Monday 30 November 2015

Entrants to the 6 month protective style challenge

The following are the ladies taking part in the six month protective style challenge. Entries were confirmed via Instagram and the names appear in a random order:


  • @luludanquah
  • @wiwizer
  • @mz_saba
  • @hulisanik
  • @knoxy_g
  • @thesjozana
  • @missphookie
  • @boitu_missmelo
  • @_miss_mo__
  • @buhlembambo
  • @afromoriri
Good luck to all of us!!! Remember to take care of your hair while in those protective styles. Neglecting the hair could cause more damage than if you'd just kept your usual regime without extended styling. 

Love - AfroMoriri

Tip Tuesdays with AfroMoriri:November





Sunday 29 November 2015

6 month protective style challenge

Throughout this year I had been contemplating doing a 6 month protective style challenge. So researched the idea and once I was happy with what the challenge would entail,  I was left with just thinking about when to start. To be honest, I was nervous and anxious to start as I hadn't done this before. My biggest fear was "what if I do more damage to my hair than care".

One day I was just going on doing my usual business of checking what my favourite YouTubers were up to, when I realised Jenn_J had started a similar challenge. The link to her YouTube video explaining her 6 month protective style challenge is available here. So when I noticed Jenn_J started hers on the 1st Nov, I decided that was a good enough sign for me to start mine too. So I took a few days off as I had just flat ironed (straightened) my hair, then got my protective style done on the 5th Nov.

My reasons for this 6 month protective style challenge

  • Apparently hair grows the fastest in summer. I live in South Africa and am currently in our summer season so wanted to test this for myself. The only 'flaw' about this method of experimenting is that I haven't never gauged my rate of hair growth during winter. So what will my  comparison be against???? Mmmmh, I wouldn't make a good scientist would I? Oh well.
  • Since my healthy hair journey started in April/May 2014, I haven't ever done a protective style challenge so I am keen to try one and see how my hair responds.
  • I now have a solid reliable hair regimen and know what my hair likes so I can move on to trying long term protective styles in order to focus on length. Before, I felt it would be too much work to figure out the best regimen and products that work for my hair while also figuring out how much farther I can go in protective styles without damaging my hair.
  • Curiosity killed the cat: don't you ever just want to try something you have never done before just so you know what the end result is?
What I will do during the 6 month protective style challenge
  • Stay in protective styles of between 4 to 6 weeks at a time.
  • Get a resting/breathing period in between styles to allow my hair some air. For example if I do a 4 week protective style, after take down I'll rest the hair for about 7 days or less. And if I take down a 6 week protective style I'll rest the hair for about 7 to 10 days. 
  • The hair will remain in low manipulative hairstyles during the resting period. So my ends will still be tucked away. 
  • Exercise 3-4 times a week. I believe good blood circulation aids hair follicles in growth. 
  • Drink lots of water. Water is good for the overall well being but also for your hair, i.e. hydrating from the inside, not just from spritzing the hair externally.
  • Eat a healthy balanced diet. Healthy food certainly contributes to your hair's health. As the saying goes, you are what you eat. This doesn't just apply to general body health but to the health of your hair and nails.
  • Multivitamin- I initially planned on taking a multivitamin but haven't done so and decided to rather eat healthy. 
  • Apply castor oil and jojoba oil to my scalp twice a week. 
  • Apply a daily spritz to my hair - the spritz contains two thirds distiller water ( I boil water in a kettle and let it cool, you can use bottled store bought water if you don't mind the expenditure), and one third castor oil & glycerine. 
  • Deep condition with protein and moisturising treatments when I take down the hairstyles. 
  • Determine if I can do hot oil treatments in between protective styles before taking them down. Really need to ensure healthy hair is a priority over the challenge. No point staying in protective styles while letting my hair suffer.
A few ladies have joined the challenge, and hopefully one of them win at the end if the 6 months. Hopefully next time I get more ladies in the challenge, we have about 10 at the moment. But that's a good start. Rome wasn't built in a day. Not too late to join us, 5 more months to go in a week so contact me on instagram to join.

Here's my starting length check and first protective style:


Love - AfroMoriri

Instagram page

Follow @afromoriri on Instagram for updates on healthy hair tips, hairstyle inspiration, product reviews and hair news.


Friday 30 October 2015

Natural hair 101: beginner natural hair, what to do

This post is aimed at advicing new naturals on what to do in terms of routine, products and hair care. As a newbie natural it is easy to get bombarded with lots of ideas and not know where to start. Reading other naturals' journeys on YouTube or on blogs can prove to be be a rather confusing thing and lead to frustration instead of progress. So if you don't know what equipment you need, or what to do, this blog post is just for you.

Products
Natural hair has certain characteristics that make it work better with certain products over others. So it will be important for you to familiarise yourself with the types of ingredients you should stay away from.
1. Shampoos: I'd advice you to get a sulfate free shampoo. Sulfates are cleaning agents that are added to the shampoo. Unfortunately sulfates are too strong and over clean natural hair thus stripping it of moisture and making it dry and brittle. Dry, brittle hair easily breaks! For more info on which shampoo to use and why read this post.
2. Conditioner: you will need both leave in conditioners and deep conditioning ones. Leave in conditioners are good agents of moisture and you will notice as your healthy hair journey goes, kinky curly hair loves moisture. For deep conditioning, look for products that have shea butter, aqua, glycerine and natural oils. Stay away from conditioners with parabens or mineral oils as these simply coat the hair shaft and give the illusion of shiny moisturised hair; when they are infact just coating the hair shaft and not penetrating it to provide actual moisture. They also clog your scalp pores and prevent your hair from 'breathing'.
3. Oils and Shea butter: these will be essential for locking in moisture and sealing it. You may be aware of the LOC, or LCO method of locking and sealing moisture.

Equipment

1. Spritz bottle: you will realise with time that natural hair loves moisture, and spritz bottles are the best way to add moisture to your hair on a daily basis. Your concoction here could include 2 thirds distiller water and 1 third virgin olive oil and pure glycerine.
2. Wide tooth comb: as they don't get stuck between our coils and do not cause excessive breakage like the small tooth comb does.
3. Bobby pins: your styling will get easier if you make bobby pins your friend
4. Tooth brush: I prefer the one with soft bristles. This brush is great for your edges, to smooth them away.
5.Satin pillow or scarf: cotton sucks moisture in your hair so the best way for your bedtime routine is to use satin based material. I only started using a satin pillow and scarf 2 years into my healthy hair journey, once I saw the results I regretted not jumping in from the onset.
6. Old cotton T-shirts: replace traditional towels with old t-shirts. Towels cause too much friction and break our sensitive tresses.

Regime/Routine
You will have to build a hair regimen/routine. A regimen is simply your routine that you can't go without, for example, every morning you take a shower and brush your teeth right? That's a grooming regimen and you need one for your hair. Go to this link for a guide on building a regime.

Love - AfroMoriri

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Worst Hair Salon experience in Randburg - be warned

Some of you maybe be aware of my latest protective style through photos I have posted on Instagram. Well, truth is I ended up seeking an alternative stylist and got the braiding done at her house instead of at the initial intended place, i.e. the Hair Salon I went to in Randburg. A part of me wants to disclose this Salon's name but a major part of me insists that I somehow deal with this in a 'dignified' manner, for lack of a better word. To give you an idea though, the Salon is located in the block of shops by Randburg mall, alongside Jan Smuts and very close to a Liquor Store within the same block of shops. Hint hint :-)

In case you are wondering why I even bothered going to this Salon let me shed some light. I had no intention of doing my hair there, I actually went to the mall to buy the hair extensions I needed for the hairstyle. I'd even bought some weaving thread and needle so that I would do my own crocheting at home. After all I am not that bad at plaiting my own hair, especially due to the great Yoda of Braiding, the Sensai called YouTube. Who doesn't know how to do their hair when YouTube has so many tutorials? Back to the point, I had my extensions and was walking past the numerous ladies at the mall who bombarded me with their invites to do my hair, I obviously lost will and succumbed to one of them. Lesson learnt, don't ever give in to these ladies, stay strong and walk away.

The following are the atrocious sequence if events that made me walk out of the salon with my hair not done:

1. My hair was braided in African Threading to stretch it, since I had washed & deep conditioned it the previous day in preparation for the protective styling.
2. The Salon Stylist was quick to roughly undo my threading while pulling my hair. She was not gentle at all, and I was worried for both the ends of my hair as well as the overall breakage that could occur due to her rough handling. Mind you, I had just trimmed my ends few weeks before and ripping the thread off my hair is one of the things that can cause split ends. So no, lady please handle my hair with care - that's what I thought.
3. Once the hair was out of the thread, she didn't take time to separate each section before attempting to comb. So since she wasn't prepared to do this, I told her I'd do it myself. If you thread your hair in order to stretch it you would know that afterwards you need a bit of oil to unravel each section before combing.
4. Once I was done separating each section, she wanted to comb my hair with a small tooth comb, which I profusely declined. She gave me hateful stares and shook her head then stepped aside.
5. She then brought a wide tooth comb but was combing from the root of my hair to the ends, so I disagreed with this and again told her I would comb my own hair. As you would know, it is best to comb natural hair from the ends then work your way down towards the root.
6.Her wide tooth comb was weird in the sense that my hair kept getting stuck in the teeth of the comb, that made me think I probably had tangles I hadn't undone before I threaded my hair. But upon detailed inspection of the comb, I noticed that some of the teeth of the comb had cracks and bits if it had chipped off, so my hair was getting stuck there. This discovery was very upsetting as this is a definite no no, chipped bits of a comb tear through the hair and break it. So at this point I was reaching my breaking point and wanted to ask the Stylist how she got her qualifications if she couldn't even meet the basic requirements of hair styling, i.e. Combs in a good condition! I chose to finger comb my hair at this point.
7. Once I was done, the lady took out her blow dryer, put in on high heat and wanted to blow dry my hair.  So I asked her to rather use cold air as I didn't want heat on my hair. She then asked why, and I told her heat damages my hair. At that point I was not only tired of her bad styling skills, but also of her horrible facial expressions targeted at me. I could tell I annoyed her but there wasn't much she could do. But if looks could kill my friends, I wouldn't be writing this post, lol!
8. She grudgingly grabbed a rat tail comb to make a parting in my hair and start braiding my hair. However she was so rough that I knew I had to stop with the process. When I said ouch she would say "but you refused to let me blow dry your hair, and it is hard".
9. I told her, "please stop, I'll go stretch my hair further at home and come back", and that was my way out. Yes I'm a sissy and wasn't bold enough to tell her I wasn't coming back, but hey, we aren't all that bold. The relief I felt after leaving that salon, wow!!!! Never again, why did I even bother when I know most black salons in this country have the wrong training for our type of hair?

Remember, be bold, be protective of your hair and speak out! The moment you hear your crying out for help, listen to it, stop that stylist and walk out!!! 

Love - AfroMoriri



Sunday 4 October 2015

Hairstyle inspiration: easy natural hair styles for work & date night

The following are easy hairstyles that I enjoy doing. To begin with, please always start with stretched hair; personally I use the African Threading method a lot. It is easy to do and quick as well. Remember to ensure your hair has been fully moisturised and sealed before you proceed to styling it.

Style 1: ideal for work, interviews or any professional setting

This is an easy hairstyle where I sectioned off hair at the front of my head and made a jumbo twist then tucked its ends in with a bobby pin. The hair at the back was pulled into a bun - I partitioned it into two: one small bun in the centre and hair around this bun's circumference. I then rolled & tucked the hair around this small bun away from the bun using bobby pins. Great protective style.

Style 2: ideal for work or any professional setting


This style is easy and quicker to do. I also sectioned off the hair at the front of my head then plaited a number of small to medium twists. These were then pinned down in different directions using bobby pins. The hair at the back was rolled going from my neck upwards, then tucked in using bobby pins. 

Style 3: ideal for date night!!!! Or a casual outing with mates

This style was inspired by Aisha O'Reilly. For a full tutorial, (easy 2 min youtube video) please go to this link. 



Style 4: ideal for all occasions! Great protective style


This style was very easy to do. I followed instructions on youtube, from 4aDaniels. She plaited 4 rows but I plaited 6. You can get the tutorial at this link.

Love - AfroMoriri


Tuesday 29 September 2015

I'm cutting my hair

I've been on a natural hair journey since September 2011 however since then until April 2014 I would typically let my hair stay in braids for 2 to 3 months at a time. Once a took the braids down I would make sure that within a day after take down I have braided my hair again. My braided hairstyles rotated between very thin twists (Masaai twists) or soft dread. That was my easy regimen, I was convinced natural hair was hard work and tucking it away in braids was an easy way of 'maintaining' it.

For some of you who may not know why I decided to go natural, you may go ahead and read my interesting story here. In summary, I had an experience where my hair just literally fell off as I tried combing or even holding it with my fingers. Very scary experience trust me!

Recently, I have found myself curious, wanting to know how my hair would look if I had always been healthy in my natural regimen. Both from a volume and length perspective. Of the 4 years I have been natural, I have only had a healthy hair journey for a year and four months (thus far). And I have seen an amazing response from my hair. So curiosity has the better of me and I'm in a phase where I feel like 'I am planning to cut my hair' and start afresh. Yes people I'm wondering if any of you has felt that way? Should I decide that I'm cutting my hair?

Remember to check my instagram page on @afromoriri and let me know what you think I should do.

Love - AfroMoriri

Saturday 26 September 2015

Don't know how to build a hair regime - a guide for natural or relaxed hair

Food for thought
Let's start off with your night time routine. Do you wear a doek? If yes we need to change that. The material used for doeks and pillow cases sucks out all the moisture in our hair. So if you had moisturised that morning, all those efforts were to vain. Secondly we all toss and turn at night, thus causing some sort of friction which in turn aggravates this process of moisture loss. But it also exerts some friction that could make your hair break easily. Solution is to get a silk based duk or piece of material or pillow case. I have both, mostly sleep without the doek as I have silk pillow cases. Mind you it isn't necessary to have both. I'm just O.D.D. For example when I'm relaxing watching tv,  I always lay the satin cloth against my cushions on the couch so that my hair doesn't rub against the harsh material covering the cushions/couch. 


Everyday moisture routine
Fortunately for you, your hair is straight from relaxing it. So it doesn't need to be re-moisturised as much as mine. With natural hair I re-moisturise daily, But in your case it would be every other day or even every 3 days. Which means twice to thrice a week. When choosing your moisturiser, please stay away from lotions or creams or hair food that has parabens or mineral oil. Just check in the list of ingredients. The reason I say stay away is, these ingredients only coat your hair shaft and make it glossy/shiny and therefore give the misleading appearance that your hair is moisturised. They were a cheaper way (for the producers and in turn the consumer) of fooling us 'darkies' when marketing strategies for achieving the sleek look started. 

I recommend one of the following:
1. that you get yourself an empty spray bottle (Dischem sells them in their travel section) then add either distiller water (bottled) or cooled water that was boiled in a kettle to the spray bottle, some drops of pure glycerin, olive oil and some drops of aloe Vera juice. For example 2 thirds water, and the last third glycerin, olive oil. Then spritz your hair with this lightly, don't spray till hair is damp. 
2. buy a moisturiser that has water (aqua) as the first ingredient followed by glycerine and shea butter (no preferred order to the latter as long as they are part of the ingredients straight after water). For example, the olive miracle anti-breakage cream. Shea butter is the 5th ingredient in this cream but that's fine. Dischem and Clicks sell it. 

Fortnight haircare
If you had natural hair I would say do this every week but again, you are lucky your strands are straight and not coiled. 

I recommend that you do one of the following:
1. buy coconut oil, and apply it to slightly damp (not wet) hair. It comes hard (state) but as soon as you place it in your palms it melts from your body temperature. Cover your hair with a shopping plastic bag or shower cap for an hour to 4 hours. Personally I prefer doing this overnight while I sleep, the longer you do this the more benefits. You'll notice that your hair gets 'sweaty' when you take off the plastic cap, that's called the greenhouse effect and is a sign you left the bag on for a sufficient time. Coconut oil is the one oil that is the most closest to our hair sebum(oil that moisturises our hair and scalp naturally) so easily penetrates the hair shaft. Thus leaving your hair moisturised amazingly!!!!! Go to this link for the steps to follow when doing this treatment. 
2. do a hot oil treatment. You can do your own home made, instructions available on my blog too, at this link. Or buy the African Pride growth oil from Dischem. I love it. It has instructions on how to do a hot oil treatment.  Leave it on for 20-30 mins for more benefit. 15 mins is still good though. 

Monthly routine
You need a monthly routine, even if your hair is in braids or weave. Thou shall learn to care for your hair. Once a month, please please, do a hair mayonnaise treatment. It adds protein to your hair. If you only focus on moisture your hair will break. You need a balance of both moisture and protein. Buy hair mayonnaise at Dischem too. For your moisture routine you can do one of the fortnight recommendations. You could go get these treatments at the salon as well. 

Quarterly routine
Please make sure every 3 to 4 months you check split ends. They are a BAD for your hair's health. They are even so ill mannered they can progress by extending further down your hair strand. Once they do, you will have much more damaged hair which won't be able to hold moisture and will certainly break. So you won't retain as much length then end up thinking your hair doesn't grow.

Routine while in braids or weaves
Get a water based moisturiser or use your daily spritz explained in the beginning of this mail. 

Other related (GYM)
Don't forget that hair thrives better in clean conditions. If you gym, your scalp needs more cleaning than an inactive person due to the sweat that builds up. Plus in Joburg there's too much air pollution, so our hair needs a good clean. Please try shampoo your hair once a week, especially if you have an active lifestyle. If you sweat a lot, you might consider washing your hair mid week with a conditioner. That means you get two washes per week. The lady who helped me in my hair journey actually has relaxed (texlaxed though) hair,  her haircare suggestions are worth a read on www.hairequest.blogspot.com as they are good for both natural and relaxed hair!

Love - AfroMoriri


Friday 11 September 2015

Washday after taking down cornrows(protective style)

My second protective style this past winter was a set of cornrows accompanied by 2 strand twisted braids on the crown of my head. This style was kept for 4 weeks. I really liked this style because it allowed me to access my scalp so that my castor oil challenge didn't get a setback.

On the day I took down the style, I was impressed with how the hair had no knots nor tangles. This came as a surprise because I usually experience knotted hair when my hair is braided. The only possible explanation for this pleasant surprise is the water and castor oil mix which I used on a daily basis as well as oiling my scalp 3 times a week for the Castor oil challenge. I mean this was the only difference in my regime in comparison to other times when my hair is braided. So in future, I will ensure to use this method of hair maintenance. In case you are wondering, I didn't wash my hair in this 4 week period.

The following is the procedure I followed in taking down the braids and cornrows:
1. I undid the cornrows in small sections of 4 rows at a time. Took down the braids in small sections too.
2. Used coconut oil to finger detangle (dry detangling) each small section of the cornrows or braids.
3. Proceeded to further and gently detangle each section using a wide tooth comb. In this process also remove shed hairs.
4. Twist the small section of the 4 rows (or braids) then proceed to undo the next 4 rows and repeat steps 1 to 4.
5. Once all my hair was in small twisted sections, I went twist by twist(the small sections I just twisted), unravelling the twist and applying a generous amount of  my prepoo mix. My prepoo mix had extra virgin olive oil, honey, pure glycerine, peppermint oil and castor oil. I ended up with 4 big sections. The reason for this specific prepoo was:

  • Olive oil is a light oil that penetrates the hair and helps give moisture. It also prevents dandruff& conditions hair.
  • Honey also conditions hair, giving that soft smooth feel to hair. It also helps retain moisture. 
  • Glycerine also helps retain moisture. It not only helps retain moisture but also draws ('sucks') moisture from its surroundings.
  • Peppermint oil prevents dandruff and promotes hair growth by stimulating blood circulation in the hair follicles (that ticklish burning like sensation).
  • Castor oil benefits are explained here
6. I left the pre-poo on my head, with a plastic cap on for 4hours. In the last hour I added heat to ensure maximum penetration and benefit as my hair needed pampering.
7. Washed my hair with a sulfate free shampoo. Then proceeded to do an apple cider vinegar rinse to clarify the hair and remove product build up that would have taken place over the 4 weeks. This rinse also restores the scalp's pH level.
8. Deep conditioned with a protein treatment
9. Deep conditioned with a hydrating treatment
10. Moisturised and sealed-in moisture
11. Blow dried my hair using the tension method, and having applied a heat protector.
The following pictures illustrate the process explained above:







Monday 3 August 2015

Common myths about black natural hair

Growing up there were many myths that at the time were hard core truth, mainly based on believes that are passed on generation by generations. However I have since learnt that these were utter MYTHS, not true and came about from a lack of knowledge. Now I know why they say knowledge is power!

The following are the myths that are widely spread in the part of the world where I am from, please comment and share your side of the world's myths about black hair.


  1. Water is not good for our hair/stay away from rain,swimming and any water. Even shower water. This is not true: in fact black hair needs basic moisture in the form if water more than other hair types. Due to the curly coil shape of the hair, black hair tends to easily lose moisture and often it isn't easy for the moisture to travel along the strands from the root to the end of the hair. So one has to constantly spritz a water based moisturiser to the hair, even using distiller water in a spray bottle is good for moisture.
  2. Natural hair is hard work. Personally I believe natural hair requires more care and delicacy but once you get a good regime going, it isn't hard work. I actually enjoy my hair more now that I am in touch with it and don't opt for the easy/quick way out.
  3. Afro/natural hair is stronger than other hair types. No, natural hair isn't necessarily the strongest. It could appear fuller when it is actually thin and thus more sensitive. Not every girl with natural hair has strong hair so ladies, stop abusing that hair thinking it can endure all the strain!
  4. Hair products can grow hair, so always be on the look out for a cream,oil,or product that can give you amazing growth in a short period of time.   There is NO hair product that grows hair, longer and healthier hair comes with good hair practices, AKA regime. A good hair regime helps you nature your hair and retain length, so the growth comes with the regime. Plus we all have different rates of hair growth, if you measure yours per month then you will know whether you are retaining length or not.
  5. Plaiting hair grows the hair long especially when the braids/wool/cornrows are very tight. This isn't true, when you have natural hair, plaiting it stretches it, therefore gives you the true length by unravelling the coily shape. So your hair hasn't necessarily grown because of the plaits but it has been stretched. And plaiting hair too tight isn't good, long term it damages your hair and even results in the common 'bald' look on hairlines. 
  6. Trimming hair makes it grow longer than usual. This isn't true, trimming hair gets rid of split ends and therefore leaves you with more healthier strands than before the trim. Split ends can travel down towards the root of the hair, thus making it easier for your hair to break off easily, but to also break off a longer piece of the hair. 
  7. Natural hair is sore to comb. This can be true but only because the traditional ways if combing black hair in its natural state are wrong. Methods that work for white or straight hair were adopted without question. For example thin teeth combs are a no no for our hair. The teeth tend to cause more tangling/knots and more breakage. The tangling occurs due to the coily shape. Secondly, combing dry natural hair will definitely be painful. I suggest moisturising the hair and either finger combing or using a very wide teeth comb. Then when combing start from the ends of the hair and work towards the root. Don't ever push a comb from the base/root of the hair to the ends - it will break!  
  8. Natural hair is like a 'skirr-poto'. Very hard and course like velcro. If your hair is as hard as a skirr-pot or Velcro it is simply because it is DRY. Like I said our hair needs the most moisture compared to other hair types. You need to figure out how to moisturise it, preferably with water, followed by a good cream and oil so that you lock-in that moisture. I use shea butter as my cream, and different oils such as coconut oil or castor oil.
  9. Natural hair is for people who want to make a political statement and are fighting for a cause. Not everyone who has natural hair is a hippy or a soul sister or a dagga smoker. No! This is just a stereotype. 
  10. If you have natural hair you tend to have a low self esteem and aren't beautiful. My opinion on this is if you are quick to slap a relaxer on your hair and convince yourself that you aren't beautiful then you have deep issues you need to resolve. If you none of your friends know how you look like without a weave or relaxer then maybe you also have issues. Or you are plain lazy and are choosing an easier way out. I know that I can confidently look at myself in the mirror with my Afro and feel beautiful and confident. I know who I am. A former colleague of mine once told me a local radio station was speaking about a study from the US that says girls with natural hair have a low self esteem and was quick to want to tell me I also do because I'm a natural. My response was that yes it is possible to have low self esteem due to the constant pressure from the media, the constant promotion of sleek relaxed hair. I also asked her a few questions such as, "don't you think opting for the easier way out by being the first to relax your hair could mean you are the one with a deeper sense of low self esteem" and "if it was such an issue to be a natural would I not just get the quick fix which takes literally 10 mins to convert my hair and then overnight gain the self esteem?". She continued senselessly arguing that I have a low self esteem because I'm a natural but I realised she was a stubborn mule who misinterpreted what she heard. I even told her "why would I blog so much about natural hair if I hated it and wasn't confident about it" and she gasped in surprise saying "oh you blog about it" and I said "yes I do and obviously you don't know how passionate and sure of myself am I about our natural coils". 
  11. If you are a natural hair girl, you cannot wear a weave as that is contradictory and hypocritical. No people, no! Just because I have an Afro doesn't mean I'm committing a crime when I wear a weave. Is the problem the fact that the weave is straight? To me, the weave is a form of a protective style similar to braids or yarn/wool. When I choose to not relax my hair, it is because I would rather not burn my scalp from the toxic ingredients in relaxers such as sodium hydroxide. Also, I choose to still care for my hair through my regular regime even when my hair is in a weave or braids. Unlike some ladies who wear weaves for periods of a month to two months without washing the hair underneath, conditioning it and moisturising it. 

Thursday 30 July 2015

Status update: my hair's response to the castor oil challenge

In my last post at this link, I mentioned that I was taking part in the intermediate level of the castor oil challenge. As you may know, castor oil has many benefits such as:


  • Promoting healthier and thicker hair strands
  • Regrows edges and helps with a receding hair line
  • Moisture sealing and conditioning of hair
  • Does not clog pores
  • Controls dry and itchy scalp
  • Improves scalp circulation which in turn promotes hair growth
How has the challenge been so far?

I have been faithful in applying the oil to my scalp twice a week. However I am in a protective style and was only able to properly use the oil as a sealant before plaiting my hair. I also have succeeded in using the oil in my daily spritz,which I apply to both the cornrows and the twisted braids of my hair. When I take down the protective style next week (it will be 4 weeks then) I will use the oil in my deep conditioner as well. So far my hair is loving it and there's a significant amount of growth I am seeing as well as lesser itching. Here are some pics:




Sunday 19 July 2015

Castor Oil hair challenge

This post comes from http://hairequest.blogspot.com/2015/06/blog-post.html and was written by a lady who inspired my healthy hair journey, i.e. Ms Fatima Yikona. The following words are to her credit and I am not claiming any ownership to the written piece. I have chosen to do the intermediate castor oil challenge. Now, let's get to the story:

Everyone wants beautiful, healthy hair but unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with the hair we desire. The second Hairequest Castor Oil Challenge is here and it’s bigger and better! This isn’t just a challenge focusing on the use of castor oil but basically a hair journey boot camp where one gets to intensify their entire hair routine. One not only has to be consistent with the use of castor oil during this challenge but be consistent with their hair journey for maximum benefits. Apart from motivating each other this exercise will give us an opportunity to learn new techniques and practices which could be beneficial to our hair. Read how I use castor oil here.

Benefits of Castor Oil
·         Promotes healthier and thicker hair
·         Regrows edges
·         Stops receeding or thinning hair
·         Can be used for natural or chemically treated hair
·         Excellent sealant and conditioner
·         Does not clog pores
·         Controls dry and itchy scalp
·         Improves scalp circulation


  This challenge will run from 5th July 2015 to 4th October 2015. Any type of castor oil can be used as long as it is plain castor oil. These include cold pressed castor oil, pharmacy castor oil ( Link Pharmacy carries a good brand), Jamaican black castor oil (Tropic Isle, Sunny Isle, Simply Organic), etc. Brands such as Blue Magic are not pure castor oil as they contain other ingredients hence not getting the full benefits of castor oil. Pure castor oil is what is encouraged.

  During this time, protective styles such as braids, wigs, buns, ponytails, two strand twists, updos and other hair styles are encouraged to help retain length. Track any changes in your hair regardless of whether good or bad. Below are the Challenge levels:

Basic
·       -  Apply Castor Oil to your scalp twice a week. Make sure to massage well. Do not be heavy handed. Less is more.
·       -  Use castor oil to seal your strands after moisturizing your hair. Remember, castor oil is quite thick so mix it with your oil of choice to enable easy application.

Intermediate
·         - Apply castor Oil to your scalp twice a week as in the basic level
·      -   Use castor oil to seal your strands after moisturizing
·       -  Add a few drops to a tablespoon of castor oil to your deep conditioner.

Ultimate
   -  Apply castor Oil to your scalp atleast three times a week
·       -  Use castor oil to seal after moisturizing your hair
·       -  Add a few drops to a tablespoon of castor oil to your deep conditioner
·         -Use castor oil in your prepoo mix or on its own as a hot oil treatment. Read more about prepooing here.

 Some people may be concerned about moisturizing hair while in protective styles such as braids and weaves. Simply make a spritz of your own which can consist of water, a little leave in conditioner and your favourite oils including castor oil.

My pre-entry photos(AfroMoriri)



Wednesday 8 July 2015

How to wash natural hair that's braided

Many people are of the notion that hair cannot be washed properly while it is in braids, and from my observation this idea exists both in the natural and chemically processed (relaxed) hair community. However it is a false believe that requires a new way of thinking about hair care!

Why should you wash braided hair?

  • To keep the scalp clean and promote hair growth.
  • Prevent product and dirt build-up that causes hair strands to lock and therefore cause breakage when the braids are taken off. There tends to be a lot of build up at the roots, especially where the main knot of installing the braid is.
  • To maintain the routine of your hair regimen and thus not interrupt your hair's healthy habits.
  • Aid the process of conditioning your hair - obviously before conditioning you have to wash your hair first. 
How to wash your hair while in braids
  • Get a spritz bottle and add shampoo and water to it. Start off with little water till you reach a point where the shampoo fully foams, i.e. the bottle is full of lather.
  • Work you way sequentially along the lines/rows of the plaits and apply the foamy shampoo to the scalp.
  • Once you have the foamy shampoo on the scalp use your finger tips (not nails) to gently rub along the lines in order to remove dirt and product build-up. Also massage your scalp while doing so. Remember to avoid using your nails!!
  • Focus more on the hairline. I find this area to attract lots of build up.
  • Stand under the shower using luke-warm water to rinse the shampoo off.
  • Don't worry about shampoo-ing the hair strands as they will be washed automatically by the water that will run from your scalp downwards the braids while you are under the shower. But if you'd like you could also spray the foamy shampoo along the braids till the point where your natural hair length ends then gently squeeze while under the shower.
  • After this apply hair conditioner from the roots of your hair till the point at which your natural hair strands end and sit for few mins while the conditioner does its magic(15mins or more).
  • Wash off the conditioner and air dry. Once 80-90% dry apply a water based moisturiser (I use a hair spray) from the roots of your hair, all the way through the length of your hair (stop where your natural hair's length ends). If you want you can use a small amount of a light hair oil to seal the moisture (e.g jojoba oil or grapeseed) by applying along the braids up till where your natural hair ends. Personally I don't seal the moisture with an oil, rather I moisturise religiously every morning (sometimes evenings as well if I'm not too lazy).
  • DO NOT rub the braids while washing them as this will result in horrible frizz!
Some pictures illustrating the washing instruction above:




Monday 15 June 2015

24 photos of how I style my natural hair/Afro hair

Natural hair doesn't have to be boring, there are so many ways of styling the hair. Here are some pictures from late 2014 till about 2015 March. Some are protective styles (braids and weave), some show my hair straightened using heat, in some cases I have stretched the hair through African threading and in other snaps I am just wearing my hair unstretched. Yes I am one of those naturals who deffo embraces shrinkage ;-)







Thursday 4 June 2015

How to style braids(singles/box braids)

This winter I am enjoying a protective style in the form of braids. Here in South Africa we call them ''singles" but in America I think they are commonly known as box braids.

Here are some of my favourite hairstyles:

Style 1: a bit of a messy bun

Style 2: a French braid and bun at the back

Style 3: front twist swept to the side

Style 4: what I call fishtail!

Monday 1 June 2015

How to re-grow edges/hair line

In 2014 July,  I got my hair braided into very thin Masaai twists. Unfortunately these braids really damaged my hairline. The good news is it took 3 months to fix the damage that was done and not much longer. Do you know why it didn't take longer for them to recover? As soon as I noticed the damage I removed the braids, this was after a month. On average most ladies keep the braids for a period of 3 to 4 months, thus damaging their hair line severely.

How to fix the hairline problem: I applied Jamaican black castor oil 3 times a week over 3 months; each time I would gently massage my edges for about a minute. The results are evident on the pictures below.

                                                       The Masaai braids:

The damaged hairline/edges:

The oil I used to revive the hairline:


The recovered edges/hairline:


Monday 18 May 2015

Preparing my hair for braids part 2

Why did I use those particular oils?

Coconut oil:
  • Helps retain moisture by sealing it into the strands. The oil isn't heavy, rather it is light (molecular weight) and therefore penetrates the hair shaft to help seal moisture, so goes all the way into the hair shaft and penetrates outwards into the full strand. Certain oils can be heavy, and weigh the hair down instead of help with moisture. 
  • Helps prevent dandruff
  • Prevents loss of the natural protein (keratin) in your hair. Protein keeps hair bonds strong and prevents breakage
  • Good as a deep conditioner to revive dry hair that has lost moisture. Once the hair is moisturised, coconut oil retains the moisture as it isn't easily evaporated. 
Castor oil:
  • Improves blood circulation in the scalp
  • Promotes hair growth (trust me it growssssss hair!)
  • Thickens hair strands
  • Prevents split ends through its moisture sealing abilities as well
Jojoba oil:
  • It is the oil that is the most similar to the oils produced by the scalp(sebum glands). So good for  the scalp
  • Moisturises the scalp and hair
  • Has antibacterial properties that prevent dandruff
  • Minimises hair frizz
  • Removes build up on the hair strands 

Grapeseed oil:

  • Also moisturises hair
  • Adds shine to the hair
  • Softens the hair thus acting like a conditioner

Preparing my hair for braids - protective style

Due to winter having arrived this side of the world, I will be plaiting my hair into braids as a protective hairstyle. A protective hairstyle is one that ensures your hair ends are covered and not exposed to the harshness of  winds/air, cold temperature/hot temperature and friction against clothes (e.g collars). Basically a style that 'hides' away your hair strands.

To prepare my hair for the braiding I deep conditioned my hair last week using hair mayonnaise in order to strengthen my hair through the protein (keratin) found in the hair mayonnaise. This week, I am performing another deep conditioning treatment but this time it is a hydrating/moisturising treatment, i.e. Hot oil treatment.

My home made hot oil treatment contained:
15ml coconut oil
10ml castor oil
5ml grapeseed oil
10ml jojoba oil

I created a water bath to heat the oils, in other words brought 1 cup of  hot water to boil then placed the oils (in a small container) on the boiled water. The idea is to make the oils warm (not hot as you do not want to burn your scalp).

The next step was to apply the oils to my scalp and strands then cover my hair with a plastic cap and sit under heat for 40 mins. My source of heat was a thermal heat wrap. Below are the pictures:

Here is my thermal cap:








Wednesday 6 May 2015

My Co-Wash - saving hair moisture

This week'a washday involved the following:

Prepoo'd with Avocado oil
  • Applied the oil from the roots of my hair to the end of the strands
  • Sat for 30 mins before washing

Co-washed with a Loreal  conditioner
The reason I used a conditioner to wash my hair was because I had been to Lajawi hair salon the week before and had used a clarifying shampoo to clean my hair. Clarifying shampoos remove product build up and in a way 'over clean' the scalp & hair. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, one just has to space out the amount of such type of shampooing in order to preserve moisture in the hair and save sebum oils secreted on the scalp. Sebum oils are nature's way of moisturising our hair & scalp.

Detangled using my fingers 

Moisturised using the following:
While my hair was damp I applied a leave in conditioner, then air dried and applied castor oil afterwards followed by then shea butter.

Stretched and dried my hair fully using the African Threading method.

Products used:




Sunday 3 May 2015

Changing gears - different hair care for winter

South African winter has finally come, mornings and evenings are the coldest, the sun sets earlier and rises later than usual and my hair is responding to the temperature change. Due to the change in weather conditions I am changing my regime until winter is over so that my hair survives the winter blues.

When I listen to my hair and scalp the following are clear differences between seasons. By the way, I am only referring to summer and winter because this side of the world our autumn and spring are fairly similar to summer, so in essence 'two' main seasonal changes.

  • In winter my hair gets brittle and easily breaks
  • In winter my scalp takes longer to itch than in summer
  • My hair doesn't retain moisture in winter as much as it does in summer
This means I must adjust my regime to the following
  •  My hair gets brittle in winter because of the dry winds we get and the cold temperature that dries out my hair. So to prevent breakage I increase the amount of moisture in my hair as follows:
                     * Moisturise my hair every morning and evening. In summer I moisturise once only.
                     * Carry a water based spritz and moisturise twice in the day.  
                     * Wear a satin scarf to bed to preserve moisture.In summer I don't cover my hair at night
  •  Deep condition with protein bi-weekly instead of weekly. Protein strengthens the hair bonds in our hair but when hair loses moisture easily, the imbalance of protein and moisture can cause breakage. I also use a light protein instead of a strong one for the protein (keratin) deep conditioning treatments. 
  • Stay in protective styles by plaiting my hair in cornrows or braids. Since my healthy hair journey I don't plait my hair at all in summer (8-9 months of the year) because I've realised my hair doesn't enjoy it. Especially my edges, they get thicker and grow better when I keep my hair in low manipulative styles instead of plaiting. 
  • Wash and deep condition then moisturise my hair and braids/cornrows. I am adding this point to this topic because before my healthy hair journey I would stay in braids and not care for the hair underneath. This isn't good and leads to considerable damage, hair should still be cared for even when it is plaited. 
  • Elongate the number of days between wash days.  In summer, after 7 days my scalp starts itching when I don't wash my hair. If I tried extending the period to 2 weeks by the 9th day I would be in dire punishment of a super itchy and annoying scalp. However in winter my scalp can go up to 2 weeks without itching, probably because the skin(scalp) doesn't sweat as much as it does in summer and it also doesn't secrete lots of sebum (oily scalp can cause itchiness). The main reason for extending my wash days is to prevent over cleaning my scalp & hair which could lead to losing moisture & the good oils from the sebum. 
Team Natural Hair! Team Healthy African Afro! Team Healthy Hair! Love your hair!



Saturday 25 April 2015

Best hair salon for Afro or natural hair in Johannesburg

From my experience most hair salons have staff that is well trained in dealing with processed or otherwise known as relaxed hair. This comes from observations made in my experiences as well as that of other people in my community. As an example, in a typical black salon, (i.e) a salon that 'knows' how to handle black African hair, you tend to find LOTS of chunks of hair on the floor and shoulders of the client who would be doing her hair if it is natural/Afro hair. This is caused by lack of skills in handling our type of hair! Sadly clients without knowledge on appropriate hair care accept this and actually believe it is normal to have so much of their hair breaking. The same manner of handling the hair isn't as fatal to relaxed hair because the hair bonds and shape of relaxed hair and can handle such manipulation.

What to look out for and do when at a salon if you have natural or Afro hair

  • Never allow a hair dresser to do anything to your hair without detangling the knots in your strands
  • Detangling should gently be done using fingers and a detangling conditioner, not with a comb!
  • A wide tooth comb (real wide) should be used to comb your hair(some salons have good hair brushes ideal for Afro hair). Run away from thin tooth combs as this is what contributes to most of the breakage. 
  • Don't allow the hair dresser to wash your hair in circular motions that are vigorous, this causes knots and your hair will break when combined. Ideally Afro hair should be washed in movements that are directed in the same direction.
  • If your hairdresser doesn't apply a heat protector before blow-drying your hair eventually your hair will get damaged from the heat and become susceptible to breakage. This contributes to the big balls of hair that end up on the floor.
Best hair salon for natural hair in Johannesburg

This is based in MY experience and is by no manner advertisement for the salon, however the best salon that has the right products and skills for natural hair is Lajawi Hair!! They used to operate from Melville but are now in Melrose Arch. Today I went for a scalp treatment and a blow dry, these are the results:



Thursday 23 April 2015

How to soften Afro hair without relaxers

I never used to believe that natural African hair can become soft, and grew up with the believe that my natural hair/Afro was hard work and would require way too much attention and time that I would rather save.  Trust me, many African women and girls choose relaxers as an easy and less demanding method of maintaining hair. A notion I have since learnt is based on lack of education on healthy hair habits and lack of building a hair regime.

Since my natural hair journey begun, I have had people making comments such as "you are lucky your hair is soft", "you aren't pure black African because your hair curls are soft and not hard like mine", "are you sure you aren't mixed race", "my natural hair is much kinkier and harder than yours and that's why I'd rather relax it" etc.....  The truth is, I am 100% black African and have coarse hair too, BUT building a good hair regime that includes lots of moisturising has softened my hair. Deep conditioning regularly with hydrating treatments changed the 'tough', 'rough'  and unmanageable hair I had. Do not under-estimate the power of moisturising. For info on building a hair regime visit my post from January 2015 that is called "basics of hair care".

Here is a photo of my hair before I started a healthy hair regime:

Before my healthy hair journey I also had unmanageable hair that wasn't soft at all, as you can see below: this photo was taken early 2014 around March. If you zoom into the front, you'll see the knots on my edges that were formed from braiding my hair and keeping the braids for 2-3 months! Obviously with no care for my hair and no regime, I used to have braids all year round, and kept them in intervals of 2-3 months!