SUAVE ROSEMARY MINT DUO

I recently purchased this shampoo and conditioner since I'm a PJ (product junkie) and wanted something for my itchy scalp. The shampoo does have sulfates, which I don't like very much, but it left my hair nice and soft. (Click here to see my YouTube page for info)The conditioner contains silicones but is also nice and left my hair feeling moist and conditioned. Each one of the duo was under $3 for a large size (32 oz.) product. I would still recommend using a good moisturizer on your hair after shampooing and conditioning with these products or similar products if your hair is in it's natural afro state simply because most shampoos and conditioners robs the hair of needed moisture. Suave and White Rain products are quite inexpensive if you are on a budget or just want to save money on hair products. I haven't CW (conditioner wash) with the conditioner yet, but plan on doing so in the near future. I have been perusing quite a number of websites/pages for info on making a moisturizer and have made a nice moisturizer for my hair that really works out very well. I will post information for this moisturizer in a future post, so please check back for this and other great information for your hair.

*Note: Information for this product says Star Magazine beauty editors named Suave Professionals® Rosemary Mint Shampoo “Best Shampoo” for the 2010 Star Beauty Awards!

My Strands

I tried to take a photo of a few of my strands, but my digital camera is not that good, but I'm posting the photo just the same. The four strands show the different types of hair on my head. As you can see the top strand bends in the "z" angles, which eqauals 4B or 4C hair. The bottom strand has more of a curl pattern to it, namely 4A I believe. In the middle the strands are little "o's", with the left one a little smaller than the right one, again two different types of hair. When I purchase a better camera I will again take photos of different strands of my hair and hopefully the photos will be a little clearer. The hair samples came from the middle and front of my hair. I did not take any from the nape or sides of my hair which I believe is more of a 3C.

Tightly Coiled & Kinky Hair Information--3C thru 4C Hair

Information regarding type 4A thru 4C hair seems to be the most popular on this page. I have looked at other websites and webpages and have come up with additional information for this type of hair. I took information from naturallycurly.com, which is a good website for all types of hair. They have numerous pages filled with all kinds of information about products that work, in their opinion, and products that don't. I still believe you have to try out products for your own hair, because what may work beautifully for one head may not work on your head. In my opinion, hair can be very unforgiving. Too much shampooing, not enough shampooing, too much conditioning or not enough conditioning can have deleterious effects on your hair. And sometimes you can take what you feel is the best care of your hair, only to still end up with damaged and/or unruly "bad" hair days, weeks & months. To look at type 4 hair, you would be led to believe that it is strong and can withstand whatever you would do to it. But because type 4 hair is so fragile, it needs the most moisture of any other type of hair and needs to be handled with care. So without further adieu, below is some good information I got from the web and I hope you will find it of further help:

Type 4: Kinky hair
If your hair falls into the Type 4 category, then it is kinky, or very tightly curled. Generally, Type 4 hair is very wiry, very tightly coiled and very, very fragile. Like Type 3 hair, Type 4 hair appears to be coarse, but it is actually quite fine, with lots and lots of thin strands densely packed together. Healthy Type 4 hair won't shine, but it will have sheen. It will be soft to the touch and will pass the strand test with ease. It will feel more silky than it will look shiny. Oprah, Whoopi Goldberg and the actress Angela Bassett are all Type 4s.

Type 4 hairs looks tough and durable, but looks can be deceiving. If you have Type 4 hair, you already know that it is the most fragile hair around. Why? Type 4 hair has fewer cuticle layers than any other hair type, which means that it has less natural protection from the damage you inflict by combing, brushing, curling, blow-drying and straightening it. The more cuticle layers in a single strand of hair, the more protection it has from damage. Each time you damage your hair — fire up the curling iron, fry it with chemicals – you break down a cuticle layer, robbing your hair of much-needed moisture. I cannot emphasize this enough. It's like taking a wire and bending it again and again. Eventually, it's going to snap and break.

Many women with Type 4 hair rely on chemical relaxers to make hair easier to control. In its natural states, sometimes Type 4 hair doesn't grow very long because every time you comb it, it breaks. (Of course, if you have dreadlocks and never comb them or keep them braided, your hair can and does grow quite long.)

There are two subtypes of Type 4 hair: Type 4A, tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an "S" pattern, much like curly hair; and Type 4B, which has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern (instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z"). Type 4A tends to have more moisture than Type 4B, which will have a wiry texture. But what if your hair has been chemically straightened? How can you tell which subtype you belong to if your hair is relaxed? You'll need at least one inch of new growth to tell. Pull at the roots. If you can see a definite curl pattern, then it's an A, if not, then it's a B.

Type 4 hair can range from fine/thin to wiry/coarse strand texture. Generally, this hair is densely packed to give the appearance of very thick but fragile hair. 4a hair has a clearly visible curl and wave pattern that ranges from pen size curls to pen spring size coils. 4b hair has a tighter wave pattern and kinks of various size. This texture does not exhibit the shine or silkiness of looser type curls, but instead has sheen, and a soft, almost cotton-like feel. As with other types of curly hair, showing the true length can be an extra challenge, as the hair may grow “up” or “out” before starting to hang down. In its unlocked/unbraided state, type 4 hair is known to shrink up to 75% of the actual hair length. With the proper care and technique, type 4 hair is indeed resilient, manageable, durable, growable and easy to control.

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Hair Typing Woes

After my last post I am putting up this one concerning hair typing and why some people are so overly concerned with hair typing and hair typing systems. I just got finished reading some posts on nappturality.com concerning hair typing and thought I would put my two cents in on my own blog. Some people posted comments that said that some people do not know what type of hair they have etc. All heads have multiple hair types and the majority of people have a few different hair types on their heads. I was a bit perplexed to read some of the posts from people who said that people try to "upgrade" the texture of their hair or that they have a different type of hair than what their photo looks like. Who cares?? Hair typing systems are only as an index so you have somewhere to start from to get helpful information to style your hair. Just like it's impossible to count every strand on your head, it's probably almost impossible to exactly type your hair correctly. Other than going to an experienced hair stylist who is educated in hair types, the only way anyone can type their hair is to look at other people's photographs and their self stated hair types and compare your hair to theirs to try to figure out what type of hair you have. If someone believes they have a hair type and you view a photo of their hair and you happen to disagree with the type of hair they say they have, what do you gain from that?? Nothing. Now I wasn't born yesterday and I know that some people will try to "upgrade", that is say they have type 3 hair when in reality they have type 4, but so what? Hair has always been a hot bed of conversation for a long time and probably will be for years to come. As far as I'm concerned, unless you are right there with the person and you can closely examine their hair there is no way you can tell accurately what type of hair someone has. In addition to the type of hair you have to take into consideration the thickness and texture also. There are many people with 4A/B/C type hair who have a baby fine texture and their hair will appear to be more "curly" or "wavy" looking than someone with a thicker or more coarse texture. I have personally cornrowed the hair of a guy who had what appeared to be "good" hair only to have the hardest time trying to cornrown his hair because it was so thick and coarse. I would estimate that he had type 3b/3c hair just looking at it, but it was very very coarse and unruly and difficult to handle. There are people all over the internet who are very concerned with hair, but only in a negative type way. They may have a little curl or wave pattern to their hair, and they believe that if your hair isn't as "nice" as theirs, then something is wrong with your hair. I remember when I was younger having a neighbor hate on my hair because I didn't have the same texture of hair like one of my sister's. I bet that person is reading this blog right now! Hate on hater. My sister has baby fine wavy type hair and me on the other hand have coarse kinky type hair. And what?? This hater had the nerve to tell me I didn't have hair like my sister. SO?????? Well, this hater didn't either! This hater was trying to hate on my hair when the hater's hair was more nappy than mine! Now that's really stupid. I never told anybody that I had my sister's hair. This particular hater was always jealous and envious of me and my family and is to this very day! I bet that same hater and some family members still are using "creamy crack" (relaxers) while they hate on everybody's hair. I personally know people who talk through both sides of their mouths. They will talk a good game about the beauty of natural hair and being Black and so forth, only to get up on their soapbox to crow about their curls & waves, as if the fact that they have what is known in the Black community as "good hair" makes them something they are not. You'll see them with a truckload of Dippity Do on their hair, knowing well they were in that mirror for a whole hour brushing their hair back to slick it down. Don't be a hypocrite. Hair has always and always will be individual. Anyone who wishes to alter their hair to please anyone other than themselves, I feel sorry for. If you are happy with your texture, style, type of hair then that is all that should matter. There will always be people who do not like your hair or hairstyle, but that's their problem and not yours. It's very easy to point the finger at someone and ruminate about their hair, whether you like it or you don't. But at the end of the day it's still your hair and not anyone else's.

4A-4C Tightly Coiled Hair Information

Here is some general information for types 4A thru 4C hair. My hair I believe, is a mixture of 4A, 4B & 3C. The front, crown and middle perimeter of my hair is 4B & 4A. The nape & the sides are 3C. After washing my hair it is tightly coiled and shrunken. I use a lot of conditioner when I conditioner wash because my hair is thick. I comb out my hair in the shower when it it full of conditioner to cut down on damage and hair loss. I use a wide tooth comb to comb out tangles in the shower. I try not to sweat too much about the amount of hair in the comb because sometimes my hair has been braided for a few days before taking it down for a shampoo and conditioner and I know more hair is going to be in the comb if I haven't combed it for a few days. If you want to know more about shed hair in your brush or comb you can pull a few hairs out of either your comb or brush and examine them closely. If you see a little white bulb on the end of the hair strand, then that is natural shedding of your hair and not breakage. What you have to look out for is a lot of short pieces of hair without the white bulb on the end when you comb or brush because that could indicate breakage. And do not be fooled into thinking that because your hair is natural that you will not have breakage. That's a fallacy, that natural hair doesn't break off. If you do start to notice more breakage than usual, then check out what you have been applying to your hair and how you have been handling your hair. You may need to change up your hair routine some to stop breakage. You may need a good trimming of ends also. As I have said before, hair grows differently on each head. Some people have fast hair growth and some slow. How and when you decide to trim your hair depends on the growth and whether you have a lot of split ends and/or damage to your hair. How I trim my hair is I usually twist and trim. I will twist my hair and trim each twist when I finish the twist. Nappturality.com has some good information on Type 4 hair.