Fulani Hair - the update

This post is to give feedback on my experience using the "herbs" mix I bought from a Fulani woman.

See my previous post. 

So...... I didn't like it. I mixed the powered 'herbs" with castor oil and tea tree oil. It had a deep brown color with a thick-ish consistency. I didn't like it because of the residue I could feel on my scale. It was like sand in my hair every day. Not pleasant.

Did it work?

I don't know....... I say this because after I stopped using it, I continued with castor oil and tea tree oil mix and my hair is still growing and bald areas filling out. I did see results while I was using the Fulani herb mix, but who is to say that the hair growth wasn't as a result of the oil mixed in.

Maybe I didn't use it well. The Fulani Woman told me to use the powder with shea butter; I didn't. (I don't always follow the instructions for use on many products. LOL)

Will give it another try?

No! My main issue with the Fulani powder was the residue on my scalp. This doesn't mean I will stop other people from using it. If you don't mind the sandy feeling, go for it.

What about the hairline I'm trying to re-grow?

I am finding that consistent use of castor oil and tea tree oil is doing a good job. Also I am staying away from braids for now. I am also happy that the post-partum hair loss has reduced significantly.

 

Fulani hair

The two powders already mixed

A few days ago I bought the above powder from a Fulani woman (Fulani is a nomadic tribe from the northern parts of Nigeria).

It is actually a mix of two powders, one was light brown the other much darker. She said the powders should be mixed with oils and applied to the scalp to prevent and treat dandruff. Also to promote healthy growing hair.

Her English wasn't very good. I tried to ask her a few questions about the powder but she did not know the English words. So for all I know she could have sold me cow dung or  some funny roots. But lets be optimistic LOL. The mix is almost odorless but there is a slight hemp smell.

A few years ago I read an article or a blog post about how Fulani women mix some powder like stuff with cow fat and apply to their hair. The article described it as a mysterious powerful hair elixir. That was what was going through my mind when the Fulani woman said it was for hair.
Fulani women have beautiful long natural hair. Everything they apply to their hair is sourced from nature and I bet they know a lot about how to care for natural hair.

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. 

Tips on taking off braids

I hate taking out braids myself; however I would rather do it myself than endure the pulling of hair at the salon.

This time I intentionally asked for big braids so taking them out wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for and I wouldn’t lose too many hours in the process.

After the braiding was done three weeks ago, the lady used moose to prevent the hair from looking untidy prematurely. Natural hair tends to stick of the Kankalon fiber after a few days, so moose helps keep my natural hair stiff in the braid. 

When undoing braids in the past I’ve lost hair in the process due to dry/stiff hair.  So this time I had to think of ways to reduce the amount of hair I could potentially lose.

I got the idea of oiling my hair from a youtube video but I thought it would be a better idea to wet or dampen the braids this would help loosen the moose. Then I added oil to give it some slip. The oil I put at the base of my scalp and sprayed on the braids too. 

The oil on the scalp helped a lot as the slip helped undo the knots that form at the base of the braid.

I would recommend this technique for taking off braids, the slip and dampness helps save time by allowing the fiber hair come off easily and undoing the knots too. The entire process took me an hour thirty minutes.

The tools I used include, rat tail comb, a wide tooth comb to comb my hair, scissors to cut the ends of the braids, spray bottle with oil and water, applicator bottle with palm kernel oil (the smelly one)  and a plastic bag to put the old hair in. 

Another advantage of this method is that in the process of taking off the braids I pre-pooed my hair with the palm kernel oil.

Next time you are taking off braids yourself, try this method.