REAL PEOPLE REAL ANSWERS: MEN'S EDITION 3

A DAY IN THE LIFE

“Living Naturally You”

Real People Real Answers

 What is your name?

 Adrian (Loc Doc) Lamotte, Jr. I had a group of teens give me the nickname after some INTENSIVE repair work on one of their friends. It kind of stuck.

How old are you?

 34 

Where are you from?

Baton Rouge,La

What is your occupation?

 I'm an natural stylist specializing in the cultivation of locs.

How would you describe yourself?  

 Seasoned in all aspects of life, cautiously optimistic, and faithful.

When did you first decide to grow your locs?

 Feb 17th 2001 After having served on the military,it was an open declaration to the world that I wouldn't be simply following orders anymore.

If there was one word to describe your style what would it be?

Contrary. I tend to move in opposition to the masses.

Who are some of the people that inspire you most?

 My mother, who taught me to work hard. My father, who taught me to play hard. My wife, who taught me patience. Christ, who taught me self sacrifice.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

 Exactly what I am. A healer helping people rediscover the blessed natural beauty residing inside of them.

What advice would you give others who wanted to embrace their individuality?

 Find yourself,love yourself, and don't be afraid to show others who YOU are.

What's your favorite quote?

 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

I love the way she is so creative musically yet so Natural at the same time GONE head Janelle!!

ADVANCED NATURAL HAIR TECHNIQUES : PROTECTIVE STYLE SERIES 1

Protecting you're curls and Kinks

Going natural can be a major step for most women. Many times once we get that glorious mane we want to do everything in our power to optimize its health and protect it's growth. This is where protective styles come in super handy. Protective styles are ones that don’t . Wearing the hair in a protective style requires that the ends, the oldest and most fragile part of the, are usually tucked away and sealed with some kind of moisturizer  Some ladies will prefer to stay close to rocking fully natural hair protective hair styles ( like bantu knots, twists/twist outs, braid/braid outs, buns... all on their own hair)and even unpicked afros , while other push the envelope and add in add on to get beautiful tresses ( like full sew ins, long braids, phony pony's, heck some even use wigs as a protective style). I say whatever floats your boat do IT in the name of protecting YOUR beautiful natural hair.
     This series seeks to teach advanced techniques of hair styling to protect the growth of your natural hair. Our first edition will cover techniques using your very own natural hair. A person should be able to take from this article how to bantu knot their hair, how to use a good moisturizing base to keep a healthy un picked afro/or defined curl pattern, and finally utilizing braiding or twisting your own hair to recreate a simple french roll that can be taken down later as a twist/braid out for longer natural hair. LET'S BEGIN!!!

NOTE: For all protective styling options start with clean well moisturized hair .
SEE Toolkit for Healthy hair sucess
AND How to make your own natural hair conditioner

Protective Style 1 BANTU KNOTS

First begin with well moisturized clean hair  and part as desired as explained in " Twisting methods Part 1 the parts".
 Now proceed to two strand twist your hair with one of the parts as explained in
"Twisiting Methods Part 2".
Once you have one twist , begin to twist the single twist until you have tension in it and wrap it around itself in a circular coil . Do this until you have just enough left to tuck the end into the newly formed knot. For more secuity some may add a small black rubber band or bobby pin at the base. Repeat throughout entire head. BANTU FOR YOU now DONE!!:) After a couple weeks you can unravel your style to create beautiful curly waves as a second hair style. This style may last up to 6 weeks if protected by a satin bonnet or scarf.   For all you visual peeps here's a video of what I'm talking about.;)

Protective Style 2 Wash, Well Moisturize, and GO AFRO

This may be one of the easiest protective hair styles to do but also very useful. Sometime picking/combing/teasing. or roller setting that fro can do some serious damage over time . The best thing in this instance may be to wash and conditioner your hair and leave it be. You can opt to make your own hair gel to define some of the curls a little but thats it:) The best way to protect your hair is to leave it alone:) See vid below on making your own natural hair gel.

Protective Hair Style 3

First see How to Two strand twist natural hair
or How to braid natural hair

Now here's a fabulous video tutorial on how to do a simple french roll as a protective style for longer natural hair. After a couple weeks you can unravel either style to have a second beautiful style of wavy curly natural hair.

note: This style can be done with individual twists or braids:)

vid 2 example of twist out:)!!

Well WHEW!!! This is just a sample of protective hair styles that can be done without extensions:) More to come. Look out for part 2 of our protective hair series where we add that add on right on !!:) See you guys soon!!


By M Kyles of Kyles Natural

In lieu of my up coming Protective Hairstyle series An cool article from Co CO and Cream:)

Synthetic vs. Human Hair: Which Is Best?

 

 

Although I have a fabulous curly natural coif, I love to experiment with weaves, wigs and extensions. Until recently, however, my weave world was limited to human hair.

All that changed last Saturday. As I was thumbing through magazines looking for inspiration, I stumbled upon a picture of a lush curly hairstyle that was created using synthetic hair. My immediate reaction was shock because it seems like now-a-days everyone uses Remy hair and 100% human hair imported from India, Malaysia and Italy.
Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued so I sent a text to one of my weave-connoisseur friends posing the question: “How do you feel about using synthetic hair?”
“Ew! Don’t use that,” she responded. “I have used synthetic hair in the past, but I prefer human hair because it looks and feels more natural.”
While that opinion is shared by many, I believe a large part of the hair experience is how you take care of your weave and wigs, not necessarily whether they are made of synthetic or human hair.

Team Human Hair

Celebrity hairstylist Amoy Pitters shared similar sentiments with my friend on synthetic hair being an “absolute no-no,” and she says she only uses imported human hair on her clients.
Imported human hair can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars and with proper care (cleansing, wearing heat protectant when using heat and nurturing the hair like it’s your own), this hair could last for up to a year. But for some of the more frugal beauties, human hair from a local beauty supply store is the next-best-thing.
There are many shoppers who stray from using synthetic hair because they want the luxury of hair that looks and feels more natural to them. However, anti-synthetic hair weave wearers should know there are loopholes in how human hair labeled.
“People get confused and think that as long as a brand of hair has some type of human hair in it, they can say on the package 100% human hair,” Amoy says. “You should do your research because they could mix that hair with a synthetic blend.” This was especially fascinating to me because some of my friends who swear off synthetic hair, wear it without even knowing it.

Team Synthetic Hair

Celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen said she uses human hair on her clients but has no problem using synthetic hair from time to time, especially curly textures.
“The best curly hair comes in synthetic form,” says Ursula. “Wearing a synthetic wig is a good investment in between weaves because it helps cut the cost of you spending so much money on your hair.”
There are styling limitations to using synthetic hair so it’s important to be conscious of the amount of heat that’s applied. You also can’t brush it too much. “Heated rollers are great for styling and you should wash the hair in warm water and let it air dry,” Ursula says.
I’m open to using either hair texture depending on the style that I want and the amount of care that I’m willing to dedicate to maintenance. I know that my synthetic hair needs a little oil sheen and good paddle brush to help me tame curls and I know that for bouncy human hair I should stray from heavy oils and let it flow. In my opinion, all is fair in wigs and weave.

What’s your take on the human hair vs. synthetic hair debate? Do you prefer one over the other?

-Margaret Francois

 

Hair ENVY Just Beautiful ENVY ALERT for all you TWA's OUT there:)