STYLE SHOWCASE: HOLIDAY HAIRSTYLING FEATURING ROLLER SETTING, THE SUPER CURLY FAUX HAWK & THE PILED-HIGH PONYTAIL

Christmas and Kwanzaa are fast approaching. Besides searching for the perfect gifts for family and friends, there will be tons of parties and get-togethers to attend. Naturally, the big question is how are you going to wear your hair? We have a couple of ideas below showcased by the lovely Jori Chioma which can work for medium to long hair length. I absolutely love how Jori has the spiral curl styling game on lock. Just look at those curls. Beautiful, shiny, voluminous. That's what I'm talking about!

PROTECTIVE STYLING TOOLS TO GIFT TO YOUR FAVORITE PROTECTIVE STYLISTA

If you're wondering what holiday gifts to grab for a certain style-conscious, hair care-obsessed someone in your life, you can't go wrong with tools that will help her protectively style her lovely mane all year long.

STYLE SHOWCASE: HEAD WRAPS AND GODDESS BRAIDS TO PROTECT HAIR STRENGTH AND LENGTH IN WINTER

It’s that time of year again when the temperatures start to dip and the air becomes dry. None of that is very good for rocking twist out or blow out styles. Cold, dry weather damages hair cuticles and leaves the hair shaft unable to retain moisture. Dry brittle hair, of course, is more susceptible to tangles and breakage. Protective styling is the key to strengthening your hair cuticles and enabling your hair to withstand the cold so that you can retain your length. I've discussed it before in the blog post here but I want to continue talking specifically about protective styling practices you absolutely want to incorporate into your hair care and maintenance regimen.

WHAT IS POROSITY?: HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR HAIR IS RETAINING THE MOISTURE IT NEEDS TO THRIVE

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, there are certain characteristics about your hair that are important to know and understand. Those characteristics include your hair’s texture, density, strength, and porosity levels. I’ve talked texture before here.While hair density is the number of strands packed together on your head and hair strength is based on how resistant your hair is to breakage when force is applied to it (such as pulling or combing), porosity is particularly important to consider because it is all about your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. Your hair can possess low, normal or high porosity levels.

PROTECTIVE STYLING, PROTECTIVE STYLES AND WAYS TO SAVE ON STYLE COSTS

Typically when we say “protective styling,” most think of specific hair styles such as braids, weaves, twists and so on but the concept of protective styling involves much more. While a protective style is a hairstyle that protects the ends of your hair strands, reduces tangling and aids with growth retention, protective styling is the practice of caring for the hair in such a way to avoid as much damage to the hair as possible.

NATURAL, TEXLAXED OR RELAXED HAIR? ACHIEVING THE HEALTHIEST POSSIBLE HAIR IN ANY CASE

As a child growing up in Harlem, I remember how everyone had relaxed hair except me. I wanted relaxed hair too but my mother would not allow it. And that’s how I came to know about natural hair; I had to teach myself how to comb, manage and style my hair in its natural state. Later on, I did relax my hair but I decided to wear my hair naturally. Natural just worked better for me. My natural hair choice was never politically motivated; it was simply a styling preference.