Reader’s Q&A

Q: How do I grow longer hair overnight?

A: Unless you’re Rapunzel, hair does not grow longer overnight at least for African hair. It takes patience, perseverance, listening to your hair needs, determining what products works for your hair. These steps will not be accomplished within a few weeks or months. Basically, if you’ve subjected your hair to unhealthy practices over the years, it’ll take time to unlearn these bad habits and pick up new ones.

So take it one day at a time. Learn the basics and kickstart a healthy hair regime and you’ll begin to see results in small, measured steps.

To other news, our stock of Natrol Biotin Chewable Biotin are available for ladies who’ve requested notification. Just head over to the website to place your orders. We offer ‘Payment on Delivery’ for the following locations: Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt & Ibadan).

Have a fun filled weekend.

Wash Day Routine

Products Used:

 

1. Prepoo with ORS Hair Mayonnaise. These days, I prepoo with a protein treatment on dry hair for 40 minutes with my heat cap. I’ve also stopped mixing oils with my deep treatment products. I use the product as it is. I don’t know if there’s a big difference between this huge jar and the regular size jar. This gave a lot of slip and easily penetrated my hair strands. I’ll be switching from this brand to Hollywood Beauty Carrot Deep Treatment soon. I’d like to compare both brands in terms of efficacy.

2. Once time was up, I rinsed each section with warm water before using the Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Shampoo. Tea rinsed and left my each section to dry using the hair clippers.

3. I applied Garnier Fructis 3minute undo dryness reversal treatment (it’s a moisturizing deep treatment), to each section focusing on my ends, and gradually working my way up to the roots. Sat under my heat cap for 50minutes. Switched off and waited for 10minutes more before rinsing out the deep conditioner using cool water.

4. Wrapped a cotton towel on my hair to absorb excess moisture for 20minutes.

5. On damp hair, I applied Chi Silk Infusion to each section before blowdrying with the KISS Handle-less dryer using cold setting.

The key to straight hair is to start with your ends and work your way up to the roots. If you start with your roots, you’ll end up with frizzy ends. One single pass across each section does the trick.

6. I proceed to apply Hollywood Beauty Mayonnaise Moisturizing Creme Oil to my ends and length. I also apply an oil mix consisting JBCO and peppermint oil on my scalp. I run through each section (25strokes) with the paddle brush and I’m done.

Have a great week ahead!

Import Window Now Open – March

Due to popular demand, we’re currently accepting import orders for the month of March. Please note that the import window will be open within the period, 4th – 10th March, 2015. 

How does it work?

Based on your requirement, kindly send in a list of the items you’d like to order and I’ll revert back with the prices and mode of payment. Once payment notification is received, your orders will be placed immediately.

So when will my orders arrive?

If this question is running through your mind, all orders placed within this period will arrive by 2nd week in April (Apil 11,2015) and it’ll be shipped out immediately. For Ladies who’d like to place an order from individual manufacturers listed below, it’s important you take a decision on the products you want on time as these manufacturers often require additional 3-5days to process orders and once you factor in transit and delivery timelines, some products might not arrive on time (Hair Trigger Elixir, Hairveda Sitrinillah, Hairitage Hydration, Naturellegrow, Bee Mine Deep Conditioners, Darcy’s Botanicals, Vanilla Silk Dreams and a whole host of other individual manufacturers).

Please note that the import window closes by March 10th 2015.

How do I place my order?

Simply fill in the form below and I’ll revert with required information for each individual order.

Name(required)

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Website

Message

Submit

Δ

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Recent Shipments

We’d like to inform ladies who’ve called in to pre-order for Manetabolism Vitamins that new stocks have arrived and you can place your orders by clicking on the link here.

 

Why Hot Water is Essential

While prepping up my hair for a wash today, I had time to reflect on some of the practices and changes I’ve made to my hair. The most frequent question I’m asked at the salon is “Aunty, do you prefer cold or hot water to wash your hair”?

Over the years, I haven’t had the desire to probe why this question is often asked at most Naija hair salon till I began the quest for healthy, long relaxed hair. When I commenced my journey, I often used cool water to wash my hair. This I did continuously for a year before evaluating what was working in my regimen.

A common feature of a typical wash day is the 1hour prepoo session, consisting of a protein deep conditioner and a mix of several natural oils. Using cold water will not get rid of the product buildup and once my hair is dry, I often have this coated film over my hair which indicated I was doing something wrong.

Why Hot Water is Essential: An important reason why you need to use hot water when washing your hair is it opens up your hair cuticles. If cold water closes the hair cuticle then hot water opens it up and it needs to be open when you cleanse and condition. Then you can easily remove any dirt, build-up and oils from your hair and be sure that your hair will effectively absorb everything you put in it.

Today, as you prepare to wash and deep condition your hair, never  stray from this basic rule. Incorporate the use of hot water when washing your hair and you’ll see tangible results sooner than you think.

Caution: Always ensure you mix an adequate amount of cold water with the hot water. It should be in a ratio of 60:40 with 60% being hot water and 40% cold water. The thing is that hot water can be quite harmful at times but you also shouldn’t use solely cold water for washing your hair. The best strategy for most ladies would probably be to use warm water instead of hot when shampooing and conditioning. Don’t apply cold water at that point because you want the scalp pores and the hair cuticle to be open.

If you feel like there’s particularly much grease and oil in your hair then you may turn the water from warm to hot in order to really open up everything and get those things out but remember that frequent use of very hot water is damaging and you have to be careful. Use cold water only for your final rinse in order to seal everything after you’re done and remember that it doesn’t have to be ice-cold – choose a temperature that you can tolerate.

Popping & Hand in Hair Syndrome

I’ve got an ongoing nasty habit. On days I wear my hair out, I often have my hand in my hair searching for a split end or single strand knots. Often times, I might not have access to my scissors and end up popping these offending hair shiznits (as I like to call them). The other habit is twirling my hair around my fingers once I’m behind the wheels driving. It’s a bad habit I know, but it’s become a daily ritual and I’m trying to wean myself off the wide path that leads to hair destruction.

To kick this habit to the curb, I’m indulging in some protective styles I came across on Pinterest. I still intend to wear my hair out but by the 2nd half of the day, it’ll end up in a messy bun held up by bobby pins.

To other matters, I’d like to give a special shoutout to a reader on this blog who has gone ahead to establish an online food delivery service within the heart of Calabar. If you’re on vacation or reside and work within this serene city, then it’s time to get your food groove on by placing an order with ‘Dineoutng‘. They’ve got a range of indigenous and international cuisine available.

They also cater for corporate organizations, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers and a whole lot more.

Product Review – Natrol Biotin Chewable

I was introduced to this brand of Biotin Chewable during my hair assessment with Stevie. She advised me to get it as it’ll aid my new hair regimen. I was a bit skeptical cos I’ve always been lazy when it comes to popping pills but she’d assured me this will be different since I’ll only be required to take one pill daily. Furthermore, it was available in a sweet strawberry flavor and easily dissolves without drinking water.

She told me to get the 5,000mcg and 10,000mcg jars. She’d advised I start off with the 5,000mcg and if I love the results, then I should switch to the 10,000mcg jar provided I’d exhausted the first jar. Off to the store she recommended and I got both jars.

I commenced usage by mid-November with the jar of 5,000mcg and dutifully popped one pill at night before going to bed. True to her words, it was like popping Vitamin C and it made it easier. When I shared my concern about possible breakouts and stuffs, Stevie had laughed away and stated there won’t be such episodes.
My Observations:
* Easy to swallow as it dissolves easily.
* I was going to the toilet 2ce daily for No. 2 which I never missed since I commenced usage.
* By November ending, I observed my clothes were loose and I needed to take in my jeans.
* My nails grew like crazy.
* My skin has remained clear and there have been no breakout incidents.
* For the very first time, my eyelashes were popping as I noticed more growth in that area.
I compared notes with my younger sister who commenced usage at the same time and noticed that she’d lost 10kg within 2weeks of usage. During my monthly Skype chats with Stevie, I had casually mentioned that I was losing weight and she affirmed that this brand of biotin actually processes your food intake which increases your metabolism leading to weight loss. She further asked if I’ve been going to the toilet frequently and my answer was a big fat ‘YES’.
You might be wondering what happened to my hair with all these wonderful results. Yes, I got growth and it’s the kind of growth I usually get within a 6month stretch cos I got an inch each month as can be seen from the picture below:

I also went online to check if there were ladies who had recorded growth and this was what I saw:

These are some of the pictures I saw online and it cuts across racial divides but the reviews are largely positive. So I’m onto a good thing and will be ending my 16week stretch by next week.
I’ve been quite diligent with my new regimen and the results are paying off.

What’s Relative on your hair journey?

There are several reasons for starting out a hair journey and the culprits have ranged from thinning, breakage, alopecia, stagnation in hair growth, split ends, mid shaft splits or breakage, single strand knots and the list is endless. What spurred me on a healthy hair journey was thicker hair and overtime, that goal hasn’t changed. Sure there are other benefits such as length retention and the longer hair lengths, but the underlying goal has always been thicker hair.

As the months rolled in, thicker hair has been achieved relative to the fine, thin strands I commenced with. Often times, I have wished for thicker, voluminous hair like I see online but I have come to realize it’s a gradual journey. The most important thing is to stick with a regimen that works for your hair type or strands.

The most important thing you can do for your hair in 2015 is to embrace change and see which directions it takes your hair. Remember keep it simple always.

To other news, new stocks of Manetabolism Vitamins have arrived and you can place your orders directly by clicking the link here.
We’ve also got pure Moroccan Argan Oil available as well.

Image Source: Laurenmechelle.com / Pinterest

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year and it’s great to be back on this platform after a long break. During the Christmas and new year break, I took out time to assess the health of my hair and also decide on the hair goals I want to achieve this year. By the way, I love this cold, dry weather and I’ve been keeping my hair protected by investing in some quality silk head scarves I can wear when going out. Of late, I’ve been wearing my hair out a lot since I commenced on this new regimen.

Basically, my hair goals for 2015 are:

* Maintain and sustain my new hair regimen.

* Keep up with a daily dosage of Biotin chewable vitamin (gotta say the growth has been amazing and it also keeps the weight off).

* 100 strokes three times weekly with my paddle brush.

* Touch up every 16 weeks.

* Eyelash trimming every 4 weeks.

* Blowdry on cool once weekly with my KISS Hand-less Dryer.

* Keep up with monthly scalp scrubs.

In terms of length, my full year goal is to achieve bra-strap length. I intend to keep things simple and easy going forward based on the results I’ve been seeing.

I wish you all an amazing year ahead.

Year End Verdict

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending to my niece’s hair. Both of them had been hounding me to wash and deep condition since my sister had been too busy. I commenced with the younger one by detangling and once we were done, I was amazed at the results we had gotten for the past 4years since we started taking care of her hair.
See pics below:

Suffice to say, we spent 2hours ogling and taking pictures of this huge Afro.

She’s excited about her length now and wants to wear it out. Prepoo was done with Aubrey Organics GBP for an hour. Nowadays, it’s important her hair is braided in 10sections to make it easier to wash. Applied green tea rinse, allowed it to dry and applied Silk Dreams Shea What to each section; covered her hair with a shower cap and left it on for 2hours before rinsing out. Wrapped her hair with a cotton towel for 20minutes before sealing in sections with Giovanni Weightless Leave in & Trader Joe’s Jojoba oil.
She’s at mid-length now and the thickness and length is simply amazing.