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.

My natural crown

The past few months have been many low manipulation styles, meaning less strain on my hair. The results have been encouraging. Not only has my hair grown longer, it feels healthier too.

I prefer to wash my hair every weekend, mainly because I sweat a lot on my scalp when I work out. I think it is a good idea to co-wash every week and wash with shampoo once a month. A clean scalp will allow for healthier hair growth.

So I have had to come up with different hairstyles and up dos are my go tos. The below photo of my hair has to be my fav up dos. Very easy to style and takes no time at all. The more times I do it the better I get at it.

I achieved my crown up do by, twisting my hair with or without gel or styling products after a wash.
Let the twists dry; note that they don't have to be perfect twists because they will be tucked away anyways. After I unravel my twists, I use an afro comb to get rid of the lines around the air line. I then use a round hair band to pull the hair up. Always remember, not to pull too tight.  One of the advantaged of using the round bands is that you can pull your hair up into different positions for different looks. I like mine right at the top of my head.
With the aid of several bobby pins, I pick sections of the hair at the top and pin down towards the center of my head in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction. The result should be several lumps of hair forming the look of a crown. With edge control or gel I then smooth out the edges of my hair line for a finished look.

This easy Style can be done every morning or refreshed every other day.

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. 

Pimples, breakouts and face mapping

A few days ago I had breakout on my chin; it had been a while since I broke out so severely. It had me thinking as to why I was breaking out in that area only. I usually have one or two pimples on my cheek but not as bad as this particular episode. I was very sure that there was a reason, so, google to the rescue. 

Dermatologists have what is called face mapping; a combination of  ancient Chinese practice  and modern day dermatological science used cure acne through identifying parts the face that are linked to other parts of the body. 

The face is mapped out into different zones; break out in different zones correspond to different problems. So, with this “map” as your guide, you can address the underlying causes of blemishes/break out and not only make the unsightly zits vanish but also treat a primary health problem in time.

Zone 1 & 2 indicates problems with Digestive System — recommendation is to -eat less processed or junk food, reduces the amount of fat in your diet, step up water intake and opt for cooling foods like cucumbers.

Zone 3 indicates problems with Liver — recommendation is to cut -out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.

Zones 4 & 5 indicates problems with Kidneys — recommendation is to DRINK UP! Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) points to dehydration. ……Drink up!

Zone 6 indicates problems with the Heart — recommendation is to check your blood pressure and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing “bad fats” with “good fats” such as Omegas 3 and 6 found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.

Zone 7 & 8 (the other ear area) indicates problems with Kidneys — recommendation is, again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.

Zone 9 & 10 indicates problems with Respiratory system — Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don’t let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheat grass juice. Another thing that most of forget – dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!

Zone 11 & 12 indicates problems with Hormones — This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean. Another interesting point: breakouts in this area indicate when you are ovulating (and on which side).

Zone 13 indicates problems with Stomach — recommendation is to Step up the fibre intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.

Zone 14 indicates Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, and take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out!

I recently discovered the amazing power  tea tree oil; it works magic on breakout. Best part is it also helps reduce the appearance of spots. You can apply the diluted essential oil  all over your face or just on the pesty zits. 

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. 

30 is not the new 20- Meg Jay

Okay, this saddened me a little but hopefully it will help someone else. I wish I had some of this knowledge at 24; I would be on a much better life path now. It may never be too late to make changes to one life but one would have lived a better life if the right changes were made earlier.

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.