Passin' Black~My Memoir Short Stories~"Good Hair, Hmn!"

Untangling Roots With Momma~"The Dominican Blow Out!"

C.D. Holmes-Miller

Copyright 2009. C.D. Holmes-Miller

Momma always struggled with her hair. Not sure why, it was dead straight! She had Asian hair. Trying to figure it all out in America, she tried to curl her hair so she could relate more to the "sistahs, " I think. Of course, the "gurlfriens" always had advice for her. They always had a better idea!

"Norma you find a Dominican shop and take Cheryl to the Cardozo Sister shop!" Well, if she didn't know what to do with her own hair, you know she didn't know what to do with mine! Lawdy, they had it all wrong! Momma needed an Asian salon and I was the one that needed the Dominican shop. Dear God, I remember the day they took me to the Cardoza Sister's Shop in D.C.

Mercy, they had a great reputation and down the street from Howard University; you know they had the best of D.C.'s clientele. Back in the day, it was regarded the upper crust high yellah girls shop, i.e.- "the good hair shop!" They claimed to only do "GOOD HAIR" and dared not to venture down the too nappy road of African roots. Well, they took one look at me and the good ol' Vigorol came out. Lawdy, is all I can say! OOOH, liquid sulphur in a bottle...dear Jesus, rotten eggs marinated in vinegar!

I gave up on black shops and the sistah's advice to Momma about her mixed Asian child. Can you believe it, I didn't figure what to do with my hair until I was 50 years old; Mercedes a dominican stylist finally set my roots straight. Honestly, the Domincan ladies have a gift for blow drying hair. They have their secret potions of oils and snake slime silk! OMG! Well, I can avoid all chemistry and treatments when they do my hair. Their blow outs secrets I just love! I have seen this done with both a comb and a brush at the roots too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6o7KZoE-Q0

From the blog http://www.dominicanblowout.com/

Give a girl a video camera and she forgets how to behave, lol.

So, here’s a quick vid showing how to do a domincan blowout.
Some notes:

1. I hardly use any tension, let the blower do the work for me.

2. Notice the flaking near the scalp – that is NOT dandruff, it’s a creme leave-in. I pulled it out of the closet, wondering why I had not used it in a long, long, long time…um…now I know why…F-L-A-K-E-S! Anyway, I digress.

3. Notice that I keep the blower moving. I don’t hold it any one place for longer than a moment.

4. Lastly, I don’t go all the way down the shaft with the blower, because I don’t think it’s necessary; I just want to get the kinks out, smooth out the roots and get my hair sleek with minimal heat damage.

5. I do not put anything in my hair until AFTER I’m done blowing. When I pull out the rolos, I blow, THEN I put in a finishing creme, or serum.