My New Hair Regimen (starting this summer)

Picture got from P.S Love Charli

Hey!

So, my hair regimen is going to be quite different this year. For one, I will be switching up products and caring for my hair much better than I have these past 2 years. I guess it is this weave that is pushing me a whole lot towards making this decision and I guess that is a good thing, but at the same time, I wish I didn't get this weave (the itch is real! but not as bad as it was on Sunday).

Okay! So, here's what my new regimen (or plans for my hair) will look like:

• I will switch products to the Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus line (I pray that works for me) and also invest in some bentonite clay or amla powder. I will co-wash in between the week, wash with a clay/mud once a week and wash with an actual shampoo once a month, every other month or if I feel it is really needed. Also, I will deep condition my hair at least once a month probably using the Midas Naturals Shine Conditioner. If not, I will use the deep conditioner in the Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus line (or I will alternate between these two products)
• I will wear my hair short (shrunken) more often to minimise how much I have to retwist overnight or do whatever to maintain a stretched style (to minimise how often I have to manipulate my hair, in general)
• I will protective style once in a while, but not with crochet braids as often as I have these past 2 years and definitely not with a weave. I probably will invest in a kinky/curly wig as that way, I won't have my hair covered directly with extensions for a prolonged period of time, I can properly moisturise it and keep my scalp thoroughly clean.
• I will seal I moisture using extra virgin olive/coconut oil and if I feel I need a heavier sealant, with some shea butter too.
• As a gel, I will probably use a lighter flaxseed gel than the one I initially made and probably use a spray bottle or bottle with a dispenser head for it.
• I will not wear my hair out and short all the time. If I don't have a wig on, I probably will just put my hair in two cornrows or I will stretch my hair out (I'll probably invest in curlformers for that) and just try to maintain the stretch in a very low manipulation method.

I might invest in a blow dryer (with a diffuser) this summer, but I probably won't use it till autumn/fall. I am just purchasing it to use while at uni in case I need to speed up the rate at which my hair dries (as my hair takes almost a full 24hrs to dry) and to stretch out my curls a little. I will definitely not use the blow dryer on my hair daily as, in case you didn't know this, I heat damaged my hair at the start of my natural hair journey and I don't want to do that again.

Hopefully, this new regimen gets me to my desired/goal hair length within the next 2 years (waist/hip length).

Blog again soon!

~Sammy

p.s I might invest in some Jamaican black castor oil too to help with my edges that have been tortured by this weave.

Protective Styling

Hello, Lovelies,

So....you all know that I've been protectives styling since August. I started off with the mini twists for about 2 weeks then I got crochet braids done and I've had those since late August (I'm taking them down soon, though, but after a week or so, I'm reinstalling them).

I believe that protective styling is key in achieving our desired hair length and it helps with out hair's health.

Protective styles give your hair a break from being tugged and pulled, combed and blown around, et cetera. Therefore, it aids in minimising breakage. Breakage plays a huge part in us not achieving our desired length because as our hair grows and breaks off, we don't see the growth, that's why many of us think that our hair length is at a standstill.

Between when I got my crochet braids installed and now, I have grown over an inch of hair and I see that under the crochet braids. So, I'm closer to my goal of BSL.

As you might've guessed, my favourite protective style is the crochet braids. Why?

1. My hair is fully protected from the elements
2. My hair can rest
3. They look super good
4. They can be done at home
5. They can last for a really long time
6. I can still have curly hair everywhere even though it's not my hair
7. I want BSL or below BSL hair, with these things installed it's like voila! longer hair! (then they're taken down and it's like umm.....you're getting their hun')
8. They're easy to take care of

    Et cetera

There are other protective styles like the mini twists, box braids, cornrows, roll, tuck 'n' pins, weaves and wigs. They all are good (not my favs, though).

Anyways, moving on....

Protective styles can cause damage if not done properly or you forget about your hair when you're protective styling. This damage could be

• The breakage you are trying to prevent
• Dandruff
• Traction alopecia....

     Et cetera

So, in order to prevent the possible cons when protective styling, ensure you:

1. Do not make your protective style tight
2. Do wash and condition your hair while protective styling even if not as often
3. Don't tug and pull at your hair in the protective style
4. Moisturise your hair as needed
5. Do not make your protective style too thin (like mini mini-twists or mini box braids)
6. Do not leave your hair in protective styles like mini twists and box braids for too long (unless you want dreadlocks, that is)
7. Do not neglect your hair

Remember, when you take down your protective style, give your hair a break from being in a protective style for a long time. This could be done by wearing your hair out for a few days before protective styling again.

I miss my hair often, but I love this protective styling journey. I'm going to continue with my crochet braids when I can, but someday, I hope to try marley/havana twists (they look so good!) and maybe a weave for the first time since I've been natural (scared of taking down weaves, though x_X).

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What are your favourite protective styles and which ones would you like to try some day?

How do you care for your hair while protective styling?

Natures Gentle Touch...

Hey everyone,

I must say, I was so disappointed with everything I saw at the Natures Gentle Touch thing I went for.
There were trichologists and hair stylists there (all working with Natures Gentle Touch). I saw blow driers without diffusers, I saw sulphate shampoos, products full of petrolatum, mineral oil,  harsh chemicals, etc. I was pretty much appalled. I mean, they say they're into making natural hair products, but well, the few natural things I saw in some of their products, they were on the last line or second to the last line of the ingredients list out of a whole lot of ingredients (I couldn't even pronounce all the ingredients and...well...people I know think I'm weird because I can pronounce words easily even when seeing them for the first time and not knowing their meanings unlike them).

I spoke to a trichologist showed me some vid on my scalp. It was like she was using a webcam shaped like a computer mouse and moving it across my hair (I must say that I believe she had used that thing on a bunch of other people's hair without cleaning/at least wiping it). She called my edges, "the hair that recedes"  and "where your hairline would recede," then she was like, "...but there's quite a lot of hair there..." Then she took out a strand of my hair and said she was going to test its porosity and elasticity. I should say that: 1. The hair she took was...well....processed (the hair at my ends), and 2. all she did was hold the strand of hair between her finger and pull at it then she was like, "hmm...you have good porosity." I kept a calm look, but in my head, I was like, "what?!?!"

I asked the trichologist some questions about:
1. Heat damage
2. Relaxers
3. Harsh chemicals in their products
4. Diffusers
and I must say, she never really answered my questions.
Me: "I noticed a bunch of hair stylists working with blow driers without diffusers attached to them."
Tri-Tri: "they've all been given blow drier heads and diffusers, but they don't use them because they say they're trying to hurry."
(did I  mention that they owned a hair salon which was in the same building?)
...
Me: "Using direct heat on the hair for a prolonged amount of time causes heat damage. Therefore, shouldn't a rule be enforced that all stylists use their diffusers or figure out alternatives to using so much heat? "
Tri-Tri: "We use our Oil Moisturiser on our clients' hair before we use heat on it."
Me: (I should say that I saw the ingredients in the Oil "Moisturiser") "Isn't that just going to fry your client's hair?" (I was thinking about when oil's in a pan and heated up, plus I've put a whole lot of oil on my hair before and stepped out into a boiling hot day in Africa and I remember my scalp felt like it was being fried)
Tri-Tri: "No, it won't. Like I said, 'we use our Oil Moisturiser on our client's hair before we use heat on it.'" (I took this as her saying that the oils in the product would prevent heat damage and well, at this point in time, I was thinking about someone heating up some oil and placing something, say, chips or something, into it and I was like, "not to worry, nothing'll happen to the chips, they'll be protected from the heat by the oil!" Note that I didn't say this out loud)
...
Tri-Tri: "What do you normally do with your hair?"
Me: I braid or twist it and have my hair like that for a week then I take the braids out, deep condition then cleanse my scalp."
Tri-Tri: "Would you consider getting your hair done here?"
Me: "Yeah, I guess."
Mum: "My daughter doesn't use commercial products or heat on her hair, by the way."
Tri-Tri: "Then we can't get her hair done for her because she must wash her hair with our shampoo first, condition it with our conditioner too, also done here, use our oil moisturiser here before we can get her hair done. We just can't get her hair done like that."
(My mum looked at me after that, I looked back at her and said...)
Me: "Are you alright with braiding my hair for me at home?"
Tri-Tri: "Why don't you want to get your hair done here?"
Mum: "I wasn't kidding when I said she doesn't use commercial products, she makes her own products and air dries ."
Me: "Plus I've gone through the ingredients on your products and they're full of harsh chemicals."
......

To cut this short, about relaxers, she said they are not damaging to the hair and about the harsh chemicals in their products, well, apparently, she doesn't really care about them and also, she tried defending some of the harsh sulphates at some point.
><> ><>

My thoughts:


1. If you'd like to get your hair done at their salon, set out on a day when you have a whole lot of time on your hands (I know how long people waited just to get their hair done and it wasn't like there was a crowd or not enough people to get their hair done).

2. They have a very stupid policy that forces people to use Natures Gentle Touch's products only and they must spend a lot of money on washing, conditioning and soaking their hair in oils before they can get their hair done even if the client had already washed and conditioner his/her.

3. Their workers need proper training on hair care.

4. They should take this line off all their cards, "natural hair care" and telling people that they specialise and promote that. I mean, every single person there including Tri-Tri (who I should mention is the 'Tri'chologist) had relaxed hair and didn't seem to be planning on transitioning, plus, they were relaxing people's hair and well, promoting doing just that to your curls and kinks. Note: Don't be fooled by what ads. say or is written infront on a bottle of a hair product. I mean, turn that bottle around and take a look at it's ingredients list, you might just end up surprised).

5. They need to go back to the drawing board and rethink all their products. I mean, anti-dandruff shampoo that contains sodium lauryl sulphate, alcohol and other ingredients that dry out the hair and scalp.

etc.

><> ><>
~Sam

p.s when my mum called my dad and told him that we won't be planning on going to Natures Gentle Touch again, I couldn't help, but agree. Little did my mum know that when the people at Natures Gentle Touch asked me for my phone number, I gave them hers ;)
hehe :)

I'm Back (UpDaTe)

Hi,

So, I've been away for some time. I actually just got back on Saturday (but I was just away from the 18th till then to be honest. Before then, I just kept forgetting to put on here what I wanted to).
Okay! So, right now, I'm in school and well, okay! so I don't care what some of the people on here think about me having a natural hair blog so I'll just continue typing right now.
First, please, please pray for one of my natural hair role models. She's WAY younger than me, but still one of my hair role models and she needs all your prayers. Here's an article to let you know what I want you to pray about: http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/2012/03/half-up-half-down-banded-natural-hair.html

Now....what have I done with my hair so far...
I couldn't redo my minitwists and because my mum put off going to the salon for a while, she got my hair done for me (she did it). There's something about a certain hairstyle or braiding style that my hair and scalp doesn't like. Whenever I have it in for 2 weeks or a week, then redo it during the second week, I get some crazy sharp pain on my scalp. I mean, I've never felt pain like that before. It's terrible. So, on he 18th, I finally went to a hair salon again just to find out that the one person who was good with my hair there left and I hadn't gotten her number yet so I can't even call her to find out where she works now or whatever.Okay! So, I got my hair braided to a certain extent then twisted and I had two-strand twists everywhere else at the back. I held it up to protect the ends (as usual :)). I had that in all through bootcamp (yup! that's the reason I was away for a while :) ).
Bootcamp:
Bootcamp was stressful, I got sand in my hair during the activities and drills, I was sweating like crazy, it was SO SO humid and hot. Gaaah! Okay, so the day I was packing, I slipped my jar of shea butter into my bag (hehe :) ) On the first day whene I got my hair sanded-out, I rinsed it out thoroughly in the shower then rubbed some shea butter between my palms then applied it to my hair. Also, I took my satin hair wrap stuff with me (I am so into this!). People wear like, "what is that?" "you sleep with that on every night?" and I didn't care. Luckily, my roommates got used to seeing it quickly. So, I had the shea butter on my hair that day and till my Friday, I never really had the time to get shea butter on my hair again (even after showering).  However, my hair did get sanded-out everyday and I was always sweating so much from all the work so I always rinsed my hair thoroughly when I showered and I always let it air dry (in my room! Outside was WAY too dusty and I didn't want dust clinging to my hair). Okay! SOoooo, on Friday, I took my hair down and finger detangled it out then I got wet hands into my hair, got some shea butter with a lil water and rubbed it in between my palms then got them into my hair and thoroughly detangled (fingers only! :)). I had my hair all out and big and I left it like that till I had to get some sleep. The thing is, some girls had an issue with their room door and I didn't feel comfortable going to bed knowing that they were locked out of their room. I walked down the hallway and all with BIG hair and people were just staring at it, it shrunk, not so much, but it was obvious and when I held my hair a bit and pulled it down at some point, my roommate was like, "yeah, your hair shrunk." Okay! So, one of the girls (room, locked out) looked at my hair and was like, "you're so crazy," I was like, "what do you mean?" and she was like, "have you seen your hair?" I wasn't sure how exactly my hair looked then, but I didn't really care. Later on, I went to my room (when their door had been broken down and they could get their stuff and get some sleep) and yeah, I looked in the mirror and my  hair was perfectly fine. Well, I guess it was just that "image of beauty" that was going through her mind when she thought I was crazy because of my hair (she's got a relaxer).
Okay! so, this girl couldn't sleep with her hair out like that. I started puffy twisting (big twists) my hair, but I had a bit of a problem at the back of my hair (couldn't do it). Luckily, my last roommate walked into the room just then and she helped me twist up the untwisted bits at the back. I then got a bit more shea butter on my hair (with a bit of water in the sheaB) and then put a shower cap on and tied a scarf over my hair. By the next morning, wait! rewind! Okay! so when I took my hair down and detangled it did I tell you that it felt SO gorgeous!! Gaaah! okay! fastforward! When I took of the shower cap and did whatever I needed to do, my hair felt GOR-GE-OUS! It also had a soft wave to it that didn't go even after my hair got wet. I loved it. Someone touched part of my hair, I'm guessing because he asked, "why do you have such cotton-y extensions in your hair," while we were on the bus ride back to civilisation.
One more thing! I drank more water, craved more water than I ever have/had at the bootcamp. AND the only thing I used on my hair while I was there was water and shea butter. Worked wonders for me, I guess.

Okay! So, now, yeah, I didn't have the time to make a quickie conditioner and quickly condition my hair when I got home so I just tried rinsing it out thoroughly before my mum braided my hair in 10 cornrows (which I'm rocking right now :) )

I'm going to make a pet peeve post after this (I need to mention something having to do with cornrows and school)

I think I might try mini braiding my hair some time soon. I know I have been against braids for some time now, but well, I'll go get this done at a salon (even though I don't like the only lady that would agree to touch my hair there. She always brings out her rat tail combs to comb my hair with and she always argues with my when I say my hair's fully detangled and slide my finger through it and they come out easily and well, she's like, "nothing would happen to your hair!" and tries combing it from the roots TO THE ENDS!!!! GAAH! Next time she argues with me, I'll go find someone else to get my hair done. I know I'm just a teen, but my hair means so much to me and I don't joke around with how my hair's managed and taken care of).

Okay! So here's what I'm going to do with my hair when I get my mini/box braids done:

Gotten from BeadsBraidsandBeyond (pic from someone named Aisha). I do not in any way own this picture.

So, what do you think?

Sorry, for the really long post, it's just been too too long and well, I'm in school, FUN, right?

Talk to you guys later.

~Sam :)

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 :)

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 :)