Month: February 2020

This title sounds very dramatic, and you are probably wondering, “Why does Janae need to talk about her hair routine?” Well, I need to describe it because let me tell you…it takes A LOT of time. For me to have a really good hair day I start as early as I can so that by the time I have to leave my dorm and go somewhere my hair is on point. So this week, I will take you through my full wash-day hair care routine (with pictures included).

To start off, I will describe a typical week’s worth of my hair “tendencies”. I typically only wash my hair once a week, maybe twice, and by wash I mean shampoo my hair. I do this for multiple reasons, one being my hair is on the dry side so shampoo is not the best for my hair so I try to minimally use it. Another reason is that I usually have different styles I progress through during the week according to the state my hair is in at the moment, so I do not always wear it out and therefore do not need to re-do my hair routine more than once. For visual learners, my progression of hairstyles goes from out (fro-styled), to ponytail, to bun , and then to bun/ponytail in a hat throughout the week.

Janae’s Official Hair Routine:

Step 1: Wash and Detangle

I start off the routine by washing my hair. Nothing is special in this, I do the same thing everyone does, except I make sure to use paragon and sulfate free shampoo and conditioner because it is better for my hair! (Sulfate and paragons strip hair of natural oils, which my hair tends to lack naturally)

After I shampoo and condition my hair, I detangle my hair with a Denman brush, which helps to detangle and define my curls. This step is usually the longest for 2 reasons: 1) My hair is knotted after a weeks’ worth of not brushing my hair, since I can only brush it while wet, and 2) I have to continuously re-wet my hair and apply leave-in conditioner. So I’ll start the process by separating my hair into two sections, then continue by wetting each section, applying lead-in conditioner, and brushing through each section separately. This part, depending upon how tangled it is, takes anywhere from 15-25 minutes.

After I am fully detangled, I place my hair in the way I want it to dry, so I middle part my hair, and then separate out my bangs as shown in the picture below. After that, I put in 3-4 drops of oil on my scalp to help my hair maintain moisture and look less dry. Then, I apply the rest of my products I need for styling. I generously apply some type of curl cream (Cantu Coconut Curling Cream), and then scrunch in a minimal amount of gel (Cantu Define & Shine Custard). Usually after that, I am pretty much done with my hair!

Lastly, I have two options for drying my hair. If I do not have anywhere to be the next 3-4 hours (how long it takes for my hair to completely dry), then I will allow my hair to air dry. If I have somewhere to be, I will diffuse my hair. Diffusing is the same as blow drying, but it has an attachment that helps to reduce frizz and is not as destructive to curl patterns as a regular blow dryer would be. I use low fanning and cool air, so this can usually take about an hour and a half to make my hair at least 80% dry.

That is the end of my routine! It all (without diffusing) takes about 45 minutes to an hour to style my hair, but in the end it is very worth it. This post may be a little boring but it is a big part of my life, so I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me!

 

 

I would say I am pretty healthy. During high  school and the summers, I would work out all the time. I was consistent and did not have much trouble getting to the gym. Since coming to college, the story has been different.

Outside of being busy with clubs, homework, studying or just being exhausted, there is one small, stupid reason I am wary of the gym on certain days. The simple reason being my hair. I know, it sounds dumb, but there is logical reasoning as to why that is. So when I do a full wash-day routine, it takes a good hour to  wash, detangle, and style my hair. This does not account for the excessive amount of time it takes just to dry (diffusing – 1.5/2 hours, air dry – 3 hours minimum).

I would never want to workout because if I put my hair up and sweat a great deal, then my hair would not be able to maintain its’ best form as it had done all day before. Not only that, in college you are CONSTANTLY surrounded by people. You use the bathroom, get food, get water; anything you do requires you to see people, therefore, I like to look somewhat decent. This may all sound super narcissistic, but it is honestly more attributed to getting the full use out of my hair before I have to wash it, rather than me just trying to look good all the time.

It turns out I am not the only one to think this way. According to reuters.com, hair care can be a barrier to regular exercise for some black women. The fear of “sweating out a hairstyle” is a major concern for these women, especially since these hairstyles can be very pricey and time consuming. For example, to get box braid, service alone can cost anywhere from $100-$300  on top of buying the hair for the braids. Then, the installation of the braids can take up to 4-8 hours. In the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, it was reported that a survey was taken of 62 health providers in the department of family medicine at Ohio State, and it stated that 3/4 of those primary care providers do not talk to African American women about their hair or the barrier between hair and exercise. Although hair was not talked about,  the “overwhelming majority” of the providers did talk about the importance of exercise to these patients. Generally, a lot of doctors are not aware of this barrier to exercise, therefore, the conversation or tools that would help to alleviate this problem are not discussed often.

I personally do not think it is the job of the doctor to know things like this. If the health of the patient is at extreme risk and answers are needed, then this route could be explored as a possible contributing factor. Though not necessary, it would be nice if doctors were knowledgeable about little things that could lead to health risks, even though they may be culturally based. Overall, I think subjects like this are important to know in order to understand other people as much as possible. It reduces disconnect and misunderstandings that come along with interacting with other cultures and subcultures.

 

If you search anything relating to curly hair products or routines on the internet, you are bound to hear about the big three in the curly hair industry: Deva curl, Shea Moisture and Cantu. To me, these are the leading curly hair products brands and by far the most popular on the market. When starting your curly hair journey or even looking into information on curly hair, you start to learn that one of these three will work for you (I use Cantu!)

Recently, one of these companies has been under the spotlight with allegations that instead of helping your hair like they promote, it has actually been drying out and damaging hair. This is such a big shock, since within the last ten years, Deva Curl has been a household name to those with curly hair, and is honestly the most popular brand in the industry. There are a ton of influencers online that promote Deva Curl and is a big part of their online presence. Within the past two weeks, the controversy mentioned before has taken over the internet, and was even trending on twitter. It all started online with YouTuber Ayesha Malik, a beauty influencer who has promoted DevaCurl products in the past. She made a video called,“Why I Stopped Using DevaCurl,” and alleged to having severe hair and scalp issues due to her use of the products. After this, other influencers started to voice their complaints, and even stylists have given  their opinions on the products.

This is a big deal because one of the golden rules of picking curly hair products is to read ingredients. You always learn that you must read the ingredients to prevent the same problems that are being alleged against Deva Curl. One usually does not buy products with any sulfates, parabens, silicones, alcohol, etc. Deva Curl is notorious for not having any of these, specifically no sulfate shampoo and conditioner, which in my opinion is their bread and butter.

So why is this important? Besides the scary thought of products damaging and ruining someone’s hair, I think it speaks to the false trust people tend to build with companies and products purely due to word of mouth. I have always viewed Deva Curl as a trustworthy and safe brand because of not only its’ popularity, but the mass amounts of influencers with gorgeous curly hair that promoted it. In a less catastrophic way, it reminds me of Fyre Festival and how false promoting can lead to people believing in anything. Especially since the curly hair industry is just on the rise, it is hard to not trust these brands that so many influencers promote. I always follower and look up beautiful girls with beautiful hair and immediately go to their social media pages to see what their curly hair routine is.

In order for us to move on and get past this, we must understand the importance of doing our own research. Beauty products are constantly in the media due to someone having a bad reaction or experience with products. As consumers, it is our job to research and invest in companies that are actually trustworthy. We should not invest in those that capitalize on a big audience rather than having quality products.

As I have progressed in my hair journey, I have always wondered how I would be able to do my own hair routine in different situations. I mean it is a privileged way to think of things, since I am sure that hair is the last thing anyone should be worried about in these instances, but I often wonder what I would do in the scenario. I thought this while thinking about my anthropology professor’s 5 years in a hunter-gatherer society in Tanzania, or when my mom went through bootcamp for the military, or even while watching incarceration shows. I know there are ways around this, but I am honestly not too sure. For this blog I decided to explore how hair care in prison is treated ranging from the washing and styling process to how hair cuts are attained, and more.

What originally shaped my thought process was the Netflix show Orange is the New Black. A woman by the name of Sophia in the show ran a hair shop where many of the inmates would pay or trade commissary items to get their haircut. For this particular example, the salon aspect was unrealistic and many of the inmates’ hair was not in the natural state it would be in a regular prison. The leader of the hair team of the show told New York Magazine that much of the ‘unkempt’ looks on the show of the hair of inmates was still very moisturized and kept up with in order to protect the actresses’ hair. Appropriately for this blog, I will delve into how black women maintain hair care while incarcerated. Even though some of the practices in the show are not realistic, I will be referencing some hairstyles shown, since those tend to be a somewhat depiction of what the hairstyles may look like.

A very common way to keep up with hair is to have cornrows, or variations of braids, etc. The up keep is much more manageable and it is a  protective style for their hair.

Also hairstyle wise, finger coils and bantu knots are also very common for similar reasons, with styling and maintenance being fairly easy.

Another adaptation inmates have found is using kool-aid as a hair dye. Using hot water, hair conditioner, and unsweetened Kool-aid, one can easily make a paste that will temporarily dye hair.

For styling hair to just be in its most natural state, gel is often the go to. I am not sure if the availability of gel is dependent upon each prison’s rules and policies, but a way around using actual gel is using strawberry gel and cocoa butter. Not only does it have an amazing smell, but it has a nice hold. The stickiness of the gel is combated with the cocoas butter to create a texture that actually works.

These innovative ways to work around strict prison rules shows how unconventional situations can create resilience. Though hair is not the most important aspect to focus on in prison, I am sure that focusing on themselves provides an outlet and also a sense of hope, since some can be tedious in situations, and it can be hard to maintain positivity.