8. My Approach to Ethnic Hair

On an ordinary day working behind the chair in my salon, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, a beautiful African-American woman. She was tall and slender, with elegant features, great skin, and a fashion-forward outfit. Just one thing was letting her down: her hair. More specifically, her hair extensions. It was a classic case of hair extensions gone bad. They looked tangled and unkempt, and I could see two mismatched textures in her hairstyle—the texture of her natural, kinky Afro trying to get out from underneath the worn-out extensions that weighed down her hair, making her look careless. As she was in the salon waiting for a friend, rather than getting a cut herself, I decided to talk to her between appointments. I told her that I thought she had huge potential but that her extensions were bad, really bad, but if she removed them and worked with her natural ethnic hair instead, she’d look sensational. It took a little bit of convincing, but once she’d taken a long, hard look in the mirror and realized how nasty her extensions had become, she agreed to let me pull them out and give her a much more modern ethnic hairstyle.

The woman is named Arielle, and her transformation from tired, high-maintenance extensions to an easy, fashion-forward style is featured in this chapter. As you’ll see, the new hairstyle made a terrific difference in the way she looked and, as it happens, in the way she felt—because she looked great, she felt fabulous. This natural approach (along with a few other simple ideas) defines my way of tackling ethnic hair, and that’s exactly what this chapter is all about.

The Different Ethnic Hair Types

There are two different types of ethnic hair and each requires its own approach. African-American hair grows naturally curly and, crucially, naturally frizzy. It also tends to be very coarse and, apart from the odd exception, the darkest shades of brown. As with any other hair type, there is a rich diversity in the amount of curl, frizz, and coarseness, but African-American women normally have kinky, cottony, spiral-shaped, and woolly hair. Tight curls, thick hair, and heavy density require a unique method to the haircut and to the day-to-day styling.

The second ethnic hair type is most typical of Latina women and women with strong ethnic diversity in their heritage. This hair is normally thick, dense, and curly but it does not form tight, spiral-shaped Afro-type curls. Instead, it looks similar to thick and curly Caucasian hair. Though this hair type can and does benefit from some particular ideas and some particular approaches, it is much more malleable than the Afro, and a lot of the tools and techniques given throughout the rest of this book are also applicable to her.

For that reason, my main focus in this chapter is African-American hair. I do give some special advice for Latina and ethnically diverse hair types later on in this chapter as well, along with some references to other parts of the book that will help you, and a couple of great hairstyles, but I want to start by dealing with the unique challenges presented by beautiful African-American hair.

There are two ways that I recommend women deal with the challenges of this type of hair. The first way, the way that Arielle got a brand-new sense of style, is to work with your natural texture to create an ultrasimple, short classical shape. Simple short and rounded shapes make the hair supereasy to manage and allow you to keep your hair’s natural texture while still making the otherwise highly challenging day-to-day styling really simple and easy.

The second way is to use advanced salon techniques to reset the formation of your hair. You can “relax" your hair to make it permanently straight. The biggest benefit of this kind of service is that you have a much wider array of hairstyles and styling options to choose from.

Go for this second option and you can use many of the techniques in Chapter 5, “Styling at Home,” to style your hair straight and smooth, or you can roller-set or curling-iron-set your hair into a wavy or curly formation. You may know all about this already, because setting hair has been a popular tradition among ethnic hair types for many years. If you don’t know about setting hair, it basically entails using rollers (or for a quicker fix, the curling iron) to set your hair into a different curl formation. For example, if you’ve relaxed your dense, curly Afro that previously wouldn’t budge into a softer, straighter shape, you can now wet your hair, wrap it up on biggish rollers, and allow it to dry. Your hair will be “set" into a softer, more manageable curl formation—bigger, looser curls that you can move and manipulate into a variety of wavy and curly styles, giving you tons more options.

I truly believe that these approaches are the most modern way to style ethnic hair. Most style-savvy African-American women embrace these ideas because they transform their look into something contemporary, cool, and easy to manage and care for. Let’s start with hair relaxing, a technique that features heavily in the haircuts in this chapter.

Relaxers

Relaxers are a great way to work fresh, young, and modern. They can straighten your hair completely or, by using less chemical strength, give you a softer, more manageable, wavy or curly style. Both ways increase your options in terms of haircuts you can go for, and, of course, you can roller-set your hair any way you wish. But keep in mind that this process permanently alters the composition of your hair both in terms of its shape (into a straighter or softer curl than is natural) and also its health (hair normally becomes drier than normal). For a relaxer, the most common active chemical ingredient is sodium hydroxide. The chemical process is a strong one and breaks the structure of your hair bonds into a new straighter shape. For many African-American women, the big question is whether or not to relax the hair. With such a strong chemical process, damage is a risk, and immediately after the treatment, drier, less healthy hair is a virtual certainty (at least until you’ve helped it out with some deep conditioning and/or keratin-based treatments). Another factor is whether you truly want to permanently change the traditional texture of your hair. On the bright side, you will get much more variety in the way you can cut and style your hair, with the day-to-day styling made considerably more manageable. And if you don’t relax or treat the hair in any way, you are very limited in what you can do with your hair. To aid you in that decision, let’s examine what this modern salon professional treatment means for you. Then you can take a look at the ethnic hairstyles below, where many of the styles have been relaxed.

The process of relaxing smoothes and flattens the hair into a much straighter shape and style, or totally straight if you use enough strength. Relaxers have improved over the years so that they no longer make the hair ultradry and brittle—yes, it is drier than before the treatment, but it shouldn’t be too serious. Because of this, it is becoming an increasingly popular salon service. It’s a safe process for most hair types and it improves your hair’s feel, softness, and shine, leaving it completely manageable. More and more of my African-American clients are interested in this technique and frequently ask what it can and can’t do, how safe it is, and many more questions pertaining to the technique. The best way to get to the bottom of it all is to give you a Q & A session of everything that is important to you.

Relaxer Q & A

How much does relaxing cost?

Relaxing your hair is a time-consuming specialty process. It takes from two to three hours, and during that time your stylist should be totally consumed with processing your hair. But the results save you many hours of blow-dry styling. Because of all that, expect to pay anywhere from $75 to $200, depending on how strongly you relax your hair (the more you relax, the more it costs) and on your location and your stylist’s experience as a relaxer specialist. However, almost everybody who goes for this treatment ends up happy with the results and considers it a great investment. Retouch treatments require just as much time and just as much skill, so the price is the same.

How do relaxers work?

A good relaxer stylist gives your hair a deep-conditioning treatment to add strength and vitality along with a “relaxer" that safely and effectively re-forms the structural bonds within the hair shaft. This re-formation allows the hair’s curl or frizz patterns to be restructured into a totally straight look. Once these structural bonds are relaxed, the stylist uses heat to permanently fix this new straightened structure into place.

Chemicals cause damage in the hair shaft. Will a relaxer cause damage to my hair?

If you go to an experienced professional, you’ll get a thorough consultation to determine if your hair is in suitable condition for a relaxing process. If your hair is healthy, there should be no problems. On the other hand, if your hair is fine, weak, or overprocessed, there is a risk of breakage and a good stylist will recommend a course of deep conditioning and/or protein-rich, keratin-based treatments to toughen up your hair before having it relaxed. A relaxer does need the right aftercare, but nowadays the process is designed to leave hair soft and manageable.

Will my curls come back?

After a relaxer treatment, your hair can be restored to its original texture only by allowing it to grow back in. You can, of course, style your newly straightened hair into dozens of different styles. For example, if you want to create some waves and curls, you can use the creating curl technique here or the curling irons technique here. Alternatively, you can roller-set your hair for more long-lasting waves and curls, as outlined later in this chapter and in Chapter 9, “Special Occasion Hair.” However, once done, the process cannot be reversed to restore the original texture to treated hair.

Is there anything I need to do prior to my treatment in order to prepare my hair the right way?

Before you go in for a relaxing treatment, you could, over the course of two or three weeks, apply a deep conditioner or keratin-based treatment several times to put extra moisture and protein into your hair. However, most important, do not shampoo or condition your hair for at least forty-eight hours prior to your appointment. If you do, irritation of the scalp is a real possibility. If you don’t shampoo for forty-eight hours before, there should be nothing to worry about. If you have any concerns, speak to your stylist.

What is the relaxing aftercare process?

It’s imperative that you keep your hair dry for seventy-two hours after the process. This gives the restructured hair shafts time to harden and set into their new formation. Also, it’s a good idea to keep your hair as straight as possible during this time to avoid any kinks. Don’t tie your hair back with clips, grips, or bands. Tucking your hair behind your ears is another no-no. After seventy-two hours, and assuming there has been no irregular damage (your stylist will tell you what to do in the unlikely event that there has been), you can shampoo, dry, and style your hair any way you want, although the less heat you use, the better you maintain the health and integrity of your new style.

How long will my relaxer treatment last?

Relaxing permanently straightens your hair. Once the relaxed hair grows out, typically around four to six weeks, you want to go back to the salon for a retouch. This is important, because if you don’t get the retouch, you end up with mismatched hair texture: your natural curls growing in at the roots versus your straighter relaxed texture throughout the rest of the hair. The retouch is quite a tricky process and I strongly advise going back to the same stylist who relaxed your hair in the first place to ensure the consistency of the result.

Can I color my hair with a relaxing treatment?

Yes. It is best to have your hair color done after the relaxing, because a relaxer is likely to cause fading and damage to prior color. You should wait for at least a week after the relaxer until your coloring.

The extra styling freedom you get from a relaxer also gives your stylist more freedom. If you get a haircut after one of these processes, your stylist has a wider range of styles to offer you. Let’s look at that right now, with the help of my ethnic hairstyle guide.

The Hairstyles

For me, the key factor in a great African-American hairstyle is keeping it simple. For the hairdresser, it’s a visual and technical type of haircut where he or she is working slowly, surely, and carefully to create the shape. Again, a great hairdresser is vital, and I encourage you to follow the guidelines set forth in Chapter 4, “Finding a Hairdresser,” to make sure you’ve got the right hairdresser for you. Whether you decide to go short, medium, or long, keep the style easy and uncomplicated. Otherwise, as your hair grows out and the curls grow in, even with a relaxer, the details of the cut become unkempt and look unnatural. By keeping it simple, you also can go home and use tools like hot irons and rollers to change and define your style from day to day and week to week, according to your mood, inclination, and available time. Once ethnic hair has been cut correctly and prepped to be healthy, smooth, and moisture rich, you can easily use tools to create different shapes, waves, and curl movements, just as I explain in Chapter 5, “Styling at Home.”

Let’s get you started. The cuts here show a variety of ways that you can wear your relaxed Afro hair. I explain the benefits of each cut and some of the individual styling options.

KIM

Kim is a busy mom with a big family, and she needed her wonderfully curly but tough-to-control Afro hair to be supereasy. With her hectic schedule, it was critical to make her hair manageable. We gave her a relatively gentle relaxer treatment to soften out her heavy curl action and add more give in hair that was originally almost unmovable and difficult even to get a brush or product to go through. The softer curls enabled us to scissor-cut her hair in a soft and round style that falls beautifully around her warm, engaging face. And it’s still curly, showcasing the traditional texture of her hair, but in a smooth and elegant way. I thought Kim’s natural hair color was a perfect fit for her looks. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We left it natural.

This is the ultimate ethnic wash-and-wear style. It doesn’t need to be touched or towel dried at all, and if you go for a similar style, all you need to do is apply a very small amount of a curl enhancer and an even smaller amount of a frizz-fighting serum. Let it dry naturally and you’re off. A modern, soft, and natural look with absolutely no fuss.

NATALIE

Natalie had curly Afro hair that was also comparatively fine in texture. We gave her a relaxer that added essential silky smoothness, followed by a light brown highlight to soften the complexion of her hair, bring out the beauty in her eyes, and give her an allover bubbly glow. After that, she was ready for a brand-new, style-defining look—a textured layer cut with the layers shaped to fall loosely around her face, acting as the perfect complement to her features.

This is an ultramodern way of wearing ethnic hair because the relaxer option makes it possible to cut in a contemporary hairstyle that works with all hair types. The true beauty of the style is that you can wear your hair in many different ways; without the relaxer, I would have had to go for a more rounded short and curly shape.

Now Natalie has a modern style and the opportunity to wear it in new ways. A defrizz serum and a straightening iron create a supersmooth and polished straight look. Or, as here, you can use a defrizz serum with a round brush to give the style more wave and movement, body and bounce. You can also use a curling iron to tousle the tresses more.

KASHA

A relaxer straightened and smoothed out Kasha’s kinky, dried-out, and way out-of-control Afro. We added some light brown-sugar tones to provide warmth and to soften the picture of her hair. That allowed us to cut her hair with our options completely open. We got creative and gave her a fresh and new above-the-shoulder square layer cut that stands out—it’s flirty, choppy, and modern look. It definitely illuminates her gorgeous, happy features.

It’s the versatility Kasha now has that makes this a truly great cut. Before the process of change, it was a challenge for her to get to the office on time without her hair looking unkempt and unprofessional, all because she had a dried-out, thick, and curly Afro. Now she can use a flat brush and a touch of defrizz serum to quickly blow-dry her hair straight and smooth for daily office wear. Or, because of the layers, she can use a curling iron to add fabulous flippiness, just like we’ve done here.

If you go for a similar style and want to use a curling iron, you don’t need a styling product. A thermal protector to protect the hair does the trick, and you can use your hot tool on dry hair to add some light twists and twirls for the striking, featherweight effect you see here.

ARIELLE

Arielle is the charming, beautiful woman I talked about in my introduction to this chapter. She is a classic case of hair extensions gone bad. The before pictures clearly show that the two textures—that of her natural hair and that of her extensions—simply don’t match. The extensions also look frazzled and were becoming a tangled nightmare for her to try to style. Thankfully, Arielle was game for a change and was happy to have me cut out the extensions so I could work with her natural hair texture. You can see she has a long, slender, and elegant neck, so I cut her hair into a simple, classic rounded shape that highlights this feature and adds elevation for her facial features. Her hair looks supershort, but actually it’s rather long; it’s just so tight and curly you can’t see the length. The cut makes her look young and hip, which is exactly what she is, a vast improvement on the extensions that looked shabby and failed to showcase her beaming smile.

It’s a hassle-free, wash-and-wear cut, too. All she has to do is apply a setting créme or lotion to help the hair hold its shape and a defrizz product to keep it smooth. There’s no need for brushing or touching.

ELSY

Elsy also had a tough-to-control, I-need-all-your-attention Afro that we relaxed to make the hair nice and smooth, with a healthy glow. We gave her a classic long layer cut that has space and movement, swing, body, and bounce. We also put in a fresh new color, in this case a demipermanent dark chocolate brown that fits with her complexion and gives added sheen and luster to her hair.

This style also offers quick-and-easy styling options that make it ever so wearable from day to day and easily transformable for a night out and about. Here, too, there’s no need for too much product, which only weighs down ethnic hair. The tiniest dab of a frizz-fighting serum used with a flat brush and the heat of a dryer creates a silky smooth look that’s sure to get you noticed. As an alternative, and/or if you want some extra luster before you head out, use a straightening iron to add sheen and polish to any sort of straight style. You can try this on dry hair with no product application. Just a quick spritz or two of shine spray gives it that glistening finish. For a few flirty waves or curls, use a curling iron instead. Work it through a few sections and you’re good to go.

That’s how I like to work with relaxed Afro hair. You can see that it gives you lots more options for all kinds of modern, fashion-forward, and easy-to-manage hairstyles. However, in many cases, I like to work with Afro hair in a more natural way, to celebrate a woman’s natural curliness. These types of hairstyles are more limited, but if you get the right kind of natural cut, you can still go for a modern, fashion-forward, and easy-to-manage hairstyle.

Styling and Setting Ethnic Hair

If, like Arielle, you can wear your Afro hair relatively short and naturally curly with individuality and style, then great, I certainly encourage you to do so. Follow the simple advice I gave in her haircut descriptions and you’ll be fine. You don’t need too much product because that only weighs your hair down, while touching and playing with it too much creates frizz. If your curly style is a bit dried out, apply a leave-in conditioner to rejuvenate the hair by bringing the moisture back. Want to hold it in place? A little bit of setting lotion or créme is all you need. Work it through from roots to ends and your style will stay put. If frizz is a problem, you know what to do: A dab of defrizz serum is all you need.

However, if a thick and curly Afro style didn’t work for you, and you’ve gone for a relaxer and now want to shape your own waves and curls rather than styling it straight all the time, roller-setting is your next port of call.

The technique I recommend for you is called the roller “wet set" because this is the longest-lasting type of set and allows you to wear your set all week long without it needing to be redone. I take a lot of time to describe roller-setting (the wet set and other great setting techniques) here, because setting your hair is great for all hair types, Caucasian and ethnic, to achieve a magical special-occasion hairstyle. But setting hair does have a deeper meaning for ethnic hair types because, as I’ve discussed, some Afro hair can be unmanageable unless tended to. So, for many, this roller-setting is more of a week-to-week essential than a special-occasion do. That’s why you see a lot of African-American women in the salon from week to week: They’re getting their relaxed hair reset into a curl formation that will last them all week long and can be easily blown out and styled as they see fit.

The wet set sets your hair into more manageable curls. When you leave your hair to dry on rollers, you can reset it into a wider, easier-to-control-and-manipulate curly hairstyle. You need relatively large sponge rollers to produce open, loose curls and create movement. If you can fit only eight to ten rollers in your hair, you know they are big enough.

THE WET SET

1. On wet hair, cleanly comb each section of hair before working with the rollers. This helps ensure that your curls are tangle free and won’t snag and snarl up in the roller. Use a wide-tooth comb to comb through your hair until it’s free from knots.

2. Now that your hair is free of tangles. apply a setting spray, lotion, or créme all over the hair, paying particular attention to the roots. Use soft-hold products if you envision a soft, flowing look. Use firmer-hold products if you want a more sculptured style. Though it’s not a typical wet-set product, I also advise you work in just a touch of defrizz serum. This doesn’t affect the setting of your hair, but it helps fight against the frizz common to ethnic hair.

3. Now it’s time to put in the rollers. Sit in front of a mirror so you can see exactly what you’re doing. Don’t worry too much about the precise placement of the rollers, just be careful that you get a nice even spread across the front, top, sides, and back. Do this and your look is sure to be well balanced.

4. Part a section of hair that is the same width as your roller, no wider, and give that section another quick comb through to make sure there are no snags. Why do I emphasize that the width of the section of the hair you have parted away be the same width as the roller and no wider? Because pulling hair from outside the width of the roller creates drag. This stops the roller from sitting securely on your head and you end up with less consistent, floppy waves and curls that fail to last.

5. Now that your hair is parted correctly, take that section and pull it up and away from the scalp with your thumb and fingertips. Make sure the hair is taut with no creases or loose bits and hold it in position as close to the tips of your hair as you can without letting any of it fall free. If your hair has an uneven line at the ends, no problem; unless you’ve had a real hack job, the difference will be negligible and have little or no effect on how the hair sits, and subsequently sets, in the rollers.

6. Hold your hair in place while you use your free hand to place the roller as close to the tips of the hair shaft as you can. Wrap the roller around the hair gently and smoothly, making sure that it catches and holds onto the hair. Now place both of your thumbs over the ends of the roller and roll the hair firmly down toward the scalp.

7. Once done. clip the rollers firmly into place to make sure they stay put. Repeat these steps with six to eight biggish rollers placed evenly over your head.

8. After completing the rollers, apply another liberal amount of setting spray all over your hair, with particular emphasis on the roots of the rolled sections. Note: You need a spray here because you can’t get a foam or créme to reach your roots while the rollers are in place.

9. Let your hair dry naturally, overnight, if you can (but you have to use soft sponge rollers if you are planning to sleep with them in). This ensures that you create a striking difference to your natural curl formation—and a striking difference that lasts up to a week.

10. Unroll and unwind the rollers the same way you put them in—gently and smoothly. Resist any temptation to speed the process by dragging them out—this definitely destroys your style.

11. Remember, no hairstyle is truly set until it’s cool, so give your hair a quick blast of cool air with your dryer. If the style you’ve created is more curly than you envisioned, no problem. Your hair is still malleable, so use a blow-dryer and a brush to brush out the curl until you’ve got the look you want.

12. With a wet set, the slower setting time can leave set lines on your hair, at exactly the place where the rollers were placed, creating a darker band of color running across your hair. There is a quick and easy fix for this: Brush them out.

13. Finally, brush and shape your hair into your desired style, and be sure to make yourself look stunning. Now you can fix the look into place with hair spray or holding spray.

14. If you wish, you can use a straightening or curling iron on the ends to create a custom-made finish to your look. Simply curl or twist up a few loose ends around the front and sides to add your own individual polished elegance. Refine the style with an iron once it’s set, rather than trying to create all the shape and texture at once.

Short and Curly

If you have short hair (in a similar style to Arielle’s) that hasn’t been relaxed, making your hair straight and smooth is still achievable. Use the wraparound blow-dry technique highlighted here. Instead of using a brush, however, use a fine-tooth comb, which is a great tool for getting into the roots and tousling them out. Get right into those roots and use the heat of the dryer, a defrizz serum, and a smoothing créme or lotion to achieve gorgeously smooth, short hair. If at the end it’s still a bit curly, wavy, or kinky, use a straightening iron to smooth out and straighten even more. Bear in mind, however, that this technique doesn’t have the potential to last all week like a wet set does; it lasts only about a day.

Done correctly, the wet set is a great method of getting your hair to hold its new shape and texture for up to a week. All you need to do is give it a quick one-minute blast with a blow-dryer and brush each morning to refresh and redefine your style. Steer clear of using too much product, though, because that increases the dirt, and as you won’t be washing your hair until the next time you set it, you want to avoid dirt as much as possible. Apply a dab of defrizz if you’re worried it might frizz up; otherwise, the natural sebum oils of your scalp give you enough texture to play with and create luscious everyday style.

THE CURLING IRON SET

If you’d like your straightened hair to have a loose and natural-looking wave or curl pattern but the wet set is too much work, use a curling iron instead. Though it isn’t as long lasting as a wet roller-set (a curling iron set normally lasts twenty-four hours at the most), a curling iron creates almost exactly the same effect. It’s easy, too.

Mist in a thermal protecting spray and put sections of your hair into the curling iron. Then curl, twist, and shape your personal wave or curl pattern to your heart’s content. Start at the front, where it’s easiest to do, and then move on to sections across the top, sides, and back. Make sure to hold the iron in each section long enough for it to stay set. This normally takes around thirty seconds per section. If you want more information on how to best use a curling iron, look at “Curling Irons" here and “The Curling Iron Set" here.

Other Options

If you find working with your natural hair limiting and are not into the idea of permanently resetting the texture of your hair with a relaxer, there are some other options open to you. Extensions, weaves, or even clip-on hairpieces instantly give you different length and texture, even different colors. You can go to your local beauty supply store and shop for new hairpieces that provide dramatic, temporary results with little or no damage done.

One of the most popular ways to go is to add length (and/or a new color) with a weft or weave. A weft features loose strands of hair—either natural or synthetic, though most are synthetic—that, through braiding techniques, can be combined with your natural hair (whatever the length) to add length or color or both to your look.

In a weave, a separate hairpiece is sewn or glued along a “track" to add length and/or color. The track is like a hem of hair, sewn tight together on one end (like an anchor), which allows the hair to flow freely, very much like natural hair. Then the actual track is either glued or sewn into a cornrow and then carefully hidden by the section of hair that falls above it.

Glued-in tracks last only a week or two at the most, whereas braided-in tracks can last between three and six weeks, depending on the quality of the hairpiece and the quality of the application.

Wefts generally are synthetic, but weaves come in both natural and synthetic hairpieces. The difference? Synthetic pieces have a shorter life span and cannot be washed or conditioned, nor can they be styled with hot tools—they’re plastic and will melt. On the other hand, natural hairpieces can be washed and conditioned just like your own hair and can be styled with the aid of hot tools and blow-dryers.

These techniques can be done at home, with the wefts and weaves costing anywhere from $15 to $100. However, you should check the packet to see how much hair you’re getting, because if you’re planning to use a lot you may need more than one pack.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, but you would still like to try something of this ilk, a great way to go is a clip-in extension. This is available from your beauty supply store and is relatively cheap, between $5 and $50 depending on how elaborate it is. Clip-ins work great when you want a clip-in ponytail or if you need an extra piece of hair to style into an updo. And because it’s a clip, there’s no sewing or gluing.

Want to go to a professional? There are specialty salons that do an excellent job. Again, I recommend revisiting Chapter 4, “Finding a Hairdresser,” and applying those same rules to finding the right person for these specialty techniques. Depending on how much and how detailed the work you want to have done, the cost can range from $60 to $400. I advise that the professional way is the best choice for this kind of specialty ethnic hair processes, especially if you are considering a weave. It’s not easy to create a seamless transition from your natural hair to the added-in extensions, and a professional should be able to create the look you desire without an obvious contrast between the two different textures. Professional extensions are likely to last longer, too. Keep in mind that in addition to the service cost ($60–$400), you have to pay for the extra hair. Depending on the quality of the weaves/wefts you buy, this may cause a significant markup. Natural hair, although more expensive, always looks better than synthetic hair. With natural hair extensions you need have no fear of thermal styling. In my opinion, if you’re investing in this type of service, you may as well go the extra mile and get the best hairpiece possible.

Hispanic and Ethnically Diverse Hair Types

If you have thick and curly non-Afro ethnic hair, there’s a lot more room for you to work successfully with your natural hair shape and texture. Your thick, dense curls can still be tough to manage and style if you don’t treat them the right way, though, so if you want to work with your natural texture and shape, the first thing you must do is get the right type of haircut. You need a heavily layered cut that creates enough space between the curls to free the hair from tangles and celebrate the unique shapeliness of your textured tresses. The big bonus of this approach is that you can keep your hair’s natural texture but still make the otherwise highly challenging day-to-day styling really simple and easy. Indeed, cut the right way, this type of hair benefits from many of the easy curly-hair styling techniques illustrated in Chapter 5, “Styling at Home.” I also show off some salon secrets that are the perfect solution for really thick and dense curly heads of all races. Both of those sections will be a great help to you, especially if you begin with a great haircut. Also, don’t forget that these types of curls are loose and malleable enough to be set with rollers or with a curling iron.

Setting your hair with rollers or an iron puts you in control of just how strong or soft, wavy or curly your hair is. This may be something you want to do from day to day, week to week, or maybe just for a special occasion. It is a great option for changing or personalizing your style. See here for the wet roller-set and Chapter 9, “Special-Occasion Hair,” for special-occasion styling techniques.

Though roller-setting definitely is a great option for change and for personalized style, with the right cut your day-to-day styling is super-supersimple. You don’t need any blow-drying, and just a little product application followed by cupping, scrunching, and tousling out your curls are more than enough to get you, and your curls, looking flame-hot. To see just how easy it is to do that, I’ll show you two fabulous curl-defining cuts that truly celebrate naturally curly ethnic hair.

TASHNA

Tashna has a natural curly hair type with heavy density. However, the relatively medium-smooth texture means that we can work with her natural style. I gave her a rounded bob shape, cut with space and freedom, that plays into her charismatic, youthful exuberance and drapes ever so slightly into her sparkle-happy blue-brown eyes, making them pop. The light brown caramel highlights show the texture and dimension of her curl formation. Again, because I worked with her hair in a modern and natural way, she now has the space and freedom that make styling easy.

There’s no need to blow-dry; in fact there’s barely any need to touch the hair at all. All she needs to do is use product to shape and define her look. If you don’t add moisture, this hair type is prone to frizz, so Tashna needs to apply a leave-in conditioner on damp hair to lock in the moisture and shine. She can then use a frizz fighter. Finally, all Tashna needs to do is twist a few curls in the front sections around her fingers to create nicely defined spiral shapes that enhance the beauty of the cut and the beauty of the girl. She can leave the rest of the hair alone to set into its natural shape. If the curls clump together a bit too tightly, just use the fingers to tousle them out—easy. If a touch more hold and shine is needed to add dazzle, or just to make it last, then use a spritz or two of a light-hold hair spray.

ERIKA

Erika has thick, dense, and curly hair. She’s a beautiful young woman, but before she came to me, her hair was so thick and long with no true shape that her old-fashioned, frumpy hairstyle was weighing her down. She also complained about how difficult it was for her to manage her hair from day to day. If you don’t get the right type of cut, this hair texture becomes tangled and tough to control. I left her hair relatively long but scissor-cut it with lots and lots of layers to give her hair softness, with enough space to allow us to see the features of her face. I also used the undercutting technique, giving beautiful definition and separation to her curls. This extra space is critical because Erika’s hair is now tangle free, making styling so much easier. The look was finished with gorgeous caramel highlights that perfectly suit her complexion and frame the layers of the cut and the features of her face.

Erika’s is very much a wash-and-wear style. She doesn’t need to blow-dry or brush it at all because that only induces frizz. If you go for a similar style, drying with a diffuser gives you extra volume but, to me, the best way to style it is to let it dry naturally. All you have to do is scrunch in a styling créme, foam, or lotion for lovely fullness and volume and then a curl-enhancing product to set the formation of your curls. Finish by having fun gently twisting a few curls with your fingers for added definition. You’ll look stunning. With this hair length, pulling the hair back into a pony or twist is another great option. I love natural curls that are pulled back; they always look so shapely and so sexy.

(Of course, both of these styles also suit the roller-setting techniques I mentioned previously.)

Your Go-To Styling Products

• If you have thick, heavy, curly, or Afro hair, too much of any product only weighs down your hair, so remember to use only a bit.

• Frizz is the biggest concern for ethnic hair types because the hair tends to be naturally dry and curly, so your number one product is an antifrizz serum.

• A curl-enhancing product is also a great help when you’re wearing curls. Curl enhancers add shape and definition to already curly hair, and you need only a dab or two to get bouncy and voluptuous curls.

• A leave-in conditioner is another terrific product if you wear your hair naturally curly. The moisture-giving benefits fight the frizz while also giving you a touch more shine.

• If you roller-set your hair, you need a setting lotion, créme, or gel to hold the set in place. Once again, look for good-quality products that are oil- or moisture-based for maximum performance.

• Finally, you may want one or more finishing products like a hair or holding spray and a shine enhancer. The hair or holding spray gives you longer-lasting hold; a shine product adds dazzle, glamour, and glitz to any finished do.

Hair Still Too Tough to Manage? Try Thermal Reconditioning

As I’ve said, hair is as unique as a fingerprint. For women who have thick, dense, and curly Hispanic or ethnically diverse hair, perhaps with some frizz, too, day-to-day styling can be a tough challenge, even with a great haircut. If this rings true for you, an innovative new technique presses frizzy, curly, or wavy hair flat and straight. Thermal reconditioning was invented in Japan to re-form Japanese women’s typically thick and tough-to-manage hair into straighter, smoother, and shinier shapes and textures that are soft and easy to style. To give you the tools to find out whether this would be a good option for you, let’s tackle some of the most common client questions.

Thermal Reconditioning Q & A

How long does a thermal reconditioning treatment last?

Whatever hair gets treated remains permanently straight. It never becomes curly or wavy again. The new growth that appears in the months following the treatment needs to be thermally reconditioned to match the texture in the rest of your hair. This new growth usually needs to be treated about four to six months after the initial process.

What kind of hair is suitable for thermal reconditioning?

Thermal reconditioning works well for most hair types except African-American Afro types. Afro hair is too fragile and cannot withstand the excessive heat. Latin, Asian, and Middle Eastern hair types are all great for this treatment, as are Caucasian and European hair.

What will my hair look like afterward?

Your hair will be straight and will feel genuinely soft and silky, with more shine.

Will I need to blow-dry my hair after the treatment?

If you want to blow-dry to obtain a particular style, you can certainly do it, no problem. However, just quickly blasting with heat for two minutes to get the moisture out should be all you need. Add some product, use your fingers to style, and you are ready to rock.

When I get the new growth retreated, will my stylist thermally recondition my whole head all over again?

No, just the new growth is treated. The previously treated hair is usually protected by using oil or conditioner so the solution doesn’t work its way into it. If there is still curl or wave in the previously treated hair, solution can be applied, but for a shorter period of time. Note: The retouch is often more difficult to perform. I recommend that you go back to the same stylist who successfully treated you in the first place.

I have color in my hair. Does that matter?

Tints and semipermanent hair color that deposit color are not usually any problem at all. Highlights are more tricky to work with. When hair is highlighted, usually bleach is involved. This makes the timing very difficult because some hair is lightened right next to hair that is not lightened. The hair may process fast where highlights are present and need much more time where the hair is dark and unprocessed. A prior consultation with your stylist is necessary to determine if thermal reconditioning is possible for those with highlighted hair. Bleached hair is not suitable for thermal reconditioning.

Will I get any breakage as a result of a bad treatment?

It is possible. If the stylist is inexperienced, you could get breakage from the service, although this almost never occurs with a trained and competent specialist. Be sure to find out how many treatments your stylist has performed and how long he or she has been doing it. You don’t want to be a guinea pig while your stylist is still training.

How much does thermal reconditioning cost?

Typically from $300 to $1,000, depending upon the length of the hair, its thickness, the amount of previous chemical processing and, of course, the stylist’s experience. It costs a lot because it takes a long time to do, normally between three and six hours, and it is a difficult treatment to perform, making it a real specialists’ field.

Healthy Ethnic Hair

Although for styles and styling there are definite differences depending on the type of ethnic hair you have, keeping your hair healthy requires the same basic approach.

Ethnic hair is most commonly porous and dry, hence the frizz. This hair type loses moisture easily and because of that you need to invest a bit of extra time to make sure it stays healthy, soft, and manageable. This is especially true if you plan to have any salon straightening procedures, because to be successful your hair must first be in tip-top shape. The bottom line: Adding moisture is essential for you.

The first thing to do is to make sure you are using the right shampoo and conditioner and then supplement them with weekly or monthly treatments that give your hair added moisture support. Whereas Caucasian hair normally (unless it’s unusually dry and frizzy or heavily processed) becomes oversaturated, limp, and lifeless with the use of oil-based and moisture-rich products, ethnic hair needs shampoos and conditioners that are rich in oil and moisture. Even as far back as three thousand years ago, Egyptian women used oils as part of their own hair care regimen, and today you should walk like an Egyptian to tame your own curly, frizzy hair. Oil- and moisture-based shampoos and conditioners literally provide a sealed barrier that holds in the hair’s moisture. Even better, look for products especially formulated for ethnic hair types. One warning: Don’t fall into the trap of believing that just because the bottle says it is specially designed for your hair, it’s a quality product. The best way to know for sure what you’re getting is to check the ingredients list. Look for coconut or nut oil, both great natural ingredients in shampoos and conditioners for helping to maintain the integrity of your hair. Also see if the product contains panthenol (or vitamin B₅), a great ingredient to add moisture and shine. If not, what other moisture-giving ingredients does it contain? Look at the label to see if it makes a moisture-giving promise. You want the packaging and/or the person selling you the product to make clear that the product contains the right oils and the right moisture for your hair.

Just like with thick, unmanageable Caucasian hair types, I recommend you condition your hair more often than you shampoo. Remember, shampoo keeps the scalp clean and stops the natural oils that build up on your scalp from working their way through your hair. Obviously you don’t want dirty or smelly hair, but a few days of natural oils working through your locks add nice texture and help you to shape and style your look. Conditioner, on the other hand, is an everyday essential. It keeps your hair soft and malleable, and you definitely do want that.

A weekly deep-conditioning treatment penetrates the hair shaft for lasting moisture support. As an alternative (or in addition if your hair needs lots of moisture), a monthly keratin-based, protein-filled treatment adds strength, which reduces the risk of breakage. This is particularly important if you use a lot of heat tools or are preparing for a salon straightening or retexturizing treatment. These products should be available in your beauty supply store or drugstore, but, don’t forget, if you go to your salon to pick them up, you’ll be able to double-check with a professional about which one is right for you.

Summing It All Up

Ethnic hair is some of the most challenging to work with, and my approach is to simplify cutting and styling as much as possible. First of all, it’s important to recognize the two different ethnic hair types: African-American hair is typically curly and frizzy and coarse; Hispanic and ethnically diverse hair is typically thick and dense and curly. Each requires a tailor-made approach.

For African-American hair, I like to work with the natural texture to create short and simple shapes that are modern and easy to manage. Or I like to relax the hair, resetting the curl formation so that there are more possibilities to work with. This second option lets you style your hair straight and smooth or shape your own curly hairstyle with the roller-setting technique. Both approaches make many of the styling options talked about in the rest of the book, and especially Chapter 5, “Styling at Home,” completely achievable. Both ways make day-to-day styling easier for you; they’re both fashion-forward and sure to give you a style you’ll love.

Hispanic and ethnically diverse ethnic hair has its own challenges, too, but it is more malleable than African-American hair, and by following a few guidelines you’ll also find that most of the techniques discussed throughout the book are achievable. For you, heavily layered haircuts that break up the density in your hair and celebrate your natural curl formation require only simple day-to-day styling. Use moisture-based styling products and a touch of frizz-fighting serum, and your hair truly is wash-and-wear—and looks fabulous, too. If your hair is so thick and dense that even the most heavily layered cuts still leave it difficult to control, you can explore thermal reconditioning—a great way to soften your curly hair texture.