What's In Your Spritz Bottle?

Spritz bottles mixes are such a quick and easy way to quench your hair's thirst on a daily basis without the manual process of moisturizing and sealing where you take your hair section by section and apply product and an oil.

 Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the latter process should be completely done away with - I'm just saying for those times your hair is in twists, braids or even if you have a weave (raise your weave and spritz the tracks), you still have an effective and quick way of moisturizing and sealing your hair so your hair's health is not neglected.

Moreover since the contents will be something you have control over, you can get as adventurous as your mind will let you!

Natural Hair Tips For Beginners.

*I originally wrote this piece as a contributor on another blog but I've decided to re - post here*

Going natural can be a liberating, exciting and enjoyable experience as you discover your real texture(s), learn what it likes and doesn't, and explore new ways to wear your hair. As enjoyable as it can be, it can also be a daunting task because let's face it - how many of us were taught how to care for our hair when we were growing up?

A lot of our mothers were frustrated taking care of our hair and it is that feeling of frustration that most of us have associated with our natural hair. The reason most of us got relaxers was to escape the ‘unmanageability’ of our natural hair as the general belief was that the only way we could look pretty and/or manage our hair was if it was relaxed bone straight. Back then having natural hair (or being ‘natchie’) was seen as uncool and even local.

Thankfully, with awareness, information and more ladies rocking their natural tresses and growing it to previously unheard of lengths; more women are beginning to embrace their own hair, discovering that all it takes is patience and learning. 

So with that in mind, I've put together a few things that I believe will help if you've recently become natural, are transitioning, just thinking about the idea or if you need some extra tips to help you on your healthy hair journey.

Henna Time!

*Doing the MC Hammer typewriter* oh oh oh oh oh oh oh! Here come's the Henna! lol!

From the moment I learnt about the many benefits of henna, I've been hooked - like, literally. At a point, I would henna weekly (it's that good) but these days, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything I want, done!

So what's the fuss about Henna? Well, henna is a natural dye and because it doesn't contain any of the chemicals used to bleach or color hair, it is safe to use on natural, relaxed or colored hair. Quite apart from its dyeing properties, henna also strengthens, adds shine and volume and coats hair strands thereby keeping it from any damage (or further damage).

Pure henna looks green to brown and will give your hair a red/auburn tinge. Should the package purport to give you any other color then it is not pure  henna and has probably been mixed with something else. While there are other very good natural plants that condition and dye hair black (Cassia Obovata a.k.a 'neutral henna' and Indigo respectively) they are completely different from henna even though they are normally grouped along with henna.

Finally Found The Best Accessory for Puffs - Pantyhose!

For the longest time, I've been struggling to get my puff to look sleek and tidy without whatever accessory I'm using, poking out from under the puff. 

Recently, I was watching a YouTube video ( I forget which one now) and the lady there spoke of how she uses pantyhose to get her hair up in a puff and I thought - why not?

The Exciting World Of Natural Oils And Their Benefits in Hair Care Part 2.

So in the last post, I'd started talking about the various types of natural oils there are and how beneficial they are not just in hair care but in skin care as well.  While the list of carrier oils in my last post is by no means exhaustive, those are the more popular oils used in hair care so I'll be moving on to those wonderful, aromatic, power packed things called essential oils.

Now, as I'd mentioned in my last post, essential oils should NEVER be used directly on the skin or scalp as they are very potent and can cause irritations, headaches and other adverse reactions.

Because of their natural potency and healing benefits, many essential oils are important and beneficial in stimulating hair growth, the treatment of hair loss and damage, relieving and treating scalp conditions (dandruff, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, alopecia areata etc).

Essential oils should always be diluted with carrier oils and a general guide is 6 - 15 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil - this can be adjusted to suit each person's need and sensitivity levels.

The Exciting World Of Natural Oils And Their Benefits In Hair Care - Part 1.

Before the 'revolution' in  black hair care began, a lot of hair products specifically targeted towards the care of our hair, were laden with mineral oil a.k.a parrafin liquidum and petroleum oil a.k.a Petrolatum (some of them still are actually). Now while these emollients are not 'bad' in of themselves, the effect they have on our strands in the long run is where the problem lies.

We know now that moisturizing our hair daily with a water based moisturizer and using a deep conditioning treatment weekly is a key factor in making our hair supple, well elasticized and breakage free. When we apply these moisturizers, it's like giving our hair a 'drink of water' - effectively quenching its thirst.

Now think of petroleum jelly - if you smear some on your hand and then pour water on that portion of hand, what happens? The water glides off as the petroleum jelly has created a 'barrier'.

The same thing happens with our hair! When we apply products laden with these substances, they create an un - permeable barrier and any moisture we try to apply subsequently, just sits on top of the strands instead of penetrating through and 'quenching' the hair's thirst. Result? Hair gets dry, brittle and eventually breaks off. This is even more pronounced for those who wash very rarely yet load these products on their hair and scalp very frequently.