Doing What Works for You

30th July 2009

I am so thankful for your blog! Because it helped me to know HOW I can balance out my hair care thinga majigy.

I thought I should do my own hair all the time by myself (so I bought the rolos and the hair dryer and the products and everything), instead of relying on anybody else.

Well when I found your blog, I read it from top to bottom lol I realized that when I used to go to the dominican salon, my hair grew past my shoulders and it was thick and healthy, but every time it gets a little past my shoulders, I wanna start taking care of it myself, so I made it thin and messed with it, then I had to go back to the salon and they ended up cutting it, like your story, then it gets a little past my shoulders again, and I started messing with it again! Now I have to go back again, and this time I staying there.

But basically I will only take care of my hair when I have to. Where there is no dominican salon. And other than that, at least I know how to put in rolos and Im still practicing with the blow dryer, but most times I dont blow dry my roots, I just put it up.

But tanku tanku tanku!

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

I cannot tell you how many times I asked myself if it was worth all of the tears (yeah, I cried real tears when I messed up my hair and had to go to classes, or out in public looking like I stuck my finger in a socket). I even cried when I didn’t mess up my hair, but it just didn’t come out the way I was used to at home, in NYC.

Let me just say this, doing my own hair was based purely on need. Where else, except for DR, can you get a wash, set and blowout for $10? Okay, you can’t find a salon with those prices anymore, but the point is, it was not worth it for me to do my own hair until I moved and had absolutely no other choice.

I realized that I had only two options: learn to do my own hair, or pay someone else to mess my hair up . That’s when I became serious about taking care of my own hair and hair needs. If you have a stylist who is working for you, why stop going? My current experience came a price (many times). I burned my scalp and fingers too many times to recount. I over relaxed a time or two; I under relaxed a time or two. When I finally had the, “I GOT IT!” moment, a lot of time had passed, but I knew that I’d be able to go anywhere in the world and not have to worry about my hair anymore.

However, I’m not even going to front. I would be doing a happy hair dance, if I were back in NYC and able to walk into the salon any day of the week. So, you do what works for you, because that’s what’s most important. Just drop in from time-to-time to keep me posted, k?

Besos!

LaNegra

Posted in Hair it is

5 Responses to “Doing What Works for You”

Kensmom
July 31st, 2009 at 2:36 pm

Hi …well I am fairly new to home care after going to the Dominicans for about 6 years. I am very excited to know how to do it myself and not have to go EVERY single time my hair needs washed…but from reading both of these posts, it seems like doing home care can damage your hair….? Now that makes me wonder and fear of damaging my hair…what should one do or not do at home to avoid damage?
LaNegra
July 31st, 2009 at 2:55 pm

I didn’t burn my hair with the blower, but I did over process it once and under processed it another time.

However, I have also gone to stylists who pull out a lot of my hair when shampooing, or fry my hair with the blower.
Typically, putting rolos in the hair is a safe way to go. Like it’s been said before, most dominican girls know how to put their own rolos in from a very young age.
It’s the chemicals and improper use of heat that causes the most damage.

I have gone to a salon where one girl would do a great job at getting my tangles out without pulling out too much hair, but then she would do a terrible blowout job. I’d then have one would blow my hair so much that it smelled like burning wood and you could see smoke (only gave her one chance, refused to let her deep fry my hair again).

I’m at the point where I know EXACTLY how to care for my hair, but this was a necessity for me. I readily admit that I rarely go to a stylist because:
1. There are no Dominicanas close by and
2. Now that I’ve been doing my own for so long, I do a better job, without using excessive heat.

The only risk with rolos is making sure not to comb too harshly. I don’t think you have to worry about this; I saw the pic of the hair you lost during your first attempt and it seems minimal. When it comes to doing the actual blowout you must always keep the blower moving!!! You don’t want to point the nozzle in any given area and just leave it there, because this will burn your hair.

Needless to say, if you are applying chemicals at home, which I don’t recommend, but I do recognize that it’s not always easy to find someone you trust, then you really, really need to test patch. I like relaxing my hair least of all things, because this is where the greatest potential for damage arises.

Lastly, if you have the hang of doing your own rolos, and are still concerned with the blowing aspect, just skip that step and put your hair in a dubi, or do your finger-curls. Your hair may not be as straight as you like it, but it won’t be damaged either.

Hope this helps,
LaNegra
nini
July 31st, 2009 at 3:01 pm

jijijijiiiji

Home care doesnt damage your hair, thats just if you dont know how to care for your hair correctly. It’s just that I kept playing with my hair and I kept doing things that worked for other people instead of myself, but I noticed that going to the Dominican Salon always worked for me, so instead of doing what everyone else was doing, I did my hair at home like the dominicans did but I just got tired of doing my own hair, so I started to go to the Dominican Salons again. lol

Just dont follow what everyone elses regimen is (thats what i did). Por ejemplo, my older cousin who has looser curls than I always puts conditioner in her hair every day and I started doing that, but my hair just got weaker and thinner. Another example is my friend Isa whos colombian and she washes her hair everyday (I dndt bother to research why I couldnt do this, I started researching when I was… 15. Im 17 now) And so I started washing MY hair everyday and I just DAMAGED it! It was so tiny, fragile and thin!

You could try out different things to see if you like it, just make sure its not damaging or you could just stick to what you KNOW works best for your hair.
LaNegra
July 31st, 2009 at 3:07 pm

“just stick to what you KNOW works best for your hair.”

That’s what I always say! (Now, if I could only convince myself of that when I spot new products…)
Kensmom
August 1st, 2009 at 12:26 am

Thanks for the responses…

Doing What Works for You

5 Responses to “Doing What Works for You”

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