Hair What I'm Saying
“Hair What I’m Saying” is where healing, beauty, and honest storytelling meet. Hosted by Kinetra, a licensed hair expert, deep thinker, and truth-teller, this show has earned a spot in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide, on Listen Notes. It goes beyond the surface to explore the emotional, spiritual, and personal layers behind hair, identity, and growth.
Whether it’s uncovering the science of hair loss, breaking generational cycles, or reflecting on real-life relationships, each episode holds space for vulnerable conversations, self-discovery, and unapologetic truth. If you’ve ever found power in your pain or beauty in your becoming, this podcast is for you.
Hair What I'm Saying
Braids and Hair Loss: Protective or Problematic with Angel Henderson
Angel Henderson turns conventional wisdom about "protective" braided styles upside down in this eye-opening conversation about hair health, scalp care, and the true cost of convenience styling. The natural hair expert begins by challenging our fundamental understanding of protective styles, asking the provocative question: "What are we actually protecting?" Most of us aren't protecting our hair at all; we're protecting our time. This mindset shift sets the stage for a deep exploration of when braids help versus when they harm. Hair loss warning signs get special attention as Angel outlines exactly what to watch for: white bulbs appearing consistently around edges, persistent itching, inflammation, and redness. "When you see consistent white bulbs, especially around your hairline, sometimes that's not coming back," she cautions. Her professional experience reveals how ignoring these signals can lead to permanent conditions like traction alopecia or Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA). The conversation tackles hard truths about our beauty priorities, with Angel noting how willing we are to invest in synthetic hair while neglecting our natural crown. "You spend all that money on weave and braids, but you will not spend money on your hair," she observes. Her passion for client education shines through as she describes turning away business rather than participating in clients' hair damage cycle. Angel shares practical scalp care recommendations, including her favorite treatments, and explains why that six-week mark seems to be the sweet spot for most braided styles before they become counterproductive. For anyone wearing braids or considering them, this conversation offers the science and soul of proper hair care, emphasizing that healthy hair isn't about quick fixes but a committed journey worth taking.
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Welcome back to another episode of Hair what I'm Saying the podcast, where we keep it real about beauty, culture and the crown we wear every day our hair. Today, we're diving into a topic that's been glamorized, misunderstood and even mislabeled for years braids and hair loss. So many of us have grown up thinking that braids are automatically a protective style, but are they really protecting our hair or could they be doing the opposite? To help me break this down, I invited the amazing Angel Henderson, a natural texture specialist and salon owner based in Georgetown, texas. She's someone who truly celebrates real hair, educates her clients and understands the science behind healthy styling. We're talking myths, scalp health, braid tension, synthetic hair, dangers and everything in between, so let's get into it.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Hair what I'm Saying podcast. I'm your host, kenetra Stewart. Today we have Angel Henderson of Beyond Beauty, a natural hair expert located in Georgetown, texas, here to discuss braids and hair loss with us. Welcome to the show, angel. How are you? I'm pretty good that here to discuss braids and hair loss with us. Welcome to the show, angel.
Speaker 2:How are you? I'm pretty good.
Speaker 1:That's good Doing good, that's good, that's good. How are you feeling overall?
Speaker 2:I'm feeling good. This is my first time doing a podcast, but not my first time talking to you, so At all. You bet, don't lose conversations about hair the industry.
Speaker 1:The toxicity, the good, yep, the good, all of it. All right. So I wanted to invite you on the show because I saw that you have been sharing content on braids and hair loss and I wanted you to be able to elaborate more about it, because you know, like, with the content on social media, it's really hard to like get all of the gems you know out and everyone's attention span is so short on know social media. So it's like, let's, let's put it out there so that people can be aware black women specifically, since we're always wearing braids about you know some of the things that we are not aware of when it comes to braids.
Speaker 1:They can be great, but they're not always. They can also be problematic too, yes, depending on how you approach it pre and post. You know, know brave styles, right, yes, yeah, all right, cool. So thank you for accepting the invite and we're going to roll on to the first question. So first we just want to talk about you, like, how did you get into doing hair and when did you know that natural texture was going to be the thing you eventually transition into specializing in? Oh, ok.
Speaker 2:So I got into hair fairly early, so I started to. Well, when I was 10 years old I went into a foster home and I had tons. I never knew that about you. No but I mean, I'm not not proud of it. It's my story now, so I you know I'm more comfortable with speaking on it and telling others but that's how I got into it.
Speaker 2:So I was 10 when I went into foster care. Tons of hair, you know, just tons of hair. And you know, at 10 years old you're starting to get into the age where you start to care about yourself, you're transitioning into a preteen. So my first foster home she was a disabled lady, so she wasn't well, she was disabled, so she wasn't able to take care of my hair and my mom was fairly good at it until she went into her depression and things like that. So I was used to my hair being kept up and I was used to, you know, people always saying you have beautiful hair, your hair is so pretty, you know, let me get one of those ponytails, you know.
Speaker 2:So I went into the foster care and I had to start to take care of my hair and that was a whole different thing. Like I didn't want to go to school and be embarrassed. It was already a different world for me going into that Right. So I started to learn there and then I went to a different foster home and this foster home had other little girls in the home and I was taking care of my hair and they're like okay, at 11 and almost 12, I was braiding. I started to braid my own hair and put beads on it and they're like okay, what do you do? And my little sister was in that foster home with me also and I started to do her hair. And so I started to do the other little girls' and I had me a little clientele, honey, about three or four, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:So that's where it all started and so like getting more into natural hair. When I went to cosmetology school, you know they taught us everything. So I was doing relaxers and you know that was in 2009 and natural hair was just starting to touch, you know, our community and we started to feel comfortable with it. Um, so I was still doing relaxers. Then I didn't jump deep into natural hair until I moved here to austin about seven years ago oh, okay, so you were still pretty much servicing clients behind the chair with relaxers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, these do you still. Are you just straight natural hair, straight natural I don't offer relaxers at all.
Speaker 2:I haven't offered a relaxer. I probably only did relaxers for a couple of years here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean the demand is so low. You don't really make money from it. It'll take you a long time to go through a whole jar of relaxers a day and that's what I was getting into.
Speaker 2:I kept my jar of relaxers for a while and I'm like you know the shelf life, I can't be stupid. You know the shelf life. I can't be still good and I'm not. I wasn't focused on learning it anymore and you know, like our mindset as caring for the hair, when you get a stylist that cares, you want to know everything about what you're doing to your client's hair and I wasn't interested in learning that anymore. I was shifting more into the natural hair, yeah, and I just had like two or three relaxed clients.
Speaker 2:I was like you know what? I know somebody for y'all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, good, at least you can refer them out to somebody, because even it's still hard to refer them out because a lot of us aren't really doing relaxers no more.
Speaker 1:I know I still did you know, until I no longer do hair no more. But I was definitely, you know, still doing relaxers for certain clients, yeah, relaxers for certain clients, yeah, but like you said, that shelf life for that relaxer, you don't really get to use all of that relaxer and I worked with a stylist that she one jar relaxer took like 10 people hair out and that scared 10 people hair out.
Speaker 2:Yes, like out oh like out where they was coming back and it was like okay, yeah, it was out, so yeah so what relaxer was it? What, what brand yeah?
Speaker 1:a firm. Oh, I hate a firm. I've never liked the firm it took my hair out I never, ever since it took my hair. I was like I'm done with this to relax. I just feel like the regular strength is strong too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I'm like no, I hate that relax what were some of the biggest myths you had to let go in your own path as a hairstylist?
Speaker 2:Biggest myths. One grease like heavy grease, like greasing the scalp, the blue magic.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like you know, when we were younger, it was like you line the girls up at night and we're going to oil your scalp and we're going to plait it and then you're going to go to sleep.
Speaker 2:That pillow going to be greasy in the morning girl yes, but it was it would bleed through your scarf too, and I would go outside my hair cooking, you know, and I had tons of it, so it was just cooking, scalp crackling, but yeah, it was like that's one thing, the grease and then shampooing consistently. We were taught that sometimes dirty hair, you know, makes your hair grow. Or shampooing consistently. We were taught that sometimes dirty hair, you know, makes your hair grow, or shampooing it too much it's gonna make your hair too dry for us, you know.
Speaker 2:So those two things I had to like unlearn, like we don't need grease, you don't blue magic. Just because your hair shiny, that don't mean it's just amazing, I know it was like a black household tradition wasn't, yeah what about the.
Speaker 1:Did y'all ever get like a cup of water and dip the brush in it too?
Speaker 2:oh yeah yeah, they brushing your from your your eyebrows to the back.
Speaker 1:Yes, indeed, girl those are my best childhood memories, even though they weren't good, you know, but they were definitely they only knew they were doing what they knew. You know, that's all we knew that's true, and then it was have the education like Exactly, yeah, that was a good one. I wasn't even expecting you to say that, okay, so let's. Let's get into the topic of braids. People always call them protective styles. However, the word gets used loosely. From your professional experience, when are braids actively or actually protective and when are they not?
Speaker 2:First, what are we protecting? You know, like, what are we really protecting? When you say I'm in a protective style, what are we protecting? And most of the time, we're protecting from our own hands, in our head, all the time.
Speaker 2:Or we're protecting, you know, like over manipulation of our hair, which is your hands, and we're protecting. Like you know, like over manipulation of our hair, which is your hands, and we're protecting like your ends being sealed. Or we're protecting because we just, you know, protecting our time, because we don't want to spend time on our hair, you know. So it's like at first, like what are we protecting, you know? And after that, protective styles can be good, but it's only good if you go into it with healthy hair. You know, I'm protecting my hair, but my hair is already damaged and it's already broken, it's already dry, so I'm going to go into a protective style. That's when it's not protecting, right, you know it's not protecting then. And it's not protecting when we leave them in too long, or it's too tight, or you know all those things. So we, you know all those things. So we, we, you know, like you said, we use it loosely. We're protecting our hair.
Speaker 2:But first, what are we protecting. How are we protecting? And you know longevity of it. We want it to last. They say I pay. I pay three hundred dollars for these braids. They better last, yes, or I had them in for two months. They look good, still like okay, but it's not protecting. You know you're, you're destructing stuff now.
Speaker 1:And neglecting at that point, because it's too long to leave them up, you know yeah.
Speaker 2:So it becomes a protective style when you go in it and your hair is actually healthy and you are doing the things that you need to do to your scalp along with your hair strand. So that's when it's protective and you don't leave it in for you know months on end.
Speaker 1:That's when it's protected, right, yeah, but I love that question because it is very valid. Like, what are you protecting?
Speaker 2:like you said mostly that time, yeah, you don't want to spend no time doing our hair.
Speaker 1:We don't, and it's more of a convenience hairstyle more than anything. Like we're not really thinking about the pre-hair care. No, before we even get into these braids, like you really need to take the time to take care of your scalp and hair before you put it into that style because, like you said, it's not necessarily protecting it. You know, whenever you know, depending on how you, you know, wear these braids, how long you wear these braids or whatever the case may be, and then when you take them out, like, what are you going to do to make sure that your hair stay, the integrity stay intact?
Speaker 2:you know yeah.
Speaker 1:But I feel like mostly from what I hear, it's more about time. It's not really the hair you know.
Speaker 2:No, it's more about time Like I'm tired of my hair. I'm about to put it up, that's exactly what I did with these, but this is forever. Well, this is, you know, like that's just the truth. It was time, kenesha. It was time because I'm in everybody else's head. I don't have time.
Speaker 1:To do your hair. I wake up in the morning.
Speaker 2:I'm like I look like trash, yeah, like what. It's like it takes a lot to get ready in the morning when you're in everybody else's head, you sure does. I'm like I just no, and I was finding myself just brushing my hair back in a ponytail, you know, or straightening it or doing whatever, but I wasn't taking the time for me. So I'm like okay.
Speaker 1:I have to do something, and then eventually you're going to neglect your own. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:That's true, but it looks so good, thank you it grew so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you, but yeah, like you said, time that was that one like? I'm like girl, I know for me it's time. You know more than anything and I'm not going into it thinking like I'm protecting a strand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, like we just, yeah, like, what are we protecting? Yeah, I mean, like I I got so one of my clients like girl, her hair. I'm like, well, you need to put some not a protective style, you need to put some mittens on your hands because you tearing it up, that's what it is. Yeah, like they do so much. Well, we do so much because I've done so much, like, just so much. Like you, you feel like every hair needs to be in place and if you leave it alone and you find something that you're comfortable with, you know it can be protective, right, what are we protecting? Time? And we're protecting them from ourselves. We're protecting it from ourselves.
Speaker 1:That's right Because, if you notice, I think that's why that misconception of it being protective over problematic is more a for for most clients, because when, when it's in those braids, they see the length retaining and when it's not in the braids. They see it breaking, but it's it's more of like you are the one that's not taking care of it. You are the one that's causing it to break because you are not. You don't know what to do with your hair.
Speaker 2:So in their head it's like oh no, it's protecting my hair because anytime it's in these braids yeah, yeah, you know it's doing great, it's doing great and they're like, oh, you might got a lot of new growth, but what about the outgrowth? What about you know all the other things? Yeah, and you know, even with our kids, like my daughter, I'm like you have to. When you have your braids and you have to spray, you have to moisturize. It's like what are we?
Speaker 1:protecting Girl, even you're your baby. What she be doing, girl, she don't be wanting to listen to Angel no, no, she's starting to now.
Speaker 2:She's starting to now Because I gave her that haircut. You gave her a haircut, yeah, because it was like you know that, like when you first starting to do your hair, the over manipulation that I want everything to be in place. I'm cute, you know which and then she has a lot of hair also she do have a lot of hair when it went. She's like I feel like I get a haircut every time you do yeah because your hair should be down your back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's like so cliche to me when we have daughters and you know, especially if we are promoting hair care, and then they go out here and do this like girl. You ain't listening to me, so why do I expect my class to listen to me?
Speaker 2:but they do teachers like I know. She enlightens me like what I should talk to my clients about, like she's a client you know she's the client, so what? She thinks and how she takes care of her hair at home, and and she's a product junkie as well and your baby, oh my god, and I, and she's starting to unlearn. That too, I'm like, because you know, it's the internet they come up like this is this, this is that.
Speaker 2:Did this type of product. I'm like, if you understand the ingredients in the product which I took time to and your mom, you have it right on here.
Speaker 1:You don't need all that, you don't I'm glad you brought that up too, about the ingredients and the product, how I feel like that needs to be. Uh, clients need clients need to be educated on that more than they do the actual product, because that front part is just the marketing label. Yeah, you know it contains vitamin e and it contains aloe vera, but it's like go look at them ingredients the ingredients and then actually how you use it.
Speaker 2:What? You build off of like this is building off of this. Is that, that and you know absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's where the real education is.
Speaker 1:When you want to go shopping for some products, yeah, and, like you said, you won't need a whole beauty supply store if you did you know, yes, one thing I see and I also know is like, behind the chair, you know, most clients have this misconception of like the tighter the braid, the better it is, the better, you know, the longer it lasts, like we just mentioned. But that tension can be real damage. Oh yeah Right, real damage. Oh yeah Right. So, like, how do you approach if you ever had to? How do you approach this to bring awareness for, you know, black women who have this misconception that the tighter the braid, the longer it lasts, but understanding that that's more of a problematic situation, I just try to educate them on the end result.
Speaker 2:You know, I give them the worst case scenario you know, like the tighter the braid.
Speaker 2:Let me, you know, I give them the worst case scenario. You know, like they're tired of the braid. Let me, you know, I have the microscope in the salon. Let me show you what can't happen. Or let me show you some pictures of some you know some scalps that I've taken. You know some previous pictures of Right, you know. So. This is where they started, this is where they ended. When you see that white bulb, we do have shedding, we do have shedding. You know we go through stages of shedding. But when you see consistent white bulbs, especially around your hairline, sometimes that's not coming back, you know, sometimes that's not coming back. And if it doesn't come back and you feel like you know, the tighter the braid, the longer it lasts, because you want to get your money's worth.
Speaker 2:You got to understand what it's going to feel like to, you know, have to go to a dermatologist, have to get steroid shots, have to, you know, if it comes back, or have to get a surgery, like some people have to get hair replacement surgery because of traction, uh, traction, alopecia transplants, yes, so I try to tell them that and educate them on that. You know, and a lot of times it works. But sometimes you know you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them, you can't make them drink, girl and it hurts your heart.
Speaker 2:You'd be like I just oh, like you can see the end result yes for them and you, and if they, they come in and I have clients that come in and they they have braids, they wear braids most of the time, so they'll come in like I want you to shampoo, deep condition, trim. You know, give me brave prep, give me a scalp, detox, all the good things, and I'm gonna go back and braids. You kind of like wasting your money with me because when you come back and you, you, your hair has been up and braids for three months and this is the only shampoo that you're getting.
Speaker 1:This is the only shampoo that you're getting the shampoo on a regular basis. This is the only shampoo you're're getting on a regular basis.
Speaker 2:This is the only shampoo you're getting. So you and I've turned people down. I've told them, like you don't even have to come and spend your money with me. Like you don't have to all money I'm, you know how long we've been doing it All money, not good money.
Speaker 2:Like. I would rather you just continue to do what you're doing and take me out of the mix and save your money, invest, get more braids, do something, save it for a trip than me to see you coming here and they say who does your hair? I go to beyond beauty.
Speaker 1:Uh, we're not yeah, because then? Because they're not gonna walk them through the story of the neglect, no, you know during the whole process.
Speaker 2:No, you know, that is it and they never do, you know yeah, but sometimes a they know, they know for sure.
Speaker 1:Like I know, if you've been seeing a professional regularly versus you've been in more of a quote, unquote, problematic Well, we don't say problematic style. You know more than anything you can tell. Oh, yeah, yeah, you know you backtrack and you really get the nitty gritty of the history and I also start challenging them like well, like well, you know, normally I don't see this, yeah if you're regularly going to someone to get your hair done, you know this looks more like breakage from braids, you know uh-huh yeah, but I'm with you there.
Speaker 1:I don't like to be in the mix of that either, because then that's that's your reputation on the line. You know where people are looking at your Instagram like, well, I don't see that anywhere. Oh, this is one-to-one she don't want to show me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't got nothing to do with it, because you're always going to show your best work. You know, that's just like I'm not going to put up, not putting that up? No, because it that's not a part of my brand, exactly like it's my. My name is beyond beauty. It's beyond you looking good. It's like I'm deeper than that I love that man.
Speaker 1:It's deeper than that. Yeah, it's all about people have to go. You have to find the hairstylist or the professional for whatever needs that you want. If it's hair care, then you you have to seek a person. That's all about hair care, and that finish will be last you know, oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:That's the finished product, is just the icing on the cake. All the things that happened before man that's what's important, you know absolutely.
Speaker 1:And what about timing? How long is too long to keep braids in before it starts working against you?
Speaker 2:That's really loaded as well. It depends on your hair. Like we talked about, it depends on the health of your hair before you get the braids. It depends on the thickness of your hair. More finer hair is easier to break Even with the color of your hair. Some like when you have a lighter texture hair, it's just the layers of your hair aren't as strong and you don't have as many layers as someone with darker, thicker hair. So it depends on your hair. Like people ask, like how long it depends. It really does depend on your hair. I say generally no more than six weeks. I'm gonna pay this lady this six weeks in that chair, this long, like I'm like, yeah, about six weeks, because at that point you need some protein. Yeah, you know, and even if you try to take care of your hair in braids, you still need things that the braiding hair is gonna soak up before it gets to your hair you know, so you need things in hair and it depends on your hair strand.
Speaker 2:And it's the people that want to go on braids. Their hair is already damaged. You probably should keep those up for two, Absolutely. And then I have a lot of clients that say you shouldn't get braids at all. I'm sorry, you should not get braids at all. And they're like what I'm supposed to do. Get braids at all and they're like what I'm supposed to do I'm going on vacation, you shouldn't get braids at all. We can explore other things. Your hair yeah, try to wear your hair like, try it.
Speaker 1:You should try, you should. But I love that answer because it's not a one-size-fits-all, it's all situational, it's all circumstantial circumstantial too. You know, like you said, you know it, it just depends on the hair it really does. It depends on your hair, it depends on your. You know, it just depends on the hair it really does.
Speaker 2:It does. It depends on your hair, it depends on your scalp, you know, it depends on your lifestyle. It depends on all of those things.
Speaker 1:So I can't like tell you that. But that six weeks is like that sweet spot. Yeah, that's a sweet spot, right? Yeah, it sure is. I'm at six weeks right now first, and then I'll take these things because of your time. I was like, I was like dude, no, but yeah, I made six weeks Saturday. I was like that podcast Monday.
Speaker 2:I was like oh no.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna do this podcast and I'm gonna take them braids out.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna hit that seven week mark but I know my hair, you know, you know your hair.
Speaker 1:I'm hit that seven week mark and then I'll remove them, but I was like, uh-uh, okay, so beauty over health? Social media plays such a big role. Now we see these gorgeous styles that go viral, but the scalp is suffering behind the scenes. Do you think we're learning more into I mean not learning, but leaning more into aesthetics than actual integrity of the hair? The hair is health.
Speaker 2:Yes, I really do, Because Instagram and all the TikToks and Snapchat, that is all about aesthetics, you know, you see, it's all about aesthetics. Like we spoke on before, we're not going to show you our worst day or us waking up with our edges frizzy. You know, we're not. We're not doing that, so we're not going to show you our worst day or us waking up with our edges frizzy, you know we're not.
Speaker 2:We're not doing that. So it's that vulnerable. No, we're not that vulnerable. So it's like, especially with the younger girls coming up. You know they came up with social media, they came up with having to be perfect, they came up with the filters and all these kind of these things. So you know they are leaning more towards aesthetic. Like I'm I have to be on all the time. Like I have to be on all the time because everybody else on and when you lay down and you scroll and you feel like everybody where you've seen them is where they left off. If you've seen them looking beautiful on the beach, you feel like I'm going to sleep. But she's still standing up beautiful on the beach it's not.
Speaker 2:It's not an illusion, it's such an illusion, and not even just with the braids. It's with these lace front wigs, honey, like they have to be laid. You see every lace front wig laid flat on your edges with the glue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know so, and only can you imagine what that's going to do.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know what it's going to do Because I have people that come to me and they have lace fronts. Well, they've been wearing lace fronts. You know I don't do them, but they come and they're like I want to do. I've never had a client that is inconsistent lace fronts where their hair is healthy at all. Not one person.
Speaker 1:It's always all broke off around the edges and then the rest of the hair looks so good, right.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's like it's either good or bad, it's like your edges broke off, always 100%, yeah.
Speaker 2:And then your hair is full back here yeah, so I'm having to do a comb over, or it's like it's broke off back there, because some people are like I don't want to cut it, you don't even wear your hair, so why are we holding on to what? You don't wear it at all? No, like you don't wear it at all and they'll come in for like a silk press or something I refuse or I'll do it, and they're like how long it's gonna last? It's not gonna last that long baby I just wanted to give you a good hair.
Speaker 1:Why it's not gonna last?
Speaker 2:because because your hair, the your layers of your hair, is so broken down and it's so split to where, even if it's split and I trim your split ends that that hair that's split and that one, the the left, it's like a twix you know you got the left and you got the right. So if they split, you know they better together. But if that left split off and this is dangling and lifeless, then that's it's not gonna it's not.
Speaker 1:It's not moving left to right, it's just it's not gonna last and then, and if they also keep these wigs, installing these braids and stuff for long periods of time, you're not getting no hydration, no hydration. So as soon as you hit the outdoors that moist your hair gonna be like yes, right give me that voice and then this ain't no, your hair is pooping up, you know because it's wanting all the moisture.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that it can get from anywhere. It's like cough, it's like, and it is Say I'm wrong, knitra, I'm not wrong. Huh, somebody cough? No for real. No for real, anything, anything. It's like it's just dying. No for real, anything, anything. It's like it's just dying. Yeah, and then here we go on saying that Angel did my hair and it didn't last. No for real.
Speaker 1:I know I feel like, oh my goodness, like we have to start taking accountability, yeah. This is not necessarily your hair not lasting because you didn't get a good silk print.
Speaker 2:Because here's the thing we always talk about healthy hair journeys. It's like you want healthy hair, but you don't want the journey part it's a journey. It's like healthy hair journey. It's a journey people use. I'm on my healthy hair journey, but you're not, but you're not. You want to go fast, but you're not. If you haven't taken care of your hair for years, it take a long time for your hair to grow out from the the scalp to your chin right.
Speaker 2:You know, like that's years, that's a healthy head of hair, so people like how long? Consistently how long it's gonna take years.
Speaker 1:So if you don't have time, you you on the sprint, honey, you ain't on no journey. You're not on a journey, honey, you ain't on no journey here you not on no journey, you not man. But those are facts. And you know what I also see is years of neglect, thinking one hair appointment is going to fix it, honey. It's going to take years to fix it.
Speaker 2:It takes years to fix it.
Speaker 2:Just as much you put into it, it takes years to fix it and a lot of it is irreversible. You have to cut, and I tell clients that when they come, especially their first appointment, I'm like, okay, here's where we are, you see through. Even though you see through the area and that's what we're going to cut off, it's still some damage up the hair shaft. Sure is Up the hair shaft. So we still have to grow cut, grow cut, grow cut. You might be at a bob length for a year or so.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because we growing and cutting, and we growing and cutting, but I promise you it's worth it.
Speaker 1:It is. It's so worth it. It is, and I love to get the clients that just trust your word and move forward or do whatever Right and you actually see them with results faster you do.
Speaker 2:You really do, you know, opposed to the ones who are just so hesitant to just move forward with the treatment you know, yeah, you do yeah you get those clients that come and you know they're not coming back. Girl, you know they're not coming back.
Speaker 1:But sometimes you get the clients and girl, they come back. You think they're not coming back and they come back and I'm like I didn't even document this because I didn't think she was coming back.
Speaker 2:I didn't think she was coming back. Right, they ain't coming back, no, or they're there and they'd say like 20 words the whole appointment, which I'm fine with you remember I got my TV Five people a day.
Speaker 1:you get exhausted.
Speaker 2:No, I do three people a day.
Speaker 1:Good good. Just three people a day, you serious.
Speaker 2:And then they keep coming back to you like I can't even document this.
Speaker 1:So mad at myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Especially too like I had a client when she first came to me. She actually came for a bridal trial, but I didn't do the bridal trial because her hair was too broke. I said let's just take care of your hair this appointment and you come back and we'll do the bridal trial. So we cut it and we cut into a bob because it was broke off in that little neck area. Okay, so we cut into a short bob and over the years it has grown. But she can't see it. Yeah, they can't.
Speaker 1:And I was like I hate I didn't document this but I also thought, since she initially booked for me to do a hair for the wedding I was like she ain't coming back.
Speaker 2:You know I'm gonna cut this.
Speaker 1:This is a good, healthy start for her she will do the hair for the wedding and that'll be it. But she kept coming back, so then her hair grew about, maybe past a little past her shoulders, but she has really fine hair okay. And, um, that's another thing I hate about social media because, uh, a lot of uh content that gets pushed is more of girls with like thick yeah, you know that real low density hair yeah and we are thinking if we grow our hair? Maybe the thickness is gonna come with it.
Speaker 1:That's not always, that's not everybody's hair, it's not so she don't see, uh, she don't see length or fullness, so I was helping her, you know. So we went back to like one picture I showed her you know, whenever we first started uh-huh thank god I had that picture because I was just showing her the breakage yeah, yeah, see, yeah but still, just because it wasn't where she think it should be, she could not even appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I'm like y'all have to appreciate the process too, yeah, and the progress. You have to appreciate the process too. And the progress.
Speaker 2:You have to appreciate the process, the progress, and you have to appreciate what God gave you coming from your head.
Speaker 1:You know, because it's not everybody's.
Speaker 2:It's not everybody don't have full thick hair. That don't mean it's not beautiful hair. That don't mean we can't explore styles that's going to make it appear to be thicker or styles that's going to make you feel good about your hair.
Speaker 1:But it's everybody don't have that, you know, and it's okay, it is. I feel like be happy, you have it. I have clients that sit in my chair. They have scarring hair loss. Girl, they would trade heads with you right now every all the.
Speaker 2:I say that especially people like my edges. Baby, if you got some, I know some people that don't have and they're not coming back, which I mean, and I have people that don't have as, and they okay with it. They like this is what I did, this is where I'm at, you know. So we gonna do this and I suggest different stuff, like a middle part or something, and they okay it's like it's all about, you know, accepting what you have that's right and building off of that yeah, absolutely, girl.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's talk about the scalp. That's the foundation and often it gets neglected in braided styles. What do you recommend for prepping the scalp before braids and keeping it healthy while it's in the long-term hairstyle? A scalp?
Speaker 2:detox for sure. You know those oils that come out of our scalp. We have to lift all that up before we even get the braids. You know some people they do a basic shampoo and then you know they like my scalp is, and you know how a lot of braiders do they have their. What is it? The edge control? What do they? Put on that edge control yeah, they slap it on your scalp. So you doomed, they layered too girl.
Speaker 2:You said you doomed. It's like we putting it on thick. Yeah, you doomed. You doomed Angel, because where it's going, you know our curly girls. The product come from here and it's like a maze to get down to the end.
Speaker 1:That's why our hair is dry, man. That's why it's dry.
Speaker 2:So if you put that edge control right on your scalp and a lot of it. It don't have nowhere to travel to, so it's only going to travel to that base of your braid. It's going to give you that knot with all that product. It's going to break your hair off right there or it's going to sit on your scalp. So you have to give yourself a fair start with a scalp detox. You know, to get whatever the ailments in the air and impurities and stuff that we can't see with the eye, that we can see under a microscope, so you have to give that good scalp detox.
Speaker 2:And you know, during while you have your braids in, you have to do something to it. You know you can't just consistently put bright spray or oil on it. You know you can't do that, so you have or oil on it. You know you can't do that, so you have to either shampoo. Sometimes I have tell clients okay, if you don't want to fully shampoo, you can wet a towel, wipe it. Put a wet towel, put a little something on it and wipe your scalp.
Speaker 1:We got to do something to it, and then shampooing your braids.
Speaker 1:A lot of people don't like to do that because it causes the frizz and you know stuff like that and it takes a while to dry, you know. So they don't want to do that, but that's a good thing too. And that's that aesthetic over health. Yes, yeah, that aesthetic over health. Yeah, I know, I saw a girl on TikTok. She made a post and she said she didn't say anything, it was just captioned and she was showing her braids and she was like um, I make sure to shampoo my uh scalp and my braids as soon as the braider is done. The girl you should saw them comments. It was like what, you spend all that money, I'm gonna make them frizzy again and and and the funny thing is I literally said when I got these braids, I said the next time I get some braids, I'm shampooing my hair right after she's done, if I got the, if I have the energy, or the next day, because I just want all that product off my scalp, you know.
Speaker 2:And whenever I did shampoo my hair with these braids, it was just lighter like, yeah, you know, and it's refreshing, yes, it's so refreshing when you do it you're like, yeah, man, that felt good, you know, and it's just they have. And I understand why they use a lot of product, because I don't want to, like, bash the braiders. I used to braid, I braid. I started braiding before I started doing natural hair or hair period.
Speaker 2:I was a braider right, so I understand why they use it to get all that hair in there and then to braid it and the longevity, but it's like it, it, but that's before. I learned too, you know that's before I was educated on the hair strand before I went to cosmetology school before I was educated on the scalp and all that stuff. So you know I understand, but in a another sense now it's not helping us either, no, no, and I usually don't leave mine up long enough to wash it.
Speaker 1:I'm sometimes I'll do four weeks and they out.
Speaker 2:You know, that was me that was me, because my um, my hair used to get tender around the edges, you know. So it's like me pushing them to the side or pulling them up and it was heavy and I would get headaches as well. So I'm like I can't keep them up that long. And it wasn't my new growth. Like people, like my new girl, my, the texture of my hair, my braids will slide anyway. So it's not new growth, it's just sliding down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have that really soft texture.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's really hard to grip.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so yeah, yeah. And even then, you know, know, I feel like four weeks was still too long to go without any water on my scalp. You know, now that I'm getting more into learning about you know, I don't wear braids a lot, so I'm trying to, you know, not trying, but I was like stuck in that space of well, I don't wear them a lot, so I don't have to really shampoo my hair.
Speaker 1:But I'm like, no, you need to shampoo that stuff at least every two weeks because that scalp just need that water. But this time I was like I'm just gonna shampoo it right after she done because just to receive, you know or lift up all of that build up, yeah, you know, off of my scalp. And then the braids got lighter and, uh, I don't. I feel like I think I washed my hair week three with these.
Speaker 2:It didn't have a lot of frizz, I just used some Nairobi mousse and just molded it down and put a wave cap on it and set it in the dryer.
Speaker 1:I tell them yeah, and it was cool, but that girl received a lot of backlash in those comments. Like girl, I would never Like you spend all that money and then you're going to wash your hair, right?
Speaker 2:after she's done with it. And who does that you spend all that money on and this is what baps me you spend all that money on weave and braids but, you will not spend money on your hair like it just really like like.
Speaker 2:I'm not spending all that money on no natural style baby, like for real. You're not gonna all that money on no natural style Baby, like for real. You're not going to spend no money on you getting the scalp detox. So this is what I do Scalp detox. I'm clarifying your hair. I'm giving you a whole pecs rebonding treatment. You know, now I'm putting moisture back into your hair. Now I'm giving you a deep condition or protein treatment, moisturizing treatment, whatever treatment I feel is necessary for you. Then we detangling at the bowl, we massaging, and then we get up, we blowing, we trimming. You ain't going to take care of yourself.
Speaker 2:You're not going to do that all for yourself, but you will spend all this money on these wigs and braids and stuff Something that's not even a part of you.
Speaker 1:You're okay with investing in a foreign object, but the, you know, but the hair that's on your head.
Speaker 2:You don't want to take the time to invest in that they don't take the time, because they take it out and they put it back in. They don't even want to see their self without the braids and the hair. Like they don't. It's man, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's true. I definitely have a few like that, or had a few like that, where they just I had one client.
Speaker 1:She first came to me and I don't think she ever received a trim just based on how her hair was just breaking you know, it was like sick at the roots but just fine and limp everywhere else and it just looked like never had a cut, you know, and um, so we cut it into like one little ugly 90 degree haircuts, you know. And she's like I, oh, I want waist-length hair. I want you to grow it down to my waist.
Speaker 1:I said you know, with time and you know consistency, we might can get there. I was like, but baby, you're going to have to be patient. That's a lot of pressure on me. You're going to have to be patient. Okay, that's like like eight years. You know, like, come on, let's be honest.
Speaker 2:You're like, I take care of my hair and it's not a wasteland. I'm like girl Sometimes you can't get that hair you just you know.
Speaker 1:I was like we gonna see, you know. So, girl, we cut it and it grew. You know she kept coming back but she did not want to touch her hair, so it was more like I'm coming in just for you to. It was it was, uh, we was doing, um, hair extensions so she would come in do the weave maintenances. That was a good thing about her. She stayed on top of the appointment so she did see results. Because of that, we got her down to probably at the bottom of her bra. Yeah, because she had that hair that could grow yeah, you know yeah, and you could tell you know tell.
Speaker 1:Like you could probably get there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you'd be like, probably, maybe bra lanes, yeah, uh-huh and so, but she got pregnant. Oh yeah, she went back to Houston to let her and her husband live with her mom while her house was getting built in Austin. When she came back, her was broke off. Don't that start all over again. Oh, it broke my heart, got it back growing. I didn't see her for like six months, came back, broke off again. I'm telling you, we grew it to the same length at least four times. The last time I saw her it was up here to her neck, like I had to cut it all off, yeah. And so I'd be like, if you keep coming, if you stay consistent, you could actually see some results. Yeah, but it came to this point where it was like, well, my silk press is on last and I was like but you don't wear your hair, you don't.
Speaker 2:You know, you don't wash it and they say, like you can heat train it. It's really not heat training, it's you getting the proper products and you're getting it properly done and you're taking care of it.
Speaker 2:I was on Instagram and I seen a lady a post. She was like I don't understand why y'all do all these hydrating treatments, all this, and then y'all going to blow out their hair and y'all going to suppress it. Y'all just wasting time, Y'all just messing. I said you know I stay out of the comments because we can go all night, you know, but I'm like you have to prep that hair, you have to hydrate that hair in order for things to work. Like you are building up strength to for it to withstand the things that you're going to do to it like.
Speaker 1:But y'all know more than me I feel like it's the you know not to knock the influencers. I feel like they just have more um mind control, yeah, over, you know, the consumers than we do, you know, and just have more mind control over you know the consumers than we do, you know, and they have more mind control because we say it takes time.
Speaker 2:you know, we want to be real about it.
Speaker 1:And some people want that beautiful lie, not the ugly truth. You know it's like. This is just what. If you listen to what I'm, you know, informing you on what to do, I promise you the reason why you keep coming back is because you are listening to that influencer. The reason why you don't see no results is because you were listening to the influencer.
Speaker 2:And there's so many influences, you don't know what to do because nobody's really looking at your hair. You're not sitting in anyone's chair and they're saying okay, your hair is finer. I see that you don't have as many layers as the next, so we're going to have to do this, that and that they don't come up with a plan for you, so you can't be out there on the internet just while just swaying with the wind.
Speaker 1:No, because you won't be buying. No, you won't. But if that's what you want, you know, never run with that either. Uh-huh Right, this is all about the gold, you know, at the end of the day Are. So, you know, at the end of the day, are there any treatments you swear by for your clients that keep their scalp in good condition?
Speaker 2:I have a few. I was doing Wonder Crown with Mizani, which I like that. I do like that it's a more oil-based. So you know, oil lifts oil. So with my oilier client, I like that. I've been dabbling in Amika's preset, their charcoal scalp detox. I like that because it's light and I like that they have a lot of natural products like clean products. I've been liking Amika lately.
Speaker 1:It's expensive as hell, but I like it. It sure is, even for the professionals Girl, for the professionals. God bless the consumers.
Speaker 2:I went in there and I'm like you know, I'm racking them. They like forfeit, I'm like wait a minute. What it's expensive, let me get the trial sizes, and I do. I like the full line of bylaws, I like they clean.
Speaker 1:Yes, I like the full.
Speaker 2:Yes, I love their scalp sink. I love that so, like with my clients that really have just scalp issues and you know, like if I do a pre-poo and they sit in the chair, then I'm going in with my scalp sink each time. Yes, indeed, I love that it's so gentle too, right it's so gentle, it's so non-stripping, it's so not perfumey you know you got some good sense, but it's not like you didn't drop your versace in there in a whole bottle, right?
Speaker 1:no, because a lot of people aren't aware that fragrance sometimes is even harmful, you know?
Speaker 2:on the hair, I mean on the scalp yeah, especially if you you're very sensitive yeah you know.
Speaker 1:so you want to kind of sometimes find a product that's very light, yeah, very light.
Speaker 2:Smelling or it's fragrance free, you know.
Speaker 1:So that's right girl. But yeah, biolage, they definitely stepped it up. They did Whenever they came out with that scalp spray yeah they did, they did yeah. And, like you say, it's so gentle, but it does the job. It does the job you wouldn't even think that it would do so great because it's so gentle right, Because we used to stuff like tea tree oils and all that product which I still.
Speaker 2:you know, if I want to do a good scalp strip, I hit that tea tree but, like you, with that, Biolize, you like, ok, this is some light stuff. It's really going to do the job because you know, but it does the job.
Speaker 1:I've been liking it. I love it. I also want to touch on scar and hair loss, traction, alopecia and CCC, ccca.
Speaker 2:I don't see, I know.
Speaker 1:For example, these often come from repeated stress and ignoring early signs. What are some red flags people overlook when their scalp or hair is trying to communicate something?
Speaker 2:I see, I know, Just like smell. Sometimes you can smell when your scalp needs some attention. You can you catch that early. You can get the treatments, you can get the steroids, you can get the vitamin D, you can get all those things to stop it, Because most of the time CCCA is genetic right.
Speaker 2:It's like your grandmother had it, your mom had it. So if you catch it then and you go to a dermatologist, they can catch it then. But you have to, like someone has to be above your head to see that you know. But if it starts to spread, then sometimes you can't do nothing about it. You can only, you can only treat what you have, right. So, catching those signs early and then most of the time you know it's like itchy or it's inflamed or you know, like those type of you may see some little red bumps, you know things like that. So if you catch that early, you have to catch the CCCA early. You have to, that's right, you have to.
Speaker 2:And with the traction alopecia, you know, like we spoke on those bulbs that you see. You know those white bulbs that you see over and over, like back to back, when you get those braids, or you getting those wigs, or you know you have to stop. There's nothing else to do with that, but just stop, just stop. You know, and I talk like when I have my wig clients, they like, well, I just put my wig on. I'm like, do you sleep in it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm like so would you put a rubber band around your waist, around your wrist and sleeping that all night what you think that's gonna do to your hand, cutting off all types of blood flow, blood flow and you need blood flow to grow your hair. Yeah, you know those hair follicles. They mean they gotta, they. It's a whole function. It's a science behind it, sure, and blood flow is. It starts, you know, cutting off all the oxygen, all the oxygen, all the blood flow and all you don't get no sunlight, nothing, no, nothing, no, nothing.
Speaker 2:So yeah, you got to pay attention to that, Like if you see, like those hair bulbs, or you taking, you combing it and you combing and his hair coming out, stop.
Speaker 1:You know, just stop, yeah, and those are some really great early signs. Those are like the first signs right there, like you said, those bulbs one that itchy.
Speaker 2:Yeah uh flame the uh inflamed. Oh my goodness, those are the first ones when you start itching out of control. Yes, that's a sign that your scalp is stressed yes, and it's getting ready to release that follicles you have that your face, girl. I'm like mm-hmm At the crown once those follicles start to close, it's like you and it's just, it's closing off.
Speaker 1:Closing off them.
Speaker 2:Food in the chokehold, mm-hmm and it's like that, like that CCCA, you can reverse it or keep it where it is, you know, keep it stagnant.
Speaker 1:But you that's. That's beyond our chair it sure is.
Speaker 2:You know you have to go to a dermatologist. Yes, yeah, yeah, and I do refer them.
Speaker 1:We're usually like those front line, though Like they always come to us first Because I don't even know. If they know this is more medical than it is anything, it's beyond what I can do, you know, girl. And when clients come in after years of braiding without proper care, how do you help them?
Speaker 2:begin with that healing process. It's. It's refreshing that you say healing, because it is a healing process and it's deeper than just healing their hair. It's so much deeper because, like when they have, when they have the braids back to back, you have to change their whole mindset on their hair and themselves. Like you have to, like, try to find different styles that makes them comfortable without wearing braids. You know so it's like you have to come up with a plan with their hair, but you also have to come up with a relationship. Well, build a relationship with them so that they can trust you right and so that you can make them feel good about wearing their own hair. You know, because I can come up with this plan and we can. Okay, I can say you can do two-string twists or you know, but your two-string twists are not going to look like you want them to look today.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, you know, or your two-string twist are not going to look like you want them to look. Today, mm-hmm, you know. Or tomorrow, no, or in a month or two or six, no, that's right, you know, it's not going to do that.
Speaker 2:So how can I help you along this journey? Right, how can I help you along this journey but still keep your hair on track, but teach you and heal you to love yourself through this all you?
Speaker 1:know, know, because it's that. It's so much of that like I feel, so anything right it's like you.
Speaker 2:You have to change your mindset and you have to be okay with not doing the things that you've been doing to your hair. And we're gonna heal your hair in this process, yeah, but, like you, like we said, it's healing you too and I'm sympathetic with it and I try to do it with love. You know, we joke and we play and we see the stuff online and I repost. But at the end of the day, these women come in and they and I'm in a small suite and it's just us. People cry, people say I can't wear my hair like this. What my husband gonna think? You know, I'm in corporate. I can't do this style. You know what am I gonna do? It's, it's real it's like it's so real.
Speaker 2:It's a whole healing process and a journey from within.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And that when you mentioned you only take three clients a day. That's why you can only take three clients a day, because it's not just me physically and practically doing your hair, no, it's more than that, yeah, I'm like nurturing you to love yourself, you know like you said, through the process it's a lot yeah, because you know, kanisha, I was doing, I was adding hair to twist.
Speaker 2:I stopped doing that. I was doing micro links and sew-ins I stopped doing that so I still have some clients from that. Right, you know, I still have clients from when I was adding hair to their twist and they like you're not doing that, no more, I'm not. So we're just gonna do these this, these flat twists, and you're twisting the front without hair. Yeah, I don't know if I can do that well, let's try, you know, because and I tell them my why I stopped and then, like the micro inclines, baby, they hate me.
Speaker 2:I lost them because we doing the ponytail you can flip it up, you can do it down, you can talk to the versatility man.
Speaker 1:They and they are cute, though they're beautiful. Yeah, that's a hard one to leave about doing that over and, over and over again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, because they say you got to have a certain thickness or certainness. But it's like I'm clamping this and I'm I know I'm suffocating your hair but I'm thinking okay, you know this. Is they telling me that it's not going to break the hair? I'm trying it, I'm doing it, and it's money, baby it sure is. One of them a day. You can go home. You go home, go home, go and go.
Speaker 1:Go, and go you dropped it.
Speaker 2:And then girl, and then I'm like I'm not doing that, no more. Good, I'm like what? Because it's like I really really care about the hair.
Speaker 1:I really do.
Speaker 2:Like you know, people say they care and they may do, but I know for a fact that this is a God-given gift and I really care.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And it's so many people out here that don't. You know, they literally don't as professionals, they just don't you know, which is why, when they come to see people like me and you girl, like you said, we have to really build and gain their trust. You know, it's really hard to get them to like really you know, see what we can do, because they've been misled so much in the past and it's always some hair horror story. So when they finally come see me and you girl, we dealing with a whole situation, a whole situation, a whole situation.
Speaker 2:you can it's it's two, it's a twofold, like we're dealing with a whole situation. But I get more clients, now that I've um rebranded myself and um, you know, gain more confidence in what I'm doing. I get. I attract more clients. That's refreshed when they come in. Now I really do, like the new clients that I've been accepting, they're refreshed and they're like okay, okay, like you on time, all right, and if you're not, you're giving me a courtesy call, what's that, you know? Or you coming in and it's clean and it's smelling good and it's you know, oh, and I have it where you don't have to pick a treatment. I'm treatment based.
Speaker 1:so they like that's right your whole um, that's right, that's how it always should be, that's how I feel, and I was like well, I didn't feel, I feel like that, but I feel like they should always pick a treatment so I'm like y'all not picking nothing.
Speaker 2:How can I restructure this to where it's all embedded into your service? Like every service is coming with a treatment. Your price is included and the treatment going to cost you, but it's all included. So you get on there. You click, twist, you're getting a steam treatment. You're getting the treatments that you need Just do it anyways.
Speaker 1:Or even when I know some of my clients, they will say, like I don't know what to pick. I'm like, just pick anything and I'm just going to analyze your hair when you get here and, based on what I see, I'm going to recommend the treatment. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I would tell them to do that also, but then they just wasn't picking at all Like go on with it, ain't that? Style Uh-huh yeah, uh-huh yeah, that was just not paying. I'm like you know well, let me just put it in getting a silk press. You need, you need, you need some treatments to build it up.
Speaker 2:If you're getting twists, we know you're gonna leave them in for a couple weeks or so, so you need some treatments. You know, if you're getting everything that you're getting with natural hair, you need some sort of treatment. Right, you do. I just feel like you do. You might not need protein because you can over protein someone hair, but you need something yep, absolutely, a, absolutely A protein overload.
Speaker 1:That was one that ooh, what is it? The Apogee Everybody was doing Apogee, that's some strong stuff. That's because of YouTube, the influencers, like you know, they mean, well, like yeah.
Speaker 2:Like. You don't need to be having that stuff at home with your hair brick hard.
Speaker 1:Girl, I mean you saying that dryer.
Speaker 2:I remember in my early days I sat this lady under the dryer with that Apogee on there.
Speaker 1:When it dried she was stuck to the back of the dryer it's sticky too, it's sticky and ooh, it fuses to whatever it's it sure does, it will stick on your neck. You gotta make sure they all layered up to the neck and it stinks so bad.
Speaker 2:Lord Jesus man oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Before we wrap up, I want to ask you this what's something you wish every client knew before they sat in your chair?
Speaker 2:That I truly understand that natural hair isn't easy and that if, when you sit in my chair, that I'm truly invested in partnering with you to get you to where you want to be and where you need to be, um, and I just understand it's not easy. I'm not the stylist that say all you got to do is you know, all you got to do is all you gotta do. No, because I had natural hair. I had natural hair, so I'm in the shower, I'm just doing the things you know. It's step one like a wash and go. It ain't no wash and go, it's a wash. Girl, I stopped doing wash and goes. Also, I don't do those anymore. I'm like girl no, I'm not doing that.
Speaker 1:But I just know no, no such thing just know that.
Speaker 2:I know that it's not easy and I'll meet you where you are. I'll meet you where you are now. I'm gonna tell you the truth and I'm gonna be honest but I'll meet you where you are. I'll meet you where you are. Now I'm going to tell you the truth and I'm going to be honest, but I will meet you where you are. Well, we will come up with a plan, but I know it's a journey and I know it's not easy. You know, and you know just, partnership with people.
Speaker 1:It's really collaborative. It is. It's so collaborative when we decide we're going to lock in on a hair journey. We collaborate. You know I'm you know betting on you to show up at your appointments and you betting on me to get your hair goals whatever that may be, you know, and I feel like if we looked at it more like we're collaborating, the journey could be so much more healthier. I ain't going to say it's going to be easy, I mean, but it'll be healthier for your hair.
Speaker 2:But it's worth it. What's worth having? That is easy. Nothing came easy. That was really worth having and if it came, so easy? You should question it absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's those effects. Nothing in life worth having is easy at all well, thank you, angel, for extending your time and sharing your expertise and your knowledge with us today. If you would like for our listeners to connect with you, please shout out your social media networks, your website information and also how to book you um, I am.
Speaker 2:My website is wwwbeyondbeautyhaircom and you can actually book from the website and then on social media. On social media. I'm beyondbeauty on Instagram. That's all I got right now. Good for you. I get so overwhelmed with a girl, so that's all I have is Instagram and my website, girl.
Speaker 1:I've been doing fine. I'm really trying to figure out which one I'm letting go. I'm like, is it going to be TikTok or is it going to be Instagram? But I'm letting one of them go. I don't know which one is going to be. I feel like you do so good. I don't know Like I get overwhelmed too, all those different social medias, you know.
Speaker 1:that's why sometimes I will go ghost and don't post because I'm tired you know, but people who are more consistent, they have like one and I feel like if you focus on one, that one's going to grow. Yeah, but when you're trying to figure out the algorithm for this one, figure out the algorithm for that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're just like bouncing back and forth.
Speaker 1:You're all over the place, and then you can never really grow your following, grow even the channel that you are, you know, operating on, because you just it's too much at one time yeah so. I'm more active on Instagram than TikTok. Okay, yeah, but no, it's a lot. I don't care what it look like, it's a lot.
Speaker 2:I'm glad I'm making it look good Right you do, but it is very hard. I be looking at your stuff and I lay down like, ooh, she did good, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:And I like it all though Don't get me wrong, I like creating the content. I love being behind the chair, but it was just too much. I was like I got to pick something and just stick with it because I'm getting old, I'm getting old, I'm getting tired and I just don't have time for this. Yeah, you know, you know we got our families. Yeah, and I'm like I want to be more intentional there too. Yeah, not just with my face in this phone all the time. Yeah, you know, because that's what it's gonna become if you keep opening up a new account, because now they got lemon eight, because they were gonna shut down tiktok. I don't know if you heard of lemon eight, so then then Lemonade was promoting on TikTok. Like, open up a Lemonade account if they're going to close down. I was like I ain't doing that, I'm not doing that. This is it for me, because I'm trying to get rid of one of you. All these relationships, it's too much. And then you're just sharing the same stuff across the different platforms. So why Then you got to reply to people? And don't get me wrong, I love that part, but not when I'm doing it on both platforms. Yeah, so that was such a powerful and much needed conversation.
Speaker 1:Huge thank you to Angel Henderson for joining me and sharing her insight on what it really means to protect your hair, especially in the world of braids. If you've been dealing with breakage, scalp irritation or you're just trying to do better by your hair, I hope this episode gave you clarity and confidence to make choices that support your hair journey, not set it back. Make sure to follow Angel and connect with her work. She's the real deal and, as always, thank you for tuning in to Hair what I'm Saying. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend, drop a review and let's keep this conversation going Until next time. Keep loving on you and I'll catch you on the next episode.