All About Your Edges
When it comes to laying down our edges, we need gels that can hold a sleek style as well as protect our baby hairs. Finding the perfect gel can be a bit tricky, but not impossible. There are many factors to consider such as the styling, your hair type, and even the
weather. No matter when it is, we want to ensure that whatever we are doing to our edges, they are secure and stylish. Right now it is trendy to create neat looks with baby hairs. In fact, what we call baby hairs are the soft hairs that outline the hairline. From birth to adulthood, our hair textures change form, yet baby hairs remain the same. The most prominent edges belong within curly and coily
hair types. Whether those little hairs are long, short, fine, or curly, they deserve particular attention, as they are also delicate. Our natural hairlines can be shown easily through the baby hairs and sometimes can also indicate
the effects of stress. We need to care for our baby hairs, but also remember not to bother them too much. To determine the difference between your normal hair and baby hair, merely take a look at the contrast of textures. If they are the same, then you may have outgrown them all-- which is normal. When we started gelling down our edges, it was to keep those stray, wispy hairs in place. Even if you don’t necessarily have baby hairs, you can still slick down the front part of your hair with gel or
pomade to achieve similar styling by using an
edge brush.
What You Can Do This Summer
As the summertime rolls around, we will need to find maximum protection for our skin, eyes, and hair. To know how to best keep up with your beauty, you have to understand your own body and what works best for you. Same with most maintenance, your
edges are no different when it comes to styling in the summer heat. During the hottest times of the year, we want to showcase our hottest styles. If you’re rocking your natural hair, braided or twisted styles, cornrows, Bantu knots, updos,
wigs, or more, you already know that keeping your edges looking fresh and well kept is a necessity for the finishing touch to your look. Like I said before, our edges are unique to our features, so we need to ensure the methods we take to slay them are secure. After determining your hair texture, you can find edge controls that are catered to your hair type to make sure they are holding without leaving residue or any
flaking/dryness. If you’re continually pulling hair from tight hairstyles or rough styling, using too much gel or product, or frequently
washing your hair, it can put an unnecessary strain on your edges. So what do we want for our edges? It all depends on you. If your edge control can withstand the summer heat, then they can withstand any weather. Damage from the sun and its warmth include discoloration, dry and brittle strands, broken or split ends, thinning and frizziness. To avoid this, follow these tips for applying any product to your hairline and consider specific gels for your hair type.
Curly/Loose Hair
The smoothest curly hair types are soft enough to be laid within a matter of seconds. This advantage gives type 3 girls a choice of using any mousse, gel, or balm. For a quick style with a light hold, a balm can be used both on your edges and throughout your hair to give a neat look in half the time. The Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Hair Balm composes of nourishing ingredients (castor, coconut, and soybean oil) that restore dry hair as well as stay in place with wax. The Mane Choice: Laid Back Effortlessly Growth Stimulating Edge Control is a product that simultaneously grows your edges and keeps them in order. It lasts the whole day and is lightweight enough for daily use.
Coily/Kinky Hair
The baby hairs for girls of type 4 hair are styled differently than the rest of the head since the texture difference. However, coily and kinky hair types are very diverse, so they require more strength than the looser curls to hold and last. If you don’t have prominent baby hairs, you don’t have to try to emphasize them, as you can achieve a sexy style with a natural hairline. A favorite gel for a medium hold is Creme of Nature’s Argan Oil Perfect Edges Control Hair Gel. With proper styling, you’ll be lucky enough to have a great hair day during the summertime. It’s affordable and does the job; however, the oil-based components lead to light build up, so be aware of how much you use. Hick’s Edges Pomade Edge Control Hair Styling Gel is a maximum hold that can also face any event. It is a growth-stimulating gel that does not flake, and it leaves your hair looking shiny and healthy. It is non-greasy and can be used to slick down parts of your hair for various styling.
Wigs and Weaves
Realistic wigs and
frontals contain baby hairs to display a more natural hairline. The only thing about wearing wigs in the summer is the amount of perspiration you would experience without protection. You can wear a wig with a hat a top if you want to in the summer, I wouldn’t advise it for your scalp. But if you have to or if you're going to, that’s perfectly fine. Laying down baby hairs with wigs are more comfortable in a sense since it’s not your real hair. You can apply gel and
blow dry it without heat damage. Although it isn’t your real hair, you should always still treat your extensions as if they were. That’s why I recommend using Gorilla Snot or Moco de Gorilla for a firm hold that dries edges down into perfect holds for any style or design. Its incredible strength can withstand any weather and activity with all natural ingredients and no residue.
How To Style Edges This Summer
Once you find the
best edge control to give the support you need, you need to know how to style your edges correctly to accent your look. You could either use a soft bristle brush, toothbrush, or spoolie. Whatever you prefer is fine to achieve a state of the art appearance.
Swooped Edges - baby hairs are highlighted by swooping them down the side of the hairline
Natural Edges - gelled back edges that follow hair’s natural flow for a simple, sleek look
Terminal Edges - terminal refers to your natural hair that is your actual hair texture. If you don’t have baby hairs or would like to enhance them with more of your regular hair, you can achieve any style with those hairs too.
EcoStyler Epidemic
As you can see, I did not mention any use of EcoStyler gel, one that is extremely popular among the entire hair texture spectrum. Everyone loves it, but recently there has been word going around saying that within the ingredients, there are carcinogens. I did my research to find that in fact, EcoStyler contains the compound triethanolamine (TEA). Let me not get too confusing, but here is the bottom line: it serves as a pH adjuster that assists in giving the gel its gel-like form to perform its task. The truth is, federal regulations allow TEA at small increments (less than 5%) to cosmetics and personal care items, but proved hazardous short term and long term effects ranging from skin and eye irritation to damaging the respiratory and immune systems and inciting cancer. Up to 40% of beauty items on the market contain TEA. This does not mean that after using you will experience any of the effects, however, your maintenance and usage of your items will account for your encounters. So, keep any items with these components to minimum usage. Among the same group as TEA is something most of us use daily-- caffeine. So really, it is at your risk on whether or not you want to continue to use EcoStyler, especially if that was your go-to. Many other gels and products contain chemicals. I think the best bet for everyone this summer is to switch to natural gels and
hair products that will give your desired looks as well as keep you and your hair safe and healthy.
Living Your Best Life
All a girl could ask for this summer is a snatched waist, clear skin, a positive bank account, and fleeked edges. I don’t know about you, but I won’t let the summer heat keep me from going out to live my life to fulfill my potential! With experimenting and learning about different gels, I can find the best option for me to be able to look good all day as well as do good. Even if you feel like you haven’t seen the right gel to hold your edges down, consider altering your method. Sometimes it’s not the products that are not working, but the way we go about it does not favor the purpose of it. Keep looking for natural products that help promote hair growth and strength as well, for those have more significant benefits than artificial gels.
Embrace your natural hair for what it is and remember if there is a style you wish you could have, you can get anything you dream of with a wig! No more trying to experiment and damaging our natural hair when we can have the same fun with zero damage with extensions. Let us know if you’ve found any gels that work wonders on your hair that others could benefit from below in the comments! And your take on the EcoStyler, how do you feel about the epidemic?
