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 :-)

More for the newbies!!

Hi everyone! I hope you have been well. Finally back to blogging. Been an interesting month so far with Elections going on in Kenya....thank God it was peaceful and now it's over!

First of all I want to answer some questions one of my faithful blog readers asked. She is a newbie in this whole healthy hair thing and some of the hair jargon had her confused (sorry :-) ) These are a few basic terms that I will explain in this post.

Co-wash

Co-washing is simply washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. Shampooing too often also strips the hair of its natural oils so some people substitute shampoo for conditioner on some of their wash days also to just detangle their hair.

Clarifying

Over time, the products you use on our hair eventually build up and weigh down the hair even when we use our sulfate free shampoos (which are less harsh). So every once a month I wash my hair with a Clarifying shampoo (one that contains sulfate) which removes product build up due to its harsh nature. Some clarifying shampoos are clearly indicated on the labels that they are clarifying. However shampoos that contain sulfate do serve this purpose. It is important to clarify your hair every so often especially after a relaxer for at least the next 2 or 3 washes to completely get rid of traces of the relaxer in your hair.

Pre-poo

This is an oil treatment done by either just one oil or mixed oils prior to shampooing. The purpose of this treatment is to protect the hair from harsh shampoo chemicals which strip oils from the hair and scalp. You can use castor oil, olive oil, coconut oil etc. Apply the oil, wear a shower cap and let it sit for an hour or more before your shampoo. Some people do it overnight too.

I think I have answered the three major questions I got. Now highlight of my month is I finally found my Coast Coconut oil!!!! Last year in my desperate search for an everyday oil I found Coast Coconut oil in Healthy U store at Yaya center. At the time it was Ksh.185 for the 250ml. I had tried many coconut oil brands before this one and I just did not feel at satisfied especially because most of them had a very strong smell and I just couldn't seal my hair daily with them. 

It unfortunately went out of stock for about 5 months and recently my sister spotted it at Uchumi 250ml now going for Ksh.370 and about Ksh.400 at Healthy U. Still not bad considering how amazing this oil is!! Had to get it!!! <gold rush style> :-) 

So this coconut oil is absolutely THE BEST!!! It is extra virgin, therefore no additives, as natural as it can get! It melts so easily on my scalp which makes it quite easy to spread and economical because I don't end up wasting or using too much. Solid at room temperature and it is also great for cooking! The smell is not over-bearing, quite mild and wears off in a couple of minutes! It gives my hair a great shine and is light enough to not weigh my hair down when I seal in moisture with it. Honestly it is magical and amazing! :-) 

Here it is 

I highly recommend this oil. Have a lovely week!!

:-)

Pat.

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!