My day with Felicia Leatherwood - PART TWO

In my last post, I talked about the things I learned from the natural hair event with Felicia Leatherwood in Lagos, Nigeria. The post was too long and I wasn't anywhere near done, so I decided to split it into 2 posts. And here is the continuation...

SHRINKAGE

Let's face it. We have natural hair and because it's coily, it WILL SHRINK! There are ways to minimize shrinkage though, according to Felicia. After washing your hair, blowdry it (on cool or warm) until it's dry. Be sure to use a Heat protectant if you blowdry your hair. If you don't have Heat Protectant, you can use Leave-in Conditioner. NEVER USE OIL because the oil will heat up and FRY YOUR HAIR! When the hair's dry, put in your styling products (creams, gels, whatever) and style your hair. 

Felicia mentioned the Pineapple Method as a way to ensure your hair stays stretched/styled through several nights. See the picture below for steps, which can be used on mid-to-long hair. If your hair's shorter, make as many "ponytails" as necessary. When you wake up in the morning, just fluff and go! This also ensures that you don't have to retwist every single night.

Source

TRIMS

Felicia is of the belief that trims are not for everybody. You should trim only when you feel the need to. How do you know the need? When your hair starts to snag on your clothes, styling tools, etc. If you're going to trim, do it maybe 4 times a year, and trim off between 0.5 to 1 inch at a time. You can trim in two ways - go to a GOOD stylist and blowdry first OR put your hair in twists and DIY, trimming only the ends. 

TRANSITIONING

There weren't that many transitioners at the event, but Ms. Leatherwood did say a few things about it. There's no best way to transition. BC if you feel like it, Transition if you feel like it. If you're going to transition, some styling options for you would be Straw curls, Twists/outs or Bantu Knot-outs. This will give your whole hair a similar look. Because hair grows about an inch a month, when you're trimming off the ends, trim the same length of growth. 

HAIR TYPES

The only reason Felicia is into hair types, is simply because different hair types need different types of products. Gels work better on Type 3 (Curly) hair, whereas creams and oils work best for Type 4 (Kinky) hair. 

COLORING

Henna's one of the more popular ways to color natural hair, however it goes up only to Burgundy. She mentioned another dye, Naturtint, which is a vegetable dye and goes up to Blonde (I don't think it's available in Nigeria btw). A note in going blonde - you should never go from black hair to blonde hair - as it's too drastic on your hair health. You should do it stages, from Black to Brown to Red to Blonde, and do these in intervals of 6 to 8 weeks. If you're going to color your hair, make sure you DC at least twice a month, because dyed hair is usually drier and needs more moisture/conditioning. 

MISCELLANEOUS

• Of course we all know to use satin scarves, bonnets and/or pillows to sleep.
• Coconut, jojoba, and argan oil are good for hair and can be used on both the hair and scalp.
• Tea tree oil and Peppermint oil are good for itchy scalp and dandruff.
• It typically takes 5 to 6 months to see the FULL benefits/results of proper hair care. Don't do a treatment and expect your hair to change in 3 weeks!!!
• Your hair might get used to a product after you've used it for a while. Therefore, you should have an arsenal of 3 products that your hair absolutely loves, so that you can switch it up when need be.
• Styling products should NOT go on your scalp. So gels and holding products, etc should be applied on your hair only.
• Dandruff can be contagious - ENH???????????????? If you have dandruff, check to see how much sugar you consume cos that could be a trigger.
• TREAT, DO, STYLE, WASH, TWIST, BRAID, ETC your hair WITH LOVE!!! A lot of us dread doing our hair and only have stress on our mind. While doing your hair, have loving thoughts and send good energy to your hair. Treat it with kindness!

NATURALISTAS and ONE RELAXA!

As I said, I'd share some pictures of the event and different styles that I saw. Us ladies are CREATIVE!

MOI!!!!!!!!!! 

Felicia Leatherwood

Dabs of Naija Hair Can Grow. Her hair is looong and pretty!
See her polarizing event post here, that triggered the response from TMC

The picture doesn't do her hair justice! Her twistout was PERFECTION!

Blown out natural hair.

Side 1

Side 2

Side 3 - AWESOMENESS

She owns a natural hair salon in Dolphin Estate - 29C Ikorodu Crescent.

Felicia Leatherwood at work on a Transitioner

Transitioners can have natural hair styles too!

Berry and Felicia!

Whew! Thank goodness the writing is over! I learned quite a bit, and I hope you picked up one or two tips. Have a beaaaaaaaaaautiful weekend!

Berry Dakara