Photo of the Day: Vanessa and Angela Simmons

They always try new hair styles, whether its rocking their own hair in a bob or rocking long wavy weaves. Here's a cute picture I came across today:

5 Secrets to a Great Weave: Treat it Like Your Own Hair

1. Choose the Right Texture

Buying quality hair is absolutely essential, but it's not enough. Selecting a believable texture is critical. "Superstraight hair with nappy roots looks crazy," says celebrity stylist Porsche Waldo of Ebony Design in New York City (Faith Evans, Mya, JoJo). "I've coined the term 'Kunta meets Becky,' " says stylist Nelson Vercher of the Rita Hazan salon in New York City (Tamia, Phylicia Rashad, Britney Spears), who also wove our opening look. If the weave is bone straight and your visible hair is tightly coiled, or if the purchased hair looks like it would never have grown out of your scalp, it's wrong. Most important, the texture should be one that complements your complexion and features. It's not that you shouldn't rock straight styles; just choose hair that looks the way your own hair looks when straightened.

* Do show some scalp or your hairline so the look is more realistic. The weave and your hair should blend together beautifully. Buying human hair by the ounce, as opposed to in a pack, is the preference of top stylists. Eight to ten ounces of human hair can cost from $200 to $600.

2. Buy Human Hair

Most celebrity stylists say no to using synthetic hair. The consensus is that it looks like plastic. It also melts under heat, so forget about curling or straightening. "It just doesn't move like human hair," says Vercher. "Too many people are allergic to it," adds celeb stylist Yusef of Paul Labrecque Salon & Spa in New York City (Solange), who created the weaves on this page and the following two. But stylist to the stars Ursula Stephen (Rihanna, Keisha Cole) has a different point of view. "It really depends on what look you're going after. Sometimes synthetic hair can work, if you know how to flip it," she says. "I have some synthetic Afro-kinky hair that I put in often. I get tons of compliments when I wear it."

* Don't choose a weave that doesn't mesh with your lifestyle. If you work out a lot, try a texture and cut that needs little heat or manipulation.

3. Cut It Into Shape

What you do with your weave after it's in is just as crucial as choosing the right hair texture. Too much hair will look like a wig. "Every weave needs to be shaped according to head size and face shape," says Stephen. Yusef adds, "Razor-cut that weave; you've got to take some of the weight out of it." Natural, thinned ends are also much more believable than blunt, baby-doll ends. "If you don't have the weave shaped correctly, it won't fall naturally," says Vercher. Weavers who can cut are few and far between. Get your weave done by the best, then have it cut and thinned only by a stylist who's a whiz with the scissors.

* Do give your weave a full brush-through daily, in order to prevent tangling and matting.

* Don't flip your head upside down in the shower when washing your weave. This creates tangling.

4. Customize The Weft

Custom-blending the color and texture of each weft, also called a track, ensures a realistic weave. Top stylists swear by customized tracks, like the ones used to create every weave featured in this story. Since a variety of textures can make up a single head of hair, one secret to achieving a look that's close to what nature gave us is to blend wavy and curly or wavy and straight textures. Not only can the texture and color be varied, but the length as well. "By placing various lengths throughout the hair, I reduce bulk," says Vercher. "I still have to cut it, but I prefer to place shorter pieces on the top and longer ones on the bottom."

* Do try an alcohol-free mousse. Apply to wet hair before you blow-dry. This will hold the style in place without weighing the hair down.

5. Handle With Care

Treat your weave like you would your real hair. Don't be afraid of it. Wash it weekly and "Give it a good comb through, daily," says celebrity stylist Lawrence Davis (Tyra), who just won an Emmy for Outstanding Hair for The Tyra Banks Show. If you don't detangle daily, the hair sheds and gets tangled in the braid, causing unnecessary hair loss when you remove the track. Human hair wefts can last almost a year if you take care of them. Deep-condition like you would your own hair. Hot oil treatments and steam treatments maintain manageability. Also make sure your own hair dries properly after you wash and condition. If not, you could encourage mildew-not a healthy or pleasant-smelling scalp condition. Invest in a hooded dryer. Clip varying sections up so that the heat can get to your hair underneath. Once your hair is dry, style as usual.

* Don't forget your brows. Black brows and blond or red hair don't mix. Have your stylist lift your brow color to better coordinate with your hair color.

written by. Pamela Edwards for Essence.com

Hair Creams to Create Curls, From Kinky to Curly within Minutes: Miss Jessie's Hair Cream and Kinky-Curly

I've always indirectly searched for a cream to make my hair curly... you know more curly. Why? You may ask, well two main reasons:

1. sometimes I just feel like having really easy immediately cute hairstyle that I pretty much have to do NOTHING to- you know just get up and go. Braids are cool, but sometimes I want something a bit looser and I feel if I could make my hair very curly I could have this look.

2. because I've wanted to try the sorta curly weave and I want it to blend in perfectly. So I figure it wold blend best if I made my hair the same texture as the weave naturally instead of curling it every morning

I don't know how well this product works, perse, but many many women SWEAR by it--- Miss Jessie's Original Hair Cream. She has an array of products that seem to almost instantly make your hair curly... the only problem is, is that I don't know how well it works on permed hair. But it works WONDERS on natural hair.... I personally feel EVERY girl with natural hair should go into one of Miss Jessies locations and get her treatment. It seems to make the hair grow while looking fabuously healthy and beautiful.

Check out some of these before/after pictures. After seeing them I'm a little upset I permed my natural hair... longstory short I wore weave for about 2 years and wore my hair natural underneath... it grew sooooo much, "my afro" was huge- when pulled straight my hair was about mid back. Though my hair prefers a natural state I permed it because it was too much to deal with, buuuut I really sorta regret it after seeing these pictures....







It looks like her hair grew 5 inches huh? Its amazing.


This is about how my hair looked after I took my weave out (after abotu two years of wearing it... I would wear it for about 2 months, take it out, get cornrolls for about a week or so, then put it back in) My hair thrives in its natural state, but it was too much for me to deal with, so I had to perm it, but I wouldn't have if I would have known about this product.

This has to be one of the best "before after"

She has hair like Oprah :-)

Is it just me or does it really feel like someone is playing a trick on us? Lol, no but seriously, thats EXACTLY how I feel after viewing this. I keep thinking--- this can't really be real. Check out the gallery of transitions of women undergoing the curly process here. And the women above are before/after, check them out here.

I absolutely adore the packaging. Classic and timeless.

And I love Miss Jessie's FAQs page, I've been reading it for the past few minutes and was tickled when I got to this:

"ITS HARD TO BELIEVE THOSE 'NATURAL' BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS ARE REAL. ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT USING SILKENERS™ ON EVERYONE TO ACHIEVE THOSE CURLY LOOKS?

YES WE'RE SURE. WE ARE ABLE TO ACHIEVE CURL VIA CHEMICAL OR NON CHEMICAL METHODS. PLEASE GO ON THE BEFORE AND AFTER PAGE. THERE ARE DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SERVICES THAT INDIVIDUAL RECEIVED.

I'VE BEEN ON YOUR BEFORE AND AFTER PAGE. ARE THOSE CURLY AFTER PICTURES WEAVES?

NO. WE DO VERY LITTLE WEAVE WORK."

Talk about taking the words or the question rather, right out of my mouth, lol! I was thinking some of these pictures MUST be weave. Let me just go on the record saying "I love you Miss Jessie, and I can't wait until your products make it to salons and chinese-owned beauty supply stores everywhere".

To PURCHASE these Miss Jessie's products visit the online store OR simply visit a retailer near you. Oh and if you do purchase pleeeeeeeeeease come back and tell me how you liked it.



Now I've heard from people like Miss Afrobella that Miss Jessie's products are just too much (too expensive)... I can understand. So another equally as great, but less expensive product is Kinky-Curly. I sort of see these two as rivals, I haven't used either of them, but I want to! Purchase Kinky-Curly here. This line has supposedly been used by The Real Housewives of Atlanta-- which is pretty cool. I sent them a message on their myspace asking which product is best for permed/straight/relaxed hair, so we'll see what type of response I get.

Hair Product for Weaves: SoftSheen Carson Professional Weave Care Detangler.

Nowadays, alot of women wear weaves... all types (every ethnicity), but TOO many women don't take proper care of their weave. Well, slowly but surely many of the top hair care companies are creating products exclusively for weaves.

One in product that I've been hearing about, SoftSheen Carson Professional Weave Care Detangler. It supposedly works well.... and any weave-wearing gal knows how easy it can get tangled, especially after the first week and a half. I suggest trying this and reporting back.

After a small search I found their website and Softsheen actually has an entire line of products, check it out here. I can't wait til Mizani creates a line!

The Natural Weave: Tips on How to Blend Weave into Your Natural Hair

Don't you hate when you see someone who's obviously wearing a weave. When I see this, I ask myself , "what's the point of wearing a weave if you can tell its a weave." mind-boggling right.

Well here's a few tips you should abide by to make sure your weave has the most natural look:

1.) buy hair that matches your hair texture and color. the average women of color should usually choose "perm yaky" hair- this hair matches your permed hair texture. If you have fine hair, then it's okay to choose "yaky" hair, but perm yaky or a mixture of both is best.

2.) unless your hair is all pulled back (meaning your forehead is showing), it's important to have a bit of scalp showing. Meaning that you should have a part in you hair- it can be down the middle or on the side... either way, having a part in your hair helps it to look natural.

When superstar Rihanna wears a weave it always looks natural. Notice how she has part down the "side/middle", then the hair around the part covers her extensions that help gives her symmetrci bob length.

3. Treat your weave like its you hair, meaning don't forget to wash your hair every week or two. Take care of it. make sure you spray oil sheen in every morning. Especially take care of you natural hair that is left out- moisturize your edges and use a silk scarf. Having a weave doesn't make your hair invincible - you still MUST take care of it!

5. Wear hairstyles that look good on you and compliment your facial structure.

6. Don't wear your weave longer than 2 months. 3 months if its a really good weave. Your natural hair needs to and must breath:-)

7. Don't let people touch your hair and when people ask if its real reply "how rude". Then change the subject... if they're asking it must look real enough... you shouldn't hide it or be ashamed, but it's so stupid for people to ask. If you don't want to say "how rude", then say something like "does is matter, GOSH!"... then look really annoyed, lol.

Feel free to add more tips below.