Hi guys,
Today, I bring you a product review.
I’d been seeing this product online and once saw it at NITC but didn’t buy it because it was pricey.
In October last year, my sister spotted Olori’s stand when we were at the Beauty Africa Exhibition and Conference. We headed there are purchased the medium sized tub which usually costs 4000 NGN. However, we were able to get a discount so we got it at 3600 NGN and they threw in a little sample tub for free.
Hi guys,
One thing I would say I miss about my non-existent hair routine before going natural was that I could use 30-60 minutes to wash my hair AND dry it.
Nowadays, that basically borders on impossible.
I really like the feel of cold water on my scalp and the softness of freshly washed hair. If not for these I actually do not enjoy wash day because, without sugar-coating it, I am lazy and would much rather use my free time to do what lazy people do.
In case you were ever wondering what I do on wash days, let me give you the low-down.
1. Detangle:
I sometimes shampoo before I detangle but these days I mostly detangle first.
If I’m shampooing first, I shampoo and then finger detangle my wet/damp hair in sections with my deep conditioner and twist each detangled section. After I’m done detangling and everything is in twists, I put on a shower cap for some time(deep condition).
However, if I’m detangling first, I take my dry hair in sections, put conditioner in it (or spray with a mix of conditioner, water and/or apple cider vinegar as seen in the picture) then finger detangle, twist that section and move to another until everything is detangled and in twists.
See how creepy my hand looks after detangling.
For now, I’m not sure which method I prefer but I’m leaning towards method 2 because it can be quite tasking to reach your scalp properly when shampooing loose hair like in method 1.
2. Shampoo:
I proceed to rinse my hair as best I can and shampoo it focusing on my scalp.
3. Deep condition:
I usually sit around and wait till my hair is damp before I deep condition (but that’s because most times, I don’t use a towel/t-shirt to blot excess water so I have to sit and drip till the hair becomes damp. If I have a towel/t-shirt, I blot out the excess water after shampooing and proceed to deep condition). I apply my deep conditioner of choice that day, put on my shower cap a.k.a nylon bag and go about my business for the next hour or more. Then I rinse it out.
4. ACV rinse:
After rinsing out the deep conditioner, I dilute apple cider vinegar with water and pour it over my hair making sure it gets everywhere. I wait a minute or two and then pour a bowl of plain water over my hair. Don’t ask me why I do this step because me sef I no know.
Loosened one twist to look at my hair. Looks clean to me
5. Moisturize and seal:
I sit around with my hair still in twists till it dries a bit.
When it’s damp, I proceed to loosen a twist, apply Cantu and follow it up with cocoa butter(or Shea butter) focusing on my ends and then put it in a loose Bantu knot or flat twist so I can differentiate it from those I haven’t moisturized. I do this till I’m done with everything. I then loosen each Bantu knot or flat twist and put in back in a regular twist so I can have a twist out the next day. (Alternatively, I do a firm Bantu knot/flat twist after moisturizing each section so that I don’t have to loosen it after moisturizing).
6. Put on my satin bonnet:
If it’s night by this time, I put on my bonnet and head to bed.
I was pretending to yawn in the picture and ended up really yawning
And that’s wash day for me.
What do you do on wash day? Please share your routine.
I know, I know; I’ve been MIA! Sorry for the absence. Life happened.
I’m kicking myself for not having any pictures of the dilemma I’m about to tell you.
About 3 weeks ago, I thought I would try bananas to deep condition my hair. I had seen people do it on blogs and a friend of mine had done it in the past. So I steal get two bananas out of my sister’s bunch and keep them till the weekend. Beforehand I did some reading and read somewhere that you should sieve the mixture before use.
Being the rebel that I am(rolls eyes), I did not listen. There was no light(Thanks NEPA!) so I didn’t even use a blender. I just mashed my bananas with a spoon, threw in some honey and olive oil(I think I added a bit of conditioner too but my memory fails me), saturated my hair with my mixture and put on my shower cap nylon bag.
Time to wash it out!! I rinsed my hair and cowashed it and it felt good! I’m thinking “I like this banana deep condition oh!”. I step out of the bathroom and stand in front of the mirror and what do I see? Particles upon particles upon particles. I’m like “Blood of Jesus!”.
I go and cowash again, this time very vigorously and I use a comb this time(been finger detangling for a while now).
Brethren I stepped in front of the mirror and there was no damn difference.
My brain is processing, thinking “what to do, what to do”.
These strings and particles and jammed tight in my wet coils.
I figured the best bet would be to wait till the hair dries.
When the hair dried, my sister helped me comb and pick out the particles. She couldn’t even get all of them out.
I put my hair in flat twists speckled in banana leftovers and wore my new wig over it like that.
Moral lesson of this sermon: DO NOT USE BANANAS IN YOUR HAIR WITHOUT SIEVING FIRST BECAUSE YOU WILL DEFINITELY REGRET IT!!!!
Check out my new wig!!
WIG DETAILS:
Name: Vivica Fox
Price: N8,950
Place of purchase: Casa Bella, Ikeja City Mall
I’ve been wearing it for three weeks now. Every weekend I wash and deep condition my hair, put it in flat twists for the week and wear my wig over it.
In other news, I’m done with NYSC! Whoop whoop! Praying for greater things and higher heights!
The blog turned one in May and I missed it :(. I’m not even sure of the date.
My one year “nappyversary” is coming up also and I don’t know which day to even choose; is it the day of my first big chop? Or the day of my 2nd big chop? Maybe you guys can help me decide.
However, here are my dates to note:
Last whole head relaxer- Jan 25th, 2013
Relaxed just the front for a weave- March 8th, 2013
Big chop- June 14th, 2013
Second big chop- July 18th, 2013
Hopefully, I will have another post up sooner than later *fingers crossed*
Till next time guys,
Take care.
Hi y’all!
Please please please and please, if you have not been deep conditioning frequently or you’ve not been deep conditioning at all (Ah! *shudders*) you need to hop on it oh! I beg you!
This is for ALL hair types! Everyone can benefit from it whether you’re relaxed, natural, texlaxed or you have locs.
As I told my friend the other day, I am a living testimony to the “wonderment” that is deep conditioning. My hair has really really improved overtime because I was deep conditioning every single week(or at least once every 10 days) since it was barely 1/2 an inch long. In fact at that time my family members will be telling me “please which hair do you have that you are doing all these things to it”.
Now when people touch my hair and say “So soft!” or like someone said “natural hair? And it’s soft like this?!” I know that my deep conditioning and moisturizing are paying off because my hair didn’t start out this way.
I’m not going to go into the science of it all because I’m lazy I want this to be a short post but from my own experience, deep conditioning really improves the look, feel and health of your hair. My hair is a million times softer than it was when I started this journey.
You may be thinking now, “I have to go and buy one expensive deep conditioning treatment oh!”. No you don’t! You don’t need anything fancy. All you need is your regular conditioner and some oil mixed in.
You can be adventurous and mix in other things like glycerin, honey, aloe vera gel/juice, coconut milk etc or you can even go all natural and use avocado, banana, ghee(man shanu) etc.
If you’re not into mixing stuff, you can also get yourself some store bought deep conditioning treatment. Brands like Cantu, Organic Root Stimulator etc have treatments that can be bought off the shelf and would work well.
Whatever one you choose, put it in your hair, cover with a shower cap(or plastic/nylon bag like me. lol), let it sit for a while(you can sit under a dryer if you want to but I don’t. I just let my body heat do the magic) and rinse it out. Do this every week or at least 2x a month.
I’ve tried different things but for me my staple is, conditioner+oil+honey. Sometimes I’ll add glycerin, I’ll use a mix of several conditioners, I’ll use a mix of several oils but basically, it is conditioner+oil+honey. If I don’t have honey, I use just conditioner and oil(olive, castor, coconut, peppermint etc. Anyone you like really or a mixture of all).
I cover my hair with a nylon/plastic bag, tie a scarf or 2 over it and let it sit for at least 2 hours(you can do more or less but I don’t think it should be less that 30 mins or an hour). Sometimes I leave it overnight.
I usually do this after I shampoo(if I’m using shampoo that day), after I cowash(if I’m cowashing that day) or in recent times, on dry hair and then I cowash afterwards. Whatever works for you really(some people do it before they shampoo).
Just use the internet to find different deep conditioning treatments you can do. The options are nearly endless. Try different things and methods and find what works for you.
Deep conditioning should be a part of your regimen. Of course deep conditioning alone will not change your hair. It works hand in hand with other good hair practices like moisturizing, gentle handling, keeping your hair clean etc.
Whatever you use or however you choose to do it, just make sure you deep condition CONSISTENTLY and you will reap the benefits with patience. You will end up with hair you can’t keep your hands off.
Jennifer Abah 