Natural Hair Question: "How Often Can You Get a Blowout or Silk Press?"

 How often you can get your hair blown out or pressed is a continuing debate I see. Some ladies "need" their hair blown out or pressed on a weekly or biweekly basis. Others wait for a month or get it done every 3 months while others may only visit a salon once a year for maybe a birthday celebration.

But, I know you're wondering what's the right answer...

Well, there isn't necessarily a right answer. Every head of hair is different, every technique is different, products used are different & the upkeep is different.I will say, maybe once a week is possibly excessive, but again I stress that every technique & heat setting situation is different.

I personally, (as a licensed cosmetologist who's been doing blowouts & silk press styles since about 2014 or so when the transition to women wearing their natural hair over relaxers really started) am an advocate for ladies wearing their natural hair pressed.

 I had a choice as a beauty professional; to refuse to jump on board with the rapidly changing tide of hair or to adapt to this new wave & learn the best techniques to keep my customers happy & their hair healthy & thriving.

I'm so glad I made the switch! I'm not a trendy stylist & believe natural hair, as a lot of you know is a lot of work, but oh so rewarding in my opinion. I love how customers & clients are so happy (especially newbies) with how light, bouncy, healthy-looking & beautiful their typically uncared for hair looks in a silk press.

I know your next question is, 'What's the difference between a silk press & a blowout?''

Well, it depends on whom you ask. Every stylist has their own technique & terminology.

The short answer is that, a silk press or blowout is a technique of transforming the hair from curly (or wavy) to straight. 

Some people feel that a silk press is different from a blowout because a silk press requires a hot comb while others feel a flatiron is just as good.

Dominican salons rollerset the hair then blow the roots or roundbrush the hair & some add a flatiron to the hair after the blowdryer.

Again, there is no wrong or right way as long as you're protecting the hair from the heat & not being harsh with the curls. Please, no fine tooth combs, only quality wide-tooth combs or quality brushed when detangling wet hair. You can request a customized hair care kit from D'va Styles via our contact form at www.dvastyles.com. You're welcome. 

Anyway, back to the press or blowout debate...

I, personally, like a flatiron that gets very hot & is sturdy not these "at-home touch-up" type flatirons, but something that really can flatten out thicker hair textures. Using a flatiron over a pressing comb allows me to control the heat temperature better. 

My clients are able to come in more often (say every 2 weeks) to get a press, because I'm able to decrease the heat setting over time as their hair becomes more trained. 

What does "trained' mean? Well, it means the hair is able to stay pressed for an extended amount of time. Trained means the hair has memory. If you're always wearing twist styles or your natural curls or even protective styles & maybe only get your hair pressed once every year or 2 then chances are the hair could revert back to curly or begin puffing up prematurely. 

Now, this doesn't happen in every instance. Thankfully this has not been my experience or shall I say the experience of my customers in most cases if cared for properly.

I believe this is attributed to a number of factors, bu
t plainly put... products, technique & time put in to achieving the best presd I can deliever to each individual guest.

I'm amazed that some stylists can execute a fantastic press in an hour or hour in a half no matter the texture or amount of hair the guest has. Well, let me say, I'm not apart of that ministry sadly. My hydrating press service takes anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, but generally 2 hours. Now, of course most newbies or infrequent guests will need a trim (cut) so that's more time.

The moral of the story is, do what's best for your hair & lifestyle. That includes your wallet as hair care is an investment. I believe more people could afford to get their hair done regularly if they prioritized their hair. If we can spend money on wigs, braids & other 'protective styles' then we most certainly need to pay to gain knowledge about our hair & to help facilitate healthy hair in our every day lives.

I would love to know what your thoughts on this subject are. 

Chime in below. (positive vibes only...we can also agree to disagree)

~Tash

D'va Styles Beauty Bar, LLC & D'va Styles 2

Charlotte, NC based

If you are a beauty professional looking for a chair or suite to rent for a day or week or simply want to work in a D'va Styles salon affiliate in your area? Go to www.dvastyles.com to apply.

We have several suites & chairs for your convenience. Professionalism & Politeness stressed. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Live outside of Charlotte, NC? No problem. Let us know what city you're in so we can match you with a stylist in your area.

Blessings, T 

D'va Drops: Do Hair Oils Make Hair Grow?

 I've been seeing so many posts lately about hair oils not stimulating hair growth.

I beg to differ. Yes, as a cosmetologist this may be unpopular opinion, but I stand by my words.

I understand as a hair professional that oils can clog the pores. I also know it is important for us as black women to cleanse our hair & scalp more often. Going a month or 2 months without shampooing or detoing the scalp in some way is very unsanitary.

I'm not judging but I'm judging. I can't be too critical, however, because there have been plenty of times I myself have fallen behind on my hair routine. This is why having a beauty professional meaning a licensed cosmetologist or a natural hair care specialist is so critical to the overall health, growth & manageability of our hair. 

If going to the salon is just out of your budget (while I do subscribe to the notion that we pay for what we want), then at least have a trusted person-a girlfriend, mother or sister to assist with maintaining your hair on a consistent bases. What is consistent? Once a week to every 2 weeks. The frequency of shampooing, conditioning & moisturizing the hair will depend on how oily your scalp gets & how active you've been. so, if you know you just came from vacationing at the beach, the 1st main stop you should be making is to the salon to get a deep cleanse, etc.  

There have been several times I cam remember my hair & even my brows becoming thicker or growing back in due to the proper hair oils. This is why I stand by my words & have to respectfully disagree with the naysayers.

Now, there is a hair care company that I plan to support because of their dedication to hair & scalp health. They also have a serum I've been meaning to order. As a matter of fact, let me go grab the order form now. I met one of the reps (the sister to the founder & creator of the brand) at a New Orleans hair show, & really appreicated the time she took to educate me on their products & hair restoration in general.

Ok back to the program....do not skip the nourishing products your beauty professional recommends. If by chance they don't mention any, please do yourself a favor & request the products they're using on your hair & scalp if you're satisfied with the results. It would benefit you all around if you are using the same products at home.  No need in working against what the professional is trying to achieve, which undoubtedly healthy, shiny, bouncy, beautiful, thriving hair.

If you've followed D'va Styles you know we have a hair & body oil called D'va Drops. We have 2 different oil options. The 1st is the D'va Drops Gold. It contains potent jamaican black castor oil, olive oil & lemon grass. The 2nd option is the D'va Drops Platinum. It contains 9 different oils including rosemary oil, tea tree, peppermint oil, castor oil, olive oil, black seed oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil & lemon grass.

Why lemon grass? Lemon grass aids in headache and stress relief. D'va Drops was re-created during the pandemic so we wanted something to assist with soothing the stressful situations that time brought about. As mentioned, the drops can be used on the hair, scalp & body. You only need a very small amount. I barely use a swipe of oil on my brows.  I actually now have hair past a scar I've had for so many years. For all that time no hair would grow past that point & now I have brow hair all the way to the tip. YEH!!

You may also wonder why jamaican black castor oil is in both D'va Drop oils...

Well, castor oil is the only "proven" (in a lab) oil to thicken & stimulate growth. Now, there are others such as rosemary, tea tree & peppermint oil all of which help bring blood flow to the surface of the scalp & in turn promoting hair growth.

Welp folks, I hope this post encourages you to still have or regain your trust in growth oils. If you're needing some oil for your clean scalp then text us at the number below. We also offer different shampoos & conditioners including a hydrating, rosmary & moisturizing option (not our brand but tried & true over the years).  Lastly, the oil can lock in moisture in the hair if you're wearing twist styles, 'wash & go's" & to seal the ends of pressed or blown out hair after the moisturizer has been applied before bed.

Need quality brushes, combs & head wraps? We offer those at our sister company, a hair boutique Golden Goddess 28 Boutique www.gg28boutique.com

Blessings ( & don't forget to comment below),

~Tash

D'va Styles Beauty Bar, LLC & Studios 

text 704-605-9659 with questions or appointment requests 

www.dvastyles.com for more info

IG: @dvastyles

Youtube: tashadvastyles "Respect the Business" Podcast click LIVE videos 

Regulating Hair Loss: Regenerating Your Hair Follicles

Back to our main blog spot. During the pandemic I started a new blog Surviving Covid once the beauty industry shut down abruptly happened. Feel free to check that one out after you read these posts.

Enjoy & please provide feedback on your perspective to the topics that interest you. Many thanks!

 Sooo, hair loss has been flooding my timeline lately. It's also been a topic within the salon more & more.

I believe this is not due to products, as most of my clientele are natural, however I believe stress, medication, lack of adequate water, age, eating habits & lack of hair/scalp care at home are all factors coming up in coversation more & more. Wealso can't overlook the thought that COVID has plaid a part in hair & skin issues.

I try to encourage healthy eating, hair care & better products by recommending take-home items, by asking how much water is being consumed daily on average, if medications have been intoduced to their daily routine, etc. 

Stress, heredity & medication seem to be the main factors we conclude once the conversation is had. Also, make sure your new customers are filling out a client form in-person or online prior to their appointment. We currently do a paper form, however I definitely believe the online or text form can save time & help you as the beauty or grooming professional craft a plan based on the answers provided prior to thier arrival. The virtual option will make the treatment plan more effecient.

'How do you we save our precious crowns,' you're wondering?  

Welp, for sure take a look at the points mentioned above. We all can stand to improve in some if not all areas, so show yourself some grace & strive to do better starting today. 

I am ecstatic when I see results within the salon-setting especially if the customer is utilizing the products recommended. It's better to work as a team with your beauty professionals not against. I was also happy about rejuvenating the hair follicles with in-salon scalp treatments. We at D'va Styles have now incorporated medical grade low level light therapy as a hair/scalp treatment. This can be used as a preventative measure as well as for those currently experiencing hair loss in some form.

Think about it, you see your beauty professional once every week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months or a year...sooo who has more control over the state of the hair more than the customer. It's a team effort.

If you need an accountability partner, D'va Styles is happy to be there for you. How much you ask? It's FREE!!!

I want to see women & men be the best versions of themselves possible. God will have to help with a lot of it, but we must be committed to helping ourselves not just complaining about what's wrong. Let's operate from a space of solutions. 

What is helping me to be a better version of myself is writing down my food intake for the day. I even try to list the approximate time. This strategy goes for my water in-take as well. In writing it down or jotting in my phone notes, I'm able to be more aware & hold myslef accountable for my eating/drinking habits. I am persoanlly bad with eating on schedule & with consuming enough food during the day whether I'm working from home, running errands or behind the chair. So, keeping a log helps me pick up the pace with my caloric consumption.  Oftentimes we're not consuming enough calories, especially women. The right calories are vital to women's hormonal, emotional & physical health.

With the record keeping, workouts, of any type of stretches, yoga, cardio, walking, weight training can be added also.

Again, D'va Styles is here to help so let us know today if you're interested in having an accountability person in your corner especially if you know you won't have anyone else supporting your eating/workout habits. I'm not saying cut out all your favorites, but I'm saying let's eat in moderation.Your metabolism & weight will thank you.

Blessings (& don't forget to comment below),

~Tash

D'va Styles Beauty Bar & Studios, LLC

text questions to 704-605-9659 Charlotte, NC 

email: tasha.dvastyles@gmail.com

ig @dvastyles 

youtube "Respect the Business" podcast @tashadvastyles

Golden Goddess 28 Hair Boutique Promo

Starting A Business: Get It Done, No Excuses!

FEAR!!!
That's what stands in our way of success. Worrying about finances, other's opinion, our self-perception, and the list goes on & on.

I'm in the hair business & at one time I worked as an admissions rep at a cosmetology school. I can't count how many times I had ladies call & tell me they were interested & always had a passion for hair, but just didn't know how to go about it. Or, maybe they were stuck between 2 career options, or maybe they needed to check with their husband...EXCUSES!!

If you have a passion to do something, whatever the field, I'm telling you to go for it. Don't let anyone or anything stand in your way. I have kids & I have a husband, but I was a single mom for quite some time & I had to make it work. Going to cosmetology school, doing hair in the evenings. Eventually, working in a salon during the day, going to get the kids, spending time with them, having them a sitter just to go out to client's homes to do hair again. I wasn't charging a lot at all. I was trying to get my feet wet, prove myself, get my skills up & build a business.

I want to challenge all of you reading this post to be motivated & inspired to go after those dreams that are just burning away inside. Don't allow those flames to die out. Keep fanning those flames with each day that you are blessed to see; whether that means handing out business cards &/or flyers, going to networking events, calling people to introduce your business, going to businesses to invite others to your business or event, creating your logo, orchestrating your photo shoot, finding a team of people to work with....whatever pertains to your business, I want to challenge you to email that to me DAILY!!!

If no one else is encouraging you to pursue your dreams, I want to encourage you to do so starting Today, not tomorrow, next week, next month or next year.
Not after your finances are better, the baby starts school, etc.

I look forward to celebrating all of the small (yet so significant) accomplishments. Even if you have some setbacks, don't allow them to discourage you for long & Definitely don't allow them (or others) to make you lose site of your goals. Life happens, but we have to make the most of life. We only get one!
Let's start today making the most of God's blessings. Write It, Plan It, Execute It.

Today's Assignment:
*Send me your dream(s) (Email: Tasha.dvastyles@gmail.com) & comment on this post
*What did you do today to help accomplish it/them/
*What are your goals for the remainder of the week to help reach your goal(s)?

I can't wait to see all of the wonderful ideas you all have. I bet they are more attainable than you think. You just have to get the ball rolling, build up momentum & next thing you know you've reached your destination. "Get It Done; No Excuses!"

www.dvastyles.com

Hair Growth

From time-to-time I see ladies who are experiencing thinning at the crown of their heads. This can be attributed to several different reasons such as heredity, stress, excessive tension, medication, medical procedures, nutrition & lack of maintenance.

We, as ladies, tend to allow issues to progress with our bodies & with our hair before we take action. Unfortunately, we oftentimes assume that our hairstylists are miracle workers the 1 day we decide that enough is enough & go to a professional.  Think of your beauty specialist, beautician, hair designer or hair stylist as you would your doctor.  We are licensed cosmetologist trained in hair, skin & nails. Most of us concentrate on hair care; therefore, we should take better heed to the "prescriptions" our professionals are "prescribing" for the health of our scalp & tresses.

Some "prescriptions" your beauty professional may suggest are moisturizers, drinking more water, vitamins, trimming ends, routine shampooing & conditioning, professional shampoo/conditioner, deep conditioners, treatments, less heat at home, protective styles or a break from protective styles to name a few.

So, let's make sure we are taking the health of our scalp & hair seriously, since our scalp (& subsequently our mane's) are apart of our personal hygiene & health. And, while on the subject of hygiene, it's not a good idea to leave protective styles such as sew-ins, quick weaves, braids & crochet braids in for extended amounts of time. Also, keep in mind, that protective styles need to be shampooed on a regular basis & oftentimes I use an antiseptic on the scalp to begin the cleansing process.

Lastly, YouTube is not the end all be all on hair care. Now, there are some very good tutorials online, but let's make sure we are checking with a professional before we are following some of the advice we view. This is especially a good idea since a lot of the videos I've come across online are uploaded by non-professionals. Some of the protective styles are fine, but I'm more concerned with non-professionals "teaching" others to use chemicals in their hair. I do think social media sites can offer great tips to make one's hair routine easier, but let's make sure we are going the proper route & visiting a professional salon. This could make the difference between a head full of beautiful hair & contemplating cutting it all off & starting over.

I look forward to your thoughts & comments on this post & remember you can always email me at www.tasha.dvastyles@gmail.com.

Hydration II

Ladies & Gents (& youth), the season is changing & our hair (all textures) can easily become dehydrated, dry & brittle which can cause breakage...mild breakage for some yet more severe for others, unfortunately.

To combat dryness you can refer to 1 of my previous blog posts on Hydration here on Hair Talk by D'va Styles. But, 1 of the main things I hear from clients, other than not drinking enough water, is not moisturizing their tresses.

Now, this is more of a "textured' hair issue more so than  a fine hair problem unless you are experiencing thinning. People constantly tell me during a consultation that they are using oil sheen or a serum on their hair & for some odd reason feel that either of these are suitable {hydration} products for the hair. This is not so. Oil sheen & serums are meant for shine Only. They do not penetrate the hair shaft. I encourage clients to apply their hair moisturizer before bed so the hair has an opportunity to absorb the great properties (ingredients) it has to offer. Then to "seal the deal", tie your hair with a satin or silk scarf or bonnet at night. This will also protect your style or help create a style for the next day, especially if you wrap the hair around your head & train the hair to fall a certain way. You can also do pin curls & take them down in the a.m. for volume, a feathered look or curls if you wear your natural or relaxed hair straight.

I hope this encourages more women to properly hydrate their hair with the proper product. As I don't buy my staple products from a beauty supply store, I am unable to recommend tried & true products to achieve this goal. However, I do retail quality products such as my 100% Natural D'va Styles Hair & Skin Natural Oils & Butter that can be shipped to you if interested along with other brands that will help you retain more hair.
 Simply email me at tasha.dvastyles@gmail.com.

~D'va Styles