Shrinkage & Stretching (REVIEW!!!! = various stretching methods)

Gaah! January's already almost over? Just 1 day to go till February? Wow!

Anyways, hey everyone!
Today (well, yesterday), I decided to talk to you guys about stretching, stretching your hair/curls (not the err...exercise stretching thingy). Okay! so,  so far, I've tried stretching my hair by doing two strand twists (and three-strand twists), African threading (aka Ghana Plaits), basic braids (box braids), bantu knots, scarf&ponytail holder and setting rollers (there's another name for those, but I can seem to remember it right now.

My hair shrinks like A LOT! There have been some days that I go out rocking a beautiful afro, but by the next few hours, my hair's a frizzy mess or should I just say a shrunken frizzy mess. Someone once asked me, "did you cut your hair?" and I was like, "no." The same person then asked, "then why does it look way shorter," and I was like, "because it shrunk." I then held part of my hair and pulled it downwards to show it's actual length and that I didn't cut it and the person I was talking to was like, "oh, wow!" Some people just kept staring at my hair for a while after that. The person I was talking to has natural curls too, but a different curl type/pattern, plus, she doesn't have to deal with so much shrinkage (it's hard to notice if she even gets shrinkage). Anyways, so this led me to start trying to stretch out my curls. Here's a brief review on the following methods I tried:

• Two-strand (and 3 strand) twists: I did this while my hair was damp (you can find vids on how to two-strand twist and three-strand twist on YouTube). When it was dry and I had to leave the house, I took the twists down. I have to say, I liked the twist-out look it gave, but like when it comes to stretching and shrinkage, after a couple of hours, my hair shrunk. On a different day, I was bored so I decided to two-strand twist my hair. I didn't wet my hair before doing this because I felt kind of lazy and well, I wasn't planning on combing my hair (it was already detangled). When I needed to take out the twists, I took them out (obviously) and like it gave me that twist out look too, and my hair did seem a bit more stretched than when I did the twists with damp hair. Unfortunately, after a few hours, my hair shrunk (but not so much). When it comes to stretching my hair, I don't think twists would be my go-to method. They are good, but it takes quite some time for me to two-strand twist my whole hair.
• African Threading (aka Ghana Plaits): I have tried African Threading my hair with both wool and weave thread (not at the same time!). You can find vids on how to African Thread hair on YouTube (I recommend checking out the one on youtube.com/GirlsLoveYourCurls). I have to say that this is one of my go-to styles when it comes to stretching my hair. I love the soft waves/look it gives my hair, I like how my hair feels when I take them out, there are various ways to African thread and like some times, people think I have extensions in or I have some sort of weave when I do certain forms of African threading (with weave thread). When I African Thread my hair, it stays stretched way longer than when I two-strand twist my hair. The last time I African threaded my hair, I had it like that for a week before I took it out and I did it on damp (almost dry though, but still damp) hair.
• Basic Braids (box braids): I love the braid out look when I take basic/box braids down :) I always braid my hair wet and then let it air dry/dry naturally. Basic braids have helped stretch my curls and kinks each time I've done them, but, well, after some time (hours), my hair shrinks. I must say, I think basic braiding stretches my hair to about the same length two-strand twists do or sometimes, it stretched my hair more than twists. You can find vids on how to basic braid on YouTube (check out the one on youtube.com/GirlsLoveYourCurls)
• Bantu Knots: I'm not a huge fan of bantu knots and bantu knot outs, but I can do them. Bantu knots do stretch my hair, but my hair still shrinks after some time. At some point, bantu knots gave me sort of a curled-relaxed hair look. I didn't really like it, but it wasn't so bad. I have tried a combination of two-strand twists and bantu knots (twisted my hair then bantu knotted that twisted hair). The -out look it gave looked kinda nice, but it's not a look that'll be like my go-to style. Also, bantu knots are not my go-to method for stretching my hair, but it works wonders for some people.
• Scarf&Ponytail Holder: First, I'll explain how this is done. You hold your hair up with a ponytail holder while still damp (or wet, it's your choice) and if you get worried about your frontal hair/frontal edges, you leave out a bit of the hair there and flat twist of flat braid it. Next, you tie a scarf over the hair that's held up my the ponytail holder (make sure you don't get the scarf over the flat twist/braid). Do whatever you need to do till you need to take this down (your hair has to be fully dry when taking it down, by the way). This method was my go-to style at some point last year. I don't do it anymore because right now, I'm not a fan of holding my hair up (edges...plus, I want to grow out my hair a bit more before I hold it up like that again.
• Setting Rollers: Tried this method out yesterday when my mum found her rollers from the 90s :) (oh! and I soaked, washed and so on, the rollers before I used them on my hair because they hadn't been used in about a decade). So, how I did it: I got random bits of my hair and got some of my moisturising conditioner mix (made up of John Frieda Friss-Ease: Curl Activating Daily Conditioner, some rosemary oil, some canola oil, a bit of my pH balanced leave in condition mix and a tad bit of water. I eyeballed all the ingredients. I love how this makes my hair feel! :) ). So, after I got the conditioner mix onto my hair, I finger combed a bit then slid a Denman Brush through (to make sure I had no tangles) then I hand stretched my hair (pulling) and wrapped the ends round the roller then I rolled it up holding my hair so it's stretched then pinned it up. I did this to every bit of hair on my head and I had my hair like that for...hours (I was moving house so, I just tied a scarf over it while shuffling between houses and moving). When I took the rollers down, my hair felt so good (from my mix :)), smelt so good (mix too!), it had that professional salon-set hair look that can be combed out into a bob or something, but what I was looking for was what I found - stretched hair! This is a go-to method for stretching my hair now! :)

Okay! so, I'm planning on trying out 'banding' as a new method for stretching my hair. I believe it might work, but well, let's wait and see! :)

Thanks for reading! :)

~Sam

My go-to stretching methods: African threading and, setting rollers.

Sick (don't let your hair be sick too)

Okay!
So, once I got a whiff of getting sick, I told my hair, "you're so not getting sick too!" Okay! so I came down with a cold and like I know that whenever I get sick, my hair is in bad shape so I chose to keep my hair healthy even though I'm sick. I got meds for the cold and I started taking my vitamins again. For my hair, once I took out my flat braids and African threadings, I deep conditioned my hair overnight then I co-washed this morning. After co-washing and detangling, I got some oils into my hair then I twisted my hair (in large bits). I had my hair in the twists for a couple of hours, but then my mum said it was starting to make me look crazy because well, it started like standing and it was hot here so, well, I took out the twists and my grandmother, who's over said she'll help work on my hair, just give me a manageable hair style she calls 'Calabar' (it's an African hair style). I'll look up a pic now:
It looks something like this (and this looks a bit like large box braids, right?):

So, that's what grandmother's doing for me. On Sunday, hopefully, I'll get my flat braids and African threading done again. Then I'll keep that in for another week.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't drink water unless I get this weird feeling which shows that I'm dehydrated or my body needs water. Since I got sick, I've been buying a bottle of water when I'm out and like I try to finish it even though most of the time, I don't. Anyways, I got a bottle that can hold up to 1.5litres of water in it. I then filled the bottle with water and I forced myself to drink it all at night, yesterday. A few hours ago, I filled that bottle with water again and I forced myself to down it all again.

Also, I'm not much of an "eater" which isn't helping and like my mum's like, "Sam, eat! you have to eat something! You know you're on meds!" but my reply is, "I'm not hungry." I'm actually, not hungry, but the thing is, I never get hungry actually, but one thing that's putting me off even trying to eat is that my mum made something I don't like to eat (and there are MANY things I don't like to eat). Anyways...

Apart from the last paragraph, that's how I'm trying to keep my hair healthy while I'm sick. My hair's not going to suffer.

I hope I get better soon!

~Sam :)

Review!!!! (John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style-Activating Daily Conditioner)

Hey everyone!

Okay! so, I decided to do another review and this time, of an actual product - the John Frieda Frizz-Ease: Curl Around Style-Activating Daily Conditioner!


Now, what do I use this conditioner as?
I use this conditioner as a co-washing conditioner, an after shampoo conditioner and a combing conditioner.


What is a combing conditioner?
A combing conditioner is a conditioner that provides good enough slip to detangle your hair well, moisturises your hair, prevents frizz and so on. Here's an exert from Teri LaFlesh's book, CurlyLikeMe:

"Leaving conditioner in your hair coats each strand with emollients and smoothing ingredients. By leaving conditioner in your hair, you no longer need hairdressings, frizz serums, or lotions. Leaving conditioner in will transform your curls into smooth-and-defined-nongreasy-able-towithstand-humidity-wind-rain-and-moves-when-you-move-your-head curls. Also, when whole curls are clumped together, the individual hairs within those curls are shielded from damage. Instead of each lone strand being exposed to the elements, the strands will all act as a unit, where no one strand is exposed. Many strands will be completely encased in hairs, like a cocoon, therefore totally protected. This means that at any one time, the majority of your hair strands are shielded from the elements. 

Remember, growing longer, manageable hair is like knowing the combination to a lock. These techniques work together to give you healthy hair that’s weatherproof and predictable. But the lock won’t open if you use only some of the numbers, or if you don’t spin the special number twice. These techniques work only when you use them together. For example, you can use all of the conditioner in the world and buy the exact brands I suggest, but if you rinse it out, or if you don’t release and smooth your curls in some way, your hair won’t be as manageable, and it sure won’t be weatherproof. After cleansing and conditioning, the following chapter covers combing, the step that gives you the perfect canvas to showcase your stunning coils.

Leaving in conditioner will:

● Keep your curls defined

● Help give your curls weight

● Help weatherproof your hair

● Moisturize your hair 

"

Do you just put the conditioner in, plain, like, alone? 
I used to put it in alone (but that was like June-ish last year). Right now, I make a mix with it. I get a bowl, eyeball an amount of the conditioner into  it, add some canola oil (eyeballing the quantity too), add some homemade rosemary oil too, a bit of my kinda pH balanced/diluted leave in conditioner (leave-in conditioner and water mixed together) and a tad bit of water. I mix everything up till it looks like one thing and not a throw-in of many things. I use this on my hair and like, I totally love how it makes my hair feels!


As a co-wash, how do you use it?
Err...normally? I use it like I'd use shampoo or well, just normally.


What do you think about it?
I think it's great as a combing conditioner. As a co-washer, it's okay (not great, but not bad). It leaves my hair feeling good, but as a co-washer, it doesn't do much (for my hair. It might work wonders for others though. We all know that what works for one hair doesn't always work for another and vice versa).
When it comes to slip, if your hair is damp or partially wet and you have enough conditioner in your hair (and your hair is in sections!) it provides good enough slip. Style setting: it acts kinda like a hair gel, to like help a twist or braid out. When it dries when used as a combing conditioner, it doesn't leave your hair dry or crunchy. It actually still leaves your hair feeling soft and moisturised.


Would I keep on using this product? 
As a combing conditioner? Yes (but not EVERY day)
As a co-washing/rinsing conditioner? I don't think so. I'm into creating my own hair products now so, if I can, I'll use my homemade natural things or I'll switch to the BeeMine Botanicals line if I can't make my conditioner yet.


Would I recommend this product?
Yeah, I guess I would! :)
Combing conditioner, rinsing conditioner, I'll recommend it.
I guess it doesn't do much as a co-washer for me because I'll have to use practically a whole half or more of the bottle to actually get it to do something on my hair if I'm co-washing. This is because of my hair's nature, by the way. It's size and so on.


Hope this review helps somebody! :)
~Sam

Birthday!

Heyo everyone!

So, yesterday was my birthday! Gaah! SO happy! Okay, so hair! How did SammyWithTheBigHair have her hair on that day. Well...I had sorta braided my hair on Saturday. I did something new and I actually love it and I will do it again when I take it out.

Sammy, what did you do? Well, I've practically watched all Nadine's vids (GirlsLoveYourCurls on youtube) and there was one. I believe it's her 19th and 20th videos. I did something like that. It's not side swept which is one difference and I have the frontal area/first half of my hair flat braided not flat twisted.

I absolutely love the African threading I have at the back. I have a total of 23 flat braids and well, I can't start counting how many African threadings (aka Ghana Plaits). I had to show the ladies at the salon those vids before they actually had an idea of what I wanted (plus, the flat braids were done because they couldn't flat twist. They didn't know how to).

I absolutely love this style, plus it's a heat free curl stretcher. Well, the African threadings are. As the African threading's being done, you can see your hair stretched and when it's done, it remains stretched and when it's taken out, it remains stretched. I'm a no heat person so if I need to stretch my kinks and curls, this is my go-to style!

Hope you like the vid.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!! :)

~Sam

Had cupcakes that looked like that for my birthday

(to be honest, I don't eat cakes - I hate them so I just had about 45 of these that I gave out to people hehe :) ) 

Bumps on scalp!

Okay! so, my mum braided my hair on Monday, and today's Wednesday. Today, I noticed some bumps on my scalp. I remember my mum pulled at my hair like crazy and some of the braids felt tight so, that's what caused this. This happening has led me to decide to talk to you guys today about bumps on your scalp. Ooooh
So, I hope this helps somebody! :) Here we go!

Bumps on scalp are usually made to appear by having tight braids. People braid hair tightly for various reasons like, to have the style last for a long period of time (which many of us want because we don't like manipulating our hair often. I don't like my braids to be tight though). The tight tension for tight braids isn't good for your hair, hairline and scalp. A problem that many people who get their hair braided face is 'traction alopecia.' According to about.com, "traction alopecia is a condition where constant pulling and tension on an area of the hair results in thinning, breakage and/or hair loss. This is commonly seen in women and children who braid the hair too tightly (particularly at the hairline) or wear the same style over extended periods of time, not allowing
the scalp and hair follicles to "rest." "  A way to avoid traction alopecia is to stop getting hairstyles that hurt (or letting your hair be put up tightly). Buns, ponytails, weaves and braids are common hair styles that people love doing, but they shouldn't cause any pain. If your hairstyle hurts, it means that your follicles are being tugged at or pulled beyond what's safe for them and we all know that once follicles die, there's no resurrection, no bringing them back to life. If you're experiencing bumps on your scalp or your head or scalp
hurts after getting a hairstyle done, here are some things you can do about that:

• Use water to loosen up your hair: As you shower, let the water run over your hair. Sometimes, you'll need to scrub a little with your fingers to loosen the braids a little. And remember, don't be concerned about how much time it took you to do that style or how much money you paid for it because what's really important now is loosening up those tight braids and saving your hairline..

• Do not return to someone who braids your hair tight: Some people just normally or for some crazy reason, braid hair tight. This should tell you that those people don't really care about the health of your scalp or they care more about the money they get.

And finally, you can do what I just did and...

• ...Remove them: Remove the braids that are causing bumps to pop out on your scalp. Those bumps appearing is not normal and like I said above, it can lead to hair loss (or in other words, traction alopecia), especially if you have a habit of wearing tight braid styles or braiding your hair the same way often. If your hair hurts when it's being braided, kindly ask the braider to loosen up on it or to restart the braid and not so tight. It's better for it to be done once and for all there than for you to go home suffering from your head hurting and bumps on your scalp.

I didn't loosen all my braids because the bumps on my scalp are just around the endings of the braids so I just removed the braids up to a certain extent and I am planning on braiding them back after a few minutes, but loosely so my hair can recover from this pull.

Don't let braids damage your hair, think about your hair's health and consider it all the way. Try your best to prevent the possibilities of you getting traction alopecia (or severe hair loss due to tight braids that cause bumps)

I hope this has helped somebody (or will help somebody).

Thanks for reading!

~Sam :)

My Dilemma x_X

*sigh*
This sucks.

Okay! so I needed to braid my hair because I didn't really like having to manipulate/touch/style it daily. So, because I couldn't go to the hair salon where I like getting my hair braided (there's a lady there that actually listens to me when I talk about how I comb my hair and so on), well, my mum had to braid my hair for me. I was going to wait till I could get to the salon, but like my dad was getting upset because I had to detangle my hair, comb it, when it's humid, it get's huge and he doesn't like me having a scarf on everyday. So, today, I combed my hair out then tied a scarf round my head and pushed it up so it was like a head band. My hair was alright, but then my mum was like, "I'm going to braid your hair," my dad was like, "yes," agreeing with her. Both of them don't know jack about hair! My parents think CG is gross, my dad called me a 'dirty girl' and some hurtful things because I went CG. My parents believe that deep conditioning is like feeding your hair, it's nonsense and there's no point to it (they also think it'll make your hair fall out. Another thing is, my parents don't believe in detangling your hair from the ends up to the roots.


Now, that's what I have to talk about. MY DILEMMA. My mum told me to shut up, smacked my hand with a comb and so on because I told her not to comb my hair from the roots down to the ends. That's not the only problem, my mum combed my hair with a rat tail comb! Yes! a rat tail comb! When she was getting my hair done, I gave her a comb, you know the kind with like three rat tail thingies at the end, a wide tooth side and a not so wide toothed other side. Okay! so she was like, "do you still have the blue comb (rat tail) that you lent your dad yesterday?" I said, "yes" and she was like, "can I have it." (not a question). I gave it to her and yup! you can guess what she did. She combed my big hair, not in sections, I might add with a rat tail comb and she combed it from the roots to the ends. I was in pain and she didn't care. She was like, "I warned you when you said you wanted to start this natural hair thing," and she was also like, "I can't believe I'm touching your hair. This hair that you don't wash!" I was like, "I wash it, but I only wash it with shampoo once a month." She did not care. She still called it gross. So...I managed to keep some of the hair lost before my mum was finished braiding a quarter of my hair. I'm going to take a pic and put it up here.*sigh* I hate having to go through this. I've lost so much hair. I'll add that I also do not like how she flat braided my hair. It's terrible, hideous, tight (and hurts, I can't move my head fully), who thinks of doing such a thing to someone's hair? *sigh*

(most of the straight bits here or the ones with like super tiny curls in them are relaxed hair (I have/had about a little less than an inch of relaxed hair at some of my ends)

*sigh*

If this has ever happened to you, just know, you are not alone. It still upsets me, how much hair I've lost. When mum was finally done, there was hair on the floor, hair on the pillow I was sitting on, hair all over my shirt (and some on my shorts), hair on the chair she was sitting on and well...the obvious...hair in the comb. x_X

And this is..... my dilemma.

:(

*heavy sigh*

Itching During Transition (this is normal, but here's a way to like stop the itching and let the hair still do what it has to do)

Hello everybody!

It's 3:33 AM and I'm like wondering what I'm still doing up lol 


Anyways, itching during transition. Many people have complained about that. I thought it was abnormal when I had to deal with that initially, but from watching my brother closely (lol) I believe that it's normal. Okay! how on earth is itching normal? Has Sammy finally cracked? lol :


Let's say you had a relaxer, your hair's like super straight after the relaxer, so, your scalp's used to that. Usually, after like 6 weeks, you retouch/re-relax your hair so, your head and scalp are still fully accustomed to straight hair. Also, the pores (should I call them that) on your scalp are like tiny dot like things and like curls try to push out of them. This causes like really tiny bumps (like micro-bumps) on your scalp, you may or may not have noticed this. So, your hair starts to itch as the curl tries coming out. If you have dry hair or for some reason, your hair is dry (maybe due to the elements (weather) or something), this'll add to it. But, do not be afraid, I have a couple of things to say about this and how you can stop/minimise the itching:


Someone, who I'd call BDR, instead of her real name said:

"I'm about 5 months in and my scalp itches so badly. I do my own weaves about once a week because I cannot stand the site of the two textures of my hair. Flat irons don't look good because my hair is so dry and everything else just looks BAD! so I'm keeping weave until I get further along in the process. Question: are there any products that I can use once a week on my scalp and hair that will eliminate the dry scalp AND dry hair, that aren't costly, while I'm wearing weave and transitioning? Because I'm really about to give up"

Here are what some people said to her in an attempt to help:

"Maybe you're putting the weave in too tight? I don't know much when it comes to weaves, but I know that is the case when my braids are too tight. If I were you, I would add moisture in every step of my hair care routine(shampooing, conditioning, detangling, and leave-in)...like oils (jojoba, grapeseed, coconut oil, avocado oil, castor oil, and all that good stuff). These oils are not expensive(If I can afford them, anyone can..lol.) And, a little goes a long way with these oils, so they can last you a while. 
I'm in no way telling you to go out and purchase all of the oils I mentioned. Do a little research on them, and see which oils will benefit your hair. You may also want to look into a good creamy and moisturizing leave in(giovanni direct leave-in, shea moisture, etc). These are just my suggestions to you." 

 "I don't have a weave, and I itch uncontrollably too. Dandruff shampoo helps some, but not for long. :/. Very annoying."

(So, don't go wasting your money stocking up on dandruff shampoos!)

"At the beginning of my transition I use to get really bad itching in my scalp. I started doing weekly hot oil treatments with either jojoba oil or coconut oil. So far my dry/itchy scalp issues have been reduced. Using a mild shampoo or shampoo bar also helps keep your scalp/hair retain moisture and remain clean."

(Just so you know, I do not advice people to use shampoo bars. Shampoos, maybe, but a shampoo bar, no. I believe it dries out the hair more than you'll actually notice, it strips of all essential oils, clogs the pores...)

"For the itchy scalp olive oil works nicely and for the dry hair deep conditioning is very important. I personally deep condition once a week and if my hair gets dry throughout the week I will co-wash."

"I agree with those that said oil. My scalp itched so bad at one point and I found that using oil worked. What I do is right after I wash I take a combo of oils (olive, jojoba, coconut, castor) in a color applicator bottle (Sally's) and apply it to my scalp." 

"Depending on how light the oil is I would deem it okay to use after you wash your hair. With heavy oils I usually apply oil to my scalp and hair massage it in then. Leave on for an hour or two. Then like always I wash with a sulfate free shampoo twice to wash excess oil out." 

*Yeah, they have given advice that I'll say are okay and can help minimising (please take note of my...err....notes in bold brackets). So...I've told you what people were saying, but, what was I saying? Here it is (said on two different days):

"I'm transitioning too, I'm about 8 months in and my hair started itching this week and I honestly detest it. I researched on natural things I can use to stop the itching and one that worked for me for two days was lemon juice and olive oil. So, all I did was squeeze out the juice of half a lemon, add some olive oil to it and a few drops of water (for extra moisture), then I got it into parts of my hair, my hair stopped itching a few minutes after. I applied it mainly to the part of my hair that itched the most and that part hasn't itched since then. Another thing I did was to apply quite a bit of DAX Tea Tree Butter too. These helped a lot. I didn't really need to buy anything 'cause these were already in the house, but I believe none of the items I listed above should cost a lot of money."

(I said this a long time ago. I am like way past 8 months of transition. Also, I cancelled out the stuff about DAX Tea Trea Butter because it contains some ingredients now that I do not advice people to use on their hair. Also, it gives just short term results)

"Gaaah! Why didn't I share this earlier!I hope this works for you just how it did for me!

ROSEMARY OIL! Your hair is itchy, you get some rosemary oil onto those itchy bits and by the next day, voila! itching stops! It also stops dandruff that quick too. Isn't that great? I really like it now, but I don't use it as often as I use olive oil.Anyways, I make my own rosemary oil so I'm sure it's 100% natural (I like using 100% natural things...healthy). The first time I made rosemary oil, I put some dried rosemary into a clear bowl, I then added a bit of water to it and a drop of olive oil (covered the bowl) then I kept it by a window to get at least 2 days of sunshine then voila! I had oil in the bowl and it didn't look like the water, rosemary thingy it did the day I made it. Nowadays, I don't bother adding drops of olive oil to it. I just get the rosemary and water, leave it by a window for at least 2 days of sunlight and voila! My mum has asked me to make some rosemary oil for her because it works wonders with itchy scalp and it prevents dandruff.Also, a good way you can use rosemary oil is by getting it into your hair (don't bother if the leaves get in too, they'll fall come out later) and then getting some 100% natural shea butter into your hair too. You can mix them together and get it in all at once, but when I use SB too, I get the RO in first then the SB.
Hope this works for you too! "

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Rosemary oil is still at the top of my list for the best thing to stop this itchy scalp issue. My mum likes me making some rosemary oil for her because when she has itchy scalp, it stops it within minutes and her scalp doesn't itch again for a really long time (I'm not talking about minutes, hours, or days, I'm talking about longer than that). My hair loves rosemary oil, I might add.
Okay! so, something else about rosemary oil: it is an essential oil, it prevents and stops dandruff and it also stimulates/promotes natural hair growth. Seriously, that is like totally true. I can make a lengthy review of rosemary oil if you want me to (and you know, I can type some pretty lengthy things).


Hope this helps you!
God bless,
~Sam


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One of my worst hair salon experiences. What's yours?

Okay! so some of us have had terrible salon experiences. Here's one of mine:

Okay! so ever since I cut my hair 5 years ago, I haven't been able to grow it longer than shoulder length (I made terrible choices that's why). So, when my hair was finally growing out and it was at my back, I went to the hairdressers. I was flipping through a mag then I heard a snipping sound, I looked up and this guy that worked there had snipped off quite a lot of my hair!! I was like, "whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!?!?!?!" Turns out he thought he was to cut my hair, it was terrible. I felt like crying. This happened on Sept. 7th 2010 (I remember..oh! and I had relaxed hair then). From then, till around summer of 2011, I hadn't been able to grow my hair out longer than a cm past the bottom of my neck. It was sooo upsetting.

Yeeeaaah, I'll tell you another one that happened at that same hair salon: 

Okay! so, I had extensions in and they were braided (with my hair) as...err....box braids, I think. So, I didn't have time to take them out at home, but I needed to take them all out before the next day. So...I went to the hair dressers and a lady there who was new (first day seeing her) offered to help me out. At first she tugged (that's a nice word for 'pulled') at my hair a bit while taking them out. She apparently picked up a pair of scissors and the owner of the hair salon noticed and told her not to cut my extensions because she didn't know my actual hair length (plus, I believe I was already transitioning then). Anyways, I started watching a movie (I believe it was an episode of Vampire Diaries Season 2) on my laptop and after a while, I heard a snippy sound and my hair felt lighter, I looked up and voila! she had cut my extensions! Aaand....my hair :| *sigh* I was like, "ohmigosh! what did you do!" and she was like, "I didn't cut your hair!" Already defensive before I accused her (sign of being guilty). Her boss overheard when I exclaimed, turned, saw my hair and started yelling at the lady she was like, "I told you not to cut her extensions because you don't know her hair length!" and the lady was like, "I didn't cut her hair!" So, her boss/salon owner picked up on of the cut pieces of extension/hair that had fallen, undid it a bit and yup! my hair was in it! *sigh*So, at the end of the day, I had lost over an inch of her (so, my hair was about midneck length again *sigh*) and the lady got fired.

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My bad salon experiences always ended up with me loosing hair (and me watching a movie, reading a mag, a novel or working on my laptop, I so need to pay more attention to what people do to my hair)


Wanna share? What's your bad hair salon experience? 


~Sam


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Help

I hope this helps somebody. Okay! So, I'm going to call the other person here, "Masuhr," instead of her real name, okay? Here we go:

Masuhr:

hey i wanted to ask you a few questions, you seem to really have this whole amazing natural thing working really good and i really admire you for it . im still working out different things with my hair and was wondering if you can help me? would be great  

Samantha:  

Sure, I can help you 
So, what exactly do you need my help with?

Masuhr: 

i was wondering how do you define your curls? i here lots of curlies saying stuff bout gel, i dont think i really want to use it, so i was wondering how you define em? second what do you do about fizz? i dont mind a bit, it comes with being curly but somtimes it does get rather bad, so how do you deal with that? thanx alot i really admire you 

(Aaawee, that made my day. Just reading the "I really admire you," bit because like, I admire so many people, including the person I'm calling 'Masuhr,' I think they've got this whole curly thing under control, but instead, they think they don't and I don't so...oh well, that comment still made my day :) ) 


Samantha:

Well...I use aloe vera gel for both. All I do is take out the gel from a fresh aloe vera leaf, put it in a bowl and add some oils to it. Also, to combat frizz, you can use some rosemary oil on your hair.Both aloe vera and rosemary oil work wonders for me.

(Yeah, yeah, I know she said she didn't want gels, but hey! at this point, only very few people I knew knew that you could put aloe vera gel straight from the plant onto your hair so... :) )


Samantha:

A little addition to my reply:
You might want to get some shea butter into your hair before using the aloe vera gel, just so you're sure it won't dry up your hair. Also, the oils I put in my aloe vera gel are olive oil, rosemary oil and canola oil (also, I put about a teaspoon of water in it too). All this prevents your hair from possibly getting dry or crunchy.I have never had my hair dry or crunchy from aloe vera gel because I've never used it without doing the above. Even the first time I used it, just because of the word gel, I did that because I didn't want the possible chance of dry and/or crunchy hair.

Masuhr:

well ive made my own rosemary oil, by infusing EVOO with it, i like in germany right now, (for the next two weeks!) and ive never seen shea butter here before, so i might have to use somthing else in place of that, thank for the tips  when im back in Australia, im going to try that out, we got tons of aleo plants 

Samantha: 

kk, hope it works for you like it did for me 
Oh! and have fun in Germany!

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Okay, so there's more, but it really doesn't have much to do with this, plus it's really short, so I took it out. I hope this helps someone and I hope my side comments between some of the posts didn't annoy anyone :) 

~Sam 


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Toddler Troubles

I hope putting this up here would help someone. Okay! so I'm going to call the other person here, 'dragongirl' instead of her real name, okay? Here we go:




DragonGirl: 

I waited my whole life to have a daughter and in 2008 my prayers were answered with the birth of our daughter Aaliyah Rose. She is one of the most beautiful, little girls I've ever seen and has the diva attitude to boot! The only problem we have is that her hair didn't come with an instruction manual. Her hair is extremely kinky and dry. We've spent tons of money on all kinds of products to tame her mane with little success. I've spent hours on the internet trying to find advice on how to deal with mixed race hair. Of course, everyone has their own advice and preferred products. Most of them that we've tried have ended up in the trash. I prefer to keep her hair as natural as possible and avoid harsh chemicals . I've even taken her to a professional salon and was dissapointed with the results. We are a military family and live in Oahu, Hawaii. The weather is very wet and humid, which adds to the problem. I would love to have some serious expert advice on how to handle my princess' hair. I'm so tired of the tears everytime we have to wash and brush it out. Thanks..... Samantha:  This is what my parents went through with me. Working on my hair was always a lot of work then when the day was humid (which was quite often), gosh! my hair was.... you can guess. I'm 14 now, I've taken over the job of working on my hair, and so far, everyone's telling me I'm doing an amazing job. Even at a salon, people asked for my secret. Anyways, I want my hair to be as natural as possible so I cut down on the products I use. I did actually change my hair products. Right now, the main bought products I use are shampoo and conditioner. I get some oil and moisture into my hair using natural oils like olive oil and rosemary oil. I've had great results with this. Deep conditioning seems to make my hair look a bit tamer nowadays. Maybe it's because I deep condition over night (sleep with it on) and I deep condition with food (mayonnaise, eggs, shea butter, EVOO, Rosemary oil, bananas (hard to wash out)...) not DC products. As a kid, I had really full, thick and totally unmanageable hair. Here are mistakes my parents made with my hair (so you don't make those mistakes with your daughter's), they pulled at my hair to detangle and comb it, they used blow dryers in my hair, they bought hair products that weren't for my hair type, oh! they relaxed my hair (I disliked that, I do have mainly natural hair now, transitioning. I have a bit of processed hair at the tips which I'll snip of in bout a month or two), they also washed my hair every week with shampoo and held it tight with things. Also, they cut my hair at some point. Since I've taken over managing my hair, I have stopped washing my hair with shampoo every week. I wash with conditioner only every week or once every 2 weeks, I wash with shampoo once a month. I oil my hair daily with EV olive oil and if my scalp feels itchy for some reason, I get some homemade rosemary oil into my hair. Rosemary oil seems to stop the itching in a couple of hours for me and it did help someone with dandruff. It also helps make the hair not so dry and it helps with growing out hair quickly. I use John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style-Activating conditioner in my hair. I don't use it daily. I use it as a washing conditioner and also, nowadays, I use it to weigh down my hair and also to keep it styled. I never comb my hair dry. I believe that the more my hair is combed dry, the more my hair gets frizzy when it's humid and also, I believe it damages the hair cuticles and elasticity. Another thing is, I don't use heat on my hair. No blow driers, no diffusers, not curling irons or straighteners. This has helped my hair A LOT too. Now that I'm growing out my hair naturally, the hair type that seems to be growing out looks 3c/4a (/4b/4c) (http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTn2lzMU0aOweL0w4PHxJI4CWaITW_evAOTg7sdcv3y8dHrBRRd&t=1). It is really dry normally and it takes over an hour to detangle. One thing for sure that I do with my hair the most is to keep it braided or in twists or bantu knots. I braid my hair with extensions and leave it in for 2 weeks (without the extensions, I'll have to redo the braiding within a week). With braiding, my hair does get a bit tamer and also, I don't need to fuss over it often. Hope I could help. Oh! and good luck working on your daughters hair. Mixed race hair is hard to manage, I can say that from personal experience. Keep on trying and look up some things on naturallycurly.com and soon, you'll be working on your daughters hair like a pro (everything'll be done with ease!) :) (*Gosh! I type a lot lol) DragonGirl: Thank You so much for your input! So far everything that you've advised seems logical and I'll look forward to trying it! I've never used any kind of heat or straightener on my little one's hair. Not sure that I ever will. She's so beautiful with her curls! She's still too young to sleep overnight with any conditioning treatment on her hair, but I will attempt to try it while she's awake! Thanks so much for the hope and I'll definitively try to EVOO to help keep her hair extra moisturized!  Samantha: Glad I could help :) ><> ><> ><> ><> ><> Okay! So, I hope this helps someone. Oh! and yes, I'm the 'Samantha' mentioned there. You can tell because I type a lot. I don't know how I do it, I just can't stop (here I go again! lol :) ) ~Sam ><> ><> ><> ><> ><>

Ask Sam!

Hey everyone!

So, the 'Ask Sam' thingy where you can ask me anything (mostly hair related)  is up. All your questions would be answered on here (repeated questions by different people would be answered just via email. If not, there would be many of the same questions and answers, so I hope you understand).

Okay! So, how to send your questions! :)
Go to the 'Contact' page (right under the 'SammyWithTheBigHair' banner) and you can contact me via any of the options there, it's your choice. Also, you can send your questions by just replying below.

I hope that through this, I'll be able to help many people.
God bless,
~Sam

REVIEW!! (not of a store bought product)

Heyo!

Okay! so this is a review of a homemade hair...err...product (? should I use that word?). Anyways, it's the avocado hair mask. I don't know if you've heard about it. You might have once or twice or well, however times.

Okay! So, the avocado thingy is meant to be like a deep treatment for really dry hair. I have like dry, dry hair naturally. I had my hair feeling soft and moisturised using a conditioner mix thingy (that I didn't need to wash off), but it wore off after bout a day (could've lasted longer, who know? Well...it would've if I could've kept my hands out of my hair!). Also, for like a quickie moisturiser, I used to work some shea butter into my hair and put on a plastic cap. If I'm in a hurry, I tie a towel over it for extra...err...heat. By the time I take it off, my curls are feeling well moisturised, but my family hates the smell of shea butter (including me, but if my hair loves it, then I've gotta use it, if you know what I mean).

Anyways, I heard about the avocado DC and I was like, 'oooookeeey.' Wasn't sure about it, but like my hair felt like straw and was so dry. So, I bought two avocados (one was really ripe and the other...not quite) and with a knife, got out all the.... whatever you call what's on the inside. I tried blending the avocados, but that was a total waste of time because it didn't do much (or should I just say it plainly, it didn't work). So, I got the avocado into a bowl and mashed it up with the back of a spoon.( I used two avocados not because of my hair length, but because of how full/thick/voluminous my hair is.) Next, I got about 2 tablespoons of pure, natural (unrefined), honey (to be honest, I "eyeballed" it), mixed it up with the avocado and mashed it up some more (still had some lumps). Afterwards, I got some homemade rosemary (essential) oil (my hair loves that) and some canola oil and poured approximately a table spoon (or maybe a little less...I "eyeballed" this too) into the mixture, mixed it up some more then I got some unsweetened powdered coconut cream and poured in about a tablespoon too (I'm such a good "eyeball-er!" :) ) and a tad bit of my conditioner mix thingy I mentioned in my hair "regimen" post. Okay! so I mixed everything up aaaaaand....

....I went to the bathroom with a towel round my neck and I was wearing a shirt that was about to go in the wash. So, I started off by sectioning my hair, but we both know that'll take FOREVER and I just didn't have that kind of time. It takes me about 2-3 hours to work on my hair especially deep conditioning if I work on sectioning everything (plus, my hair just doesn't section in fours. Has to be bout, 8 or more...more). So, I stopped sectioning and just picked up random bits of my hair and got some green gunk (what I kept calling the avocado mix) into it. I twisted each random bit I picked lookely after getting the green gunk in it (oh! and I must say, MY HAIR WAS DETANGLED (kinda wet) before this). I loosely  twisted every two twists together just so I could keep them out of the way. When I was done, FINALLY! I took out all the twists and finger combed a little. I then made sure I had the the mix on my edges, under, over my hair and on my scalp. I made sure not to tangle up my hair and I did finger comb a little to make sure I didn't have any knots or tangles. Okay! So I got a plastic cap on, then because the plastic cap was too small to hold all my hair, I used two, one from the back towards the middle and the other from the front towards the middle too then I looked for a bigger plastic cap, but the only other one was my mum's (and she's like, "don't go getting all your hair stuff on my plastic cap!" So, you should understand the situation). I then cut a plastic bag, like the ASDA, Tesco, Sainsburys, Boots... type, put it over my hair and tied the ends behind my head. I then tied a scarf over that to make sure it's held in place and to prevent that annoying sound it makes when it moves, I also pushed some cotton pads/sheet/whatever you call 'em up the sides around the edges to prevent a...err...leakage. Then I slept with it in (for about 8 hours).
*DO NOT GO PUTTING A PLASTIC BAG OVER YOUR HAIR AND SLEEP WITH IT ON! I AM NOT ADVISING YOU TO AND IF YOU DO, IT'S AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DON'T WANT TO BE BLAMED FOR ANYONE SUFFOCATING THEMSELVES AT NIGHT!*


So, by the next morning, I got some warm-ish water and tried rinsing out all of the green gunk then I got some conditioner and worked it into my scalp letting a bit touch my hair and co-washed it all out then used an old shirt to try and scrunch out some excess or drippy water. I was going to air dry, but that just pissed my dad off (sorry, if that word offends you). So, I got a towel a towel (not microfibre, I might add :( ) and just threw it over my hair (didn't rub, scrunch or try towel drying thingies with it). I held the edges of the towel that were down my face and moved them to the back. That was the only towel manipulation because I didn't want any frizz.

A few minutes later, I'll say my hair absorbed the water (which it does easily) instead of saying the towel absorbed the water (since it wasn't really wet..the towel, I mean). I then finger combed and used the end of a err...what do they call it, you know, the comb that has like 3 of the the ends of a rat tail comb then it has like two combs on it, one wide toothed and the other not so wide. Anyways, I used the end/tail of the comb thingy and went through my hair to make sure there were not unseen tangles or knots (my hair was a tad bit damp!) then I put a headband on to hold down my edges only then I held all my hair behind my head and held it folded (with the ends of my hair under) with a ponytail holder/hair cloth elastic thingy.

I keep touching my hair from time to time because it feels so good! It's not dry anymore, it's soft, my curls look really good, BUT! HERE'S A CON TO THIS! : I have bits in my hair. Like bit of avocado in it that apparently didn't fully wash out. You know, it's like when you deep condition with bananas and try to wash it out then you have those annoying bits in your hair though this was less. I had 30 minutes to brush my teeth, wash out my hair and shower this morning and like, it takes me about almost 30 minutes to just brush my teeth, so you understand my dilemma, but I tried to co-wash my hair out thoroughly. Anyways, don't be afraid, cause Sam has something to say: if you can get the bits out of say, the are of your hair that shows when it's held back, do that and hold your hair back. Once your hair is fully dry, the bits'll fall out by themselves, once you run your hands through your hair or run a comb through your hair.

Okay! so, that's all! (*touches hair*) Gosh! my hair feels amazing! :)
I hope this helps somebody :)

~Sam

p.s *not all things that work for one person (or some people) may work for everybody so please, be warned. That's one reason why it took me so long before I tried it out and also, I had to do a bit of research on avocados and hair first (I've used all those other things on my hair before).


p.p.s *the avocados are the real deal in this. If you use a mixture of the other things without the avocado, they won't do much for you or give you quick lasting results. Also, your hair would most likely remain dry (maybe not as dry as before). So, if you want to try this, there has to be avocados. Use as many avocados as needed. The number of avocados you use depends on how thick/big your hair is and maybe also, how long your hair is, it all depends on you (and your hair). So...bye for now! :)

My Shopping Cart

Okay! so I'm pretty young, but I'm moving out next year. So, I was going through the Curl Emporium (an online store for British Curlies), oh! and if you want to buy things for curly haired people you can go there or buy from naturallycurly.com's store.

Okay! So here's what's on my shopping cart/wish list (just checking how much they'll cost in total):

Cart Items		Qty	Item Price	Item Total
Subtotal:				£89.15
Estimate Shipping & Tax
Grand Total:				£89.15
	Blue Green Algae Hair Mask 118ml	1	£10.63	£10.63
	Tangle Teezer - Black	1	£8.50	£8.50
	Coconut Lemongrass Transition Creme 8oz	1	£9.13	£9.13
	Satin Edge Bonnet Black	1	£2.08	£2.08
	No Slip Hair Grips	1	£1.19	£1.19
	Retro Headwrap Orange Flashed Purple	2	£2.50	£5.00
	4mm No Damage Elastics	1	£1.79	£1.79
	Denman No Damage Mixed Head Wraps Black	1	£2.46	£2.46
	Curl Refresh Spray Bottle Red	1	£3.75	£3.75
	Denman Oval No Slip Clips	1	£1.79	£1.79
	Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner 11oz	1	£8.76	£8.76
	KBB Heavenly Jojoba Hair Oil 200ml	1	£10.83	£10.83
	GVN Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo 250ml	1	£6.65	£6.65
	Shea Butter Curl Moisturising Cream 8oz	1	£9.13	£9.13
	Anita Grant Virgin Mango Butter Coconut Whip 3.5oz	1	£7.46	£7.46

* After this bill, I'll just need to pay about say £20 about every few months to get replacements on my conditioner and shampoo (sulphate free, by the way. I'm quitting sulphates entirely) and maybe some things like jojoba oil, coconut oil etc, but I'll be able to get those oils for a lower price at ASDA or somewhere.


Also, I am totally considering switching to the Bee Mine Botanicals line. I call those products hair crack lol. I just might get the shampoo and conditioner on that line because I think I just might prefer them to the ones above, but I guess I'll try the Giovanni one there and then the Bee Mine Botanicals Shampoo (also sulphate free) and see which I prefer or which my hair prefers. I like the ingredients list on both, I think I prefer the Bee Mine Botanicals one, but anyways, my hair'll be the judge of that (and hopefully, none of them do any damage to my hair).