Loving My Inverted Braids Plus Cornrow Combination

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas!!! Trust we've all been eating and having a merry time this holiday season! I'm sure I've gained a few pounds already but I shall not think too much of it - I shall go into operation melt the pounds off in the days to come :)

It's been such an incredibly busy time what with the season, trying to get the new place ready and a million other things happening at the same time! I knew I wouldn't have time to worry about my hair so decided to put it away in a protective style - but this time I wanted something a little different from what I would usually do.

KL's Natural Beauty Bar Is Coming To Lekki!!!

I am beyond excited to share this news!!! Our expansion plans for the year have finally taken root! It has been such an interesting journey - one which I will share soon.

3 Day Intensive Natural Hair Training!

To round up the year, we will be doing one last 3 day natural hair training workshop showcasing how to get some gorgeous, eye turning red carpet updos, how to get amazing silk presses on natural hair and also utilizing amino acid treatments; and finally how to help your client (or yourself) transition with as little trouble as possible.

Having Fun At The Genevieve Beauty Awards

Firstly I want to say a big big thank you to everyone who took time out to vote for me! Though we didn't win (this time) it meant so much to me that:
1. My work was recognised
2. So many people were full of encouragement and went out of their way to vote and also got others to vote.

I am truly thankful!

Okay so having said that, the awards show (this was their first) was billed to start at 5pm on Sunday the 13th of Novemer -  I had planned on getting there for 6/6.30 thinking that they wouldn't start on time (hides face).

I had deliberated on what I would wear - it's an award show, I was a nominee so I had to look great right? :) My really good friend Kix suggested I go to Moofa Designs and seeing as they're also in Dolphin, that made it easier for me. I browsed their instagram page and saw this pretty blue dress that looked like it would be perfect.


Went in the next day and there the dress was just waiting for me to pick it up lollll. Seriously though, I tried it on and it was a near perfect fit. They just needed to take a few inches in on the sides and take the hem up a little as it was too long and that was it!

Natural Nigerian, Moi, Dabs of Naijahaircangrow and YellowSisi

So Sunday dawns bright and early and I have all sorts of things lined up on my schedule including styling hair for a couple of models on a shoot for Stella's Addiction and Eleanor Goody. Of course I got caught up at work and ended up leaving the salon at almost 4pm. Still had to go get make up done, clean up and dress up!

I hate rushing through stuff so I was already getting a little panicky when my makeup didn't start till 5pm - finished just before 6 and rushed home to get dressed. At this point I still wasn't sure what I was doing with my hair so I knew I would have to create something fast!

Check Out These Wigs And New Styles I've been Rocking!

At the Beauty Africa Exhibition

So! I've been trying to enjoy my hair a bit more without manipulating too much. What that translated to was me wearing out my hair a few times in my go to rolled updos, then I experimented with twists (which I'm not very crazy about lol) and lastly, a few wigs for colour, volume and to make it more interesting.

Just taken down my crochet braids, and doused my hair in oil lol. You can actually see the streaks of oil in my hair

Also because I've been working out quite a bit, I want to be able to co wash or rinse more often without having to be worried about the extensions on my hair. Speaking of which! I had twists done a few weeks ago - co washed with the ManeChoice 3 in 1 conditioner and then deep conditioned with their restorative mask.

Our Beautiful Brides, Brides To Be and Bridesmaids Wearing Their Natural Crowns!

Hi everyone! It's been a minute!!

So I kinda broke my laptop (covers face) and it's been a nightmare doing anything.

see how flat it now lies?  It couldn't stay upright anymore!

The truth is that, it could well have been avoided if I'd done something when it first happened - I had mistakenly kicked it off my centre table months ago and one side of it cracked. I took it for repairs and was told they would have to hold on to it for about a week! I kept thinking what would I do without a laptop for a week??

Well needless to say, I didn't drop it off and kept putting it off and the laptop went from bad to worse. Things got to a head when the screen was now affected and I would have to hook up my HDMI cable from DSTV to the darned thing so I could see what i was doing on my TV screen.

Anyway, thankfully I've been sorted with a new laptop now so I'm back in business!

Just thought I'd show you what we've been up to in the last couple of weeks (months even!) with our gorgeous brides, brides to be and bridesmaids.

Training For The Design Essentials Team.

One of the things I'm blessed to do is train stylists in the use of products from the Design Essentials Natural Range. As an Educator for DE, when they need to either increase the knowledge and skill base of new technicians or train stylists in a salon that has recently become a DE partner; I get to come in and show the different ways and methods the products can be used and the different styles that can be achieved.


So recently, DE had signed on new partner salons in Warri, Delta State and also in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where they will soon be launching and as such had a few stylists come down to Lagos to get some training in the use of the products,

Wondrous - the amazing stylist behind Wondrous Hair was in charge of the Salon System line (relaxers et all) and so the stylists had a couple of days with her. I then took over for the next couple of days, taking them through the Natural Line.

Source: Instagram @wondroushair

So I Got Nominated For Best Hairstylist In The Genevieve Beauty Awards!!

Here I was last week, lying down on my favourite couch at home and doing what I like to do best to unwind - scrolling through my Instagram Feed. I come upon Genevieve Magazine's page and notice they have a list of their nominees for their Beauty Awards. So I'm like - ah lets see who got nominated for what.

I start from the first category and I'm going through each one - mentally making a note of who I will vote for and also excited when I see Natural Nigerian nominated in the Best Natural Product (Skin and Hair) Category. Only for me to get to the Best Hair Stylist Category and at the bottom of the list I see Kemi Lewis and my eyes widen in shock with my mouth dropping open - literally!

Caring For Your Little Girl's Hair.

As a little girl I had a couple of dolls I enjoyed playing with - my favorite was my darling Jemima (named after the lead character Jemima Shaw on the TV show 'Jemima Shaw Investigates') and she was my little baby.

She went everywhere with me and styling her hair was one of my favorite pass times.
As girls we want so much to play mummy that we mother our dolls 24/7 so I totally identify with that feeling when you have a real baby girl and want her to look like a pretty little bundle of cuteness  (I know that I can't wait!)

And that is why you see so many babies with these little pretty colorful adornments in their hair. This is fine. However, it begins to be a problem when in styling her hair, follicles and scalp health become compromised.

Over the years, I have seen so many disheartening things being done to little girls all in the name of hair styling but 2 recent separate incidents spurred me to do this post.

Strengthening And Conditioning The Ayurvedic Way.

When I first began my hair journey, I was faithful with my Ayurvedic treatments - Henna fortnightly or monthly and Ayurvedic conditioning at least once a week. My hair had little to zero breakage, was thriving and had amazing thickness and sheen. You see, my 4b strands are fragile and quite prone to breakage so anything that strengthens them without causing dryness is perfect for me.

 Then the desire to try other stuff out (as Yorubas would say, 'ojukokoro' lol)  plus lack of time saw me doing less and less of it till I practically abandoned it altogether. Lately I haven't been feeling my hair because I wasn't getting the best of it and therefore needed to tweak my regimen or completely overhaul it.

I was reading NappilyNigerianGirl's blog one day and realized two things:

- We have somewhat similar textures and fragile strands

- She doesn't joke with her Ayurvedic treatments (including oiling) and has been able to strengthen her strands to the point where her breakage is almost minimal - meaning better length retention of course (she's currently at waist length) Now while that's not really a goal for me, better length retention and healthier, stronger strands definitely is!

Source: Nappilnigeriangirl.com

My Warri, Delta State Trip, Courtesy Pam Hairitage!!

Ah! So I have this customer Pamela, who lives in Warri, Delta State and anytime she's in Lagos, she always makes it a point to come down to the salon to have her hair pampered. She called me a few months ago saying she really wanted to start bringing the naturalistas in Warri together and was thinking of hosting a Natural Hair Themed event and asked if I'd be willing to come down to support. Of course I said I would love to!

So, July 16th was set as the D Day and everything was planned and organized. My flight was due to leave at 7.40am on Friday the 15th so I got up bright and early, had a cab drop me off at the airport and joined the long Arik queue for check in. 7.30, 8.30, 9.30, 10.00 - No boarding call!!! All I could think of was those extra hours I could have been sleeping in my bed! Finally at about 10.30 we started boarding amid the usual 'we're sorry for the delay blah blah'.

Landed safely in Warri and I had a driver waiting for me to take me to my hotel. Got in the hotel, threw off my clothes, ordered some food and then slept!! I mean this was Friday, one of my busiest days of the week and I get to be in a hotel room with no heads of hair to wash or customers to attend to! Instead it was Room service and T.V? And a big, soft bed?? Aaah! It was heaven! loll As much as I love what I do, it was a good feeling to just lounge and sleep in the middle of the day.

Anyway, the following day dawned bright and early, and my assigned driver came to get me and dropped me off at the venue. I have to give it to Warri Naturalistas - they were on time!! Event was due to hold at 12 noon and we already had people seated by past 11.

Happy Anniversary to Us!! We're 3!!!

source:youtube.com

Honestly I can't believe how much time just flies!!! I remember just like it was yesterday - the mix of excitement, fear, panic and sheer joy. God has truly been faithful - in the past 3 years we've expanded our range of products and services, grown from 3 staff to 10, grown our client base and there are so many more things that God has in store for us!!

August 9th 2013 - My friends supporting me on the opening day even though they weren't (and still aren't lol) natural.

In the beginning - we had a small generator and couldn't put up a sign yet. Spot the small airer for our towels?

We started with whipped shea butter in 2 scents - Lavender and Jasmine

2 styling stations was what we first started with

'Dream, Hustle, Achieve' - My Diamond TV feature!!!!

I was so stoked yesterday when a friend tagged me on Diamond TV App's post  yesterday showing that I'd been featured on their Dream Hustle Achieve Series which showcases female entrepreneurs. (To go to their site, click here )

They had actually approached me in June or July last year and shot this then; so I had practically forgotten about this until I saw it on their instagram page and went and watched the video. Another amazing thing is that the friend who tagged me on instagram is the same friend I speak about in the video who helped me create KL's Naturals!!

Throwback Thursday to my very limp looking ponytail!

Loll! I don't know what it was I was looking for when I stumbled upon this picture from 2011 when I was trying desperately to salvage my relaxed hair. Looking at it and then at what my hair is like now, I can't help but be amazed and thankful that I chose this journey.

Fabulous Natural Hair Styles for our Brides, Graduants and Proud Mums!

It's been graduation and prom season and of course our brides too haven't been left out of the fun! I didn't realize how big a deal graduation had become oh! Even for primary school kids! Loll. It's all good though. We've been having a lot of fun styling so many young ladies for their graduation and prom ceremonies and here's a little snippet of what we've been up to:

One of our June brides, Bukky. She didn't want a sleeked back look with her tiara. That was something she was adamant about. After playing with a few looks, we settled for this low bun in the back and side sweep. 

Graduating in style with a vixen crochet instal - This lovely young lady who's been a customer with us for a while now, wanted a vixen crochet she could style in different ways. Using our beloved Afri Naptural definition braid, we were able to give her a seamless 4 way vixen crochet install which she's styled in different ways! The versatility is absolutely fab!

Silicones, Sulfates and Choosing the right Products for your hair.

As a stylist and salon owner I get to talk and interact with a lot of naturalistas about their hair journey, hair products and hair health. The one thing I have noticed time and time again is that a lot of people are fixated on 'Sulfate Free Shampoos'. They go natural, read up that sulfates are bad for your hair and then invest in sulfate free shampoos - which in and of itself is a great thing.

HOWEVER they begin to suffer from bad breakage, hair starts to thin and even though they seem to be doing the right things and using the 'right' products, their hair is not co operating! Most times when I hear this complaint, the first thing I ask is the name of the deep/leave in conditioner they are using and when you look at the ingredients you notice they have silicones and mineral oil high up on the list.

The thing is while sulfate free shampoos are great for natural hair as they are non stripping, a lot of silicones and other ingredients are non water soluble and can only be removed from your hair using a sulfate shampoo. The continued layering of these products on your hair without washing them out properly will cause build up on  your strands, no moisture will penetrate through and you begin to experience breakage as the hair becomes brittle from lack of penetrative moisture. This is why you will notice most brands that produce 'sets' will have sulfates in their shampoos where they have silicone rich conditioners.

Before we go any further, lets discuss what Silicones are, what they do for the hair and the type of silicones we have.

Caring For Your Hair While In Crochet Braids.

Curly crochet braids - had just washed and conditioned my hair underneath.

It's no news that crochet braids have come to stay!!! Whether short, long, kinky, straight, twisted, braided; the possibilities seem endless and have given us ladies an amazing alternative to regular braids and weaves.

Now one of the great things about crochet is the fact that you get to wear some gorgeous styles that keep for longer than regular braids. Why you may ask? Well for instance as a naturalista, if I got my hair braided with regular extensions, by the 4th day, my kinks will start showing through the texture of the extensions, and by the end of week 1, what once looked nice and fresh will be looking like a hot mess.

With crochet braids, because the hair is first woven down and then the extensions crocheted on top, the hair is well hidden underneath and doesn't start to come through - meaning you can wear the hair for longer.

An example of what the hair looks like underneath the crochet style

Naturals In The City (NITC) 15!!!

So it's time for another Lagos edition of NITC! The 15th round of Naturals in the City will be taking place this Saturday, June 25th at Cafe Neo 6, Agoro Odiyan Street, Victoria Island from 1pm to 6pm.

As usual there will be loads of stuff to browse through and buy; INFORMATIVE sessions that will change the way you view your body, nutrition and health. I remember the last one which I went for where they were talking about healthy cooking habits, the best types of pots to cook with and what to watch out for in your cooking ingredients.

I'd gone home and just did a cursory look through my spice rack and found out that my bottle of curry powder had MSG in it! I mean, who puts MSG in curry?!

Apparently quite a number of brands do. MSG (monosodiumglutamate) is a very controversial flavor enhancing ingredient which has been found to cause headaches, numbness, hives and tingling in arms and legs. You can trust that I binned that bottle of curry immediately!

Hair Not Retaining Length? A Few Tips To Help.

Source: Thirstyroots.com

I have spoken about this a few times in the past but it always helps to re iterate.

The most recurring complaint I get when I speak to naturals is 'My hair is not growing'!!! or 'My hair has stopped growing'! And I always say, barring any medical conditions or medication that may truly be stopping your hair from growing; hair is ALWAYS growing. HOWEVER, if your hair is breaking off at the ends at the same (or faster) rate at which it is growing, then it is only logical that it remains at the same length and feeds your belief that your hair is not growing or has stopped growing.

The ends are the oldest and most fragile part of the hair and so need the most (and gentlest) attention. If you treat them right, they don't break off and sabotage your length retention goals. If also you invest a ton of money in hair growth products or vitamins, you will be wasting that money because hair grows from the roots but breaks off at the ends. So if you're increasing your growth at the roots but you neglect the ends, you'll still end up at the same place you started!

4 Years Of Being Natural And The Lessons I've Learnt.

I can't believe it's 4 years already!! I thought by now I'd have reached my dream length of mid back length but alas! I have since learnt that hair will do what it wants to do so you just need to be patient, help it along and be as healthy as you can so you don't hinder your own progress.

Lesson Number 1
My hair HATES direct heat. No matter how much I deep condition, do a protein conditioner, moisturize, leave in etc before I use a blow dryer; I end up with little bits of broken hairs all over the floor whenever I use a blow dryer. In the beginning I couldn't figure it out but I've since come to learn that my hair just doesn't like it. Period.

Lesson Number 2
My strands are very fragile and therefore can't take a lot of manipulation or the use of a wrong product which will cause tangling. My hair does better when it's washed in sections and when a conditioner with EXTRA SLIP is used. Mielle Organics babbasu and Mint conditioner has been a life saver. When that's not available, Aussie Moist 3 minute deep conditioner does it for my strands.


Lesson Number 3
Watching TV and trimming my hair is not a good combination lollll. You'd think this was elementary but trust me, it happened to me early this year. I ended up cutting 3 inches of hair in the back of my head because I wasn't paying attention. I was so upset you can't even imagine. In one instant, I chopped off 6 months worth of growth. It took me a little while to get over it but eventually I did. After all it's hair and it will grow back abi?

October 2015

Fresh Natural Hair Styles For The Month Of June

Hi guys!!!!

What have you all been up to? How have the new changes in the economy affected the way you live? You know, I was away when the petrol prices changed and tomatoes became like gold. My tank had been filled prior to when I travelled so I didn't have to purchase any petrol till over a week after I returned. Normally I'd spend just under 4000 filling my tank - this time I spent about 6500. Shock number 1.

Then I went grocery shopping and tomatoes I'd normally get for 200 was now 1000!!! It's one thing to hear about something and a totally different thing to experience it. I've told everyone - it's back to my cooking M.O when I was getting my second degree in Dundee: Plum tomatoes, rodo and onions. Great for stews, sauces and jollof rice. I can't shout.

Ghana Didi - this was done by Tope in the Salon

Apart from that, its been work as usual. So thought i'd just show you lovely people some of what I've been working on in recent times.

Small flat twists with a crown of jumbo flat twists. That color though! Love!

Loving My Outre 'Tess' Wig !

So this year has been all about protective styling using wigs. It's been so convenient for me as I'm able to wash and condition my hair regularly and moisturize effectively every day. During one of my Instagram haunts :) I came upon this lovely looking wig being worn and reviewed by a lady who goes by the name @naturalbelle and I was smitten!

Since I was in the UK for a couple of weeks, I decided to order it from Afrostyling.com and give it a go. It's an Outre wig called 'Tess' and has the texture of a Yaki Straight weave. Totally soft, full lace front and has an 'L' shaped part which I think is really different and quite nice.

April 2016 Brides!!

Yay for April! Phew! what an intense month it was - brides every weekend, some during the week (Tuesday and Thursday) then our first training workshop (yay!! Shall be posting on that soon) and speaking engagments. I am sooo sooo soo happy for the work, trust and recognition. God indeed is good!!

Okay so I shall be posting pictures of some of my lovely brides from the month of April. As usual due to some 'rushed moments' I don't have pictures of a couple of brides yet but will put them up as I get them from the professional photographers of the day!

 First up is Bunmi!! Such a sweet soul! Everyone is 'honey' 'sweetie' lol and she has such a caring disposition.

What Will Kemi Come Up With This Year! And other great segments at NHCG Salon Day Out 2016.

Lol!! So that's the caption Dabs of Najia Hair Can Grow is using for my segment of the styling series at the upcoming Salon Day Out; holding on the 5th of June 2016. Last year, I recreated this KL's Signature Updo on my 'muse' :) Eneni.

This year, Dabs is going for a twist in Battle of the Hairlista Series and will have a section called RECREATE - I will be creating a style on stage and the Hairlistas who will be in designated 'battle teams' will then have to recreate what I have just done and the winning team is going to be walking away with mouth watering prizes yo! Mane Choice Africa will be donating goody bags worth over N100,000 - yes you read right. N100,000!!!! There will also be goody bags from Savvy and Chic!

So if you think you have what it takes, I suggest you send an email to daboju@yahoo.com with the title 'I want to battle'. You don't want to miss this!