Why you shouldn't join the natural hair bandwagon....

Sooooo this may sound counterintuitive ...right? After all, this is primarily a natural air blog ( everyone is welcome, but I'm natural at the moment and more versed in this field). Anywho, I am loving how many naturals I see when I go out. And when I get into hair conversations with people, I am so energized and willing to share everything I know.
I think back to the time I started my hair journey. I did not wake up and decide to go natural. It kind of happened. I first started my hair journey as a relaxed gal. I tried to stretch my relaxer but I found out I had badly damaged hair, and ended up cutting off all my relaxed hair a few months later. By then, I did know a bit about taking care of relaxed hair, but was still a bit clueless about natural hair.
So I stared in the mirror at my cropped kinky hair and thought, "now what!?"

Luckily I was a quick learner, but also in those early days I made use of a lot of protective styling while I educated myself.
So what's my advice? Don't just "jump on the bandwagon". Before you commit yourself to Team Natural, try and learn a bit about natural hair.
Some things I discovered once I was into my journey. This year I discovered single strand knots! When my hair was dry when I was relaxed,it still was ok to comb and looked ok....but now I'm natural, when my hair is dry!!... It's like the Sahara desert all up in there! And it's mores one to breakage in that dry state as compared to relaxed dry hair.
Natural hair isn't "easy". It requires a lot of time and energy on some days. For some of us, skip one day of moisturising and you are in trouble!
If your natural hair gets tangled....you are in trouble. It will take a lot of time and patience to work those tangles out...

It's not all doom and gloom. As you know, I LOVE my natural hair. I have now worked out a routine that works for me and my lifestyle. My regimen is part of my normal day to day life and I have engrained those habits.

My advice is know what to expect when you join team natural. You may need to learn some new techniques, such as never combing your natural hair...(gasp! We don't comb our hair!?) but overall, I have enjoyed being a natural. Some things annoy me line how my hair grows soooo slowly. I had many times I wanted to be like, screw this!, but I set realistic goals and smiled when I accomplished them. Natural hair is beautiful, and once you get the hang of it you will be on your way to beautiful kinky locks.


Stay blessed

How to shampoo and condition your hair...

So I did a wash and go today...well actually I started yesterday! I had shampooed my hair with a shampoo that my cousin left behind. its by Suave, its targetted at kids...thats right, Dora the Explorer is rught thurr on the front, whaaaat! lol! It smells yum! I mixed this with a teaspoon of olive oil to stop it from completely drying my hair and scalp. I then did an Aphogee 2 Minute treatment to strengthen my hair. I took care to apply it in sections.
I took a mixture of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, shea butter and castor oil. I warmed this up and applied to my hair and massaged into my scalp. I put a shower cap on and went to bed.
This morning I rinsed out the oil ( if you find your hair is oily then use a little shampoo to help get it out).
This is a routine I have been doing for over three years now. I tweaked my process though, to help my products work better for me.
One important point to remember is that shampoo is for the scalp, and conditioner is for your hair.
What this means is that we use shampoo to help us cleanse our scalps and dislodge any buildup of dirt and products. Shampoos are harsher than conditioners and can strip your hair of even your natural oils.
Even top hairdressers recommend that when you shampoo your hair don't scrunch up your hair and haphazardly spread making lots of lather like they do in adverts. Rather only apply shampoo to the scalp and first one or two inches of your hair. When you rinse the shampoo, it will run over the rest of  the length of your hair and clean it.
In fact, a lot of women now pre-poo their hair. Meaning they apply oil or conditioner to the hair before shampooing to protect it from the shampoo. Your hair should not be squeaky clean.

Once you have thoroughly rinsed out the shampoo, you may apply your chosen conditioner to the length of your hair. Concentrate on the ends of the hair and work your way down to close to the scalp. Try not to massage the conditioner into your scalp. This may lead to build up.
Your scalp naturally produces oils which keep your scalp moisturiser and happy. Build up of products such as conditioner, may impede the natural process of your scalp "breathing" and allowing sebum to moisturise your scalp.

Watch out for a post in future where I will discuss how to moisturise and seal your hair once you are done with shampoo and conditioning.....

Stay blessed!

Treating my hair before braiding...

So I currently have cornrows in my hair...well just at the front anyway. The back is thick singles. I did these last week and don't intend on keeping this style for too long. Will try push it to three weeks, but I may take them out next week depending on how neat it looks...

Anywho, before I cornrowed I did a protein treatment with one of my favorite products. I first knew about it about four years ago when Ateeyaa of YouTube did videos of how it helped her hair.
I have the Aphogee Two Minute protein treatment.

                                                (There's all my Aphogee stuff to the left)

I began by co-washing my hair with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. I then applied to Aphogee to my hair in sections. I kinda like the way it smells :) I made sure to get it evenly on my hair. Which is a feat when you have dense natural hair like mine. I made sure I got a fair amount on my ends as I am trying to keep them strong and healthy. The instructions say to keep it in for two minutes then rinse out thoroughly but I'm a G! I kept it in for 5 minutes y'all! Lol!

I followed this up with a Joico moisturising deep conditioner. Always follow up a protein treatment with a moisturising treatment to inject moisture back into your hair.
 The result? My hair was instantly stronger and the shedding was greatly reduced.
I normally use. Light protein treatment but Aphogee is my go to when I need a little more hair strength. Luckily I have two bottles that I stocked up when I last visited my family in London.
There are other brands that do protein treatments and I will keep a look out for which are readily available here in South Africa.
But if you can't wait that long, you have something that will do the job sitting in your kitchen right now( I think) ...good old eggs! Whip one egg and a teaspoon of olive oil and voila! You have a protein treatment. Bear in mind not to use hot water when rinsing this out or you will be scrambling eggs in your hair....

Deviating a bit...

...well it all ultimately ties up to hair anyway. This post is just about documenting my quest for health.
I'm a curvy girl...have always been about a size 12(UK size)..and now I would say im a tight size 12.lol!

My kind of sedentary lifestyle didnt help to the few kilos I have picked up these last few months. When I think about it, I walk to my car, drive to work. Drive into parking. Sit at my desk all day. Walk here and there in the office. Then walk back to my car to go home.....not alot of exercise there..eeek!
I dont eat alot. I shy away from carbs...except for potatoes. OMG potatoes yall!!!  I LOVE them. So I try not to even buy them that often....but apart from that, I love my salads and tend to eat lean meats...except for when I go to Chisa Nyama!!!

I did start gyming last year. I joined the work gym and all was going well till I hit a slump after a surgery I had last year.....that was in July. There really is no excuse here. So this year, I trotted back to the gym and it felt like I was a beginner all over again. Huffing and puffing at the treadmill. Sweating like a pig on the exercise bike..but as they say it gets better.

I'm not getting any younger, but I want to make the most of the life I have...Eat healthy, Live healthy, Think healthy....I drink waaay more water now. I keep a big 750ml glass bottle of water at my desk at work. I make sure I drink 2 of these by the time I go home. Everyone who knows me, knows I hate the taste of water...eewww! But it has helped me kick my JUICE ADDICTION. "Hi, I'm Linda Jean, I'm a recovering Juice-aholic". I limit myself to one glass of juice per day with my supper.

So this year, I am focusing on health for my body. Feeling good from the inside out. and you know what a good side effect of good health is?..Good and healthy hair! now I aint mad at that!

I stopped combing my hair about 3 years ago...for real!

True story! Lol! Before u think I’m probably loc’ed or have a matted up hair...lol! that is not the case. My type 4b/c natural hair is definitely not tangled.

So there is method to the madness. When I was relaxed I used a lot of combs and brushes to keep my straight hair in shape.

But when I jumped over to team natural I ditched the combs and brushes. The relationship was no longer viable. I read somewhere that every time you comb your hair you are giving yourself a little haircut. eeek! It’s true. Combing and brushing contributes to breakage, so I would keep this to a minimum as much as possible. Many relaxed ladies have also given up on the combing.

So how do I keep my hair detangled?

Detangling for me is a process I do slowly and carefully when I am in the shower. I use a cheapie conditioner(usually my Herbal essences Hello Hydration Conditioner). I apply this to my hair, which I divide into 6 sections. I used to use a wide tooth comb to help work the conditioner through and to help detangle. I have now found that I can use my fingers alone to detangle my hair.(make sure you don’t have chipped nails that can snag your hair). I then moisturise and seal, and do twists in my hair to keep it from shrinking and tangling.

The only time I use combs and brushes is when I have weaves or wigs in my hair.

I believe ditching the combs is what has helped me with length retention over the last few years. My hair is now around APL (armpit length. Will post pic soon). Of course, all naturals know about shrinkage! So when my hair is wet its about neck length. I cant wait till have have a big bad fro!

In the mean time, I have a new protective hairstyle for the next couple of weeks. I was trying to keep busy this last Saturday. The plan was to get box braids a la Beyonce, but I ended up cornrowing the front and single braids at the back. I must say it turned out okay given it was my first attempt at carrot cornrows.

I am keeping this style in for 2-2.5 weeks max.

In general I do not like cornrowing(with extensions) but I figure since I never do it, and I have been a good girl, taking good care of my hair, this means I can do this once or twice a year. My go-to protective style is the wigs. This enables me to deep condish every week. But with the cornrows I wont DC for the next two weeks. I will just co-wash twice a week( I go to gym during the week and will do this on gym days). I have a braid spray I made up with purified water, glycerine, avocado oil, olive oil and a conditioner. This will keep my hair moisturised in between washes....

The Art of Mixology...

So anyone who has ever been to my house is well aware that I love mixing my concoctions! lol! Some have accused me of turning into a Mother nature freak. Well I cant claim that I am that, I still have chemicals that I use in my house, but where I can I do try to be as environmetally frienly as I can.

When I started my hair journey, I learnt alot about what we put into our bodies and onto our hair and skin. For example the mineral oil that is loaded into many of our haircare and skin products. While my skin is semi-okay with mineral oil, my hair certainly does not like this. Here in South Africa we dont have access to many hair products that do not contain mineral oil. Sometimes I really have to go out of my way to soruce them. But when I cant, I make use of the products that are more easily available to me.

I would like to share some of the recipes tat I have learnt from others as well as created myself.
How we can use common ingredients, many of which you probably already have in your kitchen, to make some yummy concoctions that will give you beautiful skin and hair.

A word of caution though: not everything is for everyone. I was so quick to jump on the Shea Butter bandwagon and began using it as a sealer for my hair....that didnt quite work out for me. But now I use it as a pre-poo, and getting much better results with it.
So try the recipes, tweak them around and see what works for you.

So here is my first recipe in the Mixology Series:

This is a very simple mix to start us off. I use this mixture as a sealer after I apply my hair moisturiser, but it also works so well as a hot oil treatment and my hair loves it this winter.

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (Preferably Extra virgin)
• 3 tablespoons avocado oil
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil (also preferably the extra virgin variety)
• a few drops of an essential oil of your picking (do your research first)

The first 3 ingredients work so well and are able to penetrate the hair shaft. no other oils are able to do this as efficiently as these 3. Heat these 3 up in a double boiler. Stove top or microwave may result in these being heated to a very high temperature. Please be careful in heating these oils.
Once they are warmed up, apply to your hair, section by section, from root to tip. pay special attention to your ends as these are the oldest parts of your hair and they need more TLC.
 Cover your hair with a plastic showercap. You can either cover with a warm and damp towel, or a heated conditioning cap for about 20-30minutes.
Rinse this out of your hair with a little bit of shampoo or conditioner. (Beware of slippery shower floors)
proceed to style as usual.

There you have the first simple recipe, all from ingredients you can find in your kitchen :)

My hair hates winter....

Like for real! The last few weeks in Joburg have been cooler and I have brought out my trusty winter boots!
I am trying to cope with the shorter days and longer nights...as I have gotten older I prefer summer months to winter months.
Anywho, my once juicy locks turned to dry twigs overnight. For real. My hair got dry and dull all of a sudden. I moisturise and seal daily, sometimes twice a day but that just was not working.
 I have found that as my hair has gotten longer it requires a bit more love and attention.
So I set to fix the twiggy locks. The first night I literally bolted off the couch and just shoved my hair under a tap and quenched the hair with water and I co-washed with my Tresemme naturals conditioner.
I then dried it off and used my SCurl Activator as my moisturizer, sealed with my olive/coconut/avocado oil mixture. Then followed up with a hair lotion as a cream.
This worked for like 12 hours and the next day my hair was like straw again! Sigh!

Lets try this again.....

A few days later, I decided to do an oil treatment. I mixed up the avocado, coconut, olive and castor oil.  I applied this to my slightly damp hair, covered with a plastic cap, covered this with my silk bonnet and went to bed. In the morning I did my usual moisture and seal routine. My hair was quite soft, and I repeated tis a few days later and my hair was back to being softer and more manageable.

I feel that the oil treatments have injected some quality nutrients into my hair and this has helped it deal with the cold.
Right now I am pre- pooing my hair with my oil mix and I added some shea butter this time. ( I realized I had stash all the way from Ghana). I am going to wash this out with my cheapie conditioner (Aussie Moist) and then apply my Aphogee 2 Minute Protein Conditioner...that's a whole other post so watch this space....

So what did I learn? Some of us do have to switch up our winter hair reggies. I will be including a whole lot more oil in my reggie: in the form of pre-poos, oil rinses, oil treatments and new for me will be adding oil to my cowash conditioners.

Have a great week and keep warm...bbrrrr!

Supplements

*Please consult your doctor before taking any supplements. Any advice given in this blog does not constitute for professional medical advice, and the effects of supplements differ from person to person. There may be interaction between any supplements and medication that is being taken*

So I am a supplement junkie. Lol! There was a time i was taking a handful every day. I decided to cut down and have my nutrients in food form where possible. E.g. i stopped taking Omega 3 oils in capsule form and decided to increase the amount of oily fish i eat in my diet.

I curently take 3 supplements a day:

1)      Skin, Hair and Nails: This is a one a day tablet that aims to improve the condition of your skin,hair and nails. I have consistently taken these over the last 8 years. I can't say I see a marked difference in my body. I have tried about 3 different brands at this stage. Why do I continue to take tham? Just in case im missing any nutrients from my current diet. I have never really had any real issues with my skin. I am a freckle faced gal with very smooth skin. I have never suffered from acne or any skin conditions. However earlier in the month I did notice my skin had a few tiny bumps. This may be a result of the MSM that I introduced to my routine...

2)      MSM ( Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane (a natural form of sulfur): I started taking this at the beginning of April. The dosage I have is 1500mg. I got the Doctors Best brand which I got over the internet from the UK and had my Mum bring down for me. My first couple of days taking these were terrible. I had very bad stomach pains. I did a bit more research and found that some people did struggle with taking this supplement. I increased my water intake to help alleviate the side effects as well as to help with the distribution of this throughout my body. Upon further research I found that a lot of people who took MSM also took Vitamin C along with it to assist with the uptake of this into the cells of the body. As long as I take my MSM pills along with my Vitamin C and keep drinking about 2 litres of water daily, I have found this pill to be agreeable with my body. My nails had been damaged by a few rounds of gel manicures and were looking weak. They were in a very bad state. At this stage, a month into taking MSM, my nails have grown and are much stronger than they were four weeks ago. As for the effects on my hair, that is yet to be determined. I must say that over the last few months my hair has been growing well. Its current around armpit length when stretched out.
I hope the introduction of MSM will help my hair grow like weeds!!! Lets give it a few more months.

3)      Vitamin C: As mentioned above I take this to aid with the uptake of the MSM that I am taking. In the past I would only take these at the onset of a flu, but now I take them daily. Please be aware of the dosages of Vitamin C that you can take if you are on the pill. Vitamin C may affect the effectiveness of birth control.

As mentioned, talk to your doctor before you start stocking up on supplements. Not everything is for everyone. Do your research!!! Find out what you can. I believe the body is a temple and it is important to be aware of what we put into it.

How I F@*%ed up my hair...and what you can do to prevent the tears!

Its been a while!!!! I have been out of commission and kept busy by LIFE! Nonetheless, I have entered a new phase in my hair journey. the other day i had it out and a male friend took an admiring look and declared that my hair was looking good. I was chuffed! I have come a long way from when I @#$$@# up my hair!!!
Ok lemme explain. 2009 was the year. I was living in England and it was almost the end of summer. I relaxed my hair and it was the longest I had ever seen it. (Shoulder length..rolls eyes!) Anywho i was like "whaaaaat" and decided I would rosk all the hottest styles I could. And so I did. Grabbed my tongs and got the cutests looks. I didnt use any heat protection and I tonged it every single day. All fair and fine until a few months later when I moved to SA and my hair had alot of growth, yes it was long but I had majorly thin ends. No bueno!
I have since stopped the relaxers because my hair cant take it. But thinking of this episode got me thinking of all my hair sins, and what you can do to prevent going down the same path!

1) I would relax my hair and have it braided on the same day. Awful stuff. Why did I ever do that? If you do want to relax and then braid, make sure you give your hair lots of TLC after the relaxer and give it at least 2 weeks before you braid it up
2) I never deep conditioned my hair before braiding. This is essential to give your hair some strength and nourshment before braiding it up for long periods of time.
3) I never took care of my hair while it was braided up. Like alot of students in my time, I would go to Zim, get the cutest braids and forget about my hair fr the whole semester. While braids can be a great protective style, your hair is only protected if you take care of it even while in braids. Moisturise daily, wash weekly etc.
4) I changed hairstyles often...way too often! this meant my hair never had time to rest and was breaking every time I manipulated it.
5) I once colored my hair the same day I got a relaxer...by now we should know that this again is no bueno, Mixing chemical treatments on the same day is not ideal. Again, give your hair time to get stronger....
6) I never did deep conditioning treatments. I viewed this as some sort of extravagance or means for stylists to siphon more money out of clients. wrong! Deep conditioning is not necesarily expensive and I now condition with common household ingredients when I want to save a few pennies. Plus this practise is essential in any hair growth regimen.

I identify these as my worst hair blunders over the year. while my hair is on its way to health, it has taken a while to repair some of the damage I did. Some parts of my hair will never be repaired and that is as a direct consequence of my own actions.
 BUT I am happy that I have learnt to treat my hair like delicate silk and am loving the results day by day.
As I keep updating my blog I will share some of my own experiences as well as my friends and family in this hair journey.
Sharing is caring....
Stay blessed!

Love
B

PS..next blog post, I review joico KPak Intense Hydrator

Been gone too long....

Hello ladies,

 I trust you are all well. It's been a while, time just got the better of me and I have yet to update the site. But I have some exciting news, we will have a new site in the next few months.
Have also been busy getting my hair business together. A few teething problems but God has been good and I'm moving forward,so thank you to all who have supported my business. I am looking to making the process even better.
I'm off to bed now but will defo be blogging more!
Love
Bella
X

Black Hair Doesnt Grow????!!!???

A little teaser for one post I am excited to do. Disproving the myths that black women cannot grow long hair. This is LT, my cousin (we have parents who are twins! aint that cute?), I took these pictures last week 28 December 2011, She has beautiful relaxed hair which i would say is around BSL(bra strap length) and yes she is black as you can see. Born and bred in Africa just like me.

 So who says with a little TLC we cant also grow lovely healthy hair like LT? She has relaxed hair and has learnt to properly maintain that relaxed hair to retain length and thicken it....So look out for the post where I will chat to her and get her regimen and tips that she has used on her hair journey....

Castor Oil.....one of my favourite oils.....

Hi everyone,

So I wrote before that I would do a post about castor oil. I have recommended this oil to a few people who have used it and see some good results.
One of the things that I will say about any product is that check first that you aren't allergic to it. Do a patch test and see if your skin reacts to it. This is something you must do with any product you apply to your skin or hair. The second thing I would like to say is that most products dont work overnight. You won't use castor oil today and wake up to have luxurious hair tomorrow. Give it some time. I say maybe try it for about a month or two and see how your hair is responding to it.

So whats the fuss about castor oil? isnt that the stuff that people take when they are sick?! yes it is!
 But castor oil is an ingredient also found in many of our cosmetic products.....

Castor oil it cleanses the scalp by removing dirt and bacteria that clog up the scalp (this clogging up is what causes dandruff). It also has healing properties that can cure scalp infections. It is a natural emollient, meaning it hydrates your hair while healing the scalp.

Benefits of castor oil:

• stimulates hair growth
• thickens hair
• moisturises hair and scalp
• contributes to overall health of scalp and hair

ok cool, so now we know what it is and what it can do for our hair...HOW do we use it?
There are so many ways to make use of this oil:

• to seal in moisture-after using your daily moisturiser, lightly dip your fingers in the oil and use to coat the hair
• to moisturise the scalp -try using it once or twice a week to give your scalp a good massage. try not to be heavy handed with the oil. its a thick oil so I usually mix it with coconut oil. Some people have sensitive scalps and will definitely need to dilute it or possiblyavoid using it on their scalps completely
• to deep condition hair-either use it on its own as a deep conditioner or add it to your normal deep conditioner to make it more potent.

So where do we get this oil? In South Africa I found castor oil in pharmacies and shops like Pick n Pay. You can find it along with medicines or other natural oils. I would think its also available in Zim shops and pharmacies.
You can also use Jamaican Black Castor Oil. I find this oil is even better than the refined version. It is unrefined, its also thick but has a brownish or golden colour depending on the brand you get. I got a bottle of Tropic Isle Living JBCO from my cousin who came through from the US. I'm loving it so far., I use it on my thinning edges, and also to add to my weekly deep condish.
My old bottle of Yards JCBO was running low.
If you are in the UK you can order from SheaButter Cottage. I have used them before and have always had good service. I have not used them internationally though.

So give it a try if you are looking to thicken your hair or to try and stimulate growth......its worth a go. check it out :)

In other news....I got my bottle of Morrocan Oil today. (It smells nyom! by the way) I got it from feelunique.co.uk. I love this site! they do free deliveries, whats not to love about that? So I will be trying out the oil when I get back to SA a be doing the review in a few months when i have formed an opinion on it :)

Love,peace and happiness!

Where have we been?!'

Ok so we have both been MIA for  while. What happened?....LIFE happened! Things got a bit crazy for a while but we will be making sure to upload new posts.

I have a lot of cool stuff to share...hairwise J I got my cousin to bring me a bottle of Jamaican Black Castor Oil from the States. I LUV it!!!! So I'm gonna do my next post discussing the benefits and uses of JBCO. A brief summary is that it is great for sealing as well as helping to regrow edges...i ain't mad at that! It is not yet readily available in Africa, so a good substitute is the refined castor oil you find in the stores. Yes, the same one your mum used to make you take as a child.lol! i never got that experience but have heard this remedy from many people.

As mentioned in previous posts I stopped relaxing in September 2009. I am so keen for my fro to just grow grow grow! The main frustration with natural hair, for me at least, is that even though it grows long, because it is kinky it appears shorter due to shrinkage. My hair falls below my shoulders when stretched but if i do a wash-n-go it looks about 8cm long L So i intend to use JBCO as a hair growth aid in 2012. I want to show off my fro by summer 2012. It is time.

I will also be stocking up on some products while i am on vacation. I am keen to get my hands on the Eco Styler gel so i can start rocking some nice styles in my hair. Probably the best part of my holidays are when i take a day to visit the hair shops in Finsbury Park,London. *cue choir singing...aaaaaaahhhhh* Pak’s Stores! They have a shop for wigs, another for weaves, another for products....oooh chile! I am in love with that place. So look forward to some product reviews. I know I said I would try and curb the product junkie within me but i just cant help myself! "Hi I'm Linda, and I'm a hair product junkie!"

5 things he loves about me and my (naptural) hair...a lil post for my kinky girls

1. The freshly washed smell…..now that I keep my hair nappy, it is cleaner than it has ever been. I love to wash it with Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner. Oooooohweeeeee. It smells nyum! And he loves it! How about it? I traded the chemical smell of relaxers for the fresh smell of coconuts and strawberries!
2. It’s different….so I have been on a protective styling challenge this year, but when I unleash my hair he can’t keep his eyes off me. It’s like he’s looking at a different woman. With everyone rocking a weave, he loves the days I just let all the kinks out. He loves that I look different
3. My new attitude…. So there was a time I would never let a man see my real hair in less than “perfect” condition. If I was taking my braids out, my man wouldn’t see me that weekend!. That unruly hair was a secret for me, myself and I! But now I let it all out…my hair that is…wink wink! He gets to see me pick my fro and all the fun involved in it.
4. He can touch my hair. He can put his hands in it and not feel any tracks. I no longer have to deal with that embarrassment. You know when you get a weave and keep playing that duck n dive game every time he tries to run his hands through it? Yeah, that’s not me when my fro is out. He can touch it whenever. He loves that cottony feel….
5. Spontaneity! We can dive into a pool any time we feel like it. I can swim like a normal person and not like a dog trying to keep my head above the water. I don’t care about “sweating the style out”. Who cares? I wash it 2 to 3 times a week anyway. I’m free to do what I want when I want.

*The fine print*….yes, there is a catch! He also has to put up with hours of conversation about hair. Now he is a guy’s guy. And I know it must be real love as he endures my various crazy requests to “touch my hair!” , “smell my hair”…”take a picture of my hair”……..or “yeah please pick up bread, eggs, milk ….and Tresemme naturals conditioner!”. The poor man has had to endure spending the afternoon with a girl with a Pick n Pay plastic bag on her head as I deep condition my hair. Sometimes I just whip out the hold clingwrap mid-conversation and start wrapping my hair. Or sometimes when I have Jamaican Black Castor Oil in my hair, he has to deal with that smokey fragrance in my hair. lol! Have you ever watched someone put eggs in their hair? Eeeeewwww!

The product junkie in me cannot stop buying products. So every time he needs some Vaseline for his lips, he has to stand there in my bathroom for a good 5minutes, wading through the bottles and tubs and tubes.

But what I am grateful for is that he has been supportive in my healthy, natural hair journey. Not many men are. Some prefer their women to always have weaves down to their backs. But he is happy with whatever makes me happy. And he encourages me to wear it out and let the sun shine on my nappy head. 

I hope you enjoyed my take on natural hair in a relationship. The reality is that not all men embrace the natural hair look. Its up to you to decide how you wear your hair and how that fits in your relationship. Ultimately I believe confidence is very attractive. Your man may not necessarily like the kinks and frizz, but he will definitely love the confidence you have.....

Have a nappy happy day ladies!

How to grow your hair long!

Many of us want lovely long flowing locks. I won’t lie, that is the ultimate goal in my hair journey. I watched a Disney movie a few weeks ago, Rapunzel! She had looong shiny and strong hair. I want, I want! or hair like Yaya da Costa above, daaaayaaaamn!

But how do we achieve this? Is there some kind of potion we can apply that will magically grow our hair? Some kind of recipe that will allow the hair to sprout like Jack’s magic beans that turned into the giant stalk.

So firstly I have some bad(ish) news: there is nothing you can apply to your head or take in your body that will make your hair start magically growing to epic lengths. Ok now that’s out the way, keep reading for the reality……

Yes I said there is nothing you can do that will MAKE your hair grow. That’s because your hair is growing anyway! Even right now as you read this, it is growing. So why does it sometimes seem that our hair isn’t growing. Its easier to notice that your hair is growing when you relax your hair. You get new growth coming through, several centimeters at a time. You re-touch the hair then you see the extra length. BUT your hair doesn’t to be retaining that length. Cos by the end of the year your hair is the same length it was at the beginning, or in some cases shorter!

That leads us to the first point. Clearly our hair is always growing, but we need to retain that length!!!! What does that mean? How do we do that?

Retaining Length

We need make sure we keep the hair that is growing. The ends of your hair are the oldest parts. In our routine we need to make sure that we hold on to these. How do we start? I would say start with a fresh trim, especially if you have split ends. Since these cannot be repaired, you need to get rid of them to stop the damage.  The ends of our hair need to be moisturized and conditioned regularly.

Moisturize ad seal daily, and also do special oil treatments and deep condition to keep the ends healthy.

Another reason our ends can be unhealthy and breaking is that we leave them unprotected. Sometimes your hair rubs on the clothing you are wearing. It can rub on your collar and this can rob it of moisture and also hair can catch on your collar and break. Thus many women use protective styling to retain length. This means wearing your hair in a bun, where the ends are protected from the elements and your clothing. Some women do “damp bunning” before tying the hair up they apply moisture and put it in the bun. Some go a step further and cover the bun in plastic before putting a fake bun over it. This way you ends are being super moisturized throughout the day.

Other protective styles include wigs and braids. My personal favourite is corn-rowing my hair then

wearing a half-wig. It looks cute, and my ends are always protected from the elements.

So what’s the other way we can help our hair grow? By having a healthy scalp.

Scalp care

As I mentioned before you can’t apply something to your scalp to MAKE it grow. However, you can ensure that your scalp is an conducive environment for the growing of hair….huh? ok think of it like a field of maize. If the soil is not healthy, the maize will not grow to be healthy no matter how much fertilizer you apply to the soil.

The same applies to our hair. Start with a healthy scalp. When you follow a good regimen you will notice that your scalp will get healthier and healthier. Dandruff will be minimized or completely eliminated (I will do a dedicated post on this a later date). Hair grows at its maximum rate on a clean and healthy scalp.

Washing or co-washing your hair regularly will help keep it clean. Product build up on your scalp will clog the pores on your scalp and your hair will grow at a slower rate. Everyday our scalp sweats and attracts dirt too. We need to regularly clean the scalp. In my routine, I wash twice a week and a day after I wash the hair I apply a light natural oil such as coconut oil or jojoba oil. When I have braids or a weave in, I still wash it (will also do a post on how to do this) but I mix in peppermint oil into the scalp mix, this prevents dandruff and soothes the scalp. I also use Jamaican black castor oil on my scalp. It helps to draw out impurities from the hair.

However you can also get the refined castor oil in health shops and other shops such as Pick n Pay where I buy the brand called Hercules.  A word of note with the use of castor oil, as stated it draws out impurities from your scalp. Many women have reported how well it works for them, however for some with a sensitive scalp it can create a bit of sensitivity. In that case I would suggest diluting it in carrier oil such as olive or coconut. If that is not effective, I would say stop using it on you scalp. Perhaps you can try using it to seal your ends, and for your scalp try oil.

Part of scalp care….and I love this part…..is scalp massages. Your hair needs nutrients from your body to help it grow. These nutrients reach the scalp in its normal circulation function. One way to increase circulation on your scalp is to massage it. A gentle massage everyday or a few times a week will go a long way. It will help you relax at the same time too. Dab your fingers in your favourite oil and gently massage your scalp using your fingertips in small circular motions. Take care not to scratch your scalp with your fingernails.

And the last tip for growing long hair is to do it from the inside….

Healthy body=healthy hair

This is the most important part in my opinion. Ensuring that your body is healthy goes a long way in growing hair, after all hair is a reflection of internal health.

Having a healthy balanced diet is essential not only for you wellbeing but also for lovely shiny hair.

I also take a multivitamin to help me along. If you want to take supplements as well, talk to your doctor or pharmacist first, they will help you integrate this into your lifestyle and diet.

Part of body health is also exercise. I read an article from the States recently where the American Surgeon General expressed concern that black women may be sacrificing their health for their hair. He referred to the fact that African American women are hesitant to embark in exercise at times because they do not want to sweat or get their hair wet and ruin their hairstyle.

This made me sad. Our hair should not get in the way of our lives. It shouldn’t come to the point where you can’t jump in the pool with your kids because “mummy doesn’t want to get her hair wet. Its only hair, it will grow and you can always wash it. Don’t let the need to keep your locks in perfection prevent you from exercising and getting on with the rest of your life. So go on that jog, sweat it out in the sauna…your hair loves moisture! I will definitely be doing a post on African hair and exercise in the future.

I am a realist so I will also add that don’t expect your hair to grow over night. Hair grows an average of 1.25cm per month. This of course varies for each person, but you can see how long it takes to grow. Learn patience and I would avoid doing length checks too often. A watched pot never boils. Check up on length every 3 or 4 months and that will help you see how far its growing.

So that’s it! That’s how we can help our hair grow long and healthy. This is the basis of our hair care routine and we build upon these principles.

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/

Me, my hair and I....

As a child my mother kept by hair very short, until an aunt suggested she start growing it. So began the routine of getting it braided by my tete (auntie) week after week. She would use twine to braid the buns and I was always excited to see how long my hair was each time we took them down. And it did grow. However, as I got older I fell for the lure of relaxers. By the time I was 13 I was relaxing my hair religiously with a Dark and Lovely kit picked up from the flea market. You see, t was no longer ‘cool’ to be seen out with natural hair-gasp!

When my hair wasn’t relaxed it was braided in the tightest braids you could imagine. Occasionally, when I remembered or felt like it, I would grease my scalp with whatever product I could find. I would say my hair got washed a maximum of 10 times a year back in that era. And slowly my hair began to deteriorate in condition.

I kept up that routine of braiding and relaxing all throughout high school and into university. My hair got thinner and thinner. And my hairline began to recede.

I moved to the UK end of 2006. It was there that I first did research on how to take care of black hair.

I was shocked seeing the videos on youtube of other women who had badly damaged hair like mine but had managed to turn around the condition of their hair. Page after page, and video after video of long luscious healthy locks. I was gobsmacked. Black women just like me whose hair was beautiful. I made the decision to start taking care of my relaxed hair.

I washed and conditioned and moisturized, and although I was retaining length my hair was still damaged.

That was my lesson number 1.

If your hair is damaged, begin your hair journey by focusing on getting it back to health. Health first, and the length will follow.

In my case, my relaxed hair was badly damaged. It was now past shoulder length with my new routine, and I went for months without relaxing it but could not retouch it because it was still unhealthy. That was lesson number two, never relax badly damaged hair!

So what was I to do? My hair was now getting length BUT it was two very different textures, the ends were thin and relaxed damaged hair. And the roots were luscious kinky, coily, thick and soft.

So I cut them off.

It took me a while, but one day I just grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off my hair to a length I last had as a child

That was 18 months ago and I haven’t looked back! This blog is for the woman who loves her hair and sees it as her crowning glory. I LOVE HAIR! Natural hair, relaxed hair….weaves, locs,braids,….any type of black hair is good for me. What I care about is HEALTHY hair. I cringe when I think back to how I have treated my hair over the years. I know now better and would love to share my knowledge with you. At this stage, me experience is with natural hair because that’s how I wear it these days but I also know what it takes to have beautiful relaxed hair too.

So let’s share what we know and grow our hair beautiful and healthy together…..

God Bless!