Loctician Hair Tips from Nyesha Samuel

Natural Black Hair Care Tips

When it comes to the gentle care of African American skin and hair, there are various ingredients that well-made products contain. These ingredients will help to rejuvenate your skin and hair and replace the nutrients that are lost in day to day living.

 

Shea Butter Cream

Shea butter cream has long been known for its effectiveness as an emulsifier and a moisturizing cream. It is especially valuable in treating wrinkles, skin discolorations, dark spots, blemishes, dry skin, acne, burns and for fading scars. Shea butter also helps to provide natural protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is easily absorbed into your skin, and it won't leave your skin feeling greasy, as some other types of products can.

Shea butter cream helps to soften your skin, and may sometimes

Beads, Braids & Beyond

Nikki from Beads, Braids & Beyond  has a great blog where she shows how to create cute hair styles for little girls, along with useful styling tips and kid friendly product information. She also highlights a lot of her readers children and their hair styles.  Look below for my interview with Nikki -

What inspired you to create the Beads Braids Beyond blog?

The lack of information on Biracial/African American children's hair care inspired me to create the blog. I remember being "the clueless mom" and not knowing where to start when it came to my daughter’s hair. I remember goggling and goggling and never being able to find a lot of information on my daughter’s hair type, or being able to find styles that I could. I found countless blogs for children with naturally straight hair, "what about our children?" … I thought. Don't get me wrong, I love those other blogs, but I wanted to see a blog dedicated to natural Biracial/African American children’s hair. I wanted to see our children’s hair being embraced. 

How do you come up with so many creative styles?

All of my style inspirations come from other women and mothers. I browse a lot of different forums, blogs, and other hair care sites and I try to tweak a lot of styles so they are appropriate for my daughter’s age. There are so many talented women out there so I definitely owe my style inspiration to them.

How old is your daughter, and what does she like most about being the star of your blog?

My daughter is 4 years old. I think her favorite thing to do is seeing all of the other children featured on the blog. My daughter is the only child with curly hair in her class so I think it's a nice change to see so many other natural children with curly hair.

She seems to love participating in the styling process. Most kids don't have the patience! What keeps her interested showing off her cool hairstyles?

Well, depending on how long the style takes, we might take breaks. Snack breaks, run around the kitchen table breaks, restroom breaks, etc. I think I keep her interested. We talk the whole time I am styling or washing her hair. If we're watching one of her favorite cartoons/movies I make it a point to sing along with her and dance. Her current favorite is The Princess and the Frog. The songs are really great and when mommy gets into them....it's over! She definitely gets into it and forgets her hair is even being styled! I think the styling process is all about mother and daughter bonding time. It's important for me to show her that doing her hair is not a chore, that I enjoy it, and we should enjoy this time together.

You have a great following. How long have you been blogging?

I started Beads, Braids & Beyond at the end of October 2009. I think it's amazing that the word got out so quickly. This goes to show that people were waiting for something for our kids. I mean...I was waiting myself! I couldn't wait any longer. I actually asked some moms on another hair board if they would make a blog but it seemed like everyone was too busy, so I took the plunge. Your styles and post have been great inspirations to other Moms.

What has been one of your most cherished moments as result of sharing your knowledge through your blog?

Probably all of the emails and comments I get. So many mothers (and non-mothers) email me thanking me for taking the time out to create this blog. Some moms find the blog and are like me when I first started, clueless. They tell me how much the information I provide helps and show me pictures. They tell me there are no more tears during "hair time" and that they now look forward to the mother and daughter bonding experience. I have also had emails and comments thanking me for my Texture Softener post because they were going to use it on their child. I am always happy to hear that they changed their mind about relaxing their child’s hair, or that they are transitioning their little diva.

What are some of the products you use regularly for your daughters hair type?

Right now we are experimenting with products. We have tried lots and it's funny because most of her staple products are pretty cheap: Virgin coconut oil, unrefined shea butter, Herbal Essence Hello Hydration conditioner, Giovanni Direct Leave-in, ORS Lock & Twist Gel. I currently love Blended Cutie Down & Out Styles for her hair. There are other products I really like for her hair but those are the main ones we use.

What is your advice for styling curly hair?

Don't try to fight it! It will fight you back. If your hair wants to be big, it will be big. LET IT BE BIG! A lot of people email me asking how to get "the wet look" and in my opinion, you cannot get the wet look! You can define your curls but it definitely will not look like it does when it's wet once it dries. I don't care what product you use. If the hair wants to be frizzy one day, let it be frizzy. Don't keep chasing your child around the house with a spray bottle filled with water. I am going to take a quote I see in so many forums..."Let it do what it do!"

Beads, Braids & Beyond 
Nikki's You Tube Videos

Your Advice for Dry Skin

Dry skin has always been a big issue for me. I am always struggling to find the right moisturizer for my face and lotion for my body. What do you use? Let us know what products you would recommend and have been heaven sent for you?

Big wet hair!

I love these headbands! They are perfect for after washing my hair. I can pile my hair on top of my head, and make a loose bun, and take my time palm rolling my hair. With these headbands, I can do this and still feel comfortable with the weight of my hair on the top of my head (which is really heavy when wet). These are really gentle. They do not pull your hair. And they are easy to use.

I recommend them to any one that feels like their hair is really heavy after washing it. Or just any one that wants to get their hair out of their face. I have been trying to find the actual style name of this kind of hair band, so I can search for it online. I usually just get lucky, like I did with these, and find them at a local Ross Store. But I have also seem them occasionally at CVS or Walgreens. But not often. If you see them, buy it! It's a great find. I got all of these for $3 dollars (the price at Ross). Needless to say, at that price, I got two packs... ;-).

Kind of freaked out a little...lol

Last night, I was on the computer with one of my daughter's, playing a learning game. My lovely husband came by and wanted to see how we were doing. So things are going great. Then I realize something. He is holding our cat in his arms, standing above my head. Nothing wrong with that right? Well it would have been cool - if my cat wasn't shedding up a storm. So while my husband is petting my cat above my head, all this cat hair is just falling on my head... Aaaagghhh!!!

I love my cats. But cat hair and loc's do not mix. If cat hair gets in loc's/dreadlocks, it can get embedded in the hair and become a part of the loc. My husband is usually very careful about that kind of stuff. But at that moment, he didn't not realize how much our cat (Jazzy) was shedding. So he helped me get out all the cat hair that was visible to the eye. But after that, I also spent about 10 minutes brushing my locs, just to make sure that all the cat hair was out. Crisis averted... I can breath again.

The Lint Fix - for Loc's!

Good morning! I am barely awake. But I wanted to put together this quick post before starting my day. One of the only unfortunate parts of having loc's/dreads, is that once in a while, we get lint stuck in our hair. This happens because we don't brush our hair daily (as far as I know this is the main reason. Feel free to let me know if there are any other reasons why this happens). Having lint in my loc's is very embarrassing. It has nothing to do with how clean your hair is. You can wash it every day, but the lint will find its way in there some how, from sweaters, towels, blankets... you name it. It's not often, but it happens. For me, its my biggest pet peeve, when it comes to my hair, because I am such a neat freak. I don't ever want to give the impression that I am not a clean person, because I am!

Most of you will already know this quick fix. If you are unable to get the link out, by using your fingers, or tweezers - please do not kill your loc's by breaking them apart, to get the lint out. If you are breaking open your loc's for this, you are weakening the loc and it will eventually fall off. If you are not able to get the lint out, simply use a sharpie marker to mask the color of the lint. All you have to do is quickly dab the small area where the lint is, and the marker ink will cover the color of the lint. And it will no longer be visible. I know leaving the lint in sounds gross, but if you can not get it out - its better to cover it with sharpie, than to kill your locs in the process.

I use the brown marker. It works best for me because I have about three shades in my hair - black, brown and brownish red. So not matter where, the brown will do the trick for me. I don't have to use it often, but I try to carry this with me in case of any emergencies. To cut down on lint, always cover you hair when you sleep at night or when you are cleaning. And also try this brushing technique before washing your hair. It helps to get lint out of your loc's. If any one else knows of any great fix it tips, let us know by replying to this post...

or emailing me at naturalhairbeautfy@gmail.com.

The Big Fix

Ok, so I had no idea I was going to need so many pictures, to show the steps of how I fix my broken loc's. A lot of you will probably already know this tip, but I thought I would share it any way. I would also like people to remark on the fact that my hair "fix it" includes adding hair, which is often a no no, if you are natural... But, I really wanted to find a way to fix fallen, broken or weak loc's without combining loc's. And this works for me. But I am open to hearing your opinion on this process. I also apologize in advance, because this post is so long! If you read my previous post: Poor babies, you already know that I had four loc's that broke off and why.

If you want to try this process, you will need Human Kinky Hair (in a color that matches your locs), a thick thread (also in a color that matches your locs), and a needle.



Follow these steps (see pictures for each step):

1.Needle is inserted into the head of the broken loc.



2.After pulling the thread all the way through, re-insert the needle into the same area, so that the needle comes out of the head of the broken loc (please see picture).



3. Insert needle into the loc, that the broken loc came from.



4. Pull thread so that the loc and broken loc meet together. Sew the two ends together, make a loop knot to tie the thread off. Cute off the remaining thread at the bottom of the knot.

5. Take a small amount of the Human kinky hair.

6. Wrap the hair around the section of the loc where it was sewn together.



7. Use the loc as a third piece, as you braid the kinky hair in, to cover the sewn together section. Once you have finished braiding the hair in, it should completely cover the whole section that was sewn together. If there is a little bit of hair human hair left after braiding it in, just wrap the excess hair around the loc.

8. After this is done, your loc should be fully connected. But I would recommend waiting to do this process when you are not planning to wash your hair or do a major style. You want this newly fixed loc to be able to reconnect, and it needs a few days to re-adjust to its new home. Also, after finishing the repair, your loc may have a bumpy appearance. This is easy to fix.

9. Simply use the palm roll method to smooth out the loc. And you are done!

So this is how I fix my locs. With this method, I can avoid combining locs and still save each individual loc maintained, to keep fullness. Let me know what you think of this process. Would you try it? Is it worth it to you, to add hair, in order to avoid combining loc's? And thank you for reading this post. I know.. it is way to long :-).

Poor Babies!

Aww yes... The fallen ones!

No ones loc's or hair is perfect. Me - I am a full time mom, wife and I have a full time job. With this, as most of you know, comes the need to workout, so I can be healthy enough to see my children grow, and to meet and care for my future grand children. I also have to run a household and I have the (sometimes unrealistic) desire to make everyone happy at all times. This means, I am always busy. From 6:00 am till 11:00 pm, I am on the go and always needed by someone, somewhere. This is the life of a working mom and wife, as I am sure most of you are aware of this. I love my family, so I will not complain.

But, I often neglect myself in the process of taking care of everyone else. So that's where my fallen loc's come into play. A little bit of stress, lack of constant maintenance and a crazy crazy schedule has caused me to not only ignore a few week spots, but to just push aside locs that have fallen out!! Man o Man.... Ok, so its time for damage control. I will work on this today and take pictures showing how each of these loc's found a home. Stay Tuned!!

Such a bad habbit... :-(

I just realized that I have been doing something that's damaging to my hair, without even realizing it. If my roots are not freshly twisted and I have fresh new growth at the base of my loc's, I will run my fingers through my hair and pull out little naps when I am bored or stressed. I use to do this once in a while, but just realized that I have been doing this like once or twice a day. This is not a good habit to have. Especially since once I wash my hair, the little naps will loosen up and help to keep the base of my loc's stronger. I need to keep my hand out of my hair. If I keep this up, my hair is going to start to thin out and cause my locs to be thinner and weaker. So I think I just learned my lesson. No hands in my hair unless absolutely necessary...

Thrift Stores

Right now, I have a total obsession with scarves. I can not get enough of them. So I try to go to H&M like every other month to see what they have; and I check out sales on Ebay every once in a while. But yesterday, I was out in San Pablo, CA. and I was passing by Thrift Town. I had some time to kill, so I made a quick stop to see if they had any thing interesting. And I hit the jack pot... lol. They had tons of scarves. I found about 10 scarves (actually more - but I didn't want to go to crazy) that I liked, all ranging from 99 cents to $2.99 each. And they all look pretty new. I especially love the turquoise cowl neck scarf I found - love it.

Once I got home, I hand washed all the scarves and let them air dry.

I am not much for thrift stores, but if I can get some awesome scarves in good condition for cheap, O.. I am all over it! H&M is still my favorite spot for scarves as of now, but its nice to know of some options.

Scarves and wraps!

So if you read my previous post - my hair was looking a "hot mess" for about 2 weeks. Which is a big deal, because I don't like to walk around not feeling by best. Any how... I ended up having to be creative with wrapping my hair to cover it up. Here are a few of my favorite looks.


These two (blue an orange), above and below are some of my favorite scarves/head wraps. If you are able to find this crinkle material, it is good for using as a wrap. It's easy to tie, breaths, and is not to hot and is comfortable. So its good for hot or cold days.

Braid bun with a quick scarf wrap.

I got a cool little texture after wearing the braid bun for one day and taking it down. I didn't add any water or product before braiding it. If you want the texture to last longer use a setting spray before braiding.


I love scarves and wraps. At the moment I have a small addiction to finding new ones. If you know of some cool places to find cute head wraps or scarves, leave a comment.

Tip for a quick bun!

Ok, so I was messing around with my locs after getting out of the shower and found the perfect way to keep my hair out of my face while either washing my face or doing my make up. The great thing about this style is that I don't feel the weight of my hair because of the way its all placed on my head. I used a huge scarf, wrapped it around the back of my head and tied it in the front, and wrapped the rest of the scarf in the back. After that I pulled the rest of the hair into a quick bun.

I like it, I think I will do it more often...

My "Hair Bible"

When I started my loc journey, I was on the hunt for any and all the information I could find on hair maintenance, loc styles, the loc'd and deadlock community and more! I was happy that I was able to find wealth of information on the Internet. But shocked and saddened that mainstream publications pretty much ignored or didn't acknowledge women or men with dreadlocks / loc’s.

Once in a while, I would see an article in Essence Magazine featuring a loc style. Or there might be a featured article in an African American hair magazine. But that’s it. In a world where straight hair is the ultimate goal - all I saw when I opened magazines where tips, tricks, products and every idea imaginable on how to get, keep and maintain long straight hair. For quite a while I felt as if society did not value the beauty of loc'd hair. So I decided that I had to move passed that desire, for everyone to see the beauty in natural hair, which I saw. For some, that day may never come. But one of the challenges of having loc'd hair is being able to love your crown of hair, no matter what any one else has to say. From that point on - I decided to make my own "hair bible" as I like to call them. Over the years I have collected photo, articles, how-to guides, recipes, maintenance idea's, inspirational stories and lots of information on dreadlock / loc accessories and styles.

I treated these binders as my own source of information, guidance and inspiration. If I ever felt lost about my choice to be natural or if I feel like I am own my own... all I have to do is open up one of my binders and look at all of the information I have put together. It took time, love and patience. I hope that in the future, we can pick up a mainstream publication like Elle, Vogue or W Magazine, and see someone that looks like us throughout the magazine. Until then, I will continue to add to my own collection of amazing pictures, articles and stores sharing knowledge, and more.

My Favorite Products

1. Dark & Lovely Peppermint Shampoo: I love the way that my hair smells after I shampoo it. With Dark and Lovely peppermint shampoo, it has a great scent and my hair feels refresh after a good wash.
2. IC Leave In Hair & Scalp Treatment: IC leave in conditioner is great because it's not a heavy product. I try to stay away from all heavy, creamy white products. It weighs you hair down and leaves a white build up appearance. When choosing a conditioner it should always be a clear liquid or something that will wash out without leaving behind a lot of product.
   
3. African Pride Oil: African pride oil is great because it really saturates your scalp and hair. It also smells good.
4. Lock & Twist Gel: I love this product because it feels very soft to the touch and not at all greasy. When it dries, there is not flaking (unless you use to much), and if used properly will not cause build up.
   
5. Silk Scarf: I always wear a silk scarf when I am cleaning, laying down or sleeping. It helps to keep out dirt and lint, and keeps my loc's neat and clean.