Lade June 30, 2015

PRODUCT REVIEW – MY NEW LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER

Hello ladies

I don’t try new products very often but when I do, if its a great product, I am always happy to share with you all. I decided to try a new conditioner out of curiosity. I actually first learnt about this product from one of my consultation clients. I reviewed the ingredients and though I should try it out for myself because I thought it might work for my hair…….I was right.
I am now on my second bottle and this is now a staple product for me. I hope they never discontinue it or change its ingredients drastically.

The Product

Creme of Nature Argan Oil Strength and Shine Leave in Conditioner

My Previous Leave –in Method and Products

After shampooing and deep conditioning, when my hair was damp, I would spray on a little amount of Aphogee Keratin and Green Restructurizer.
I would then apply a mixture of S-curl and Cantu Shea Butter leave-in conditioning cream whilst my hair was still damp. I would air dry.
To moisturise during the week I used s-curl and Cantu Shea Butter mixture.

My Current Leave in method and product

After shampooing and deep conditioning, I apply Creme of Nature Argan Oil Strength and Shine Leave in Conditioner to my damp hair and let it air dry.
To moisturise during the week I used S-Curl and Cantu Shea Butter mixture.

What I Love About The Product

Silicones

It contains a lot of silicones. My hair loves silicones and so I love silicones too.
Silicones are a type of emollient. Emollients lubricate our hair fibres making it easier to detangle and comb. They seal in the hairs internal moisture and block out external moisture (this helps to reduce how frizzy hair becomes in humid conditions). Emollients also helps to smoothen hair cuticles so that it looks healthy and shiny. Emollients therefore helps to make our hair look and feel good/smooth.

Silicones have a bad rep unfortunately because SOME of them are not water soluble and can build up on the hair. Product build up can prevent moisture absorption and can lead to dry hair because moisture is blocked out. Dry hair = higher risk of breakage. Silicone build up can be removed by using a shampoo that contains sulfates. I love silicones for its benefits and my hair responds very well to it….and I can literally wash out the negative elements of silicone

Its Consistency (very watery and light weight, non-sticky)

The consistency makes this products very easy to apply.

Like most decent hair care products, water is the first item listed on this product’s ingredients list. Following water on the ingredient list is Cyclopentasiloxane which is a type of silicone. Whilst some silicones are heavy and leave hair feeling weighed down, Cyclopentasiloxane is a type of silicone which evaporates and will not leave hair weighed down at all………hello fluffy and bouncy hair……….

my last wash day – air drying my finger detangled hair with just the creme of nature strength and shine leave-in applied. I had to distort the picture because no one needs to see up my nostrils 🙂

Moisture Protein Balance

If you are familiar with my regimen you will know that I like my conditioners, leave ins and weekly hydrating products to be protein and moisture balanced. I often have to achieve this by mixing protein and moisture products together.

The Creme of Nature Strenght and Shine Leave-in contains moisturising and protein elements. I love that the protein it contains are hydrolized which makes it better at binding with and filling in cracks along the hair fibres

Shine

It makes my hair shiny……..That is all.
Shiny hair minus grease and stickiness.

All in all I am very pleased with this product. My sister who has a different hair type ( her hair strands are finer than mine) loves it too.
Have you tried and loved a new product recently?

In my next post I will be talking about my love hate relationship with combs and a new lesson I learnt about combing from the recent Naija Hair Can Grow event. See you soon

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade June 23, 2015

HAIR UPDATE: 6 Weeks Post

finger detangled hair, slightly damp at roots

Hello ladies
Time seems to have flown by and I am now 6 weeks post. I washed and conditioned my hair last night and thought It would be a good point to share a little hair update.
My hair is in good condition I suppose. I don’t have that much new growth yet so I dont have to worry about managing two textures at this point. I air died on this wash day and so my hair has a lil poof going on which I am not opposed to at all 🙂

If I ‘am being honest, when my roots are all poofy my ends look thin comparison. But I had a good look at my ends a and know that they are not damaged or split ( especially because I trimmed off about 4 inches in total this year). I’ve decided to wait till my next texlax in October and then I’ll do a maintenance trim since I don’t intend to let my hair get any longer.

Fully air dried

I have started using a new leave in conditioner which my hair absolutely loves. I am on my second bottle and it is now a stable part of my regimen. I will do a product review of it as my next blog post.

How many weeks post are you? What’s happening with your hair? Have you tried something new recently?

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade June 22, 2015

THE NHCG SALON DAY OUT 2015

Hello ladies,

It was awesome!!!!!! The Naija Hair Can Grow (NHCG) Salon Day Out 2015 was absolutely awesome.

The event was held on 7^th June at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos. I loved that all hair types were welcome. It didn’t matter if you were relaxed, natural, texlaxed, loc’d, weaved, braided up or anything in between. Isn’t it great when we all hang out together!!

I had my hair styled in a bow bun and bangs which was quite popular on the day. I can’t count how many times got asked for a picture of the style.

The day kicked off with a panel of hair care bloggers ( natural, texlaxed and transitioning) all talking about their hair journeys. Dabs ( the founder of the blog, Naija Hair Can Grow) was kind enough to ask me to speak on the panel. Even though I was well prepared I was so super nervous but got through my section without embarrassing myself too much. The other bloggers also did such a good job with their sections and were soooooooo funny and informative.

Following the bloggers panel, there were showcases by stylists and salon owners who did live demonstrations of how to create some hairstyles (on natural hair and extensions).

The style demos were followed by the Battle of the Hairlistas in which two groups of natural ladies were given various hair style and hair care challenges to complete.

There were also many hair and beauty vendors in attendance. I had stocked up on hair products before the event but indulged in some skin care products from Ajali, an all natural handmade skin care products company.

My sister and I’s wig company Hair by Type 4 also had a stand and we displayed some of our sample wigs and got to meet land speak with a lot of attendees about our wigs and services. More news on our wigs coming soon.

All in all the day was eventful, educative and positive. A big congratulations to Dabs on hosting such a fab event. More grease to your elbows Dabs and see you again next year.

As you may have noticed majority of these pictures are from the Berry Dakara blog, who did a much much better job of documenting the event than I did.

The next blog post will be a hair update. Its wash day for me today so the post will be up soon.

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade June 10, 2015

HOW I WASH MY HAIR IN BRAIDS

Hair had been pre-pooed over night with coconut, olive and a little bit of black castor oil

Hello ladies

How are you? Happy and well I hope.

Washing in braids is not an essential technique on a hair journey but it is one that I began using when my hair reached BSL. Before that period, I could wash my hair in it’s loose state without experiencing too much tangling.
At BSL and with hair that was becoming more and more texlaxed, I found myself with major tangles every time washed my hair loose. I went online and saw that some natural haired ladies wash their hair in braids. I looked up different ways in which this was done and soon found a method that would work for me.

I get asked very often how I wash my hair in braids and so I decided to write a short(ish) blog post which I hope clears it up for anyone who is interested.

How I wash My Hair In Braids

I detangle my hair and apply a little coconut or olive oil to help remove knots and tangles.
I put my hair in 12 -16 box braids. Note that the box braids start at the scalp and are firm but not excessively tight.
To prevent my hair from unravelling during the wash process, I two strand twist the ends of each braid. I find that when I finish each braid with a two strand twist, I am able to unravel it more easily after I have completed the wash and condition process. I hope the above makes sense.
I apply a little more coconut or olive oil to the box braids and cover with a plastic cap which I leave on for an hour or overnight.
I pour water over the box braids until they are well saturated. I apply shampoo and wash the box braids focusing on my scalp and the roots of each box braid.

I DO NOT unravel each box braid.
I rinse thoroughly till I am certain all the shampoo and lather has been rinsed out.
I remove any excess water and apply my deep conditioner. I DO NOT unravel each box braid. I simply apply the conditioner over the box braids.

The box braids with conditioner

I deep condition using my soft hood drier for 30 to 45 minutes.
I rinse out the conditioner very very very well until all the conditioner residue has been removed.
I wrap my hair in a t-shirt to absorb excess water. I unravel one box braid, finger detangle, apply my leave-ins and comb gently. I repeat this step with each braid until they have all been unravelled.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of each stage but I do hope the ones above are of some use.

Additional Tips for Washing in Braids

Size Matters

I have been told by some ladies that washing in braids caused their hair to matt.
I believe that if the braids are too big i e just 4, then your hair may matt at the base. When I wash my hair in 12+ box braids I get very little matting at the base which i can separate/remove very easily. Also if the braids are not firm enough especially at the base then there might also be some matting.

Its Not For Everyone

Also as I always say what works for me may not work for another lady. Do not feel as though you have to wash your hair in braids. If your hair does not tangle when you wash it loose or is not very long then washing in braids or in sections is not something you need.

I hope you have this post helpful.
I spoke at the Naija Hair Can Grow Salon Day Out last weekend and will be sharing my experience and pictures from the event in my next blog post. It was such a blast….come back soon to read all about it

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow