This hairstyle is perfect for people that have sensitive scalp or tender headed. It is also great for those who have not mastered the art of cornrowing their natural hair.
To create this style, here is what you do:
1. Section the hair into the style you want 2, Take one column and split into several sections 3. Secure with elastic tie after using gel for hold. (Using gel is optional) 4. Do connecting braids to create a faux cornrow look.
After Solange, Teyonnah is another major natural hair icon in the natural hair community. Her luscious mane is constantly a source of envy and 'natural hair goals'. Sometimes, we even wonder if she added extensions but we have come to learn that's it's all her hair and we can only appreciate it.
I'm sure you're just as curious as I am to find out what exactly inspired her natural hair journey which she began in 2010. Well, in a chat with New African Woman, she reveals how and why she ditched relaxers to embrace her gorgeous natural hair.
Read excerpts below.
On how she manages her big hair:
I mean, it’s the hair that came out of my head, so it’s literally learning how to style it, how to love it, how to care for it. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Felicia Leatherwood, who has taught me so much about my hair. It’s all about learning, it’s a learning process.
On her exact reason for going natural:
Hair can be an accessory like anything else, you don’t have to be natural. For me, it was really about self-acceptance. And from that point, if I can wake up as God made me and then decide if I want to have straight hair or put on a wig today, that’s fine. It’s a choice. But it wasn’t a choice for me before, I felt like I had to look a certain way, and I would like young women to know that you don’t have to look like anything or what anybody says you should look like. You can look like yourself just like God made you. You’re unique! You don’t have to bend, lighten and straighten to look like somebody else. You’re beautiful just the way you are. It’s only right, to learn to love and accept that.
On accepting her natural hair:
There was a moment when I realized, I am manipulating myself to look like something else. What do I actually look like? And I really wanted to know. So that began, a year of figuring out the transitioning process, and how to love and accept myself as I am.
Head over to NewAfricanWoman to read the rest of the interview.
A very Happy Tuesday to you Ladies! I tried out an Afro Puff on my hair for the very first time! I used a simple Hair Scrunchie , commonly used for tying your hair in a ponytail. Surprisingly, it turned out pretty good!
Enjoy the video I did to achieve this simple Afro Puff!
I am sorry. We should have announced this on the blog since last week, just like we did on our other platforms, but I've literally been cut off from reliable internet since the 14th of December, and been an interenet percher. But better late than never anyway.
12 days of Christmas has been going on on African Naturalistas. 7 days have gone, and we have 5 days left.
Free shipping on all orders
Free bottle of hair growth oil elixir on all orders above N8,000.00
Free Christmas gifts on all orders.
Orders must be placed directly from African Naturalistas. Don't be told, don't delay. Offer valid while stock lasts.
Go to Africanaturalistas.com/ourstore or call 0809 137 7699 or send emails to orders@africanaturalistas.com to place your Christmas orders.
Even though most of us Naturalistas dread the thought of using water on our hair frequently mostly cause of shrinkage,water is still one of the best things we can use to pamper our hair! Our hair can also get thirsty (dryness) and thus can be quenched with water.
Below are some of the benefits of water for natural hair
- Drinking 6-9cups of water a day makes our hair stronger and thicker.
- Water helps our body to flush out toxins which allows for quick hair growth.
- Water also keeps our hair hydrated from the insides.
- Washing your hair with just natural and ph balanced water leaves your hair healthier and softer.
I trust you didn't know water is that important on our natural hair journey but now that you have read it here, substitute those frizzy drinks for water during this festive holiday.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS
We love hearing from you
See you in the comment
Section
Don't go empty handed to that Christmas party. Here is something you can take along. PepperMint Flaxseed Gel.
You will only need 3 ingredients: Water, Flaxseed and Peppermint.
This gel will make you hair shiny and the smell is amazing!!
December - the month of parties, weddings and all kinds of celebrations is almost over. A lot of people have been wearing protective styles - braids, crochet braids, wigs, etc. But for those of us who have our hair out, I thought this pretty simple hairstyle would work for some of your outings. Enjoy!
The 17th edition of Naturals In The City(NITC) has come and gone and as usual, we had a swell time. If you didn't attend, you definitely missed a lot which is why I have put together this little recap.
But before then, it is worth noting that this time, there were no workshops or hair talks just professionals teaching us about how to take care of health.
Have you ever tried African threading? I was reading some
posts on ways to stretch natural hair without heat and came across African
threading some time back. So I tried it.
My hair before threading... shrinkage
After threading
First, I washed my hair and applied Dark and lovely oil moisturizer
and Cantu shea butter leave-in conditioner before proceeding to section my
hair. My mum threaded my hair for me. She sectioned my
hair into about 9 and wrapped the thread (I used yarn) on it. It was not tight and
I wore the threaded hair for two days before I loosened it.
I wore it out. People stared...
This was the result.
Let it fro
I was really glad with the result. I finally got to see that
my hair is growing as I was actually not seeing much growth at first.
My hair before and after stretch
Next time, I’d section my hair up to 15 to 20 sections so my
hair would be better stretched.
So have you ever tried stretching your natural hair with threading? Or Would you love to try it?
I've never really been a fan of trimming. Heck, for the first two years of my natural hair journey, I didn't trim my hair. I actually got my first trim this year and I'm already looking forward to the next one.
Why the change of heart, you might be wondering. I think it finally dawned on me that I am doing myself. See, I've always been particular about the length of my hair. Particular and not obsessed. There's a difference. So, I really wanted to see the length my hair could go so I did not trim because I thought it meant that my hair would be shorter. What I should have done was to get mini trim so by the the time I went got to the salon, they gave me a major trim without my consent. I didn't realize this until weeks later when I was doing a length check. My hair was actally shorter. I didn't get over it for months.
Now, that I'm over it, I've come to appreciate it.
So why do you need a trim?
Your ends are the oldest part of your hair. Which means the longer your hair get, the older and weaker your ends become. If you are anything like me, you will know how hellish it is to hold on to your weak ends. Deep conditioning and moisturizing become a nightmare so it's best you let go of them.
Also, it unhealthy. Those ends become more prone to split ends, single strand knots and breakage. If you don't cut it off, it increase and join the rest of your healthy ends. So, the earlier the better. Try not to hold on to your ends because of length.
How do I know it's time to trim?
When your ends become ragged and doesn't take products. As much as you try to moisturize and deep condition, it never seems to bulge. CUT IT OFF!!
Ideally, trimming should be part of our regimen so there's no particular method to it. Find what works for you and stick to it. If it's every three months? Fine. Every six months? No problem. Once a year? whatever works for you.
Who should trim for me?
Asmuch as I advise DIY, I think it's better to get a natural hair stylist to trim for you rather than doing it yourself. If you're not a fan of salons, just make sure you wash your hair from home. That way, they won't charge you an arm and leg for washing and trimming.
A very Happy Tuesday to you Ladies! After travelling back home to Kenya briefly, being back in the UK,I cannot help but to make comparisons between the massive growth in the Natural Hair movement in Africa and the presence of the movement here in the UK. Here are my views....
Hello ladies. Yes, I know. It's been ages and ages since we brought this column to you. Nothing dramatic happened. It's just because I abruptly stopped going to the salon. I wanted a personalised regimen for 6 months before the wedding, and I didn't want anyone touching my hair except absolutely necessary.
Last week, I had to go to O'Naturals to get my hair prepped up for the wedding happening this Saturday. Since the wedding is not taking place in Nigeria, we are not going with too many tools, so it is absolutely necessary to have the hair prepped.
Yes, O'Naturals will be catering for my hair at our destination wedding. Yaay. That is one burden lifted off our shoulders. Sadly, we won't be going with our makeup artist, so we are still looking for a way round that.
If you have not seen the hair O'Naturals did for the court wedding last month, here is a picture for you.
You can check out the other pictures by clicking here.
So back to the post. I got to O'Naturals last week. The hair was properly detangled, as it has been in a bun for a while, and then washed... first with my medicated shampoo, and then a moisturising shampoo. After this, my scalp treatment was applied to my scalp, and then African Naturalistas Deep Conditioning Mayonnaise (also sold at O'Naturals Salon) was put on my hair. Then I got under the steamer for 30 minutes.
After the second wash, the hair was left to dry a bit. Leave-in conditioner and oil was applied to the scalp, for sealing. And then we proceeded to
Thread!
Of course, I am not carrying a threaded style for the wedding, which everyone has been asking me. They keep wondering while my hair has been neatly, freshly, and tightly threaded when I have a wedding in less than a week, lol.
After threading, the hair threaded strands were neatly arranged, dreadlocks style, and then put in a bun. At that point, I wished I wouldn't have to take down the style so soon. So I promised myself that I would come back sometime next year to do the style again.
By the time we were done, this was what the style looked like.
A photo posted by WordsByAtilola.com (@hattylolla_) on
So what do you think about this hair style? If you were to wear your natural hair for your wedding, will you consider this an option for a prewedding stretch if you don't want to use any stretching tools. Let's have your thoughts in the comments section.
Hairstyle Lounge was brought to you by O'Naturals Salon. No money exchanged hands in making this lounge a reality. To make your hair at O'Naturals, visit the salon at 54 Ogudu road, Ogudu-Ojota Lagos or book an appointment by calling 0818-802-4444 / 0815-802-4444.
Oatmeal is much more than something we take for breakfast, oatmeal is a natural moisturiser and is very nourishing for natural hair!
Yeah! You read right! (I am already laughing at all the side comments I would get).
Hair benefits of oatmeal
- Oatmeal can act as an emollient and help thickens the hair!
- Oatmeal soothes itchy scalps and regular use can treat dry and itchy scalps, since oatmeal is a natural moisturiser.
- Oatmeal strengthens and maintains healthy hair length. Daily use can help with length retention and help attain hair goals.
- Oatmeal can help the elasticity of our hair,which helps prevent breakage.
- Oatmeal is super rich in vitamin B which allows for moisture retention.
How to use Oatmeal for hair.
Ingredients ::
* 1/2 cup of oatmeal
* 1/2 cup of milk
* 3 tbs of olive oil.
Directions::::
# mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
# comb out you hair
# apply from root to tip
# leave in for 30 - 40 mins
# rinse out with warm water
# shampoo as usual.
If this is just to yucky for you or you think this is just a waste of a good breakfast during this recession, then you can consume your oatmeal regular and let it work it's magic from the inside!
I really think you should try this mask, especially If you have manipulated your hair a lot lately.
We love hearing from you
See you in the comment
Section.
In this video, I show you how to Finger Comb your Natural Hair. This is different from Finger Detangling.
When you finger comb, you are styling the hair, whereas, when you finger detangle, you are detangling the hair to wash your natural hair. Finger combing natural hair helps to retain length which shows how to grow your natural hair. It reduces breakage on the hair and also split ends caused by using a tool .
HOW TO FINGER COMB NATURAL HAIR:
Step 1: Make sure that hair is sectioned into workable parts
Step 2: Moisturize your hair using the LOC method or the LCO method. Try not to saturate the hair with too much water. Doing so will cause shrinkage and further knots and tangles.
Step 3: Working from the ends of your hair to the roots of your hair, use your fingers like a comb and comb through.
Step 4: Shape your afro to the size you want
The holidays are upon us, and this means parties galore! End of year Office parties, Christmas parties, New Year parties, Wedding festivities and so much more! I came across West African Baby on Instagram and she recently shared a tutorial on this marvelous updo. It's for people with longer hair, but I'm sure you can recreate it with crochet braids.
I know my hair isn't as long as this, but maybe I should try it aye?
During the course of the week, I got my hair styled by Kemi 'bae' Lewis again. As always, I got to be a model for a demo during her 3 - Day Natural Hair Intensive Workshop. On the first day, my hair was styled for the red carpet and it just occurred to me that we haven't really been focusing on natural hair inspiration for the red carpet because trust me, with the influx of celebrates wearing their natural hair these days, natural hair stylists have upped their game.
So, if you have an event that requires you to get all glammed up, here's some inspiration for you. But first, Kemi Lewis' demo.
How are you all doing? Just want to share
some tips on how I grew my edges back. I shared a similar post earlier this year.
Sometime in 2014, my hair was shedding a lot and my hairline was so bad. I
actually made a post about it here. I searched online, watched various Youtube
videos which made me experiment on different things and I learnt a lot as well. Along
the line, I got to know about castor oil and the likes.
So I started massaging my hair with castor
oil regularly. Then I got peppermint oil, amla oil and coconut oil afterwards and
I saw tremendous changes. I also changed some habits and adopted new ones.
How did I do it?
1.I stopped making tight hair
styles. Whenever I braid, I try to tell the hairstylist not to pick my front
hair. Same goes with fixing, twisting and the rest. 2.I started massaging my front
hairline with oils as stated earlier, did hot oil treatments and moisturized my
scalp too. 3.I did not comb or brush my
front hairline, instead I use my fingers and most times I apply little gel to
make it slip. 4.I avoided packing my hair too tight. Whenever I want to get a pineapple fro look,
I tend to drag my front hair too much with my headband to make it firm. So I stopped doing that. I now leave it loose instead or get a loose band.
Oils I used 1.African naturalistas Castor oil 2.Amla oil 3.Natural Nigerian Peppermint oil
4.African Naturalistas Coconut
oil
You can also get:
-Rosemary oil and Jojoba oil
How I use my oils
-I mix my oils together
(coconut, castor, amla, peppermint) in a bottle and I apply regularly for at
least 3-5 times weekly -I add them to my deep
conditioning mix sometimes -I use them in my hot oil
treatments -I mix them with my leave-in
conditioner and hair butter
I know there are some people with the
issue of receding hairline. You can try using any of these oils especially
castor oil (It is very effective in stimulating hair growth) and you would
definitely see changes. I’m still using mine daily, well when I remember to do so..
For those who have experienced bald edges, how did you grow them back? Please share in the comment box to help
someone.
Please note that I tried it and it worked
for me that’s why I am sharing. So you could also give it a try and research
more on it likewise. I hope this tips help.
Wishing you Lovely Ladies a divine Tuesday! In this video, I share with you how I create my Smooth Bun on Natural Hair. This look is perfect for almost any occasion.
The first time I heard about Modest Muslimah Lounge, it was when they called us to buy the salon sizes of African Naturalistas products. It is a place where they cater to natural hair, do beauty treatments like macinure, pedicure, etc., and of course, draw henna tattoos. From their name, you can tell that they are muslims, and cater mostly to muslims, though their services are definitely open to people of other religion.
I have always fantasised about getting henna tattoo, but never been the type to go out of my way, just for beautification. So when the time for my traditional wedding came, I knew I would definitely be getting one. I thought of going to meet one of the women who draw it at Unilag, but since I wanted a whole package, which would include manicure and pedicure, I called Modest Muslimah instead.
We negotiated and fixed an appointment. A day to the appointment, I got a call from someone, with the greeting "wassalamualaikum" I immediately said "wrong number", lol, cos I could not think of anyone that knew me, and would call me, greeting me like a muslim. The caller then went on to explain that she's from modest muslimah lounge, and wanted to confirm I would still be coming the next day. I was impressed at this.
The next day, I went to the place. I was offered drinks and water, but I wasn't hungry or thirsty. The customer service was really good, although we had some back and forth about pricing... as per alaroro bride like me.
The manicure and pedicure was quite average, but since it wasn't my real motive for going there...
As for the henna tattoo, I chose the design I liked. There were so many to choose from, that I was spoilt for choice. The henna artist replicated the design to the best of her ability. I think she got the leg design better.
A photo posted by Modest Muslimah Beauty Lounge (@modestmuslimahlounge) on
The drawing of the tattoo
The total henna look
It was definitely more exposed on the Igbo outfit
The tattoo was able to serve its purpose. But what I was told would last 2-3 weeks lasted for only 4 days, This really pained me, cos I didn't like spending such money to last just 4 days, when I know lots of people who have had more lasting henna.
So for customer service and artist creativity, I give it to Modest Muslimah. But for the fact that the tattoo cleaned off pretty fast, Noooo.
What of you? Have you gotten a henna tatto before, would you like to get? If yes, would it be just casually or for a major event like a wedding or birthday?
If you find that gels dry up your hair, try doing this: Apply a moisturizer prior to putting the gel.
To help with length retention, focus on putting more moisturizer on your ends than the full length of your hair.
If you have to moisturize your hair several times a day, your moisturizer might not be working for you.
If you are experiencing breakage and have done everything; moisturizing, protein treatment, deep conditioning; check the water you use to wash or spritz your hair.
If you have hard water, this can be the culprit. Use distilled water to wash your hair after you have used a chelating shampoo to remove the mineral deposit from your hair.
When using Shea butter, always use either on damp hair, or on hair that has been moisturized with a water-based moisturizer.
Why???
Since Shea butter is a sealant, and not a moisturizer, when you use it on damp hair, water acts as the moisturizer and the Shea butter seals in the moisture that water puts in. If you apply shea butter on dry hair, it will not seal in any moisture and it will prevent moisture from getting in.
Make sure the grooved side of the bobby pin is facing down, against the skin. The ribbing is designed to grip hair and lock it in place, and you will capture more hair with the pin in that position.
When you moisturize your hair prior to stretching or manipulating it, you reduce the chances if it breaking.
Bushy ends, make smaller twists and seal with Shea butter after misting hair with water
In colder weather, avoid products that have glycerin high on the ingredients list. Glycerin draws moisture from the air to the hair on humid days, but when the air is cool and dry, glycerin draws moisture from the hair, thereby drying up your hair.
Doing hot oil treatments at least once a month will help the health of your hair.
Rinse out your conditioner using cool water. This will help close the scales in your hair cuticle and lock in the moisturizing agents that are in the conditioner.
Pour 1 cup of cold Aloe Vera Juice on hair as final rinse, great sealant and shine.
