Today is my first blog about the never ending saga of my struggles with the styling of my hair. I guess you could say the only reason why i felt the need to write this blog came about from my experiences and the extreme trauma that i encountered because of my hair as a child, the comments made by my sister about her trials and tribulations about her hair, the comments and struggles i go through with my oldest daughter about her hair, and the comments made about my youngest daughter about her hair by total strangers no less even though she is only 4 months old now!

I guess it is needless to say that if you are a black woman in these united states of america, you have had at least one day a month where you have lamented over the way your hair looks. I know I have that day at least twice a week.  I sometimes have nightmares about all of the times that I was teased as a child, not because I was bald headed or had short hair like some of the other outcast girls in my elementary school, but because of the way it was styled and how thick it was.  I also have nightmares of the times that it would take my mother at least 30 minutes to “take down” my hair because it was in braids. She would then wash it in the kitchen sink several times while I hope aginst hope that I wouldn’t drown from all of the water running down my face and hope my eyes didn’t burn out and become permenantly blind from all of the soap in my eyes. Then came the really scarry part, ( dun dun dun!!!) the part where my mom towel dries my hair and decides to try to pull a comb trough my wet, kinky, non relaxed, hair so she can braid it. Not only does she decide to do this while it is wet, instead of beginning at the tips of the hair and working her way up, which would be the less painful route, she always decided to begin at the root of the hair, by the scalp and pull the comb straight down through every kink and tangle!!!  All the while, she’s demanding that I be still as a statue the entire time she is inflicting this torture on me!!!  I would have to sit through this for at least one hour until she finishes the artwork she has decided needs to go into my head. I would then have to try my best to sleep without my head touching the pillow too much so i could maintain this style without it getting too fuzzy before the torture happens all over again in about a week or two. Oh the horror!!! The worst part of this sad nightmare is this, here i am today doing the exact same torture to my oldest daughter, the only difference is this, I have one upced the torture adding the extra stress of adding 12 to 16 inch braid extentions into my daughter’s hair every week all in the name of style.  And so the saga contiues.

Stay tuned for the next post entitled “To Weave or Not To Weave”

It’s apropos that I saw Chris Rock’s new documentary/comedy “Good Hair” on a day when I wrestled with what to do with my natural hair. Should I straighten it for a  two-question television shoot to make myself more acceptable-looking to viewers or be myself?

First of all let me say that I really enjoyed the movie, which opens in theaters in October. There are some things I would have changed were it my movie but it’s not. And I understand why Chris did what he did. I don’t want to get sidetracked though. This is about me and my hair.

I’ve been wearing my hair in its natural state since the fall. It was a big step for someone who was as addicted to the weave as a strawberry is to crack, just like so many other Black women these days. But I decided to go au naturel not so much to get in touch with my roots (no pun intended) but in part because I was unhappy with the weave0logists in New York. They were either too expensive, too slow, too unprofessional or a combo of all three. And then there were those who were expensive and lacked talent. I timed my visits home to L.A. to when it was time to get my weave done. I lucked up when my weave lady, Traci, moved to Las Vegas from L.A. last year because I had a business trip to Sin City in June, just days before I was to shoot some more shows for the Travel Channel.  Perfect timing!

When it came time for my weave to be redone in September, I decided to get it pressed. This meant I couldn’t work out but what the heck. For many Black women, we choose between having a tight body or a ‘do. I chose the latter. One day while sitting in the chair at the salon, I looked in the mirror at my wet, natural hair and liked the image I saw looking back at me. “Hey, I look kinda good,” I said to my stylist Everton. He agreed and told me what to do if I wanted to wear it natural. I let him finish his job, wore it straight for another week then started rockin’ a natural look. Except for a week or two here and there, I’ve worn my hair wild and woolly and for the most part enjoyed the freedom.

Fast forward to yesterday. I received a last-minute request to appear on camera as a travel expert for an international media outlet that I have never worked with before. The shoot would take place at a hotel in Beverly Hills. I accepted. Since I already had an eyebrow appointment at Damone Roberts right before the shoot, I arranged to have my makeup done there too since I don’t own foundation or blush and Lord knows I need my face done properly. Then there was the question of my hair. Could I convince a stylist to do my hair at 7 a.m. so I wouldn’t have to go on camera with my wild hair? I debated on whether to make the call last night. I finally decided, hey, this is me. I wear my hair natural. Why should I spend a few hours in a beauty salon having it straightened to make myself more palatable to viewers? Tanika Ray wears her hair natural on Extra and no one has made her change. In fact, she gets tons of compliments on her beauty. It’s high time Black women stop buying into other people’s standards of what is beautiful. I took a stand and decided I would wash my hair in the morning so at least it would be a little tamer. I went to bed proud of myself for not giving in to the temptation.

As it turns out, the shoot was canceled so I didn’t get a chance to see the producer’s reaction to my wild coif. Therefore, my hair was in its  usual natural state when I went to the 2 p.m. screening of “Good Hair.” Chris touches on an array of topics relating to Black women and hair, including the high cost to maintain a good weave and who pays for this, sex with a woman who wears extensions, the damaging relaxers Black women use to straighten their hair, how Black girls as young as three are getting relaxers, Al Sharpton’s hair, how other folks, especially the Koreans, are making beaucoup bucks off the Black hair industry and how society looks at Black women who wear their hair natural. Chris even traveled to India, the country that produces the hair I used to wear and still have bags of, to show how women there allow their hair to be cut for God during a tonsure ceremony and have no idea someone is selling their hair to Shenequia back in the States.

One segment that starts out as humorous actually is very sad. After accompanying an Indian man to the Elgin Charles Salon in Beverly Hills (sidenote: Elgin did my first weave back in the 90s and swears that without the Italian hair he did such a great job of  attaching to my hair in 1997 that I never would have landed a job on CNN-SI.) and realizing that the man’s suitcase full of Indian hair was worth around $10,000, Chris decided to see what he could sell Black hair for. He took a huge bag of hair to various beauty supply stores and no one wanted  Black hair. One black woman said, “No one walks around with nappy hair anymore.”

“I do,” I said aloud.

And I’m proud of it.

Sitting in the screening room with primarily Black women with various hairstyles, including natural and weaves, I felt very good about myself for not begging a hairstylist to get up at the crack of dawn to run a hot  pressing comb through my hair and then being forced to skip my noon spin class just so I could answer two questions on camera later that afternoon.

I had my hair pressed a couple of weeks ago and loved the way it looked and its silky feel. I took some new photos of myself and updated my photo on Facebook and on my website’s home page. While I was ready to go on camera with my natural hair, I’m not ready to change my homepage photo on my website to one that shows me with my hair natural. I guess I still have a ways to go. But I’m getting better.

One of my favorite lines in the movie is delivered by actress Tracie Thoms, who wears her hair natural.

“There are so many pressures to straighten your hair,” she says on camera. “To keep my hair the same texture as it grows out of my head is looked at as revolutionary. Why is that?”

We all know the answer and it’s a sad one.

Since the early days of the Egyptians, hair extensions systems have existed. Contrary to popular belief, that hair extensions were used for thinning hair, in actuality, hair extensions systems were used as cosmetic adornment that were used by both genders. In addition to cosmetic vanity, wigs served another purpose as well. To avoid infection of head lice, Egyptian men shaved their head but wore wigs to protect them from the different elements.

As time progressed, Asian countries learned to process and manufacture hair extensions to be sold all over the world. Like now, most of the hair extensions and wigs manufactured back then consisted of human hair. The main difference was the way they were applied to the wearer.

Whereas now, we have fusion techniques, clip on hair extensions and strand bond weaving, back in the day, they were fastened with a thread to the wearer’s natural hair. Wigs were coated with beeswax or plant resin so that they could be secured to the wearer’s scalp or natural hair.

As more things change, more things stay the same. Today, there are hundreds and thousands of hair extension products that are out in the market place. As long as society continues to judge people through their looks, hair extensions will continue to play a vital role. Everyone always loves to have nice hair! For whatever purpose you use wigs and hair extensions systems, we hope that they will inspire you to feel and give you a sense of all the possibilities that can be created.

Hair Extensions … their commonly accepted name does not do them justice. Professional hair extensions are not just for extending the length of your hair. Hair extensions will instantly add exciting new haircolor and highlights without the use of potentially harmful chemicals. Extensions will easily build endless new volume and texture to your thin and lifeless hair. The desire for beautiful volume and texture is evident with the abundance of volumizing hair products, hairstyling tools and professional texturizing salon services. They also allow you to creatively express yourself with ornamental crystals and feathers. Instead of creating the illusion of hair color, volume or texture with these products and tools, another option is to actually add them with professional salon hair extensions.

Haircolor is very popular today, with over 75% of women now coloring their hair and a growing percentage of men following suit. Unfortunately, most men and women today are unaware or uneducated to the benefits of adding hair extensions for haircolor rather than using harsh chemical dyes. For example, Vanity Hair Extensions at Element Salon offers 81 unique haircolor shades in three different hair textures. With this many options, you are bound to find a haircolor or highlight shade that you just can’t leave the salon without. With hair extensions, there are no surprises. The best thing about hair extensions for color is that it will not damage your hair, yet they will provide you with the complete haircolor or highlights you’ve always wanted. You can select your haircolor shades and blends, without any guessing games.

Women today are constantly trying to add endless volume to thin and flat hair. We all want the voluminous, shiny hair like we see on the Hollywood celebrities as well as on the television commercials and billboards. This can easily and instantly be achieved by simply adding professional hair extensions. You can choose to either have a full head of hair extensions for maximum volume or have your hair extension artist strategically place extensions where volume is needed the most. You no longer have to try product after product to get the results you want. Don’t forget that you can also add texture, haircolor and highlights while adding volume with your new hair extensions. The combinations are endless!

In major parts of the professional world, looks are extremely important to leave a lasting impression. Wigs and hair extensions are highly resorted to in order to fulfill this important requirement of men and women alike. It can be the media celebrities or the very common marketing executive, the lecturer or even the medical personalities. Each one of them aspires to acquire that glamorous allure. A lot of people are found to have dull or unimpressive hair and a perfect wig or hair extension can camouflage a bad haircut, poor look and also baldness. So, it becomes increasingly important that you learn to care for your wigs and hair extensions. Here are certain techniques that will help you to take good care of your wigs and hair extensions:

• After you have attached your hair extensions, you should not shampoo your hair for a minimum of two to three days. This must be followed even when you have attended any hair maintenance sessions.

• While you shampoo or condition your hair, you must take care that you do not get rough on your scalp and hair. You must not scrub your hair. Apply the conditioner and try to detangle the strands from the mid area and work gently towards the ends. The scalp area should be best avoided.

• After you wash your hair, do not try to dry them by rubbing it with a towel. It is advisable to wrap around a towel on y our hair. This will effectively dry up the moisture.

• If you have to use the blow dryers, you should take care to see that the setting is at lowest heat. If you set in the cool air, it is even better. While using a blow dryer, the use of forceful air setting can cause harm to your wigs and hair extensions.

• It is always advisable to abide by the manufacturers’ recommendations with regard to the products that you use on your wigs and extensions. One must never opt for products that contain acetone, alcohol or sulphur amongst its ingredients.

• As you retire for the day, you need to tie the hair loosely by pulling it back into a ponytail or shape it into a bun. This will protect your wigs and hair extensions from getting tangled during sleep.

• Remember, while you brush your hair, it should always be a looped brush. You should begin from the nape and work upwards.

• Remember, seawater and the chemicals present in the swimming pool weaken and destroy the keratin bonds. So, before taking a plunge into the pool or the sea, wet your hair under a shower, shape it into a bun and put on a bathing cap. After you are done with your swimming, rinse your hair well and dry out the base area.

TV Star Dani Behr flew into London a couple of weeks ago for some exciting new projects she had lined up and Inanch London was on her list of places to visit whilst here in London.

Dani spent the day of Thursday 16th July at the Inanch London salon for a full day’s pampering in preparation for some public appearances she was attending in order to promote her forthcoming UK projects (to be announced very soon). Dani had a full head of highlights with Colourist Maja Berman, a set of LCN Gel Nails with Nail Artist Silvia and a full set of Gadiva Hair Extensions with Art Director Inanch.

“Dani was over the moon with her new look” stated Inanch, especially her glam new hair extension! Inanch London uses a few different brands when it comes to hair extensions including Gadiva. The reason we choose Gadiva for Dani was mainly due to the fact that Gadiva is available in salons across Australia meaning Dani can have her new extensions maintained when she goes home.

Check out Dani’s transformation – doesn’t she look fab!

Additional information on Gadiva Hair Extensions at Inanch London:-
Gadiva Hair Extensions have designed the most advanced and improved REUSABLE Micro Ring Hair Extensions System available on the market. There is no glue, heating, bonding, weaving or chemicals involved in the application of this hair extensions system. Using 100% Premium Quality Human Hair, the specifically formulated Gadiva pre-bonded Tip does not deteriorate with water, heat or chemicals. You can add length, body, fullness, texture, colour and highlights – creating a complete new look! This means that clients do not need to re-purchase the hair every 3-4 months making a highly cost-effective way to maintain beautiful and glamorous looking hair – always!

The process takes around 1-2 hours for a full head application making it fast, quick and easy to apply. The reusable micro ring hair extensions are simply attached to the client’s hair via the adjustable micro rings meaning that there are absolutely no chemicals involved in the application or removal of the hair extensions. You can straighten, blow dry or even curl your hair extensions without worrying about affecting the pre-bonded Tip or the hair extensions.

The Gadiva pre-bonded Tip ensures that the thickness of the hair extensions will remain the same for their entire life. A lifespan of up to 2 years can be expected from your hair extensions provided they are maintained correctly which should be carried out at the salon every 3-4 months.

To enquire about hair extensions at Inanch London please call 020 7383 7607 or visit www.inanch.com