Super Duper Moisturizing Deep Conditioner and revisiting my wigs!

Ah! How I love Mondays! I get to actually rest and think clearly and not be worried about late coming staff, the heat, the generator or how to get fuel (these last couple of weeks have been especially trying what with the fuel scarcity and someone's bright idea to give a directive that fuel should not be sold into jerry cans. I mean, in a country where we practically provide our own power, you'd think someone somewhere would be sensible enough before making directives such as these. Or are we supposed to carry our generators to the Fuel Stations??!)

Anyhoo, so I decided to give my hair some pampering (my hair hasn't been washed in 2 weeks) and what with the heat, all that sweat from bootcamp and all the oils and stuff I've been using to combat the dryness I was experiencing, there was a little bit of a funk going on deep down in the roots lol!

I want to braid my hair again for the next 8 weeks (hopefully) so I knew I was due for some proper cleansing and deep conditioning to fortify my hair.

Combating the hot weather and maintaining moisture levels in my hair.

This heat is, well, HOT!!!!!!

I almost burst into tears some time last week because of the stifling heat - I don't get it. It's like everyday it gets hotter and hotter and even hotter. I got into my car a few days ago and on the dashboard, the outside temperature was clocked at 40 degrees!!!!!! Seriously, I think Mother Nature is pissed with us lol. Growing up in Lagos, it was never this hot but as the years have gone by, the temperature levels have gone barmy. If this is a sustained upward trend, I dread to think what will happen in the next 10 years.

Anyway enough of my bellyaching - the one thing that this endless heat and impossible humidity is doing for sure is that whatever moisture I put in my hair seems to evaporate within a few hours. So I've had to change up my regimen a little bit.

Detangling AND stretching your hair in the shower - How to cut your detangling time by half!

I've always been one to detangle/comb my hair only when wet or damp - either in the shower while rinsing out my deep conditioner or after rinsing and while applying leave in products. Normally this would mean that when I'm done I'd be left with a few shrunken braided sections of hair plus I'd spend a bit of time first detangling in the shower then applying products afterwards. I decided to try a a different route the last time I was detangling in the shower and I was very pleased with the results.

So in essence what I did was use the weight of the water from the shower as a detangling aid - each section I worked with, I would first finger detangle then use my wide toothed comb to comb through making sure that section was free of tangles. Now what I would usually do in the past is just braid the section loosely with my head away from the water but this time around I kept my head under the shower making sure the water was running down the section of hair. Since the weight of the water makes the hair 'hang' down  and loosens up the strands, I was able to very easily braid the hair in its hanging state.

Dry, thirsty hair? Green House Effect (GHE) to the rescue!

For some reason, in the last week my hair has been feeling dryer than usual - I suspect my constant need to be in air conditioning (because of this heat wave we've been experiencing) has something to do with it. My hair was feeling rather crunchy two nights ago while I was trying to moisturize and seal and I'd just clarified and deep conditioned the day before so I didn't think it was due to product build up

Anyway last night I decided I'd do a super duper moisturizing deep conditioning treatment today and remembered that I could also do something called 'The Green House Effect' which helps to moisturize hair.
Essentially how it works is you apply some oil to your hair, cover with a shower cap and then tie it tight with a scarf or two or three :)  (the objective is to trap as much heat as possible in your hair which will in conjunction with the oil, help moisturize your hair and also allow the sebum from the scalp, nourish the hair)

Transforming my traditional 'Shuku' into an elegant updo!

I never thought the day would come when I would actually have a desire to have shuku plaited on my hair but not only did that day come but I went a step further and had it done!

I'd said before that I want to spend the next couple of weeks really caring for my hair but don't want to leave it out all the time and since for some strange reason I've been wanting to have my hair done up in a shuku style using the 'Didi' method, I decided to take advantage of one of my girls who is a Didi guru - doing it the typical traditional Yoruba way.

Anyway, because I feel my forehead is kinda high, I didn't want the shuku too far back on my head and had her do it right on top of my head - my personal joke was that I looked like an Osun Princess lol.

Boot Camp Woes!

I didn't realize how unfit I'd become until Monday morning when I began the Body Alchemist Boot Camp being run by Tony Ekaidem at the Lekki Fun Turf. It shouldn't have come as a surprise really considering the fact that in the last couple of months, my work outs had been sporadic at best.

All I did was a few jumping jacks and I was out of breath! I was ashamed of myself! What happened to miss running 3 miles every morning? or Zumbaing every other day or sometimes working out twice a day?!!!

 They had all gone with the wind and all I now have in their wake are 2 small flaps of back fat, a slight pudge in my lower abdomen and thighs that seem to jiggle a little bit more than normal!!!

I am determined to get my body back in tip top shape so help me God! I'd said before that my intention for joining Boot Camp is not to lose weight but to tone up and that was the answer I gave the lady who this morning asked with a raised eyebrow and hand on her hip, what exactly I was trying to 'lose' lollll.

I don't think you need to be overweight to try and be fit and firm - which is what a lot of people believe when they make snide remarks or give you the side eye just because in their opinion you don't have any weight to lose and therefore have no business working out.

Styling fellow Blogger - Berry Dakara!

So today I was visited by Berry Dakara fellow natural hair enthusiast and blogger. Berry recently had her exceptional and absolutely GORGEOUS wedding story and pictures featured on Bellanaija (click here) and it was a truly enjoyable experience working with her and her lovely mane of hair!

Her objective was to get a blow dry and trim but after blow drying her hair and working my fingers through those locks, there was no way I was going to let her step out of the salon without doing something simple yet elegant for her.