You Can Do It!

Kimmaytube on Fros

So I recently watched this video by Kim Love, where she talked about why she doesn't wear an unstretched 'fro' - well, at least not intentionally.  She explained that it just leads to tangles and potential breakage which could all be avoided by just keeping her styles in the confines of 'stretched styles'.  For me personally, I totally agree with KT's sentiments because of my current hair length, and goals.  My hair out for extended periods just equals more detangling than I find fun, and potential breakage.  So while I used to love wearing my puffs, I've seriously cut back on them. 

This is all subjective - if you have less hair, a looser texture, or aren't fanatical about retaining length, or simply love an afro, then go 'head, pick it out and rock it, if you like it, I love it!

I think textured (twistout/braidout) out styles are the way forward, as long as I'm trying to retain length to achieve longer hair. 



Twistout puff Jan 2010



Fluffed out braidout puff Jan 2011

Chunky braidout Apr 2011

Peace and love,

Pooks

How Can I Get My Hair to Grow?!

Source

Whether freshly BC’d (big chopped) or lifelong naturals, most (natural haired ladies) I come across – if they have more than a basic concern for their hair - are most concerned about getting their hair to grow.  They aren’t necessarily concerned with the hair’s overall health, lushness, etc.  That comes later if they really get into the ‘hair thing’.  The question largely, is ‘how do I get my hair to grow?’ 

Ready for this?  All you gotta do is…. stay alive and healthy!!  There’s no catch; all you have to do is keep breathing, eating (obviously a + if it’s quality food), moving (aside from being great for you, regular exercise increases blood flow to the scalp and brings nutrients to the hair follicle) and doing the other things that make you a living creature!  Unless you have severe vitamin deficiencies or medical problems which can affect hair growth or cause excessive dryness, your hair is growing.  Assuming there are no medical issues at play, you can expect an average growth rate of ¼ - ½ an inch per month.  (Some people will underachieve or exceed these margins; genetics play a role also). 

There are some things you can do to create an ‘optimal growing environment’, but fundamentally if your goal is longer hair, you have to shift from the ‘what can I do to get my hair to grow’ mindset to ‘what can I do to keep the hair I’m growing’!   

Naturally curly/coily/kinky hair tends to be dry.  Dry hair is more prone to breakage when manipulated.  Rough handling when detangling or styling can definitely contribute to breakage.  Some styles will increase the likelihood of friction on your ends, again leading to unnecessary breakage.  Whether your hair has high or low porosity, is thick or more fine (actual strand diameter) will also have an impact on how often you need to moisturise, styling choices and the levels of manipulation that your hair will tolerate.  Naturals with thick strands can get away with a lot more than some fine-haired naturals for example. 

This journey isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ kinda walk.  You have to invest time into learning your hair.  Finding your key steps and products will involve trial and error; patience is a must.  In future posts, I will be sharing what I believe are some of the key building blocks of a healthy hair regimen - the knowledge I’ve gleaned from my time learning about hair online or from books.  It’s not set in stone, and how much you apply is up to you, but I hope it helps.

Peace and love,

Pooks

My Initial Thoughts on the Tangle Teezer in Comparison with the Denman D41

Box Braids!

My favourite and most frequently worn protective style; versatile, long-lasting, allowing almost full access to the scalp, washable at will with no problems... I love my box braids! 

Recently I've discovered that whereas I used to love my braids when they were freshly done (because they showed off more length), nowadays I really don't like the first few days of box braids/pixie braids because it just looks too... well... scalpy.  It didn't used to bother me, but all of a sudden it... well, what can I say... does.

At about 2 weeks, my hair has got enough fuzz to it that my scalp is no longer seems to be screaming 'HELLO!!!' from my scalp.  Also when I'm in box braids I wash my hair at least once a week, sometimes more so the shrinkage begins.  When that advances, there are a whole new range of styling options, twistouts, braidouts, bantu knots... As opposed to always seeking to minimise it, I love shrinkage in my braids because my individual strands are still stretched and confined so they can't lose themselves in a horrendous tangle-fest. 

I'm going to take pictures throughout the life of this set of box braids.  For now... scalpy...

Video on my box braids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfH2aeYDuGM

Peace and love

Pooks

Curls from Wet Set Bantu Knots

Short compact curls one minute, fluffy fro or intricate cornrow style the next.  Don't you just love the versatility of natural hair?  This video shows how I set my hair after washing, to stretch it out.

Scalp Exfoliation with Brown Sugar - Take 2

*WARNING: 2nd 'journal entry-ish' post, conclusions to follow*

11/03/11

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup Yes to Cucumbers Colour Care conditioner

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp aloe vera juice

2 tsp Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying shampoo

I pretty much used the same method as the first time, but it was a bit more liquidy this time because I decided to add aloe vera juice this time.

My hair was pre-sectioned into about 5 big plaits.  I mixed the above together, and applied it to my scalp, rubbing vigorously through all sections for about 3 minutes and then twisted each section back up.  No water had touched my hair or scalp.

I rinsed out the micture while my hair still in the twists, and then applied AO GBP to each section, plaited up and deep conditioned using my heat cap for 40 mins. 

I then detangled with the conditioner still in my hair (something unusual for me),  loosely rebraided my hair, and rinsed.  I allowed my hair to airdry in towel for about 20 mins  (I did not manipulate my hair with the towel, just allowed excess water to get soaked into it, and then twisted with a squirt of AVJ/water spritz and KCKT, rewetted whole head then sealed with AOHC and chinee-bumped.

Scalp Exfoliation with Brown Sugar

*WARNING: 'journal entry-ish' post, conclusions to follow*

Experiment conducted: 02/02/11

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup Yes to Cucumbers Colour Care conditioner

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying shampoo

I mixed these ingredients in a little plastic bowl, applied to my scalp, rubbed vigorously through all sections (about 6) for about 3 minutes – no water had touched my hair or scalp.  Scalp felt as though it was being exfoliated, whilst hair felt oily.  Unsure if my hair was really clean, I decided to put some water (about 100ml) into a colour applicator bottle and added a squirt of clarifying poo.  I squirted this micture on the roots of my hair, then used the pads of my fingers to clean the scalp as usual.  Hair instantly felt like poo was in it, (felt rougher, sudded up).  No rinse.  Decided to add Aubrey’s White Camellia conditioner and 'buffer out' the shampoo (add conditioner on top of shampoo before rinsing).  Smoothed condish from about 1 inch from roots, all the way through to tips.  Plaited hair back up, rinsed thoroughly with lukewarm water.  Took pics of AMAZINGLY CLEAN SCALP – could feel the difference while rinsing.  Took each plait out and applied AO WC with tbsp castor oil in sections, sat under heat cap for 25 minutes. Rinsed out deep conditioning mix, plaited hair (25 plaits) after moisturising with Afroveda’s Curl Define.  I also added QB AOHC to the very ends before bed.

Winterizing My Hair Regimen

"Where's your tam?!!"  The words of my father as I was growing up, horrified that I was going out into the cold without a hat. 

Coming back from 3 months in a tropical climate (we're talking 28-30 degrees celsius erryday!) in November last year, I was horrified at having to endure snow and freezing temperatures back home in the UK.  I don’t like the cold at the best of times, so I was really going through…

Nowadays, a hat (with satin bonnet underneath) is my head/hair’s best friend.  Tightly coiled hair is renowned for being dry - some of that is pretty much inevitable because of the way our hair twists, turns and bends, it's very difficult for oil which the scalp naturally secretes to travel down the hair shaft.  Dry cold weather on top of that?  Take cover! 

Just before the big freeze commenced, my hair was in between protective styles, so I went on the offensive and put in some mini-braids (my natural hair only). 

How I am ‘winterizing my hair regimen’ to protect from the cold outside and dry harsh heat of central heating at home is:

• upping my M&S (moisturising and sealing) game
• consistently double protective styling, and
• covering my head 90% of the time whether I'm indoors or out. 

So far, it’s been working quite nicely to help me retain moisture.  Donning hats like this in dodgy weather also gives you a great opportunity to get in undercover deep conditioning sessions.  #hair tip