Having Natural Hair = No Braids or Weaves?!

It's funny how in the last 4 weeks since I've had braids, I've had mixed reactions from people who haven't seen me rock braids since I went natural.  A number of people actually stop me, call me or send me messages asking me why I have braids on if I'm supposed to be natural??

I was mystified the first time it happened actually - I mean is there a memo somewhere that I missed?




I say this because a number of them actually spoke with forceful authority as to how I have no business with extensions in my hair since I'm supposed to be 'natural' lolllll

I've come to take it in my stride or laugh it off when I'm not in the mood to explain but when I am, all I say is , braids and weaves are a form of 'protective styling' that can be worn by anyone whether natural, relaxed or transitioning. They help you retain length as you don't have to worry about daily styling manipulation.

Sometimes they way I'm asked is akin to my being accused of betraying a trust/code or something - mind you, most times these questions are from non natural peeps so it makes me wonder how they came about their own interpretations of what it means to have natural hair.

Fun At The Savvy And Chic Garden Party!!

My Floral Dress :)

Lovely Set Table with us lovely ladies having a chat :)

It was fun all the way at the Savvy and Chic Garden Party yesterday evening (then the rain tried to ruin it all but we overcame! lol)

Beautiful Dabs

To bring everyone else who hasn't read the previous posts up to speed: Dabs the lady behind naijahaircangrow.com, The Savvy and Chic Hub and The Savvy and Chic Magazine, decided to bring a few bloggers together to have a chilled time, talking, networking and pretty much learning from one another. She'd also given each blogger the opportunity to bring one of their readers as a +1.

Gotta show my toned legs :)

From the minute I'd received the invitation from Dabs, I knew I would be in for a pleasant visual stimulation  - the card was all pretty and floral and when she said the theme for the day was 'Florals' she certainly wasn't joking!

'Damage Be Gone' Natural, Home Made, Deep Conditioning by Olori.

I love all the fantastic natural cosmetic products that local entrepreneurs are producing and promoting - it's a testament to the growing awareness on healthy living and our desire to take better care of ourselves.

I got a hold of the deep conditioner 'Damage Be Gone' earlier on this year, used it and loved it!  I was attracted to it because it's made of natural products, can be used in a variety of ways and can be used on different types of hair! Recently I met the lady behind the products and we've concluded plans for KL's Natural Beauty Bar to retail the products!

According to their really cute 'call card' the product 'deeply moisturizes to improve the texture of hair as well as restore its lustre and shine. It is also gentle enough for little princesses ages 2 and upwards'

The conditioner comes in  3 different sizes - a large 27 oz Family Size tub, a 13 oz tub and a 6.7 oz tub. Now, it is mainly made up of natural butters and oils which means it's very rich in it's composition and consistency - you don't need to slather it on the way you would regular conditioner so you get a lot of uses from each tub.

Back at the Afterburn Bootcamp!!

Honestly, I battled with this one for a while. I did the Boot camp earlier this year as a way to jump start my fitness regime and it helped a great deal! I lost inches round my waist and hips, toned up my arms and legs and got my endurance and fitness levels up.

After it was done, I continued at home, using a few of  Jillian Michaels' DVD's ( my favorites being '6 week, Six pack' and  '30 Day Shred') I managed to get even more toned and developed my very own six pack!!!

I was so happy when I got here!

Alas, trouble started brewing when I started getting bored with Jillian Michaels; I'd skip a few work outs and do some push ups and core work instead (but for shorter and shorter periods of time)

And the winner of Our First Giveaway Is........

Coming later than planned but today has been one of those excruciatingly long days that hasn't ended yet as I have some prepping to do for my bride tomorrow morning.

So I got 5 entries  - out of which 4 were correct (The title of my first post was 'Hair We Go' not 'Here We Go' :) and using the random number generator, I'm excited to say, we have a winner!!

Caring For Your Hair While In Braids.

Source

Five or so years ago, I went to get some braids installed and opted for a deep condition first .The hairdresser  mixed the deep conditioner she was going to use with some Shea butter and put me under a steamer for a deeper penetration of the conditioner. I probably  had the style in for about six - eight weeks and I remember the day I took it out at the salon, I noticed (and my hair dresser also remarked) that my hair seemed to have grown about an inch and a half.

I'm a lover of braids so I figured I'd  get another deep condition with Shea butter (hey! it was the magic ingredient), go get 'million braids' leave them in for longer and witness another 'miracle' when I took them out. The day I took them out, I immediately went to get a relaxer - so I could see the 'true' length of my hair.

I will never forget how when the hair was being combed with the relaxer in, it seemed as if surely, someone had hidden a blade in the teeth of the comb! The amount of hair that came out!!! I still see clearly in my mind's eye, how they put all the hair mixed with relaxer on the instruction sheet of the Relaxer kit as if to say 'well if you can't see it on your scalp, have a look at what could've been)

Of course by the time I washed and styled, my hair was shorter than when I got the first set of braids that got me so excited!

Needless to say I thought the magic could be recaptured if only I remembered the exact deep conditioner that my hairdresser used that first time - I thought maybe the Shea butter worked better with that one.... and so began this search for THE conditioner that surely was the one that would make me grow rapunzel like lengths.

Our First Giveaway! A chance to hob nob at the Savvy and Chic Garden Party.

ooooohhhhh!!! I'm so excited I'm fit to burst! lolll. Okay so I got an invitation from the lovely lady behind naijahaircangrow and Savvy and Chic Magazine - Dabs; to be a part of the Savvy and Chic garden party holding on Sunday September 28 at 3pm.

Now the event is strictly by invitation and  I've been given the added pleasure of picking one lucky reader to come with me :)

The dress code is  STRICTLY FLORALS and this has to be adhered to as they plan on (maybe) featuring pictures from the event in the next issue of their magazine.

Building A Healthy Hair Regimen

I've probably spoken about this in different ways in different posts on the blog but I've noticed that a number of people still struggle with figuring out what to do and when to do it and what product to use at what point.

I believe the first thing that needs to be settled in anyone's mind before building a regimen is the level of commitment you're willing to make. There is no point in deciding to do so many things that will take up some 3 hours every other day in the week when you don't really have that time to hand. Some people have more time to give than others and that's fine. All that needs to be done is to tailor the regimen to suit your time and your needs.

The main steps to consider in your regimen building are:
1. Cleanse
2. Condition
3. Moisturize
4. Protect

Finally got my braids in - Protective Styling Continues!

Finally! After weeks of sticking my fingers in my hair, 2 protective style fails and an intense bout of twice weekly conditioning; my tresses have finally been put away in my favorite protective style of all time - braids!!! Yay!

For about 3 weeks leading up to this time, I switched up my regimen a little - deep conditioning my hair about twice a week and  since I didn't want to shampoo till I was ready to braid; I would pre poo overnight with my oil of choice (Njoy on scalp and coconut/brahmi oil on hair) and  in the morning, I'd slather on deep conditioner to my hair, cover with a plastic cap and then use my heating cap for about 30 mins to an hour. I'd then rinse the deep conditioner out, co wash, apply my oil mix to damp hair ( coconut oil, Olive oil, Avocado oil, Castor oil, Jojoba Oil and Rose hip seed oil) and then follow up with either my Kimmaytube mix or just the Kinky Curly Knot Today leave in conditioner.

I normally use this with my Rhassoul Clay wash mix but it's packed full with so much goodness, I decided to add some to my oil mix for daily use.

I was wearing a wig in this period so my hair was always in about 7  or so plaits and in the evening I'd oil the length of my hair with my oil mix. Using the LOC method (Liquid, Oil, Conditioner layered in the hair in that order) on my wash days actually helped me retain moisture in my hair for longer! So all I had to do in the days following was just oil my hair for added strength without having to remoisturize. It's definitely something I'm going to incorporate again when I take down my braids.

My August Brides!

So in August, I had 2 gorgeous but absolutely different brides to style. Mosun -  Viviacious, Ebony -skinned, care free, straight talker who wanted to add volume to her hair (she has a TWA) using the awesome Heat Free Hair. She'd originally wanted to get a full weave but on seeing the style that she had picked I knew a weave would not work and it would be better to use clips so the hair could be put into the sections needed for the style she wanted.

Bundle of Heat Free Hair Clip in's as advertised

Now, seeing as we were going to be using extensions, it was important that we at least had one trial run so we could see what could and could not be done or what modifications we would need to make to the style to suit her face. Challenge was she's based in Kwara and somehow we weren't able to find a day to sit down and do anything!

By the Friday evening before her wedding when she was back in Lagos, I was hyperventilating as not only had I not picked up the hair, but we hadn't even sat down to figure out how we were going to style the hair! Mosun was as calm as you can imagine lol you'd have thought it was my wedding the way i was fretting. She just said to me ' you know what? We'll just have to go with the flow' and I was like '*gulp* okay'.