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