Keep Calm and Detangle!

Wash days can become very frustrating when all you see a huge hair ball of after your wash! We loose most of our hair during wash days and that is why it is very important to detangle your hair properly during this process.

First and foremost you need a conditioner for effective detangling. It is better to wash your hair in the direction that you comb it therefore I wash my hair in the shower where I tilt my head backwards to have my hair go in the same direction as the water as opposed to leaning forward and having to comb my hair backwards later on. This way you spare your tresses a lot of tangling and breakage.

I apply my conditioner when my hair is 100% damp and gently massage it into my hair from roots to ends. As the water runs through my hair, I first finger comb gently to loosen the knots and then I use a wide tooth comb to detangle a little more. By the time I use the wide tooth comb my hair is usually 80% tangle free using this procedure. Remember that when you comb your hair you should comb from the ends all the way up to the roots and not vice versa. After your wash apply your leave in conditioner to keep your hair less tangled or tangle free as it dries and to prevent further breakage.

One of the first things I did when I started my hair journey was to toss my small tooth combs away. They cause a great deal of breakage. They pull and cause a lot of tension on the hair strands that eventually snap and break.

Protein treatments also cause the hair to feel a bit coarse and tangled so follow up your protein treatments with a conditioner to detangle for more manageable combing.

Have a lovely week!

My Bantu Knot Out :)

So I have been desperately trying to keep myself away from heat since I started my length retention challenge on February 1st. My growth is now 6 months old and getting more difficult to style. I absolutely love my bantu not out results better than my braid outs! The curls are just amazing and styling without heat has never been easier.

Since yesterday was my wash day I shampooed my hair, deep conditioned and afterwards applied leave-in conditioner, and olive oil while it was still damp to seal in the moisture.I then air dried my hair and parted random sections, coiled them into the bantu knots and secured them with elastic bands.

Tied my silk head scarf, slept and undid the in the morning

The final step is to separate the strands for volume and voila!! There you have it!

Totally love bantu knot outs! Going to rock this look for some time until I learn how to do flexi rod sets.
Happy Sunday people.
xoxo!

Heat Styling

My biggest challenge in this transition to natural hair is styling. Dealing with different hair textures is frustrating when it comes to styling and that is why I found myself  'relapsing' to weekly flat ironing and blow drying which I knew was not healthy for my hair at all! For now I am sticking to roller sets, braid outs, bantu knot outs, and eventually when I learn, I will do twist outs and flexi rod sets.

The truth is that direct heat does more harm than good to hair when done excessively/ frequently or in the wrong way. 

Healthy hair shaft

Heat damaged hair

Hear are some pointers that I came across on Facebook about heat styling that everyone should know.

Make sure that your hair is clean before using heat otherwise it will be like baking dirt into your hair. As for heat protectants, many people prefer silicone free heat protectants such as grapeseed oil which is a natural heat protectant or castor oil!

Remember less direct heat, less dryness and breakage! 

Ciao people 

Xx

Know Your Hair.

If you are wondering what your hair type is, I have two charts which I think might help you identify your curl pattern and therefore your hair type. I am more of a 4c. You might realize that different parts of your hair have different curl patterns naturally. For most people, hair is most coarse at the crown area and slightly fine at the nape. Knowing your hair type is important in determining what your hair needs.

For those with kinky hair,

Hope this info helps anyone who didn't know their hair type.
Ciao people!

OUT with the Split Ends!

Hi people! It feels like ages since my last post. Hope you all had a fab weekend. Yesterday I was just playing around with my hair and I happened to examine my strands closely. Almost each strand of my hair had split ends!! I grabbed a pair of scissors and immediately started doing serious 'search and destroy'! I just  did the best I could but I can confidently say that I cut most of them out!!

Most of the hair issues we experience are caused by dryness and excessive heat damage and split ends are not an exception!! My last 'trim' was in December 2012 where I cut about 2 inches of my hair. Since then I admit that I relapsed to flat ironing weekly for a month :-( I guess this is the price I have to pay.
These are the different types of split ends you might spot. I think I had all those lol! :-D

The main reason why you should make a point of trimming your ends is to avoid these. Split ends are similar to cracks. Once they are ignored they grow along the hair shaft making the affected strand so weak that it eventually breaks. Minimize breakage. Less direct heat + Regular moisturizing + Trimming = Less split ends which means less breakage!!

Unwanted Product Ingredients!

Hi beautiful people!
Finally recovered from that horrible flu. Today I just want to share the hair product ingredients that I look out for.
When shopping for a moisturizer, I have to first confirm that it is a water based moisturizer. Many so called moisturizers have absolutely no water content so I look out for the ingredient Aqua in my hair moisturizers. Water itself is the best moisturizer. Just put some water in a spritz bottle and spray some onto your hair. Not necessarily to make it damp. Follow up by sealing in the moisture with oil.

For my normal weekly shampoo I use sulfate free shampoos. So if it has Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) I only use it to clarify my hair once a month. My sulfate free shampoos are my regular shampoos because they are less harsh and therefore less drying to the hair and scalp. It is always good to clarify hair after a relaxer and monthly to remove product build up.

For oils and treatments I prefer not to use products with Mineral oil or Petrolatum which is also drying to the hair and scalp because of its coating effect on the hair shaft. That is why I only use natural oils.
Generally your products should aid in retention of moisture because dry and brittle hair BREAKS!!! Keep your hair well moisturized and not over moisturized and see how much breakage reduces. Too much moisture can cause breakage too.

Coconut Oil

Before I started my hair journey I used all kinds of oils ( hair grease as I like to call them) on my hair and scalp. In fact all of them had Mineral Oil aka Petrolatum which is a product that is unfortunately found in most products. Mineral oil coats the hair shaft and makes it difficult for the hair to be moisturized. In turn the hair dries out and we all know what happens after that....BREAKAGE!

Coconut oil is my all time favorite product. I use extra virgin coconut oil. It is 100% natural and has so added chemicals. I always recommend it because of all the benefits I got from it. Coconut oil has anti-fungal properties and this helps a lot with itching and flaking. I had these problems and after using coconut oil for a short time my scalp stopped flaking. I use it to seal in my moisture as well. Coconut oil unlike many oils has the ability to be absorbed into the hair shaft. It is also a somewhat a conditioner. always left my growth feeling so soft. When massaged onto the scalp it strengthens the hair follicles therefore stimulating hair growth. Lastly, it is cheap!!! What a great deal!!

I love the shine that that coconut oil gives my hair

Coconut oil is great for skin as well. It is a great skin moisturizer. Though I don't use it on my skin though, I have read many good reviews. Coconut milk on the other hand is used as a hair conditioner.
I recommend these any day. Organic stuff is truly awesome!

Back to the FRO

Hi y'all,
I first want to thank all of you for reading my blog as new as it is. I was so honored to be featured by two Facebook pages on my hair journey progress. Got so much motivation to just keep on keeping on. I am humbled and motivated!!

My major hair journey goals are to retain as much length as possible and to fully transition to natural. I never thought that I would ever consider going back to natural hair. I got so accustomed to relaxers and I just did not want to entertain the thought of going natural. After seeing a lot of inspirational natural hair journey stories out there I realized that my hair was healthiest back in the day when it was natural. My mum, who by the way has great hair, took really good care of our hair.

Then along came bone straight relaxers and hair dyes. My hair could not handle all these things so the problems started to set in. When I realized that relaxers have done more harm than good to my hair, I decided to transition to natural.....without the big chop of course :-) . It is the best way to transition because you don't have to deal with two different hair textures. Still, I don't have the courage to do it lol.

Natural hair can be managed with the right products and hair care routine. Moisture is key for natural hair care so keep it well moisturized. Don't forget that conditioner is your best friend! Conditioner will help detangle your hair easily to minimize breakage. Co-washes really do help. A rinse out conditioner and a leave in conditioner are absolutely necessary for natural hair regimen.

 As for natural hair styling options, the list is endless!!! From twist outs, flat twists, finger coils etc. So many options. The internet is full of ideas so just research.

Solange Knowles rocking her beautiful afro

Lira's gorgeous TWA

Overall, I have learnt to appreciate the different afro textured hair types out there and see that there is alot of beauty in being natural. Whenever I spot a natural I get so excited! Lately so many women are embracing natural hair and transitioning either slowly or straight up by big chopping . Love seeing Teeny Weeny Afros (TWA's) or even the real big afros being rocked. Natural is indeed beautiful. Can't wait to fully transition and rock my own afro :-)

Have a good week ahead .
xoxo,
Pat.

My Healthy Hair Journey

 By now you can tell that hair is a major topic for me. As I mentioned in one of my posts, I started my healthy hair journey on the 15th of Feb 2012. It has been a great learning process which is still in progress with a few set backs here and there.

I had a short bob from 2010 to July 2011 when I began to grow it out. I found it expensive to maintain and I just wanted to grow me some long locks of healthy hair. My hair grew a little but it was NOT healthy!!! 

    However, it was not until February 2012 when I was desperately searching for solutions on the internet, that I came across my favorite hair blog Grow African Hair Long. My jaw dropped when I read inspiration stories of the two lovely Kenyan sisters who started the blog, Joanne and Evelyn as well as other subscribers. I saw pictures of how long their hair had grown from the normal stagnant shoulder length hair that most of us are used to. So anyway, with all the information and  product shopping I was ready to start the journey. All I can say is that its not as easy at it may seem. Needs a lot of determination. Lacked that a couple of times, other times it was just laziness but all in all it can be done. 

So, this is Feb 15th 2012, wash day, air dried unhealthy hair:

April 2012, wash day, air dried:

August 2012, roller set results:

Little by little I started to restore health to my hair. I started seeing change about three weeks after I started.

My daily routine was moisturizing and sealing. I must say that I have since reduced this routine to about thrice weekly but I plan to resume this good practice. I use Organics Kids Shea Butter moisturizer. It is a great water based moisturizer. For sealing, I used coconut oil which is my favorite natural oil up until now. It gets absorbed into the hair shaft.....will do a post on it soon.

I used castor oil about 3 times weekly on my scalp to thicken my thin hair. My weekly routine is a wash with Oliive oil shampoo which is sulphate free therefore does not dry out your hair. Its quite cheap too :-)

Right after I would Deep Condition my hair with a deep moisturizing treatment < I have used several so far>

Monthly I would do a protein treatment with Motions CPR Protein reconstrutor

That was my magic regimen for healthy hair. Plus I did a long relaxer stretch from Feb to September 2012. That was hard!! Now I am 5 months post relaxer but I have decided to fully transition from relaxed to natural.

During my hair journey I definitely gained more health than length which is not a bad thing. Now that the health is restored, I am so determined to get the length. My short term goal, Armpit length and long term ........drum roll.......Waist length!!! long shot?? We'll see :-)

So finally this my before and after comparison. Feb 2012 and today, a year later. Excuse me for the bone straight look, It's been flat ironed :-)

Thank you for reading. Wish me luck.

xoxo,

Pat.

African Print!

   I love Africa. Everything from the beautiful landscapes, the weather, animals, the people, the food, the fashion and let's not forget, the African print! Africa is all about beauty, life,color and culture which are well translated through African prints. African print in itself has cultural diversity in terms of the different fabrics that can be used. We have the Kitenge from Nigeria, Kente from Ghana and Leso and Kikoy from the East African coast. <forgive me if there is any I have not mentioned>

  African print clothing funny enough, from what I remember, was not popular with young people in the past but lately it has been trending tremendously and has been fully revamped!  With fabulous modern designs, it has been embraced quite well worldwide, and across ethnic groups as well. We have seen celebrities like Solange Knowles, Kimora Lee Simons, Rihanna, Kelis among many other celebrities rocking this trend.

African print fashion has been incorporated into shoes and accessories as well

Last year we had Kitenge festival Nairobi at The Village Market and dress code; African print. Missed it :-(  but here is what two of my lovely fashionista friends wore.

On the right Miss Fauzia wore a gorgeous Kitenge jumpsuit designed by Nick Ondu of Ankara Vintage and on the left Miss Vavavum wore a beautiful African print pencil skirt paired with a denim shirt. (click on Miss vavavum to check out her blog)

The fun doesn't end there! Absolutely love the print on print look !!

xoxo,

Pat :-)

UNHEALTHY PROTECTIVE STYLING

Protective styling such as weaving, braiding and wearing buns is great for protecting your ends and taking a break from too much combing hence, reducing a great deal of breakage.

However, protective styling can cause major set backs when done WRONG!!

It no longer qualifies as protective styling when any of the above is too tight! It will do more harm than good when those braids or weaves or ponytails are too tight! These styling methods are unfortunately more often than not, the reasons behind the mother of all setbacks; The Receding Hairline!!

Naomi Campbell's famous receding hairline.

So many black women out there are victims of the receding hairline. Every time I'd get my box braids done, I would barely sleep well for at least the following 2 nights. My scalp at first would look so stretched and shiny due to the excessive pulling, then later I would get pimples all over my hairline and finally the 'white stuff' <hair follicles literally uprooted from my scalp> would appear. I always thought braids have to be too tight to last or be neat but this is just wrong sisters!! It can be done without the excessive pulling.

Most importantly, DO NOT wear your extensions for too long. I have heard of women who wear their braids for even 6 months!!! Oh hell no! This goes way beyond pushing it. A month in my opinion is acceptable. Weaveholics, yes, I am talking to you too! It's good to let your hair breathe every once in a while.

Finally, those of you who already have a receding hairline try applying Castor Oil religiously day and night. It worked for me (yes I am a fully recovered weaveholic)!! Castor oil has hair growth stimulating properties and it has been proven to thicken hair. It is one of my natural oils I always have just in case of a hair emergency :-)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. LOVE YOUR HAIR! It belongs to you, not your hairdressers.
All it needs is TLC.

Ciao sisters!
Pat,
xoxo.

GLITZ & GLAM

Hi y'all!! Got a bad flu so all this lying around makes me want to post, post, post!!
Just like many women out there, I love make up! When done well, I think make up can do wonders. I don't always wear make up but when I do, I try to make it look as fabulous as possible.

     I love You Tube tutorials because I have learnt so much from them. My make up application skills have improved so much thanks to tutorials. My newly subscribed favorite channel is beautybyjj. JJ is simply amazing. Her complexion is more or less similar to mine so I like to watch her do her thing. Her make up is flawless to say the least! I have learnt so much from her and judging from compliments I can tell that my skills are getting better!

    For those of you who also love weaves, you can check her too. She is all about hair extensions, make up and fashion! Below is Her new year's eve party make up tutorial which I totally loved. Still have to rock this look on a night out. Enjoy!! xoxo

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HAIR CARE

Hi Ladies,
I just thought I'd do a post on healthy black hair basics.

So, what is Kink? Our curly hair structure is what people refer to as kink. The tighter the curls, the kinkier the hair. This structure makes it hard for natural oils produced in the scalp to flow to along the hair strands and it is the main reason why our hair tends to be drier than straight hair.

You may have wondered why your hair doesn't seem to grow past a certain point. Truth is, it is actually growing, but due to breakage, you are not retaining the length. As I mentioned in my previous post black hair is prone to breakage due to its dry nature. Briefly,the following is a list of healthy hair practices important for our hair:

1. To minimize breakage it is important to Moisturize your hair daily with a water based moisturizer and seal in the moisture with a natural oil.
2. Minimal hair manipulation with direct heat (i.e flat ironing, tonging, blow drying) is also advised for healthy hair because frequent exposure to direct heat weakens and dries hair a lot, hence lots of breakage. When you use direct heat be sure to use heat protectants. Opt for low manipulation such as roller set or air drying most of the time.
3. Deep conditioning treatment after every wash.
4. Regular wash every week and at most 2 weeks. Clean hair = Healthy hair
5. Protein treatment monthly especially for relaxed ladies.
6. Protective styling to protect your ends from breakage.
7. Tie a silk or satin scarf when you sleep or use a silk or satin pillow case to minimize breakage.

So I follow the above routines religiously, well with a few setbacks here and there but I must say my hair is much healthier than it has ever been. I will leave a link below to a hair social network and blog which has really helped me in terms of motivation and information about healthy hair for African women Have fun, sign up and lets get our hair healthy!!
Grow African Hair Long

With love,
Pat.

INTRO

Dear reader(s),

I am super excited as I type my first post on this blog. A little about me, I am a 21 year old Kenyan, most importantly proud to be, African woman. I chose to start this blog mainly because I felt that beauty in society's eyes is not too considerate when it comes to the black woman, therefore the need to empower and educate each other on what works best for us. One of the issues that most black women can admit to have struggled with is HAIR!

I grew up thinking that Afro textured hair is not ideal or beautiful. I am sure this is the case with many black women. I always begged my mum for a relaxer and finally when I got it, I couldn't do without it. There was no one to educate me on just how to take care of my relaxed hair. Even hairdressers here are not so educated about 'black' hair care. What was once long, beautiful, thick hair,eventually became short, weak, thin and very unhealthy hair. I got a bob cut which at least took the attention off my unsightly ponytail that looked like five strands of hair collectively. (not cute!)

I was desperate for health restoration into my hair and I knew that it had a lot of potential to grow if only it was well taken care of. Thank God for the Internet, I was able to do my research and get a great deal of useful information  on black hair care. Seems I was among the millions of black women out there searching for answers! If only I knew then, what I know now, who knows, my hair would probably be sweeping the floor now lol! 

First, these are some misconceptions I had about black hair;

1. We have the strongest and toughest hair of all races.
2. Black hair can't grow as long as other races.
3. Nappy aint cute!

The truth?

1. Black hair is indeed the most delicate of all races and most prone to breakage.
2. Black hair can grow long if breakage is minimized and healthy hair routine is achieved with the right products.
3. Afro textured hair is indeed beautiful!!! Actress Teyonah Parris totally rocked hers at the 19th Annual Screen actors Guild Awards and she looked absolutely stunning!! So inspiring.

If you can relate to this, fear not! I will be sharing a lot about black hair care for both natural and relaxed hair in this blog ladies!! :-)

Just thought I should let u all know that I started my healthy hair journey in Feb 2012. Still a newbie but a well researched one ;-). My hair has since become healthier and thicker so yes, it does work. I am currently relaxed but transitioning to natural just as a matter of preference. However, big lesson learnt, love your hair ladies!

Locks of Love,

 Pat.