5 Hair Mistakes This Celebrity Stylist Wants You To Stop Making In 2020

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Whitney Eaddy has heard your story before. The celebrity hairstylist nicknamed “The Growth Guru,” has placed her growing hands on the likes of SZA, news anchor Demetria Obilor, Raising Dion’s Alisha Wainwright and founded healthy hair protection accessories line Silken Beauty Sleep. Eaddy has been told all about what your natural hair was like before you started doing too much. “So their hair was amazing. When they were little, their twists were like this, it was so full, it was still healthy. As a young girl, you know your grandmother or your mother or your aunties, they said don’t let anybody play in your hair,” she recounted in an exclusive interview with HelloBeautiful. “But what happens is we grow up and we let people play in our hair.”

Find out five ways she wants you to stop traumatizing your tresses below.

1. Relying Too Much On “Protective” Styles That Don’t Protect Anything

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You may think there’s nothing wrong with booking a different braider off Instagram once a month but Eaddy shared that you should be choosing a protective style type based on your hair type especially if it’s really fine. Find out how faux braids can affect your real strands below. 

“The number one thing that I see is really just, they don’t let it grow. So nowadays everything is considered like a protective style just because people say that it’s protected. What I’m finding is more clients come in with the image for me for these protective styles, which is either too much tension or too much manipulation, also braiding hair is like a big thing. Nobody really understands how damaging actually adding braiding hair to your hair could be. You literally can send the hair out and rip through the cuticles of the hair.”

2. Being Addicted To Your Silk Press

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Silk presses might seem like the safer option but Eaddy made it clear that they can singe off your carefully cultivated curls. Find out why she thinks you should wean yourself off the saran wrap below. 

“I’m seeing a lot of people take too much heat because of the silk press. The silk press has become prevalent and kind of like at the forefront instead of relaxers. Relaxer sales you know, have gone down like over 60% or 70% at this point, so people are opting for the silk press, however, they’re not utilizing heat protectants properly or they’re doing the silk presses too frequently. They’re using high heat or not using products that properly protect the hair.”

She also broke down what a true silk press process should look like. “You’re looking for someone that can press with a single pass. You don’t want somebody going over the hair because you’re sealing the hair when you do, it’s built for us. And if you’re going over, you’re opening up the cuticle, closing the cuticle. So you’re really looking for someone that knows how to do a successful full press with one pass.”

3.Being Afraid To Do Research

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“Not doing enough research on the stylist is part of it,” explained Eaddy who said that much of the damage she sees clients experience actually comes from licensed stylists who were not interested in hair care. “If you’re a natural that really wants to maintain your natural texture and your curls, it has to be important to your stylists as well,” she said. She then made it clear that clients are well within their rights to ask for receipts and review products carefully with their stylist. See examples of questions you should be asking she provided below. 

“Ask what protectants they use. What measures did they take to ensure that their clients were protecting their curls? Because there’s a lot of stylists who really just don’t care, like that’s not their thing. I’ve had people come into my salons and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, she told me I would lose my curls’ and I’m like, what? Like you’re breaking the bonds of your hair to get your hair straight, but then you’re not going to be able to go back and forth. So it’s okay to ask questions. It’s okay to ask. Ask a stylist for her before and after pictures or pictures of her clients that she’s been straightening so that you can see.”

4. Using Heavier Creams Than You Need

Just as with skincare some of the most lightweight products can pack a surprising punch. Using heavier options to attempt to “manage” your natural curl pattern is not only pointless it can set you up for serious breakage. See Eaddy how to choose your creams and conditioners below. 

“Our hair defies gravity our hair is amazing,” Eaddy stated proudly. “But traditionally we use the heavy, heavy products that way our hair down those products normally sit on top of the hair and so when people come in, they’ll come in with all this like product build up and their hair is so dry underneath.” Eaddy advocated for ensuring that the oils being used on your hair are “water soluble,” and provide “slip,” instead of weight. “I’ve seen so many people use heavy conditioners and heavy creams. So you really want to find a conditioner that is lightweight but has a lot of slip that doesn’t leave a film on the hair so that when you’re doing the same treatment, you’re here totally hydrated and not too heavy.” 

5. Getting Caught Up In The Latest Fads 

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Believing that every tip that crosses your timeline is gospel is a huge hair sin. Eaddy warned against the popular onion rinse. “It smells awful and I’ve never really seen anybody have major improvement from it,” she said.

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