Vote For Hairducation in the Nigerian Blog Awards

Voting Picture

 

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed when I found out my blog Hairducation has been nominated for the 2014 Nigerian Blog Awards in the Hair & Beauty category!!!!!!!

I am so happy and honoured by this nomination.  Hairducation only went live in 2013 so to be nominated for the 2014 awards is only the grace of God.

I would absolutely love to win the award but I can’t do it alone ladies, you can help Hairducation win by taking a few minutes to vote.

 

 How to Vote

 

Voting is completed in a few simple steps

1) Visit the voting page ( direct link to the page is provided below

2) Enter your name and your email address

3) Select Hairducation in the Best Beauty or Hair blog category

4) Scroll down to the end of the page and submit

5) You will receive a validation email from Nigerianblogawards@gmail.com. Please check your spam folders.
Click the link in the email in order to have your vote counted.

Voting closes on 6th April 2015
You don’t have to be located in Nigeria to vote.

Vote Button

 

Please vote ladies and thank you in advance.

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

 

MY WIG REGIMEN EXPLAINED

My wigs over the years

Throwback pictures of me in wigs on my hair journey

 

 

Hello ladies

Its no secret that I used wigs to grow my hair from shoulder length to bra strap length. Even though I have reached my hair length goals, I still wear wigs as a part of my healthy hair regimen. In this blog post I intend to discuss why wigs work for hair growth and then I will explain the various elements of my wig regimen.

 

Why Wigs Work for Hair Growth

1) Low Manipulation

Combing, styling, washing, conditioning, detangling etc are all examples of manipulation.
Our hair, whether natural, texlaxed or relaxed thrives when manipulation is kept to a minimum.  This is why a lot of ladies notice hair retention after wearing long term protective styles like braids, weaves and wigs. When wearing these sorts of styles we are not manipulating our hair as much which means we experience less breakage and have an increase in length.

A problem with weaves and braids however is that there is a lot of manipulation required to create these styles( ie there is usually a lot of sectioning, combing and tension required to create the styles especially if you want the style to look very neat).  Also these styles can lead to hair breakage if they are not installed or removed correctly.

There is a lesser degree of manipulation required to wear a wig in comparison to weaves and braids. With a wig all you have to do is cornrow or put your hair in box braids under your wig. There is no need to add extensions. Also the cornrows under the wig do not have to be too tight for neatness because you are only going to cover it with a wig.

Wigs are long term protective styles that allow you to greatly minimize how often you manipulate your hair. Using my hair as an example, when I have my hair out I wash it weekly, when I am wearing wigs however I wash my hair every three weeks and my hair is not being manipulated daily. As a result of this I experience less breakage because i am leaving my hair alone.

2) Stretching Aid

For ladies who are relaxed or texlaxed, extending the periods between your relaxer to more than 8 weeks is known as stretching.
For example, rather than texlaxing my hair every 8 weeks, I texlax every 20 weeks. I have written a post about stretching and its benefits which you can read here.
Although stretching has a multitude of benefits, it certainly has an equal amount of challenges. Managing different textures, increased risk of tangling and matting, styling challenges, breakage at the line of demarcation etc. To reduce the stress of challenges that come with stretching, wearing a long term protective style is advisable.
This is because any manipulation when you are deep into your stretch can be very difficult and time consuming.  You have to be very gentle to avoid breakage at the line of demarcation.  You also have to keep your new growth moisturised  regularly to minimise breakage and dryness.

Wearing a wig is a great way to reduce daily and weekly manipulation when on a stretch.  If you have your hair in cornrows or box braids under the wig it can make access to your scalp and moisturising and sealing easier.

 

My Wig Regimen Explained

. Currently, I follow this regimen from week 9 to week 20 post relaxer.  My wig regimen is written in pink text.

  • Hair kept in 20 box braids under Hair by Type 4 wigs.

If your hair is long enough to cornrow or put into box braids it is advisable to do this before wearing your wig. It will make your wig sit better on your head and more importantly it will reduce daily manipulation of your own hair. Ie . There will be no need for daily detangling or combing.  I choose to wear my hair in box braids because I find it easier to create myself than cornrows.

 

 

  • Undo box braids, detangle, shampoo and condition every 3 weeks
  • Deep condition with heat for 30 minutes  after washing (moisture and protein conditioners used)
  • Use leave in conditioners after deep conditioning (moisture and protein leave-ins used)
  • Air dry after every wash

I do not  wash my hair weekly whilst it is under my wig.  After a three week period however, my box braids will begin to matt especially at the base. At this point I have to undo the box braids to prevent my hair from locing. This gives me a chance to thoroughly detangle my hair, clean and condition my hair to boost its strength and moisture levels.

 

 

  • Put my hair back in 20 box braids ( which I keep for 3 weeks)

After my hair is fully dry on my wash day, I put it back into the box braids and put my wig back on.
With braids and weaves, it is advisable to give your hair a minimum of one week break before re-installing another braid or weave style. This is to give your scalp a chance to recuperate from the weight and stress of the extensions. With wigs however you do can simply carry on wearing your wig because your scalp wouldn’t have been stressed in the first place.

 

 

During the 3 weeks when my hair is in box braids under my wig I do the following:

  • Moisturise and seal the box braids 2 times a week
  • Mist the box braids and my wig cap  lightly every morning ( if I think my hair needs it)

When I have my own hair out, I have to moisturize and seal about 4 times a week to keep my hair feeling soft.
With my wig regimen, I only have to moisturise and seal twice a week.  Because my hair is under my wig for most of the week, the moisture is not evaporated from my hair as quickly as when my hair is out. This saves me so much time and cuts manipulation by at least 90%.
When I have my hair out, moisturising and sealing takes me about 30 minutes because I have to section my hair then detangle and apply the product. When my hair is in box braids I simply rub the products on my palms and apply it to the box braids or spray on my hair mist followed by a little amount of oil. It takes me 5 minutes max.

 

 

  • Oil scalp once a week

Having my hair in box braids gives me access to my scalp and makes applying oil to it for scalp massages easier and less time consuming.

 

 

  • Remove wig and sleep with hair covered with a satin or silk scarf every night
  •  I keep my scalp clean by wiping it gently with baby wipes and very warm  water once a week.

A clean scalp is important for healthy hair growth.   I avoid washing my hair weekly whilst on my wig regimen because I am trying to decrease manipulation as much as possible . However, I have to find other means to clean my scalp. By wiping the exposed part of my scalp I can remove some of the dirt, debris and shed skin. Being able to remove my wig makes this task much easier.

 

I hope this blog has helped to provide more details on my wig regimen and why it works.
I do not want to give braids and weaves a bad reputation. They can be protective if installed and removed correctly and you take care of your hair whilst wearing them. However I believe that wigs are a better option because they are less invasive, requires a lot less manipulation to wear and remove and give you complete access to your hair.  Combined with some good hair care practices, wearing wigs can be a route to longer and healthier hair.

 

I haven’t decided what my next blog post will be yet but I am sure I’ll think of something to share and as always I hope you’ll stop by soon.

Happy hair journey

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

 

 

 

 

OILS ON A HAIR JOURNEY

 

shea butter

 

Hello ladies

I hope the month of March has been good to you all.  As promised this post is all about oils and natural butters.

Natural oils and butters (shea butter, have so many great uses in a hair care regimen. I decided to dedicate this blog post to sharing what these uses are and hope that readers will be encourage to use natural oils more in their regimen.

 

WAYS TO USE OILS ON A HAIR JOURNEY

 

Oils as a pre-shampoo treatment
Oils are great for lubricating our hair strands which helps with detangling prior to washing. I recently wrote a blog post about the benefits of pre-pooing and using oils as a pre-poo. Please see the post here.

 

Mixed in with deep conditioners 
Various oils are packed with so many beneficial properties that are great for our hair and scalp.

For example coconut oil has a molecular structure that allows it to penetrate our hair where it binds with the protein and helps to reduce protein loss.   Hair that has lost too much protein will become very weak and break easily.   Coconut oil therefore helps to keep our hair healthy and strong from within.

Black castor oil has its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties and may help with problems like hair thinning and hair loss.

Adding a teaspoon or two of these oils to your deep conditioner will contribute to the health, smoothness, shine and strength of your hair.

 

Protect ends and scalp during relaxing
For ladies who relax their hair, it is very important to protect our scalp from direct contact with the relaxer to reduce the risk of scalp burns. It is also important to protect previously relaxed hair from the relaxer.

When relaxer is being washing out of our hair, it will come in contact with our previously relaxed length. Rinsing out relaxer takes time and it runs through the previously relaxed hair for several minutes whilst being washed out. This is enough to begin to process the hair. Over the years this can lead to over processing of the previously relaxed hair.
By applying oil to our scalp and previously relaxed hair we create a barrier which slows down the effects of the relaxer on our scalp and on previously relaxed hair.
When texlaxing my hair, I prefer to use a heavier oil such as JBCO, olive oil or a butter such as Shea butter to protect my scalp and previously relaxed hair. Some ladies simply use good old Vaseline.
Weaken relaxers for texlaxing
Following on from above, oils can be mixed in with relaxers to weaken its strength and straightening ability. This is commonly done by ladies who wish to texlax their hair. I tend to dilute my relaxer with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.

 

For Shine
Rather than using a hair sheen spray that contains a lot of synthetic ingredients, a few drops of coconut oil can provide amazing shine.
coconut-oil-for-hair-02

 

 

Scalp Massages
There are many scalp friendly essential oils we can indulge in.
Rosemary essential oil is one of my personal favourites. With regular use of rosemary oil helps to stimulate our hair follicles which encourages hair growth. It is also believed that rosemary oil slows down premature hair loss and graying of the hair.
Tea tree oil is known for its anti viral and anti bacterial properties. Lavender and peppermint oils are examples of other essential oils popular with ladies on a hair journey and that have great effects on our scalp.

2 to 3 drops of these oils can be mixed in with a teaspoon of a carrier oil like olive, coconut, almond, JBCO, avocado oils. This can applied lightly to your scalp for a tingling and refreshing scalp massage. Alternatively, you can add a few drops into your shampoo and deep conditioners.

 

To seal in moisture
As part of our hair regimen moisturising usually goes hand in hand with sealing.

As our hair ages the cuticle layer( the outermost layer) is not as compact as it was when the hair first grew out of its root. This porous state of our hair especially at the ends means that it absorbs moisture fairly quickly but this moisture also exits or is evaporated form our hair very quickly.
This is why sealing with an oil plays an important part by slowing down the evaporation of the moisture we have put in our hair. Coconut and olive oils are great for sealing.
Some ladies with natural or very thick relaxed hair prefer to use something heavier like Shea butter or castor oil to seal.

 

I am sure majority of you use oils or hair butters in your regimen and that it does your hair a world of good. Please share what types of oils you use and how you use them in your regimen. A fellow reader will definitely learn from you.

I have a section on Hairducation in which I share how I grew my hair with wigs but realise that I haven’t dug a little deeper into the techniques of my wig regimen and why I believe it works for me and so many other ladies. In my next blog post I will do just that. Come back soon

X

Lade
Learn | Change | Grow