SheaButter cottage | Jennifer Abah

Guys, I don’t know what’s happening to me these days! Sometimes I’m genuinely busy or tired and can’t post/read posts/go on social media. But many times, I’m not any busier than I normally am but I just can’t post. It’s so bad that I don’t go on Instagram or read blogs I follow for a long time. And when I do, I go on Instagram and scroll through but don’t like/comment or post or I read blogs I follow but don’t have the zeal to like/comment even if I genuinely liked the post. This also extends to other social platforms like BBM. Am I having an Internet withdrawal kinda situation? Well if you haven’t been seeing my comments/likes and I follow your blog and you’re wondering why you don’t see my comments lately/often and if you follow my blog and you’re wondering why I’ve been so inconsistent lately, this is my explanation. Forgive me pretty please, I’m working on it before it ruins my blogging.

Anyways, starting with this post, I’m introducing a new ‘series’ on the blog called Instapicks Of The Week. This will basically be a weekly roundup of Instagram pictures and videos I found interesting over each past week.

The post will go up every Sunday. I think it’s a good way for me to at least have one post up a week and hopefully I stick to it.
So here are my Instapicks for the week.

Source: @sheabuttercottage

Source: @dooneyskitchen

Source: @beginningkisses

She makes the most beautiful art and is actually featured on The Kink And I this week.

Source: @tzarstudios

Source: @thekinkandi

Source: @coilyandcute

Her caption: “Big Black and beautiful” . Love it!

Source: @kinkyparadiseng

Source: @yagazieemezi

Absolutely beautiful!

Source: Yours truly, @nigerianandnatural

#BORNandMADE is a campaign by natural hair product brand Carol’s Daughter aimed at “empowering women all over the world to be who they are truly BORNandMADE to be – not who others think they’re “supposed” to be!”. You can make yours here.

Source: @wofaifada

Source: @squishysmommasita

Her daughters are too freaking cute!

That’s all for this week.

Which picture/video is your favourite? What do you think of the Instapicks Of The Week idea?
Is there anything you would like me to post about? Please let me know.

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).