Lace Eyebrows - extensions for the eyebrow

Yawn!!
Lace front wig-wearing babies are so yesterday. And, just to add my two cents worth to that topic, I have no problem with putting on a cute wig on a baby FOR PHOTO SHOOTS ONLY!!! If you're doing that for day to day real life scenarios, then you need to get a life.
That out of the way, let's move to today's business.
You know that I've been raving about lace front wigs and the all natural look it gives to wearers since it came out right? But it was only until recently that I discovered lace eyebrows - extensions, of sorts, for your eyebrows.
Don't laugh! I kid you not! They are as real as the hair underneath my 10 inch straight weave. If you are like me and you are lacking in the eyebrow area, lace eyebrows may suit you. As those of us with scant eyebrows know, no matter how much waxing you get done, hair on the eyebrows never seem to multiply. Don't get me started on arched eyebrows. Everytime I go to the salon to ask that they be done, I am always reminded that I don't have enough hair to work it.
The lace eyebrows, much like the lace front wig, are sewn on lace net.
The strips are then adhered to using adhesive and the result is just as seamless as the lace front wig hairline.
Prices of the lace eyebrows, from what I have seen so far, range from $25US and upwards. The eyebrows are made of human hair and come in the colour ranges just like hair extensions and buyers can also choose the style they want for their eyebrows .
Reviews from actual wearers of these brows range from fair to outright disgust. Men hate them, of course and can't seem to understand why women would go to so much lengths for beauty.
You know I am an extension wearer but lace eyebrows seems a bit much to me. Still I'll try any hair extension, just once.

Gabourey Sidibe - The hair , not the woman

OMG!! It's like Gabourey Sidibe can't seem to catch a break. She is a plus size woman who is now seen as a breakout star without the star presence - she's more like girl you can kick it with on a stoop in the hood - and, with the latest Elle cover, she seems clearly in need of a hairstylist too.
Don't get me wrong . I am not one of those hate-Gabourey-because-she-is-fat, persons. But as a plus sized woman myself I love to see big women looking their best. And even if you have to wear a sack and nothing else, I have found out that it's how you wear your hair that often pulls you out.
Ever since Gabourey attended her first red carpet do I have been paying attention to her extensions. On the night that Monique won the award for the movie Precious, of which Sidibe was a supporting actress, her extensions were wavy, unbelivably shiny and doll like like a ghetto Barbie!
It was undoubtedly synthetic hair she was wearing that night. And what we were seeing was a "melt down" of sorts with the plastic hair caused by the hot lights of the tv crews in attendance and the steaming Los Angeles sun.
I watched her again on Saturday Night Live. It was the same wig but this time it looked brushed out and messy.
Now this cover.
While I applaud Elle for celebrating Gabourey in the way they did, they should have at least done something about her hairpiece. In the past the mag has done so for Sidibe's fellow extension wearers Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears .
Instead, they airbrushed Sidibe so that she looked shades lighter while her hair stood big and tall and stiff like those wire pot scrubs. She may not be an A- Lister star yet but with her the little star wattage she's got Sidibe needs a professional hairstylist to guide her, particularly for cover shoots.
With all those lace fronts wigs selling a dime a dozen, Remy weaves in various colours and even braids, Sidibe should at least wear a style that would make her stand out. (Like the Black and White photograph of her attached)
Personally, if I was Sidibe's hairstylist I would give her one of those curly styles like Oprah's or curly micro braids with hints of honey blonde (see how honey blonde brings out her features in the photo).
I wait with bated breath to see who is up for the challenge of uncovering the hidden beauty that is Gabourey Sidibe.

Hair extensions "star" in hair show

I went to my first hair show two weeks ago and was amazed at the many ways one can use those tacky coloured synthethic braids.
Students from the beauty department of the Civilian Conservation Corps were challenged to create their masterpieces using mainly hair extensions and their choice of accessories.
I must say the girls brought their A-game and really dug deep into their bag of tricks.
Synthetic braids were coiled, stretched out, twisted and fanned out with stunning results.
Weave pieces were also used , although not much as I thought it would.
Accessories included plastic fruits, beads, straw, a light bulb and even a plastic bird.
In the end it was the girl with the simple design who won out for her creativity. And given that the competition is held in a Caribbean island, one would almost expect that a hair style of coconut trees with a hammock swinging freely between them would get the judges nod.
Photos: Jennifer Watson

Traction alopeia and hair extensions

At what stage of your life does it become clear that you should stop wearing weaves? When it gets to be about the stage of Naomi Campbell's hairline (see photo).
Shocked and kind of angry was how I felt when I first saw the photo of Campbell's severely damaged hair line. If you have a passion for hair extensions, it should never be to the detriment of your own hair. Traction alopecia is sadly something most extension wearers are dealing with now after years of wear.
Alopecia is the clinical name for hair loss. Traction alopecia is a result of pulling the hair too tightly in a ponytail, which , according to a local dermatologist, "puts the hair margin under constant traction (pulling).”
Weaves and braids also of traction alopecia. But it should be noted that most women who suffer from it find wigs and weaves easy to cover up the balding areas.
Another cause of alopecia is relaxing the hair. If the chemical is left too long in the hair it can burn the scalp and cause damage to the hair.”
Hair loss in a woman can also have genetic causes. If a mother has lost her hair early in life; so will her daughter.
The condition is called female-pattern baldness, which 20 million American women are said to suffer each year.
When a woman loses hair, she usually does so in a different way from a man, with a woman’s hair loss being an overall thinning — two hairs where five used to be – rather than a bald area at the top of the head.
There are also some medical remedies for hair loss.
Rogaine, however, is approved for women and is said to be one of the better treatments for hair loss. Available in cream and liquid, Rogaine offers two versions, one with a two per cent formulation of minoxidil, which has been approved for men and women; and another with a five per cent formulation of minoxidil, which is not recommended for women because of its potency.
Extensions, with its many cuts and colours come and go but your real hair is all you will be left with at the end of the day. You owe it to yourself to give it some TLC and take care of it.
Here are my four step love your hair tips.

. Do massage your scalp with oils to stimulate growth
. Do sleep with your hair opened at least once a week - set it free from the rubber bands, scrunggies et al
. Do buy products, no matter how expensive you may think they are, for your hair. They are like food for your hair.

Colour by numbers

Just as you identify a paint colour by its name you can identify a hair extension colour by its number.
New hair extension wearers who are sent to buy hair always find the exercise of selecting hair that match their natural colour, tricky.
And if they happen to meet a hair sales person who just wants to make a quick buck off them then they are in big trouble.
I once went shopping for a pack of braids when to my horror I saw a sales lady try to sell red extensions to a lady with brown hair.
You should have heard her trying to convince the woman that the hairpiece was the exact colour of her hair.
The woman, upon noticing the look on my face, asked me for a second opinion. I spoke up and told her that the hair infact didn't match and that her shade is more 4 than it was 33.
To make sense of the numbers I just quoted, I thought that today I would share with you just what those numbers on the pack of hair extensions mean. Bear in mind that some colours vary from product to product.
Some manufacturers may make the hair darker, some lighter. As you know I wear the colour number 4 in hair pieces. But sometimes I swear to you, the number 4 looks green in some brands. It will be in your interest then to ask for a mirror, request that the salesperson take the hair out of the bag so that you can see it better, and hang the slightly opened pack close to your hair. It's only then that you will know for sure if the hair is a perfect match or if it goes back on the shelf. If the salesperson says she can't open the pack, tell her thanks and look for another store that will allow you to do so. Here are the numbers and the colours that go with them.

#1- Jet black
#1b - black but not as strong as jet black
#2 - dark brown
#4 - brown
#6 - medium chestnut brown
#8 - light Chestnut Brown
#10 - medium brown
#27 - strawberry
#33 - dark auburn
#99J - plum red
#130 - copper red

Hair extensions also come in two combined colours to make for a believeable look. The dark colours (like the 1b /30 combination) also help to "tone down" some of the brighter colours. Some popular hair extension colour combinations (in both hair weaves and braid extensions) are :


6/18 - medium chestnut/ash brown

4/30 - Dark chestnut / light auburn

4/27 - dark chestnut/strawberry blonde

8/24 - light chestnut / golden blonde

1b/30 - black/light auburn

1b/27 black/strawberry blonde.

De-weave - let your real hair exhale

One thing I have learned in my years of wearing hair extensions — you must give your natural hair a rest sometime.
Sure hair weaves and fun to wear and easy to style, but underneath the weave tracks your own hair needs to be set free from the tight cornrows that make the tracks.
For those who stick in their weave pieces (eliminating need for cornrows),the need to take frequent breaks from weaves is even greater.
Stuck in weaves not only result hairloss (if not properly taken out) but also should not be worn for long periods at a time.
I have found that three months of wearing a sew-in weave (with intermittent tighting), is enough. Then it is time for a break.
If you’re a hair lover like I am, your break from extensions will last about a week before you get that urge to put it back in again. Remember when the media made a whole hullabaloo about Tyra Banks returning to her roots and how weeks later she was back in the salon chair for a weave? (She actually said she was parting with weaves just for one day but the media didn't get that part).
Even if you return to the weave after a week that's your choice. Personally I would think three weeks is a good rest period. While you are “resting” your hair it is good to give it as much love as possible.
I use Vitale's virgin olive oil for the hair to massage my scalp and I stay away from those heat-based styling tools.
I can’t emphasise to you how great it feels to have water on your scalp during a shampoo (some people use dry shampoo* when wearing a weave) and the warm sun on my scalp when outdoors.
Sure you’d feel a little bit self conscious when you take out the glamorous weave and start wearing your own hair. But the benefit of this exercise is a healthier head of hair. And what’s better than that?

* hair shampoo is a gel like product with a minty smell. It is to be applied to the scalp either using a cloth or cotton balls and it actually cleans your scalp. Look out for that tingly feeling in the scalp when the gel touches the scalp.
It is used by many women so that their tracks stay tight longer and to prevent that awful wet-weave smell that wearers get when washed hair is not properly dried.

Photo: Solange Knowles, Beyonce's little sister not only took a break from hair weaves, she cut her own hair off as well and now sports healthy hair.

When less is more

A male friend, already familiar with my love for weaves and hair extensions, watched me sitting across from him during lunch recently and asked me if I took off my weave. I laughed and almost choked on my grilled chicken and callaloo dish at his question. Poor thing was puzzled as ever at my sudden burst of laughter.
No, I told him, I just put in a different one. He had a look of doubt on his face.
"But it doesn't look like a weave."
Aha. And that's the thing. What should a hair weave really look like? Well for those who don't have a clue about weaves, it should be very long, silky straight and dolly like and bulky.
But not all hair weaves are created equal. Some women prefer the bulky look because they think it makes them look like healthy hair is growing out of their scalp. Other women, like me, believe that less is more.
That's why my friend found it hard to tell that I was wearing a weave.
At a recent fashion event a woman raised more than a few eyebrows and a few snickers too, with her long thick lion's mane hair weave.
In the meantime my less is more weave went unnoticed.
To achieve a less is more hair weave consider these tips

. You don't have to use up all the hair contained in two packs of hair just because you bought two packs of hair

. For hair extensions that are fine you can get away with two packs of hair

. For hair extensions that are curly you'd find that one pack of hair alone would do the trick

. Try tracking (leaving out some of your hair and adding fewer rows of the weave pieces) to get an unweave-like look.


. Try shoulder-length weave pieces instead (10 to 12 inches rather is 22 inches)

Check out Niecy Nash's photos with less pieces in her hair weave and with more hair weave pieces in. In which one the photos does her weave look more believable?