magic pill or potion for hair growth."
Vitamins help aid in growth, but just because its growing doesn't mean it's healthy. As said before it takes more then just taking vitamins and using a certain product to grow healthy hair..

Myth # 3 - cutting your hair every six weeks or keeping your ends trimmed makes your hair grow

Ladies, although this is what we've been taught it's not true. I personally put this to the test by not clipping my hair for a year and my hair grew!
If the ends are healthy and not split..to keep a straight edge look only a minor dust(1/4 inch or less) is needed.

Myth # 4 - If you don't cut your hair or keep your ends trimmed they will split all the way up you hair shaft and break off.

Again, not true. In fact when hair splits it’s on an angle it can't split evenly all the way up to the scalp. I also tested this theory by not clipping my ends for a year and when I had the hair dresser clip my ends she stated" your ends look great, I don't see any split ends."
If you do have split ends though.....cut them! I don't see why people would hang on to them..there are ways to cut off the split ends with out losing much length..(I will do a post on that soon)
Also the poster probably didn't have split ends because she reduced heat usage, stayed in protective styles and moisturized her ends daily

Myths # 5 - Black women with good hair, curly or fine hair have a better chance at growing their hair longer than someone with bad hair.

There is no such thing as good hair/bad hair! All hair is good hair! Ladies how long are we going to perpetuate this stereotype handing it down generation after generation to our little girls?
RIGHT!

Shedding - It happens to the Best of Us

Shedding:  Everyones hair sheds. Its a natural process.Shedding occurs when your hair reaches the end of its growing cycle and it naturally falls from the scalp with it's tiny white "bulb" attached to it. The bulb is not the actual hair root, but its the base of the root. See, for every shed hair another hair replaces it. So, if the actual root came out with the hair, you would not be able to produce hair from that same place on your scalp anymore. If a hair does not have that white bulb, then its a broken hair. You will notice that shed hair is usually longer then a broken piece of hair.

Ways to Slow down Shedding
If you see shed hair, don't worry. On average a person sheds about 50-100 strands of hair a day. Now, I think that's a lot of hair to be losing. I personally do not want to lose that much hair in a day. The best way I can help with extreme shedding, is with Garlic!

Garlic is a rich source of a number of vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin B-1 or thiamine and vitamin B-6. Vitamin C promotes collagen growth, makes the hair roots stronger and thus prevents breakage of hair. Thiamine helps to improve the blood circulation in the scalp and which is vital for hair regrowth

Garlic Supplements: Garlic Vitamins are said to decrease the amount of shedding. Do a search on it and you will see a tremendous amount of testimonials on the use of Garlic Supplements.


Garlic Shampoos-- Nutrine Garlic Shampoo is a good one that can help reduce the amount of shedding. If you use this once a week the shedding would decrease drastically. (I have not used this, but heard of many good results)

The Forgotten Step

I was asked when and why Porosity control should be used. The reason why I use it, is to ensure my hair retains moisture when (deep) conditioning. Sometimes I would rinse my hair out with ACV/water(see below) or Roux Porosity Control Conditioner after deep conditioning. Either way works fine for me. I always make sure to use it a week before I get a touch-up and a week after.(I should be using it after the chemical process, but I always forgot to bring it to the salon). I probably use it once a week.
Here's a little info I got on Hair Porosity from associatedcontent.com. Sorry this is long, but I wanted to get all the information available.

What is Hair Porosity?Low or "poor porosity" refers to hair that does not readily absorb moisture and resists chemical treatments. Poor porosity is not exactly a problem that should cause you great concern. It is, however, ideal to have hair that falls somewhere in the middle of the two porosity extremes: hair with good porosity that retains moisture well and accepts chemical treatments.


The following questions will help you determine whether or not your hair is overly porous:Does your hair continuously soak in moisture without ever actually feeling moisturized?
Is your hair chronically dry despite your best conditioning efforts?
Does your hair appear/feel puffy, frizzy, swollen, or tough to the touch?
Does your hair have a natural, reddish toned cast to it that is usually more pronounced in spring and summer time?
Does your hair hold styles and curl well?
If you've answered yes to any of the above hair characteristics, and these characteristics appear more pronounced toward the ends of your hair, you may have a problem with your hair's porosity level.Porosity refers to the hair's ability, or inability, to absorb water or chemicals deep into the cuticle layers and cortex. All hair is naturally porous and somewhat permeable to water.