Hair Lately

I’m at this point where I don’t really know what to do with my hair, but I’ll work it out.

Having long established that I like to deal with my hair dry and stretched, my greatest challenge now is to figure out how to keep it so for like 3 days at least. In other words, I REALLY need to learn how to cornrow and flat twist. Anyhoo… Here’s what I’ve been up to since I took out the Nazuri Curls.

I really can’t remember how I wore my hair on Monday morning lol. Maybe I wore the struggle flat twists I was given over the weekend? Can’t remember.

Tuesday, I tried to convince my hair into some kind of updo lol. Plenty tuck in here, tuck in there action at the back, with twists in front.

On Tuesday night, I braided and twisted my hair with a combo of the Curls Creme Brûlée Lotion and the Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Control Paste. Fine, my hair was super dry so I applied a bit of product (like 2 oz for the whole head) because I thought my thirsty hair would drink it all in before morning. Nope. I loosened all the senrenren on Wednesday morning to damp hair with zero definition, shrinking right before my eyes. Plan B? A puff.

Thursday? I had a better updo, I think. Similar to Monday’s but it needed less bobby pins. It was more like fold and pin. 

On Friday, I went with le shrunken fro. I was so tired on Thursday that I slept off without twisting my hair at night. I woke up with serious bed head and I didn’t even bother trying to detangle. I spritzed the hair, rubbed a little conditioner, raised it with my Afro pik in many places and patted down for shape. This resulted in a lot of tanglesssss my days.

tears on tears on tears

Still, your girl had no time over the weekend. NO time. It wasn’t being lazy, I just had to make a mental list of all the things demanding my energy and hair had to have a few seats. This is one of the times I say it’s just hair. Sure, I’m going to take time out soon and treat my hair to a nice relaxing spa day, but when you have a lot to do, it’s totally okay to do less. Your hair won’t fall off, lol.

I simply got in the shower and after wetting my hair, I saturated it with Hello Hydration. I detangled with my fingers and a wide tooth comb, chunky twisting each section as I went. Then I rinsed with cold water, but not entirely, leaving some of the conditioner in. Standing in front of the mirror after this co-wash shower, I applied slight dabs of my Carol’s Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey pomade to each section to seal in the moisture. I untwisted the loose twists (loose because of the washing) smoothed the pomade in & loosely twisted back.

About an hour later, my mom helped me thread (I didn’t know she had such skills lol 🙂 ) For the sections that were too wet, I blotted them with paper towels. She’s a busy woman but I hope we can make this a regular thing ( ._.) I wore the thread till Monday morning.

See. The way Lagos traffic is set up, 10 minutes can make all the difference in the world. I wake up at 5am and I’m out the house most days, by 6. I refuse to wake up at 4:30 because of hair. And I can’t afford to stay till 6:30 either. So I do my best to leave the house early, and then I do my hair in the bathroom at work before 8 or before anyone else gets there. So. I’m not ashamed to be out in the morning with rods in my hair or a scarf tied in a funny way. Not sorry at all. No time.

My hair was dry, and super stretched. Loved it, loved it! Threading is nice o, but I don’t know how I feel about wrapping my head every weekend, because I’m rarely home. I don’t have that many scarves, and my head tying game is really not that strong.

You know, the next time I straighten my hair I think I’m just going to thread and give myself time to air dry in advance. I arranged it into my best style yet, and I really liked it.

This work or professional styling thing, I’ll figure it out. Yes I will. 🙂

In other news, my phone fell on Saturday and though there are no signs of breakage, my main camera has stopped working. The front one still works but what’s going on with the main? Where there is life, there is hope, abi? On the bright side of things, I’m getting my blogging mojo back!

I want to know what you’ve been up to lately with your hair, anything in particular you’re dealing with, talk to meeeeee. 

Love,

AB,

xx

Hairspiration! : Glory

‘Ello baes!

Have you missed us? We have missed you!

To kick off the long Sallah weekend, Glory’s kinks are here to give life in abundance. Please, enjoy!

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Bantu knot out

Hiiiii please tell us about you!

Well hello! I’m Glory, a software developer living in Lagos. Besides software, I have a wide range of interests; from Nigerian politics to gourmet cuisine, photography to minimalist design, healthy lifestyles and so forth. But this won’t be complete without stating just how much of a natural hair enthusiast I am! I adore natural hair of all textures, densities, colors, etc. I have a keen interest in natural hair care.

Hairspiration! : Toyin

Hello! My name is Toyin .C. Akinjiola.

I’m 20, a Gemini and I stay in Lagos. I recently finished my Biochemistry undergrad programme at the University of Lagos so I’m eagerly but not so eagerly awaiting NYSC. I currently spend my days blogging, reading and catching up on all the dramas I possibly can.

What inspired you to go natural?

I haven’t always been natural. I became fully natural in 2014, March to be precise. I was bored with my hair to be honest, during my relaxed days I was always wearing weaves. When the weaves came off, I was usually at a loss with what to do with my heat damaged and scanty hair. I felt going natural was a chance to start anew and also experiment with my confidence, I needed some serious balls to go from long weave to team no hair.

How did you do it?

I transitioned from December 2013 to March 2014. During my transition period, I literally stalked your blog and every 4C natural hair blog to gather all the information I could on kinky hair. I initially planned on transitioning for a year, so that by the time I did my semi big chop I could wow my mum and everyone I knew with my Solange like mini fro, this did not happen. A fine day in the month of March, I went to the salon to install box braids. As the stylist combed the life out of my hair, I just told her to cut all the relaxed ends off instead of braiding it. That’s how I became natural.

Tell us about your hair! Does she have a name?

Nope, my hair doesn’t have a Name. I’m a 4C natural I believe, but I truly do not have any idea when it comes to the curl science of my hair.

How do you care for your hair? Do you have a regimen? Any staple products?

I wash my hair approximately every two weeks , I’m currently trying to find a good shampoo so I just sub with Black soap at the moment. I plan to stop using this as soon as I can, because it really dries out my hair. To combat the dryness, I deep condition my hair usually overnight with a mixture of Vo5 conditioner, random conditioners I have, olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil and Shea butter.

I try to keep things as simple as possible with my hair, so it’s basically wash, deep condition, seal and style all the time. This plan is simple and affordable for me at any time. My staple products are my Cantu Shea butter leave-in-conditioner, ORS Olive oil smooth-n-hold pudding, Shea butter, olive, coconut and castor oil. Most importantly Water. My hair is dull-ish brown in colour, so when it’s extremely dry it isn’t a pretty sight.

What are the things your hair cannot do without?

Water , Cantu Shea Butter Leave in conditioner and olive oil.

What have you realised your hair doesn’t like at all at all?

Hairstylists that love to play tug of war and lack of moisture.

How do you like to wear your hair?

I love to wear my hair as high as it can possibly go. My to go style is usually a bantu knot out, although sometimes it comes off as a bantu what-i-don’t-know! I’ve never tried a bun or updo, I don’t think my length is there yet and I’m really not an updo person, never was. My favorite styles obviously are my bantu knots and knot outs because they come out the best or leave me with something I can work with. I’m a box braids girl, when it comes to protective styling. I’ve tried yarn twists and I loved it. For the past year I only fixed my hair twice and I was really uncomfortable. I used to love weaves. Really.

Yarn twists

How do you feel about shrinkage? Do you fight it? Do you embrace it?

When I think about shrinkage , I think versatility. It’s amazing how my hair can look like I just did a big chop one day and the next I have a mini to medium fro. If I ever need length I fluff and finger detangle my hair or stretch with a scarf, then I move on. I absolutely embrace shrinkage, it keeps things interesting.

Have you received any negativity from others towards your hair? How did/do you deal?

I have been asked questions mostly by older females about my reason for going natural , then they proceed to lecture me about how it doesn’t look good , my aunt once told me I looked like a ruffian one time and how guys won’t like it , then most of them offer to pay for my hair . As a student I’m always in the mood for “osho free” so, I always accept. So now when I’m in need of a protective style I just carry my 4c kinky ruffian hair like that and visit them and I listen to them , then they offer to take me to the salon. I’m confident in my 4c hair and the choices have made thus far, so I usually laugh off any negativity directed towards my hair.

Are you facing any hair challenges right now or bad habits you’re trying to break?

I have scanty edges , and this is not due to bad hair care but genetics . Some days I feel no amount of JBCO can help, but to be truthful I never remember to use it.

Do you have any hair goals?

My short term goals would be to straighten my hair and to try more styles, its time I stopped doing the same style over and over . I’m the most boring natural ever. My long term goal is to achieve a fro worthy of the fro wall of fame , also to keep loving my hair and whatever curves it throws.

Any last words to anyone considering to go natural or a new natural?

If you decide to go natural , before you do check out your reasons for doing it , and don’t do it unless all your reasons are pointed towards you . It’s always good to find out as much as you can but no knowledge is like you trying things out first hand, so be calm, don’t overload yourself with information (it is not jamb) and just go with the tide. When Natural, you can learn from others and even make them your point of contact, LOL. What you shouldn’t do is compare your hair in all its glory to theirs and feel inferior. As all fingers aren’t equal, I believe no two fros can be.

More Toyin?

Visit her blog: lifewithcassandra.wordpress.com and follow her on Instagram : toyiin_a

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Thank you so much Toyin for sharing with us! 🙂

If you’d like to be our Hairspiration sometime, just email hello@thekinkandi.com. Have a great weekend guys!

Love,

AB,

xx

 

Hairspiration! : Chiamaka

Tell us about you!

I’m Chiamaka Okoro but popularly called “MAKAS” by friends, a law graduate and currently doing a professional post graduate course in Abuja,Nigeria. A lover of everything natural!

Have you always been natural?

I went natural for religious reasons, I decided I wasn’t going to relax my hair again. So before my big chop in June 2012 I had transitioned for some months and after my big chop I rocked my TWA for nine months, this was because I didn’t know what to do with my hair. I was so clueless that natural hair could make any sense, but I cared less of what people thought cause being concerned with their opinion was the exact reason I relaxed my hair sometime in 2008 after which my hair stopped growing and I lost considerable length.

Hairspiration! : Oyime

Hey beauts!

It’s another Hairspiration Friday! Once upon a time, we were school mates. Now I just stalk her blog and hair pictures. Serving us a beautiful head of hair today, meet Oyime!

Hey! Tell us a little about yourself.

Hello!! My name is Oyime. I’m a lawyer and I live in Lagos, Nigeria.

Have you always been natural?

The first time I got my hair relaxed, I was about 10. I had relaxed hair till I was 19 and then I decided to go natural. A lot of people had started going natural and I was curious so I searched YouTube for natural hair and I knew that day that I was going to go natural. Watching those videos made me realise that having my hair natural was an option and I got so excited I actually wanted to cut my hair immediately. I had exams so I decided to wait till my exams were over. On the day I finished my exams, I big chopped. This was in May 2012.

 Tell us about your hair! Does she have a name?

My hair doesn’t have a name but I think she’s fabulous. I would classify her as around armpit length at the sides and the back, and chin length in front. I have low porosity hair so it took me a while to figure out what products to use and the best regimen that would help my hair retain moisture. My hair has different textures and my strands are coarse in the middle, medium textured in the front and fine at the back and sides and I have really high density hair.

How do you care for your hair?

I try to save a lot of time when it comes to washdays so if I’m washing my hair on a day I’ve just taken out my braids I detangle my hair as I’m taking out my braids. I put my hair into about 10-12 chunky twists and shampoo with Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo. After this, I dry it with a cotton t-shirt and deep condition by putting it into smaller twists with Cantu Deep Treatment Masque and put it under a shower cap for 30-45 minutes. I co-wash while it’s still in twists with one of my v05 conditioners. When it’s a bit dry but still damp I moisturise with a mix of Giovanni Direct Leave in Weightless moisture conditioner/Cantu leave in, glycerine and castor oil/shea butter. This usually takes me about 4 hours when I shampoo or 3 hours if I’m just deep conditioning and co-washing.

What are the things your hair cannot do without?

My hair cannot do without deep conditioning. It gets really dry easily so I have to deep condition as often as once a week if it’s not in braids. This helps in keeping dryness under control.

What have you realised your hair doesn’t like at all at all?

Coconut oil and Apple cider vinegar. I tried using them in different ways but coconut oil made my hair feel dry and brittle and so did ACV.

How do you like to wear your hair?

I mostly wear my hair in braids. I went through this phase last year where I did box braids almost every month for the whole year. I decided to start wearing my hair out more often this year so I’ve been having fun doing different styles with my hair like puffs, French braids, mini twists or just having my fro out with a side part. I still love braids as a protective style and they give me a break when I’m not up to styling my hair for a while.

How do you feel about shrinkage?

I really didn’t like shrinkage especially when I had just big chopped. Now, I embrace it because it brings out the beauty in some hair styles (like puffs) and it shows that my hair is healthy. When I want to do a style that requires stretched hair I use thread to do this.

Have you received any negativity from others towards your hair? How did/do you deal?

I’ve received mostly good comments about my hair but there have been a few negative comments. Someone asked if it was brokeness that made me cut my hair and then said it was just a joke, another person said my mini twists were nice but I shouldn’t let my hair grow longer than it is or it would start to look dirty. I mostly just laugh off the negative comments or I ignore them.

Are you facing any hair challenges right now or bad habits you’re trying to break?

I still battle with dryness sometimes and I have to tweak something in my regimen. I use a wide tooth comb when styling my hair sometimes and I end up losing a lot of hair. I’m trying to do this less often and completely eliminate using combs.

If you had one hair regret, it would be…

I didn’t trim my hair until after almost 2 years and I knew I had splits and knots but I kept postponing it and my hair kept breaking. Now I try to trim my hair at least once in 6 months or if there are any split ends I trim them.

Do you have a hair philosophy?

My hair philosophy is basically Listen to your hair. I try not to ignore signs my hair gives me. If it’s breaking a lot or feeling really dry I have to up my deep conditioning or moisturising game.

What is hair to you? Has going natural changed anything about you?

Hair to me is an accessory and a means of expressing yourself. Going natural has built my confidence especially because I big chopped. I was surprised at how bold I felt about going out with less than an inch of hair because I never thought I would cut my hair. Going natural has also taught me patience.

Do you have any hair goals- short or long term?

My hair goal is big, healthy hair

Any last words to anyone considering to go natural or a new natural?

If you’re considering going natural do it because you really want to, because you’re the one who is going to be learning how to take care of your hair and twisting it at night. If you’re a new natural just know that it gets better, have fun with your hair and try and enjoy it at every stage.

Where on the internet can you be found?

I recently started a blog called oyimesmusings.blogspot.com about my natural hair journey, food and my love for lipstick. You can also find me on Instagram: @oyime_j

Thank you so much, Oyime, for sharing your beautiful hair with us! 

Remember, if you would like to be a hairspiration Friday girl, shoot us an email at: hello@thekinkandi.com

Have an amazing weekend, beauts! :*

–MeeMee