Back and keepin it LOCKED :-)

Hi beauties! I am finally back had quite an eventful month and missed blogging but now that I have the chance, let me update you on the changes I have made. 

So for a while now I have been eyeing dreadlocks. I have always had this curiosity about locks but I never thought I would actually gather the courage to do it. Recently my curiosity and hence interest has grown significantly so I decided to take a leap of faith and do this.

Why dreadlocks? Well I am still on a hair journey and I still wanted my hair all natural so I see this as a long term hairstyle. I see dreadlocks as a very appropriate hairstyle for Africans. Our hair was made for this. So anyway dreadlocks also grow fast and long because of low manipulation. I guess I also grew tired of trying so hard to avoid heat. With dreadlocks I don't need to worry about this anymore. Quite liberating *woop woop*

So I locked my hair on the 13th of April at a salon in Nakuru town. My hairdresser used comb twisting and palm rolling method to create the locks. I first did it without big chopping my hair though I had a lot of growth. I guess I was too attached :-) A week later I had my hair washed, retwisted and braided. 

 After one week first wash and big chop. All natural now!!!

One challenge I have had so far is some kind of reaction to the bees wax and moulding gel mixture that was used. Made my scalp itchy. I have however decided to carry on the maintenance of my locks alone just like my hair journey. once my braids are out I will be washing and retwisting them myself. Bought Honey Bees wax for retwisting. Still doing more research on locks as I continue with my journey. I am happy and at peace with my decision to do dreadlocks. Cant wait for them to lock. Maintenance henceforth will be much easier.

Will keep you posted on progress! Wish me luck!! 

xoxo!

Finally Braided!

Hi lovely readers! Hope y'all had a fabulous and relaxed Easter.
I am so happy that after Lord knows how many months, I finally braided my hair! I am 7 months post relaxer now and as I always say, transitioning is quite a challenge. Also wanted to take a break from combing my hair. Staying away from heat was also part of the reason I braided. I  have also been getting tempted to relax my hair just to have a proper length check however, I choose to stay strong!!

So before braiding, I shampooed my hair with my clarifying shampoo. Did a protein treatment with Organics Hair Mayonnaise which left my growth so soft that I did not even follow up with a conditioner!! It is amazing!
After my wash, I blow dried my hair on cool setting and then oiled my scalp and hair with my coconut oil. That was my preparation process for braiding.

So this was last week on my wash day. Just wanted to show you my growth.

My new favorite protein treatment which by the way has mineral oil but it is simply amazing and my hair loves this stuff!

This is after my wash, protein treatment and blow dry 

And voila!!! My Afro kinky braids held up

Wearing my braids down 

So now that I have my braids done, I have some water on a spritz bottle to moisturize my hair and some eucalyptus and castor oil mixture in another spritz bottle which I plan to spray on my scalp. I hope to take them down after at least 3 or 4 weeks. Looking forward to exploring new and interesting ways of styling my braids. By the way you can now follow me on Pinterest. Just click on the follow button on your right! Have a fab week,

xoxo!!

HAIRDRESSER RANT!

All my life, I have been disappointed by hair dressers more often than not. Allow me to rant! I am not a trained hairdresser nor do I aspire to be one but I have had it with hairdressers! I am yet to meet a hairdresser who will tell me that I am due for a protein treatment, deep conditioning treatment, or clarifying shampoo! I never knew these things until I got to do my research on the internet. That makes me wonder what it is they teach in hairdressing school or whatever it is called! Why didn't I know about doing protein treatments and deep conditioning treatments and that there must be a balance between the two? I always thought treatment is treatment and it doesn't matter....they all have the same purpose. I never knew that I should moisturize and seal my hair. Why do they not educate us on proper hair care for black hair? Some will even go the extra mile to retouch, color and blow dry or flat iron your hair all in one day! Are there no ethics in this industry? Is the training specific on ethnic orientation of the client or is it collective? 

Another major issue I have is that the hair industry here in Kenya is so so LIMITING!!! I have been to several hair salons in this lifetime and most hairdressers are in a very limiting comfort zone!!!! Here is just one encounter. Last month I purposed to refrain from using direct heat because in January I found myself flat ironing my hair weekly (the road to transitioning can be tough). So one day I washed my hair and went to the salon for a roller set and this raised eyebrows in the salon. I was 6 months post and the hairdresser kept saying I should flat iron instead (knowing full well my heat history), she even went ahead to say that it's about time I retouched my new growth right after I had told her that I am transitioning to natural. She was not amused about my transition!!! I could care less!! So as she was putting on the rollers I happened to ask about straw sets which I though would be interesting to try out during my transition, They went ahead to tell me that a straw set can only be done on freshly relaxed hair!!! WTH?? Check out the number of You Tube tutorials on straw sets on even NATURAL HAIR!!!!! Honestly this was the last straw for me. Hairdressers should be on the forefront of creativity and healthy hair practices but all I have had this far are disappointments! For the hairdressers who know your job and you actually take your time to learn more on the job, kudos. For the ones who choose not to explore and continue with the "norm" , please look for a job that demands less creativity!

Whether you choose to be relaxed, natural, or texlaxed, that is your decision to make! Entirely up to you! Be advised on how to keep it healthy in whatever state! Do not leave your hair care to your hair dresser alone. Your hair belongs to you. You decide what goes in it and how you want it! Do not go product hopping all the time at your hairdressers. Find the products that your hair loves and stick with it.Product hopping all the time is also one of the reasons people experience breakage. Changing relaxers....Just stick to one! Complain if your braids and your weave is too tight and protect that hairline that you so love deeply! Do your research on hair and see just how much progress you can achieve by having a personal hair care routine. This post is not meant to discredit hairdressers. I just needed to let this out as a matter of observation over the years and my personal experiences.

LOVE YOUR HAIR. It belongs to you.

Happy Wednesday lovlies,

Xx

Box Braid Diva!

This young beautiful lady knows how to style her box braids. Stylish from head to toe! Click HERE to check out how Miss Vavavum styles her braids.

Be blessed!!

L'oreal Garnier BB cream Launch!

Hi beauties! Hope you all had a fab weekend like I did. I was honored to be among the bloggers invited for the L'oreal Garnier BB cream launch on Friday at Ambience Restaurant. So the BB cream is a great product made for those ladies who have such a busy lifestyle or are just lazy (like me) to do the whole beauty/ make up routine daily.

The BB cream was inspired by the Hollywood famous, Asian blemish balm used after cosmetic surgery to conceal blemishes on the skin! This cream is evens skin tone, blurs imperfections, smoothes fine lines, has SPF 15 and also moisturizes the skin. All in one! The perfect cream to get you ready for the day with just one application. Y'all should try the BB cream ladies! I love that it is not greasy and it gives the skin such a good glow! BB cream has definitely earned its place in my beauty regimen. I <3 BB !!

The event was a success, with Patricia Ithau (L'oreal East Africa Managing Director) formally launching the product, Caroline Mutoko's as the MC, ladies getting mini make overs at the make up booths. Thumbs up to Africa Practice for making it a success as well.


The beautiful Caroline Mutoko in a gorgeous red maxi dress accessorized with a gold belt and yours truly :-) in a green leso peplum dress.

Have a lovely Day and stay fabulous!
Xx

All about hair dyes

Hey y'all! I want to talk about hair dyes in relation to overall hair health as requested by one of my readers. Most chemical hair dyes consist of two main ingredients. The ammonia dye which contains ammonia, and a developer which in most dyes is hydrogen peroxide.

These two are mixed together and applied to the hair. Not too sure about the right proportions but I guess it depends on the shade you want to achieve. Just a guess.

Ammonia literally seperates/ opens up the hair cuticle for the color to penetrate into the cuticle while the hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the hair and bleaches it for it to show the new color.

These chemicals are quite harsh on the hair and damaging especially to hair that is already relaxed or heat damaged.

Hair dyeing is also drying to the hair so if you fail to follow it up with a good and intensive care routine then your hair is bound to break a lot! Proper hair care is necessary.

Color treated hair requires more special attention when it comes to keeping it moisturized because it is drier than your average hair. Moisturizing is a must!!! My ends are color treated and I have to moisturize them so much more compared to the rest of my hair which is not as brittle and as dry. Protein treatment is also very necessary after dyeing your hair because of the stress that the hair cuticle goes through during the dyeing process.

The other important rule is you do NOT dye hair that is already dyed!! This is the ultimate mistake! Hair can only weaken futher just like relaxing hair that is already relaxed!!!

My alternative to chemical hair dyes is 100% natural henna which has my preferred shades of color and is also a natural protein treatment. It strengthens hair and reduces breakage. I follow it up with some goooooood and intense conditioning.

Henna loosens curls naturally so over time and frequent henna treatments you may start to notice this. It's like a slow, natural and long term 'relaxer' that won't get your hair bone straight or necessarily give it an relaxed look.

Natural henna gives colors within the range of red, amber and brown. Any Henna that promises anything outside this range for example black, is not natural henna. It has added chemical dyes.

For those who wish to darken their tresses naturally, consider using Amla oil or powder which is used pretty much like henna, or brahmi powder which is also said to darken hair. Famous with Indians so you can do some research on those two herbs.

Again, for chemical dyeing, be sure to give your hair the extra tlc that is needs to avoid major setbacks.

Have lovely evening :-)

Melissa Harris Perry sums it up!!

This has got to be my favorite Melissa Harris Perry video. So straight forward about "Black hair" do watch and enjoy this video.
Happy Monday lovelies :-)