I am Hair and I need Attention

Soooo people….my Bantu Knot outs are a wave maker…. J … and I generally just love Nappy…*giggles*... Like I promised, this post will be about things that ive learnt on purpose or unconsciously over the last month with Nappy…. Oh yeahhh… that’s true…. Nappy and I were a month on Wednesday ,16^th November, 2011… yayyyy….. One month already… I know righhttt!! *sigh*… Ok so first things first...Our HAIR is our GLORY……So please remember the the general rule of thumb for all hair types is …

*ALL Hair Types LOVE water, especially Nappy-type hair, so get that water in there more often than you do now (of course that’s except you get water in your hair by the hour…lol..)

Now to the things u may not have known….

- Ladies, you know just the way you are conscious of what you use on your skin… yup… your hair needs that much attention too… So whatever hair product you may be using, ensure that the ingredients are hair friendly to guarantee healthy hair.

- Again, just the way we have different skin types and various products work for these different skin types … it’s the same with hair… Soooo… One product worked for A’s hair does not necessarily mean it would work for X’s hair. Find what works for you and stick to it… How?...  Experiment!... Petrified???... lol… If all of it falls out, it wud grow back jo… *sticking tongue out*

- About your hair falling out, I dint mean that… lol…. Buh really we can do ANYTHING we want to our hair as long as we are doing it right. So wotever hairstyle/look you want to achieve, make sure it’s with the right product(s) and procedure. For instance (remember I’m only a “one-monther” in this hair palaver o):

RELAXING – Whatever you do, avoid relaxers with LYE and always use a kit! Also, your hair texture should be directly proportional to the strength of the relaxer of your choice. e.g. soft, thin haired peeps should use Kids/Mild No-Lye relaxers and thick, coarse haired peeps should you use stronger ,No –Lye relaxers. *Notice “No LYE” for ALL*

WASHING – We generally really love shampoos that lather really easily and are easy to “play” with and get the build-up out quicker… true? … yeah, I know its true.. However, this may be reaallllyyy bad for our hair…. How?... The two “sister” ingredients that cause these ‘fabulous’ suds in our shampoo and even in toothpastes and some soaps we use have a drying, dehydrating feature. They are Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) and if you’re wondering why these manufacturers wud want to ‘harm’ you…lol…..its cos these ‘sisters’ are super cheap and fantastic at ‘degreasing’ almost anything at the speed of light. In the process tho, they suck out the natural lustre of our hair (I don’t think they can tell the difference between artificial and natural ‘grease’) and this would over time, cause our hair to break cos it doesn’t have ‘genuine ’ moisture… so there you have it. Watch out for these ingredients  and while its not impossible to find a shampoo without both or one of them, its also realllllyyyyy hard to. I am STILL looking for a shampoo without it but in the mean tym, I’m satisfied with ‘Co-washing’ .

CO-WASHING – A lot of people call this “NO-POOiNG” but I just feel weird saying that…. Basically co-washing is the art of washing your hair with only a conditioner (NO shamPOOiNG). Yup!...Cos conditioners contain moisturizers, re-constructors, acidifiers(help remove grease) and de-tanglers and are generally free of SLES and SLS…… Does it clean hair as well as a shampoo??... I don’t think so… However, you can shampoo your hair like twice a month or wen u feel it’s necessary… Basically sha, till you find that SLES, SLS shampoo, just co-wash more often.

Ok sha…I’d update that list later but for the products that work for almost every and anybody….

Water – I think it’s already over emphasised. It’s good for drinking, skin, hair, etc.

Olive Oil – Excellent for moisture and thick hair and great for skin too

Pure Shea Butter – Excellent for hair and skin. * CON - not-so –nice odour and may feel heavy on hair (but its very good sha).

Jojoba Oil – Great for moisturising the hair.

Soo while there are other oils/butters I’ve tried on my hair that worked for me,  these are the ones am very sure of for now that should work for almost everyone… I’d update later wen am sure of some more.

On a lighter, personal note, I went for the Naturals meeting on Saturday but I couldn’t spend long L.. Had to be at a barbeque (Had fun there sha *wide grin*)… I learnt a lot at the napptural meeting even for the short time I was there (about 20 minutes). I won’t share cos I don’t wanna bore you as Tife (my younger sis who is really annoying but I love anyway) was bored stiff…. lol…  

I’m still in love with Nappy and because of this love…I tried BIOTIN supplements (ß follow that link)… And it gave me tension headaches and so I had to stop it after d 3^rd day. I’m glad I dint break out cos  ppl usually break out in stubborn acne but it does work for their hair and nails… oohhh yeahh… of which I have to do protective styling (e.g. corn rows, braiding, ) soon …. Why?… I don’t want to subject Nappy to the harshness of "Harmattan’s Reign"…  

Hope this post is of great help, don’t hesitate to ask me any questions and if I can’t give an answer, remember that GOOGLE is your friend J …lol…

Talk to y’all later….

My FIRST Bantu Knot Out....

Hey people!!... Without too much introductory ado, lemme gist u about how the weekend went…

On Friday evening, im bored stiff at work at like 7pm waiting for Doyin to be ready and then I think to myself…. Hmmmm…. I have two weddings tomorrow and I must to like to look really nice ooo… so while am scared of how the Bantu Knot Outs will turn out, I have to take that risk as I have no other choice with my teeny, weeny, afro…… After starting the knotting at work, I completed it at home and wore a wig cap, and with some “ irregular palpitations”(borne out of the thought of a possible disaster in the morning), I say a little prayer and go to bed…..

I wet the hair… sectioned it…..knotted each section… I wet the hair… sectioned it…..knotted each section… Yup!... at 7:15 am on Saturday, 12^th November, THAT was my waking thought… I was that nervous… and so I needed to keep reminding myself of the effort I had put in and even if I turned up at the weddings looking like a Leprechaun, I did try my best….

Done with my morning devotion, I set out (of my bed) to get ready and just before I could say the J in Jack Robinson, Doyin calls and says she’d be at mine in a bit… I acquire “Godspeed” (especially as I dint have to co-wash nappy for the first time since the Big Chop) and in about 25 minutes I was ready… *sigh*… and thennn… the time had come for the Beauty to be separated from the Beast… As I un-knotted the Bantus from the back, the palpitations got louder and I kept taking deep breaths to remind myself I was still alive... almost halfway taking the knot outs from the back, I had to get into the car and head for  wedding 1… Im sure y’all know what this means…. no matter the turn out of the Bantu Knots, I’m STUCK with the hair…. Now, that freaked me out shitless…… Ok so lemme skip all the remaining drama and take you to the goooood news…..

As I walked into Tosin’s wedding (wedding 1)……. heads turned… WHY?...Duh!!! … I looked GORGE!!.  Yayyyyyyy!! It DID turn out NICE!!!... Very nice… Yes, Yes and Yes people!! I looked FAB!!!... and NO I don’t have ‘Pride of Life’ I only recognise good tins.... If you don’t believe me, see pictures below….

At wedding 1 with a colleague, Efe

En route Wedding 1 

Wedding 1 with a colleague, Deji (looking like we are in the 70's)

Wedding 2 with Dami(on my left side) and her friends...

Helloooo Boyyyy!!!!!... dont lie.... I looked nice!!!!… *dancing alanta with a really wide grin*

Wedding 2 was no different and everyone in general has a great appreciation for Nappy… Im really encouraged I must confess, more so, I met 2 rili fab chics that have been natural for 6 and 17   years respectively and typically we had brief chats about our hair n all n all…. OH yeahhhhhhh…. That reminds me…

For all y’all naturals or aspiring naturals, guess wot? ...WOT?? (Calm downnn… id tell you…lol..).... There is a ‘ Naturals in the City’ meet-up for all of us on Saturday, 19^th November at 33, Sinari Daranijo Street, Off Younis Bashorun Street, Off Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos…. Yup!...Am for real!!! … it’s from 1:30 – 5:30 pm and there will be giveaways.. Im sooo excited… I’d be meeting a count of people who can give me advice and help me be proactive with Nappy… J Thanx again Jobi-tutu for telling me about this *kisssssss*

My next post will be teaching y’all some things I’ve learnt about Nappy and hair products  that could help you guys (may not work for every one so id try n be general, may be do some research)…Laterzzz

Nushy&Nappy: the "LOVE/HISS" Affair

Ok… so being WHO I am, I probably will get tired of this routine soon.. lol… I love myself way tooo much to be caring this much for a “small jungle” developing on my head ooo…  Ah ah… (Don’t get it twisted ….. I LOVE Nappy, a lot).. No doubt, she is one beautiful ‘jungle’ , but she, however, gets me a little too exasperated lately... ok sooo.. last week Sunday…. See what happened…

I wake up, try to read my Bible and pray, and thereafter, I excitedly (as usual) get ready for the ritual boudoir workout. After taking care of Nappy and I, using the only creation that has NO enemy (water) and a couple of other tools, I dress up for church. Church was amazing, and as I head back home, it’s with the hope of resting before Ore’s (my darling fwend) birthday dinner later on…...

Giggles…Butterflies...Balloons…Colours…Bubble gum..…....FIRE ALARM????.... Noooo!!!...From where naaaa *crying*… I liked that dream.... Stupid ALARM!!!!… Shucks!!!! Its 4pm and I have to get up and get ready for Ore’s dinner… “ok lemme snooze”, I say to myself and just as I’m about to close my eyes and drift off into Dreamland for another 15minutes… wait for it…wait for it… I remember Nappy… Ah mehhnnn… oh nooo…!! I need that 15 minutes EXACTLY to care for her…oh NOOOOOO!!!!.. Me thinking = Iru wahala wo ni mo kora misi bayi? (In direct translation to English – What kind of trouble have I put myself into like this?)… So I drag myself off the bed and grudgingly “take care of nappy” (AARRGGGHHHH!!!) and get ready for the dinner (which im really glad I attended)…. *sigh*.... O GA O…na so I go dey treat hair like new born pikin? ...hmmm... mchewwwww!

FYI: NOTHING has EVER, EVER come in between me n my SLEEP before…

That’s basically how its been… a LOVE/’HISS’ affair…. I loved it A LOT on Tuesday tho ( 8^th November) cos while hanging with my girls Dami and Lamide, I got alot of compliments from random peeps about how my TWA (teeny, weeny Afro) suits me…. how it looks soft and all n all n all …hehe… *blush*… On that note, however, Nappy may not be a TWA for too much longer cos im seeing some growth and getting a little nervous about it cos that means I have to pay MORE ATTENTION!!!… hmmm… ok o…hmmm… lets see how it goes… Oh yeah, by the way, Olamidun (a darling girlfriend who also encouraged me to get on the natural hair journey) finally saw Nappy on Friday (4^th November) and she absolutely LOVED Nappy. ABSOLUTELY (don’t *yimu* jo… she’s blunt and doesn’t lie to me soo I believe her)… yayyyy… J

Generally, I sense that a lot of people are getting used to Nappy and on top of that, they are beginning to crush on her a lot…. U seeeeee!!!….. I told uuuuuuu….. They actually ARE getting used to it!!!!... Even though…. *insert embarrassed smiley*, I have a coupla new nicknames like … Simbi, Nkechi, Janet (both pronounced with an igbo accent), Ta-ta, Omo Skool (School Girl), Amber *blush* and strangely, still, OLD MAMA YOUNGIE (only my boss calls me that) *insert MAD smiley*… oh well… I don’t care… I still love Nappy even though she has somewhat earned me these “undignified” titles… *sigh*… the things we do for love…. (Just hope I don’t change mouth by the next tym im posting…lol..) J