Sharing the Nappy Goodness with the next generation

I'm so excited about my little girl's hair.

I get to share all the nappy goodness with her.

Well she really doesn't have a choice till she turns 18, she will have natural hair.

She is only 10 months old; yes I know, still very much a baby but I have already got into a simple routine for her. We wash her hair once a week with a mild baby shampoo. Air dry, then apply coconut oil. I avoid combing too much so I comb when her hair is wet and that's all. Her hair is still soft so its easy to manage.
When her hair is dry I pack it into little puffs. I usually have to redo do the puffs once or twice during the week but I only finger comb.
I moisturize with a water, aloe vera juice and coconut oil mix when I feel the hair is a little dry. I tried putting her hair in a silk bonnet when she sleeps but it always fell off and her father didn't approve of it.
 I know she still has baby hair, but I can tell she took my hair type; soft and coily.  The only down side to this hair type is that it doesn't hold weaving or corn rolls well until her hair gets a little stronger. Even my hair still doesn't hold weaving well.

It's an exciting new journey for us. My natural journey so far has provided me with so much information, dos and don'ts that I can apply to her hair and pass on to her. I'm a happy momma.

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.

5 questions I get about my hair

So my hair texture is the Bentley of natural hair..... I joke, I joke lol. But my hair is quite nice (clears throat). I mean it soft, silky, coily, has nice shine, etc. etc. lol. It’s no wonder I get asked a lot of questions about my hair from curious everyday Nigerians.

So I thought it would be nice to write about the top five questions I get about hair:

 1. Is this really your hair?
Yes it really is my hair, and this question is usually followed by "Are you mixed race or have white blood in your family?" No, I am fully black with nice hair I guess. “So how do you get it to look like that?" I do the regular natural hair stuff (insert a side smile)

 2. What products do you use?
Gosh I hate this one, because I use the most inexpensive conditioners, hardly any shampoo but lots of natural oils. Then I have to explain my hair regimen.  

3. My hair is very hard, do you think I will be able to manage it in it’s natural state?
I usually say “yeah you can; it’s a little tricky at first and needs some getting used to. But once you understand your hair, it’s a walk in the park”

4. How best do I move to the natural hair side?
Its either you cut it all off or your transition, choose what you are most comfortable with.

5. Why do you change your hair style so often?
Well because I am a black woman, I am a Nigerian woman and because I have the options and the luxury of having different styles of hair.

My hair is not a trend

If you live in Lagos and like most parts of the world, all you need is but one eye to see how mainstream natural hair has become. In Lagos you can't go anywhere without spotting a few young fashionable natural haired ladies. This "trend" has become so widespread that the brothers know how to spot the different kinds of hair. Even in my family; more and more relatives of mine are either natural or transitioning. 

I have been natural since the middle of 2011; I transitioned for six months then I big chopped in the beginning of 2012 and big chopped again in 2013. For me, natural hair was an escape from the damage I had done to my hair with relaxers, hair dyes, straighter and a general lack of proper care. At the time going natural seemed like the next logical step to take due the breakage and lack of growth I was experiencing. My hair is quite soft and silky even in its relaxed state I figured being natural wouldn’t be such a bad idea. 

5 tips to make your twist- out last longer

I got this from bellanaija.com written by Jennifer  Obiuwevbi. I think it is good information. My twist- outs don't last the whole week, I think it is because I don't do tip 4. It is important to know that you don't need a lot of products and styling to ensure your twist-out last longer.

Previous twist-out

previous twist-out

1. Always make your twists using smaller twists. Smaller twists generally last longer; this is because the fact that you are using smaller sections, means the twists will be stronger and firmer. Big twists are a bit too chunky to control and have a lot more volume to work with.

So instead of using big sections, start out with small sections and do this all around your hair and then follow your usual twist out process. It may take longer than usual, but at least your hair maintains its shape longer.

2. After you have applied some water and your desired products, some of us can become impatient and take the twists out before they dry completely. If you do this, your twist would not be as firm as they’re meant to and will come loose way to soon.

Instead let them dry out, overnight if possible. When you’re about to take the twists out, touch each strand all the way to the root to check if it is dry. If your twists are not dry, leave them in a little while longer until they are.

3. If your twist outs start to look frizzy and loose, apply a few spritz of water to sections of your hair and add some curling pudding to them, re-twist and leave to dry overnight.

4. Always re-twist your hair before you go to bed. They don’t have to be exact but they should be twisted enough that they keep the curls intact.

5. Always sleep with a satin or silk scarf. This is so your twists are in a slippery casing so they don’t get tugged and come loose while you sleep. Be sure to use satin or silk because other fabrics could strip your hair of moisture and cause breakage.

If I could add one more tip, it would be to leave your hair alone. Stop touching it all the time; I know this because I am so guilty of this. Playing with my hair removes the curl pattens.

What else do you do to ensure your twist-out last longer? 

Natural in the city; a trend or here to stay?

If you live in Lagos, you should have noticed the rise in the number of ladies going au naturel. Now I am sure in other cities in Nigeria there is also  rise but I live in Lagos now and can only comment from my experience here.  

So natural hair is on the rise; more and more Nigerian women are doing the BC and starting out the journey of self-discovery and hair and all that jazz. You don’t have to be an overly observant person to have noticed all the kinky sisters walking around Lagos. Because believe me we are everywhere. I mean everywhere; from TWAs to big in your face afros to twists outs and two strand twists, we are everywhere.  So the "trend" has caught on, I don’t think it is a bad thing. But the thing with trends is that they pass and if ladies are doing because it’s a trend then once this trend moves on what happens then? 

I worry that if one does not go natural for pure love of one’s hair and self then one can easily be swept away with the tides. I hope that ladies are going natural for their own personal reasons and they have truly seen the light. As much as this may be a trend I believe it is a good trend. We have not won yet but we are getting there.

I remember seeing picture of my mom when she was younger with an afro. And it wasn’t just her, everyone in that era had afros and afro puffs. Then came the relaxers and weaves and human hair and now looks like we are right back to the beginning. You can also say that this will mean another cycle has begun, maybe, but I doubt it. We now know more about our hair and the benefits of keeping it in its natural state.  May be on the return of the relaxer only the true converts will stand tall, flying the natural flag (lol)

I really don’t like it when people say “oh your hair is natural, it’s in vogue now or it’s the trend”. NOPE! I went natural because my hair didn’t do so well relaxed and I didn’t help the situation by flat ironing and coloring it. I am happy I went natural; do I think of relaxing my hair again? Not in this life time.

Awesome styling

 

Watch Tiffany Marie Scott's styling of her TWA.

You already know that I love this and am so gonna try it. Seems easy with few products but time consuming; will distract myself with a movie while I do this. My hair is currently about the same length, may need to reduce the sides a little to give more mhff to the tapered look. 

Hairgasim

I found this picture on Kinky Curls LA and it just gives me hairgasims.

I love the cut, color and the definition in the style. If you have been on this blog before you will know that I love the tapered look and hair color. Even though I had a bad experience with coloring my hair, I have not given up will try it again. I am so loving this haircut and style.

And the twist outs begin again

After many months of wash and gos, I decided to try a different look this week. On Saturday after my weekend hair regimen of co-washing and deep conditioning, I sectioned my hair and twisted. The plan was/is twist outs so I used Eco-styler gel and hair oils/butters to twist. I had to leave the twists in all weekend as I kept on sweating which got the hair wet. I would tie a t-shirt around my head to absorb some of the sweat.

So I un- did the twist this morning, happy with the results I used a hair band to style, now rocking a faux hawk like style.

Meanwhile it has been six months since my second BC can’t wait for my hair to be long enough to pineapple.

Thursday morning preping for the weekend

It’s Thursday, the day before the weekend. For me and I am certain other naturals the weekend means TLC for a gorgeous hair. Natural hair can take up a few good hours no matter what the routine a natural has. And this does not include the amount of time it takes for the hair to completely dry…. Na wah!.... lol I completely understand when ladies say they are lazy when it comes caring for their hair, because it can be time consuming. Hey! But you know what they say “no pain no gain” and “beauty is pain” and in this case beauty is time consuming. 

My plan for this weekend is a 20 minutes deep conditioning and overnight henna. I usually have one or the other but I think my hair needs extra love as I have ignored it in the past few weeks due to me moving houses. All settled now in my new small apartment, my coils will get some good loving this weekend.

I will start off with co-wash using my inexpensive VO5 conditioner. Then apply my home made deep conditioning mix of avocado (they are in season), honey, EVOO and Miss Jessie’s best darn treatment. I will leave that in for 20 minutes, rinse out then use a cotton t-shirt to dab excess water from my hair. Note that I dab and not rub. I will then apply my locally sourced henna mix to my hair, put on a shower cap and tie my hair with an old head scarf and keep that in overnight. In the morning, rinse out thoroughly with luck warm water and then finish up with EVOO. My current length does not require too much work so I am constantly rock wash and goes.  Also I do not need to detangle and I do not comb. 

I have some Neem leaves (dogonyaro) I need to use. Neem leaves when boiled helps with dandruff, itchy scalp, fizzy hair and it also moisturizes the hair. Simply boil the leaves, fresh or dry and use the water to rinse out your hair. 

Whatever routine you have always ensure to reduce manipulation for length retention and think moisturize moisturize moisturize.

Hope you have a lovely weekend! 

short hair..... don't care