Product Review: Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream

Posted in product review, products by Jen

Almost finished

Today I bring you a product review.

This product is pretty popular among naturals! I’d been hearing so much about this product and its awesomeness and I just had to taste the soup to know if it was indeed delicious.

Product Claims: “Provides intense moisture to leave hair soft and manageable. Formulated for damaged, dry or coarse hair… Mends hair breakage, repairs split ends and reduces frizz, protects hair from heat damage, hydrates and moisturizes with shea butter and natural oils. Great for relaxed, natural, texturized, coloured or permed hair”

I can’t say much for it’s claims towards heat damage, split ends, frizz and breakage as those aren’t necessarily concerns of mine. But it lives up to its claims about dry, coarse hair becoming softer and more manageable. This product does not discriminate! It is for all! As a matter of fact, my sister and cousin(both relaxed) keep stealing out of it both for their hair and their weaves. So this product aims to accommodate you no matter your hair type.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua, Eau), Canola Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Glycerin, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Actinidia Chinensis (kiwi) fruit extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) flower extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone PEG-8 Meadowfoamate, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Pentaerythrityl Tetracaprylate/Tetracaprate, Silk Amino Acids, Panthenol, DMDM Hydantoin, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-4, Polyquaternium-32, Mineral Oil, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Sodium Hyaluronate, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride

Thank you copy and paste! (But I had to go through to ensure it was correct so I did some work too).
As you can see, the first ingredient is water which is great(if not necessary) for a leave in/moisturizer. It’s also full of ‘beta beta'(great) ingredients! I tried to highlight the ingredients that I thought people might be avoiding. It has Glycerine in case you’re staying away from humectants (i.e things that pull moisture into your hair). It also has silicones and mineral oil but they are at the bottom of the list which means the product contains little of them. I recently learnt that some people stay away from Propylene Glycol so that’s why I’ve highlighted it in case.

How I used it: I used this mostly on freshly washed hair( As the ‘C’ in the LCO method. Tried it as LOC too but it worked better as LCO for me). Also used this on damp hair(lightly spritzed with water) during the week. Also on dry hair.

Out of all, my favourite is the freshly washed method. My hair stays moisturized for days and I can refresh it by spritzing with water alone or spritzing with water and sealing with oil/shea butter. My least favourite method is on dry hair as it takes time for my hair to absorb it this way(which may leave white patches for some minutes) and it leaves a weird feeling too(sticky? Squishy? Not sure).

PROS:
–Moisturizing: Moisture that actually lasts! Someone told me my hair felt like a cloud! My sister loves this stuff because she says it makes everything soft; as I mentioned earlier she and my cousin tend to steal it for their relaxed hair and their weaves.

–Good Scent: I know scents are relative and depend on the “smeller” but I love the smell of this stuff! It smells sweet and floral. I was really surprised when I saw that fragrance wasn’t among the first few ingredients. My favourite thing about the smell is that it helps me catch anybody at home who uses it without my permission *evil laugh*.

–Value for money: This stuff comes in a big tub(16 OZ/ 453g). And a little goes a long way with it. So it lasts. If you are heavy handed sef, it leaves a weird feeling behind for you. So you best use it in moderation.

CONS:
Ingredients: There are some chemicals in it with names that they probably only use for spelling bees at Harvard. It also has mineral oil and silicones. On the flip side, it has some good ingredients as well and the good ones are higher up the ingredient list than the bad ones.

Price: Price of course is relative as one man’s 1 million is another man’s 1 kobo. But this stuff is not for team cheapskate. It ranges between N1800- N2500 depending on where you buy it.

Absorption: It takes a while to absorb into the hair mostly when used on dry hair and low porosity hair. Also leaves a weird feeling if used heavy handedly or on dry hair.

MY RATING: 5/5. It has lived up to the hype and attained staple status for me.

I’ve even gone on to tell my friends, both relaxed and natural, to try it.

Where to buy:
– Casa Bella outlets(Palms Lekki, Surulere mall, Ikeja city mall, Ajose Adeogun VI, Polo Park mall Enugu, Grand Towers Mall Abuja)
– Olori.com.ng
– thebeautyboon.com
– hairbeautyhub.com (they have the salon size)

I hope my reviews are helpful to you guys. I know I don’t really go into the sciencey stuff but I try to make sure I’m honest and I relate to you how my hair felt with the product.

I was in Accra recently and I picked up 2 or 3 things that I’ll share in a post soon hopefully. I’m also currently in self-made crochet braids (yay!) and I will post about this also. I’ve also opened a Youtube channel! I haven’t posted anything yet but I’ll keep you in the know. I’m also considering doing the blog’s first giveaway; it’ll probably be a small one though.

Anything eventful happening with your hair lately? New styles? DIYs? Products? Anything at all? Do share!

Stay safe guys!
Hugs & kisses.

14Apr2014

Product store in Nigeria

Posted in products by Jen

Hi y’all,
Straight to the point.

Finding products in Nigeria is still a struggle for me(I’m sure a lot of you can relate!). Even worse is the fact that when I do find products, the prices send me into a mini cardiac arrest(I’m sure even more people can relate). You know I’m a proud member of the Cheapskates club!

So I’ve been thinking, I want to open a store and sell products! Products for natural hair and for anyone who is looking to have healthy hair or who is on a healthy hair journey. I want to focus on those hard to find products/brands that are mostly only available abroad.

My main aim is to make the products reasonably affordable(Considering shipping cost and all). Another aim of mine is to be able to ship nationwide.

Products will be displayed and available for purchase online. Also, they will be available at a supermarket in Ikeja, Lagos for those who prefer to shop physically and for those who want to pickup what they ordered online(Hopefully, more outlets will be available in the future in other places)

For now though, it’s still just an idea. So I need opinions! I was going to put a poll below but I changed my mind. Please let me know in the comment section what you think.

Here’s what I’d like you to answer:

1. Do you think I should start selling hair products or do you think there are too many stores already?

2. What kind of products/tools/things would you like me to stock?

3. What brands would you like me to stock?

4. What do you think of this idea in general?

5. Anything you’d like to say?

Thank you!

Have an awesome week guys!

P.S. Please help me get the word out so that I can get as many people’s feedback as possible, thanks and God bless!

7Apr2014

Product Review: Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream

Posted in nails, product review, products by Jen

So today I bring your way a product review.

I got Taliah Waajid’s curly curl cream from Casa Bella at Ikeja City mall. It was an impulse buy.

Let’s get straight to it. It’s going to be as short as possible.

PROS
-It defines curls like it says it will.
This product would be great for wash and go’s because it defines curls/coils. (I however use it to twist my hair mostly and it works well for that too.)
However I have often heard that if you have no curls in the first place, curl defining products will have nothing to define. So keep this in mind and don’t expect a miracle product that will turn your hair to telephone cord type of curls, lol. It’ll define the curls that you do have.

-It’s moisturizing.
I love this stuff when it comes to moisturizing! It makes/keeps my hair soft and moisturized for days. The first ingredient is water and it also has glycerin and Shea butter in it.

-The smell is nice. Nothing too fantastic but nice.

-A little goes a long way. It’s thick too.

-Leaves no whitish residue once you rub it in properly.

CONS
-It’s sticky.
And if you are heavy handed like I am, it can leave your hair feeling sticky and mushy. So definitely use it in small doses.

-The price IN NIGERIA.
I don’t know about other parts of the world but the price here isn’t particularly low. I got this for N2890 I believe from Casa Bella.

-It contains mineral oil.
Mineral oil is number 9 on the ingredient list. Mineral oil is said to weigh down the hair, clog the scalp and cause build up. I think they have discontinued using mineral oil in this product though(either that or they just started adding the mineral oil?) because I googled the ingredient list and all the results came up without mineral oil.(Ps I think mineral oil makes my scalp itch more but this is still a theory for now)

I didn’t look at the ingredients before purchasing because I felt Taliah Waajid would use natural ingredients since they are a natural hair company and I was in a hurry. Don’t make this mistake. Never be in a hurry to buy products. At least google them or look through the ingredients patiently before purchasing.

All in all I would rate this product 3.5 out of 5

I put some on the front part of my hair and didn’t put any at the back so you could see the contrast

Now for a nail update. I’ve been taking Biotin for a week and 2 days now.

This is what it looked like before I started

It’s still too early but this is what it looks like 9 days later

If you’d like to buy Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream, you can try:

1. Casa Bella outlets. They sell it for about N2800

2. The Kinky Apothecary. They deliver across Nigeria or you can drop by their stand at L’espace 19A Olosa Street, off Karimu Kotun ,Victoria Island, Lagos. They sell it for N2000(Don’t forget there’ll be a charge if you’re having it delivered)

3. Dab’s import window on Naija Hair Can Grow. From the 1st to 7th of every month you can send her requests on hard to get products and she imports them on your behalf.

Don’t forget to always check the ingredient list before purchasing products and when in doubt, google google google!

Peace!

30Mar2014

Biotin? Yes

Posted in nails, products, protective styling by Jen

Hi guys!
I started taking Biotin on Saturday. In the past I talked about how it was expensive and I wanted to avoid it because I’d read that it could cause acne.
Well I decided to put on my big girl pants and shove my hand deep into my wallet to buy it.
You might be thinking the reason is my hair. It’s actually not.
It’s my nails. Yes, my nails.
In Alcoholics Anonymous fashion, let me just say “Hi I’m Jennifer and I’m a nail biter”.
It’s a bad habit that I can’t seem to shake.
Recently I was thinking of creative ways I would take a picture of my engagement ring(whenever I get engaged) without my nails showing 😦
So after drooling at Ez of Beauty In Lagos’ nails for about a month, I decided I had to be proactive.

In the past, I have stopped biting my nails at different times and I’ve even managed to grow them to an extent but I always went back to biting. Sometimes I’ll dedicate one hand or some fingernails only to biting and grow the rest but in the end I’ll return to my habit. I even bite the skin around them( God said we shouldn’t judge others).
Also, they were always weak and brittle and would break and bend and tear.

So this time, I decided to help them out as much as I can.

I googled how to grow nails and biotin came up a lot and I thought “what an irony! The biotin I was dodging”.
To cut the long story short, I have started taking them. Any hair growth will of course be a bonus but the purpose for them is my nails.

I went to a nearby pharmacy and I bought “Nature’s Bounty Hair, Skin and Nails”. They contain 5000mcg of Biotin along with other vitamins. They cost me a whopping N5350 *weeps* so they better do something. There are 250 capsules and you are to take 3 a day which means there are 83 servings in total so these should last me almost 3 months which I hope is enough time to see some good change.
So far, I have no acne out of the ordinary.
As for results, I can’t say because it’s only been 4 days.

They are not recommended if you are under 18.

I will also get those really good nail hardeners to help the process.

I’m currently in a protective style after a month of having my hair out. Before I went to the salon I did my usual preparation but didn’t do a protein treatment out of laziness. When I got to the salon and the stylist had to blow dry my hair and was combing angrily and proceeded to weave a little too snug, I started regretting skipping the protein.
Anyways, my hair’s tucked away for now and hopefully 4 more weeks(if I can stand it that long).

This ombré/dip dyed style is a DIY dye job by the way. I think I did a good job.

I came across a conditioner at shoprite Ikeja mall and decided to buy it on a whim(I do this a lot). It’s silicone free but I don’t know about the other ingredients. It was N550

Alright, that’s about it for now.
Till next time guys,
Hugs and kisses.

Oh I didn’t show you a picture of my nails. So here’s one. Don’t laugh please. Pray with me that the biotin helps them and that my teeth stay away from them too.

9Dec2013

First go at protective styling: Bohemian curls

Posted in products, protective styling by Jen

Hey guys,
So I went for NITC7 and I learnt some new things especially about Ayurveda(will definitely be giving it a go in the near future)! Didn’t stay till the end though because I wanted to avoid evening traffic.
Anyways, here’s what I bought!

vo5(N500), African Naturalistas’ glycerine(N1400) and Jamaican Black Castor Oil aka JBCO(N1750)
I also got some coconut oil(not pictured); a 500ml bottle which I shared with my friend(think it cost N1740).
My eyes also had a happy time seeing so much natural hair! I was so inspired. Didn’t take pictures sadly 😦 Only these two below.

They’ve both been natural for about a year! The one on the left has a hair blog that you should definitely check out.

Funny story guys: Before I went to NITC and bought Vo5, I’d been to Park n Shop and Goodies searching for it to no avail.
So after I got it at NITC, I went by my mum’s shop to meet her and guess what I saw on one of the shelves? Vo5! Imagine! (Talk about going to Sokoto in search of what was inside my sokoto!). So if you’re ever in need of Vo5, pay the shop a visit.
Angels supermarket: 88 Awolowo way Ikeja, Lagos(somewhat opposite Access bank; beside Holy Trinity hospital)
It’s N600.

The shop also has butterfly clamps(for sectioning your hair), honey(for deep conditioning etc), Extra Virgin Olive Oil({both little bottles and giant bottles} For hot oil treatments, sealing etc), Green tea and black tea( for tea rinses) and wide tooth combs(for detangling) as well as provisions and whatnot. So stop by.

I found a new silicone free conditioner! Garnier Fructis fortifying comditioner(strength and shine). I got it at Park n shop on Mobolaji Bank Anthony way for N550.

Sooooo, I’m finally in my first protective style since my big chop! 😀 My hair needed a major break from daily combing. It’s a full sew in using Pro 10 Bohemian curls(12″, colour 2).

I got it from a hair shop in my neighborhood for N1800 each(I used 2 packs so N3600).

I’m going to be doing my own castor oil challenge while I have the weave to see how much hair I’ll grow. I’ll be massaging castor oil into my scalp 3x a week(Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays).
Didn’t do length check pictures cos I forgot but I have this picture I took some days before I got the weave for some sort of reference. I had straightened a small section in front to see my length. It’s about 3″ long in this section(my hair is between 2″-3″ in different parts with most parts being 2.5″).

So I went and got the sew in! It was corn rowed/ sewn a tad too tight so I sprayed my edges with some water and peppermint oil for some relief and then applied some castor oil and tugged gently to try and loosen it a bit. That really helped but I hope I don’t lose hair 😦

So here’s my hair

Love it!

At work this morning, someone asked why I did my hair in an accusatory tone( a tone that implied that he preferred the twa).
Someone else said with a smirk on her face “I thought you liked your short hair; why did you get a weave?”. In my mind I’m like “Ermm 1) na my head, no be ur own 2) yes I like the short hair. That don’t mean I don’t like weaves too 3) wipe that silly smirk off ur face”.

The head tapping has begun! Why is it that my head always itches when I get a weave, no matter how clean my scalp is?! 😥

27Nov2013

Casa Bella deal on Dealdey! + NITC reminder

Posted in events, products by Jen

As I might have mentioned in a previous post, Casa Bella is a Nigerian store that sells natural hair products like Giovanni, Cantu, Taliah Waajid, Creme of Nature etc as well as other hair and beauty products. At the moment, they have a deal on Dealdey for 50% off on a N3000 voucher. This simply means you will be paying N1500 for a voucher worth N3000 so you’re saving N1500. So you can buy N3000 worth of stuff from Casa Bella with this voucher having only paid N1500 for it.

You can use the voucher at any of the following Casa Bella outlets:

-The Palms Shopping Centre, Lekki
-Ikeja City Mall, Alausa
-Adeniran Ogunsanya (Shoprite) Mall, Surulere
-Polo Park Mall, Enugu
-Grand Towers Mall, Abuja
-Ajose Adeogun Street, opposite Zenith Bank HQ, Victoria Island

You know your girl got a voucher! Cheapskates don’t sleep, LOL! I have my eyes on that Cantu shea butter leave in.

Hurry because the voucher sales end in 5 days!

To buy your own voucher from Dealdey, click here

Also, don’t forget that NITC7 is this Saturday! Don’t let them gist you; come and see it first hand. Relaxed, big chop, natural, transitioning, bald; it don’t even matter! The focus is healthy hair and we all want that right?

Highlights:

~There will be talks about:
..protective styling
..hygienic makeup application
..Ayurvedic treatments
etc.

~A hair documentary will also be screened and discussed.

~There will be a product swap as well so come with all the products you would like to swap(Don’t bring empty containers oh!).

~There will be stands selling all sorts of goodies from essential oils to conditioners to accessories, name it! (All those products you’ve been eyeing but didn’t order because of delivery costs will be there! I know I want glycerin, aloe vera juice, tea tree oil and Jamaican Black Castor Oil!)

So clear your calendar and try your absolute best not to miss it.

Till next time,
Peace, love and good hair!

17Nov2013

Hairxperiment- Homemade coconut oil + New conditioner

Posted in hairxperiment, products by Jen

Hi guys, so I went to Park n Shop(Mobolaji Bank Anthony) to buy V05 conditioner but it turns out they don’t open on Sundays so I went to Goodies(on the same road) instead. They didn’t have V05 conditioner but they had the shampoo so I decided to check out the other brands they had and see if I could find something good.

I ended up settling for Natur Vital. It was N990. I got two bottles.

It’s silicone,paraben,mineral oil and preservative free and has a light smell that’s not too overpowering. I used it to deep condition my hair mixed with olive oil, castor oil and honey and it did an okay job.

I also checked to see if they had coconut oil as I’ve been meaning to try it but they didn’t.
So I got home and I remembered that we had a coconut and I’d read on African Naturalistas and DarkChildLoveThyHair that you could make your own so I thought “what the heck, I’ll give it a go”.

I decided to go with the Heating/Boiling method as it was the only one I saw that didn’t require waiting for a few days before getting the oil. So my sister and I set to work.

1. Broke the coconut and removed the shell.

2. Grated it.

3. Put in in the blender, added some warm water and blended it. (I was confused about how much water to add. I would advise not adding too much because all the water you add will have to evaporate so if you add a lot, you’ll be waiting for a long time before it evaporates)

4. Strained it. (Used a piece of cloth placed over a bowl)

5. Put it in a pan on low heat and stirred regularly until all the water evaporated and the coconut cream curd started to ‘fry’ and turn golden brown as the oil came out.

It became thicker as the water evaporated(picture on the right)
After a while, I was left with this oatmeal like stuff.

This, dear people, is where confusion set in. The blogs I’d read didn’t really tell me about this point so I was so confused. I turned off the heat and thought maybe if it cooled down, “the oatmeal” would melt and become oil(Don’t laugh at me).

After a few minutes, I turned to Google and saw on WikiHow and Yahoo Voices that you’re supposed to keep cooking this “oatmeal” which is actually the coconut cream curd until it starts to fry on its own and turn golden brown.

I turned the heat back on and kept stirring. Soon enough, it started to sizzle and fry as the oil came out. It turned brown and I turned off the heat (I burnt it a bit I think because it was way past golden brown)

I strained it and put it in an empty bottle

It wasn’t a lot maybe because it’s just one coconut I used.

Anyways, the hairxperiment was a success!

On another note, I tried a ‘twist out’. In quotes because it looked nothing like other twist outs I’d seen online, LOL!

It wasn’t bad though, except that the bobby pins were showing too much; couldn’t find small bobby pins. I totally would have rocked it to go out but I had nowhere to go. I’ll try it some other day and wear it out. My sister said it was okay and my cousin said she liked it but my mother said I looked like “a witch they poured water on” 😦

14Nov2013

So what’s been going on since my last post?

Posted in products by Jen

Hey guys, it’s been a minute. I changed the blog address from naturalnappynigeriangirl.wordpress to nigerianandnatural.wordpress. The former was just too long. So what really has been going on with my hair since my last post? Well, not much as far as I’m concerned(I’m so boring).

I’ve been getting a lot of “why did you cut your hair?”, even from people who never met me while I had longer hair. The other day some dude asked why I cut my hair and I said “I want to regrow it”. He said “that’s a weird reason. I thought you lost someone in your family and you were mourning”. The one I get a lot and HATE is “did you comb your hair?” or “do you comb your hair?”. But I do get a lot of compliments too! So I’m not complaining too much! The other day, a salon owner said “I wish all ladies would cut their hair like you so we could see their natural beauty”. I replied “then how would you make money?” And he laughed.

Still getting to know my hair.

I don’t know what hair type I have but most of the strands that fall off are circular.

My dandruff has also significantly reduced, hallelujah! I don’t know what exactly made this happen(maybe more frequent washing and oiling) but thank you hair gods. I’m looking to get some tea tree oil though.

On another note, getting products in Nigeria can be such a pain in the behind. I wonder how I’m going to cope in the long run. I’m trying to find suitable products that can be readily available to me that is, products I can easily find/buy with no stress. Products you read reviews about are either impossible to buy here or overpriced. *sigh*.

I’ve tried a couple of new products so let me briefly talk about them

(NB: Remember that I’m a newbie so my advice isn’t professional or based on much experience; it’s based on how I/my hair felt after using said products)

Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut conditioner

I ran out of Giovanni(which I really like by the way)and I decided to try something new

(I got the white one at Casa Bella in Ikeja mall for about N3000 and my mum got the green one at Ulta in the US for about $8)

So I decided to try African Naturalistas’ conditioner since it was pretty affordable(N1500). So cheapskate me found out that konga had it and their delivery was cheaper than that of the African naturalistas store so I ordered it from Konga. After waiting for my delivery for some days, I got an email from Konga saying that it was unavailable. I’m just confused, like ummm it said it was in stock when I ordered it?! Anyways, they said my money had been refunded into my “Konga wallet” and I could use it for another purchase(been trying to use it since and I’m never able to checkout. What a beautiful first impression of Konga).

After this, I decided to try Suave Naturals Tropical Coconut(one of their silicone free conditioners). I got it off Sizelle,whose customer service is good by the way. One major deciding factor was that it was cheaper than Giovanni(N2450 then an additional N500 for delivery) and over 2x bigger than Giovanni.

The first thing I noticed was the smelllll! So coconutty. Smelt it before I even got to the package(it was a delivery so it came in a sealed package. The bottle was also wrapped in nylon and placed in a Sizzelle bag. So basically I smelt it through 3 layers of nylon). I love the smell. I think it’s pretty great for cowashes. I also use it to deep condition mixed with oils,honey etc. I use it as a leave in sometimes and I put it in my spray bottle mix too.
I think it doesn’t have(or is it “give”? I don’t know the natural lingo well) as much slip as Giovanni does but it’s still pretty okay.

I would definitely repurchase especially if I find it in a supermarket.

Bobeam Shealoe shampoo bar
Still cant wrap my head around how people use Dudu Osun to wash their hair. Even Americans are ordering it online? Nah! I can’t. That soap makes my face itch like crazy. I can just imagine my hair as dry as the desert if I use it.

Anyways, I’d read nothing but good reviews about Bobeam shampoo bars and the lady who makes them and her awesome customer service. They weren’t lying. I emailed her asking about delivery costs to Nigeria and she was so pleasant. (You can find her here) Unfortunately the delivery prices were a bit steep since I was only buying 1 or 2 bars(buying in bulk would be more sensible I think). So I decided to buy it from The Kinky Apotheacry (it costs N1400 but there’s an N800 delivery charge. U can also pick up if u want).
I must say, I like this shampoo bar! My hair feels clean when I use it. The bar has a light lemony smell. The bar will last long as far as you don’t leave it in water or you don’t go scrubbing it into your head excessively; it lathers well, in fact a little too well, so there’s no need to be excessively rubbing the bar on your head.

I would repurchase. Although I think this one might last a while + I still have some Giovanni shampoo.

(I cut the bar in two. This is one half)

African Naturalistas leave in conditioner

Got this off Jumia because they were doing a free delivery promo #TeamCheapskate. It was N1295 but now it’s N1595. (Quick rant: the Jumia delivery guy refused to leave it with my gateman so the gateman got angry and told him to come and look for me at work which is very close to my house. He actually did! The receptionist at work had to sign for my delivery. Since he ended up not giving me in person, I didn’t see his point. He could have just dropped it at my house)

I’d never bought a leave in so this was my first try.
It was rather watery; I expected something thicker but it makes sense that it would be watery.
I have likes and dislikes about this product.

LIKES
1. It offers me the opportunity to not have to wet/dampen my hair everyday. I can just slap this on and comb as easily as when I spray with water.

2. It’s affordable, silicone free and Nigerian made(Yay Nigeria!).

DISLIKES

1. The smell! I’m a bit used to it now but I absolutely dislike the smell. It smells like air freshener to me.

2. Doesn’t last so long. It’s 300ml and watery so… And this is from someone who has short hair. (However, I do use it fairly often and I put some in my spray bottle).

3. It can be sticky on hands and I noticed some sort of build up in my hair when I used it for 3 or more days in a row. It also takes some rubbing in for the whiteness/white residue to go.

I don’t know if my hair is any softer with it than it is when I use my spray bottle mix.

I would repurchase mostly because of the price but I’m on the look out for something better.

Ecostyler olive oil gel

Got this from The Kinky Apothecary with the Bobeam and a satin bonnet(yes guys, I’d been sleeping with my hair out on cotton pillowcases *weeps*).

I am not a fan at all! I don’t know if it’s that I’m using it the wrong way or something but it makes my hair stiff and white. Someone asked me why my hair was white and I said “it is gel oh! I don’t know who sent me to go and rub gel”. Funny thing is, I was messing around one day and I put some on my baby cousin’s hair and his curls were popping!

Anyways, the tub of gel is sitting pretty on my table, very full.

I’ve also started taking multivitamins as I hear vitamins and minerals are good for your hair and skin.

(Stolen from my mum)

I hear Biotin especially makes hair grow! Read some reviews and went to ask for the price of the 5000mcg Biotin pills in a pharmacy and they said N4500! My inner cheapskate soul died. I don’t know if I’m ready to commit like that and drop N4500. What if it doesn’t work for me(some people in the reviews said they broke out and The Lord knows I already have skin that is very acne prone- see picture below for evidence). I think I’ll just put the Biotin idea on the back burner for now. (My multivitamin tablet has some Biotin in it but it’s just 30mcg)

As far as progress goes,

(August 11th 2013)

(Nobember 3rd 2013)

Slowly but surely 🙂

Fooled around and tried a “braid out” one day when I was bored.

Hated it

So till next time guys.

13Jun2013

The Big Chop is tomorrow!

Posted in big chop, products by Jen

So my big chop is tomorrow! *happy dancing* I’m so excited! It’s the kind of excitement that gives you a funny feeling in your belly because it’s mixed with little doses of fear,anticipation,doubt and anxiety. So 5 minutes ago, literally, I decided to snip a small part of my hair to kind of prepare my mind a little bit plus I wanted to get a picture of what my length would be like.

(Ignore how messy my hair looks). My sister was looking at me like I was crazy! LOL!

In the time since my last post, I’ve been trying to find as much info as I can get on everything natural hair related from hair porosity(how well your hair absorbs and maintains moisture) to recommended products to hair care regimens.
From my research, I found so many product dos and don’ts and so many rules; even the rules have rules under them(LOL). Some examples of the rules I found are:
-don’t use shampoos with sulfates(they dry out your hair and are harsh. Find more info on sulfate in shampoos here)
-don’t use conditioners and other products with silicones(usually things in the ingredient section that end with -cone, -xane and -conol) but you can use products with water soluble silicones because they will be washed away when you wash your hair.(To find out more about silicones, check here)
-if you use conditioners with silicones(not water soluble) you have to use a shampoo with sulfate to get the silicones out of your hair if not you will have build-up(basically the silicones will coat your hair and scalp and create build-up making your hair dull and drab) but you might be able to get rid of the build-up using baking soda or apple cider vinegar.
-don’t use products with mineral oil, petroleum jelly and paraben.
-wear a silk/satin scarf/bonnet to bed or sleep on a silk/satin pillowcase because cotton can cause damage to your hair and suck out moisture.
-don’t comb your hair when it’s dry. Comb it when it’s wet and apply your products when it’s wet as well.
-always use an oil or(and) a butter to seal in moisture.

These are just a few of the numerous rules you will find. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to follow every single natural hair rule you see because there are some conflicting rules, there are too many rules and we don’t all have the same kind of hair and what works for one person may not work for another. So what I’ve decided to do is to try as much as possible to follow the basic rules that are more common or that almost everyone follows as I try to find out what my hair likes and build my own regimen.

The major problem for me so far has been choosing products to use and where to find said products in Nigeria.
So far, these are the products I’ve gotten:

1) olive oil

With Olive oil, you need to get Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil to get the best results out of it. This brand, Goya, is widely available in almost all grocery stores and supermarkets in Nigeria. There’s always a bottle, if not more, of this at my house because we use it in church and I use it to cook(I’ve been on a weight loss journey and it’s one of the healthiest oil options). This brand comes in small, medium and large. This is the medium bottle and I got it for N500 at a small store in my neighborhood. I will be using this(mixed with castor oil) as my oil to seal in moisture, mixing it with some water to spray my hair when it needs a pick-me-up, mixing it with other things to deep condition my hair etc. There are so many uses for this so it wouldn’t hurt to get a bottle.

2)Castor oil

With castor oil as well, you need to get cold pressed/cold drawn. You can get this at almost any supermarket or pharmacy(because it is usually administered orally for constipation) in Nigeria. I got this for N450 at a pharmacy. Castor oil is great for sealing in moisture, can be used in a deep conditioning mix etc. It is also rumored to make hair grow, it reduces breakage and it makes hair stronger. It’s a thick oil so it’s highly advisable to mix it with other oils so it doesn’t weigh down your hair. I washed an old relaxer activator bottle and filled it with a mixture of castor and olive oil(1 part castor to 2 parts olive).

3)Shea butter(locally known as Ori)

This is one of the greatest blessings God gave us in this part of the world as far as I’m concerned. It’s very cheap and available locally. You should choose the unrefined kind. You can get it in markets and if you don’t, some salons sell it as well(if you don’t find it, you can always ask around or ask the market sellers or the salon workers where you can get it). You can use this as your butter to seal in moisture, soften your hair etc. You can use it alone or you can mix it with oils. It’s great for your hair and if it doesn’t work for your hair, you can always put it in your body lotion or use it as a lip balm.
From the picture above, you can see that the ones I have aren’t the same colour. I’m used to the colour on the left so when I bought the one on the right and saw the colour, I was worried because it looked odd to me. I asked around and the general consensus was that nothing was wrong with it(my mum even said the regular one has that colour because it’s bleached so the one on the right is the unbleached version. My friend said maybe they mixed something in with the one on the right). Anyways, I decided to stop fretting and I just mixed the one on the right with some of the one on the left. When I bought them, they were in nylon bags so I transferred them into these cream containers that I’ve washed and decided to repurpose. I don’t remember how much the one on the left cost(I’m guessing about N100) but the one on the right was N100(this is about half of it because I shared it with my brothers so I would say what’s in the container is actually like N50’s worth of Shea butter).

4) Giovanni smooth as silk deeper moisture conditioner

I read several reviews about this online and it seemed to rank high in the natural community. It’s silicone free and free of many other chemicals. I really like it. I’ve used it once to cowash my hair(cowasing or conditioner washing is washing your hair with conditioner only; no shampoo) and I’ve also been using it as a leave in conditioner(haven’t gotten a leave in yet and I read several reviews of people using it as a leave in and loving it). I also mixed a very small amount of it in a spray bottle with water and olive oil to spray my hair with whenever it needs a little more moisture or a pick-me-up as I said earlier. A little of it goes a long way(which is great because it’s kind of pricey) and it makes my hair soft and easy to detangle. It’s not so common in Nigeria. I got this at Casa Bella in Ikeja City Mall, Alausa for N3010. It is also available at Casa Bella in The Palms,Lekki, Casa Bella in Shoprite, Surulere and Casa Bella in Shoprite(Grand towers), Apo in Abuja. You can also buy it at this Nigerian natural hair store: The Kinky Apothecary

Casa Bella also carries many natural haircare products as well so you should definitely check them out. This is a picture of the numbers on my receipt in case you want to call them for enquiries

I also bought a wide toothed comb and a few hair accessories from a store in my neighborhood. I’m ordering shampoo and hair gel and I will keep you posted when I get them and anything else.

Tomorrow is the big day!!! *dances into the sunset*

Jennifer Abah

Category Archives: products