To play devil's advocate on the pH-testing rage...

[LittleLuxe]

Why tout research and analysis and then hold one's own conclusions above research and analysis?

Why praise someone for presenting a researched and edumacational approach to haircare, yet still embrace their prescriptions with the same fervor and lack of analysis that are stereotypical of bandwagon mentality?

Iirc, a commenter who claimed to be a chemist did take issue with some of kimmay's claims in the first baking soda video and kimmay was not open to her comments. I unsubscribed after that video.

Very good point and also something I think people should be aware of when making their haircare decisions. Some people will be willing to put in the work to tweak and perfect a regime that applies to them and others will just be repeating the same tendencies that led to so much dissatisfaction with black hair care in the first place. By this I mean that you can not simply accept everything you hear, are recommended, and told to do because the individual bestowing this knowledge is a black woman with great hair. Lol, whether it's coming from asians, blacks, or whites the real 'secret' is to take topics presented to us (ph) and do our own research to form our own opinion.

Um, as for the chemist....not a good look. I respect the girl's hustle and dedication but...no.

 

[alanaj]

I won't be doing any pH tests but that's just out of sheer laziness. Why do we have to add another step/cost?
I will say one thing though, Kimmaytube's moisturizer recipe wasn't half bad.....

 

[janda]

Kimmaytube is not a scientist or anything close. But, she seems to have an true and genuine interest in hair. She has researched and experimented to find and share things that have worked for HER hair. Trying to make some money from this doesn't bother me in the least. You can't take her videos as gospel but as a starting point to think about some ideas that might help with your own hair. I'm not really interested in buying pH strips and testing all my products, but her video prompted me to try aloe vera juice. I've been mixing it into my leave-in (Wen) with a little coconut oil and my hair REALLY likes it.

 

[LadyRaider]

If she writes a book, I might buy it.

You know the BEST thing I learned from KimmayTube? The thing that CHANGED my hair life???? Her putting in that banana clip sideways! OMG... I went from not being able to make an afro puff to... BEING ABLE TO MAKE AN AFRO PUFF!


Yay! KimmayTube!

 

[NGraceO]

Again, I didn't write all this to be controversial or to be difficult, but the way all of this pH stuff has played out has been very distressing to me. No one's arguing that Dr. Bronner's is strong (I switched two a different brand of castille soap because it was to strong even for my body) or that baking soda might have a drying effect on the hair. I totally acknowledge all of that. All I'm saying is that there are specific characteristics about what's in both of those products that make them have the effect they do, rather than just their pHs.

I agree with this argument. And although I feel that her videos place quite an emphasis on ph testing, I believe thats simply because there was little to no emphasis placed on it before her videos. I recall her mentioning some ingredients that products have that she will not allow on her hair, so I think there are other points in her argument that align with the argument I bolded in your statement. That being said, the BIGGEST thing I have gotten from Kimmaytube's videos is a curiosity, which turned into a thirst. A thirst for more knowledge of my hair and how to treat it. And I'm most excited about that part. Thank you for your contribution to my curiosity!!

 

[silenttullip]

shoot *shrugs* most shampoos already have a 4.5 to 5.5 ph unless it's all natural and if it is some of us need more of an acidic shampoo anyway because of oiliness.

 

[tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT]

If she writes a book, I might buy it.

You know the BEST thing I learned from KimmayTube? The thing that CHANGED my hair life???? Her putting in that banana clip sideways! OMG... I went from not being able to make an afro puff to... BEING ABLE TO MAKE AN AFRO PUFF!
Yay! KimmayTube!

big ups to banana clips makin a come back!!!


great points! i 100% agree!!! i think (my opinion) everyone here is exactly right!

 

[lilsparkle825]

As much as I enjoy the silliness of this board sometimes, it really makes me happy to be a member when I see intellectual, well thought-out, research-based threads such as this one. Great thread, OP.

As far as Kim, she specifically stated in her quarterly update video that she wants to become the ultimate authority on natural hair care. Personally, I prefer to draw inspiration from MANY different people on this natural journey with me and be my OWN authority. I am intrigued by this idea of pH enough to try incorporating more pH-balanced products in my regimen, but not enough to completely disregard the knowledge I have accumulated over the past two years about what works for ME and MY hair.

 

[thenimblelife22]

I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back. I'm smart like the OP! I just kind of blew over that PH as unnecessary. Okay that's not AS smart as the OP. I'm smart in a less meticulous, critical thinking way! I just kinda went "meh" and the OP wrote a dang scientific treatise!

You have to treat these YouTube Gurus the way you take advice about motherhood, or dating or anything else. Take it all in, pick and choose what you think will work for you.

I don't understand why people get so worked up over something Ateyaa or Kimmay might say. For the most part they are giving out good information. I wouldn't bank on every word or every opinion, but overall they add positively to the conversation.

Now I have a question for the OP: I thought that if you rinse with luke warm or cold water, THAT closes the cuticles. Does something else really need to be done?

Hello LadyRaider! You are so silly, with the "scientific treatise". I can get carried away sometimes with my "analysis" of things, it's just how I'm wired I guess. I was a nerd in school, lol.

Anyway, I have read that temperature does have an effect on the cuticle of the hair, although the "opening and closing" of the cuticle is a lot more subtle than most of us imagine (like fractions of a millimeter). But heat does "open" the hair and cold "closes" it. But don't take my word for it, I encourage you to read up on it and see what you find. The only thing I think we don't give our hair enough credit for is that our hair will return to it's original pH and state eventually. So even if you rinse with cold water and use a product meant to "smooth" the cuticle and it works, if your hair is permanently damaged and your cuticles are rough, the smoothing product will wear off and your hair will return to it's damaged state.

I won't be doing any pH tests but that's just out of sheer laziness. Why do we have to add another step/cost?
I will say one thing though, Kimmaytube's moisturizer recipe wasn't half bad.....

Kimmaytube is not a scientist or anything close. But, she seems to have an true and genuine interest in hair. She has researched and experimented to find and share things that have worked for HER hair. Trying to make some money from this doesn't bother me in the least. You can't take her videos as gospel but as a starting point to think about some ideas that might help with your own hair. I'm not really interested in buying pH strips and testing all my products, but her video prompted me to try aloe vera juice. I've been mixing it into my leave-in (Wen) with a little coconut oil and my hair REALLY likes it.

If I'm grateful to this series for anything, it's that dang leave-in recipe. Not only does it stretch the number of uses you can get out of your leave in, it does make your hair really soft. I tried the recipe as she said it in the video and although my hair was soft when I applied it wet, when it dried it left my hair kind of greasy. I think the aloe+leave-in+coconut oil is my perfect match though.

If she writes a book, I might buy it.

You know the BEST thing I learned from KimmayTube? The thing that CHANGED my hair life???? Her putting in that banana clip sideways! OMG... I went from not being able to make an afro puff to... BEING ABLE TO MAKE AN AFRO PUFF!


Yay! KimmayTube!

I'm saying! I never even knew banana clips and natural hair went together until I saw how she used it. I've been meaning to run out and get one for a while!

I agree with this argument. And although I feel that her videos place quite an emphasis on ph testing, I believe thats simply because there was little to no emphasis placed on it before her videos. I recall her mentioning some ingredients that products have that she will not allow on her hair, so I think there are other points in her argument that align with the argument I bolded in your statement. That being said, the BIGGEST thing I have gotten from Kimmaytube's videos is a curiosity, which turned into a thirst. A thirst for more knowledge of my hair and how to treat it. And I'm most excited about that part. Thank you for your contribution to my curiosity!!

By know means am I telling people to throw out kimmay's videos just because of some questionable statements on this one particular series. Kimmay's videos are great (they totally inspire me in how I make my own youtube vids) and most of her advice is solid. Like I said before, she even did an interview on my blog with some helpful tips and I really appreciated it. I think kimmay has helped me the most with my appreciation for protective styling, which has directly translated into longer hair. I have completely benefited from her presence of Youtube.

big ups to banana clips makin a come back!!!

great points! i 100% agree!!! i think (my opinion) everyone here is exactly right!
pH can be just another positive element in your acumulation of healthy hair practices, pre-pooin, trimming, deep conditioning, using steam, acv rinses, hot oil treatments, protective styling, silk scarfing at nite, washing in braids/sections, black tea rinses for shedding, indian powders, scalp massages, eliminating poor ingredients, moisturizing & sealing = ALL positive elements in your acumulation of healthy hair practices not a an either or (i think)
what works best for your hair

I think you right, pH should fit into your overall hair knowledge arsenal, if pH is of interest to you. Now to go off on a slight, totally opinion based tangent, in general I'm a big proponent of "less is more". I believe that we should always be on the hunt to acquire knowledge about our hair (remember, I'm a nerd...) but I like to still acknowledge that our ancestors seemed to have done better with a lot less. To me, this implies that haircare doesn't have to be as complicated as we make it sometimes—one can understand it from a very basic level and still be successful. Someone in this thread made a comment to the effect of "Do other races pH test their products?" and I think she was dead on for that. Not that the problem is with pH, but that as black women, *many of us* will not acknowledge that our hair will grow as long as you treat it right and retain those ends. It's like we're always on the hunt for something external, whether its a product or a technique, to give our hair the ability to grow when we already have it. I was looking at an old thread Flowerhair had started back in 2008 with waist-length ladies providing their regimens. Very few of those women had anything complicated to say about growing their hair long. But I'll get off my soapbox now...

As much as I enjoy the silliness of this board sometimes, it really makes me happy to be a member when I see intellectual, well thought-out, research-based threads such as this one. Great thread, OP.

As far as Kim, she specifically stated in her quarterly update video that she wants to become the ultimate authority on natural hair care. Personally, I prefer to draw inspiration from MANY different people on this natural journey with me and be my OWN authority. I am intrigued by this idea of pH enough to try incorporating more pH-balanced products in my regimen, but not enough to completely disregard the knowledge I have accumulated over the past two years about what works for ME and MY hair.

Thank you, lilsparkle825. I think you said it best, I prefer to be my own authority over my hair, as we all should. No one else can grow your hair for you.

 

[Cichelle]

I have no comment on kimmay or her youtube videos. However, after over 5 years of caring for my natural hair and growing to tailbone length and beyond, I learned that keeping it simple, real simple, was the best thing for me. I never tested one product's ph level. I don't recall doing any scientific experiments. In fact, after a couple of years being a product junkie, I came around to using as little product as possible and I kept my hair up most of the time. Really. That's all.

I'm not saying people can't benefit from things like are being discussed here. I'm only suggesting that it might not be necessary. There's not a bone in my body that feels like picking up some ph strips. I'm on a different journey with my hair now. But the lesson of keeping it simple and avoiding hair "fads" stays with me. That is to say, so many products and lessons and ways come and go. If it works for you, great. I can't knock it. Personally, I buy whatever shampoo/conditioner I feel like buying and I keep it moving.

 

[LadyRaider]

Bump. I needed the breathe in this thread for a bit to clear my head and to remind me what's possible when conversing with a group of intelligent black women.

 

[starfish79]

I added Roux Porosity Control conditioner to my routine before hearing about this pH bandwagon. I use it after a DC and I can say that it has really helped my hair. Will I purchase pH test strips and completely overhaul my regimen, no thank you. I think pH is a piece of the puzzle not the entire picture!

 

[tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT]

wow... i said a lot