Holding It Down

Does anyone have memories of those hairstyles back in the days where your hair is held up in a bun, slicked down with a gel and then a Bohemian-like wavy extension is attached to the bun? The general name for that style was ‘telephone wire’ or ‘telephone curls’.

Ranking second to relaxers, those gels are another episode of drying and moisture stripping agents in the hair industry.  Regular gels and spritz gels have the same drying effects but with a gel like the Ecostyler gel and a host of other gels like it, our minds can be put to rest.

Ecostyler Vs Spritz gel

Where am I headed with this? A fortnight ago, I was styling (finger coiling) a client’s hair and she requested that I used a spritz gel so she could wear the style for some weeks. She went further to say that the last person who styled her hair used a regular gel and that the hair lasted 8 weeks.

At that point, I saw the need for a little hair chat and  here’s what I told her;

1. Regular gels contain hair unfriendly alcohols. If you missed the post on unfriendly alcohols, click here

   

   Drop this

   

   Use Ecostyler, it is available in so many other ranges and colors

2. They strip hair of its moisture leaving it dry, tacky, itchy and more prone to breakage.
3. Don’t wear natural hairstyles for too long. This is due to the fact that natural hairstyles don’t permit you to wash/remove buildups while you still have the style on.
4. If you lack the time or resources to style your natural hair weekly biweekly, opt for protective styles that allow you to wash and tend to your hair while protecting your ends but don’t wear a protective style for longer than 6-8weeks.
5. Getting regular washes/co-washes rejuvenates the scalp and accelerates hair growth. We all need water to survive after all.

How do you hold your hair down?

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