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.

27Jun2015

Tip: Putting links in comments.

Posted in Not hair, Tips by Jen

Hi guys,

I want to share with you guys a super easy tip that will be quite helpful if you need to put links in the comment section of a blog.

You know when you see comments on blogs with links like this- Nigerian and Natural and you wonder how the heck the person did it because you’re stuck leaving your own comments with links like this-www.nigerianandnatural.com or http://nigerianandnatural.com ?

Well, I’m here to show you how!

Here’s the basic format:

<a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com“>Nigerian and Natural</a>

Just copy and paste in the comment you want to post. This will appear as “Nigerian and Natural” when you post the comment and when people click on it, it links back to this blog.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

Of course you don’t want to go around posting “Nigerian and Natural” on people’s blogs.

If you were to change that format to something else, here’s what to do.

<a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com“>Nigerian and Natural</a>

You can only change two parts in this format; the link and the name. (By link, I mean http://nigerianandnatural.com and by name I mean Nigerian and Natural).

Change the part with the link to the link of your choice and then change the part where I wrote Nigerian and Natural to what you want it to appear as.

e.g <a href=”https://jennyphar.wordpress.com“>Jennifer’s Writings</a> would appear as Jennifer’s Writings and would link to my other blog when clicked on.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

You can play around with this and change it as you please.

If you want to link to a specific post on a/your website, change the link in the code i.e http://nigerianandnatural.com to the link of the post. Then you can change the Nigerian and Natural to the name of the post if you like.

For example:

<a href=”https://jennyphar.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/cant-think-of-a-title/“>Can’t Think of a Title</a>

This is a link to a post called “Can’t Think of a Title” on my other blog and if you copy and paste it in a comment, after you post it, it will appear as “Can’t Think of a Title”.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

You can make it appear as whatever you want so play around with it.

E.g I can write “Read my latest post here” in someone’s comment section and for the “here” to link to my latest post, I would write this-

Read my latest post <a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com/2015/06/23/nitc-11/“>here</a>

Before posting comment

After posting comment

I can choose to write “I have a post about NITC 11 on my blog too” and for the “NITC 11” to link to my post, here’s what I would write-

I have a post about <a href=”http://nigerianandnatural.com/2015/06/23/nitc-11/“>NITC 11</a> on my blog too.

Before posting comment

After posting comment

Points to note:

Whenever you are changing the link in the code to something else, it should always be in http:// or https:// …www is a no no!
It is only after you post the comment that it appears as what you want so don’t worry if it is still showing as a code before you post.
Never change any other thing besides the name and the link in the code if not it won’t work.
Once you have your basic format, you can save it in your notes for easy access so you can copy and paste it when need be. That’s what I do.
It works for both Blogger and WordPress as long as the comments are HTML enabled (almost all are).

There you have it! I hope I have succeeded in explaining properly and that I have not confused you.

Feel free to test it out in the comment section below to know you got it before unleashing your new found knowledge on the world!

21Feb2015

Review: The BoonBox

Posted in Not hair, Review by Jen

Hi guys,

Ever heard of the CurlBox? It’s a subscription where you get a box every month that contains hair products either full sized or sample sized. The products are a surprise and are different every month giving you the opportunity to explore and try a variety of products.

Imagine my joy when I found out that we have our own version of this American wonder and ours is called the BoonBox! The BoonBox is put together by a Nigerian online beauty store called The Beauty Boon.

Somehow I never got around to ordering one until I read a review about it on She Is Out Of Control.

HOW IT WORKS

Just like I explained with the CurlBox, the BoonBox is literally a box that contains hair, skin and beauty products. The products are different every time and can be either sample sized or full sized.

You fill a form about your likes and dislikes, preferred brands and products etc. This helps the team putting the boxes together know what to put in yours. E.g if you say your hair is natural on the form, they won’t go and send you Profectiv relaxer in your BoonBox.

There are two subscription options: monthly and quarterly.

THE BAD

I chose to go with the monthly/one-time subscription so I ordered and prepaid for my BoonBox on the 17th of December. I chose to prepay instead opting for cash on delivery just incase I wasn’t home when it was delivered. Guess when I received it guys. 18th of February!!!

2 months later!

Sometime in January, a month or so after I ordered it(in fact I don forget sey I order something by then), someone from The Beauty Boon called me to confirm that I had ordered one, had prepaid and was yet to receive it; she also informed me that I would be receiving it soon.

By February 4th I had still not seen the shadow of the BoonBox so I sent an email to them about it and they replied saying it would come that Friday(February 6th).

Alas, it came February 18th.

THE GOOD

I was pleased with the BoonBox (even though I grew old and wrinkled waiting for its arrival). I got 5 items in mine:

1. EOS lip balm in blueberry açaí (Been wanting to get one so I was happy about this)

2. Clearasil daily clear daily facial scrub (Been wanting to try the Clearasil moisturizer so let’s see how this one works. Hopefully it won’t be too drying/harsh seeing as it’s for acne and acne is currently not a problem for me)

3. Mac lipglass in famously fab (Even though I think I mentioned on my form that I don’t like lipgloss but then I could be wrong. It’s a nice pinkish lavender shade)

4. Shea Moisture curl enhancing smoothie (I already had this. Nooooo!)

5. A scented candle (The scent is called garden party and it smells divine even unlit)

6. ~~A handwritten apology note~~ (I wish! I was half expecting one but I got a hot ela as they didn’t send any)

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love the idea of being surprised with different products and I love the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone and my staple product bubble and trying new things. I love the idea of the BoonBox. It’s a winner if only it could be smoothly executed. I was really mellow about the delay in the delivery timeline even though it was pretty unacceptable but not every one will be. So what if it were the quarterly subscription? Would you be getting each one 2 months late?

WOULD I REPURCHASE?

Maybe. If and only if I am assured that it will arrive on time.

BOONBOX DETAILS:

Where to purchase– The Beauty Boon

Price– N5,000 monthly or N19,000 quarterly

Would you be willing to try the BoonBox? Ever tried it or ever tried something similar? Share please.

P.s anyone know any good WordPress blogging apps for iOS? I keep losing my posts because the official WordPress app keeps crashing on me 😥

By the way have you noticed?!?!

The blog is now a “dot com”!!! *confetti*

It is now http://www.nigerianandnatural.com

But don’t worry if you forget and type http://www.nigerianandnatural.wordpress.com (this one is so long to type though; I can say that now 😀 ) because it will automatically redirect you to the dot com website.

Also, the email address is now contact@nigerianandnatural.com but don’t worry if you send it to the old one (nigerianandnatural@gmail.com) because I will still get it.

We are moving on up! *shakes bottom*

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t- @nigerianandnatural

Peace!

28Jan2015

What I wore: Stripes and Nude

Posted in events, Fashion, Not hair, Product store, products, What I Wore by Jen

This might come as a shocker to you but this is an outfit post! *jaws drop* LOL

Remember I’m dabbling and diversifying? It’s all in a bid to make me post more consistently.

I read a number of blogs: hair, makeup, fashion, food etc.
Of recent I think I have read one too many fashion posts so that might be the inspiration behind this post.

I am not a fashion blogger neither am I a fashionista but I think style is relative and maybe someone out there might find mine interesting.

If you ask me to describe my style in 1 word it would be ‘comfy’.
However, my sister and my good friend say I am boho/hippie(I do not agree though).

I wore this outfit to work sometime last week.

And because I see them do this on fashion blogs:

Top: Apt. 9 essential

Blazer: Dorothy Perkins (from Debra’s Grace, a cool store in Yaba)

Pants: Next (I’ve had them for years and have rocked the life out of them so much so that they are fading)

Shoes: I don’t know (long story)

Bag: Michael Kors (obtained from my mama)

Hair: Twists using Noble Gold (4 packs, uncut)

Oh and have you heard of Design Essentials? It’s a product brand that makes products for people who want healthy hair and has a line for natural hair. I first heard about them on Kemi Lewis’ blog.She uses their products in her natural hair salon.

Design essentials just launched a flagship store and training centre in Ikeja(yay for the mainland!) that stocks their products.

Their natural hair friendly products are silicone, paraben, paraffin, petrolatum, mineral oil and sulfate free and include the:

-Curl cleanser

-Moisturizing conditioner

-Almond and avocado detangling leave-in conditioner

-Honey curl forming custard

-Honey and Shea edge tamer

and more.

I love the packaging and I also sniffed some of the products(they smell great!) plus Kemi Lewis speaks well of them so I’m looking forward to trying them out!

Store details:

LOCATION: Angels Super Store, 88 Awolowo way, Ikeja by Fadeyi, beside Holy Trinity Hospital.

TEL: 08033029107 or 08033264570

OPENING HOURS: 9-7, Mon-Sat

What do you guys think of outfit posts on the blog every now and then? Yay or nay?

Have an awesome week!

7Jun2014

Driving me bananas

Posted in hairxperiment, protective styling by Jen

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.

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.