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

Featured: My Giveaway Winner - Sandra of HairOfLife

><>

Below, is a post I'm featuring on here that was written by the beautiful, Sandra (Sandeey) of HairOfLife.

Y'all know I'm not big on heat and I haven't used heat on my hair in almost 3 years now. However, I am not going to say that heat is bad and a 100% no-no. If you take care of your hair properly, heat won't damage it.

Wanna know why I quit using heat?

1. I heat damaged my hair when I started transitioning and was trying to blend in textures

2. I felt that to recover well from the damage while growing out, I needed to avoid heat

3. I just wanted to know what my real texture was like 24/7 because I didn't remember what it looked like

4. I'm just too lazy to blow out or straighten my hair properly!

Anyways, here's Sandra's article. And by the way, her hair reverted back to being curly, just so you know

><>

Hey World,

I bought the Air Styler! I couldn’t wait to try it so I made my first attempt at a blow out! I’m happy with the results. I will let the pics explain:

Last pic shows that the fun is over! All twisted up for bed.

Now I shall wait and ensure that there was no heat damage. Fingers crossed!!!

Always me,
Sandeey

@hairoflife on Instagram. The news gets there first!

Oh. One more pic!

Natural in Nigeria

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some Pros:

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

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

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

Shea Butter and Black Soap are cheap and found everywhere!

No winter to force me into a protective styling frenzy.

Lovely humid weather keeps the moisture in my hair.

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

Some Cons:

When that beautiful humid weather makes your hair swell up.

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

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

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

Actually finding those products at triple the original price!

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

When the weather is humid, protective styling is key.

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

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

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

This is how I cope:

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

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

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

Shea Butter and Black Soap from the market

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

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

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

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

I love my country! 

Always me,

Sandeey.

@hairoflife

Hairoflife.wordpress.com

For the Moms ;)

Written by Emily (aka Bobi) of Bobi Curls

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

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

Step 1. Drench hair

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wash N Go PERFECT: NO MATTER THE LENGTH or CURL PATTERN

This is a featured post by someone who's blog you have got to check out. Her blog is great and has helped me quite a bit. I read this post and knew I had to feature it on here. So, here's the post:

><>

By Tia of AngelsRinglets

 Immediately after my big chop, I began defining coils for a wash n go. I remember using Kinky Curly Curl Defining Gel. I got lots of shrinkage. Of course I knew NOTHING about defining coils. I still loved my coily, springy hair though.

When I started to experiment with Braidouts and Twistouts, I stopped doing wash n go's as much. I was working with about 6'' of natural hair, and my hair was just about to enter the "awkward" stage.

Too long for wash-n-go's (but not long enough to hang). Short, but not short enough to be put into a cute hair clip-free wash-n-go styling. The great thing about natural hair is the versatility. When I felt that my hair was not looking good in a wash n go styling, then I did braidouts/twistouts.

 So these next few pictures show me playing with Eco Styler Gel. One thing I love about Eco Styler Gel (well, I love a few things about Eco Styler Gel)--but the main thing is how it can help stretch coils. I wasn't used to the shrinkage that I was getting with my wash-n-go's, and the Eco is great for stretching. It washes out easily, and doesn't dry the hair.

I mostly did some sort of pinned back styling, not loose like I wear my coils now (for my w&g). For this post, I'll share the "good, the bad, and the not so good" LoL!

 I still didn't have my wash n go technique situated yet, but I was having fun. I was playing around with product combinations, and application techniques. Today I can say that I understand the wash n go texture pretty well (from wash to finish). There are a lot of factors that can effect the outcome of a wash n go. 

Figuring out my wash n go step-by-step works out great for me. I avoid white product build-up, can avoid too much shrinkage if I want to. I know how to avoid puffy wash n go's (if I want to).

In 2013, I'm about to start learning how to style on a wash n go! It may be easier now that I have about 17'' of hair to work with.

But enough about that, lets get back to our walk down memory lane...

The great thing about wash-n-go's is that the hair is kept in it's natural state. Usually no heat involved (although some people stretch the roots with heat). Wearing the wash n go is an opportunity to keep the hair moisturized. Don't get me wrong, there are products that are used for w&g's that are drying. Stay away from those products (for instance, hair gels/curl definers with alcohol or mineral oil).

In the next few pictures (below), I definitely notice length. I also notice that I start getting the "hang" of laying down my hair. It doesn't hurt that the new length is adding weight and assisting with the "laid down" look.

I start to use less clips and styling accessories to wear my w&g at this new length.

It seems that I'm past the "awkward" length for wash-n-go's, so I start to focus on perfecting the curl definition, the shine/sheen, the way the hair lays, and the texture (I don't like hard-hat curls). I don't mind some crunch to my hair (matter of fact, I need a bit of crunch to hold the curls for a few days), I just don't like when it feels like my hair is glued together.

I love to define curls and then use the ponytail to display them! It's a break away from wearing my hair down--especially when the time is hot. In the above picture, I defined my coils with Jane Carter's Curl Defining Product (can't recall the name right now). It's really great! It's just super expensive. But the ingredients make it pretty worth the money. When you rinse out a product like this from your wash n go, your hair is left soft and ready for it's next style!

By late 2012, I can say that I figured out the wash n go on my hair and on Dimple's hair. Her coils are pretty similar to mine.

So I encourage you to keep searching for your hair's favorite base ingredients to define your coils. No matter the length or the curl pattern (you just have to have a curl pattern). If you don't have a curl pattern, no worries--you can create them (that's a whole different post)!

Take the mystery out of defining coils. Yeah, I slowed down on doing w&g's when my hair was a difficult length, but I didn't rule them out. I'm glad I picked them up again, because I wouldn't want to miss out on yet another one of the MANY versatile and beautiful ways to wear coily hair.

GIRLS WITH COILS HAVE MORE FUN