Over at my other blog, I write about hair - but also beauty, culture and more.

Over there I do a pretty regular feature called Ask Afrobella. (Well, OK. I haven't posted one in a while and I feel pretty bad about that and will get back on top of it again SOON. PROMISE). Over here on AOL, I'm trying to really stay on top of the reader questions, so -- fingers crossed -- I'll answer your hair questions every two weeks or so. Trying!

Please bear in mind, I ain't no hairdresser. I've been natural for seven years, hair-obsessed for most of my life. I can answer from my experience, from research, and from reaching out to experts. Dear readers, you can send me questions to afrobellaonaol@gmail.com. Relaxed, natural, wigs, weaves, braids, locs - bring em on and I'll try my bestest to answer you.

Without further ado, here's the first batch o' questions.

I read the article on Alicia Keys on how beautiful she looked accepting her humanitarian award and you mentioned Ojon. I've been tempting to try Ojon, but was skeptical about it being good on Black relaxed hair. What Ojon products do you recommend for my hair that's relaxed, colored and sometimes I have dry scalp. Thanks,
Brenda

Hey Brenda,
relaxed or natural it sounds like we've got somewhat similar hair issues -- we both need moisture and suffer from dry scalp issues! For my dry scalp, I do brown sugar conditioner scrubs every two weeks or so. You can learn more about that here. While Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment has been embraced by curly, kinky, natural textured chicks like me, there's no reason it won't work for relaxed hair like yours. Their description indicates, "ideal for all hair types that are dry or damaged." I'd say less is more -- first off, it's $55 a tub, and second, it's a very intense moisturizing treatment. Use sparingly, and this could be the wonder treatment you seek. Other Ojon products you might want to consider are the Shine and Protect Shampoo and Conditioner, and the Leave-In Glossing Cream, which is made expressly to leave blow-dried hair shiny and gorgeous. Best of luck!

On to the next question!

Hi there,
I live in Austin, Texas where the heat climbs to 100-107 degrees easily during the summer. I want to wear my hair naturally but i have several problems.#1 Cur-natural (a combination of curly & natural hair); If I could get it to "cur-ink" (curl & kink) I would be happy but it just won't happen...Basically I want a curly natural that won't be "sucked up" through Texas humidity. What do I do to master a curly natural look...My hair is about shoulder length.
Thanks,
Gwenschen

Gwenschen,
you are speaking directly to my experience! I was born and raised in the hot Caribbean island of Trinidad and lived in Miami for 11 years. Heat can do a number on your hair, and if you're looking for defined curls often you can find yourself fresh outta luck. Frizz, now that's always available. But who wants that?

Unfortunately, not everyone's hair kinks on its own. So you might want to consider some options to assist your hair do what you want it to do. I'm not talking about chemical treatments - not at all. I'm talking about styling methods and products made to combat the opressive oven-like heat you confront every day. Have you tried Miss Jessie's? Their shingling method might deliver the look you're looking for. Recently I heard about the CherryLola method -- it promises to make your roots clump together, thereby ending frizz at the root. But I haven't yet tried it -- check out YouTube to get some ideas of what you might expect. I'd recommend weekly deep conditioning treatments, and adding some new products to your hair arsenal. It might be as simple as finding the right product for your particular texture. I wish you all the best!

Ms. Afro,

I'm a huge fan and have been reading your blog for about a year, ever since I divorced my stylist (liberating!) and starting caring for my own relaxed hair. I do still see a different stylist for my relaxer touch ups about every 8-10 weeks. When I took my hair into my own hands, I automatically decided that I was going to start going longer between touch ups. But while complaining to a friend that I was trying to go 10 weeks, still had 2 weeks to go and my scalp was sore, she asked "why are you trying to go longer between relaxers?". I tried to spout off some facsimile of an explanation, mashing together what I had read on sites geared to black hair care, but even after the conversation was over I found myself asking "yeah, why am I trying so hard to go longer between relaxers?" I figure that the point is to have enough new growth so that the stylist can relax the new hair only and not risk overprocessing the already relaxed hair. However, I always notice that closer to touch-up time, my hair needs more moisture and is prone to breakage. Is the risk of breakage worth it? I'm still not certain. What's a girl to do?

*sigh*

Again, congratulations on the new blog. I'm sure that you'll do as great of a job on BV as you do on Afrobella.

Thanks in advance,
kalanit

Kalanit,
you sound like I did oh... a decade ago. It sounds to me like you're on the brink of making some hair decisions. Your friend started asking the right questions -- why ARE you going longer between relaxers? Are you considering transitioning?

Breakage is a risk during chemical treatments, and I wish there was a more relaxer-affirmative answer I could give you... but then I wouldn't be Afrobella, would I?

My advice to you is, treat your hair with love. Treat it like you would an antique wedding dress or a silk kimono. Invest in products to improve your hair's health. Get a good steam cap and some deep conditioning treatments -- my mom, who has had her share of hair issues and plans to relax until her dying day, currently swears by Moroccan Oil's deep conditioning treatment. I know many relaxed women who adore the Phyto brand of products. If your wallet aches at those suggestions, maybe get some good old fashioned Queen Helene cholesterol. Slather it on once a week or every two weeks. Get some hair vitamins and let me know what's REALLY going on. Put your hair's health first, and don't stop asking yourself those questions. You just might be onto something. Thanks for your kind comments, and keep in touch!

** the painting above is William S. Carter's "Woman Thinking."