Natural in Nigeria

Written exclusively for this blog by Sandra (aka Sandeey) of Hair of Life

You know you are natural in Nigeria when you are expected to relax your hair on your wedding day.

Natural in Nigeria means that your hair is everybody's business and they can make their comments as they please.

That day when you hear "I prefer your hairstyle today to the one of yesterday", you are definitely natural in Nigeria.

I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the point. It may be the same in other countries but since my natural experience has been in Nigeria, this is a bit of what being natural in Nigeria means to me. I'm not saying those things are negative because I'm used to all that. I think people do what they do because they aren't really used to seeing ladies wearing their hair in its natural state. 

For me, there are pros and cons of being natural in Nigeria. 

Some Pros:

I feel like a superstar when my hair makes me stand out from the crowd.

I feel so proud when people big chop after seeing my kinky hair.

I don't have to go into any hair salon and battle with them about the fragile nature of kinky hair when they attempt to make the hair "manageable" by combing rigorously and using a blow drier set at a temperature that competes with molten lava.

Shea Butter and Black Soap are cheap and found everywhere!

No winter to force me into a protective styling frenzy.

Lovely humid weather keeps the moisture in my hair.

The water that runs out of my tap isn't hard!

Some Cons:

When that beautiful humid weather makes your hair swell up.

I still haven't seen a salon that caters to natural hair the way I'd like (maybe I haven't searched well). I heard there are some in Lagos...but what do I know? I'm in Abuja!

Having conversations/arguments about how black women cannot have waist length hair.

Watching YouTube and being unable to find most products used and recommended by other naturals.

Actually finding those products at triple the original price!

Well, I find it easy being natural in Nigeria, as the cons all have solutions!

When the weather is humid, protective styling is key.

When you can't find a natural hair salon, be your own hair stylist.

When you don't want conversations on length of hair, just nod and walk away.

When you can't find the products that are sold abroad, substitute with what you can find in Nigeria.

This is how I cope:

Nature's Gentle Touch Deep Conditioner and Leave in Conditioner (found almost everywhere) 

Beauty Formulas Intensive Deep Conditioning Treatment Wax (can easily be found)

Coconut oil, wonderfully made for me by a lady called Fatimah (she's a phone call away!)

Shea Butter and Black Soap from the market

Many products can be gotten through Natural Nigerian's website as well: naturalnigerian.com/ahia-natural-nigerian-marketplace/

Also, I receive hair products as gifts from friends and family abroad. Instead of asking for shoes or bags...I ask for hair products  :) 

I guess it all boils down to finding what works for your hair, whether its a popular product among naturals or not. 

If you are natural in Nigeria or want to be, keep one thing in mind: Your hair is yours and yours alone, so please yourself and not everyone else.  

I love my country! 

Always me,

Sandeey.

@hairoflife

Hairoflife.wordpress.com

For the Moms ;)

Written by Emily (aka Bobi) of Bobi Curls

This post is for all the Caucasian mom's who have no idea what to do with their mixed daughters hair. First of all, let's tackle the hair!

Here's a simple step by step hair routine you can follow:

Step 1. Drench hair

Step 2. Gently apply conditioner into the hair and scalp. Massage the scalp to cleanse, rinse and then reapply the conditioner and detangle with a comb or your fingers. Separate the hair in sections and start from the ends to the root when detangling.

Step 3. Rinse hair with cool water and apply a little of that same conditioner again. When you scrunch the hair you should be about to hear that squishy sound the wet hair and product makes.

Step 4. (This step is optional) Apply your styling product and scrunch the hair a little again.

Step 5. Drying: you can let the hair air dry or if you are in a hurry grab a t-shirt that you don't use anymore and scrunch the hair (starting from the ends up).

Tip: Don't do your daughter's hair everyday because it will always be damp and damp hair is not healthy. Try doing it 3-4 times a week.

Secondly, and I believe this is most important, encourage your daughter A LOT about her hair. Don't just put her hair in pigtails or ponytails! Do fun styles with it so she can really see how beautiful her hair is. If she doesn't have any friends with hair like hers show her some blogs like this so, she can see all the different kinds of curly hair and the people that are confident with their hair so she can become more confident too :)

Review: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturising Conditioner

So, I tried this, but not on my entire head of hear. I used it on my nape hair at the left side of my head. If you read my last post, you'll know that I have grown out my nape hair past neck length so, I have quite a bit of hair to work with there when doing a review with a product that isn't 100% natural like this.

Okay! So, here's the ingredients list:

Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Alcohol, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Orchid Mascula Flower Extract, Zea Mays (Corn) Silk Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Fragrance, Benzyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Blue 1

As you can see, this product is sulfate free, paraben free, protein free and glycerin free.

Okay, so here's how I used it:

I got quite some on my finger tips and worked it into my nape hair, left it in my hair and had a shower then I rinsed it out thoroughly. I pressed out the excess water  and that was all. Please note that I did not shampoo my nape hair before doing this.

My results:

When my hair was a tad bit dry, I felt it and it actually did feel pretty soft. Now, now, my hair usually feels soft, I know, so, some of you might think that I can't say much about this, so I'll just put it like this,  it did not dry out my hair. I think the Hello Hydration might actually be quite moisturising. It's definitely a good conditioner for people who seek moisture and don't mind products that aren't 100% natural. 

When it comes to co-washing, which is more or less what I did (now that I think about it), the conditioner was a very good co-wash for my nape hair. I haven't washed my hair in 2 weeks now (I'm going to wash it on Friday) so, you can tell that my hair was not squeeky clean, freshly washed. The conditioner cleansed my hair, and removed the little product buildup I had. So, yeah, this is pretty good as a cleanser too.

Would I try this product again?

Honestly, I doubt I will so, I'll say, 'no.' You can figure out why.

Would you recommend this product to people?

If you don't mind using products that aren't 100% natural, this is the co-wash/cleanser and conditioner for you. 

Product Reviews *info*

Hello everyone,

So, I'm up for product reviews. Here's how it's going to work:

1. You can recommend products for me to review or send products to me to review. If you are sending a product, please send only a trail size bottle of the product. Something small, especially if the product isn't all natural.

2. When products aren't fully natural, I only test them out on my nape hair. I've grown my nape hair past my neck now, so, that's enough hair I'm willing to work with for products with synthetic ingredients.

3. I'm okay with you sending messages to companies to send me a bottle of their products to review.

4. My reviews are going to be honest. If a brand sends me a product to review, I try out the product and my hair hates it, I'm going to write my review and say what results I got, honestly. However, I will always include what I say in all my reviews, "remember, what works for one person doesn't necessarily have to work for another."

5. You can send me products you've made, even those you want to sell to do a private review of. I will send you a private review and when you start selling the product (if that's your intention) you can ask me to make the review public.

6. If you want to send me a product to review (not recommend, but actually send the product), send me an email using the email in the 'Contact' page on this blog. Once you do, I'll send you my mailing address. You have to go through this process because I do not want to just make my mailing address public on here for whoever to see.

7. I can do a review on hair tools too as long as they do not produce heat (excluding hair steamers).

8. I might be able to do reviews of hair salons as long as they're in the south coast area of England. I am based in London now, but I will still be back to Southampton every few months. I doubt I'll be back in Nigeria any time soon (it might be YEARS) before I visit there so,  I'll post if I'm ever visiting Nigeria to let any of the Nigerian curlies out there know that they can ask me to visit a hair salon and write a review of it. Please note that the hair salon, in Nigeria has to be in Lagos and the closer to the islands, the better. *You do not need to send money to me to pay for whatever I do with my hair. I'll cover all the costs for that.

9. I am not reviewing things for thinning out the hair because i'm not interested in thinning out my hair. However, I dust my ends so hair shears are accepted.

Thanks for reading.
~Samantha

My Mini Twists so far. Take-down in a few days.

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Hola!

So, my mini twists are still in, but they're coming down on Saturday. This means that I'll have had them in for about two and a half weeks. Not bad, not bad, longest I've kept mini twists with just my hair in. I guess if they were a bit smaller, I'll have kept them in longer.

Okay! So, I've been spraying my hair with lavender water and lavender oil (in a spray bottle) daily. I hand picked the lavender leaves from the garden. After that, I seal in the moisture with my lovely new product (did I mention that it's pH balanced?). I dusted all my twists some days ago, can't remember when exactly. The ends of my twists are like popping with defined curls and I didn't twirl them neither where they twirled when they were done. They're just popping and looking gorg'.

Okay! So, my plans are.....I'm going to wash my hair with the twists in on Friday, stretch out the twists overnight and take them down on Saturday. I actually just wash my scalp and condition my hair, not wash my hair. I never work shampoo into the hair strands. I don't even work amla into my hair strands. I focus on my scalp and the hair's cleansed when I rinse out what I washed my scalp with. So, I guess I'm going to braid the twists in sections or just hold them off with ouchless bands and work section by section washing my scalp and working conditioner in my hair then I'm going to seal in the moisture (after rinsing the conditioner, of course, with my new product) then hold my hair up to stretch as it dries. On Saturday, after a nice, warm shower, I'll take down the twists quickly and.....I'm not sure about a twist out so, I guess I'm going to fake a blow out and then curl my ends a bit with my flexi rods or fake a blow out and do a braid 'n' curl on it. Whatever works.

After that, I need to figure out what I'll do with my hair daily till October and then till December. I guess I'll switch it up with a tuck 'n' pin, puff and some other simple style (I might make two flat braids some time) and then in October, I might get mini twists done again. I'm not sure about mini-braids 'cause I'm more likely to loose hair at my ends with that and I'm trying to avoid that, plus, it'll take longer to take down. If I could get some Marley or Havana hair, don't know where to get those in England, I'll install big twists in my hair and keep them in till January when I'm getting my first weave in the past almost 6 years (Heat-Free Hair Movement).

Anyways, that's all for now.

Interview with the beautiful, Daniele Watts (from Django) coming up soon, look out for it! :)

~Sammy

Nafisat is Naturally Glamorous

Can't remember where exactly I read about Nafisat, but I ended up on her blog some day. I read a bunch of her posts and was like, "I'd love to interview her!" Plus, she's from my black country! I support anyone going natural from my black country 'cause I know how hard it is to go natural there. It's hard to find products, salons aren't tailored to you, like, all the salons basically know how to do is to slap a relaxer on people's hairs and to work with relaxed hair.

Anyways, so, I saw a pic of Nafisat on Twitter and she was like totally rocking a WnG on her twa and it looked absolutely amazing! She has such a lovely twa.

So, I got to interview Nafisat. Yay! Here's the interview below. Enjoy!

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Introduction

Hi People, I am Nafisat, a recent high school-leaver with passion for Architecture, Music and all things natural.

What made you decide to go natural?

I had no problem with my relaxed hair until recently last year when I noticed that some parts of my hair had uneven length. I was really bothered; the mid section way down to the back is quite shorter than other part. The difference in length was clear! So being my young and curious self, I went online to fish out the culprit behind my uneven lengths and how I could effectively grow back my hair and I stumbled across the famous natural hair blog ‘Black Girl Long Hair’ and after so many sessions of reading, researching and asking questions alongside watching Chris Rock’s Good Hair, I was convinced that going natural is the best way and there was no turning back!



What was the reaction of the people in your school when they noticed you were transitioning (I know high schoolers can be pretty opinionated)?

Lol…my transitioning days were quite short. They lasted for 4 months. With very little new growth, my hair was as good as having my relaxed hair on, so nobody noticed I was transitioning but I shared my new hair journey with some friends at school. Some showed their disgust and thought my decision would prove futile sooner or late (yeah, it was that bad) while some commended my courage to want to keep my hair natural.

How did your parents react to the idea of you going natural?

When I told my mum I was going natural. She didn’t take me seriously...she just didn’t. My mum thought I was one of those teens who are fond of obsessing over irrelevant things online; she must have really thought I was joking because she never took me serious until I did the big chop! On the other hand, my dad didn’t have much to say but on the inside, I knew he had my back on this one.



What were your go-to transitioning styles?

Like I said, my hair was 90% relaxed while transitioning but I still tried some transitioning styles like the Bantu knots. The few Bantu knots I have done turned out quite good but I’m still getting the hang of it. I also tried the twist out and it wasn’t so favorable for my relaxed hair probably because my ends were damaged. It didn’t just come out right.

I just graduated, you just graduated, though from two separate schools. When my graduation was coming up, what I was going to do with my hair was such a big deal. I ended up having my hair up in cinnabuns. What did you do?

Yeah! I thought of it, “What am I going to? What am I going to do?” For something so big like my graduation, I would really need to look quite astonishing and my damaged relaxed hair wasn’t going to do the job for me, so, after my regular deep conditioning treatment, I headed to a salon and tucked my hair under some weave which really helped protect my new growth.



When did you big chop and how did people react to that?

I big chopped on the 10th of august barely 3 weeks ago. (I know right? I’m a newbie in this natural hair game.) The big chop is such a dramatic change for people who had worn longer hair before like me. Most people were really shocked and gave out their positive opinions. I have had very few negative comments since I big chopped. Well, everyone has something to say about you all the time, so I wasn’t bothered at all :-) I was happy with my decision so every other thing didn’t matter.

How do you feel about this very different length of hair?

As at this time last week, I was still getting used to my new look because I  had never cut my hair before, ever since I was born! I would sometimes look at my reflection in the mirror and I would keep questioning my identity. “Is that really me?” It was almost unbelievable for me but now that I’m used to it, I just love everything about my new hair.



What are your plans for your hair? Any goals?

Right now, I would say my quest for healthy hair has over powered my quest for longer hair so I’m really looking forward to having a healthy looking natural hair and also retaining as much length as possible.



I'm curious. What did you do with your twa (I didn't BC)? How do you style it? D'you rock a wash'n'go, finger coils, what? I'm really curious.

Most of the time, I rock wash and gos. It just suits my hair. I have tried twist-outs and I think they also rock. I have watched YouTube videos of finger coils on teeny weenie afros that I haven’t tried. I just didn’t like them, I don’t know why. I also love the teeny weenie afro puff…not much of a puff but I love it.

What are your go-to products and what products are you eager to try and why?

I co-wash and detangle with Gentelle Hair Fruits Conditioner and shampoo with Dudu Osun soap bar whenever I have build up, I moisturize with my homemade water – oil mix and I seal with my oil mix or my homemade Shea butter mix. My hair is so much in love with Shea butter. I looove Vitale Hair Mayonnaise. It keeps my hair perfectly conditioned for me but the 10 minutes leave-in duration on the label doesn’t work for me so I leave it in for 3 to 4 hours without heat. From so many reviews from the internet and some people I know, it seems Organic Root Stimulator (ORS) products are on everyone’s favorite list so I’m looking forward to getting some ORS products. Nature’s Gentle product line would also be a must- try for me.



Quick question. Did you ever go to hair salons while transitioning? I want to know your experience. I love hearing salon experiences!

Yes, though I haven’t had any dramatic salon experiences. (sorry to disappoint you) Well, I made just one salon visit when I was transitioning. That was when I was about to install my Jumbo braids. I had initially taken my comb and Shea butter mix, just in case this ignorant hair dresser of a woman tries to load my hair with those greasy and hair- drying products. I made it clear to her what I wanted so there was no room for mistakes. She kept bugging me about why I have decided to dump relaxers and I shared my journey with her. She just thought that I must reeaaaallly have plenty of time to want to do it.

D'you still go to hair salons? Why?

That is my last salon visit till date although I plan to go there to install my braids again with my own products and tools.



Any advice for those considering going natural and those already transitioning?
Every lady has the right to wear her hair whatever way she wants to wear it and there’s no crime in doing that. If you’ve recently big chopped or you’re currently transitioning, don’t pout or fret when people go all negative about your hair. It’s your hair and your style. Be cool and be free to flaunt it because it’s what makes you you.

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You can find Nafisat on

Her blog

and on

Her twitter page

How Your Hair Goals Will Guide Your Life Goals: The Coily Hair Edition

This post was written by Tia of AngelsRinglets

A little over 4 years ago, I started my 15 month transition from chemically processed (relaxed) to chemical free (natural) hair. Prompted this change by a frustrating head of tired, dull, breaking hair that never grew past the top of my shoulders. I couldn't understand why 10 years had passed without any major hair cuts, and my hair wouldn't get as long as I wanted it to. After looking at my daughter's hair (T), and my hair, I decided that a change was coming.

Four Years Hair Growth: Gathered Info on Coily Hair Care

Does that sound familiar to you? Are you transitioning, or did you transition to natural out of the same frustration? The need for a change in the outcome will typically require a change in the behaviors. Now, I could have gone another route and treat my relaxed hair differently, but my goal included a cleaner, greener solution. I was in the process of eliminating toxic products from my beauty regimen, and that included the hair relaxer.

BEHAVIOR CHANGED: Eliminate the relaxer.OUTCOME: Growth of coily hair in it's natural state.

Now, that was only the beginning. I had to learn how to take care of coily hair (hence the name of this site). I had to understand that I didn't know how to care for coily hair. I only knew how to deal with straight hair, and I wasn't even doing THAT properly. Taking baby steps, I educated myself by watching YouTube Videos, and reading blogs. I also enjoyed experimenting with products/techniques and learning what outcomes to expect. As a result, I learned a lot of information in a short period of time.

HOW THIS RELATES TO LIFE GOALS: Whatever passions or career plans, or goals set, the behaviors that I take with my hair goals translate well into goals that I set in life. If my plans are to begin saving money, then it would benefit me to begin with changing behaviors that are hindering me from achieving that specific goal (for example: review my spending, no more impulse buying, creating a budget on paper, paying myself as if I were a bill due). Those are just a few examples. Once those behaviors have been changed, then educating myself and experimenting with different techniques will put me in the direction of my goal.

AN ALL IMPORTANT CHANGE THAT I LEARNED FROM MY HAIR TRANSITION AND MY NOW ALL NATURAL HAIR CARE: 

Patience. There, I said it. I keep sharing that will all of the beauties that leave comments on my YouTube channel in regards to hair length. Just enjoy the stage or length that your hair is in now. The health and length will follow. That's true in any life goal. If you have $25.00 in the bank now, be happy about that $25.00. That's $25.00 more than you had when you started your savings. After 1 month of depositing $25.00 a week, you will have $100.00 in savings. If it wasn't for that $25.00 weekly goal, then the $100.00 savings would never happen. Live in the now, and enjoy the heck out of it.

Consistency. Changes will not work if they are not practiced consistently. If you start saving the $25.00 but you are not depositing it consistently, then the outcome will not be as effective. If you are caring for your hair 1 week, but 2 weeks later damage it by ripping it out with combs and brushes out of frustration, then whatever health/length progress you made, will be lost.

Set Reasonable Goals. If you decide to save $100.00 a week, and your income/budget can not support that goal, then it will not happen. The first week, you may save $100.00, but after that, it may not happen. And worse yet--you may have to withdraw some money to cover the excess that you deposited the week before. When you educate about how to save, and plan a budget, that comfortable dollar amount will be decided at that time. Same thing goes with hair care. Setting reasonable goals about how to take care of hair will ensure that the goals are met. If I decide that I am going to deep condition, steam treat, do micro two strand twists on weekly basis, and I get burned out in the first week, then problems will strike. I will probably end up ripping out the two strand twists in my frustration, which means that I will probably not want to take the time to put back in the two strand twists for week 2. Set reasonable goals for hair care. Things that will not take too much time (if you plan to do them regularly).

These are just some of the life changes that I have implemented that were brought to light by my hair care. You see, I was so intrigued by my coils and the "newness" of them, that I was dedicated enough to make these changes, set goals, and be consistent with them. From the messages that I get, I know that most of us (transitioning and natural alike) have changed our hair care behaviors. The parallel between both forms of goals was so vivid, that I thought it would be fun to compare notes with you beauties.

Four Years Consistent Hair Care. Reasonable Goals Set

As Always, Stay Beautiful.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Love Tia

Caring For My Mini Twists.

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Hey!

So, I've had my twists in for a week and a day now and I thought I should just talk about what I'm doing with it.

People tend to neglect their hair once it's in a protective style like this especially when done with extensions. I do not have extensions in. This is because they believe that they don't have to do as much as they would normally do to their hair and as the name says, it's protective.

Mini twists are protective, but in order for them to actually be a good protective style, they have to be properly cared for. They have to be moisturised and it's best for them to be stretched.

I moisturise my twists every morning and evening with my new homemade product (which I love to bits). I'm not putting its recipe up because I plan on selling the product in the near future. I usually use the products on my twists after a shower (with my twists held up) or after running damp hands through my hair. I can use the product without doing any of those though. So, I work it in in a "praying" motion - moving my hands downwards with the twists between my palms. This keeps the hair in a pretty good shape. Remember, moisture is like one of the main keys to healthy hair growth.

I stretched my twists immediately after they were installed because my hair got reverted at the salon. I held all the twists together at the top of my head with a metal-free ponytail holder and secured the sides bobby pins so all my twists are properly stretched. I had my hair up like that till Monday. Now, I take it down at day time and style it in a low ponytail, do twist outs on my twists, do a tuck, roll and pin, et cetera, BUT every night, my hair goes back up to keep in stretched.

Many of us dread wash 'n' goes or simply just wearing our hair out in afros or puffs. Why? Tangles. Due to the elements our hair shrinks and because of the fact that our curls curl up without thinking 'bout the curl beside it, our hair tangles and excessive tangling can lead to huge knots that have to be cut out or simply just breakage. We keep our hair stretched usually to reduce the amount of tangles we get. So, by keeping your twists stretched at all times, you are preventing the hair twisted up from tangling and being a horror to take down.

I haven't washed my twists yet, but I might some day soon. I have washed my hair with twists in (With extensions) before so I'll tell you how I did that 'cause that'll be the same way I'll do it. I lightly braid sections of my twists and secure the ends of the braids with pony tail holders or rubber bands (rubber bands only if I have extensions in that are longer than my hair length). I dilute some shampoo mixed with olive oil and a bit of a conditioner with water in a bottle and shake it all up then get some of it on my fingers and work it on my scalp. I leave it on for about a minute and rinse out thoroughly then get conditioner in my hands and scrunch it into the braids I created. I leave it in for a few minutes then rinse it out. Use an old cotton shirt to scrunch out excess water and leave my hair in the braids till it dries fully (or till it's at least 80% dry). Gotta keep your scalp clean and be able to breath and let out its sebum.

Okay! So, that's it for now. I'll talk more about my twists after I take them down (dunno when that's going to happen).

~Samantha

Mini Twisted My Hair

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Hi everyone,

Happy wear your hair curly day! Unfortunately, though my hair stayed in it's natural state, it wasn't "out" all day.

Anyways, as you read above, I got my hair mini twisted today, It took just about an hour - an hour and a half, I guess that's 'cause they lady twisting it up for me today at the hair salon was shuffling between sewing in someone's weave and twisting up my hair.

I detangled, deep conditioned, cleansed (with amla), conditioned, did another deep condition (2 days after wash day, but not a DC that necessarily needed to be washed out), stretched, ensured my hair was tangle free, kept it in a style to keep it stretched and tangle-free and headed to the salon (best thing to do before having someone twist you hair or style it any ways for you) and guess what happened once I got to the salon, lady landed with a spray bottle and before I knew it, half of my head of hair was damp (wasn't looking when she came) and of course, it reverted. I was like, "Sam, stay calm, half has reverted, let her just make everything revert so the twists look the same and then you can stretch. She went through my hair with a comb after getting it damp and only very little hair got on the comb (really little shed hair). I guess she remembered that the last time I was there (quite a long time ago), I asked her not to comb my hair dry if she wanted the comb to easily get through. I brought latest hair product along (if you've been following my tweets, you'll know that I made a new product on Monday) and I was glad when she thought of sealing in the moisture with that. Afterwards, she started talking in an African language and sometimes switching to English (not talking to me) about how soft the product made my hair and that the lady twisting my mum's hair (with extensions) should use it on my mum's hair to soften it up (also, the owner of the salon's sister liked the product, I gave her to take a look at it). The lady began mini twisting my hair and didn't touch that comb again (oh! and she used my wide tooth shower comb when she went through my hair earlier with a comb (while, after telling not to by my mum, the lady working on her own hair combed her hair with the teeth of a really tightly spaced rat tail comb and yes, my mum lost some hair (and she detangled this morning - comb pulled out her hair))). She finished it up and then I held my hear in something like a low bun with some parts bobby pinned backwards (to stretch a bit). I

I got home and after supper, I got my homemade aloe vera gel out of the fridge, got some out and rubbed it between my palms, flipped my hair over, raked and smoothed the gel over my hair, got some more out and repeated this process with my hair not flipped over anymore then I scrunched some more gel in. I held my hair in something like a bun around the crown area of my head (like a pineapple without the ends sticking out) and bobby pinned the flat parts of my twists down and hand stretched the few that didn't stay up with the rest holding them in place with bobby pins. 

I'm going to keep my hair in this stretching state for some days, maybe even during my flight to England this weekend (I don't really like having to do anything to my hair in planes and I'm going via Qatar Airways (so, I leave sometime in the afternoon on one day and arrive during the evening of the next day 'cause of the stop in Doha). Max., I'll refresh my twists when I wake up or before I leave the plane, but I'm not taking them down. I'll keep them up as much as possible to not have to manipulate. Somedays, I might take it down and work on the versatility of my twists (style it in a new way), but I'm going to manipulate them as little as possible so they can last till mid-September at least (I might get them redone in October (when I can get down to my aunt's place and she's free) just as a low-manipulation protective style).

My twists look good, I'm really happy with them. The last twists I did, while I was transitioning didn't look good and my dad asked me to head back to the hair salon the day after I got it done (once I got home) and get it all taken down and done up in something else (which ended up being cornrows/flat-braids). He's seen my hair today and he doesn't hate it like he hated the twists I had in back then (back in the days..... :) ).

Oh! and yes! I whipped my hair back and forth! ♫ I whip my twists back and forth, I whip my twists back and forth.....♫ 

♫ Just whip it, whip it real good.♫ 

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Why it's best to go all organic/natural with you skin and hair products.

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Hello,

Let me tell you a little thing about myself. I come from a family where on side is allergic to nada and the other is allergic to practically everything. I ended getting the allergies from the side that has it. Most people on that side of the family (including me) have super sensitive skin. Like regular things can burn our skin, make us break out, et cetera (I'm only going to talk about topical things here, not things we eat). Almost five years ago, I tried something I got with some birthday presents and reacted to it terribly. I ended up being at a hospital, getting a surgery, which failed (left me with even more problems), thank God, I'm finally getting my healing (my miracle). I used to have super super clear skin, like people were envious then I tried a body lotion on my face and just like that, I broke out terribly. I tried inhaling some menthol stuff on a napkin once when I had a cold (and a really stuffy nose). The napkin touched my nose and the next thing I knew, my nose felt like it was on fire (other people have tried it and haven't felt anything close to what I felt). I was an arts student back in high school and there was a day paint went on my hand and the next thing I knew, I was so itchy, my skin went red, I was reacting to it, et cetera. I'll stop listing there. 

One thing all those things listed above had in common was that they had chemicals in them. I stopped using them (and stopped with the paints once I was done with high school, but tried to make sure they never went on direct skin) and the irritations calmed down. I use all natural things on my skin (and pray, of course (for the one that had a surgery)) and they're all clearing out.

Did you know that we absorb more toxins through our skin than through what we eat? So, eating healthy doesn't really do much if we're just going to be slathering out bodies with chemicals. It's not just about being health conscious on the outside, but on the inside too.

Let me tell you something that happened to Diana (founder of Terressentials), she was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma in the 1980s. I'm pretty sure the name of what she was diagnosed with doesn't make much sense to you so, I'll break it down. It's cancer of the lymph system due to chemical exposure (synthetic substances). She nearly died from this. Thank God she's still alive and she's okay now.

You may be fine now, but it's best not to take the risk of getting diagnosed with something that could almost take your life or reacting to things that could make you end up in a hospital getting a surgery or just feel uncomfortable. It's not worth it.

Many synthetic substances, especially the ones used on the hair, give the image of a healthier, more radiant you and yes, you may get that image, but underneath it all, you won't have it. It's like many synthetic substances. They coat the hair to make it appear healthy when it actually isn't. It's like getting a washed up, wrinkled cardboard box and sticking some wrapping paper over it to make it look good. Underneath that wrapping paper, the box is still not in a very good state and could give way. It's like getting a dying plant and painting all the brown leaves green to make the plant look healthy, but underneath that paint, the plant is still in a terrible condition and those leaves can and most likely will fall out and before they do, the unhealthiness might show through.

Every now and then, I wonder, how did our grandparents and ancestors survive? I see pictures of my grandmothers and I'm like, look at that beautiful, gorgeous, healthy head of hair and they have such good skin! Shampoos and a whole lot of the things we buy and use on ourselves didn't exist back then. Now that they do, and my grandmothers have purchased some of them, it's obvious that their skin and hair aren't like they used to be. My mum's mum and my dad's mum both use products with synthetic ingredients on their hair, but my mum's mum only manipulates her hair every 9 months (believe it or not) so, here hair only gets exposed to these things every nine months, but my dad's mum's hair gets exposed to these practically every week. I took down my mum's mum's weave in November and her hair (once detangled and spritzed a bit) looked, pretty good. Whenever I see my dad's  mum's hair, it doesn't look half as healthy. My mum's mum's skin, looks healthier than my dad's mum's (and my mum's side of the family is the one with the sensitive skin). My mum's mum uses more natural things on her skin than my dad's mum. Still, none of them have the skin and hair I saw in those pictures anymore. Why?

BACK IN THE DAYS, when synthetic skin and hair products didn't exist, people used all natural things on their skin and hair and they looked so good!

Indians, most of them are into ayurveda and look how healthy and super long their hair is!

I believe God gave us these natural things for a purpose - health and wellbeing. They're a gift to us.

I am switching up my hair products again not just because some were discontinued, but because I noticed one chemical in them and I also noticed that my hair felt much better just using amla to cleanse it than using a sulfate-free shampoo. Amla's all natural and the shampoo had a chemical in it. I'm switching up my skin care products too because....well, all I basically use on my skin nowadays is a shower/bath gel and deodorants only when I have to leave the house and I'll be out for long (I'm currently in a hot country and I rarely leave my house). Deo's rarely 'cause I react to them (Sure, Dove, Nivea, you name it). 

I have found an online store (there are physical stores of it too, but they're in America and I don't live there) that sells hair and skin products with only natural ingredients (I've checked out their ingredients lists). I won't mention their name so you don't think I'm being paid to advertise them, but if you contact me, I can tell you. I have read reviews of their products, deodorants, hair washes.... all good.

Anyways, the key to a healthier you in a healthier lifestyle on the inside and on the out.

Hair Crush: Yara Shahidi

You know her, you love her, she's Yara Shahidi!

Oh my days, isn't she so cute!

She was in Imagine That and Salt, if you were wondering where you might've seen her.

I love her hair. It's so beautiful!

Okay! So, to achieve this look, ensure your hair is properly detangled and stretchedpart your hair making something like the top three blades of a fan or one of those kiddies wind mills (make sure the parts are curved), the third one being just beside the middle of your hair. Next, make random, but neat sections in the hair and make medium-sized box braids throughout your head of hair, but only braiding about an inch of your hair (make sure you don't cover up those three parts you made earlier). After that, work some shea butter, or a light gel into your hair (or just spritz your hair lightly with some water (don't spray enough to make your hair revert) and wrap the hair that was left out (the rest of the braided hair) round flex rods. Once your hair is dry or has fully set (about an hour or two), take down the flexi rods. Move your hair so it lies in a way that it flows downwards towards your back and at the front, hold the hair after the first and second blades you created and about one or two behind them in a small pony tail holder wrapping a thin piece of braided hair round it or just old it off with a piece of braided hair (forget the ponytail holder) and then hold off a few on the opposite side of your hair (after the third braid). Make sure your hair still flows down towards your back (and not your face).

Slick down your edges and.....

.....Voila! that's it! 

Hair Crush: Kerry Washington

Kerry in Django

She is popularly known as Kerry Washington, but now that she's married, she's Kerry Asomugha. Kerry, if you ever see this, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOU AND NNAMDI'S WEDDING! (I know this is coming really late :) )

She was in Django too! D'you recognise her from any other movie? Yup! that's right! She was in Save The Last Dance! Woohoo! Kerry!

I absolutely love her hair! It's long and healthy even with all the manipulation it gets due to her acting job (having to be straightened, curled, put in a weave.....). To not lose her natural curls due to all the heat, Kerry says that she deep conditions often.

Okay! now, to achieve this look, for some people, they could just do a wash 'n' go, moisturise and stretch and they're good to go! For others, try a flat-twist out on already stretched (and moisturised) hair. Make the twists in small sections and take them down moving in the opposite direction from the way you twisted your hair. You might want to curl the ends of the twists with thin perm rods for a better effect around the ends. Part your hair a few inches down the middle (from the front), take the hair on each side, turn them towards the back and pin in place or hold with a pretty barrette or ponytail holder.

Voila! You have the look! Or something similar to it 'cause no two natural curls are ever exactly the same :)

Hair Crush: Danièle Watts

Danièle in Django

I watched Django yesterday and like there was no way I could not have noticed Danièle's hair. It's amazing! Gorgeous! Looks great! Oh, my days!To achieve this look, for all you curlies who want to try it out:

• Ensure your hair is fully detangled, moisturised and stretched (with a (flat) twist out for best results).

• Comb and pick your hair out into a gorgeous, big afro then hold up in a puff. Use knee-high's to create the puff so you can control how tight your hair is held up.

• Smooth a butter (could be a shea butter mix) or a light gel (could be aloe vera gel) over the part of the hair that's held down to achieve the puff. Smooth it in an upward motion (moving up the puff) making sure you get your edges to lie flat.

• You could use the side-edge of denman brush or a comb to help give your edges that slicked-back look without creating tension on your hair.

• Get a big, simple bow and pin it right infront of your puff.

Voila! and there you have it! Danièle's gorgeous updo! :)

New things I've learnt during my journey

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Okay! so, during my journey, I've noticed that when I am trying to grow my hair out like I'm setting  my mind on that goal, I don't notice any hair growth. However, when I'm just working towards healthier hair and I don't really bother myself about my length, when I do, randomly hand-stretch my hair or style it, it is obviously longer (and looks better).

I believe everyone's goal should be healthy hair and not hair growth. The thing is, the health of your hair is essential when it comes to hair growth. Unhealthy hair will not prosper unless you have some miracle to keep that hair intact, but it still will not look that good. Close your eyes and picture these (okay! don't close your eyes, you can't possibly read this if your eyes are close!), BSL, stupidly unhealthy hair and BSL, amazingly healthy hair. Which would you prefer? The healthier hair, of course. If you manage to grow out your hair and it is very unhealthy, you could lose that hair to breakage as the hair goes because their would be more weight than the fragile, weak hair strands can hold. Also, if you keep  watching your hair for growth, you won't notice it. It's like looking at your sibling everyday or staring at a tree everyday. Would you notice it's growth? No.

Okay! moving on! I've learnt that the roll, tuck and pin is like the best out-ish protective style ever. The last time I took down my hair, I did it. I took down my hair again this weekend and did it again and the thing is, I have a whole lot of versatility with this. Roll, tuck and pin with the hair looking like cornrows, roll, tuck and pin with the hair holding your hair up in a retro style, tuck, roll and pin giving yourself any classy and professional hairstyle, and you don't even have to comb your hair to do it! I've done it on twist-outs and I've done it on braid-outs and comb-outs and it always looks spot-on. Amazing. Majority of my ends are protected in this styles and if I decide to roll, tuck and pin, hiding my ends, all my ends are protected! Also, majority of your hair is protected in this hairstyle and it can last all day and you won't have to move hair out of your face or have much hair around that you could possible twirl between your fingers, embrace your hand-in-hair syndrome with, oh! and the best part! The amount of people who reach in and grab your hair falls drastically because your hair's not all-that out. People would still be curious about the texture, if the hair is real, but what are they going to get a hold of? This style is amazing with length retention. Oh! and I've slept with my hair in it, woken up and my hair was just fine! I just loosely twisted the bit of hair I left untucked and pinned in the style, loosely tied a satin scarf over my hair and secured it with a head band round my head (so the scarf doesn't slip off). Woke up, took down the scarf, untwisted, separated the hair that was in the twists and voila! Just as good, if not better, than before I slept.

I have decided to go easy on the sulfate-free shampoos. Like, I'm not going to purchase as many bottles this year, I'm going to opt for co-washing and amla, if I have build up and if I can't wait with the amla application process or something, then, I will use my sulfate-free shampoo. My conditioner has been discontinued (:() So, I'm going to try out Karen's Body Beautiful. However, if you could recommend a good conditioner for me, I'll be grateful. Just leave a comment with it's name below. Oh! and I prefer to use all natural/organic products.

I am back on my beloved Aloe Vera Gel and loving it! Because of its pH value, my cuticles lie flat, my hair holds moisture, looks good, holds styles and looks healthier in general and I do not get even the whiff of stiffness, crunchiness or dryness from it. I got the aloe vera gel from an aloe vera leaf from the aloe vera plant at my grandmother's house. I extracted the gel and mashed it up with a fork breaking it up, put in a few drops of my newly made, homemade rosemary oil (another thing I'm revisiting) and chucked it into the fridge (in a bowl, of course).

Oh! yeah, I learnt to be pH conscious! :) That covers the aloe.

Another thing I've learnt is that my mixtress days were good. I'm going back to making my hair products (apart from the shampoo and rinsing conditioner) and I'm making them now 'cause I don't want to be stressed out and not have time to do them when I move out.

Okay! so that's it!

Oh! and also, the longer I go without combing my hair (including finger combing), the better and if I do need to comb my hair, the longer I go without using a wide toothed comb or any other comb or brush, the better.

Save the strands!

Make the hair healthier!

And every big day is going to be a day with longer hair! (if you know, what I mean....umm....okay)

Bye, for now!

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My Hair Care and Maintenance Presentation

If you've been following my tweeter feed, you'll know that yesterday (evening), I got a text and in it I was asked to make a presentation on hair care and maintenance today. So, I just got home from it a few minutes ago. It was pretty good, actually. I demonstrated stuff on my hair right there without even looking at my hair while doing them. I talked about a whole lot of stuff, but didn't go that in depth to like pH values and all that because of my audience. I actually had to try and really simplify it and use synonyms and stuff. It was all good.

I started off by saying, "good morning, everybody," and my voice sounded so nervous that everyone started laughing and I joined in. Lightened the mood a bit. I put up pics of my hair in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and showed that my hair didn't seem to grow longer (it was nape length in all pics and relaxed) and explained that that was because of my improper hair care back then. At the end, I showed two picture from my first month in my hair journey, one from my first year natural and four pictures from my second year (ending with a picture from the fundraiser I performed at). The pics showed some pretty obvious hair growth.

I was told that I might need to come back for a Q&A and to practicalise what I talked about, but I doubt that's going to happen. It's going to be on a Sunday and next Sunday is my last Sunday here in Africa and I haven't been asked to do it next Sunday.

Okay! So, the audience loved my presentation and a guy came to me after it to ask about his hair and how he could fix something (and other guys were nodding and getting tips for their wives during it). One thing that annoyed me was that the guy who asked me to make the presentation (I'll call him the host) came out after it and was like, "that didn't make any sense to me," all the ladies and the rest of the audience said that it did make sense. He then was like, maybe it's 'cause he's more or less bald. He then went on to say that each time he's seen me, he thought I looked rather unkempt. I was like, "what the heck?" but didn't say it out loud. I never leave my house without my hair being styled or held up neatly, 99% of the times he's seen me, my hair has been in a puff and I never wear messy puffs. I'm thee kind of person who spends about a half hour making sure my puff is perfect, I also do not leave my house without being dressed presentably. *sigh* All, but three of the peoplee in the audience knew me (they see me about once a week or so) and they've always thought I looked good. Once, they saw my mum with a scarf over her hair and they were like, "why didn't you style your mum's hair the way you styled yours today?" Some people try messing in my hair or try to figure out how I styled it and see if they can imitate it. Then he turned to my mum, mic still in hand and said that when he noticed my mum was doing something with her hair (that is, going natural), he was wondering if she was becoming more spiritual or what. Back here, there is a church called, "DeeperLife," the people there are said to act very spiritual. Here's how: they don't wear ear rings, don't wear nail varnish/polish, don't chemiccally alter their hair's texture, don'y wear trousers, et cetera. Anyways, so I was glad when my mum voiced out, right there, that she wasn't going natural for spiritual reasons. The guy was laughing thinking he was so funny, but he was the only one laughing. No one else found what he was saying funny. My mum, wore her hair in an absolutely beautiful twist out today! I put her hair in twists last week and she took them down this morning and styled her twist-out  in such a nice way.

Anyways, so I was pissed, real pissed with the host, but he is just one man and what matters is what the audience thinks and what God thinks, not what just one man does.

It annoyed me that I put so much effort into this anad he just laughs it off and says such things. If you follow my twitter feed, you'll know that I had been working on this and a graphic representation yesterday evening, when he sent the text till about 5:40am. I have been battling with some pretty bad insomnia so, I went to bed once I was done and 6am passed and I was still awake, 7am came and I was asked to get ready and head out so I could get there on time (no sleep). I was worn out, tired, my back hurt from standing while doing the graphic representation (hooked it up on a wall while working on it) and.....gaaah, he was so ungrateful. Even after giving me such short notice.

Anyways, I forgive him.

By the way, I was asked to speak there today because he heard that I got an award for my bkog and that award is, The Awesome Blogger Award  :) So, once again, thank you, Tia, for giving me that award. It's opening doors for me :)

Featured: CurlyHue - My Open Letter to Natural Hair Vloggers

You Tube has been an invaluable resource throughout my natural hair course. The ladies who take the time to make videos to share with us, all rock in their own special ways.

The only complaint that I have really, is that some don't seem to consider their D/deaf or Hard of Hearing audience.Vloggers, please do not forget your D/deaf audience. There is a massive amount of D/deaf & HOH people all throughout the country, and I am sure many of them are naturals...or wanna be, and can benefit from the information shared within those videos.

Imagine finding a natural hair video on You Tube, that you feel, just by looking at the title that your pressing question may finally be answered. So you click on the video, and once it starts, the Vlogger is speaking so fast you can't possibly rely on lip reading, and there is not a tap of captioning included, highlighting the main points. You're a little disheartened but not to worry, there is always the more info/description box, so you head there and its blank or gives you not a hint as to the break down of that video. 

I swear every time I find a video like that it feels like some D/deaf natural is somewhere relaxing her hair in frustration. 

Why is this important to me? Because I am a deaf natural & so are some of my friends. I can not tell you how many times I've been faced with the above mentioned scenario. Clear pronunciation, facing the camera when speaking,captions within the video or a detailed description box are treasures to me. Blogger/Vlogger Mae of Natural Chicis a wonderful exemplar of this! 

{Check out Caption Tube, and this helpful article on Mashable for video captioning help}


Another option could be that if you have a blog in addition to your You Tube channel, you can briefly summarize your video in a blog post. Nothing major, simply include the title of the video, ingredients & step order if it's a tutorial. If it's a review, tell us whether or not you'd use the product again, and if you'd like, a one or two sentence reasoning. Heck if you don't have a stand alone blog...send the info to me and I'll post it on Curly Hue(giving you full credit of course). Just do something... just don't leave us out.

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Okay! So, to the natural hair vloggers that follow my blog or just check it out now and then, please, please, summarise your vids in your blogs or in the description boxes below your videos, or simple add captions to your videos.

Thank you! :)


Check out Curly Hue's Blog!