Hi Naturalistas
As most of you already know, yesterday, African Naturalistas had its online meetup. The meetup was initiated for naturalistas to share with each other on issues they may be having or basically unanswered questions they'd want some answers to.
Here are some of the discussions from yesterday, I'm sure people that missed it may find some interesting bits
"I do a strong protein prepoo once a month: both hydrolysed (to fortify the hair from the inside) and unhydrolyzed proteins (to protect it from the outside). For example, whole eggs, SAA, hydrolysed Wheat protein, other Amino Acids, Milk Protein, Molasses and regular mayonnaise are used. I do add avery little protein to my prepoo each week though to fortify my hair for the washing process.
Weekly, I prepoo with things like Ghee or unsalted butter, a humectant, my butter mix(Cocoa butter, Shea butter, EVOO, EVCO, Avocado oil, Ben Oil) for at least 3 hours (sometimes overnight if there's time). I shampoo only with Black soap. Then deep condition with a mix of only penetrating ingredients; things like Agave nectar or Maple Syrup, EVOO, EVCO, Avocado Oil, Ben Oil, etc added to a deep conditioner. I rinse it out with ACV solution, Then I style with a mix of enriched leave-in conditioner, butter mix and gel/setting lotion.
I dust every three months, clarify monthly, massage my scalp with essential oils twice a week, wrap my hair at night in a satin scarf and sleep on a satin pillowcase. I try other products, and do not use all the aforementioned at once. It might sound like much, but I do enjoy grooming myself, lol."
I copied this from an interview I read but I'm wondering what she means by unsalted butter and mayonnaise (are they ones we eat?). Apart from shea butter what other butters can one use as a sealant?
Answer: I think she means regular unsalted butter that people eat, like oldenburger, kerrygold, etc. Protein treatment every months? Prepoo every week? Clarify twice a week? This ladies process seems overwhelming, and like an overkill to me. How long can one keep up with this kind of complex regimen? One year, three years, ten years? As I would say, just do what works for you.
No wonder someone's mom was accusing her of tempting a baby by putting food in her hair! Butter, eggs, is she baking a cake? And that hair regimen, how does she find the time to have a job or study or do anything else? Please can someone tell me what SAA is? And I've never heard of dusting! What on earth is that? I thought dusting was something you got other people to do to your furniture.
Answer: Lool. Dusting is when you trim your hair, by taking so little inches off that it looks like dust when you see it on the floor. SAA??? Errhhhmmmm, how about I don't know that one. I finally found the meaning of SAA. SAA – Silk Amino Acid. Some people can like to work sha, lol
"I'm Dayo, 10th month of transitioning; still got the textured end so as to be able to manage my hair. I have scanty, almost-non-existent front hairline; reason why I decided to go natural in the first place. I've been following/trying to follow ur posts (your hair terms/terminologies s/times throw me). I'm already having ideas on how to manage/look forward to the all-grown, natural head mass; tho for now I'm at a loss of what to do not to stress d front (any pull stresses/tears it). been on caps; fixed 2ce in the last year. don't knw exactly where to start and what to start with to strengthen my hair. and what, in simple naija/lagos language is Crochet braids?"
"Another question I have is concerning locs. By accounts, it's a process to get them done. How many times did you have to visit the loctician to get the hair properly loc'd? Can they be done in patterns or haphazardly?"
Answer: Takes 4-6 weeks to get permanently locked o, and you must go there every 6 weeks, and it might take longer if the circumference of your hair is like baby edges. But once it is locked, then you can visit the loctician like once a month or once in 6 weeks to relock. It depends on if you want a scalpy-looking dread, or otherwise.
"Here's my question... bantu knots and knot outs! I would not wear bantu knots in public, but would like to try bantu knot outs. I failed miserably 2 years ago when I tried them. I think I might have put too much gel or I just didn't let the knots dry out before take down. Point is I didn't have any curls to speak of.
Any pointers?"
Answer: Looooollll. I think the products used to set the curls count, then if you allow the hair dry well too. Also the hair texture counts. I know ladies will type 3 hair always have better-defined curls when it comes to bantu knot outs, but doesn't mean type4 ladies too don't achieve it. Give bantu knots a try too. They would look great on you.
Make sure your hair is dry before you take down the bantu knots.
"Challenges I'm facing now are tangles and moisture retention. My hair coils up around each other when it come in contact with water and this causes horrible tangles, so detangling becomes a nightmare. And my hair is super dry like really crunchy I moisturise by spraying a mix water, cream and oil and then seal with raw shea butter but my hair still dries up before the day is over. I don't know what to do about these issues"
