Every week in a newspaper somewhere there is a chilling report about the effects of synthetic dyes on somebody’s body. Recently, there was a story in the Daily Mail about a mother who was left in a coma after using hair dye, the doctor’s warned that even if she survives she will almost certainly be brain damaged. The culprit or should I say, active ingredient in the hair dyes that seems to be causing all the hullaboo is called para-phenylenediamine, or a close chemical variant of para-phenylenediamine (PPD). This ingredient …

There are times when we take medications and are completely unaware of the side effects of some of these medications as it relates to hair. Drug induced hair loss is quite common, recently a member of my family who has bursitis was taking medication for her condition but her hair started falling out. She called me quite distressed about her hair loss and demanded that I write up a hair regimen for her. She said she followed everything I said about hair breakage- Typical Hair Regimen for Breaking Hair and …

It was at the turn of the twentieth century that what we now know as hair relaxers was created and by a small accident, Garrett Augustus Morgan was working in a sewing machine repair shop where he was attempting to invent a new lubricating liquid for the machine needle. He wiped his hands on a wool cloth and when he returned the next day, he found that the cloth was smooth where he had wiped his hand. The lubricating liquid had changed the texture of the wool. Excited by the …

There are several reasons why synthetic hair dyes are bad for your hair. Chief among them is the fact that they contain harsh chemicals that strip the hair strands and they contain some preservatives that should not be put anywhere near your brain. However, if like me, you would like your hair to be thick and healthy after a hair coloring process, here are some reasons for you to take the plunge, so to speak, and make your own homemade dye using herbs and other natural ingredients.
Reasons To Make Your …

There are natural solutions for coloring gray hair permanently without the use of chemicals. These natural gray hair dyes are so good for your hair that you can use them without fear of damaging your hair over time. Here are the options:
Henna
Henna is a plant; it grows into a small tree or shrub. This plant has been used for centuries to dye hair and skin because of the coloring properties that are due to lawsone,  also known as hennotannic acid, which is a red-orange dye present in the leaves …

Before you dye your hair  it is best to know what you are getting yourself into. Years ago I went to a friendly neighborhood hair dresser who bleached a chunk of the front of my hair with hydrogen peroxide and something else, I had no idea what that something else was, all I knew was that my hair was almost bleached to white- yikes!
I wish I had known what on earth I was getting myself into before I took the plunge. All I knew at the time was that my …

I have no intention of allowing my hair to grow old gracefully.
I am going to fight gray hairs until they overpower me at age seventy or something, but I am not giving up my youthful tresses without a fight. That is why I went information hunting just for other fighters like myself who stand ready to eliminate grayness as soon as it sniffs anywhere close to our heads.
I compiled a list of ‘treatments’ that I got from the Internet and from those ladies who are in the ‘know’. One lady …

Recently, I met a group of women whose ages ranged from 40-65, all from the same family and only the oldest lady among them had a dusting of gray hair along her hairline. I found myself wondering what on earth did they use to dye their hair and still keep it so thick and strong looking.
When I asked I was laughed at, they did not use any hair dye and their grandmother, who was still alive at 90 something was not completely gray. I was shocked and a little envious; …

Traction Alopecia is a hair loss condition caused by damage to the dermal papilla and hair follicle by pulling or tension on the hair root over a long period of time. It often occurs in persons who wear tight braids, weaves and wigs. It is very common with black women and men who put their hair in tight braids. The segment of the black population where this condition occurs more frequently is with children, and young adults, it occurs less frequently in older women and men.
This is not an uncommon …

There are several oils that can be used in hair. By now we know that using mineral oil and petroleum oils and their derivatives is not necessarily the best thing for hair as they seal out moisture, thus contributing to hair dryness in the long run. If like me, you were a bit confused as to what the best oils are for hair and when you should use them, this article offers a look at what the major oils are and which ones are especially good for hair.
Essential Oils
Essential Oils …

Some time ago we did an article that highlighted some of the harmful ingredients found in hair products. In that article we learned that sodium lauryl sulphate is so harsh that factory workers have to cover all exposed skin or risk developing health problems. This ingredient is mainly found in shampoo and causes the suds that we are so fond of when we are lathering our hair, unfortunately it is not a very good product to use on your body or heads. Today we look at a very good alternative …

Conditioners are the holy grail for black hair because black hair needs moisture more than any other hair. You see, because of our curly hair texture, moisture does not readily travel to the ends of the hair like other hair types. Additionally, when we wash our hair with harsh shampoos we strip it of moisture and make a bad situation worse. Of course there are ways to get around this, you can pre-shampoo (pre-poo) with conditioner thus mitigate some of the harsh effects of shampoo or you can deep condition …