I have to know my hair's porosity?!

Not only do we have to know our hair type we need to know it's porosity as well. When I read or hear fellow naturals describe their hair in type and porosity I am like “mehnnn….. una get time “. But we all know that knowledge is power and using that power is even better. 

So what is porosity? Simply put hair porosity is the ability of our hair to absorb and retain moisture. Porosity is import ant in understanding our hair and hair care since moisture is what defines and shapes our hair (relaxed or natural). The inability of our hair to retain or absorb moisture will minimize our hair’s health and potential growth and length retention. The experts say that if we do not know our hair’s porosity we won’t be able to make the best product and maintenance choices. 

There are three different levels of porosity:

Low porosity: the cuticle of the hair shaft is too dense which does not allow moisture to enter or leave the hair shaft. Hair with low porosity are susceptible to product build up and take a longer time to completely dry.  

Normal/ medium porosity: hair with this porosity absorbs and retains moisture well; product properly formulated for this type of porosity will easily penetrate the hair shaft.

High porosity: open hair cuticle allows for moisture to be absorbed and lost easily. Overly porous hair can be a result of over –processing from chemicals, heating etc.

Stand test:

To know your hair’s porosity you can do a simple strand/float test.  All you need is a few strands of hair (clean with no products on it) a glass or bowl of water. Put the hair in the water and watch to see how fast or slow the hair sinks to the bottom. Hair with low porosity will not sink after a long period of time. Normal/medium porous hair will sink at a pace that is not too fast or too slow (like huh?!... I Know!). Hair with high porosity will sink very quickly in the test. 

So you know your hair porosity, now what? Well now you can buy products that are good for your hair and maintain a routine that helps balance or maintain the health of your hair. 

Hair with low porosity should avoid product build up, use water based products but avoid over moisturizing the hair. Use indirect heat like steam to open the cuticles, also avoid heavy butters and oils. 

Normal/medium porous hair should strive to maintain a healthy hair routine including deep conditioning, proper moisturizing and avoid too much heat. Excessive manipulation and heat can change the porosity of the hair. 

High porosity hair require product layering to retain moisture, heavy butters and oils work best on this hair also daily moisturizing is necessary. Cold water rinses will help close the cuticle and protein treatments will strengthen the hair.  

To date I believe this to be the most technical post I’ve put up. So I plan on taking the float test this weekend and will post the results and pictures next week. Have a good weekend 

Neem leaves or Dogonyaro as we call it

Neem tree or as we call it Dogonyaro is a very common tree across Nigeria and semi-tropical regions of the world. Almost all parts of this tree are used for medicinal and beauty purposes. It is popular for the oil in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Neem products are believed to be anthelmintic, anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiviral, contraceptive and sedative

If you live in Nigeria, you should know how common this tree is, it can be found from north to south of the country. It has numerous uses and most parts of the tree are used. The leaves and fruit are mostly used traditionally to cure malaria and sores but there are quite a number of ways and propose to use this powerful plant. 

Due to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties Neem products are used to maintain healthy skin and cure problem skin such as acne, scabies and eczema. Its anti-inflammatory properties help with puffy eyes and swelling from blemishes. When the oil is used on the hair it helps reduce/cure dandruff, moisturizes the hair, control lice and adds shine. 

Extracts from this plant can be made into soaps, masks and oils. The leaves can be boiled or soaked in warm water to bathe with and wash/rinse out hair. 
I use dried Neem leave to rinse out my hair when my scalp feels a little dry and itchy. I bring about two liters of water to a boil then put the leaves in and let it cool down before I sieve out the leaves, The water than becomes a little brown, I use it to rinse my hair after a co-wash or deep conditioning.
The next face mask I make I plan on including fresh Neem leaves to help with my acne and spots. I will post the recipe for that once I try it out.

Nature is so wonderful; imagine the powerful plants and trees that grow in our backyards.

Henna Treatment

I have read a few reviews about the benefits of henna to natural hair and I've wanted to give it a try for a while now. In case you have never heard of henna, it is a natural product deduced from bark and roots of a henna plant. It has been used for thousand of years by women to color (and treat) their hair and finger nails. It is also used to dye wood and leather. Women of Muslim heritage use it to make beautiful designs on the hands and feet as they prepare to marry. 

So I heard of how great henna is for natural hair so I gave it a try. My hair isn't very thick and long yet so I needed a little more henna powder than most ladies use. The ingredients are:

• Henna powder (between 100-150 g depending on length and volume of hair)
• Green tea
• Tea spoon of cinamon
• Honey 

So I made some green tea by just soaking the tea bags on hot water. I let that cool for a few minutes, put it in a plastic bowl and added the cinnamon. I mixed in 100 grams of henna powder and honey. I mixed continuously till I got a yogurt like texture. I then applied it to my washed and conditioned hair in sections till my entire hair from root to tip was covered in henna. Do not forget to use petroleum gel on your hair line, ears and nape. After ensuring that all my hair had the henna on it, I covered my hair with a shower cap then a wrap and slept. This left the treatment in for over six hours. In the morning I washed with warm water ensuring all the henna was out of my hair. I carried a wash and go after I moisturized. I didn't think my hair could be any softer but it felt like a cloud. Also it felt strong and the color was revived from my failed dying process. So I now have strong, jet black soft hair.

Unfortunately I cant find any of the pictures I took. A few things you must do if you are  gonna try this , get a black tee shirt, news papers, black wrap/scarf and gloves. Henna can be messy and it leaves a nasty stain.

I did find a picture of a henna tattoo I got last year, it has refused to go and still on my back. It was meant to last two weeks but its has been here a year. I think my skin had a reaction to the powder.