Haircare article

sithembile

Well-Known Member
Whilst doing an elusive search for reviews on Arosci relaxer, I found this article. Its interesting to see that the issues we discuss are the same for Kenyan women.

Saturday Magazine
April 7 - 16, 2001


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Tress management
Worried about bad hair days even though you regularly go to the salon? NJOKI KARUOYA speaks to an expert on the most common errors made by hair care professionals

Photos By Joseph Mathenge

The principles of hair care among Kenyan women have seen a revolutionary transformation in the past decade with results that are evident today. Many women will admit that they are in a better position today to manage and style their hair than they were ten years ago. The gigantic steps that Kenya's hair care industry has taken can be attributed to the infiltration of numerous international hair products that have changed the way women treated their way. With all these products in the market, Kenyan women have no excuse for having bad hair days or unmanageable hair.

"There are different products from different companies that are good for both natural and relaxed hair," says Juvinaris Kyalo, the head hairdresser at Bodywise Health Club. "The wide range has made it possible for all women to afford the products, ensuring that there is something for everybody."

His sentiments are shared by Randolph Gray, Arosci's technical consultant for Europe and Africa, who was recently in the country to conduct a series of workshops with selected hair salons and beauty boutiques. Gray was also finalising a partnership with Bodywise Health Club on product distribution and training.

"I have seen remarkable improvement in the way Kenyan women today manage and style their hair since my first visit here four years ago," he says. "I'm particularly impressed with the changes and advancements in African and Caribbean styles today. Women are going for far more natural looks rather than the rigid effect of days gone by. Even with wefts, weaves and extensions, the overall look is more natural and free. In fact, wefts, weaves and extensions are now extremely popular among European women, though they were essentially developed for the Afro-Caribbean market. Women have become more adventurous, particularly with hair colour, which is certainly a plus point, especially for those wishing to adopt a more flamboyant look."

While here, Randolph concentrated his efforts on training hairdressers to provide outstanding services to their clients. I caught up with him at the Bodywise Health Club where he was conducting several demonstrations on Caucasian, Indian/Caribbean and African hair. "The artistic side of hairdressing is, in many cases, only restricted by the extent of a stylist's own creative ability," he says. "Technical ability cannot be so easily defined and it requires training by specialist teachers."

In the international hair industry, Randolph Gray is reputed to be the latest discovery in the quest for professional styling with total versatility. His extensive skills in straightening and relaxing techniques that spans 14 years have elevated him to celebrity status, particularly in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. "Hairdressing is becoming more professional as more time and money is being spent on teaching and education," he says. "Relaxing and straightening techniques were initially designed for use with black hair, but developments in product manufacturing have now ensured that these techniques can also be used on all hair types, whatever the texture."

Despite the impressive advances in hair care, African women, including Kenyan women, continue to make grave mistakes in their maintenance of their hair. Poor hair maintenance is the main cause of dull, limp and lifeless hair. It is also the reason behind poor growth and over-processed hair as a result of displaced 'relaxer enthusiasm' that can, in turn, be blamed on the hairdresser. During his workshops on the proper care of hair, Randolph Gray made the following observations:

* Salons in Kenya have the habit of overlapping the relaxer from the growth to previously relaxed hair. Overlapping causes hair breakage and should therefore be done to the minimum if it has to be done at all. To avoid damage caused by overlapping, use protector - but only for short hair. On longer hair, do not comb the relaxer through previously relaxed hair. Instead, apply the protector on the previously relaxed hair and the relaxer only on the growth.

* If hair has been over-processed, then a heavy dose of protein treatment should be embarked on to rejuvenate the hair. However, if the hair is extensively damaged, then it is better to cut it all off and start all over again. At all times, ensure that your hairdresser knows what he or she is doing and is properly trained on the application of relaxers and have a good relaxing regime.

* No-Lye relaxers are suitable for sensitive scalps, and are very popular among women as they can be used at home. Lye relaxers, on the other hand, should only be used by professionals for best results. They can cause extensive hair damage if used incorrectly.

* While the most common highlighting process is by using the cap, the foil is more effective. It gives one more control, and the hairdresser is better able to apply the highlights exactly on the desired areas. With a foil, the hairdresser has the ability to use different highlights at the same time, such that they can vary the colours on one's head. It is a longer process considering that one has to cut up the foil, apply the colour and put it on the head, but in the long run, the effect is much better, desirable and controllable.

A cap gives an overall effect, and one may end up having either too much or little colour on their hair. To maximise on cap application, then it is better to use a full concentration on the hair, then decide how much hair to pull out.

* Additional benefits of the foil include acquiring a balanced effect. It makes it easy to wash off excess colour. To effectively do this, it is better to start the colouring process from the back working your way to the top.

* Highlights are effective in hiding one's growth. While the application of highlights is increasingly common in Africa, many women do not know how to determine their most suitable colours. The selection of one's colour should depend on the base of one's natural hair.

* Women are advised to have highlights applied professionally by a hairdresser at a salon than by doing them at home.

* Majority of Kenyan women would like to have long hair, yet they fear to trim it regularly because they fear that this affects its length. However, hair should be trimmed on a regular basis - every six to eight weeks. Trimming helps hair to produce thus encouraging hair growth. It removes dry, brittle split ends and gets rid of dead ends. Unfortunately, women have grown to distrust their hairdressers, especially the over-enthusiastic ones who trim off more hair than they should. Hairdressers should learn to identify how much hair to cut off at each visit.

* Good hair care demands that it should be treated every one to two weeks. Regular treatments ensure that hair grows faster, gets stronger and is adequately moisturised. Regularly treated hair is beautiful and easy to style.

* For better economy, home treatments are available. However, ensure that a professional hairdresser at a salon executes at least one treatment. For most women, the moisture treatment is the better option. The protein treatment is advisable to women whose hair is weak.

* For some reason, African women, including Kenyan women, enjoy applying lots of hair oil (what Randolph refers to as 'grease') to their hair. This is not necessary as it hides the hair's natural beauty. It inhibits styling and the hair's movement - it lies limp and sticks to the scalp. Moderate application of hair oil should be done on the scalp alone and never on the hair. Instead, the hair oil should be massaged into the hair from the scalp. Use oil moisturisers rather than hair oils, as they are very good for the hair. Use as little as possible, as often as necessary.

* Live-in conditioners are good and should be used every time you wash your hair. They seal the hair and protect it from damage and heat, e.g. during tonging.


Copyright Nation Newspapers
 

NapturalGlory

New Member
that was pretty interesting... i noticed they advise us to use grease/oil on the scalp and smooth it onto the hair from there. i personally think oils and moisturizing products should be applied to the hair and not the scalp. on the scalp it just leads to icky build up for me.

[ QUOTE ]
Even with wefts, weaves and extensions, the overall look is more natural and free. In fact, wefts, weaves and extensions are now extremely popular among European women, though they were essentially developed for the Afro-Caribbean market. Women have become more adventurous, particularly with hair colour, which is certainly a plus point, especially for those wishing to adopt a more flamboyant look."

[/ QUOTE ]

 

aikaa71

New Member
Good article.

I used the Arosci Relaxer in regular for my touch ups in Feb '04 and Apr '04 . Good results both times.
 
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