Building your reggie ….something very basic….

So I have a million things to share with you. My mind is firing off in a million different directions. But I will start from the beginning and build from there. today we learn the basics of a hair regimen to take with us on our hair journey. (on a side note: its sooooo hot here  in Joburg! here I am sitting in my lounge with olive oil in my hair and deep conditioning it with a plastic hair cap on my head. am i crazy?! the things i do for this hair!)

How do we start our hair story?

The basic things to note are that African hair needs moisture. It LOVES moisture. Moisture is your friend. BUT it can’t survive on moisture alone, too much moisture and you will damage your hair. It also needs protein. Protein is the stuff that builds and strengthens our hair.

Each of us needs to find that moisture/protein balance. I will go into more detail on this in a later blog.

So to start off your hair journey, I would recommend you shampoo the hair with a shampoo like ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo. This will rid if of the product build up. Try not to dry it the way I used to back in the day, i.e. vigorously rubbing my towel through it. After this make use of a leave-in condish. Gently let the air dry if you can or by using an old t-shirt(like I used to when I was relaxed). When its about 80% dry, moisturize and seal in the way we just discussed above.

One thing is for sure, most of us need to moisturize our hair every day.

So first things first, go out and get your self a good moisturizer.

I live in South Africa. Although from time to time I get my products from the UK I have learnt to look for products here in SA that work just as well.

One great product is ORS Moisturizer. I usually get this from Clicks. Don’t let the price deter you. The cheaper stuff typically is bulked up with ingredients that do nothing for your hair (more on that in another blog). ORS is thick and spreads well on relaxed hair. You need a very small amount as you will be moisturizing your hair everyday and do not want to weight it down.

Another great product I came across  is Sof n Free n Pretty Gro Healthy hair lotion . This product I randomly came across in Dischem. And my natural kinks LOVE IT!!! Ok so it is for kids, but still I’m in love. Why? It contains no mineral oil, is free from parabens and is pumped with moisture. (I would say natural hair needs more moisture than relaxed hair)

When I put it in my hair, I can hear my hair thanking me for it. Lol!

So what happens when I cant run out and buy a new moisturizer? Easy! I take a clean spray bottle, in goes some water, some glycerine (super cheap), a few drops of my favourite oil, a dollop of conditioner……shake shake shale, et voila! A lovely spritz for my hair. This works well with braided hair too. It keeps hair lovely and soft J cant be mad at that right?

So we have moisturized our hair, what now? We have to seal in that moisture. This requires natural oil. I love my oils. There are so many uses for them but in this context there are some oils I can recommend for sealing. Feel free to test out a few and see what works for you. They are also great for mix n match purposes.

I usually seal with a mixture of coconut oil, olive oil and avocado oil. The oils are great for the hair shaft and help strengthen it, so I have mixed them to make a powerful combination J do not b heavy-handed with the oils. Remember you will do this routine once or twice a day, so just dip your fingers lightly in your oil and use that. Do not slather it on, u will just end up with a greasy mess.

I moisturize and seal my hair in sections. I divide it into about 8 sections and work the moisturizer and oil through them section by section (sounds like a lot of time? Don’t worry, soon you will be whizzing through this part in a short time)

You are making sure all the hair gets product.

This is the foundation of any hair journey, And both my relaxed sisters and natural sisters will need to do this routine to set them on the path to beautiful health hair.

Look out for my next blog where I talk about taking the routine to the next level. as you can see from the picture above, i am a product junkie. i am trying to treat this problem, and we will learn together how to build a simple and effective reggie thats easy on the pocket 

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

There are very few things I take seriously in life, that's just my nature and it's got me into bucket loads of problems. But the one thing that I take very seriously is my hair!  My goodness I might let you mess with my food, but not my hair! On second thoughts I'm lying there sorry. I will hurt you - so the importance of both is about even. Yet alas, if my hair had a personality and could talk it would say..." I don't take you very seriously at all. I got a mind of my own and I am just going to do whatever the fox I like. You can forget relaxing me, weaving and braiding cause at some point I am going to mess your swag!...Besides your broke ass can't maintain my expectations."

This conversation with my hair happened somewhere in my early 20s and so I became a reluctant natural sister. Eventually I accepted it, not like India Arie kind of acceptance, more like how I imagine Michael Jackson's kids will accept that thier daddy was black.  Anyway, lots of people suggested I do locks, so I did and then people started saying I looked like Whoopi Goldberg. Well that helped me get thoes locks off real fast. Not that I have anything against her, but when you young and impressionable, and people compare your friends to Beyonce and Megan Good.... Whoopi Goldberg just don't cut it in the clique! I then decided early on to be like Angelique Kidjo and loss the rest. Except for the fact that I can't sing.... I am mostly at peace.

IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT WHO YOU IDENTIFY WITH

 Taking care of your hair is not just about what happens on your scalp, that's really the end result. I was I think unfortunate, because when I was growing up relaxed hair was the thing to have, and I got my hair relaxed when I was 7 yrs old. I can understand why it happened, (and no it wasn't my mama who sent me to the hair salon before you all start trippin - she was straight up heart broken when she saw me) the aunt who took me to the salon wanted me to look "pretty". She thought that was what looked good for me and her rug rats and at the time that was the thinking, she wasn't wrong or mean. This was the early 90s listening to MC Hammer Can't Touch This and I remember how my scalp was on fire and the hairdressers telling me to sit there till I was good and cooked like a good little girl... "Jeno rinorwadza shingirira" (Beauty is pain, be brave). The nice hair lasted all but a few weeks, and honestly ask yourselves how a hyperactive tomboy of 8 or 7 yrs is going to look after her hair especially when she's got what feels like a cracked scalp from a chemical burn?

The sad point of the story is for most black women, their hair story begins at a young age, and it's usually a traumatic story. I'm sure all of you can think back to when it really all began, and that story has shaped how you've dealt with your hair and self image ever since. If you don't have war wounds, well good for you, you're one of the lucky few!

I don't think many women find it easy to admit that they can't do certain things with their hair. Get Pretty or Die Trying, beauty is pain - so going in, the attitude we have towards our hair is combative - but guess what? Hair is fighting back and screaming. The only way to listen is not to just take care of your hair, but of your body. For example, if you have allergies and your skin reacts, trust me the skin on top of your head has those blemishes and allergies too, and here you are putting chemicals on top of those reactive spots. Wow your head is going to be on fire. If you eat junk believe me your hair is going to look like junk too!  Your hair is as much of a reflection of what goes inside your body as much as it might indicate to onlookers your social status in the world. Phew that's a lot of work for an Afro comb.

DECLARATION
I know I'm just scratching the surface of this topic and letting the dandruff fall so to speak. But be sure about one thing, healthy body=healthy hair, don't mess with your food - don't mess with the hair...so get to it! LOL

Check it out
http://madamenoire.com/79054/7-things-white-people-dont-understand-about-black-hair/