Glossary of Common Hair & Braiding Terms
Afro
A hair style made popular in the 1960's, where the natural hair is picked and moulded into a large, rounded shape.
Bonding
Bonding is a method to add volume or streaks of color to your natural hair, and temporary weaving.
Hair is glued to the roots of the hair with a latex or surgical type adhesive. This method is less
healthy for your natural hair.
Braid
To weave strands of hair together. On the scalp braiding: is used to form a base or track to sew on a commercial weft. This is the cornrow technique. Off the scalp braiding: is used for traditional braiding styles and various methods adding extensions such as Warlocks.
Bulk Hair
Term for loose commercial hair, mainly used for strand bonding and braiding. This hair is used for creating wefts or for services like fusion.
Clarifier
A clarifying shampoo is slightly stronger than everyday shampoos and is designed to remove products, hard water or chlorine residue that have built-up over time. These types of shampoos usually have a higher pH level and therefore should not be used regularly as they may dry out the hair and scalp. Use every 2-4 shampoos or the week before a chemical treatment. Always finish with a conditioner.
Cornrow
Cornrows are flat braids or tracks that lay very close to the scalp. Cornrows can be used to create many diffrent styles and can also can have hair extensions added in.
Dreadlocks
A hairstyle in which the hair naturally or through manipulation is encouraged to matte and form a cylindrical, rope-like pattern. Dreadlocks may take several months to well over a year to form and are considered a permanent style. In order to remove dreadlocks, one must cut them.
dry sanitizer
A dry sanitizer is powder or a solid that is used for disinfecting an item or an area. Dry bleach or bleaching action powder or tablets are examples of dry sanitizers.
electronic sanitizer
An electronic sanitizer is a tool that is used for disinfecting an item by heating it or by automatically cleaning it with a chemical solution. An autoclave or an ultrasonic cleaner used with a chemical disinfectant would be considered an electronic sanitizer.
extensions
Extensions are sections of hair that are used to add girth or length to a person's natural hair (in this case meaning the client's own hair). This term usually means either bulk hair for braiding, or extension clips that either come with a part to secure them near the root of a section of hair or extension plugs that are pre measured and gathered for bonding.
finishing comb
This is a comb that is used for styling the hair as opposed to detangling or sectioning.
Fusion
The process of attaching small pieces of human hair with a special adhesive and a thermal gun. This is a hair to hair process, no tracks are required. This method allows for free movement of hair extensions.
hairlocking
Hairlocking is styling the hair in a way that is intended to be permanent. Examples of hairlocking are forming dreadlocks, Nubian twists, or Himba "Lioness Locks".
basic methods of locking:
comb techniques —
includes twisting/backcombing, and backcombing and then twisting.
palm roll—
This is to take a section of hair and roll it between the palms of two hands to help it to matt into a lock.
braids/extensions—
This is the process of braiding the hair into small uniformly sized braids for the purpose of allowing them to permanently matt with time. Extensions can be added to a braid or a lock in order to make it look longer by braiding it on, sewing it on, or securing it or blending it using a latch hook tool.
Hair Weft Clips
To attach hair wefts by clips. Clips are placed in the hair and snapped close. Wefts are held securely in place.
Heatclamps
A heat gun that is used to seal synthetic hair. Used for creating warlocks and other styles.
Interlocking
A method in which hair is maintained or tightened using a tool.
Kanekalon®
A trademark for a Japanese-made synthetic fiber which is used extensively in the manufacture of wigs and hairpieces. It retains its shape after washing, has a fine texture of fiber, well simulating the texture of human hair.
There are different qualities of Kanekalon fiber.
Lye
A chemical straightening treatment commonly used to relax hair. The active ingredient is sodium hydroxide, there are many No Lye products also available.
Micro Linking Technique
The process of attaching hair wefts without braids. The links are sewn on to the wefted hair. The user's natural hair is pulled through and locked secure. This system is highly recommended for natural hair that is too fine or soft to hold other weave techniques.
Monofilament
Fine, transparent nylon or silk mesh with hairs individually hand-knotted into the mesh. Allows the hair to fall naturally and gives more versatility in styling. Very suitable for persons with extensive hair loss, as the color of the scalp underneath shows through, creating the illusion of hair growing out of your scalp.
Palm Rolling
A technique used to smooth out the shaft of a loc by rolling it, with or without product, between the palms of the hands.
Relaxer
A chemical process by which the hair is permanently straightened. New-growth areas have to be maintained via "touch-ups" to continue the straightened pattern. A relaxer penetrates the cortex and breaking the hairs' natural chemical bonds which originally caused it to be curly. Once these chemical bonds are broken, they can not be repaired so the hair is unable to return to its natural state.
Remi/Remy hair
Refers to human hair (usually Indian in origin) which has been cut from a single donor, from root to end, with all of the cuticle going in the same direction. It is different from Virgin hair as it may be colored or permed, but has not had the cuticle removed. It is generally soft and silky, and is used in making higher quality wigs, extensions, and hair systems.
spray moisturizer
A spray moisturizer is a chemical solution that is made to apply moisture to the hair by way of a spray or mist. This is often the method used to apply detanglers or leave-in conditioner because it allows for more even coverage in less time.
Senegalese Twist
An authentic African braid from the West Coast of Africa, the country of Senegal. Our shop owner is from Senegal, and an expert in the style. Because its mainly an African type style black hair is usually used. [A different name is sometimes used among Europeans, double strand twists.] Senegalese twists are an advanced form of cornrows that add a twist to the regular cornrow braid. The Senegalese versions of the braid use a doubling up technique to create tight cornrows that have some extra coil at the bottom of each twisted strand. This braid can use Kanekelon(R).
Strand Bond Weaves
This technique uses strands of hair attached to existing hair with specially formulated hair adhesives. This is a good method for for those who want long lasting wear, from 3 to 6 months.
Steaming
The process by which most synthetic fiber is curled at the factory. The curl pattern in a synthetic wig or hairpiece may be changed by setting it in rollers or clips, and using an ordinary hand-held clothing steamer on them. After steaming the curls, let the fiber get completely cool before removing the pins or rollers.
Texturizer
A texturizer is a mild relaxing treatment. Instead of causing the hair to be "bone straight," this chemical treatment is left on for a shorter period of time. The idea is to slightly relax the natural curl in African hair so that it's more manageable and with proper maintenance, one can mimic curly styles.
Thermal Process
Temporarily straightening the hair with a heated iron.
Track
Parting or a cornrow that establishes the placement pattern of wefts or strand additions.
Virgin Hair
This term refers to human hair which is still in its original state as harvested from the grower, and which has not been permed, colored, or chemically processed in any way. It is carefully cut from the grower with the cuticle going in the same direction and preserved to maximize its special quality.
Harvesting the hair in this manner takes more time, which contributes to the premium price of this hair. Virgin hair can be of any ethnic origin
Weft
Wefted hair for extensions are held together with fine threads, either machine wefted and hand tied. Most hair used for extensions is machine wefted in fine, medium or heavy wefts. Medium wefts being the most commonly used. Hand tied wefted hair is generally more expensive but is better quality and can be more durable.
Weaving
The process of forming a base (or track) along the scalp to attach wefted hair. This process is not limited to the cornrow method. Several other popular methods are the Euro lock, Microlinking, and Bonding.
Yaky Hair
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