Upcoming Events: July 19 - August 3

Cosmoprof North America
July 19 - July 21, 2009
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada

This conference is ranked in the top 200 best US trade shows by Tradeshow Week. The conference will include information on cosmetics, personal care, promoting and distributing your own cosmetics, wellness and spa, and professional hair and nail tools. For more information visit: www.cosmoprofnorthamerica.com.

Salon Life and Conference Expo
August 1-3, 2009
Stephens Convention Center, Chicago, IL

This conference is primarily for hair stylists and educators, but it's also a great opportunity to find out what your hairdresser should be doing. For more information visit: www.ncacares.org.

Hair Tip of the Week: Shedding Hair

Q. My hair is shedding. Should I be concerned?

A. Your hair could be shedding for a variety of reasons - changes in the weather, a change in your diet, introducing new products to your hair, and stress. If your hair continues to shed for more than six weeks, then I would recommend that you see your physician. However, please remember that we lose about 100 strands of hair each day.

Also, make sure that your hair is not breaking, and is in fact shedding. When your hair sheds, it comes out at the scalp, and is the full length of your hair. When your hair breaks, it snaps off, therefore you would be seeing shorter pieces of hair. If you discover that your hair is breaking, then you should contact your hairdresser.

- Stacy L. Davis is a student cosmetologist at the Aveda Institute of Los Angeles. Please feel free to send your questions to her at sgrahamhunt@gmail.com.

Hair Quote of the Week

"One evening after doing my round-table live TV talk show, some of the guests on my show told me how much they enjoyed the show and how much and how important a show like this was to black women. I will never forget something that one of my guests said to me: 'You know, Mrs. Akbari, we have a generation that does not know what they're natural hair looks like.' She was right. Each year I treat hundreds of children under age 10 for scalp and hair damage because of chemical relaxers. These are children whose moms put relaxer in their hair as early as two years old."

- Lisa Akbari, taken from her book, The Black Woman's Guide to Beautiful Black Hair
Photo taken from www.blackwomenshealth.com

Did you know?

Did you know that the love of long hair goes back to biblical times?

I recently read in the Bible that long hair was admired in both Hebrew men and women. Men wore their beards long. Shaving a man's head was forbidden unless the man was mourning or dedicating his hair to God as a vow.

Archaeologist also found that during this time women created their own hair ointments, used ivory and bone hairpins, ivory combs, curling rods, and bronze razor blades.

Upcoming Events: July 18 - July 24

Caribbean Hair and Beauty and Barber Show
July 19, 2009 - July 20, 2009
University of Virgin Islands
St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

This show is open to anyone who wants to learn more about the latest skills, techniques, and trends in hair, nails, and beauty. There will be free classes, competitions, prizes, and presentations. For more information visit: www.cbsvirginislands.com.

Cosmoprof North America
July 19 - July 21, 2009
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada

This conference is ranked in the top 200 best US trade shows by Tradeshow Week. The conference will include information on cosmetics, personal care, promoting and distributing your own cosmetics, wellness and spa, and professional hair and nail tools. For more information visit: www.cosmoprofnorthamerica.com.

Hair Tip of the Week: Ceramic Flat Irons

For many women, the ceramic flat iron is the best thing to happen to hair since hair itself. However, BEWARE. Although many companies suggest that their ceramic flat irons are better for your hair than "regular" flat irons, they can still damage your hair. Heat is heat, and too much of it can damage your hair. My recommendation is that you do not use heat on your more than once per week. While other hair experts may even consider once a week to be excessive, I am a little more realistic and understand that all sorts of things can happen to your hair during the week. The same applies for all other heat sources as well: curling irons, hair dryers etc.

Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Hair Quote of the Week

I've heard that women are most likely to make a major change to their hair after something traumatic happens in their lives. Universal Motown Records' Margueaux Watson shares her experience:

"In the wake of my abortion, I stopped wearing makeup, cut off all my chemically straightened hair, and began to grow dreadlocks. I also gave away all my clothes, replacing my trendy suburban wardrobe with baggy bohemian thrift and grunge attire. I thought by transforming my appearance, I could somehow wipe away all the inner ugliness."

- Margeaux Watson is the Senior Vice President of Media Relations for Universal Motown Records. Her quote was taken from the book Naked, edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon.

I've Been Nominated!

Dear Readers,

It's only been two weeks since I've started this blog, and I've already been nominated for a 2009 Black Weblog Award. Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you will take the time to vote for me for "Best New Blog" by clicking on the image below.  Please cast your vote no later than July 24th.  Thank you for your support! 

 - Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Michael Jackson: King of Hair

Michael Jackson's memorial service was held this week. I still don't believe he's gone. It seems like Michael Jackson's music was such a part of my household and definitely marked different time periods in my life. 

I remember listening to Michael Jackson's records on my Fisher Price record player when I was about five or six years old. I loved "Bad." I particularly liked this record because the lyrics came with the album, so I could sing along with his songs. My dad said I used to lock him in my room and make him listen to my records. One thing I remember in particular, is purposely getting my hair done in lots of curls so that when I got home, I could shake my hair like Michael Jackson did. lol. 

I remember getting caught a few times by mom. She would make me stop because she didn't want me to sweat my hair out. 

This is one of many of my MJ memories. Feel free to share yours...

~ Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Upcoming Events: July 10 - July 16

Celebrity hairstylist Kim Kimble is offering a basic free haircut with any relaxer or color service throughout the month of July at her Los Angeles salon. For more information visit her website at www.kimblecare.com. 

Hair Tip of the Week: Ponytails

I decided to write about ponytails this week after my friend praised First Lady Michelle Obama for wearing a slick high bun in one of her photos. I must admit that it was a nice bun. However, wearing a ponytail on a regular basis will break your hair. I should know. I love a good "snatch-back," as my dad calls them. However, this low maintenance hairdo will eventually break your hair off in the location of the elastic band, so be careful. I used to wear a ponytail almost every day when I was in high school, and I eventually had to cut all of my hair off and start over. So, if it's not your plan to damage your hair, then take it easy on the ponytails. 

~ Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Hair Quote of the Week

"By 2004, Black women were the fastest group of women being diagnosed with eating disorders. Many of us are dangerously overweight, and unprecedented numbers are turning to elective cosmetic surgery to "fix" what we consider unsightly. The majority of us chemically straighten our hair, spending $12 billion annually to transform the structure of our tresses out of "necessity rather than choice." 

~  Taken from the book Naked, edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon

Happy 4th of July!

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Independence Day!

 - Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Greetings from Stacy L. Davis

Hello out there! Today is the launch of this new blog, "The Hair You Wear." After 15 years of doing dreadful things to my own hair and being harassed by some close friends and relatives about my hair-related decisions, I've decided to vent about it. :) I will share my personal experiences with you. Hopefully you will learn from my mistakes share your mistakes as well.

More about me? Sure. I've worked as a daily newspaper reporter, an associate producer for a television station, and a freelance editor for a book publishing company. That was until I recently graduated from Quinnipiac University with a master's degree in journalism, got married and moved to Los Angeles. Now I'm without a "steady" job. After several months of unsuccessfully being able to find full-time employment and going slightly crazy, I decided to try something different and new...hair school. That's right, I am scheduled to begin classes at the Aveda Institute of Los Angeles in about two weeks. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I will update this blog every Friday, so stay tuned. It's always an adventure with me...

~ Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Upcoming Events: July 3 - July 9

The Los Angeles County Barbers and Cosmetologist J.A.C will hold an orientation for its apprenticeship program on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 9 a.m, at 630 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90005.

After 24 months or 3200 hours, an apprentice will be eligible to receive a California State cosmetology license. The apprenticeship pays $6.25 per hour. Each candidate must be able to work 32-42 hours per week. For more information, call Ella Townsend at 213.487.7070.

Hair Tip of the Week: Hair Dye

After dying my hair "doo-doo" brown, I would strongly discourage anyone from trying to color their hair themselves. Always seek a hair professional to do it for you. The first time I tried to dye my hair, it came out an awful brown color. The second time I tried to dye my hair, my roots alone turned red. If you have any hair-dying horror stories, please feel free to share...

~ Stacy L. Davis, sgrahamhunt@gmail.com

Hair Quote of the Week

"But for a black woman, it is most often her hair that catches her racial imagination. Her hair holds what she loves and hates about herself and shapes her experience of family, lovers, and friends. It forms her most intimate experiences of gender, race, social class, the humid summer, and the ocean. Hair is not only a marker for racial difference and gender-specific beauty, but the marker that seems most malleable. Black women spend thousands of dollars and hours to achieve dreams of love and acceptance through their hair. All things are possible through a tame "kitchen" (the rebellious, quickest-to-kink-up area at the nape of the neck), a few more inches, or the illusion of loose crinkles."

~ Asali Solomon, taken from the book Naked, edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon