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Curly Girl Method Founder Lorraine Massey, Talks About The Evolution of a Regimen That Changed Hair Culture Unlock the secrets of the Curly Girl Method developed by Lorraine Massey. Click here to read the article  I've been sharing about the benefits of silk pillowcases for almost a decade now. The benefits are not just for you curlies. Check out this article for some favorite choices. My Favorite Hair Care Tool Is a Silk Pillowcase  * includes paid product placements, endorsements, or sponsorships My hair didn’t know peace until my partner bought me a set of LilySilk pillowcases for Christmas a few years back. Before receiving this thoughtful gift, I slept exclusively on cotton pillowcases, not knowing that smooth-seeming cotton fabric was, at a microscopic level, the equivalent of sandpaper rubbing against my curls and coils all night (or nap) long. I’d always wake up to frizzy hair, with long tendrils sticking up and out. Somehow I’d missed the lesson other young Black girls received on wrapping our hair at night in silk scarves or bonnets to protect our ends from rubbing against the sheets and breaking off. But when the silk pillowcases slipped into my life, my hair problems were solved. I’d wake up with noticeably less frizz, fewer tangles, and drastically reduced bed head. No more bad hair days, which meant notably better days overall. Although I loved the pillowcases my partner gave me, I wondered how they stacked up to the mountain of other silk cases sold everywhere from Amazon to boutique retailers. In true Wirecutter fashion, I dug in to find out what makes a great silk pillowcase—and whether there’s really a difference between a $90 case and one that costs a fraction of that. Though the origins of silk production are not entirely clear, Chinese legends have it that 5,000 years ago an empress named Si-ling-chi learned how to raise silkworms, reel their silk, and spin it into cloth for garments. Since then, the shimmering gossamer has been used in everything from clothing to furniture to linens, including the soft fabric that Black women have a very, very long history of using to protect our hair. Wearing caps or bonnets at night has been a cultural tradition for at least several decades. Like most Black history, this tradition isn’t well documented, yet it’s a ubiquitous part of our past and present. Even for someone like me, who wasn’t taught to wrap my hair at night, it became increasingly obvious that my curls—which tended to be dry and split by morning—were suffering for it. This happens because certain types of hair—especially any kind of textured hair, including coily, kinky, curly, or wavy hair—have a harder time retaining moisture. Everyone’s scalp produces a natural, waxy oil called sebum, but for people with textured or even long hair, sebum has a harder time coating the hair shaft from root to tip, resulting in dryness or split ends. Silk’s smooth structure absorbs less moisture from the skin and hair, which is why silk pillowcases have more recently been embraced as part of many peoples’ skin-care regimens (something we’ve previously written about). If you’ve shopped for silk pillowcases, you know the prices are all over the map—some are relatively cheap, while others cost upwards of $100. I wanted to find out what you get when you pay more and less. I narrowed my search to cases with three qualities:
With that in mind, I tested seven pillowcases: the Fishers Finery, J Jimoo, LilySilk, MYK Silk, Ravmix, Olesilk, and Slip.  LilySilk ($69 at the time of publication) After I slept on seven different pillowcases over the course of a week, my partner was happy to know that the one I found myself continually gravitating toward was the LilySilk 25mm 6A pillowcase he originally gave me. This pillowcase is lustrous and weighty right out of the box. Maybe I liked it so much because I was already accustomed to using it. But what really sealed the deal for me was its condition after the first wash: It assumed an almost matte finish that made it less slippery and more comfortable to sleep on. Most importantly, I wake up each morning with corkscrew curls that feel healthier, more hydrated, and unburdened by frizz. (Though I’ve made multiple orders and have not experienced any problems, some people have been disappointed by LilySilk’s customer service.)  Slip ($89 at the time of publication) Even though it has a lower momme count, the 22mm Slip pillowcase is just as thick as the LilySilk. Also made with 6A Mulberry silk, this pillowcase has a satin sheen that didn’t budge, even after its first time being hand-washed. But the pillowcase had a slippery quality that made my head slide off to the side, which meant I had to constantly readjust in the middle of the night. The Slip was also prone to sliding around on the bed, and after a few weeks of use, it looked more wrinkled than the LilySilk. Some may prefer this pillowcase to the LilySilk because of its super-silky features, but personally I didn’t like waking up with my head on the cotton sheets—and neither did my curls.  Fishers Finery ($51 at the time of publication) The Fishers Finery pillowcase, also 25mm 6A Mulberry silk, strikes a good balance between price and quality. Though it’s not as soft as the Slip or the LilySilk, this pillowcase still feels luxurious. It’s heavy and not too slick (it’s not as slippery as the Slip), and it kept my hair smooth and frizz-less by the morning. It’s still pricey by cotton-pillowcase standards, but this one is the best I found for around $50 (and it’s leagues ahead of cheaper cases). Despite ranging from 19mm to 22mm, the other pillowcases we tried—the J Jimoo, Olesilk, MYK Silk, and Ravmix—were all nearly identical to the touch. These pillowcases, which range between $21 and $30, were soft, but they lacked the weighty quality of their more-expensive counterparts. And they felt more like a raw, unfinished silk than smooth and satiny. The thin material of these pillowcases speaks loudly to the difference in quality. However, if you’re on a budget and simply looking for something soft enough to reduce friction for your hair, any of these options would be an upgrade from a traditional cotton pillowcase. A frustrating reality of silk pillowcases in particular is that most of them are sold individually, not in sets of two. Because this is such a high upfront expense, maintaining your pillowcases will become just as important as choosing the right ones for you. Silk was initially intended for royalty, and in modern times, it still costs more to fully enjoy its luxury. So far, the benefits outweigh the cost for me, and I think my hair, with its healthy sheen, would agree. from NYT Wirecutter
8/15/2023 Why does your hair curl in the summer? A chemist explains the science behind hair structure The three layers of hair If you have curly hair, you know that every day is a new adventure. What will my hair do today? Why does it curl better on some days than others? And even those without naturally curly hair might notice their hair curling—or, let's be honest, frizzing—a bit on humid summer days. As a person with curly hair, I'm always looking for the best way to care for and understand my hair. As a chemist, I'm interested in the science behind how my hair behaves at the molecular level. There are different hair types, from straight to curly, and they behave differently depending on their structure. But what hairs are made up of at the molecular level is the same. Hair structure Hair begins growing under the skin's surface, but it's what happens after it pokes through the skin that determines whether you have a good hair day or a bad one. Each hair can have three layers—the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. You can think of each hair like a tiny tree trunk. The innermost, or core layer, is the medulla. This layer holds moisture, much like the pith in the center of a tree trunk. This layer is also very fragile, but only thick or coarse hairs contain this part—so those with thin or blond hair typically don't have the medulla layer in their hairs. Next is the cortex, which makes up most of a hair and is analogous to the wood of a tree. The cortex is made up of spring-shaped protein molecules that lie in parallel rows in a cylindrical bundle. The exact shape of that bundle is determined by the hair follicle, which is a pore on the skin from where the hair grows. How the hair grows out of the follicle influences the distribution of its proteins. So a straight follicle produces straight hair and a curved follicle produces curly hair. The less evenly distributed the squiggly proteins are, the curlier the hair. Your genetic code also plays a role in the shape of the cortex and, therefore, the shape and thickness of your hair.  A hair’s cuticle under a microscope. Lastly, the outermost layer of a hair is called the cuticle. The cuticle is like the bark of a tree—and it even looks like bark under a microscope. It's the cuticle's job to protect the cortex, but the cuticle is very easily damaged. Imagine lifting or removing the bark from a tree. Doing so would leave the wood inside susceptible to moisture loss, exposure to the environment and damage. The same is true for each hair. When the cuticle is damaged from brushing, chemicals, wind or heat, the proteins of the cortex have a much more difficult time lying smoothly together. This means they can lose moisture, gain moisture, fray like a rope—this causes split ends—and even break. All these factors can influence how your hair looks at any given moment. Hair in the summer So what does all of this have to do with humidity? Well, hair proteins contain many permanent chemical bonds. Only chemical treatments like perms or straightening can change these bonds. But there's another natural phenomenon that keeps the protein molecules in the cortex in line—something called hydrogen bonding. The long, stringy protein molecules in the cortex contain tiny positive and negative charges throughout their structure. Because opposite charges attract each other, entire rows of proteins can be attracted to each other like tiny, weak magnets. Heating or wetting your hair breaks the magnetlike attraction between these rows of proteins. So, heat and water can rearrange the proteins in your hair by breaking the hydrogen bonds that keep their structure together. Water is one of the best molecules at hydrogen bonding. So when a molecule of water has the opportunity to hydrogen bond with something, it will. In your hair, water can form hydrogen bonds between the rows of proteins in your hair's cortex. It is the extent to which this happens that determines your hair's fate. When just a little water enters the hair, like it might in lower humidity conditions or when the cuticle is healthy and able to keep too much water out of the cortex, your hair may curl. When humidity is high, or the cuticle is damaged, more water enters the hair. Too much water can swell and crack the cuticle, making hair look frizzy. Many people consider high humidity to be the problem behind frizzy hair, but styling your hair under high humidity and then entering a less humid environment can also be an issue. Water molecules leaving the hair's cortex can also lead to a change in hair behavior. Treating summer hair A damaged cuticle layer leaves the cortex more susceptible to water molecules creeping in or out and wreaking havoc on your hair. Anytime water molecules travel in or out, your hair's structure suffers and your hairstyle may be ruined. When the cuticle is healthy, it can protect the cortex, making your hair less susceptible to changes in the weather or environment. The bottom line is that a healthy hair cuticle helps keep proper moisture in the cortex. Heat from styling tools is the most common culprit behind damaged cuticles, but chemical treatments, brushing, sun and wind can also cause damage. Avoiding these activities can help, but some things, such as exposure to the sun, can't be avoided. You can also take care of your scalp—a clean, healthy scalp leads to healthy hair cuticles. Using moisturizing products on your hair can help maintain cuticle health as well. Oils and moisturizing treatments can even restore damaged cuticles. The good news is that by understanding your hair and treating it well, you can help prevent the undesired effects of humidity. from PHYS.org
* This isn't exactly a "come back" or "resurgence." More of a rebranding of the old perm to "new wave." In fact, I got my first perm, sorry "new wave" when I was in High School, around the same age of these teens. Young guys (and women) with stick straight, wiry hair or those of us with limp, flat, fine hair are always looking for a style to bring life to their troubled locks. This is just the next generation of young men looking for easy care hair.  While the perming category declined the last several decades, the hairstyle is gaining favor among young people, especially men. When 19-year-old Charles Chen got a perm in early 2022, it was a spur of the moment decision. “I was looking for something simple to style,” he said of his “naturally bone straight” hair. But what was intended to be a one-time hair experiment has now become an integral step in Chen’s beauty routine, which also includes skin care and standard grooming. He now gets a perm every time he visits his barber in downtown Manhattan. Perms, or the permanent wave, have been a fixture of American culture since the late 19th century and reached peak popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. The style went out of vogue in the early ‘90s, but has since found a new audience, largely thanks to innovative new products and rising popularity among K-Pop stars and influencers on TikTok, where videos under the hashtag “perm” have over 2 billion views. While beauty trends, like fashion, are cyclical, perms today differ greatly from those once seen on stars like Cher and Stevie Nicks, thanks to gentler products and digitized heat technology. The clientele for perms has also changed. Young people, especially men, are the hairstyle’s recent converts. Still, a perm is nowhere near as popular as it was in its heyday. In fact, the perm category — which is valued at over $60 million today — declined by 35 percent between 2017 and 2022, according to data from Euromonitor. Nonetheless, a steadily growing pool of new converts, and new product technology, pose an opportunity for hair care brands and stylists. “Some of our main competitors left the category altogether,” said Roland Munz, global education director at Wella Professional. “We decided to stay because we believe in a future for this segment.” (Focusing on products that are gentler and cause less damage to the hair, Wella’s new salon formulations are designed to make perms more accessible and offer a tailored curl size, said Munz.) The perm rebranded Gen-Z’s version of the perm differs greatly from its predecessors. Briana Dunning, a textured hair specialist and her team at Striiike, a salon in Los Angeles, are forgoing the term “perm” in favor of “new wave” to distance themselves from a hairstyle that has been seen as passé. “These aren’t your grandma’s perms that leave hair feeling fried and crunchy,” said Dunning. “Today, the perm is meant to mimic having a permanent salt spray in the hair.” The process of getting a perm can be lengthy. Hair must be shampooed, washed and set in curling rods. A perming solution, which chemically alters the structure of the hair in order for it to curl, is then applied. Once the solution sets for about 30 minutes, a neutralizing lotion is applied and the hair is washed again to reveal fresh curls. The “new wave,” like the perm, also uses curling rods, but the rods are designed to give the hair a more natural curl. At Striiike, Dunning and her team curl the hair in larger sections, following the natural movement and direction of the hair and using gentler perming solutions. Digital perms, or hot perms, have also become popular. This type of perm uses a chemical solution alongside digitized heat technology to set the hair into semi-permanent curls. Finding the client “Hallyu,” or the Korean Wave, a phenomenon characterized by the proliferation of South Korean culture around the world, has been cited as a motivation for young people, especially young men, getting their hair chemically curled. The Korean perm, unlike the stiff, bouffant American perm of the 80s, can go unnoticed as a treatment. The ‘do is natural-looking and gives hair a gentle wisp. Musicians like BTS’s V (Kim Tae-Hyung) and actors like Gong Yoo, a star of “Train to Busan” and Netflix’s “Squid Game,” have helped popularized the trend. Lydia Wolfe, a hair stylist in London, said there has been an increasing number of young men coming to her salon, Jack and the Wolfe, for perms. She credits the perm’s comeback because of its ease of styling. “It certainly helps that K-Pop and K-Dramas are popular and the stars get perms, so that has made it more culturally acceptable,” said Chen. Wella’s Munz is hopeful the resurgence of perms will also encourage brands to further engage with the multicultural consumer. “There has really been a shift in the last few years and more people are embracing their natural curls,” said Wolfe. “Perms can be a part of that.” Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Business of Fashion, an editorial partner of CNN Style. from CNN
 Image by fizkes via Shutterstock Many find it overwhelming to care for curly or coily hair because it requires extra care to keep it looking healthy. It can often be more fragile and prone to breakage. Since everyone's hair is different, it requires trial and error to find the products and care routine that is right for you. Read on to learn some tips on caring for curly and coily hair to keep it looking beautiful. Key takeaways:
Different hair types There are four different hair types:
The shape of the follicle determines the type of hair you will have. If the follicle is growing completely straight and the follicle is round, your hair will be straight. Curly and coily hair has an "s" shaped oval follicle. It also has many disulfide bonds within the hair shaft that keep it curly or coily. This shape of the follicle makes it more prone to dryness and breakage. Factors controlling the appearance of your hair Other things determine the appearance of your hair, such as structure, density, and porosity.
Expert haircare tips for curly & coily hair: Genetics ultimately determines what type of hair we will have and its characteristics. Many try to straighten their hair, but it is only a temporary change because you cannot change your genetic code with a simple salon treatment. Evolutionarily, curly and coily hair has the advantage of being more protective of the scalp and better at thermoregulation. How to wash curly or coily hairBecause curly and coily hair is so fragile, it is critical to only wash it correctly.
Using a conditioner with curly or coily hair It is critical to use the correct conditioner every time you shampoo to protect and hydrate the hair.
How to style curly or coily hair There are definite dos and don'ts to styling curly or coily hair because it is so fragile.
Overnight tips for curly or coily hair Because curly and coily hair is delicate, sleeping positions matter.
Curly and coily hair requires a lot of care to prevent damage and breakage. It can be daunting for some. Just remember it is dry and fragile and treat it accordingly. With the right routine and nourishing products, you can keep your hair looking healthy and lustrous. If you need help, ask your dermatologist. FAQ Do I need to protect my curly or coily hair outside?Curly or coily hair is fragile and prone to damage and subsequent breakage. You need to protect it from pollution and harmful UV ray's from the sun that can damage it. Wear a wide-brimmed hat during the day to cover and protect your hair. As a bonus, it will protect parts of your face from the sun also. Is diet important for curly or coily hair? A healthy body will produce healthy hair. Your diet should consist of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables and good lean proteins. Avoid smoking and excess alcohol. Resources:
from HealthNews
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