Update on my hair

Picture from De Piramide

Heyo!

Sorry for totally being M.I.A on this blog. I'm here now, so.....UPDATE TIME!

Yeah, so, my hair is actually past APL (ArmPit Length) now. It's not quite ate BSL (Bra-Strap Length) yet. I'm so excited by it's length, though! Eeep!

I am currently stretching out my hair with some African threading which is awesome. I started stretching out after washing out my deep conditioner and showering and then before going to bed, I undid some of the threaded hair, separated it and rethreaded it for that 'super stretched' effect. My hair looks practically straight and like, y'all know I love big curly hair to bits so, I guess I probably will add a bit more texture to it before the New Year's party tomorrow (it's now the 30th in England) by bantu knotting it or something. Maybe I might even try out a new hairstyle.

So, yeah, here's what I've done with my hair post-take down (in case you forgot, I had crochet braids in and I normally would keep them in for about 4 months before I redo them):

• I took down my hair yesterday (day before yesterday) and it like took less than an hour to get all the extensions out and my hair down which was awesome. If you need tips on this, let me know 'cause like it took 30mins, if not less to take down my hair and it usually would take me over an hour to do that.
• I worked some Extra Virgin Olive Oil into my hair as I detangled it using a wide toothed comb straight after taking down my extensions. I still had my spray bottle of coconut oil and water nearby, but I didn't use that because, I experience A LOT of shrinkage when my hair gets wet (like my hair can shrink up to my ears) and, well, it's easier to detangle my hair when it's stretched out although I could easily hand-stretch it while combing or melt the tangles away with the water as my tangles melt away easily. However, I had a little it of dirt in parts of my hair from not washing it out as often as I should've with the extensions in (got way too busy with school and work and stuff) and I didn't want dirty water dripping everywhere.
• I put my hair in random twists, donned on a plastic bag covered by my satin scarf and went to bed. So, basically, I prepooed. I did this for three reasons. 1) I was lazy and didn't want to bother with my hair anymore that night so I decided not to wash it then, 2) My hair takes almost a full 24hrs to dry especially if I decide to wear it in a wash and go (which is rare for me, but....) and 3) I felt that prepooing will help melt away any tangles that might still be in there and make the washing process easier.
• This morning (yesterday morning), I woke up and went straight to my bathroom where I washed my hair with my BeeMine Botanical Shampoo (sulfate-free, 100% natural and organic ingredients) twist section by twist section. This made washing my hair much easier, faster and ensure that every inch of my scalp and hair was clean 'cause as y'all know, some times, people wash their hair and don't wash it properly so there are like a few random parts that have lint in them or something or parts that can make your finger feel sticky or your nail get dirty ("I ain't about that life").
• Next, I conditioned my hair with three different conditioners. Yup! I did. I first used my BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner followed by some of the VitaNourish conditioner that was sent to me (to review) by Midas Naturals. I worked this in my entire hair and then rinsed it out. Why did I do this? No reason, really. I like MidasNaturals' products and I liked the results I got from them when I initially used them (for the review) so I wanted to use that HOWEVER, I was sent a small bottle of the product and I have a lot of hair so....yeah. With the BeeMine conditioner, I brought a practically empty bottle home with me and I hadn't used that product in a while so I decided to just use it too combined with the MidasNaturals conditioner. Moving on....
• After rinsing out the conditioner combo going on in my hair, I used some of my SheaMoisture Restorative Conditioner to finger detangle, further soften and condition my hair (I just felt that my hair needed some tender loving care). I worked in the conditioner and finger detangled twist section by twist section and then I rinsed it out without taking out the twists to rinse then retwisting. Why? 1) Too much work and 2) I'm not so big on thoroughly rinsing out conditioners from my hair especially when the conditioner contains just natural ingredients.
• After the whole process my hair had undergone so far, I decided to treat it to one of my favourite products and the only deep conditioner I have ever used on my entire head of hair since I went natural (y'all know my and my 100% natural ingredients thing so, yeah, I always made my own deep conditioners prior to trying this one (for the review) and I only used this on my entire head of hair back then because I liked its ingredients list (normally, I'll use <1x1cm section of my hair to try out DCs or products I'm sceptical about)). I used the MidasNaturals Shine Conditioner. I absolutely love this product! Its consistency is on point, its smell is on point and its results are ON POINT. A little goes a long way with this product. I don't have a lot of it left as I got a small jar sent to me (looking forward to purchasing a larger jar of it) and like I've said before, I have a lot of hair so, yeah, I was glad that I could still get awesome results from just using a little of it.
• I left the conditioner in for a little over an hour before rinsing it out. This was because I wasn't in the mood to get back to the bathroom to rinse it out as my head had been feeling weird and I had woken up feeling terrible (I think I had my scarf on a little too tight when I slept or the heat going on up in the plastic bag combined by temperatures rising here while I was asleep and under a thick quilt (aka continental quilt, duvet, doona or comforter) messed up with my body). So, yeah, I got some breakfast (at around 3:11pm), chilled on a teddy bear that's almost my height (and I am much taller than the average height for women here in England), listened to a friend and my cousin play the drums (at first, I couldn't stand it because of how I was feeling and then when I started feeling better, it became more appealing to me), texted a friend and then I went to rinse out the DC and have a proper shower (and change out of the weird clothes I had been in (disappointing combination)).
• After rinsing out the DC, showering and changing into sweatpants and a comfortable top, I began to take down the twist (I forgot to mention, I rinsed out the DC with my hair still being in twists (I applied the DC taking down the twists first, though)) and African thread my hair to stretch it out because like I said before, my hair shrinks A LOT and up to my ears. I'm not a fan of horridly shrunken hair on me, neither was I up for wearing a wash and go or having to detangle my hair again any time soon. So, yeah, I threaded my hair.
• Before heading to bed, I took down the threads individually and separated my hair using just my fingers before rethreading to get my hair from collarbone length to almost APL without being 100% straight.

So, yeah, that's it.

I probably will leave my hair in the threads all tomorrow and in the morning of the day after to avoid manipulating my hair often and to retain this stretch for as long as possible (also, I need to be able to study and not worry about my hair).

I will be reinstalling my crochet braids (with new extensions identical to the old ones) before I head back to the west country (basically, back to college) and my aunt will be reinstalling them for me which is a process that makes me rather nervous haha (the pain!). I probably will go over to her place with my hair threaded to minimise the pain when she combs with a fine toothed comb (don't know why she does that) and does whatever she needs to do to install the extensions.

Anyways, it's really late now.

Gotta sleep.

Adios!

~Sammy

Detangling

Picture from GlobalCoutureBlog.net

I am here to give you hope about detangling.

Okay! So, I am still in a protective style at the moment, but I am going to talk about my experiences each time I took down my protective style (especially the last one).

As your hair gets longer, detangling gets easier. Like whaaaaat?! I never believed this till I experienced it. Okay! So, it's easy to detangle when you wear your hair short and then it's harder during that in-between stage (between long and short hair) and then it's easy again!

Last I knew, my hair was just a little past APL length. I took down a protective style (after protective styling for 4 months straight (I washed my hair while it was still in the protective style, don't worry) and like, I just needed a spray bottle with some ACV and water, my fingers and a shower comb to take out the tangles on the first day I washed my hair with the protective style out to detangle and then like, skip to the next time I washed it. Imagine super tangled hair that has been worn in all sorts of styles and has reverted and become all shrunken due to the ever present drizzle here in England. Yup! That was my hair. Guess what? I just sectioned my hair into 4 sections, got in the shower, turned the water on and as it went onto each loose section, I would hold my hair out gently (stretching it) and then run my hands down it with my thumb pressed into the section and my tangles are gone! Like, I just have to do the whole hand-thumb thing to get out shed hair! I don't need tools to get my hair 100% detangled anymore!

Okay! So, like I said, I'm just posting this to give you guys hope! The struggle will soon be over. I am glad that I do not have to spend 1.5hours detangling my hair anymore! :)

Can't wait till my hair is even longer! (I do see some new growth under my protective style, though :) )

Being real with you

Hey,

Sorry for not posting in a while.

Okay, so I am going to be real with you guys. I am not going to give the impression that I have everything under control and that my hair is 100% healthy and moisturised because honestly, it's not. Well, I can get it there though. You see, I haven't really bothered with my hair in a while. I have been focussing more on work and working out and well, those are important especially the work bit as I teach a class at a prep school starting from 8am on Thursdays and Fridays, I've been made a charity representative so I plan a lot of charity events and host many of them, I have tonnes of school work as this is my last year of college, I recently took up a job in a place not so far from my school, I perform often, I have rehearsals twice a week till night for a musical I auditioned for a while back, I have rehearsals for other things too and my vocal coach recently signed me up for 3/4 competitions. I'm also ensuring my health stays up as for once, I am healthy. So, yeah, I've been neglecting my hair a little too much.

My hair is dry, I snap knots I feel in it some times, I fiddle with it a little too much at times and well it is growing, I have about an inch of new growth, but the health of my hair has deteriorated as I only have time for it during the holidays now.

So, this is me telling you all that I don't always have everything under control. I am not some superhuman natural hair blogger. I'm just like you, sometimes, I have everything down, other times, I don't.

I am going to nurse my hair back to health once everything settles down a bit (and I take down my protective style) and yeah, I will be happy with the condition of my hair once again.

I don't like neglecting my hair, but I'm not going to lie to you all or  deceive you and make you think that I never neglect my hair because I do at times.

This is me being real.
~Sammy

Midas Naturals Product Reviews!

Picture gotten from MidasNaturals.com

Yes! I've finally gotten the review up!

So, I didn't use all the products in the pic above. I just used the hydrating mist, whipped shea butter and conditioner so that's all I'm going to review (but I'll do a shampoo review once I receive the shampoo).

Overall Review:
I like these products because their ingredients lists are awesome. All-natural ingredients, amazing right? (the ingredients that don't look natural are naturally-derived (derived from plants) I also like that they did not leave my hair feeling weird or stripped both during and after application and please don't say, "oh, Sammy, a conditioner, hydrating mist and whipped shea butter can never leave your hair feeling weird or stripped," because I have used a conditioner that has left my hair feeling weird and stripped before.
I would SO be willing to try other products from MidasNaturals! :)

Individual Review:

Shine Conditioner
Price: £10.39 for the next 5 days (then it's back up to £12.99) for a 250ml jar.

Ingredients -  Aqua, organic shea butter (butyrosperumum parkii), avocado (persea gratissima), emulsifying wax NF, sweet almond oil (prunus dulcis amara), potassium oleate, potassium cocoate, potassium citrate, palm free vegetable glycerin, coconut oil (cocos nucifera), keratin amino acid, phenoxyethanol, anthem gum. PH balanced. Free from: paragons, silicones, sulphates, DEA, petrolatum, mineral oils, pthalates, gluten, fragrance

When I received this conditioner, I thought it was simply just a rinsing conditioner, but it's even more.

Okay! So, on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is "terrible" and 5 is "totally amazing!" I will rate this product on the following things:

• As a detangler - 2
• As a rinsing conditioner - 5
• As a deep conditioner - 5

The smell of this product is light and not bad, at all.

Applying the product is easy and most definitely not messy and unlike some products that drip uncontrollably from your hair, this product does not drip.

It's consistency is slightly thick which is good not just for application purposes but also because for my hair, it's perfect. Things that are too light basically do nothing noticeable for my hair and things that are too heavy....lets just say that both my hair and I hate them.

Oh! oh! Although my hair looks shiny often, on wash day (after washing), it doesn't look that shiny, but today, it did :)

*Would I buy this product: YES!

*Would I recommend this product: Heck, yeah!

Whipped Shea Hair Butter

Price: £10.79 for the next 5 days (then it's back up to £13.49) for a 250ml jar.

Ingredients -  Aqua, organic shea butter (butyrospermum parkii), avocado oil (persea gratissima), coconut oil (cocos nucifera), emulsifying wax NF (cetearyl alchohol & polysorbate 60), olive oil (olea europaea), argan oil, crambe seed oil (abyssinica), organic palm oil (elaeis guineesis), stearic acid, xantham gum, phenoxyethanol, vanilla cream fragrance oil. PH balanced. Free from: parabens, silicones, sulphates, DEA, petrolatum, mineral oils, pthalates, gluten

I first tried this while I still had my crochet braids in. I used it on my edges and liked it so, I couldn't wait to use it on the rest of my hair.

On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is "terrible" and 5 is "totally amazing!" I will rate this product on the following things:

• As a styling product - 4
• As a sealant - 5

Although the product description refers to the butter as, "thick," I don't consider it to be thick because I have a jar of shea butter my grandmother sent over to me from Africa and that thing is THICK! I would describe this product's texture as nice and fluffy, not too thick and not light.

It's smell is light and nice.

Application is easy, HOWEVER, it is hard to get the whiteness off like to work it into your hair fully. However, if your hair was damp during application and you worked it in till you decided to just let it be, the whiteness will go once your hair dries (or is 90% dry).

*Would I buy this product: Yes

*Would I recommend this product: Yes

Hydrating Hair Mist

Price: £9.99 for the next 5 days (then it's back to £12.49) for a 250ml bottle.

Ingredients - Organic aloe vera leaf juice (Aloe Barbadensis), solubizer, blackberry extract (rubus fructicosus), rich vanilla cream fragrance PH balanced. Free from: parabens, silicones, sulphates, DEA, petrolatum, mineral oils, pthalates, gluten

I will start by saying that I love that this comes out like a mist and not like the Niagara Falls. There are many times I have expected something to come out as a mist and instead it's like I'm being fired with water pistols that let out quite a lot of water, but this isn't like that.

I first tried this while I had my crochet braids in too and when my edges felt dry, I used this to hydrate it especially if I'm in a rush. I can't remember if I ever used this alone (I think I always quickly followed up with the whipped shea butter after working this in).

Anyways, on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is "terrible" and 5 is "totally amazing!" I will rate this product on the following things:

• As a hydrator - 4
• Balancing your hair's natural pH value - 5

This product smells okay.

Water is said to be the best hydrator however, I wash my face with just water and my face goes right back to peeling if I don't get some oil or something on it quickly. Water sometimes, makes my hair feel hydrated and moisturised, but I think this does a bit of a better job than the water that comes out of the taps and showers here.

I like that using this, my hair does not really revert even though this product is in the form of a liquid. Like, the other day, I was remoisturising my hair (I had it stretched out using threads) and this mist barely did a thing to revert my hair while a tad bit of my conditioner (not by MidasNaturals) made it revert a whole lot and that wasn't even a leave-in conditioner!

I like that most of the product is aloe vera juice because my hair just adores anything from the aloe vera leaf!

This product does not drip off of your hair after application.

*Would I buy this product: Yup

*Would I recommend this product: Mmh-hmm

En Fin

Like I said at the start of this, I would love to try other products by MidasNaturals and there is a high chance that I'll purchase these products the next time I'm restocking on hair products. There is a higher chance that I'll buy the Shine Conditioner than I will the other products (no particular reason).

I love these products!

To any company manufacturing and selling natural hair products, I am willing to review your products and if your products has all-natural ingredients, there is a high chance I would not use it on just a small portion of hair on the back of my head, but on my entire head of hair (just being honest). Contact my via the email address on my Contacts page on this blog if your would like me to review your products.

I will not purchase your products to review if you ask me to review them as there is always the possibility that my hair might dislike them so, please, if you would like me to review your products, send me a trial-size/sample bottle or container of them.

My hair post-crochet braids takedown

Picture gotten from HerCampus

So, I took my hair down a week ago, on Monday, and got too lazy to wash it so I detangled it the next morning finger detangling first then spritzing with apple cider vinegar, working some coconut oil in and running a comb through working in small sections and holding my hair in a stretched position. It was a pretty easy detangle. I've never had a detangling experience that good! I washed it immediately after using my BeeMine Botanicals Shampoo and then conditioned it with my BeeMine BeeLovely Conditioner followed by my Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner then I deep conditioned with my Terressentials Mud Wash (hehe ;) ) and worked out while deep conditioning to ensure some "steam" goes on in that plastic bag. I rinsed out the mud and reconditioned using a little of my Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner. I worked in small sections throughout and always retwisted and bantu knotted after working on each section to keep my hair stretched and make it easier to work with my hair.

Okay! So my mum African threaded my hair that night and I was too lazy to take out the threads the next day or to redo it for a "super-stretched" look so I left the threads in for two days and then took them down on Saturday, combed out my hair which was hanging down my back already and left it like that. However, my hair got big, like REALLY BIG and looked like a gigantic afro within a few hours. It looked pretty awesome and pretty cool and I'm pretty glad it retained its stretch even after doing that.

That night, I put my hair in random braids to retain the stretch, donned on a satin scarf and went to bed. This morning, I combed it out and held it up in a puff with some bangs and tried slicking down my edges. My puff looked pretty good. It was HUGE!

I love my hair!! :)
Gaah! :)

~Sammy

p.s Going to try out the product sent to me by Midas Naturals this coming weekend! :) SO EXCITED!!!! :)

Beauty Vlogger Donates Her Hair To ‘Locks Of Love’ Before Cancer Treatment [VIDEO]

Written by Ty Alexander of HelloBeautiful

I’ve always admired beauty vlogger, Meechy Monroe. She started blogging in 2010 and has managed to turn what most call a hobby into a lucrative business that has her traveling the world to talk about her natural hair story. But recently, that story took a drastic change that she could have never expected.

I sat and admired Meechy’s pictures for hours this morning. I read her blog post over and over again. Then I watched a tearful yet fearless video that she posted on her Youtube channel. The flood gates opened, I cried uncontrollably. Instagram is literally going bonkers, and rightfully so, surrounding the hashtag#GetWellMeechy. After being absent from her blog and social media for months, Meechy announced that she had been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.

It all started with a mysterious life-changing stroke which led to two brain surgeries, radiation and chemo therapy. This also left Meechy with Aphasia, a disturbance of the delivery of language not linked to a loss of intelligence.

But what happens next is selfless, courageous and speaks volumes to the meaning of humanity.

Putting aside her own needs and feelings, she managed to think about the millions of other individuals plagued with cancer. Meechy carefully shaved her gorgeous tresses, which made her a popular Youtube sensation, and donated them to “Locks Of Love.”

Most of us never think we could ever survive an unthinkable experience like Meechy’s. We assume that we’re never strong enough to go through something like this. But if you’re like me and you believe in the power of human connection than you know we are all capable of the unthinkable with the helping hands of our friends, family, and even strangers. Even from afar we can all support Meechy and let her and her family know that she is not alone.

SO, HOW CAN YOU HELP MEECHY:

• You can help support by donating here  http://bit.ly/donate-meechy-monroe
• You can also send her encouraging notes and letters using this email address:GetWellMeechy@gmail.com
• You may send tokens of sympathy or written letters to: P.O. Box 286621, Chicago IL 60628.

#TeamBeautiful sends our well wishes to the Monroe family.

Meechy's Medical Expense Fund

Hey naturals,

So, incase you don't know Meechy, she's a natural hair and beauty YouTuber and so happens to be MsVaughnTV's sister.

Meechy has been sick for some time now and a couple of months ago, it was discovered that she has a rare form of brain cancer.

So, readers, please, please keep Meechy in your prayers.

Also, if you can make a donation on her GiveForward page, please do and if you can't please pass the link on to others.

Thank you.

~Sammy

Curly Men

         
           

Hey,

Ladies, we are the only one in the limelight (or we're mainly the ones in it). I don't think we've ever stopped to realise that some guys have really amazing curls and kinks, though! I mean, most guys are natural, but most of them also don't give a hoot about their hair's health. Let's celebrate the ones that do. Let's celebrate the ones that are putting themselves out there. Let's not just celebrate our heads of hair, but theirs too! :)

So, I'm going to feature some curly guys on my blog this summer! So excited! Eeep!! :)

~SammyWithTheBigHair

"The Best Thing That Happened to Her Was Weave"

I have heard that said to or about people and I have even read it online. Harsh much? Yes.

To me, basically, that statement means that girls aren't naturally beautiful and need fake things to look good. How disturbing.

What are you thoughts on this?
Weigh in!

My Reaction to the Ebony.com Article, "White Women on #TeamNatural? No, Thanks"

Okay! I'll start by saying this, I'm pretty sure some of you have read the article on Ebony.com titled, "White Women on #TeamNatural? No, Thanks." Please remember, what it says is just Jamila's opinion and not that of Ebony.com (I hope).

So, here's a summary of it, "The black hair movement does not need to be racially diverse."

My Reaction

Whaaaaaaat? Hol' up! So, are y'all being racist? Are y'all discriminating against white women? No? But you want them excluded?
Wait! So, black women were made slaves, told they were not beautiful and started slapping on some creamy crack, skin bleach, et cetera because they wanted to seem more white, "more beautiful"? Now, they're standing up for what they have and embracing it and their beauty so white people have to stay out? Umm.....hol' up! How many slaves does Sarah (lady mentioned in the article) have? How many black people has she mistreated? Don't make her suffer for what her ancestors did.
And black ladies need to stop victimising themselves. I'm not saying racism has ended completely because we all know it hasn't, but black ladies need to realise that they need to stop saying things like, "people don't consider black women as beautiful" because I have heard of many black women that are said to be beautiful and I, someone who looks like a full-black, have been told that I am beautiful by both white and black people.
Stop making it seem like black ladies have it SO BAD and whites have it SO GOOD! Stop making it seem like straight hair is SO EASY to take care of. I have seen that it isn't.

Many white women struggle with their looks. As a matter of fact, many white, Asian or Arabic ladies who we think are naturally straight are actually naturally curly. I have a Japanese fried who surprised me when she told me that she gets a relaxer when she gets noticeable new growth (and I did see her new growth a couple of months ago and it was curly). I have an Arab friend who pretty much detests her curly hair and wishes she was born with straight here. I have a WHITE friend who straightens her hair every. single. morning. because she believes people find straight hair more beautiful than curly hair. BLACK women have felt and some still feel the same way so what makes them any different from the blacks when it comes to this hair thing?

So....what is this thing we call, "natural hair"? Basically, it is our hair in its natural texture/has not undergone a texture-change with the use of chemicals. We have made that term, "natural hair," relate to just curly hair now, aye? So, Sarah has curly hair. She didn't always accept it, but now she does. Is she any less natural than any black woman that has been featured on CurlyNikki.com? I think not. If everything in the post/feature/interview/article about Sarah on Nikki's site was the same, but the pictures in that blog entry were that of a black woman would there be this controversy about the post? Will Jamila's article on Ebony.com exist? I think not.

Jamila works for Ebony.com and I'm pretty sure that recently, Ebony.com was (for the lack of a better word) celebrating that (Black) African writers are in the Vogue magazine. If I'm write, that magazine was started by a white person and bought over by a white person. If blacks are happy to be in a white person's thing, then why can't we be happy with a white person being in a "black person's thing?" Think about that. Remember! I'm not saying Jamila's opinion is the same as that of Ebony.com!

Seriously, to all the black people out there, if you really want racism against blacks to end, quit making statements like Jamila's, quit not accepting whites in what you consider to be a "black thing," quit discriminating against whites and quit discriminating against yourselves. And please note, I'm not saying that all blacks do this.

Lupita Nyong'o is Braidin'!!

Written by Vogue's very own Mackenzie Wagoner

Watch Nyong’o demonstrate her braiding skills in the video above.

On a recent Monday afternoon in June, Lupita Nyong’o is hovering above six of her closest friends, who are swiveling atop the black leather barber style chairs inside New York City’s sunlit Ludlow Blunt salon. They have come from all over the Eastern seaboard for the day to have Nyong’o braid their hair. “Lu’s ‘Do’s,’” they call out, referencing the Oscar-winning actress’s hidden talent for professional-level plaiting, before breaking into peels of laughter. “Four and a half stars on Yelp!”

As Nyong’o sets to twisting Bantu knots, sculpting dookie braids, and meticulously sectioning hair into cornrows, her friends close their eyes and lean to her will. It’s a ritual they’ve been taking part of together for over a decade, since the Kenya-bred actress made a vow to master the skill while attending Amherst’s Hampshire College after finding herself “morbidly disappointed” with braiding salons stateside. She vowed to learn how to style her own and held hopes of turning it into a money-making “side hustle” at drama school. It turned out to be neither; holding her arms above her own head for such a long time felt like “an act of madness,” she laughingly admits, and she didn’t have the heart to charge her friends.

What braiding did become was an unlikely asset for acting training—she credits the skill with keeping her awake during hours long classes at Hampshire and, later the Yale School of Drama, and for forging lasting, intimate relationships with the “genuine,” “honest,” “creative” friends who continue to “challenge me and require me to grow as a human being.”

The women in question are Jennifer Odera, a graduate student and childhood friend who, like Nyong’o, started having her hair braided when she was “itsy bitsy” in Kenya (where there were hairdressers “on every street corner”) in order to adhere to their primary school uniform dress code; Tashal Brown, an educator and Nyong’o’s roommate from Hampshire College; Yale classmates Miriam Hyman and Hallie Cooper-Novack,  as well as Stacey Sargeant, an actress whom she met while at the university; and Nontsikelelo Mutiti, a professor and artist who is currently hosting an art show revolving around the culture of braiding at New York City’s Recess gallery.

Upon seeing each other reunited for the occasion, their voices jump an octave and Nyong’o exclaims in excitement, “I’m going to cry!” They hug, they sing, they dance across the salon’s white tiled floor, but now that the braiding has commenced, they move into more meditative catch-ups, occasionally breaking for laughter when topics turn to Da Brat and Kris Kross—“I definitely wore my jeans backwards,” admits Nyong’o. When she finishes a friend’s twists, she brushes off her shoulders in jest.

Joking aside, it’s a painstaking process that Nyong’o takes seriously. “Your hair is your frame—it’s so important,” she says. And, she emphasizes, “braiding tells a story,” marking the body with a symbol of communal affection. As Mutiti says simply, “braiding connects.”

These days, as the growing responsibilities of life, family, and career take hold, the ritual remains precious between friends. “I’m really hoping the acting thing does work out,” says Nyong’o with a smile. “Then this can remain a hobby for those lucky few."

My Crochet Braids Regimen

So, I've had my crochet braids in for about 2-ish months now and it still looks fabulous.
I have a different type of extensions in this time and it's closer to my natural hair texture.

I haven't worked out as much since I got them installed so I haven't had to wash or rinse them out as often.

Here's my regimen:

• When I feel buildup on my scalp, that's when it needs to be cleaned. I either spray a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water between the cornrows or I make the mixture, get some on a cotton ball and gently move it up and down, left and right between each cornrow. I live the ACV in my hair overnight and gently rinse out in the morning. No conditioning.
• Every morning I refresh my curls with wet hands and whenever I wash my hands I dry them in my hair to refresh it some more. This has helped it stay defined and look good.
• I cut out tangles joining clumps of curls together and any flyaway-like strands of here at the bottom of each clump of curls.
• I work oily hands through the curls when it needs that extra shine.

I think that's all.

I've swam with this hair and I won't advice anyone to do that. It gets SO HEAVY! Ohmigosh! And the chlorine dries the extensions and your hair quite a lot too.

Summer Look Book

Hola chicas y chicos!

So, here's my summer look book with stuff I'm considering doing this summer!
So not gon' do all though!
Ain't nobody got time for that!

Faux locs

Marley Twists

Havana Twists

Stretched (NOT STRAIGHTENED) Hair

African Threading (Ghana Plaits)

Bantu Knot Outs

Three strand twist out

And that's a wrap!

What would you consider doing this summer?

~Sammy

After Insanity

Heyo!

So, y'all know I did the Insanity workout ("DID" I SAID, "DID!" I ACTUALLY DID IT AND FINISHED IT THIS TIME! OHMIGOSH!!). So, in this blog post, I am going to talk about my results and my future plans because I feel totally useless every night just sitting in my room or what ever. I need to continue working out daily.

Okay! So, Insanity started off well, and then we did plyometrics and I was like, "heeeeeeeeck no!" But I did it and kept up with the other workouts in month one always craving a Cardio Recovery, the day off, and looking foreword to the Recovery Week. So, Recovery Week came and that was a joke. Recovery, aye, Shaun T.? Stuff was still intense! But I didn't give up. Month 2 started with Shaun T's attempt to get me killed - Fit Test AND Max Cardio Circuit. I did it though, and kept craving Max Cardio Recovery, Core Cardio & Balance and the day off. Eventually, I finished the entire Insanity programme and I was as happy as.......ohmigosh!

I took pictures on my first day, at the start (I think) of month 2 and I am yet to take an after Insanity photo (that's bad, I know). In the first 2 set of pictures, I could see a difference. My body was WAY more toned! Looked really good. I was proud of it.

So, anyways, Insanity's over now and it ended with me having a bad knee. Yay! Fun! Not! It's painful! About a week or so after I was done with Insanity, my joints in me shoulders, elbows, wrists, both knees and my ankles started hurting. Like hurting enough to make me cry and spend most of my time in bed because it hurt to move. I don't think the joints issue has to do with Insanity, but hey! I have Nigerians in my family! Blame it on the I..I..I..I..Insanity, blame it on the I..I...I...I..I..I..I..I..I..I..Insanity! If they're reading this, they won't get the whole "Blame it on the Insanity" thing I just did. Hehe. Hey, family! :)

Anyways, so, I've decided that a week after ALL my joints are fine, I'm going to start a new BeachBody workout and it's going to be Shaun T's Rockin' Body! I couldn't decide between HipHop Abs and that, at first, but then I heard the soundtrack for Rockin' Body and I was like, "old school music! MY JAAAAAAM!!" and knew I'll have LOADS of fun burning 1,500 calories a day while jamming out to my favourite tunes. Gotta do what you love if it's of benefit to you!

So, yeah, that's all for now! :)
Stay natural! :)

~Sammy

Journey to a lil past APL

Picture Courtesy of ACurlyGirlAllTheDaysOfMyLife

Heyo!

So, first things first! Some people say, "don't count your transitioning days in how long you've been natural!" So, what does that make me? Two years natural? Dunno!

I transitioned for about 12 months. During that time, I got heat damage which I transitioned out of during those 12 months that I transitioned out of a relaxer. Two years? Is that right? So, I've been natural for 2-3 years? Okay!

So, anyways, y'all know my story! But I'll say it anyway:

SKIPPING THE BEGINNING OFCOURSE (the whole story about having a relaxer for most of my life, not being born with a hair manual, yada yada).

Okay! So, being natural wasn't the easiest thing and I guess I put my hair before other things in my life which was a terrible decision, of course, but my hair benefitted from it, I guess (though it would still have benefitted even if it wasn't the main physical thing in my life).  It took a while for me to decide what products I actually needed and how to work with them and it took a while for me to learn to work with my hair well and embrace the annoying things of being curly like shrinkage (the #1 annoying thing. The #2 is having your hair get stuck in things you walk past).

So, y'all know my goal had been BSL by the end of last year and unfortunately, I didn't get that. That was a bit of a downer. However, I've been on this protective styling journey that has helped in retaining quite a lot of length! You see, I'm a first-year college student (sixth form) and my mum thought it would be a lil stressful trying to take care of and style my hair while trying to get used to a new environment, teaching system, a bigger amount of workload and all so she had me decide to protective style. So, I was like, "okay, I'll get crochet braids done" and she installed them for me (I had mini twists in prior to that, but they were WAY too frizzy I had to take them down). I had my crochet braids in for about 4 months before I took them down, rocked my hair for about a week or two and then went back to them for about 3 months, took them down again, rocked my hair for a couple of weeks then put them back in. The second time I took them down, I had a lil past APL length hair! Oh me, oh my!

Okay! So, anyways, for 63 days, I did the Insanity Workout. Now, y'all might be like, "sixty-three??" Yup! the Insanity workout is advertised as a 60 days workout, but honey, it ain't! Count the days on the workout calendar! Stuff is 63 days long! They lied to me!! I finished this workout last month which means that I started it in March? I think? Can't remember? Too lazy to calculate? I believe the working out helped stimulate blood circulation in my scalp which in turn helped stimulate growth because I had quite a lot of new growth under my crochet braids before I took them down and noticed all that length. I have been off working out for a while now. I mean, I did Zumba once a week after Insanity, but I had a bad knee during the last week or so of Insanity and it got worse then about 3 weeks ago, my joints in my shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees (both) and ankles started hurting, I had to go for physiotherapy (been to it for about 4 weeks now) and I've had to see a doctor twice now so I've been off all workouts for a while now! I am going to pick up another workout that I'll do everyday a week after all this pain stops 'cause honey, it hurts to move.

Anyways, so that helped with my hair growth. Another thing that helped was that I started drinking more water which is really good. It's like watering grass. Water's gon' help those grass blades grow! Your hair's gon' grow if you water it and if you keep the soil (which is your scalp) hydrated! 

I also started eating WAY healthier! Although my guilty pleasure was popcorn and now it's ice cream. I'm not really a fan of ice cream (the only one I kinda actually like is Strawberry Cornetto), but if you live in Somerset or near Somerset, you would know that that place is HOT! Oh my gosh! It's like Nigeria all over again! (minus the perpetual smell of outside, the brown and grey skies (not blue!), the constant fighting, shouting, honking of horns, et cetera) I was sweating every night! You can't blame me for reaching out for some ice cream! I actually left where I live over there, walked for how many minutes, just to buy one Cornetto! Anyways, I felt sick afterwards. My punishment. With the popcorn, I ate it at night, which was bad, but that was just because that was when I had time to watch my series (Arrow, Vampire Diaries, The Originals and 24 (shout out to my fellow fans!)). Besides those guilty pleasures, I'm a healthy eater. I mean, I eat "grass" (a friend of mine calls my green, leafy salads, "grass"), I drink green juices (I have a bottle of it right beside me), I eat a bowl of fruits and/or veggies every night, when I make pasta, there's veggies in it, I cook clean (I avoid processed foods). When I eat what the school makes, I'm not sure what's in the food, but the food's not really unhealthy, I have one liquid meal a day (soups for lunch), I don't eat actual/cooked food after 5pm! And I have tried cutting off the popcorn, I actually deprived myself of it for a while (IT WAS TORTURE!! 'Cause I had a bag that stared me in the face whenever I opened up the cupboard to get some food ingredients). My popcorn was Metcalfe's Skinny Topcorn which doesn't have that many calories, doesn't have all that flavouring, preservatives and nasty stuff added into other popcorns. I did indulge in some toffee popcorns, but they make me feel sick, make my teeth feel weird and my fingers sticky and I hate sticky and dirty fingers (I've helped a friend teach a clay club for about 2 weeks now and I was like, "uugh! my fingers are dirty!" when the clay messed it up. I'm girly when it comes to dirt!). Anyways, the healthy eating benefitted my hair as it is stronger, shinier and longer (I eat loads of protein (eggs) for breakfast, which helps).

What else?

When I take down my crochet braids, I have my hair out on some days, especially when leaving my house, and then, I prefer to rock a bantu-knot out. If I'm staying indoors, psh! Ain't nobody got time to detangle, style or simply just manipulate my hair (no touching!)! I just leave it up in a satin scarf, how I slept. That helps retain length :)

Anything else?

Aah! My fingers don't get into my hair (new growth under my crochet braids), and if I have a bobby pin in, it stays in (as long as it's not in a position it can get tangled in my hair in while sleeping) and if I have my satin headband/hair ribbon in, it stays in because the more I put it in and take it out, the more my hair weakens. I mean, it's like bending and straightening out a piece of metal or plastic or something. It's gon' weaken and break!

Oh! oh! I drink green tea daily too! Had about 10 cups in one day to my best and closest guy friend's utter disgust. :) I drink it just 'cause I love it and well, in return of that love, it boosts my metabolism, which I read recently, could stimulate hair growth and it stimulates my hair follicles according to some university's research.

There's already quite a bit of new growth under these new crochet braids which I've had in for about a month or a little over that now. This could be as a result of the new green tea addiction and also because I cleanse my scalp with apple cider vinegar instead of washing it often with a sulfate free shampoo then conditioning. This prevents abrasion which can lead to breakage.

Anyways, this is longer than I planned for it to be so I'm going to stop here!

Gotta study!

~Sammy

Coming Soon

Heyo!

So, I'm going back to school on Wednesday and that means that there'll be no new posts on here till a month after then. However, I'm going to let you know what I have planned for you when I get back on here.

Okay! So, I have what can really be defined as 'long hair' right now so I'm going to talk about my journey to this point. APL and almost past it is a good length for someone who's been natural for 3 years especially someone who lost loads of inches of hair during that time.

Other posts would be on my plans for protective styling, but not, protective styling this summer. I feel like telling you my plans now, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut (or just stop my fingers from typing it out). I'll also have a post on how I got my hair to be SO SHINY! And what I did this holiday to retain as much length as possible.

And here's what I'm itching to blog about! Some products from Midas Naturals are being sent to me to try out and review. Midas Naturals is a new natural hair care brand that's made with all-natural ingredients. I have gone through the ingredients lists of some of their products (and researched on some of the ingredients I wasn't familiar with) they seem really good. Unfortunately, because of a little thing called, 'Bank Holiday,' I haven't received the products yet (but they should be here tomorrow) so I haven't tried them out yet, but I can't wait to try them out. I am currently getting my hair back in crochet braids and I'll be taking them down this July. Once they're out, I'll try out the products.

I love my Terressentials, yeah, but I don't always have the patience for it and it costs an arm and a leg to get it down to England. I owe my brother £50 for helping me pay to get it here. Customs and stuff are crazy!  I plan on not using my Terressentials every time I wash my hair to preserve it. It'll be like a treat for my hair. My previous sulfate-free shampoo has been discontinued so I'm looking for a new one and this could be it.

So excited! So, girls and guys, if you see this brand, buy the product, I think it's going to be good!

Can't wait till next month and can't wait till school's out this summer!! :)

DIY Whipped Shea Butter for Natural Hair + Skin

Written by CristinaC

Here's a simple, easy-to-follow DIY whipped shea butter recipe created by NaturallyCurly.com's Social Media and Community Manager, Evelyn, that even the most novice of Curly Mixologists could make at home. With a few drops of your favourite essential oils and a little bit of shea butter you can whip up a super creamy mix that's  great for sealing moisture into your skin or hair! 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 8 oz raw unrefined Shea Butter
• 1 Tbsp Jojoba Oil 
• Spearmint Essential Oil
• Lemongrass Essential Oil 
• Electric Beater 
• Ziploc bag

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the shea butter and jojoba oil in a bowl
2. Boil a pot of water and place your bowl inside the pot to create a double boiler, stir until soft
3. Add less than 10 drops each of spearmint and lemongrass essential oils
4. Whip the mixture with a handheld mixer 
5. Create a piping bag by placing a ziploc bag inside a large cup
6. Scoop the whipped mixture into a ziploc bag
7. Cut a hole in one of the corners of the ziploc and squeeze the mixture into a container

Watch the Video

Sad News...

It is quite sad to say that on the 9th of April, the natural community has lost our beloved Domineque Banks. Some of you might not remember her by hair actual name, but by her YouTube channel's name which is, "LongHairDon'tCare."

After many years of fighting this, Domineque died from Lupus, which is an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to fight the body's skin cells and tissues.

I am using this blog post not just to let you all know about the passing of Domineque, but to also create an awareness of lupus. The more we mention it, the more we create awareness of it and this is the key to finding a cure for it. I have an aunt living with lupus. I would love for her and other people living with this disease to have a cure for it.

May Domineque Rest in Paradise.

She helped so many of us and she brought such joy and happiness to people.

My sincere condolences to her family and loved ones.

To help donate to her funeral and cremation please follow this link: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/rmd4/in-memory-of-domineque-banks

Sandeey is Naturally Glamorous

The first prize winner of my giveaway, the beautiful, Sandeey!!

Here's my interview with her.

Enjoy!

And then check her out on her blog!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Sandeey and I am from Nigeria. I currently study in Oxford, United Kingdom.


How, when and why did you decide to start embracing your curls?
I was tired of relaxers and my edges were thinning. So a friend of mine convinced me to grow out my natural hair. I hesitated at first but when I researched and began transitioning, I felt good about my decision.


Did you ever feel insecure about your hair?
At my TWA stage, I was not confident about going out with my hair in public. This was mostly because I had always had long hair and did not know how people would see it. Also, at the time, most people I knew were not even dreaming of having natural hair. It took words of encouragement from my boyfriend at the time (husband now) for me to rock my hair.


What is your daily regimen (including your night-time routine)?
I use African Pride Shea Butter Miracle Leave in conditioner and/or SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, followed by Coconut oil. At night, I apply same but this is only when re-twisting for a twist out the next day.

What are your go-to hairstyles, which is your fav. and how do you achieve it?
I love braid-outs/twist-outs and also, the simple bun. I don’t think this needs much explanation. They’re probably the most basic styles a natural would know.


What are your must-have hair accessories and tools?
I cannot do without my tangle teezer-like brush, bristle brush, hair bands and hair-pins!


How do you deal with hair issues such as: breakage, shrinkage, length
retention and moisture?
I make sure my hair is always moisturized. I must confess that since day one of being natural, my hair breaks when styling. It’s a wonder how I have managed to retain length. Most of what comes out is shed hair but I notice the shorter hair, which I know is broken hair. From time to time, I trim my hair when I feel the ends are split. I also try to ensure my hair is moisturized all the time. This is a task for me because my hair seems to swallow and hide every product I apply. 

What products do you currently use, and how are they working for you?
Coconut Oil, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner, Nature’s Gentle Touch Deep Conditioner, Shea Butter, African Pride Shea Butter Miracle Leave in Conditioner, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, V05 heat protect styling spray, Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends, Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque

These products work for me and I will stick to them…for now. I love trying new products.


Hand-In-Hair syndrome an issue I have now only that....it's not my hand. Do you have this issue? Do people ask before touching your hair
or they just randomly reach out and touch (or grab) it? How does this make you feel? What is your reaction to this?

I no longer have hand-in-hair syndrome. I noticed that I have stopped wanting to play around with my hair at random times. People usually ask before touching my hair and I have no problem with that. I have problems with those who don’t ask and who touch it roughly oblivious to the fact that it took hours to get the style ready!!!! I usually voice out my anger.

What do you love the most about being naturally curly?

I love the fact that I can change my hairstyle daily and also, no need for salons!


Any advice for the natural teens, parents, kids and grandparents?

The best advice I guess is to be confident and treat your hair very gently. Natural hair is beautiful no matter what texture.


Any upcoming projects?

I see a natural hair salon in my future…

Where can we find you online?

You can find me on instagram @hairoflife

My blog address is: Hair of Life 

Also, my email address is hairoflife@gmail.com

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So, people, GO CHECK OUT SANDEEY!!

My Current Hair Routine and My Plans for my Regimen this Summer

Hello there,

So here's a quick overview of my current hair routine:

• I protective style (crochet braids) for about 4 months
• I wash my hair once a week or every other week depending on how much I workout and I workout 7 times a week nowadays so washing depends on how much work I have to do and not just how often I workout so, I wash my hair when I have little to no work to do at night.
• I detangle my crochet braids before washing and put them in twists or cocoon curls.
• On days that my hair looks messy and I can't wash it, but I need it to be presentable,  I run my fingers through it, get sections a bit wet and put it in cocoon curls then hold it up get a sating scarf round it.
• In the morning, if I had cocoon curls in, I take them down, separate and fluff out my hair. If I didn't have cocoon curls in, I would've had my hair in a pineapple so I just take down what's holding it up, if I have time, refresh my hair with damp hand, fluff out and walk out the door.
• Every now and then, when I have a few minutes to myself, I moisturise with water, coconut oil, my shea butter product and Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner.

*The above routine is not a routine I'll recommend for anyone. I'm just getting by with it.

• Between protective styles (when I take down my crochet braids), I deep condition with something that has protein and gives moisture, wash with my Terressentials mud wash, condition with Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner and seal with coconut oil.
• I style my hair in either a bantu knot out, a fake blow-out/afro, or I wear it in its shrunken state.
• Sometimes, I have to wash or co-wash twice during the week.

MY REGIMEN FOR THIS SUMMER!

• Detangle with tools (max.) once a week
• Deep condition for at least an hour with a deep conditioner that contains protein.
• Wash/Cleanse hair and scalp (with hair in medium sized twists) using Terressentials Mud Wash or BeeMine Botanicals Shampoo (sulfate-free) once a week.
• Co-wash at least twice a week with Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner (washing in sections of twists).
• Let the water soak in for a few minutes after washing then seal with coconut oil and a bit of Shea Moisture's Restorative Conditioner (used as a leave-in this time)
• Section hair and work homemade shea butter product into each section (in a downwards motion) to hold hair and encourage clumping spritzing the hair with water prior to applying the product if needed.
• Finger coil to further encourage clumping and let the coils air dry
• Separate coils after they've dried and fluff out with fingers or lift and shake roots with an afro pick.
• If finger coils don't stretch the hair out enough, twist and bantu knot (or simply just bantu know) the hair whilst damp and take down when dry.
• For a super-stetched/almost straight look, bantu knot, take down, separate and bantu knot again then take down and pick from ends to roots with an afro pick or wide toothed comb.
• Protective style = updos, havanna/marley twists (if possible), twists or african threading.

Hair Crush: Donedo

Is that hair beautiful or what? Okay! So, how do we get this gorgeous hair style?

• Wash, condition, detangle, moisturise and stretch out your hair (doesn't have to be 100% stretched)
• (On slightly damp to dry hair using product, if you wish) Put your hair in medium to large twists and either roll the ends up in perm rods or make cocoons at the ends by pulling down the twist gently, placing your index or index and middle finger about an inch above the hand being used to stretch the hair, folding your hair over your finger(s) once and rolling it round above your fingers, taking your fingers out, passing the excess hair through the hole and pushing downy he top of what you've created to temporarily hold it in place.
• Take down the perm rods, cocoons and twists and separate them then fluff them out (you could using an afro pick to pick them out).
• Get a head band or scarf around your head and move it up till all your hair is at the crown of your head. Fluff out your hair a bit more if you wish for it to look fuller.
• Lay down your edges with some product and/or brushing them down. And, voila!

You've got the look! You've got the look!

I love this undo! :)

Exercise and Hair

Hey y'all,

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been doing the Insanity workout. Stuff is intense! Lord, help me! I did day 25 today so I just have 35 days to go! Yay! But it gets harder :/

Anyways, I started to think today about how exercise helps the hair? I've known the answer to this for a while now, but I don't think I've ever blogged about it:

So, here's what it does. Exercise decreases stress and we all know that stress leads to hair loss and can lead to your hair line being damaged (ain't nobody got time for that). So, by exercising, we are keeping our scalp strong and helping our hair grow out healthy. Here's another fact. Exercise promotes blood circulation and if y'all know about scalp massaging, y'all know that blood circulation in the scalp aids in hair growth. So, by exercising, we are getting our scalp healthy, promoting circulation and.... Oh! and sweating helps take out toxins from your body!

So, I'm not saying that y'all need to do the Insanity workout. Do what you can. Be it running, cardio, zumba or pilates.

I'll leave you with my most recent workout routine and my workout routine when I get back to college next month:

Most Recent:
Monday - Insanity
Tuesday - Insanity
Wednesday - Insanity
Thursday - Running, Cycling, and going on a Full Body Worker for about an hour (going at least 5km) and maybe a lil ten minutes tummy workout or pilates then Insanity
Friday - Insanity
Saturday - NOTHING! I'M FREE!! (or running after kids (not mine) like I did yesterday :/)
Sunday - Insanity

When I get back to college:
Monday - Insanity
Tuesday - Insanity
Wednesday - Insanity
Thursday - Zumba for at least an hour then Insanity
Friday - Insanity
Saturday - NOTHING! I'M FREE!! (or running after kids (not mine) like I did yesterday :/ or walking down to town for some grocery shopping or to eat out with the girls)
Sunday - Insanity

I haven't missed a day of working out since I started the Insanity workout. Try your best not to miss whatever you plan to do on whatever day to workout. Consistency is good.

Have fun and exercise!