Paparazzi photos of supermodel Naomi Campbell revealed severe hair loss from Traction Alopecia. There were lots of murmurs online about a woman who is prized for her looks being “imperfect.” But for many Black women, seeing Campbell’s scalp was sadly familiar…

It’s believed that Campbell’s hair loss came from years of damaging hair weaves that eventually broke away the root of her hair along the sides — one of the most common forms of hair loss for Black women.

It’s a scary reality for a woman to witness her hair thin, break off or fall out. In many cases, a change in treatment gave the hair a second chance at becoming healthy or growing back. But for too many Black women this hair loss becomes permanent. In most cases it comes from years of hair “abuse” — from bad weaves, too-tight braids, too heavy or tight locs and the misuse of perms, dyes and chemical treatments — or from the actual autoimmune skin condition of Alopecia Areata, which affects more than 4.7 million in the United States alone.

New York-based interior designer Sheila Bridges suffers from Alopecia Areata. At the time she was diagnosed with the disease, she was busy with her career, filming episodes for her design show.

Read more: http://www.essence.com/hair/commentary_1/commentary_living_with_alopecia.php#ixzz0xkce3PA0

Take your cue from nature. HPO’s She Essence Perfume Oil is delicately scented with a combination of jasmine, lemon and fig perfume oils that are hand-blended with a combination of natural pure oils into a highly concentrated body essence. Apply a dab to your wrist and neck to smell nature-fresh throughout the day.

Usage Tips
Apply a dab to the inside of your wrist and rub wrists together. Apply a dab to the tip of your finger and place on both sides of your neck just below earlobes. A small amount goes a long way.

Then a funny thing began to happen. While her fellow students had no customers to work on, she usually had several waiting for her out in the lobby.

“It was because of my products,” says the St. Louis entrepreneur. “I got so much feedback from people telling me I was doing things their stylist wasn’t doing.”

Even after she became a color specialist for a large hair-care company, she still spent her free time mixing and creating her eco-friendly combinations.

That’s how HPO Spa Products — short for “Happy People Only” — was born. She launched her company in 2006 with her Hair & Body Shampoo, Body Lotion and Spa Hair Conditioner. All products contain organic ingredients such as avocado, honey and wheat protein, as well as essential oils.

To get the word out about her products, she began consulting with salons and launched a web site. She also reached out to adoption agencies that worked with biracial children and put on free seminars for children from foreign countries.

Small became natural herself in 2005 when she wanted to test products on natural hair to see how temperature and humidity affected it during different seasons.

“I was chemically relaxed since I was a teenager, so it took a lot of courage to do that,” Small says. “Now I love being natural. I love that I can have different textural moments — straight one minute and twist outs the next.”

Small still does hair two to three days a week at her salon, New York, New York Hair Design. It provides her with a perfect environment to try out new products on a variety of hair types.

Small spends much of her time and energy on HPO, constantly researching ingredients and other product lines to make sure her products are the best they can be. She says her bathroom looks like a beauty supply store because of all the products she buys for her research.

HPO hair products.

HPO now has 15 products for hair and body, many created based on customer feedback. She originally created Happy Scalp, an essential oil blend, to deal with her own excema. She began using it on friends with bad dandruff and they got amazing results.

Simply Curly Conditioning & Styling Pudding, one of her most popular products, was the result of Small’s interaction with a customer at Whole Foods Market demonstration.

She told Small her conditioner was like “crack in a jar,” and asked her to mix something up to style her natural hair. She initially called the styling cream Curly Diva, and it has since evolved into Simply Curly, the newest product in the line.

“At this point, I don’t think the line needs anything new,” Small says.

She likes to mix products together to get different looks. Her favorite combination is Twisty Locs mixed with Butter Drops, which she uses to create a spikey look. When she goes curly, she uses Spa Conditioner with Simply Curly.

Small says her products work for all hair types, and even those with no hair. She says bald men like them because it soothes razor burn.

When she’s not cutting hair or working on her growing hair-care company, Small dedicates a lot of time to philanthropic endeavors. Her Bertha Bar, a soap with a peace sign on it, was created in honor of an aunt who died of cancer. All sales from the bars benefit her company’s wig fund, which goes toward buying wigs for women with cancer. She also is involved with Locks of Love and Hats off to Cancer as well as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After Hurricane Katrina, she donated crates of hair and body products for people who had been displaced to the St. Louis area.

“I’m all about giving back,” Small says. “Every day, I thank the universe and thank. I may be just a little guy, but I believe that if you really work from your heart and do what you love, everything works out.”

Please Note:
Weather can have an effect in the transportation of products throughout the year. In the hot summer months products can be softer and in the cold winter months firmer. The product performance remains the same just allow the products to adjust to room temp and if it’s firmer place a small in your hand and rub until it softens and watch the magic.

Pucker up for HPO’s Lips: Just A Kiss. This nature-inspired lip balm will keep your lips soft and smooth with the natural blend of Shea butter, honey, virgin coconut oil and avocado oil. Plus, SPF protection saves your kissable lips from the damaging effects of sun exposure.

1. Hydrate lips without overglossing.
2. No waxy taste.

Usage Tips
Roll Lips: Just a Kiss gently over lips to hydrate and nourish.

Usage Tips
Lather wet washcloth, sponge, or apply directly to body. Rub into a foam over skin. Rinse with warm water. Not recommended for use on the face.

Usage Tips
Lather wet washcloth, sponge, or apply directly to body. Rub into a foam over skin. Rinse with warm water. Not recommended for use on the face.

1. Use Raw Sugar Scrub after cleansing with the HPO Hair & Body Shampoo for an at-home spa treatment.
2. Leave skin looking healthy and rejuvenated.

Usage Tips
Apply Raw Sugar Scrub while bathing in warm water. Rub gently over the entire body, being careful to avoid the face. Rinse with warm water. For external use only.

1. Great aromatherapy and massage therapy to help you relax.
2. Keeps scalp health and clear of buildup.

Usage Tips
Happy Scalp is best when used before shampooing hair. Use the dropper to apply a few drops of Happy Scalp in strategic spots on your scalp and gently massage. Then, wash hair with HPO Hair & Body Wash.

Help retain curly hairstyles or smooth out natural curls with HPO’s Twisty Locs cream. Combining a natural blend of shea butter and honey, the easy-to-use Twisty Locs cream enhances soft ringlets while conditioning.

1. Leaves no greasy or oily residue on hair.
2. Doesn’t clump or mess.
3. Also works to moisturize skin.
4. Add nourishing vitamins to keep hair healthy.

Usage Tips
Scoop out a quarter-size dallop of Twisty Locs cream onto palm and rub hands together. Gently apply to dry hair. Twisty Locs keeps curly hair frizz free and helps keep curl at the ringlet size you want. For straight or wavy hair, apply cream then curl strands of hair around fingers to style and lock curls in place.

Use Butter Drops as a hot-oil treatment before shampooing hair or apply a few drops to reduce frizz and keep unruly hairs in line.

1. Add a drop to HPO Body Lotion to relieve extremely dry skin.
2. Use to soften stretch marks.
3. Butter Drops reveals shiny, frizz-resistant hair.

Usage Tips
To use as a hot-oil treatment, heat the bottle in hot water before applying to hair. Massage into hair and wrap in a warm towel. Cover with a plastic cap and leave on for 15 minutes. Wash hair with HPO’s Hair & Body Shampoo and rinse.

1. Pamper your body all day.
2. HPO’s natural oil blend is great aromatherapy sure to keep spirits high.
3. Combine with a drop of HPO’s Butter Drops for deep moisturizing.

Usage Tips
To keep skin silky smooth, massage skin with HPO’s Body Lotion in the morning and at night. For severe dry skin, add a drop of HPO’s Butter Drops and apply to necessary areas throughout the day. For best results apply immediately after bathing.

1. Simplify your shower routine.
2. Use to maintain vibrant hair color.
3. Moisturize and clarify in one step.

Usage Tips
For Hair: Wet hair, lather and rinse. For best results follow shampooing with HPO’s leave-in Spa Hair Conditioner.
For Body: Apply a nickel-size drop to a wet sponge or washcloth. Smooth shampoo onto skin and into a lather. Rinse.

1. Apply a small dab over hair for a leave-in heat protectant before blow drying.
2. Use before a color and/or relaxer treatment for better application results.
3. A thin layer can be applied to underarms and legs for moisture-rich shaving.

Usage Tips
For Daily Use: After rinsing out HPO’s Hair & Body Shampoo, deeply massage into hair the appropriate amount of conditioner for your hair length. Comb through from scalp to ends. Leave in for 5 minutes, then rinse.
For Deep Treatment: Apply as listed above. Then, wrap hair in a warm towel and cover hair and towel with a plastic cap. Leave Spa Hair Conditioner in for 8 minutes. Rinse with tepid water. No dryer necessary.

Recommended for:
- Natural Curly hair textures
- Highly textured
- Frizzy & Slightly kinky hair

Usage Tips
After shampooing with HPO hair & body shampoo, apply to damp and tangle free hair one section at a time and proceed to style with fingers to reduce poof and frizz.