My hair regimen- Feyi's weekly routine

A tid bit on regimens

Just before I launch into the dets of mine just a quick tid bit. I don't have a specific regimen I tend to respond to my hair so for example I wash it when it seems a bit too dry or when I think it looks a bit dull and needs some TLC. My regimen has evolved with time. I have played with products and routines to see what works best for me and have been flexible. I have also learnt that my regime is specific to me. Natural hair varies and what works on mrs' A may not work on Miss B. You have to consider your hair texture and find what works best for you. That being said there are some natural hair musts:

1)    Avoid shampoos that contain sulphates and parabens

2)    Always use conditioner

3)    Seal in moisture with oils, avoid anything that contains mineral oil

4)    Use a leave in conditioner

5)    Try to deep condition with a protein rich conditioner every so often.

So here are the dets of my routine:

Shampooing and conditioning

Whenever my hair gets too dry or dull or just doesn't seem happy I give it a wash (usually twice a week). I use Bodyshop's Rainforest Moisture shampoo. Then I literally drench my hair with Herbal Essences's Hello Hydration. I tend to do this once I get in the shower so I can leave the conditioner on my hair for a bit while I shower. Then I wash it off. I used to co-condition my hair but I found that my hair would get rather hard. Started shampooing and found that it makes a world of difference.

Oils and leave in conditioner

So once my hair has been washed and conditioned. I pour some of my oil mix into my hands and distribute it though my hair trying to pay special attention to the tips. This basically is to keep/seal moisture into your hair. My oil mix is made up of:

·      Coconut oil

·      Olive oil

·      Lavender oil

·      Rosemary oil

·      Cedar wood oil

·      Tea tree oil

·      Avocado oil

I will put up another post about the different oils and their benefits on hair.

Once that's done, I pour some of my Bee Mine Leave In Conditioner into my hands and distribute it through my hair, again paying special attention to my tips. Note, I do all this while am still in the shower

Scalp care

Then I part my hair with my fingers and apply some Lush R&B on my scalp. Then with a big-tooth comb I give my hair a comb. Now am ready to head out of the shower.

I don't towel dry my hair because I have found that it makes it fizzy. So I just put a towel around my shoulders while I decide what to wear for the day lool and let my hair air dry.Then I style and go as desired. I usually tend to use some Curl Junkie Aloe Fix hair gel if am going for a bun or a puff or something that needs a slick look.

Deep conditioning

I try once a week or once every 2 weeks to deep condition with a protein rich conditioner. I wash my hair with shampoo as normal then I very very generously smoother my hair with either Vatica egg protein deep conditioner or if I can't find that I use Organics hair mayonnaise. I comb it through my hair with a large tooth comb. Apply some more to the tips of my hair then wrap my head in tin foil (helps generate heat). I leave it in for about 30mins-1hour depending on how much time I have. Then I rinse out. Apply my oil mix, leave in conditioner, give my scalp some lush love(use my lush r&b). Style and go.

Everyday

My hair loves water and is happiest when it gets hydrated everyday with water. So every morning after I have had a shower, whilst am still in the shower, I wet my hair ( just a quick dash of water esp on the tips. So it's not dripping wet but its nice and damp and moist) then I seal in the moisture with my oil mix, apply my leave in conditioner and use lush r&b to hydrate my scalp, comb with a large tooth comb and out of the shower.

If by the end of the day my hair is a bit dry and fizzy, a few squirts of water with a couple of drops of my oil mix tends to refresh and revive it

My product list and where to get them from

1) Bodyshop rainforest moisture shampoo 

(Bodyshop; http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/haircare/rainforest-moisture-shampoo.aspx)

2) Herbal Essence hello hydration 

(Boots, tesco, anywhere really)

3) Coconut oil

(Bodyshop or your local continental hair store: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/beautifying-oils/coconut-beautifying-oil.aspx)

4) Olive oil 

(Bodyshop or your local continental hair store: http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/beautifying-oils/olive-beautifying-oil.aspx).

5) Lavender oil 

(Holland and Barretts, Boots or your local continental hair store: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=279&prodid=732&cid=296).

6) Rosemary oil 

Holland and Barretts or your local continental hair store: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=482&searchterm=rosemary%20oil&rdcnt=1

7) Cedar wood oil

Holland and Barretts or your local continental hair store: 

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=493&prodid=531

8)Tea tree oil

Holland and Barretts or your local continental hair store: 

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=272&prodid=452&cid=63

9) Avocado oil

Local continental store

10) Bee Mine Leave In Conditioner

British curlies online store: http://www.curlyemporium.co.uk/products/Bee-Mine-Deja%27s-Hair-Milk-8oz.html

11) Lush R&B

Lush stores: https://www.lush.co.uk/product/324/R-and-B-Hair-Moisturiser

12) Curl Junkie Aloe Fix Gel

British curlies online store: http://www.curlyemporium.co.uk/products/Aloe-Fix-Styling-Gel-16oz.html

13) Vatica Hair Protein Deep Conditioner

Local continental hair store

14) Organics hair mayonnaise

Local continental hair store 

Kinks and Curls,

Feyi.

Good Hair Practice: When Buying a New Hair Product

Do’s and Don’ts

Heya!

This post is a first in a series of "Good Hair Practice" posts. It serves as a guide for newbie naturals and a reminder for those who've had their curls for a while.

Do’s

• DO read the list of ingredients before buying any new product. It’s generally best to stay away from mineral oil and sulphates, and gravitate towards natural ingredients like shea butter and olive oil. I'll elaborate on this point in a separate post.

• DO carry out some research before buying a product. Google it, check blogs and YouTube reviews, ask friends.

Don’ts

• DON’T get distracted by fancy packaging. A black and gold container with ribbons on the side and confetti flying out the bottle doesn’t necessarily mean that its contents are good for your hair.

• On a similar note, DON’T be deterred by underwhelming packaging. One of the best leave-in conditioners I’ve ever used – 911 emergency – has an absurd name, cheap packaging and 2 typos in its product description.

911 Emergency Leave-In Conditioner for Extra Dry Hair

• DON’T buy any product that has more than one major purpose. A “2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner” can’t be anything but a deathtrap.

• DON’T buy any product you don’t actually need. This is a surefire way to becoming a product junkie.

• DON’T buy any product just because you’ve “heard it’s good”. Find out exactly what good it does for the hair (does it add moisture? Is it a good sealant? Does it make the hair soft?)

Do you have any more tips for buying new products? Please share! :)

Natural Hair Meet-up in Lagos

Hiya!

I attended a natural hair meet-up - Naturals in the City - on Saturday 6th July (see flyer below) in Ikoyi, Lagos, and this is just a brief review of the event. It was hosted by Natural Nigerian – www.naturalnigerian.com. This was the 6th edition of the program, and they are usually held every few months or so.

I’d previously been to one of these events, the 4th edition of the series last November. Then, Leila (my sister) and I got there quite late, after all the talks were over, but I was hugely impressed by the wide array of products available and how reasonable the prices were.

So I was really excited to attend this July edition, as I assumed it’d be even grander than the previous one. We got there much earlier than the last time, and were able to sit in on one of the talks. However, I found that there weren’t as many vendors as the last time, which was a bit disappointing. But I met so many wonderful women, and chatted with a few of them. I’ve never seen so many natural-haired women in one space at the same time, and it truly was a sight to behold :) There were tons of different hairstyles; updos, twists, afros, braidouts. It really was fantastic.

I’d strongly recommend this event for all ladies in Lagos. Fair enough, the majority of the attendees were kinky curly girls like me. But as long as you have hair, whether it’s natural, relaxed, tex-laxed (learnt this term on the day), there’s something there for you.

For the natural-haired girls, apart from the fact that it’s a one-stop shop for all your natural hair needs, it’s also a great way to meet other naturals in the city. Sometimes it’s easy to feel alone because no one understands your hair talk, or cares about your hair journey. This event is a sort of haven where you can recharge your batteries, ready to face the world again, knowing that there are tons of other people in your shoes.

See below for pictures.

Natural Nigerian

Hi! :) Gotten from the Natural Nigerian website.

Knotty by nature,

Faridah

Chinweike's Journey to Natural Hair

Hi Bloggers,

I was asked to do this piece by my wonderful friend, Faridah, so here is my Natural Hair journey .

When I used to relax my hair, I hated how my hair would fall flat and lose its bounce. It felt dead to me. Through the course of time, I used different types of relaxers (Motions, Dark and Lovely, etc….. you name it). I eventually switched to using the famous “Olive Oil Root Stimulator relaxer” which gave my hair some life but it was still relaxed.

I decided to go natural for a couple of reasons. First, I realized that I was spending a lot of money on relaxers. Second, I hate chemicals (I had this weird thought that the chemical relaxers were seeping through my scalp and into my brain and could cause brain cancer. I know it is silly but that was how scared I was). Third and most importantly, my hair kept cutting especially the little hairs in front.

I did not shave my hair completely as some people might do. Instead I transitioned from my relaxed hair to my natural hair. I don’t remember the date I last relaxed my hair. All I remember is that I noticed in December 2010 that my hair was due. I had a lot of undergrowth which I covered up by doing braids and weaves. It took another five months before I did my Big Chop (May 2011). I literally had to hunt people down to help me cut my hair just because a lot of people did not want to cut my hair. They said it was too long to cut and they liked it relaxed.

Anyways, I finally found one of my very good friends who decided to give it a go. I cut off most of the relaxed parts and left a little bit of relaxed hair and the bottom part natural. Eventually the relaxed hair broke off and I have been natural ever since. I noticed that my scalp was super sensitive and there were sometimes that I felt like just putting relaxer back into my hair. For my ladies out there transitioning, my advice would be to hang in there. In the famous words of India Arie “This too shall pass”. Eventually, my scalp got used to my natural hair (It accepted the fact that my natural hair was going nowhere).

Now, taking care of my natural hair was not a problem because my mum refused to allow me to relax my hair until SS1 (Grade 10). So, I was natural from birth till I was about 13 or 14 years old. However, there were numerous things that I had to learn such as the need to comb my hair when it is wet as opposed to when it is dry, the importance of using protective hair styles, how to condition and wrap my hair, trying different hair styles especially more mature ones (as opposed to our beloved Nigerian cornrows and threads) and so on. I would love to thank YouTube, and my natural friends for their support and advice when I needed it. 

I have to say, I love running my fingers through my hair and feeling my natural curls. I won’t change this experience for the world because my natural hair has taught me a lot of things about myself and my body that my relaxed hair was too weak/dead to do. 

Love,

Chinweike

The bridesmaid hair dilemma

Hey hey,

So yesterday was the wedding of my dearest darlingest brother. Was an amazing day and I had an awesome time. Prior to the wedding however I had a natural hair dilemma, a bridesmaid dilemma. 

No weaves for me please

So the bride had picked our lovely dresses and the hairstyle we were meant to aim for (see pic below). So my lovely naturalistas you can imagine the look on my face when I realised my kinky curly naps can most definitely not pull that look off. The only way round it was to do a weave. Here's some context for you. In the 2 years I have been natural I have never: done braids, had a weave or even blow dried my hair actually I have never used heat on my hair. Prior to going natural I have only ever had a weave once for a week when darling Faridah and Dami...... well lets say it was peer pressure and considerable force. I didn't like it and it came straight off at the weekend loool.

So I nicely apologised to my sister-in-law and explained that I wasn't going to do a weave but would try to do something similar. Then the search began for a wedding complaint down-do. 

The search for a wedding compliant down-do

I started off simple. I googled natural wedding styles, the majority of them were up-dos,braids or dreads. They were very very few down-dos. After much struggling and getting frustrated I found a few (see pic) and realised I had wasted my time googling down-dos. Reality hit. I was going to have to leave home at 9:30am and probably wouldnt be back till well past mid-night. This was my brother's wedding, I was going to be mingling with family I hadnt seen in a while, caught up in the emotions of the day and not want to miss a single moment of my big bro's big day. So exactly when was I going to run off to the loo to give my hair a second glance. Let's be real here my hair if left out all day would have turned into dry candyfloss by the evening and would look like a dry sponge.. not exactly the look am going for. I figured no wonder they are all up-dos. Anything else, unless your the bride who gets to run off to be touched-up every now and then isnt feasible. Thought wow ok so no weave, no down-do, well was going to look very different to everyone. O well .

The search for a wedding compliant up-do

Decided that an up-do was my best choice. It would keep my hair up and out of my face, i wouldnt have to fuss or check on it thus was convenient. Would keep my hair moist, healthy and protected. It could look beautiful and elegant. So it really was a no brainer. The search was on again for a lovely, elegant, wedding compliant up-do. These were some of my faves. 

The final decision

At the end of the day I settled for a good old puff. Could have done a bun but for some reason on the day I decided I wanted a puff and I accessorised it with a yellow flower and some screw in pearls that I picked up from Claire's accessorises though you cant really see the pearls in this pic..

Here's a treat for you. My lovely bro, his stunning new wife and the bridal party. 

Kinks and Curls,

Feyi

Hair Regime - Faridah's Wash Day

Hey Ladies,

Ok I’ll be giving details about my hair regime, specifically my Wash Day.

Until recently, I washed once a week. But considering how much my hair is manipulated during the process, I've cut it down to every 2 weeks. I plan my washday a few days in advance, because it’s a long process and I’ve to make sure I have no plans to leave the house for the rest of the day.

Pre-poo

I start off my prepping my hair with a pre-poo (pre-shampoo) treatment. I dampen my hair slightly with a water + conditioner mix to soften it. I then twist my hair into about ten 2-strand twists and seal the moisture in with coconut oil. I wrap my hair with a plastic shower cap/cling film/polythene nylon bag (whichever of these I have available) and leave my hair in this state for about an hour.

Shampoo + Condition

Once the hour is up, I take the wrap off and rinse my hair with warm water. I shampoo my hair, while still in the twists, with TRESemmé Naturals Nourishing Moisture Shampoo. I then finger-detangle with either of 2 inexpensive conditioners: Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner or TRESemmé Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner. Both are great, but each has its stronger points. Herbal Essences has more slip, so it’s easier to run my fingers through my hair and find the knots. TRESemmé is more moisturizing, so my hair comes out softer and more manageable after. So I usually rotate use of the two.

L-R: Shampoo, conditioner and deep conditioner

Conditioner

Detangling

I finger-detangle my hair after its shampooed and I don’t use any combs or brushes during the process. I use the conditioner to detangle each of the 10 twists, one at a time. I’m very heavy-handed with the conditioner; I use A LOT so my hair is as easy to detangle as possible. So I untwist one of the twists (sorry for the clumsiness of the words), squeeze a generous amount of conditioner into my hands and run the conditioner through that section of hair with my fingers. I remove shed hair, sort out tangles and get rid of the knots in that section. Once I’m done, I twist it back up and move on to the next twist. I do this for all 10 twists until my whole head of hair is detangled. This usually takes about 1 hr.

My hair saturated with conditioner, after detangling.

Deep-Condition

Afterwards, I rinse the conditioner out with cold water and apply my deep conditioner. I’m currently using Organics by Africa’s Best Hair Mayonnaise. I apply the deep conditioner to each twist by unraveling it, squeezing and smoothing it into my hair, and twisting it back up. I do this for all the twists, and apply some extra to my edges. I then cover my hair with my plastic wrap and leave the conditioner in for 2 – 3 hrs.

Deep conditioning

Leave-In

After rinsing the deep conditioner out with cold water, I dry my hair with a cotton shirt till it turns from dripping wet to damp. I then apply (in this order) my leave-in conditioner  - Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion - my curling custard – Komaza Care Califia Styling Pudding – and seal with Emily Millionaire Coconut Oil & Herbs, to each section of hair. I use my Denman Brush after applying my leave-in to remove any leftover tangles. I also find that it makes my twist-outs lighter and fluffier. This process takes 1 hour as well. By this time, it’s usually late at night so I leave my hair to air-dry and I fall asleep with my silk scarf placed over my pillow.

My Denman brush

My leave-in conditioner

And that’s it! My entire hair is never left untwisted at any point during the wash. From start to finish, the whole process takes about 6 - 7 hours.

I’ve tried many different methods to washing my hair, and this is what I’ve found works best for me. I may change a product here and there, but the general technique remains the same.

Washed, detangled and moisturized.

 Tips:

• It can be a messy process – wear old & comfy clothes.
• Make sure you’re not tired when you start. And don’t start too late in the day. You’ll rush through the detangling and end up losing a lot of hair.
• Listen to music – it makes the whole thing less tedious.
• Don’t be stingy with the detangling conditioner. Smack it on! Honestly, the more the better.

Hope this was helpful to someone!

All done. Phew! :) 

Knotty by nature,

Faridah

Not so humble beginnings:Aisha's journey to natural

Once upon a time there was a Nigerian princess with long straight hair that was the envy of all the women in the land. Errrrr scratch that. Well I had good hair by all standards: nice, colored half the time and of moderate length (I never really liked long hair so I cut every chance I get). I had no worries (at least not enough to warrant hair loss), various princes were asking for my hand in marriage….as a fine gal concerned and life was good. Here come the evil stepmothers called stress and challenges and ding my hair literally started to fall of. I did everything possible: trim, cut the colored bits off, had treatments (expensive salon based ones but stylists that know their business), a dreadful Supercuts treatment and cut (well I was getting broke). Nothing seemed to work. Like the musical bye bye birdie……my hair was saying bye. So I spoke to my friend that went natural a year back and I thought well I have nothing more to loose. I spoke to my stylist and we agreed on a date, which meant I could not relax my hair. My friend wanted to come see me cut it. She actually thought I would not stick it through. I called her after it was done and well this princess wasn’t bad looking after the hair was gone.

 

To be honest I felt free. I could shower without a cap (the things we princesses had to do to protect our mane) and I gained 10mins in my daily routine because I didn’t have hair to worry about. I thought ok well I can do this. Ever the color junkie I booked an appointment to have my hair colored a month after. I did my ‘first’ big chop in June 2012 (Note the inverted commas) several chops would follow suit.

…..the color purple

Note that I didn’t include any tricks of the trade. I didn’t do much research and just went with the flow. I didn’t even know what type of hair I had. All I knew was that the hair at the back was like chicken bum bum compared to the rest of my hair and I really could shower without using a cap. My friend asked me what products I was using and stuff but I really could not be bothered. I bought coconut oil and I had a keracare hair milk/lotion from my straight days so I just used it. I was excited about changing my hair color. I have never really rocked black hair before. Well there is a reason they say black don’t crack and I was about to find out why.

I must admit that’s not the most flattering picture but that’s what I have to show you. I bleached and went bright purple. I said to myself….self you can do whatever to hair and it would still grow…..errr wrong. I rocked the purple for a few weeks and went plum because I felt it was too bright. After a month I noticed some dark bits coming out and I was excited. It meant my hair was growing. I could actually spot the difference and started marking it down. I must also mention I had to cut it even lower after adding the color so this for all intents and purposed was my second chop.

My friend kept hounding me to do some research, you have to take care of color treated hair differently, what oils are you using blah blah blah. I said to myself…..this my friend is an insufferable know it all. I did go to the market to get oils but found lavender and rosemary oils too strong (the ones I need o). Instead I bought aloe vera, tea tree and olive oil. The tea tree I found it too strong so I stopped using it. I still used the products I used when I had relaxed hair….why waste money. But my hair seemed to be fine and I thought why do people make so much noise about hair.

Looking for my inch

Around September I noticed my hair wasting growing like I would expect. I was literally looking for my 0.5 inches of hair growth. I spoke to my friend. She said in a stern voice….do the research. So I did. I knew there was a black hair community but boy was I shocked at how much information was out there. My hair bio-data is a follows: 4c (around the top and middle sections), 4a at the back, loves leaving conditioner and would dry out faster than spit on a cold winters night. I started taking better care of my hair. I stopped washing as frequently as I would normally do (which was everyday…the princess likes water no wonder she has been kissing frogs and no prince yet). I changed my hair products. I started using the full range of curls and the conditioner was magic to my hair. I still didn’t change my oils……really didn’t dig it and my hair started growing again and then it stopped. I really do notice these things. I used to put it cornrows and by December it didn’t change as much. I sat down and asked myself what’s wrong. Why isn’t it growing again? I spoke to my friend over xmas and also complained about my hair being really hard. I would turn up like iron sponge at the end of the day. She suggested I use glycerin and lord it worked like a charm.

By new years I thought maybe I should cut my hair again. This time learn to live with my natural hair color so on the 19^th I went all wole Soyinka on my hair and ended up with a fro. I changed my oils this time and my hair is finally saying ..you are now getting it right.

And we lived happily ever after….for now

I love my hair now. My cousin has gone natural as well and I was happy to share trade secrets with her. My 2yr old niece has my hair and I feel like the cool aunty that knows what to do all the time. She hates doing her hair because it hurts all the time and frankly speaking the babe just doesn’t want to sit down and get her hair done. She had a lot of playing to do and beauty isn’t pain to her just yet. I intend to texturize it at some point. I get inspired when I see people with long black hair and I tell myself…self im going to get there one day.  I do hate it when I see some people with un kept hair because I feel its fuels the stereotype that black hair is untidy hair. But truth be told, she probably has a bad hair day or hasn’t gotten a hang of managing her hair.

Natural and proud

Aisha