Glossary

Here’s a list of the tools, products, and techniques I talk about in the book. I give a brief explanation of each so that you have a quick reference guide on hand whenever you need it. I also include short explanations for a few terms and phrases that may not be immediately recognizable to some.

bangs. The part of your hair that drapes over and across your forehead and eyes, framing the features of your face. Very sexy!

blow-dry setting spray. A styling product that prepares the hair for a beautiful, full blow-dry.

blow-dryer. Tool that blows hot (and cold) air to straighten, curl, shape, and style your hair. An essential product for all.

blow out. Refers to the blow-dry, as in, “What a great blow out.”

bobby pin. A small metal hairpin used to hold the hair in place.

buildup and residue. When you shampoo and fail to rinse thoroughly, the result is shampoo suds sitting on the scalp, causing irritation and flakiness. Buildup and residue also result if you use lots of styling product and don’t shampoo regularly, giving you oily, greasy hair.

bungee band. A versatile elastic hair band that locks the hair into place using hooks at each end of the elastic.

conditioner. Product that gives hair extra moisture, shine, softness, and manageability. Essential for healthy-looking and lustrous hair.

cool-shot button. Hit this button on your blow-dryer for a blast of cool air to fix and set your look into place.

cornrows. Small fine rows of hair braided tightly to the scalp to produce a pattern.

cup and scrunch. A styling technique used for curly hair that isn’t being blown dry or diffused. It literally means cupping and scrunching all your curls with your hands (from when the hair is wet until it is almost dry, at regular intervals) to get beautiful, bouncy curly hair.

curl créme. A styling product tailored to—and essential for—curly hair. Activates curls while fighting the frizz that is common with this hair type.

curling iron. A heat-based hair-styling tool used for creating waves and curls in straighter hair types.

cuticle. The outer layer of your hair shaft, the bit you see.

deep conditioner. Similar to regular conditioner products but full of a feast of proteins, vitamins, and nutrients to restore vitality in undernourished, chemically treated, and chronically dry hair. Should be used only once a week at most.

defrizz serum. A styling product that controls flyaways, eases excess volume, and eliminates frizz. Can be used on straight and curly hair types.

demipermanent color. Mild color that adds luster and depth, freshens permanent colors, and changes tone.

density. The amount of hairs on your head. If you have loads of hair, your hair has heavy density; if you have less hair, your hair has light density.

diffuser. A styling tool for curly hair types. The air of a blow-dryer blows curls out of place, resulting in a loss of style. A diffuser attached to the dryer diffuses this airflow, while retaining the heat, so you can dry your curly hair quickly and easily without disturbing curls.

extensions. Human or artificial external lengths of hair that can be tracked, woven, glued, or braided into your hair for extra length. See weave and weft.

flyaways. Cheeky little pieces of hair that like to “fly away" from the rest of your style, sticking up and destroying your look. Use a hair, holding, or shine spray to flatten them out.

frizz. Hair that is dry and porous is usually frizzy. Frizz occurs at the ends of the hair shaft, and that part of the hair tends to “frizz" away from the rest of the style, creating an unhealthy-looking finish. Cutting off the damaged ends is the only surefire way to get rid of frizz, but using moisture-rich shampoos and conditioners and frizz-fighting styling products helps.

graduation. A cutting technique in which there is a subtle and gradual buildup of weight, typically in the back of the hair, that adds strength and style to many different looks.

hair créme. A modern, light-hold styling product that is rich in moisture, to give you a smooth, natural-looking, and sexy style.

hair gel. A classic firm-hold styling product to slick, set, and shape all hairstyles.

hairnet. A small, often elasticized, fine net worn over long hair to hold it in place, particularly when you are roller-setting your hair overnight.

hairpin. A long metal tool used to hold hair in place.

hair shaft. The full length of one piece of hair, from root to end.

heat stress. Damage to your hair caused by using a lot of heat tools (blow-dryers, straightening irons, flat irons) consistently over a period of time.

highlights. Lighter color that provides variation in hair tone. There are face-framing highlights, half-head highlights, and full-head highlights. Compare lowlights.

holding spray. A styling product that gives long-lasting hold and control to all hair types.

ionic technology. A recent technical innovation that is used in blow-dryers, brushes, and straightening and curling irons to add extra shine, smoothness, and strength, and reduce static and frizz in medium to thick and chemically treated hair.

keratin. A fibrous protein forming the main structural constituent of healthy hair. It can also be found in deep conditioners because dry and damaged hair has typically lost a lot of keratin and deep conditioners restore that lost health.

large round brush. A styling tool used to add lots of volume, or to create big loose waves.

layers. A classic hairdressing technique that removes weight and bulkiness by cutting much shorter pieces that fall above your desired length.

leave-in conditioner. Lightweight and daily conditioners, and indeed conditioners labeled “leave-in" or something similar, can be left in the hair rather than rinsed out. They add extra moisture, shine, and smoothness, and also make hair more manageable.

level system. A system used by hair colorists to value the natural level of lightness or darkness in your hair color. It ranges from black to lightest blond and helps the colorist establish what hair colors are most suitable for you.

lowlights. The same as highlights, but providing darker rather than lighter tones.

medium round brush. A styling tool that adds lift and volume, and creates soft waves and curls.

mousse. A classic styling product that holds, controls, and lifts.

natural wet set. The cupping and scrunching technique is often labeled the “natural wet set,” as you set your curls into place naturally.

nozzle. An essential attachment to your blow-dryer that focuses the heat where you want it to go for a more controlled blow-dry.

one-length line. Rather than cutting in layers or texturizing the interior, all the hair reaches the same length, providing a strong, solid structure.

permanent color. Strong, dynamic color in a complete range of tones.

pieciness. A hairdresser’s word to describe short and heavily textured haircuts that have a lot of separation in the length, making the style look choppy and messy.

pigment. Your natural hair color. Everybody has either more red pigment or more yellow pigment in her hair. The more red pigment, the darker your natural hue; the more yellow pigment, the lighter your natural hue.

porosity. The hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. Hair that doesn’t retain moisture has a lot of porosity. Porous hair is extradry and normally full of frizz. Hair that has been through too much heat-tool styling or chemical treatments is most prone to being porous. It doesn’t look healthy.

razor cut. Any haircut that is done with a razor rather than scissors.

rollers. Styling tools that you wrap your hair around, leaving the rollers in the hair for a short or extended time to create more wave, curl, and movement in your style. Rollers come in three types: sponge, Velcro, and hot.

roller-set. Using rollers to give yourself a set style.

scissor cut. Any haircut that is done with scissors.

semipermanent color. Temporary hair color (lasting no more than twelve shampoos). Adds shine, fullness, and depth in a variety of subtle tones.

shampoo. A product that cleanses your hair. Has lots of suds and lather, and a good one leaves your hair clean, refreshed, and smelling lovely.

shine spray. A styling product that shines up your style, giving you more glitz and dazzle. Most shine sprays also fight flyaways and leave your hair flat and smooth.

small round brush. A styling tool best used on short hairstyles. Great for adding lift, smoothness, and volume. Can also be wrapped around the hair to create curly ringlets.

split ends. The tips of hair that have split open, making it impossible to achieve a successful style. Causes include dryness, too much heat-tool styling, or too many chemical treatments—and not enough care to restore the moisture. The only guaranteed way to get rid of them is to cut them off.

straightening iron. A heat-based styling tool used to press your hair smooth, straight, and flat.

styling créme. A product that builds volume with lots of hold. Great for when you want to roller-set your hair.

swing and movement. Describes a cut that creates space in your hair so that it moves freely and sexily.

taking the weight out. A cutting technique for thick and bulky hair. Your stylist cuts into the interior of your hairstyle to remove those bulky and unnecessary pieces that can weigh down your look.

temperature gauge. Good hot tools have a temperature gauge so you can see exactly how much heat you are applying to your hair.

texture paste. A styling product that creates pieciness, separation, and loose and messy textures in short to midlength styles.

texturizing. Removes weight or bulk in your hair to provide a lighter look with lots of movement and fluidity.

thermal reconditioning. Permanent process that makes thick, dense, and curly ethnic hair straight, smooth, and shiny.

thermal protector. A product that protects your hair from heat damage by providing a barrier against the heat. Essential for anyone using heat tools.

tourmaline. The key ingredient in ionic technology, tourmaline is a semiprecious crystal and natural source of the ion energy that makes hair styling in medium to thick hair, and in chemically treated hair, more effective.

track. When you want to put an extra hairpiece into your hair, it’s essential to create a “track" that the extended hair piece can be sewn in to. This track—or hem—works like an anchor to hold the new hair in place.

undercutting. Cutting hair underneath shorter than top layers. Makes cut livelier and fuller and gives the illusion of body and bounce.

vent brush. The air goes through the vents in the brush as you blow-dry, allowing for faster, more effective styling in short to midlength hairstyles.

virgin head. Anyone who has never had any hair color or other chemical treatment service performed on her hair.

volume foam. A styling product best used to lift up, thicken, volumize, and support all hairstyles. An essential product for fine, limp, and lifeless hair.

weave. A separate hairpiece sewn or glued along a “track" to add length and/or color.

weft. Loose strands of synthetic hair braided into your natural hair to add length and/or color.

wet set. Rollers put into wet hair and left in for an extended period of time—even overnight—to create the longest-lasting kind of roller-set.

wide-tooth comb. A great styling aid for all hair types, but especially curly textures. Use it to comb hair after applying styling product for even distribution.