Hilarious

My 2year old niece has a tender scalp and usually waits for me every weekend to treat her hair. I couldn’t do it last week since I was handling my own hair and my sister as well. So I was tired and couldn’t continue. Well after waiting for me all week to show up, she took matters into her own hands.

My sister called me up this morning to inform me that yesterday night, she found her daughter in front of the mirror  moisturizing and sealing her hair. Apparently she had taken all the hair products I usually use for her out of the bag and commenced her treatment. When her mom asked her what she was doing, she simply stated ‘I’m treating my hair’.

Have a great weekend peeps!

 

Product Review: Roux Porosity Control

One main product I’ve had a positive experience with is the ‘Roux Porosity Control Corrector & Conditioner’. This product restores the hairs’ ph to normal. I’ve used it consistently on a weekly basis by mixing 2 tablespoon to my deep conditioner mix. Do you often end up with dry, frizzy hair after moisturizing and sealing daily? If you do, then you need this product in your kitty.

What is responsible for dry & brittle hair is the inability of your hair to absorb moisture.  What gives? Well, it may be your hair’s porosity. What is porosity? It’s your hair’s ability to absorb water, products and moisture overall. The ranges are broken down into low, normal and high porosity. Here’s a strand test followed by a break down of each range, what it means for your hair regimen and how to repair it.

Porosity Test

Next time you wash your hair, grab a strand and drop it into a glass of water. If the strand immediately sinks to the bottom, then your hair is of high porosity. If it floats somewhere in the middle with ease, then it’s of normal porosity. If it seems to stay at the top, taking forever to sink downward, then your strands are of low porosity.

Low Porosity Hair & Regimen

What does low porosity hair mean? It means your cuticles are tight and pretty resistant to opening up for water and moisture. This is more than likely due to genetics. Does it usually feel like products you apply are just sitting on top of your hair? Your hair doesn’t readily absorb products; hence its inability to retain the moisture and shine your hair needs. The strand stayed at the top of the glass because water couldn’t get inside of it to make it sink. The tricky part of having low porosity hair is how well it can actually hold moisture once inside, but getting it inside is the key! Beware of products with a low pH because high acidity works to keep the cuticle closed. In other words, they won’t help your case! Look for products using more alkaline ingredients that will help lift your cuticles. Regular baking soda treatments (Google: Cherry Lola Treatment) or products containing glycerin may help improve moisture levels. Granted, many naturals have issues with both ingredients so test them out for your particular hair type and see if they help! Try avoiding products loaded with oils, as oils serve as sealants for the cuticle and may work against your efforts to lift them. Steamers are great tools for aiding with cuticle lifting, as well. And when applying products, make sure your hair is damp, as you’ll need all the moisture you can get!

Normal Porosity Hair & Regimen

What does normal porosity hair mean? It’s pretty self-explanatory! It means your strands allow for easy moisture inside the cuticle. This range tends to take color and perms better than the other two. And will also hold moisture and shine for a longer period of time. It’s essentially considered a very desirable and low maintenance hair type. However, be aware that regular chemical processes, including heat, can change the hair’s porosity over time. Healthier ingredients, regular deep conditioning, moisturizing and little to no heat regimens will help keep normal porosity strands at optimum health.

High Porosity Hair & Regimen

What does high porosity hair mean? It means your cuticles have been exposed to a severe amount of damage, either through environmental factors or the overuse of heat and chemical processes. Does your hair seem to stay wet for a long time? Or do your strands feel as though as quickly as they absorb moisture from your products is as quickly as they lose it? Your strand sank to the bottom of the glass because of the gaps and large openings, allowing for the entrance of more water, all throughout the cuticle.

Thicker butters and products with more oils are helpful for this hair type as they will seal the cuticle and even serve as a protective layer. You want to use things with a low pH, which are acidic, and will help tighten the open cuticle. Sealing with pure Aloe Vera after applying your leave-in will be extremely helpful. A regular apple cider vinegar rinse, diluted with 2 cups of water, will also help detoxify any pollution (from being so openly vulnerable to the elements) and help seal the cuticle. Protein treatments are also recommended to temporarily patch the gaps. The truth is, there is no repairing overly porous hair.

These regimens will help make it more manageable but you will need to do regular trims, so you can focus on the new growth, and put a major halt in the use of heat and chemicals will be key in reversing the trend.

Source: Google

Wash Day II

I tend to end up with puffy hair since I transitioned to texlaxed hair but I’ve got more texture than i ever had before commencing on my journey to Mid-back length.

Off to treat my sisters’ hair. Will post pictures during the week.

Wash day photos & tutorials

Readers Question

Q: How do I grow my hair to bra strap length for a Nigerian lady?

Ladies, please believe that your hair can grow to any length you desire. I’m a living proof of that. My hair goal for 2013 is MBL (mid-back length) and five months later I’m an inch away from bra strap length. How did I get here? Through patience and treating my hair with utmost care. I also dropped my love for heat and learnt to air dry, deep condition, co-wash and conducted a lot of research online to educate myself.

We often think that the weather overseas helps African American ladies grow their hair but that is quite false. Houston (Texas) has the same weather condition as Nigeria and I saw a lot of African American ladies with long, healthy hair. Growing your hair to whatever length depends on how you treat and nourish your hair. Remember your hair needs moisture to retain length and elasticity.

Q: How often should I mix castor oil to black tea for my hair growth?

You cannot mix castor oil with black tea for faster hair growth. Black tea contains 14-61 mg caffeine. What caffeine does is to block the hair hormone responsible for hair loss – dihydrotestosterone. You use black tea as a rinse before applying your deep conditioner.

Q: Where in Lagos can I buy castor oil packs?
Call 07026364892 or send an email to: todaysnaira@hotmail.com to place your order.

To inspire you on your hair journey whether it’s relaxed, texlaxed or natural, check out this video from Shortysweet59 below. She grew her hair from shoulder length to waist length within 1year 10months.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Nappy Hair

At 14weeks post relaxer stretch, I’ve got nappy hair now and I’m itching for a touch-up or retouch (as we call it here in Nigeria). Since I’ve committed to a 21week stretch, I really want to see how far I can go. It’s time to invest in a clarifying shampoo to rid my hair of all product build up. I have a bad habit of playing with my hair and edges especially when driving. Once I get into the car, my hand automatically strays to my hair even though its’ in a protective style and I keep twirling and twirling the hair strands for the next 1hour 30minutes till I get home.

Yeah it’s that bad and I’ve got to kick this bad habit to the curb. So I got home last night and took my hair down to moisturize and seal. At 14weeks, I’ve got a lot of new growth and finally I can distinguish it from my texlaxed hair (a post coming up on that). While ordering products for clients, I ordered Komaza Care Califia Moisturizing Spray for my new growth so I could handle 3 textures better as seen in the pictures below:

The first time I used Komaza Care, I didn’t get the kind of moisturising slip I usually got with leave-in conditioner (either Giovanni leave-in or Elasta QP) and so I kept it at the back of my drawer. Deep conditioning has really aided me in preventing hair breakage cos you can see the line of demarcation where my new growth meets my texlaxed and bone straight relaxed hair. I am yet to incorporate co-washing on a weekly basis to my hair regime cos once I get back from work, I’m usually too tired to do nothing else but moisturize and seal.

The big surprise that I got yesterday when I took my hair down and actually looked at it while trying to determine the new length I’ve got…ding dong…wait for it. Ladies, my new length is currently BSB (below shoulder blade). Furthermore, I’m an inch away from BSL (bra-strap length). I’m really tempted to go for a touch-up but I’ll just have to wait till July (week 1) before doing so. I’m waiting that long cos I’ll be going away for summer vacation in the States and I need my hair to be in top shape for the trip.  Furthermore, I’ve decided to invest in some quality wigs for future hair stretches. So what product has been of great benefit while I’m on this long stretch? None other than Mane N’ Tail Detangler. Honestly anytime I use this product, my hair soaks in all the moisture and my new growth becomes soft and easier to comb. I”ve decided to still keep the Komaza Care till I know how to use it or maybe I’ll do a giveaway (keep your eyes on this page for that).

Product Review – Shea Moisture Organic Hair Thickening Growth Milk

Product Description:

This product thickens, volumizes and softens.

• Baobab oil-Contains vitamins A,C,D,E and F to fortify and strengthen hair
• Yucca-Thickens hair and helps to prevent hair loss
• Biotin-A powerful B vitamin that strengthens the hair follicle
• With coconut oil, silk protein & neem oil
• No parabens, phthalates, paraffin, gluten, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, animal testing, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, animal ingredients or sulfates

My review: After reading great reviews about this sulfate free organic shampoo online, I decided to give it a try since I wanted an alternative from my regular Ion Smoothing Shampoo. This product actually works and it contains some fine ingredients such as Yucca & Biotin which are especially good for preventing hair loss and strengthening as well. You need to shake the bottle before using due to its’ organic constituents. After washing my hair, it felt smooth  and gave a great a slip making detangling a breeze since I’m 13weeks post relaxer.  I also noticed more volume after air drying. This is definitely a keeper and I will be alternating it with the regular shampoo I use.

To place an order, send a mail to: todaysnaira@hotmail.com

 

 

Natural hair anyone

I decided to put up this post on behalf of my beloved niece who’s 2years old. As you can see, she’s got lovely thick & long natural hair which we’ve been grooming since she was a day old. When I used to frequent hair salons, you’d find me cringing when I see mothers fixing weaves for their young female kids or applying relaxers.

For heavens sake, they’re kids and hair regime should not be a tortuous one. You’ll find kids screaming their heads off due to the painful tugging that hair stylists subject them to. So when my sister had her baby girl, we decided we were going to do things differently by applying the same techniques my mum used when we were younger.

These are the products we use on her hair:

Green tea as a leave-in.

a mix of Jamaican Black Castor oil & Grape seed oil.

Giovanni Direct Leave-in conditioner ( the white transparent bottle on the left beside Komaza Califia).

We’ve grown her hair successfully to arm-pit length as you can see from the picture. Don’t treat your child’s hair carelessly, treat it with utmost care. I see a lot of young girls with bald patches and its really annoying how we treat their crowning glory with such apathy.

If you’re clueless on where to order products for your daughters, send a mail to: todaysnaira@hotmail.com

Wash Day Diary

1. Pre-poo my hair with Jamaican Black Castor Oil & Grapeseed oil on my scalp & entire hair length. Covered my hair for 2 hours with my shower caps to generate heat.
2. Washed my scalp with Ion Sulfate Free Smoothing shampoo. Wrapped my hair using a cotton t-shirt & left it for 30 minutes. Applied black tea rinse & left it on for 30 minutes before deep conditioning.
3. Deep conditioned with ORS Replenishing Conditioner, Roux Porosity Control & castor oil, covered my hair with 3 shower caps & left it for 2 hours ( I deep condition for longer due to my new growth & texlaxed hair).
4. After 2 hours rinsed out the deep conditioner, wrapped my hair with a cotton towel & left it for 30 minutes.
5. Once my hair was 80% dry, I applied Elasta QP Moisturising Butter, Paul Mitchell Skinny serum & sealed with Grapeseed oil.
6. Divided my hair into 5 sections and carefully detangled. I only had minimal shedding as seen below. My new growth was soft and easy to comb. I ended up with soft fluffy air dried hair.

I’m currently 14weeks into my stretch and becoming more adept in managing the 3 textures I’ve got (bone straight, texlaxed & new growth) without losing so much hair. Can’t wait till my 21 week stretch is over.

Reader’s Question

Q: Does oil moisturize the hair or only seal the ends? In as much as you can’t drink water when thirsty, you cannot use oil to moisturize. Rather you use it to lock in moisture to the hair.

A: To use oil or not is a personal choice when you’re embarking on your hair journey. However, the benefits cannot be overemphasized.  One major benefit of using oil is that it is massaged into the hair and it treats both scalp and hair. When you leave it overnight, it results in shiny and beautiful hair. Oiling the hair also assists in repelling harmful UV (ultra violet) rays from the sun. While oil is beneficial, you don’t want to oil your hair on a daily basis. Oiling your scalp 3times weekly and focusing on locking moisture to your hair ends sparingly is quite effective in retaining length.

How to Oil your Hair

1. Choose your hair oil carefully by focusing on the benefits you can derive from its’ use. However you will need to conduct your research on the different types of oil available such as Castor oil, Coconut oil, Avocado Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Rosemary Oil, Lavender Oil e.t.c.2. Put a couple of oil drops on the palm of your hands

3. Rub your hands together for a few seconds to warm the oil and spread it evenly over your hands

4. Scrunch the ends of your hair in your hands because your hair ends are the most damaged and require utmost care.

5. Re-apply the oil to your hands and gently run your hands down the length of your hair. If you’re using the oil as a leave-in (once you have applied your leave-in conditioner), doing this once is enough. Your hair shouldn’t look oily.

• If you are using the oil as a wash-out treatment, repeat this step a few times. You should be able to tell your hair has oil in it, but it shouldn’t be soaked with it.
• If you’d like luster in your hair, try massaging coconut oil onto your scalp and leaving it there overnight, to be washed out next morning

6. Apply the oil to just your fingertips and and massage into your scalp.

Image Source: Google Images