Before you cut your hair

A few months ago I cut my hair, it was cut into a tapered shape. Tapered cuts usually have the hair at the back of the head shorter than the front.

I was happy with it for all of three weeks.

Just three weeks. After that I wanted/want my old length back!

I started to think why I was having this issue with my hair?  Simple answer is I was indeed bored with my hair. WTH right? I know! We all experience periods where we would like to do something different with our hair. Most times changing the style or cut the hair is what we do.

Since I regret my hair cut, I've written this down as a kind of check list for the future, in the inevitable event that I get bored again. You too can use these points to avoid regretting a planned or spontaneous hair style cut or change.


1. Think long and hard to be sure that you want to go through with it
2. Do research about the new style, what is required to maintain the hair style and how often you will need to re-cut or re-style
3. Again, think long and hard to be sure you aren't just bored
4. Look for a good stylist to cut your hair, last thing you want it to be stuck with a crappy hair cut
5. Be sure you will be happy with the chosen hair style and it will suit your face
6. Is this a spontaneous move?
7. Will your hair be healthier in the new style or cut?

I will admit that since I cut my hair, I've been paying more attention to it so my hair is healthier. 
Also I didn't cut it too short, at the moment I can put my hair in an up do.

 

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.

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.

Loosing my identity in my child

Soon after I had my baby, a few people stopped calling me by my name and refered to me as "Mama Banke".

I am very happy and blessed to be a mother and especially greatful to be a mother to a happy healthy baby.

But will I stop being Ntete and lose my name and identity to my child. Or does this mean that my identity and who I am from that day on has changed?

Yes there has been phyical, mental and emotional changes, but that does not mean Ntete is dead and gone. If anything, she has been reborn, she has blossomed, she has come into her own.



illustration from the internet

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. 

Operation grow my edges

So after the loss of my already naturally scanty fragile baby-hair edges, I am on a mission to re-grow them.

So far, so good. as you can see in the picture, it looks like the hair is growing out. Trust me it was worse than this, I literally had bald spots.

My plan is to:

1. Stop any hair style that pulls my hairline- the above hair style was done so loosely I didn't feel any pain or tension.
2. Increase low manipulation and protective styles- I will be using wigs, weaving (corn rows) and braids with "brush" in front
3. Increase the application of tea-tree essential oil and Castor oil to my hair line- I find that this mix works well for me. It improves the growth rate of my hair and also helps with itchy scalp.
4. General TLC for my hair- for me this means weekly deep conditioning, protein treatments and dogonyaro (neem leaves) rinses

I know it may take a while, so I have to be patient and gentle with the process.

For all hair types growth process it is important to set realistic goals; my goal is healthy hair. Healthy hair trumps long hair in my books.

I am back

To the few who look up my blog and to those who stubble on it, I am back.

Where have I been you may ask? Well,  generally living life and the small matter of having a baby.

LOL

I have been blessed with the most adorable baby girl in the world. I know all mothers say this about their children, but my precious Eme (Eme means Precious or jewel in Efik) is truly adorable.

Pregnancy hormones was good for my hair, it grew longer and thinker. Unfortunately I did not take any photos. So I have no proof, you are just going to have to take my word for it.

The above photo was taken a few weeks ago. This was before a sad incident of common weaving made me take an extensive trim in annoyance. You see, I carried my own two legs and asked a lady at a salon to weave my hair into corn rolls. She made them too tight, when I asked her to loosen them a little she made the point that my hair is very soft and the weaving will loosen on their own soon. Which in all honesty has been the case in the past. But this time around, after a few days, the weaving still hurting so I undid them. Only to find clumps of hair falling off from my already naturally scanty baby hair line. I was very sad and annoyed. I was tempted to big chop again (third time's the charm) After a talk with my younger sister I was encouraged to just care for my distressed edges and grow them to health like I have done in the past.

Moral of the story is, if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Do not let, I repeat Do not let anyone pull at your hair line. 

Any ways, back to the blogging thing.

Finding material to write on isn't the easiest and I don't write about my personal life too much.
I quite enjoy blogging and find it quite theraputic. So I will try my best to post a write up a week or every two weeks. LOL As the spirit leads oh.

God's grace be with you

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.