Monday, October 22, 2012

Jewfro

There is a hair group out there that does not have it easy. It is known in some circles as "Jewish hair."

There are females out there that think the only way to tame their mane is to slap on excess amounts of gel, leaving their locks looking wet and crunchy.

If one's hair looks soaked on Shabbos day, that is not a good thing. 

In general, one has to work with, not against, what they've got. This hair will never lie flat, unless one pays a fortune to hair professionals for straightening chemicals. In any case, I find a vibrant head of bouncy curls to be quite lovely.

Instead of a stiff gel, try a frizz-fighting mousse, lotion, or serum (John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum Original formula was recently highlighted in Allure magazine's Readers' Choice Awards: "It's lightweight enough to make wild ringlets behave without turning them droopy"); these will define the curls and reduce frizz without leaving a visible residue. 

If one does use gel, don't use it to plaster down the hair; it will never be flat. Scrunch product moderately through curls to provide definition, allowing height and form. Don't try to restrain it; let the hair bounce, let it be free.


I have actually tried the Dabur Vatika Hair Oil. Smells yummy and does great conditioning. 
 

I recently come across a leave-in conditioner which I love. My hair, while not curly, is thick, wavy, and prone to frizz. The previous leave-ins that I used was recommended for "all hair types," which would provide more body (which I did not need) rather than conditioning (which I seriously do, even after my weekly coconut oil treatments). 


Alba Botanica Leave In Conditioner rocks because it is meant for dry and damaged hair types. I used it for the first time on erev Shmini Atzeres, and it nourished my hair so well that it wasn't remotely crispy after ironing. 

It can, however, be too moisturizing, and recommends using it sparingly (which I did not realize until after I applied). The bottle design is a tad faulty in that it is easy to squeeze too much out.

A number of the reviewers, who have curly hair, love it as a frizz-fighter and curl definer.    

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with your tips... without going into a full chemistry lesson, most hair products are just bad for curly hair, even the ones supposedly formulated for dry/frizzy/curly hair.

The girl in the video is an interesting hair type because she seems to be of mixed ethnicity. She's lucky enough to have tight curls without the fragility of afro hair. I'd peg her as a 4a/3c hybrid in the official "curly hair lingo" (http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types), so she may even need the intense moisturizing routine. However, even she gets it wrong by using all those products (although her hair looks great, I wonder about long term care). And combing her hair when it's dry! Ouch. Not to mention what is she going to do on day 2? Pile on more product and end up with too-greased hair?

Actually, her hair is easier to maintain than the classic Jewish types because it will always dry as very tight curls, whereas most type 3b curlies such as myself have some sections that are not very curly at all (then again, we can swing both ways and blow dry it straight ;)

Some background: I have curly hair (70% type 3b, 25% 3a, and 5% 3c), which is similar to the "Jewish hair" photo you posted) and own exactly two products: All natural conditioner (no drying shampoos!) and all-natural 'gel' which is actually a liquid with no alcohols in it (it relies on flax seeds for hold). And I never use heat to dry unless I'm going straight, which is ~10x a year max. Even then, I use gentle heat and let my hands do the work. The result is that my hair still smells like conditioner instead of "burned blow dry smell" when I am done!

My hair never frizzes (ok, in 100% humidity it will frizz but no product can help for that unless you go for the wet look) and I can get great second and third day hair as well (shhh, even fourth) just by using water to reactivate the curls... A satin pillowcase helps too.

Here are the videos curlies really need (read the descriptions too); these people have more classical "Jewish" hair:

Curly hair overview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhhCWDMiRnY

Co-Washing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSf64OZn5ws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYH_AhRMM4Y

Styling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2qD38ZYX6A

Princess Lea said...

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