Hair update- Afros and co.

August 27, 2015 Naija girl next door 17 Comments


    Hey people, how are you doing? Good? Good.
You guys though, can't even ask somebody what happened as she has not posted in twenty whole days. In fact I haven't been online at all, except for few moments of stolen wifi greatness.
    I actually squandered my data went deep undercover infiltrating a crime ring and gathering intel for a top secret spy organisation. :| :| 

About my hair and what we've been up to. This is not the post I initially intended to put up next, but it's been almost three weeks so let's get up to speed with le 'fro.

Bantu twist out
    I did this shortly before my last wash day.
Had about 10 sections, misted lightly with water, then some Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner, then  sealed with raw unwhipped shea butter because I had run out of whipped.
   I put the sections in two-strand twists and then bantu knotted. It was night and I was drowsy and it was dark so I didn't take pictures.
  In the morning I carefully took apart the twists and separated them.
    I prefer volume to definition so I tend to separate more than most would advice. I was that way with my relaxed hair too.



Anyway I wore it out to work and I was walking on sunshine with my wild hair.

  The younger people (fellow house officers) and much older people (mostly matrons and older nurses) really liked it. I got compliments from them. Those in the middle though, my immediate superiors- they didn't get it.
Not very pleased with my edges atm


Dr N.- what is that on your head?
Me- um, my hair? (Giving my best "isn't it obvious?" look)
Dr N.- hmm.

Dr O.- Did your hair explode or something??
Me- yes, yes it did. (Nodding slowly and stifling laughter)

   I've noticed that when I wear 'out' styles I'm more in my element than when my ends are tucked away in up-do's. Exposing your ends though is a gateway to dryness and breakage; and if you're not careful,  your health and length goals will slip through your fingers with all the drama of a scene in a romance flick. These h**s ain't loyal.
This is why I moisturise and seal with a heavy butter before and after wearing my hair out like that.

Puffs
Almost every style I do eventually ends in a puff by day 2-3.
 
Accessories like this bandana keep puffs interesting

Kinky twists
    They've become my go-to protective style when I just want to put my hair away for a couple of weeks. I've been in these blonde twists AGAIN for the past three weeks.
I did a honey wash twice; moisturised (inconsistenly) with water spray and sealed with the coconut-jojoba oil mix that I'm currently using head to toe.
    That's it.
   How are you wearing and caring for your hair lately?

Xx,
NGND


17 comments:

Wash Day: with Homemade Protein and Moisture Treatments

August 06, 2015 Naija girl next door 21 Comments

Hey people!
How's it going?
  My last wash day was on sunday. Since my big chop, my wash days had been very minimalistic: quick wash, leave-in, seal. It's very convenient but I knew I would soon need an all-out wash day. Time just wasn't working out as planned. By all-out I mean prepoo, shampoo, deep condition, moisturise and seal, the works.
  By last weekend my hair was feeling dry so I definitely needed moisture; but it was also having a difficult time taking a curl. Protein helped my hair curl properly when it was relaxed. I'm more wary of protein on my natural hair now, but I hadn't put in any in almost 2 months so why not.

My friend described this puff as "glorious". It was also gloriously dry.

Protein Treatment: I use egg. Always have. I keep reading that the molecules are too big to be absorbed by hair but I can't argue with the results I get consistently. Ok? Ok. (read about my egg treatment on my long relaxed hair)
    So, I first finger detangled with coconut oil and put my hair in twisted sections as I went along. I ended up with 10 sections.
Egg masque- 1 egg + coconut oil+ palm kernel oil+ honey. I'll use 2 eggs next time. This was barely enough.
Rinsed out after 30 minutes
Shampooed with Africa Naturalistas shampoo in sections.
Deep condition: Remember my first time using bananas in my hair? I did it again, incorporating what I learned the last time.

  • 3 just-ripened bananas, blended and seived 
  • coconut oil- 2 tbspoons
  • Honey- 1 tbspoon
  • Melted shea butter (over a bowl of hot water)- 1 and half tbspoon
The bananas were truly easier to seive this time as I blended the bananas only and added the other ingredients after seiving.

It took on a greyish tinge before I remembered KLP' s tip to cook them briefly before blending. Didn't affect its efficacy though.
      It was really late when I applied this and covered with a plastic cap and then a towel. I intended to rinse out after an hour but I found myself waking up 3 hours later, in the wee hours (hehehe, wee).
     My hair was so soooft and lush! I'd forgotten it could get that soft. I wrapped a towel around it briefly to drain the excess water and put in 5 braids quickly to stretch my hair, then back to bed I went.
   By morning the sections were still sort of damp so I did something I hadn't done in years. I used a blow dryer! 
It's my sister's and it's new; it doesn't have a cold shot button but I used the lowest setting and it wasn't very hot I promise. I held each section taut and gave 10-15 seconds blow-dry time.

Style: quick up-do. I was in a hurry so I took pictures of my hair when I got home and had taken out the bobby pins. My hair was stretched, soft, shiny.


Shine bright like a diamond
   Meanwhile, my hair seems to be growing right before my eyes.

It's exciting but I thought I would have more time to rock short protective styles. It's already too long for the short kinky twists I made less than two months ago.

    Aaanyway, I couldn't have asked for a better wash day.
How was yours? Read others and share your #Washdayexperience here.

Xx,
NGND


21 comments:

Short kinky twists and the short-lived crochet weave

August 03, 2015 Naija girl next door 14 Comments

    Is it just me or does that title have a lot of the "shhh" sound in it?
Happy monday people.
   I'm beginning to feel somehow about saying "post coming up" "post on this later" and then I don't. I have a backlog of pictures for posts I still haven't gotten around to putting up. *sigh*
Well. I'll be done with my housemanship at the end of the month and fingers crossed, I'll be able to post more often.
 
Ok here's a 2-in-1 post I said I'll put up and I'm actually fulfilling.

Short Kinky Twists
     Before my big chop I used to see "enjoy your hair at every length" on blogs and social media.
 I brushed it aside because I've been all about length for a long time, but now I'm working with much shorter hair than I'm used to and it's not horrific like I thought it would be. It's fantastic! I love this utterly different look and it's letting me try new stuff.
       I haven't been able to do short braids/twists since I was little. Post big-chop, I seized the day, hiya! *karate chop*
Enter my now-beloved blonde twists, chin to neck length this time.
 
Actually, this was inspired by the bob box braids trend, which I am not yet ready for because: 
  1.  The hair is too fat to pack up and away from my face and hence not convenient for work.
  2.  Burnt tips drag on clothes and can hurt neck and upper back.

Example. Source: Pinterest
Perfect. Source: Pinterest
  It's beautiful sha, so perhaps after housemanship and before my next job, if I can find a way around them burnt tips.


What gym locker room mirrors are really meant for

Work appropriate

My short twists are easily the easiest I've ever worn. Light as my own hair, easy to wash (I washed every weekend) and to dry, Very quick to install and to take down. Love. I kept the style in for three weeks.

My crochet weave
This style lasted only a day. I'm not even kidding. I used the leftover kanekalon braiding hair from these box braids.

1. I rolled the hair on flexi rods and dipped them in hot water for about 5 minutes, then let dry on the flexi rods.
Unravelled the next day when dry.

2. Made a single braid, zig-zag at the back and ending with a beehive at the top. I didn't take pictures but mine was a really fat braid, not neat at all; and that was the problem.

3. Crocheted until I got to the top of my head and there I jammed rock. The braid was too big and so nothing I did could conceal it. Anyone taller than me (and that's a LOT of people) would see the mess.
I undid the end of the single braid and put my very kinky black hair on top of auburn curls. NO.
I liked the look but the top was killing me
4. Covered the hot mess (top only) with a hat as seen in this post, then took it all down the very next morning.
           Braiding firmly and then loosening only hours apart made my scalp ache so I wasn't about to subject my head to work week styling.
I cornrowed gently and wigged it for a week.
    I'll crochet again sometime in the future BUT. I would have to settle down and braid my hair properly and patiently.
Lesson learned.
  Have a jollof week :*

Xx,
NGND



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