I remember reading a hair care book a while back where the author stated that only option a Natural has for straight hair is to relax it. I was shocked! I mean, really? Are you kidding? That's why today, it's all about the Naturals!

What you'll need:
An ionic blow dryer w/ nozzle
A ceramic flat iron (preferably one with temp. control)
Heat protectant
A detangling comb
A rattail comb (optional)

The step-by-step process:
1. After shampooing, conditioning, and deep conditioning your hair, towel dry your hair with a microfiber towel or a t-shirt.

2. Apply the heat protectant throughout hair, focusing on the ends.

3. Section your hair off into fours. Take a section and begin blow drying while using the detangling comb. Continue this with each section until all the hair is dried.

4. After hair is dried, section off the hair once more into fours. For each section, take a 1" by 1" piece of hair and flat iron the piece once or twice. Remember that the smaller the piece is, the smoother the hair will be. For those who usually get frizzy ends, use the rattail comb while flat ironing the ends. Continue straightening the hair until all the hair is straightened.

I hope this helps and for those who are transitioning or stretchinng, you can use this technique too!

Chanel Iman on the set of Tyra.

If there's one thing I know for a fact I've discussed is damaged hair. I even had a video where I talked about how I got my hair back on track from its damaged state. Although I talked about it already, I thought I should go more in depth about the signs of damage, the causes, and how you can treat and prevent damage. So, let's get down to business!

Signs of damaged hair
Damaged hair can be diagnosed by the following signs: dullness, brittleness, split ends (also splits in the middle), lack of elasticity, lack of porosity, little body, breakage, and tangling. All these signs are a combination of lack of moisture and the hair's cuticle being exposed to the elements.

Causes of damaged hair
Damaged hair is caused by the following: the elements (cold weather, UV rays, sea water, etc), heat styling, and overprocessing with chemicals. All these cause the hair to become dry therefore causing the signs I mentioned above.

Treatment and prevention
The best way to treat, or actually disguise, damaged hair is to cut down on using heat appliances, minimizing your amount of chemical services, protecting your hair when outside, and conditioning (this includes deep conditioning).

I hope this helps everyone who needs it and I will post another video before the week is up.

As you may or may not know, I am an avid Obama supporter. I've been following his campaign since he announced that he would run. I haven't been this passionate about presidency since the Clinton years. Yup, I loved me some Bill Clinton! LOL. I watched the DNC last night and loved the speech he gave. It was so inspirational! I think a tear almost came down during the speech. It was just an amazing event with all my favorite political people like Al Gore and Bill Clinton there. Anyhoo, another thing that I must say that I was paying attention to was the Michelle, Malia, and Sasha Obama's hair! They have some beautiful head of hair and I just had to post. Below are some pictures prior to the DNC.

If there's one show I love on Bravo, besides Real Housewives and Tabatha's Salon Takeover, it has to be Shear Genius. I just love the hair styles the aspiring hair stylists create! These pictures are from the first season and probably were my favorites. I just love BANGS! Actually, I had my bangs cut the same way the woman in the first picture has hers-- asymmetrical. I love them. The woman in the second picture has some awesome bangs too. Even her hair color looks hotter. Anyhoo, you should definitely watch Shear Genius if you like seeing different hair styles. It's on every Wednesday at 10/9c.

In short, NO. There are a lot of brands that claim that their product can repair or mend your split ends, but they honestly can't. Once the hair is split, it's split and nothing can put it back together. You'll only get a temporary bonding of the ends from products that are said to "repair" your ends. The best thing to do with split ends is to snip them with shears. It's that simple!

Find more photos like this on The Coarse Hair Diaries

These lovely ladies are serious about their hair care. How about you? We all want healthy hair, right? Join today and get the tips you need to grow longer, healthier hair. Plus, you get to interact with the other 95 members and see what other networks they belong to!

Come on over to the network and see for yourself: http://coarsehair.ning.com

After 198 posts (Yes, this is the 198 post) and answering over 367 e-mails, I thought it was time for a little review. I will do one for every year that TCHD is online. So, here we go!

What you should know by now:

• Shampoo, condition, and deep condition your hair at least 1x a week.
• Co-washing is another name for Conditioner washing. Conditioner washing involves using a conditioner to wash your hair instead of a shampoo and it helps those who are in need of moisture.
• Trial and error will help you find a good regimen. Find what works for YOU!
  
• Trimming doesn't promote growth, but it does rid the hair of split ends that can later lead to breakage.
• Keeping the hair protected will help you retain length, thus achieving longer and healthier hair.
• You don't have to shop in the Ethnic section for all your hair products.
• Lye relaxers, although they are harsher on the scalp than No-Lye, help the hair retain more moisture. No-Lye can cause damage.
• Too much heat can cause damage so keep it to a minimum. Also, try using Ionic tools.
• Mineral oil and petroleum are NOT your best buds. Limit your use of them and clarify monthly to get rid of the film they leave behind.
• Clarifying and chelating (rids the hair of calcium deposits) gives the hair a fresh start.
• Follow up a heavy protein with a moisturizing conditioner to prevent breakage.
• Combs can snag hairs so seamless is the way to go. I don't remember if it's seamless, but I use the Jilbere comb.
• Water and vitamins do help.
• Scalp massages can increase your hair's growth rate by 5%. So get those fingers working!
• Documenting your hair journey helps you see how much your hair has grown.
• Natural oils like Coconut or Jojoba are beneficial to the hair.
• Your hair CAN grow!
  

If I'm up to it, I'll post more. I just have to sit and think. Happy hair growing!

Feeling like your hair isn't growing? I've been in a rut myself for a while and even blogged about it at some of my favorite forums. After some inspirational words of encouragement and the realization that only 2% of the hair is ever in the "resting" phase, I felt a whole lot better. Remember, your hair is always growing! Whether it feels slow or super fast, it's growing!

You know what? I am LOVING Selena Gomez's (of Wizards of Waverly Place fame) hair! It's thick and the length is lovely. This girl has a seriously nice head of hair. And she's a darling child who apparently is into Politics. Nice to see that Disney does have some role models for the kiddies.

Here's a very good video about installing a sew-in. I hope this helps anyone who really needs it.

The much anticipated addition to the Miss Jessie’s™ curl empire is here! After years of customers begging for their favorite brand to incorporate a shampoo and daily conditioner into the line of curl puddings and cremes, Miss Jessie’s™ is proud to introduce Crème de la Curl™, a suds-free cleansing crème, and Crème de la Crème™, a luxurious softening conditioner! The scent is fresh with a hint of that yummy, Je ne sais quoi fragrance that is signature of all Miss Jessie’s™ products. Toss out that shower cap and indulge your curls!!

Starting August 25th-September 7th, Miss Jessie’s fans can purchase both Crème de la Curl™ & Crème de la Crème™ for a special price of $36.00 while supplies last!!

Nothing special. Just a live version of what the last video was about.

Well, I talked to my friend today about the blog and he asked me, "Why don't you make a shirt with your dumb website's logo on it?" Of course, he was joking at first. I thought about it and told him that I should so he referred me to a website that could help. So, introducing to you, my lovely readers, the first TCHD tee! The shirt featured is priced at $19.90. E-mail me or leave a comment with your e-mail if you're interested.

CNN touches on the subject of Black women and their hair. Feel free to leave your thoughts and questions.

Dear diary,

I have fine coarse hair that tends to break at the crown whenever I'm stressed. I've tortured my hair with weaves and butchered it some more from self relaxing. For the past five months I've stopped relaxing my hair and given it a major chop. I've seen a major improvement in its thickness and softness since taking vitamins,prepooing and giving it moisture and protein treatments as necessary. I poo once a week and press it out with my ceramic iron, my hairdresser g/f thinks I should start texturizing my natural hair as she thinks texturizing would be less stress than blowouts and flat ironing. What do you think?

Also, when I finish washing and conditioning with Keracare moisture poo and condi I use Chi silk infusion leave -in and IC hair serum , I let it air dry then blow it out and flat iron with my GHD iron. The roots are silky smooth but the ends stay curly unless I go over them with the iron repeatedly. Do you have any suggestions for getting a straight press from root to tip?

Looking forward to hear your advice,

A. :)

Hey A.,

It's all up to you and what you want to do with your hair. Texturizing will loosen up your hair's natural curl pattern which ultimately will lead to a quicker and easier flat ironing experience. The stylist is correct in saying that constant blowouts and flat ironing tighter hair will cause stress to your strands.

A trick I use when flat ironing my sister's natural 4b hair is to make sure the ends are dabbed with a little heat protectant serum, take a rattail comb, and comb the ends as I straighten the hair. This will lead to straighter strands and you won't have to go over the piece again if you do it right. I hope this helps! If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.

- Belle Cheveux

Okay, here is the newest video. It's about Co-washing.

I would like to get braids to grow my hair. My edges are easy to come out and I want to get cornrows. Please help me. I would like a step by step plan for my hair. I strated taking vitamins and MSM. I wash my hair every ther to five days. I have a relaxer. I anm going to start pooing because I wash me hair so often. I workout a lot. With braids do I still wash my hair? And my hair type is a 4A what is best for my hair?

Hey B.,

I'm going to give you a simple regimen to have while you're in braids. If you're going to get braids, I suggest getting plaits/box braids. Cornrows would have to be re-done every 2-3 weeks and they pull on your edges. First, before you braid up your hair, wash your hair with a clarifying/chelating shampoo like ORS Creamy Aloe. That will give your hair a fresh start. Then, deep condition with ORS Replenishing Pak for 45 minutes; no heat. Afterwards, rinse and apply a cheap conditioner like VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberry & Cream Conditioner for 3 minutes. Rinse with cool water and towel dry your hair. Apply a leave-in of your choice (I use Kids Organics) and let your hair air dry or blow dry it. If you do blow dry, use a heat protectant like Fantasia IC Heat Protector Serum. When your hair is dry, braid it up.

While in braids, I recommend that your wash once a week with the same products that I mentioned but instead of the ORS Creamy Aloe, use a moisturizing shampoo like Creme of Nature Ultra Moisturizing (Green and Yellow). You should also moisturize your hair twice a week. Once a month though, pre-poo with ORS Mayo for 30-45 minutes; no heat. Make sure to keep up with your vitamins. All this will improve the overall health of your hair and lead to some growth. As for edges, massage them daily, apply some Coconut oil to them, and don't braid them tight. I really hope this all helps you and please let me know how your hair is doing. Feel free to e-mail me at anytime. :)

- Belle Cheveux

Instead of using a towel, try a T-Shirt! T-Shirts, like microfiber towels, soak up more water than regular towels resulting in faster drying hair. Cool, huh?

I am officially on Twitter! Now you can scroll down to the What Am I Doing? widget and see exactly what I'm doing in life or with the blog. If you're on Twitter, let me know! I will definitely follow your updates. Check me out: http://twitter.com/bellecheveux

Yay! I will now be contributing to Mahogany Butterfly, an online community for women of color. I will definitely keep you guys updated on when my first article for my column gets posted to the website. Until then, check MaBu out! There are TONS of articles on there.

It's been a looong time since I've started a discussion on the blog. So, after a little moment with my SO, I thought I should start one today. My SO has been supporting me and what I do with TCHD for a while. Today, he was at Walgreens and called me asking me what shampoo he should buy for his hair. I thought it was the cutest thing ever so I told him what I tell everybody else: Suave, VO5, or Creme of Nature. He ended up buying something completely different from what I told him but it was just the fact that he asked me that made me feel so good.

• Is your significant other now asking you for advice on their hair and what products they should use?
  
  

View my page on The Coarse Hair Diaries

In case you haven't already, join The Coarse Hair Diaries. Interact with other members about hair care, watch videos, and create an online diary. You won't be sorry!

Oh, yes! I love Michelle Obama's hair. It's thick, voluminous, and just all around great. If I ever cut my hair, I would want it to be as thick as Mrs. Obama. Plus, she's a beautiful woman and married to a man who made history! Why not talk about her?

I've been getting some e-mails about what products to use when the hair has become too moisturized. How does one know when the hair is overmoisturized? It's all in the strands. Feel your hair and if it feels extremely soft and has so much elasticity that it breaks, that is the major sign. So now that you do know, how do you fix it? I would suggest using a heavy protein like ApHogee Treatment for Damaged Hair. This product contains animal protein which will help your hair get some much needed protein. Just make sure you use this product once every 6-12 weeks if you have a moisture problem and that you DON'T air dry after using it; air drying after using it will lead to breakage for some. Also, add a moisturizing leave-in after using it. I hope this helps!

It seems that the main thing that has helped TCHD readers' hair is deep conditioning. I'm not surprised at all since I also voted for DC'ing. Deep conditioning as I've said time and time again, helps mend damaged hair. So, if I were you, I'd buy a deep conditioner just because. LOL.

I know it's been almost two weeks or so since I posted. Sorry about that, I didn't have Internet access for a good minute. Anyway, I just got two new sprays that I wanted to recommend to you lovely people. The first one is ApHogee Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer. I love this spray. I used it after I clarified on Friday and my hair felt amazing. It has hydrolyzed keratin (a heavy protein) in it so don't use it daily. The second spray I purchased was Pantene Relaxed & Natural Setting Spray. This little puppy has Jojoba oil and a few other good things in it. Both these sprays are amazing and I highly recommend that you run off to your nearest BSS and purchase them! What are you waiting for? GO!