340: No Slickback November

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A sleek ponytail can be a lifesaver on busy days, but what happens when that daily go-to starts thinning your hairline and flattening your curls? We dig into No Slick Back November with a stylist’s eye, explaining why tension, product buildup, and damp styling quietly add up—and how a few smart changes can protect your hair without giving up the polished look you love. From the origin of the trend to practical steps you can take today, we translate viral buzz into a healthy routine you can actually keep.



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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
Welcome to All About Hair, where we talk to shop,
share stories, and spill thesecrets behind great hair and a
great career.
I'm your host, Denise Keilitz, aformer salon owner, educator,
and a lifelong hair crusader.
Whether you're a new stylistbuilding your book, or just
someone who loves learning aboutall things hair, you're in the

(01:52):
right place.
Hey there and welcome back toAll About Hair.
It's Denise, and since thisepisode is dropping right before
Thanksgiving, I want to start bywishing you and your loved ones
the warmest, happiest holiday.

(02:12):
I hope your day is filled withgood food, good people, and a
little extra rest because youdeserve that.
If you're like me, you've beenhustling trying to get ready for
all the people in your house, ormaybe you're going somewhere and
you have to create a recipe,just remember to relax, give
yourself a little bit of grace,slow down, and enjoy the day.

(02:36):
Okay, let's get on with thisshow.
Even though I'm not on TikTokmyself, my inbox has been full
of questions about somethingthat's trending right now.
It's called No Slick BackNovember.
So today I'm breaking it downfor you.
What it is, why are peopletalking about it, and whether

(02:57):
taking a break from tight, sleekstyles might actually make a
difference for your hair.
So let's just start where thiswhole thing came from.
I guess this trend took off whenan influencer, her name's Joy
Burnett, uh, her handles at thatgirl with the curly hair.
She noticed she was gettingbreakage around her hairline and

(03:20):
her curls weren't snapping backthe way they used to.
And she realized her daily slickback styles were a big part of
the problem.
So she challenged herself to goone full month without any
tight, gelled-up looks, and sheshared her experience online.
Fast forward to this year, andeven though I'm not scrolling

(03:42):
TikTok personally, you have keptme in the loop.
Enough listeners and clientshave asked me about what I
thought about it, so I said,okay, let's talk about this.
And honestly, I think it's aconversation worth having.
So let's just go ahead and sayit.
Slicked back hairstyles aregorgeous, they're clean, they're

(04:05):
polished, they're effortless,and they save the day on those
not so fresh hair mornings.
And if you know me, I wear myhair back a lot because
sometimes, well, most of thetimes, I just don't want to
shampoo it.
Come on, we're all human.
Um, and and it's not theshampooing, it's the blow drying

(04:28):
and the styling.
I say there's absolutely nothingwrong with loving that slicked
back hairstyle look, especiallywhen you're just trying to pull
yourself together and get outthe front door.
But the problem is, is when astyle that's so easy and
flattering, we lean on it alittle too often.

(04:49):
And that's where problems showup.
Some of the problems arethinning or shedding along the
hairline, or you might seebreakage right where that
ponytail sits, and it's fromyour hair tie being a little bit
too tight.
You can experience dryness fromthe strong gels that you use or

(05:12):
the hairspray that you use tokeep it slicked back.
You could have product buildupand scalp irritation from not
shampooing often enough.
Me.
Um, and for your my curly hairedgirls, um, your curl patterns
could stretch out and you canlose definition.
That is a thing.
Look, your hair is always goingto tell you the truth, you just

(05:36):
have to listen to it.
So, who's most prone to this?
Well, this trend doesn't justspecifically target one hair
type.
It's more about how yourindividual hair reacts to
tension.
People who tend to see morestress from slick-backed

(05:57):
hairstyles include those withfine or low density hair, anyone
with delicate baby hairs, uh, ormaybe you have a texture you're
uh maybe curly or uh that justruns kind of naturally dry.
Uh somebody who wears theirponytails slicked back several

(06:21):
times a week, you might be proneto damage.
And oh, this is a big one.
Anyone smoothing over knots tomake it work without detangling.
Oh my goodness, don't do that.
Don't ever do that.
And you know what the biggestmistake is when you're doing
this?
Is if you pull your hair backtight while it's damp.

(06:43):
Damp hair stretches more and itsnaps more.
And can I tell you, when I wasin my 20s and I was just
figuring out how to deal with mycurly hair, I used to do this
when it was damp still, becauseI just didn't know how to style
it and I didn't feel like roundbrushing it and blow drying it
the whole way.
So I would just pull it back ina ponytail, slick back with gel,

(07:06):
call it good.
Yeah, let me just say it wasback in the early 90s, so I
probably had some kind ofbackcombing in there too, like
on top, but don't tell anybody.
All right, so how do you enjoythis look without damaging your
hair?
Well, there is good news.
You don't have to break up withyour slick back hairstyle.

(07:27):
You just have to be a little bitmore mindful.
First and foremost, don't wearthis hairstyle every single day.
Two or three tight styles a weekis plenty.
And if your hair is fine or dry,even less.
Okay, so maybe just change it uplike um fresh blow dry one day,

(07:49):
next day half up, half down, ora braid the next day.
You know, you can you don't haveto shampoo your hair every
single day.
You could do your slick backstyle like every fourth day.
I mean, it's a thing, just don'tdo it every day.
You want to make sure you'reusing tools that treat your hair

(08:10):
well.
So for sure, a soft bristlebrush, you want to use satin
scrunchies or those spiral tiesthat you see, those actually do
uh protect your hair frombreaking.
You definitely don't want to userubber bands or anything that
snags your hair.
If you're taking your um hair umtie out of your hair and you see

(08:32):
hair tangled up in it, that's asign, okay?
It's either a sign that you'vejust pulled it out of your hair
wrong or that it's actuallysnagging your hair.
Okay, here's something else youcould do.
Moisturize before you style yourhair.
You don't, like I said, youdon't ever want to slick it back
wet and put it in a ponytail,but you do want to add a little

(08:53):
bit of leave-in conditioner oroil to your mid shafts and your
ends just for protection.
Okay, you also want to keep yourscalp happy.
A weekly clarifying rinse orscrub keeps buildup from
creating irritation.
And if you've not tried one ofthese scalp scrubs before, oh,

(09:15):
you should.
And you should do it weekly.
Your scalp will thank you.
And if you're if you're like meand your, you know, hormones,
we're all at that age, uh, andyour hair's thinning from what
uh other reasons, not maybeslick-backed hairstyles, a good
scrub will actually freshen yourhair follicles.

(09:36):
And so you can actually yourhair, your hair will just thank
you.
If your scalp feels tight ortender, a calming serum can help
as well.
So they do make those.
Um, I've not actually used acalming serum before.
I don't think, but I have usedserums on my scalp that feel

(09:58):
good, and they're out there.
If you need suggestions for any,just let me know.
Um, also, you want to change upthe placement of where you put
your ponytail.
Wear a high ponytail one day, alow bun the next.
That'll work wonders if youcan't get past this slick back
look.
Just switch it up or switch yourpart.

(10:18):
You can try a clip, but justkeep that pressure point moving
because that's what you'recreating every time you create a
slick back hairstyle, is apressure point.
Um, so just if you move it everyday, your hair is gonna thank
you.
I think it'll probably feelbetter.
And then also treat yourself tosome off days for recovery time.

(10:41):
Basically, wash days, yourhair's moment is to reset.
You use a strengthening shampoo,nourishing conditioner, and a
weekly mask.
And like I said, if you want tothrow that scrub in there too,
that'll be really nice.

Here's the question (10:54):
Does a month off of slicked back
hairstyles actually help?
Yes, in a big way.
A month of lower tension canactually reduce breakage,
minimize shedding, and it givesyour hairline a chance to
recover.
But honestly, the bigger benefitis perspective.

(11:15):
You start exploring differentstyles, you embrace your natural
texture, which is wonderful, andyou give your hair a real voice
in how it wants to be treated.
It's a great reset, actually,especially heading into the
holiday season.
Even though I'm not personallyon TikTok, and even though I've
not personally seen this post, Ilove it when my community brings

(11:39):
me things like this to talkabout.
It means you're paying attentionto your hair and you care about
keeping it healthy.
And that's exactly what thisspace is all about.
If you want more hair tips,behind the chair stories, or
just a little weeklyencouragement, make sure you
check out the link in my shownotes and join our email
community.
And as always, remember, whenyou know better, you do better.

(12:03):
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
If you loved this episode, hitsubscribe, leave us a review,
and share it with a fellowstylist or hair loving friend.
You want more tips, tools, andbehind the scenes goodness?
Follow me on YouTube or head tomy website at deniseKeilitz.com.
Yes, I know it's hard to spell,so don't worry, the link is in

(12:24):
the show notes.
Until next time, keep learning,keep creating, and keep loving
what you do.