I cut my hair!

Posted in big chop, hair journey, hair update, hairxperiment by Jen

Hi guys,

It’s been a while! How y’all doing?

As you can see from the title of this post, I cut my hair! (Cue the gasping)

I have been so tired of my hair lately! Washing it, dealing with it on a daily basis, detangling it, styling it, the whole shebang! I’ve been super frustrated with my hair. And I think this is the major reason why I never really blog about my hair anymore.

I actually considered relaxing it quite a number of times.

Finally, I decided that maybe I should get a funky fade/haircut. Like this:

Continue reading →

7Aug2016

Three Year Length Check

Posted in hair journey, hair update, hairversary, Length check, nappyversary by Jen

Hi guys,

So my hair turned 3 on the 18th of July! I honestly was planning on skipping the nappiversary/length check post but @kinkchic on Instagram left a comment on one of my posts talking about the nappiversary post so I just had to do it.

What were my goals from my two year nappiversary and how well did I do?

Continue reading →

28Sep2015

DIY trim

Posted in DIY, hair journey, hair practices, hair update by Jen

My people, how far?

You know how I keep saying “oh my ends are shitty, I need a trim”? Guess who finally got one?

I’m not even joking when I say my ends were horrendous.

I had so many single strand knots and my ends looked so rough and frizzy. On one strand alone I could find as many as 3 knots and I was in the habit of pulling them off with my fingers.

Detangling had become a serious chore no matter the conditioner because of all the tangles. Even separating twists for a twist out became harder because all my ends wanted to do was stay together.

When people talk about split ends they seem like such a modern myth to me but I kid you not when I say I used my two eyes to see several split ends in my hair! At this point I knew something had to be done fast.

I knew I needed a trim for a long time, trust me. I mean, I haven’t had one since I went natural; that’s 2 years!

The thing is, I wanted to get it professionally done so I kept postponing and postponing till I could go to a salon that knew what they were doing.

One day, I thought to myself “wait oh, but people do this thing themselves e.g. Nafisat. How can I, self proclaimed cheapskate mama and DIY queen, not be able to do it myself”.

So I googled how to do it myself, bought 70 Naira scissors, sat in front of the mirror and trimmed.

Not a good picture but peep those ends!

I’d take a small section, twist up to where I wanted to trim and then cut

All done!

My twists were so blunt by the end

Ends look and feel waaaay better!

My “OMG, my hair is shorter” face 😦

All the hair I cut off

In my two year nappiversary post, one of my goals was to get a trim and I’m glad I got one.

I know I could have gotten better results because some parts aren’t even and I think I might have taken too much hair off but I think I did okay for a first attempt.

My experience with trimming:

Pros:

My hair is easier to detangle
Crappy ends are gone
Styles turn out better

Cons:

You might become scissor-happy
Shorter hair (but it will grow back)

Lessons learnt:

Eventhough a decision seems scary, take the leap if you know the pros will outweigh the cons.
Don’t delay a decision that will benefit you because of excuses that are surmountable. (See grammar! My English teachers must be proud of me.)

I did a bantu knot out for NITC 12(post coming soon) after trimming and it was so easy to take down and separate the bantu knots afterwards! I was pleasantly surprised!

Have you ever trimmed your hair yourself? Would you ever DIY trim or would you rather get it professionally done? Share with me.

18Jul2015

Two year nappiversary!!

Posted in hair journey, hair update, hairversary, Length check, nappyversary by Jen

Two years!! Can you believe it? If my hair were a child, it’d be a toddler that could walk and talk!

Remember the goals I mentioned in my one year nappiversary post that I planned to achieve by now? Let’s see how I did:

1. Kick dandruff’s ass. (Sadly, no)

2. Beat hand-in-hair syndrome. (Yes and no. It changed from hand-in-hair syndrome to hand-in-edges syndrome which is worse)

3. More length and thickness at my edges and nape. (Yes but not as much as I’d have liked due to my newly developed hand-in-edges syndrome)

4. Growth/Length retention. (Yes but not as much as I’d have liked)

I didn’t measure my hair in terms of inches but here are my length check pictures:

Not so bad ei? But not as good as I’d hoped but I have repented so…

A couple of things I’ve learnt this past year:

Don’t let it frustrate you because frustration leads you to quitting! Let whatever you do fit into your regular routine and ability; don’t go all out and overwhelm yourself with stuff you can’t handle because the “gurus” say you should do it. E.g. if you can’t handle washing your hair weekly, don’t. Because if you do, you most probably will get frustrated and think of giving up.
Don’t compare yourself with others and don’t be solely goal oriented! Have a little fun! Remember I talked about it in this post? If you want to dye your hair or straighten it or get a tapered cut, do your research and go for it!
Do what works for you! If it ain’t working, dump it(no matter how many rave reviews it has) and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (no matter how many bad reviews it has). In the end, you are the boss of you.
Encourage yourself! Don’t always think of the negatives(e.g. What your hair can’t do); try to see the positives (e.g. What your hair can do).
Learn and experiment! Don’t get stuck in your ways. Read blogs, watch vlogs. You will learn a lot; not all will work for you but you just might hit the jackpot with some.

I don’t want it to turn it into an epistle so I’ll put a pin in it right there.

If you follow me on Instagram (@nigerianandnatural) you would have seen most of these but here are a few (boring) styles I did over the last year:

Not the same day as the previous picture. I just really like this shirt! LOL

Wig

Crochet braids

Kinky twists

Wool/yarn twists

And my latest style:

Two week old twists. So proud of myself for keeping them for that long

Here are my goals for the year ahead:

Get a trim and try to get trims when needed from now on.
More protective styling.
Growth and length retention.
Stop hand-in-edges syndrome.
Kick dandruff’s ass (for real this time).
Be more adventurous with:

Styling
Products
Techniques

That’s all folks! 3rd nappiversary here we come!

What are some things you’ve learnt along the way in your hair journey? What are your short and long term goals for your hair? Please share.

Oh and Eid Mubarak! I know this isn’t the ram-sharing sallah so I shall patiently await that one.

1Jan2015

2014 final length check

Posted in hair update, Length check by Jen

2015 is here!!!!!

Without taking too much of your time, I just want to wish you a happy new year. May 2015 be filled with boundless joy, unending peace, unmeasurable success, heartwarming love & every good thing for you & yours!

I also want to show you my final length check pictures of 2014.

Comparing these to my 1 year nappiversary length check, I’m pretty surprised at the difference because my hair was out most of the time(hardly any protective styling) and quite honestly also close to neglected half the time.

So that’s it for this very brief post. According to my stats for 2014, the blog had over 15,000 views and 24 new posts. Let’s see if we can triple that in 2015 ei? I’ll work hard to post more often.

Thank you so much to everyone who reads the blog, leaves comments, sends me emails, follows the blog, likes posts etc.
I love you guys!💗

Let’s have an amazing year, shall we?
If you’re not following the blog on Instagram I don’t know what you’re waiting for oh! Oya follow @nigerianandnatural

15Aug2014

1 year Length check

Posted in hair journey, hair update, protective styling, styling by Jen

Hi guys,
As promised, this is a length check of my hair at 1 year. Yes I know it’s kinda late but better late than never right? Right!

My hair is between 5-6 inches (some parts are 5″, some are 5.5″ and some are 6″). I think this is pretty okay for one year.

I believe I am past the TWA stage! Yippee! I am now in the awkward stage: that annoying phase where your hair isn’t so short but isn’t long either.

I’ve found a few staple styles that my hair can do at this stage and I’ll share them with you incase you’d like to try them.

This is a very simple style that is basically 2 big flat twists. This style lasts me a whole week so it’s a good low maintenance protective style for me. I’ve tried different variants of this style.You can do cornrows instead of flat twists if you like.

I’m not a big fan of the way my hair looks in twists left down but I like twists packed/pinned back. This is another low maintenance style that can last.

I call this one “my hair must pack”. It’s a good way to give the illusion of a ponytail/packed hair when your hair isn’t quite there yet. You basically flat twist the front towards the middle and secure with bobby pins then gather everything into a ponytail. I rock this style very often. You can also keep this for a few days.

I’ve also been rocking loads of afros, not the combed out kind though. They’re mostly twist outs that I separate and fluff into fros.

Of course you know I’m still into my puffs. Now I try to make them looser.

And guess whose hair could pack this morning? 😀

[Side bar: Is it just my eyes or are my edges looking a bit better?]

I’ve decided to enjoy every stage my hair goes through and I’m going to extend that to my life in general. I’ll focus of taking things one day at a time and seeing the good in every stage I’m in. Life’s too short!

I’m currently trying Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Repair Cream, Dudu Osun(as a shampoo) and Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Moisturizer. Reviews will be up when I’ve used them more but for now I’m loving them.

What stage is your hair in? How are you coping with it at this stage? What products are you currently trying?

Have a beautiful weekend!
Peace!

18Jul2014

1 year anniversary!!!

Posted in big chop, hair journey, hair update, nappyversary by Jen

Hip hip hip!!! Hurray!!!!

One year ago today I walked into that barbershop wanting a fade and came out with hair so short it almost didn’t need to be combed!

In actual fact, the anniversary of my big chop was on the 14th of June but I decided to go with my second big chop(July 18th) because with that cut, I started from scratch so basing it on that date shows a truer picture of a year’s growth.
*Phew* That was a mouthful! I hope you understand what I mean though.
Either ways(June or July), I still have one year under my belt!

So here’s a mini timeline of pictures showing my progress over the year!

My first big chop(June 2013)

My second cut, July 2013

Last week

Today’s simple look(ignore the giant pimple)

Over this first year, I experimented with products, Ayurveda, dyed my hair etc.
Let’s see how the next year goes but from the look of things, I foresee that it will be a lazy year(you never know though).

Taking a page out of AB’s book, I will be setting anniversary goals; these are changes I would like to see/make by my next anniversary.

Here are my goals for the year ahead:

1. Kick dandruff’s ass.
2. Beat hand-in-hair syndrome.
3. More length and thickness at my edges and nape.
4. Growth/Length retention.

I think that’s not too much to ask for!

So cheers to my hair at one year *glasses clink*

Expect a post about my new favorite simple go-to style + a one year length check soon.

Peace!

15May2014

I’m bad at titling stuff but this is just an update

Posted in hair update, nails, protective styling, styling by Jen

Hi guys, it’s been a minute.

I really don’t have much to talk about. My hair isn’t in the best place right now; I have inexplicable dandruff, thin edges and I’ve combed my hair dry one too many times. Hoping to get back on track ASAP and sort my hair out.

In other news, I stopped taking the Biotin. I got a horrible Urinary Tract Infection(UTI). Even though I’d rather not discuss this(lol) it might be of use to someone else. I’m not new to UTIs; I’ve had them a few times in the past but I haven’t had one in over 2 years so when I started feeling the symptoms, I guessed it was something I’d recently started doing that caused it. My mind told me it was the Hair,Skin and Nail supplements but I kept taking them and drinking bucket loads of water to hopefully flush the UTI bacteria out. The infection only got worse until I took to Google and saw that some people complained about getting UTIs from taking Biotin or Hair supplements(some said it was the Pantothenic acid that caused it,some said it was the Biotin itself etc). I’m not very certain the pills caused it but it is highly likely that it is. I stopped taking them and was treated with antibiotics and the infection is gone.

Anyone who is willing to try the pills can email me and I will give it to them(if you can pick it up in Lagos especially in the Maryland/Ikeja vicinity). I took them for one month so I took about 90 pills meaning there should be about 160 pills left in the bottle. Email me at jenniferabah(at)gmail(dot)com if you want it and can pick it up.
As far as progress goes, here’s a before and after.

It’s grown a bit more since I stopped taking the pills. It’s just hair/nails in the end; it will grow.

As always,I will leave you with a mini gallery of how my hair has been/how I’ve been wearing it. Enjoy.

You know I love my puffs

Been trying some Ayurveda. Not yet sure how I feel about it

Did mini twists and actually wore them out

Did loads of flat twist outs

I’m currently looking to buy a wig so that I can keep my hands out of my hair and keep my hair safe from my cruelty.
Will let you guys know how that goes.
Be safe!

P.s It’s been 10 months since I did the big chop! Oh and I’m still thinking about opening a product store so your opinions and suggestions on that are welcome.

7Mar2014

Ain’t you glad it’s Friday

Posted in hair update, styling by Jen

Yeah, I’m not so good with titles so forgive me.
Hey y’all!
I just wanted to drop by and say hi! It’s Friday so I’m in high spirits.

My hair’s been in puffs most days(remember I said they would be my go to style? I wasn’t kidding).
By the 18th of this month, my hair would be 8 months old!!! 4 more months and we’ll be at a year old. Wow.

Anyways, I’m not going to bore you with words today; here are some pictures of how my hair’s been recently for your viewing pleasure.