Important Notice: Treat Your Hair...

I don't know how many times I can reiterate this: but it's very important to treat your hair.

Below are a list of styles/products that can be damaging to the hair if not careful and why. Also listed below are techniques to prevent the damage:

• Sew-ins: Initially a lot of people braid up their real hair and sew on extensions, so they don't really have to do to much. Even though this is great technique that can last for months, you often wonder what happens to your real hair underneath...is it really growing? Yes, if you're taking care of it properly.  There are some needed ways to keep that braided hidden hair growing. Also, if you wear sew ins all the time and you're the type of person that can't stand to sew in a full head because you like your hair to look natural, switch up the part every now and then. Chances are the weave that we buy doesn't match our natural hair, so sometimes we have to wake up almost every morning and keep flat ironing our edges and the hair overlapping the tracks. Heat, for your hair is already bad. So when you can, change it up every now and then, it'll prevent breakage. Also, since your hair is sewn in and not glued in, shampoo it, give yourself a deep conditioner and sit under the dryer every now and then. And if you can't afford to make it to the shop invest in an at home table top blow dryer, throw some conditioner in you hair and sit still for about fifteen minutes. (The longer it's in the more conditioned your hair will be.) After you wash out the conditioner, sit back under the dryer. Don't let your weave air dry, it will leave you with a nasty mildew smell.
• Quick Weaves: For one, there's nothing quick about this hairstyle and if you go to the wrong place, there's nothing quick about taking it off. Depending on the stylist, they'll fall off on their own, but who wants to spend money on hair, and a hairstyle for it to fall off within a week. So when it's on, trust me, it's on tight and sometime the quick weave can take forever to take off and it can be extremely damaging to your hair and it's edges. For one, because of the cap, it's impossible for you to treat your hair. Number two, like I said, depending on the stylist, glue is placed directly on a thin cap that allows the glue to seep directly to the hair. (NOT GOOD AT ALL, especially if you don't know what you're doing). Safest thing to do with a quick weave if you want it removed is to go to your hair care professional and if you can't afford it, use oil sheen, conditioner or grease to remove the cap slowly, until it eases off your head. 
• Lace fronts: These are my worst nightmares. There are so many women who've worn these wigs and swear they'll never ever go back. For some their addictive, for other's they've taken off their edges so bad that they have no choice but to where them. My best advice for the lace wig would have to be to either get it done right, (and not done in the back of your local beauty supply store), wear it without the glue, which can be done if cut properly, or just don't wear them at all. 
• Glue: From my previous examples up top, you should already know that glue is damaging to the hair. If worn, to remove, use any type of hair oil or conditioner. 
• Braids: I would actually recommended braids for hair growth but beware of tight braids. Also if you chose to get micro braids, be careful about them braiding up your edges. Sometimes you won't get them back. Also, you can shampoo and condition your hair with braids too. 
• Spritz: Too much spritz can definitely break off the hair, especially if it's dry. It's also a huge no-no when using with a flat iron. If you want your hair to hold, spray after the heat. Never before. You should never hear you hair crackle. That means it's burning!
• Hot Iron: Too much heat can definitely hurt you hair. Use rollers or wrap your hair at night. It'll save you time in the morning and give you healthy hair in the long run. 
• Gel: If you wear ponytails or put gel on you edges, never comb it out. It breaks your hair every time. Simply shampoo it out. 
• Color: There's nothing wrong with coloring your hair (Just not too much) but when you do you must treat your hair...you have to condition and keep it oiled. If not it will start shedding and eventually it will break off. Also, when coloring you hair be careful about relaxing it, even if it's two weeks after. Try to go for relaxers that are meant for colored hair.

And again, I will reiterate: Treat, treat, treat your hair. Your hair is your crown, act like it ladies. 

Jae's Take On The 50 Dollar Sew In Weave

Yes, the economy is changing and things seem like they've only gotten harder. As women and men we feel the need to always look and feel pretty, and trust me, if we ain't got it like that, we'll jump at any opportunity to do what we gotta do. I'm speaking as a hairstylist and a person who always wants and needs to have my hair done. Fortunately for me, my hands are blessed, and I can reach behind my own head, cornrow my hair and sew on some weave. For other's, they need us, hairstylists. People to elude their beauty for them but as times have gotten hard, things are popping up out of the woodwork out of nowhere! And yes, I'm talking the beautiful, cheap, convenient fifty dollar weave. (And no, I'm not pointing out any particular shop b/c they are done everywhere.)

Personally, as a person sitting in a chair getting my weave done, there's nothing wrong with that. It's a bargain. A deal and practically a steal. You're paying someone fifty bucks to spend, what, an hour and a half maybe two on your hair and you're going home with a head full of tracks.
Here's my problem with this...I would never ever in my life sew in someone's weave for fifty bucks. Here's why...my craft is worth way more than just fifty dollars, being that a stylist only gets a percentage of what he or she makes. It gives stylists bad names. Ones that work hard for what they do and want to get paid for it. They come to your shop find out your weave is at the least a hundred dollars, maybe a little more, and they want to walk out...and believe it or not they could've just walked out on the best damn sew-in of their life.
Time is money and unfortunately there are several people out there that don't understand that. So don't be pissed off when you walk out there hair salon with a crappy behind weave because they didn't want to do a lucrative job.
I've had so many (new) clients sit in my chair telling me about their cheap weave experiences. They go from spending fifty dollars to over a hundred, just like that. Anything to get the job done right. 
I've had several people walk into a salon that I've worked in with a sew in. They would go to a cheaper place, like a braiding salon, get their weave sewn in and come to us to do the work and after they paid us, they figured they should have came here from the beginning because they're going to end up paying what the sew in cost from the begin or a little more.

I'm not knocking the fifty dollar sew in weave, not at all. (Don't forget that) I'm just stating my opinion.

So, moral of the story is, pay for what you want and if you sit in someone's chair who's hooking you up for fifty dollar's, you better tip the heck out of them.