First Henna Experience

As I mentioned in my last post, I purchased some henna for use on my hair; it was an interesting experience and I will definitely be incorporating henna treatments in my hair care process. Prior to mixing my henna I did tons of research on the Internet to find out how to best mix it.

I decided to mix it up following Curly Nikki's recipe, which is;

Henna

GreenTea

Honey

Henna Mixture

I used up about half of the packet of henna; I think it's about 50g (the packet is not labelled but I'm guessing it is 100g). I brewed 2 bags of green tea in 1.5 (approx) cups of water and let it cool down before adding to henna. The quantity of honey I used maybe be about 2 tablespoonfuls, I added honey when I was ready to apply the henna.

I was aiming for a mashed potato consistency when mixing the henna but I added a little too much green tea. 

The henna I have is Body Art Quality, with nothing (not other herbs) mixed in, so as par my research after mixing up and I left it to stand overnight for dye release. 

16 hours later I had this...

I applied henna on Clean, washed, damp hair and applied it as I would conditioner, making sure all strands were coated. Afterwards, I covered my hair in cling film and tied a scarf over it and went on with my day.

4 hours later, I was ready to rinse out as it was beginning to drip down my neck and face. 

I used loads of water in the rinsing process and stopped when the water started to run clear, I thought I was done but...I had twigs like particles left in my hair, so I used a cotton T-shirt to soak up some of the water and kind of 'fluffed' up my hair to remove the particles before proceeding to rinse again. Next time I will sift the henna powder before usage. 

Post henna

I expected my hair to feel 'hard' but it was surprising moisturised, I guess because of the honey. I followed up with a moisturizing deep conditioner all the same before putting my hair in twists. With BAQ henna, there is no drastic colour change and the henna tint takes a few days to oxidise and become more noticeable. 

Anyway, a few days later under sunlight I did notice the slight colour tint and I am happy with that. 

Longing for colour

Recently I have felt like colouring my hair but I have been reading up on (commercial/boxed) hair colour and decided against it.

The decision to colour afro textured hair is one that has to be thoroughly researched and prepared for; preparation before colouring, who does the colouring and subsequent care for the hair after colouring. It is advised to have hair colour done by a professional and I know I do not have any such professional around (I will not let a Nigerian hair stylist loose on my hair with colour, no way).

Anyway, I started to look into henna treatments and decided to go that way for now until I can get my hair professionally coloured or I get over the longing for colour (lol). I was able to get hold of some henna (at Emjay supermarket, Victoria Island) and would be 'henna-ing' sometime this week.

MHC Minty Shea Butter Mix

About a week ago I made a batch of whipped Shea butter and would like to share the recipe with you.

Shea Butter
Coconut Oil
Grapeseed oil
Castor oil
Peppermint oil

Whipped Shea butter is so easy to make; I started by melting the Shea butter. To melt I put the Shea butter in bowl and placed that bowl in a bigger one with some hot water and left for a few minutes to melt.

Melting the Shea butter

Melted Shea butter

After the Shea butter was all melted I added in Castor, Grapeseed and Coconut oils. I did not measure the quantity of oils, I just eyeballed it. I also added a few drops of Peppermint oil. I left the mixture for a while and then started to whip using an electric whip until I achieve a fairly creamy texture. Afterwards, I scoped the mixture into the container and put in the refrigerator to solidify. Less than an hour later, I took it out and had a ready to use mix.

Whipped Minty Shea Butter

 



This is a good way to use up Shea butter and it also makes it easier to scoop. This mix can be used to seal in moisture and is also a good body butter :)

Happy hair growing!

Hair Update and plans

I realized I have not posted an update on my hair recently and decided to post one. I had box braids done around the second week in March and took them out on the 21st of April after a little over 6 weeks.

I was a bit worried about my edges because the braider made them too tight and I had to take down the edges after a couple of days. Overall, my hair thrived even with my being lazy with hair care.

I have a three new products added to my arsenal; ORS replenishing conditioner, cantu Shea butter leave-in and (finally!) a sulfate free shampoo, CON Argan oil moisture and shine shampoo.

Last weekend I decided to protective style for a few months, I'm thinking three months, because it is something that has always worked for me. In line with this I am starting a personal protective styling challenge and will provide more details on that in a separate post.

For the next month my protective style will be wigs. The wig I am currently wearing is a short one with bangs shown in the picture below.

Shopping for hair products in Nigeria (2): Casa Bella

Hair products are big part of a healthy hair journey and I am always on the look out for quality and affordable products. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on a blog by a Nigerian lady based in Lagos, Ifeyinwa. In one of her posts she mentioned Casa Bella and I made a note to visit.
The right opportunity came on Workers' Day and I went the store in the Ikeja City Mall. I was so impressed with the selection of products available.

The brands they had in stock include;

• Beautiful Textures
• Elasta QP mango & olive butter
• Aphogee (protein treatments, leave in conditioner, shampoo)
• Keracare
• Roots of Nature
• Jamaican lime & mango
• Organics by Africa's Best
• Strength of Nature (profective mega growth)
• Creme of Nature Argan oil range
• Taliah waajid
• Cantu Shea butter for natural hair
• Groganics
• Mizani
• Giovanni
• Ojon
• African Pride
• Hawaiian Silky Moroccan Argan oil range
• Tresemme
• Herbal Essences conditioners (including HE Long Term Relationship)

There are a few others that I cannot recall unfortunately. They also have satin scarfs, bonnets rollers and combs (including wide tooth). I feel their products are competitively priced, especially as i have already seen some of the products priced (slightly in some cases) higher elsewhere.
They have a nice selection of wigs, short, long, straight and curly. I had my eye on a curly one which retails for N7,000 but I did not buy it. I purchased two items I actually need, the much raved about Cantu Shea butter leave in (N1,600 for 16oz) and CON sulfate free shampoo (N1,490 for 12oz).

It is great to have a store that stocks a wide range of hair care products. If you are looking for quality hair products, I recommend you visit one of the various Casa Bella stores.

Their Lagos locations are:
Adeniran Adesanya shopping centre, Surulere
The Palms Shopping Centre, Lekki
Ikeja City Mall, Alausa

Email: info@casabella.com.ng

Happy hair growing!

Video: SimplYounique

 

 

Hi,

Today I'm sharing a video from SimlYounique who I discovered a few months ago on YouTube. In this video she talks about a few techniques she uses/has used that help with length retention. I hope you can learn a thing or two. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Shopping for hair products in Nigeria (1)

When you decide to take better care of your hair and begin to read several blogs, you may realise the need to purchase new products. If you are in Nigeria, the immediate challenge may be where to get these products from. In this post, I will start up with products you can come across in supermarkets and stores around. It is important when selecting hair care products is to carefully examine the ingredients list.

The products you purchase may be dependent on your hair care needs or preference, for example you may want silicone-free products or may not mind mineral oil in your products. It all depends on you. Below is a list of products I have come across in several stores; a lot of them can be found in Shoprite and various supermarkets around town. I have included prices for the ones I have seen recently and can remember.

Cleansers/Shampoo
A sulphate-free shampoo is recommended as it is less harsh and does not strip the hair of natural oils. So far, I have not come across a sulphate-free shampoo in the stores here. My current shampoo has sulphates but I do not use it weekly and often dilute it before using. I often use (Dudu Osun) black soap (N110) as an alternative cleanser.

Conditioners
In your product arsenal you would need a moisturising deep condition, a protein deep conditioner and a leave-in conditioner. An instant conditioner is useful also for co-washing (washing with a conditioner instead of shampoo).
Some easy to find conditioners;
Protein: ORS Hair Mayonnaise N960 (size:494g)
Moisturising: dark and lovely ultra cholesterol conditioning mask (contains Mineral Oil)
Protein/Moisture balance: ORS olive oil replenishing conditioner N910 (12.5 oz)
Instant conditioner: V05 conditioners - N980 (several variants e.g moisturising, protein/anti-breakage, clarifying etc)
Leave in: Vitale anti-breakage conditioner
Gentle touch leave in conditioner N710 (contains a silicone amongst the ingredients)

Moisturiser
Our hair thrive on moisture, this is absolutely important. The best source of moisture is water, so you should look out for lotions with water as the first  ingredient.
Some easy to find water-based moisturisers;

Organics Extra Strength Olive Oil Growth Lotion N810
Organics Carrot Oil moisturiser
ORS Carrot Oil Moisturiser

Tip: Since water is the best moisturiser, it is possible to spritz your hair with plain ole' water and seal with a heavy butter/oil mixture (e.g shea butter mixture).

Oils
Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil N350
Coconut Oil (prices vary from vendor to vendor)
Shea Butter (prices vary)

Hope this information helps on your hair journey.

Happy Growing!