This weekend, I assisted a girlfriend with an event she produced called "Faces of Ethiopia." It was a beautiful event - a fundraiser for the Ethiopian North American Health Professionals Association. Debbie Allen was the featured guest; proceeds from the event went to provide healthcare for the people of Ethiopia.
After that event, I attended Motown's 50th Anniversary celebration -- which was being held in the same building. I had a ball! Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy were there; Teena Marie performed with her daughter. The highlight of my evening for me, however, was meeting celebrity kingmaker, Benny Medina. He's awesome. Sorry, no pics. I wasn't even thinking. But I will provide pics in the future.
Back to the business at hand....
Caring for Curlies
First, let me establish that curly lace front wigs are a challenge. The hair used to make curly lace front wigs is not naturally curly. It has to be chemically permed in order to obtain the curly/wavy texture. If you talk to women who curly perm their hair, the perm does make their hair more difficult to manage. It becomes poofy, drier-looking and frizzy. Remember jherri curl juise that we had to constantly use to maintain a moist-formed curl.
Many of the women who purchase curly lace front wigs want the look to stay tame, glossy and frizz-free. As a result, they continuously wet with water and apply too much product -- sheens, serums, mousses -- in order to achieve and maintain the desired look. While they may attain the look in the morning, once the hair dries as the day goes on, the hair poofs again, looks dry, frizzes and tangles primarily from rubbing on their clothing at the nape. Adding to this problem, at night and in the morning the routine of applying product is repeated -- without shampooing the hair -- causing the hair to tangle even more. Sound familiar?
Well here are a few tips to help manage a curly lace front wig:
- When purchasing a curly, opt for a light density. All human hair will increase in volume as it is worn. By ordering a light density, as the hair poofs a bit, you will still have manageable volume and a nice look.
- Understand that you are purchasing human hair. Human hair will react to the climate, plain and simple. While the curl pattern may look beautiful when wet, as the hair dries, the pattern is going to loosen a bit and not always remain in perfectly shaped ringlets like it does when it is wet.
- Keep hair clean! I cannot stress this enough. Product in the hair, particularly heavy creams, oils and serums, WILL cause tangling and matting if they are allowed to build-up. Non-African-Americans have to wash their hair every day, or every other day in order to maintain beautiful hair. Adding product every day and washing it once a week, or every other week WILL lead to build-up and tangling.
- Make sure hair is tangle-free before washing. Before washing, first finger-comb hair and then comb with a "shampoo comb" - from bottom to top -- to ensure that there are no tangles in the hair, especially at the nape. If there are any tangles in the hair when it is submerged in the water, the water will lock the tangles causing a matted mess.
- Spritz hair with water before shampooing. When dry hair is submerged in water, the hair shaft immediately absorbs the water causing the hair to suddently swell and get poofy.
- Use distilled water. Of course, everyone doesn't have to do this, especially if you know that your water is treated, or softened. However, there are parts of the country where the water is just too harsh on hair. I've heard reports of ladies having problems with their natural hair as a result of hard water. So I make this recommendation because I don't know what the water is like in everywhere.
- Use a gentle shampoo with a low ph. I recommend Creme of Nature for Dry and Brittle Hair. It is the one with the green label. It does an excellent job of silking the hair. Use tepid water -- not cold and not too warm -- swish, or drag, hair in the sink/basin with all of the hair flowing in one direction. Or, wash hair on a mannequin head to ensure that all hair hangs downward.
- Rinse hair thoroughly. Again, this is to make sure there is no product -- the shampoo -- building up in the hair. Then squeeze gently from top to bottom to remove excess water.
- Apply a light leave-in conditioner. I recommend Aussie Mousse - Catch the Wave -- which is also a leave-in conditioner.
- Air-dry hair. Let hair air dry. If in a hurry can use a blow-dryer on a low setting For curly hair, use a blow-dryer with a diffuser attachment.
- Pin-curl hair before drying. To better ensure the curl pattern that you want, pin curl hair while it is wet and either blow-dry, or let air dry.
- Do not sleep on, or leave the house with wet hair. If wet hair rub against the car seat, or on clothing, it will dry tangled from the rubbing.
- Pin-curl hair at night. To maintain your look from day to day, instead of relying on the product to reform the curls, simply pin curl your hair at night and tie up with a silk scarf, or wear a bonnet. Remember ladies, lace wigs are human hair, not synthetic. Something has to be done to maintain the style of human hair.
- Go with the look. The look of curly/wavy hair will include a little volume.
One of our most popular styles is the Glamourlace Oprah-style. I always advise first time lace wig wearers not to purchase a curly lace wig because of the maintenance. Newbies should become comfortable with applying, wearing and removing a lace wig before taking on the additional challenge of maintaining the curl.
Well that about covers it for this post. As always, I welcome your questions, comments and encourage you to share your experiences. You can check out our collection of Glamourlace wigs at www.thehairnetwork.com.
Stay Glamourous!
