My week of styling and stretched hair

Posted in styling by Jen

Happy new year!!!!!! *insert fireworks*
May this year be your best year yet; may it be filled with love, joy, peace, progress, success, laughter and prosperity every day! We pray for longer,healthier hair this year, amen!!

So on to the hair talk. I took out my weave on Wed(Jan 1st) and for the first time since I’ve been getting weaves, there was little or no dandruff in my hair or on the weave tracks! *shakes bottom*
I’d like to believe that keeping my hair and scalp moisturized + cleaning with apple cider vinegar resulted in my dandruff free hair. And my hair was so moisturized and soft after I took out the cornrows under the weave albeit a little grimy in some places.

So I decided I wanted to try something new and keep my hair stretched and styled all week long. I also wanted to avoid combing as much as possible. So here’s the week in pictures:

And then on Friday I was too late to take out my flat twists so I hastily threw on a head wrap. Everyone at work had a comment about it! From “South African woman” to “mama” to “Fulani girl” etc etc

products used
-Cantu creamy hair lotion(as a leave in/moisturizer)- N2900 at Casa Bella, Ikeja city mall
-Taliah Waajid curly curl cream(to twist)- N2890 at Casa Bella, Ikeja city mall
-Castor oil (to oil scalp)
-Shea butter mix(to seal in moisture)-contains Shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, glycerin and peppermint oil

Till next time,
Xoxo(Yes I LOVED Gossip Girl)

28Dec2013

Caring for my hair while in a protective style(Full sew in)

Posted in protective styling by Jen

Hey y’all! Season’s greetings!

As I said in my last post, I’m currently in my first protective style since by big chop and it’s a full sew in. Being in a protective style does not give you the license to neglect your hair. While my hair was relaxed, I would totally abandon it under weaves and when I took them out, I would see heaps of nasty dandruff and grime. Now being natural, I’m determined to not have that happen.

Before I talk about how I care for my hair, let’s start from what I did before I got the weave.

How I prepped my hair before getting my protective style

1. I researched how to prep my hair before getting a protective style on Google. Lol

2. I prepooed/did a hot oil treatment with castor oil and coconut oil. This is the first time I actually did a proper prepoo/hot oil treatment. Other times in the past, I’d leave it on for like 15 mins halfheartedly. This time, I warmed up my oils(mixed them in a bottle and put the bottle in a bowl of hot water), put it all over my hair and scalp, covered my hair with a plastic bag and let it sit for about an hour.

3. I washed my hair with my Bobeam shampoo bar. After I washed my hair, I noticed it didn’t feel as squeaky clean as it would normally feel. My hair felt somewhat softer and moisturized so the prepoo/hot oil treatment worked! I’ll be doing them properly and wholeheartedly from now on.

4. I did a protein treatment. I mixed one egg, some coconut oil and some conditioner(v05. I figured since it has a little protein in it, it’d be an additional benefit). Put it in my hair and left in for about an hour. It dripped like crazy!! Omg! At first I didn’t put a plastic bag on cos I heard heat can cook the egg in your hair(even though I’ve used eggs in the past and I covered with a plastic bag). After a while I couldn’t just deal with the dripping so I put on a plastic bag and strapped it on tight and the dripping greatly reduced. I rinsed it out after a while and my sister said “why are there white things in your hair?!” I had semi cooked eggs in my hair guysss! Or the concoction reacted and congealed? I don’t know but I had to pick out particles from my hair.

5. I deep conditioned. This is important after you do a protein treatment cos protein treatments can make your hair feel hard. I deep conditioned with a mix of Natur vital conditioner, garnier fructis conditioner, a little glycerin, coconut oil and castor oil. Put on my plastic bag and left it on overnight and rinsed it out the next morning(morning I went to get the weave)

6. I moisturized(I didn’t want to use products that would cause build up since I would have my hair covered for a while so I simply spritzed my hair with a mixture of water, glycerin and coconut oil) and sealed my hair and also oiled my scalp(sealed my hair and oiled my scalp with my Shea butter mix that I have dubbed “Sheamint” cos it smells minty. It’s a mix of Shea butter, coconut oil, castor oil and peppermint oil). Combed my hair and let it air dry.

7. Here’s the mistake I made: I didn’t stretch my hair in any form. I would recommend stretching it somehow after detangling so that it can be easier for the stylist(and you). For hair as short as mine, maybe do cornrows as big as possible. Because I didn’t stretch my hair, I had to endure painful parting and combing from the stylist(she was trying to be gentle but we all know it’s hard to comb dry, shrunken, wash-and-go hair that all the strands want to do is hug each other tightly)

How I’m caring for the weave itself

I simply spray it occasionally with a mixture of water,conditioner,glycerin and coconut oil and I detangle it with my fingers. I sleep in a satin bonnet and when I wake up, I just fluff it up with my hands and head out.

So on to the main thing.

How I’m caring for my hair in my protective style

1. Moisturize.

I was skeptical about using a leave in(especially since I mostly use regular rinse out conditioner for that) because I didn’t want any build up since I wouldn’t be able to wash weekly so I moisturize with only water and oil. I moisturize 3x a week and I do this by raising up my weave track by track and spraying my scalp and corn rows lightly(they don’t need to be wet wet wet. I was making this mistake initially) with a mix of water, peppermint oil and coconut oil(measurements for the oils would depend on how much water you’re using and personal preference). I then rub some castor oil into my scalp(as I said in my last post, I’m doing my own personal castor oil challenge). I apply castor oil to my edges more regularly(almost daily)

2. Cleanse.

I use a mixture of 1 part apple cider vinegar to 1-3 parts water and I also add some peppermint oil and coconut oil. I dip the edge of a towel in the mix and clean my scalp and cornrows (only do the cornrows when I remember but I focus on the scalp. Lol). I do this once a week(I’m going to skip this week though cos I don’t feel like). Some people wash, condition and deep condition while in weaves but I don’t think that’s very doable with pro 10 bohemian curls.

3. Sleep in a satin bonnet.

This seems almost unnecessary since all my hair is covered up but I do it anyways(especially because of my edges which aren’t totally covered up).

I got the peppermint oil for N2010 from Health Plus at Ikeja City Mall(the store beside Shoprite)

I got the apple cider vinegar from Park n shop for N610 I believe

I got the clear, filtered apple cider vinegar because I didn’t know there was an organic, unfiltered kind with something called “the mother” in it which is the kind most people recommend. But I was like “abeg abeg abeg no time! I will use it like that”.

The initial crazy itching I had actually stopped after I’d had the weave for about a week; I hear it takes a bit of time for your scalp to accustom to undiluted castor oil so you might itch at first so I think that’s what was happening. But I might be wrong since my head always itched when I got weaves while my hair was relaxed.

And on days when I don’t feel like leaving the weave down?

I’ve always loved scarves and bows and hair accessories(I even make some from time to time like that orange scarf in the top 2 pictures). I’m however new to headwraps so I don’t know a lot of styles but I’m falling in love with them!

I can’t wait to take this weave off by next week! Ugh! I just want to pour cold water on my head; I’m almost drooling thinking about it.

So till next time guys.
Peace, love and joy in your hearts.

(source)

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)