Who are the true naturals?

#TBT

So yesterday, I heard about a massive sale on virgin hair by a big retail hair store in Lagos. Being the cheap person that I am, my attention was drawn to the word SALE. LOL.

So, I thought to go have a look; if the price was right I would get me some exotic virgin hair.

I did find something that was good for my wallet. I got two bundles and closure 10 inches natural color, which was made into a wig.  I wanted to have it colored to a light brown but story changed when I asked how much that would cost. (I can color my hair myself! MTCHWEE)

Feeling content, I showed my boyfriend my new acquisition and he said “but are you not natural, why do you need this human hair stuff?" And I said “because I have natural hair doesn't mean I can't wear other types of hair. His response was “NO! That doesn't make you a true natural". We had a long conversation about the matter and we agreed to disagree. 

Our conversation brought to mind an argument I saw online once within the natural hair community. There was #teamnaturalwithoutanyextensions, #teamnaturalwhowearextentions #teamnaturalwhodonotGAF (I made up the hashtags)

Postpartum hair loss

Hey guys, so in my previous post I talked about how I lost a lot of hair around my hair line mainly the front edges. I had thought it was dues to the tight weaving I had subjected my self to.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I saw a post on instagram on why TY Bello cut her hair and it got me thinking about my sudden hair loss. So I did a bit of research and it turns out I am experiencing postpartum hair loss.

I did not know this but a large number of women experience hair loss especially around the front parts of their hair, between three to six months postpartum.  This is exactly the areas where my hair has disappeared. I know this to be true because even though I am virtually bald in two spots in the front of my head; the amount of hair that is in my comb after I comb through is very unusual.

The explanation for postpartum hair loss is simple. Our hair grows in the process of growth - resting -shedding. During pregnancy, due to increased levels of estrogen, hair loss is reduced and the growing and resting phase for hair is lengthened. The hormone prevents our hair from shedding as much as it usually would. This is why most women have fuller longer, lusher hair during the months of pregnancy. After the birth of the child, the estrogen levels drastically reduce and this increases the shedding phase.

The good news is that this phase is over soon. Most women say their hair returned to it's per-pregnancy fullness before the child's first birthday. 

Urggghh sometimes I miss the creamy crack

Don't you just miss the creamy crack sometimes?

Dealing with natural hair can be a pain sometimes but when you see results or get a nice hair style done you forget all about that.

 My signature style in the past few months has been twist- outs in high puff. I make sure the band is not too tight and pulling on my hairline.

I am lazy when it comes to my hair; I get really bad knots and do not have the patience to take them out. So it's up dos or wigs for most of the time.

My hair is  finally long enough to hold up but I hate the way it looks on me

  I had a dream a few nights ago; I walking into a salon and asked for a perm. I woke up and said a prayer. No matter how hard life gets we must never take the easy way out if it's not the right way out. Usually the right way seems harder at first so ... moral of the story is I will not be relaxing my hair.

As frustrating and lazy as I get, I really do like my hair in it's natural state. My hair just has been healthier this way.

Quick tip- Dandruff

A few days ago my sister complained about dandruff. She said she had tried so many different things and products but nothing seemed to be helping (I think she didn't try many of them long enough for them to actually work..... impatient girl). She asked me to come over with my bottle of tea tree essential oil to put on her scalp and I thought why not mix that with some black Jamaican castor oil. The heaviness of the castor oil will make for stronger hold and better coating while the tea tree will work on the dandruff.

And... It work unbelievably well!

We applied the mix in the evening and by morning there were no white flake. She followed up the treatment with tea tree oil in water and sprayed on her hair and scalp. She had just installed box braid so there was no washing the hair just yet.

Tea tree oil is fantastic for different uses; I apply the oil mixed with castor oil to my hair line and I must say the combination of the mix and protective styling has really helped improve the hair around the nape and front of my head.
Also I use tea tree oil for my breakout; it dries up the breakout almost overnight and doesn't leave spots.

So, if you are having dandruff issue, try tea tree oil, on it's own, mixed with other oils/butter or in a spray bottle with water. 

Protective styling with wigs

Yeah.... you read right, WIGS. I don't know if it's just me but wigs have an old mama stereotype. 

Not anymore; wigs are a great way to protect your natural hair…. ask me, I would know. I have been rocking wigs since the beginning of the year and they are literally a life saver. Also more young women I've discovered also wear wigs, so they are not uncommon. Quite a few celebrities wear wigs and have wig lines/brands too.

Now one can get virgin hair or synthetic wigs in different styles, lengths and colors. 

I am not one of those natural sistas that believes that wearing any other hair than yours isn't being a true natural. Just like life, our natural hair journeys differ. I braid my hair, wear wigs and weaves; I pretty much do anything I want to do with my hair that won’t cause damage. And for right now, it wigs. 

The few benefits I've found are;

1. I can wash and deep condition my hair every weekend
2. I don't have to worry about smelly hair from sweat from the gym
3. They save time and effort; just put on the wig and go
4. My natural hair is in cornrows so reduced manipulation = more length retention
5. The cornrows are done up nice and loose so not pulling on my hairline
6. It is easy for me to base or moisturize my scale and hair if I feel the need to
7. I can switch up my look as I feel
8. Most importantly, fresh air can touch my scalp lol..... you know how hot it gets in Nigeria
9. Caring for the wigs aren't difficult; just wash, condition and air dry as directed.  

 Wearing wigs is a great protective style and can be quite economical too. It's a good way for both relaxed and natural haired women to save their hair, hairlines and some money.