Fro log: Changing shampoo

These past few weeks I've noticed that my hair seems to be drier. I'm doing all the usual stuff: washing and DC'ing once a week, braiding/twisting daily (okay there have been a few exceptions when I've been knackered from work) but nothing major has changed, except my shampoo. Throughout last year, I was using Tresemme shampoos and conditioners. In the beginning, the products on their own were a bit too drying, but then I found the perfect mix by adding avo oil and aloe vera gel to my shampoo and since then I've been in love. My hair was coming out soft and bouncy after washing and never felt that squeaky feeling that the drying shampoo would.

Then I went to Dar and bought a couple Herbal Essences shampoos and conditioners because the natural hair world swore by them. I love the conditioner. Love the smell, love it in my daily spritz, love it in my hair. But I was never completely sure about the shampoo. I decided that I was on my way to becoming a product junkie last year when I had about 4 bottles of different shampoos etc. So to curb it, I figured I'll only buy shampoo when what I have finishes. My Tresemme finished literally at the end of last year. So this year I began using the Herbal Essences. At first it was still too drying, so I added avo oil and aloe vera juice. But the past couple of wash days I've really paid attention to how my hair feels afterwards and it's not quite right. Since everything else in my routine is pretty much the same but my shampoo, I think I'm going to go back to old faithful and hopefully things will change. Otherwise maybe I'll reduce the number of shampoos and swap to co-washing more often. Will have an update soon.

This week's looks + first full updo

Me on Monday:

 

 

I had washed and braided my hair as usual on Sunday but last week Monday I wasn't happy with how my braid out had come out. It was just too wirey looking and gappy so I decided to just try getting my hair all together and figuring it out as I went along. I used no gel, just about 20 or 30 pins! I left my front bit out to make a slight bump. I pinned it down after securing the back. My issue was the "ponytail" bit of my hair, I wanted it to almost look like a bun with no hair sticking out. So I closed it up with the clip...

A bit crooked but did the job! 

Me yesterday (Tuesday):

 

 

LOVED this! This is how a side fro should look like, well at least for my length, lol. Was very happy with how this came out. I re-braided my mabutu on Monday eve, this time slightly fatter. Undid on Tuesday morn, ruffled it up a bit then spritzed my left side and gelled it down. Then as I was holding down the hair, I used pins to secure. Tied my scarf around to flatten, making sure not to squash my right side et voila :D

Me on Wednesday & Friday:

 

Loved the side fro so much, I rocked it on the other side on Wednesday. On Wednesday eve, I'd just flat twisted the whole head as I was knackered. In the morn, I figured I'd just tie my scarf but as I was doing it, I thought I'd try letting out a bit of hair in the front as I'm now addicted to some "hang" lol. So I braided two fat mabutu right in the front while styling the rest. I unbraided just before heading to work, pinning the front down so it hung a bit. Loved being able to look up and see my hair in my face haha.

All about Flax Seed

Since going natural, I've been on a quest to find products that would work on my hair better than commercial stuff. I've kind of stayed away from natural shampoos etc. but pretty much everything else is homemade. So when I came across comments and stories about flax seed gel, I first thought "what on Earth is flax seed?". Then Emma told me about how she uses it and makes it herself at home. I never really gave it much thought after that until about a week ago when I noticed my ORS Lock and Twist gel is starting to run low. So instead of planning on buying a new one, I figured maybe I can give it a go. I pass by packets of flax seeds every week when grocery shopping and it's affordable (I think) so hey, why not right? If something natural can work just as well as something commercial but it's more beneficial because of its natural properties, I'm game! But I also need to do a bit of research. Here's what I've found so far on flax seeds...

Flax is an erect annual plant growing to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall, with slender stems. The leaves are glaucous green, slender lanceolate, 20–40 mm long and 3 mm broad. The flowers are pure pale blue, 15–25 mm diameter, with five petals; they can also be bright red. The fruit is a round, dry capsule 5–9 mm diameter, containing several glossy brown seeds shaped like an apple pip, 4–7 mm long.

Flax is grown both for its seeds and for its fiber. Various parts of the plant have been used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, hair gels, and soap. Flax seed is the source of linseed oil, which is used as an edible oil, as a nutritional supplement, and as an ingredient in many wood finishing products. Flax is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens.

Brown Flax Seeds

Flax seeds come in two basic varieties: (1) brown; and (2) yellow or golden. Most types have similar nutritional characteristics and equal numbers of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids. The exception is a type of yellow flax called solin (trade name Linola), which has a completely different oil profile and is very low in omega-3 FAs. Although brown flax can be consumed as readily as yellow, and has been for thousands of years, it is better known as an ingredient in paints, fiber and cattle feed. Flax seeds produce a vegetable oil known as flaxseed or linseed oil, which is one of the oldest commercial oils, and solvent-processed flax seed oil has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.

Benefits for the hair:

Flaxseed is very rich in Omega-3 oils, those essential fatty acids that are so important for our health, and the health of our skin and hair.

Regular Users of Flaxseed on their hair are reporting that there was a notable difference in helping to prevent hair loss as well as strengthening the hair. Users found that their scalp felt good thus producing nice healthy vibrant strong hair. We are finding this now to be a common case that users of flax seed are finding less and less hair on their pillows and since using flax seed on their hair less has been falling out and their existing hair feels stronger and more vibrant.

Hair Products

There are many products you can buy on the market now that contain Flaxseed nutrition. These can be found in hair sprays, hair mousses etc.

Recipes I've found:

2 Tbsp Whole Flax Seeds
1 cup water
Pure Aloe Vera Gel, if desired
Few drops of essential oil for scent

or:

½ cup of flax seed
3 cups of water (use 1½ to 2 cups for a slightly thicker gel)
1 oz Avocado Oil
1 oz Aloe Vera Gel

Instructions:

Bring water to a boil. Stir the seeds into the water and reduce heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until a gel-like lotion is formed. Strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth into a small bottle. Add essential oils and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If desired, you can add some pure aloe vera gel for its moisturizing properties. Fill the bottle with flax seed gel until bottle is about 3/4 full, then fill to the top with pure aloe vera gel. Gel will not flake or make the hair hard or crunchy. Safe to use everyday.

This week's looks + new hairstyle

Me last Saturday:

 

A day before wash day. I'd slightly combed as usual and instead of pulling my hairline back, I brushed a bit in the front to lie along the line. I think it made my hair look a bit softer.

Me on Thursday:

 

 

This was a newish updo style I tried after seeing Colouredbeautiful's tutorial on how she does her puffs. I'd never thought of it and it's so simple, I just didn't push my headband anywhere in the front. To give the front a bit of hang, I used some pins in a few sections.

Me on Saturday:

 

This one's fast becoming old faithful lol. I'd been bad with braiding in the evening two days in a row so by yesterday morning, my hair was half shrunken and undefined. I decided I wanted to do an updo and quickly braided some mabutu in front and flat twists at the back. Let them sit for about an hour then undid and styled as usual. I used the pins to hold my hair down in the front again to give it some "hang". Totally worked :)

This week's looks

Me on Thursday:

This is the following day after my blow out. On Wednesday eve, I spritzed my hair and made chunky mabutu before sleeping. In the morn, I sprizted again as usual and undid and fluffed. I didn't feel like styling it so just let it be.

Me today (Friday):

 

 

I flat twisted last night (after spritzing), spritz and undid this morning. Lightly finger combed and also used my afro pik on the bottom hair bits to straighten it a bit. Spritzed the edges, put gel and tied back as usual. Flattened with scarf.

First heated blow out

I skipped wash day on Sunday. Partly because I was really enjoying my weekend...and was lazy. The other reason was I was also trying to see how long I can stretch out the time between washes. But my Tuesday, my hair had shrunken and was feeling almost greasy. So Wednesday morning, I couldn't handle it anymore and so I co-washed it. I hadn't co-washed in ages, so it was an interesting "experience". I quickly put flat twists in and did my thing. It felt sooooo good! Now I know I can't skip wash day like that again, my hair's used to and looking forward to getting some water every week. When I didn't last week it was almost like "What?! No water? Hmm, okay I'll show you" then off it went and had a lil tantrum, lol.

Anywho, decided to try blow drying it with heat for the first time since transitioning last year. I'd been wanting to do it for awhile but never got round to it. While my hair was still in twists, I sprayed some Tresemme heat protectant spray all over. I let it settle for a couple minutes. Then I undid the twists and began combing with my shower comb to detangle it. Once detangled, I began drying section by section. I tried to do it quickly, about ten minutes max so my hair wouldn't get fried. After drying, I rubbed a bit of zesty lemon all over and shaped it with my afro pik. Et voila:

 

I was so happy to finally show more length to my hair. And the results are SOOO different to when I dry it on low heat. I know I won't be doing this often though, cos quite a few strands of hair broke off but it was a really nice change to how I usually style it. So maybe 2-3 times a year, depending. Lol, peeps at work couldn't stop commenting. Best one: "Now THAT's a fro!!"

Last week's looks

Me on Thursday:

Me on Friday:

Me on Sunday (yesterday):

I loved that I could finally rock my scarf this way! So much so, I'm going to incorporate it into today's outfit :D

To colour or not to colour? That is the...

I know I've been debating whether I should colour my hair or not for awhile. But it's now March 2012, and I still haven't done it! I've heard way too many horror stories about other naturals colouring their hair then having to chop it off again because of damage etc. etc. Truth is, I'm scared. I feel like I've come a long way and I'm happy with my hair atm and I don't want to rock the boat. But then another half of me thinks, life's too short, why not just colour it?! I feel like there are quite a few considerations...eg.

Firstly, what colour? I'm torn between my fave go to extension hair colour of red. But not soda red, more like a reddish brown and also like a light brown. I see natural girls online who are rocking some gorgeous colour but I don't know how I might end up looking with it.

Then, there's the fear of damaging my relatively healthy curls. My hair, as it is, gets dry dry dry. I have to spritz it twice a day and braid it/twist it nightly. ATM, I'm using just normal shampoo mixed with some aloe vera juice and avo oil. So if I dye it, I probably will have to moisturise it more often and also be careful about which products I'm using on it. Although I'm more comfortable with my hair now than last year, I'm still not a 100% connaisseur yet. And things can change, especially with winter coming up soon. Then if I dye it, how long am I going to show it off before I put braids in for a protective style??

Sigh. Maybe I should try a semi-permanent dye and see if I like it or not. Then when summer comes around again later this year, after my protective styling, I jump in and dye it and show it off for the rest of the season. It's a thought...

1 year post relaxer; Month 9 review

A year ago this week, I decided to stop relaxing my hair. I'm very conscious of the time that's passed but in a way it also doesn't feel like a year. It's hard to imagine that just a little over a year ago, I was still in the "I can't leave the house without my hair relaxed/weaved/braided" frame of mind. Natural hair wasn't even on my radar at that point. But when I last retouched my hair and the hairdresser turned me around to look myself in the mirror, the idea had been planted. The next day, I woke up and told Kev I'm going to stop relaxing my hair.

At that time, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew my hair was not happy and was tired so I had to do something new. The only thing that made me stick to my decision was that if I had spent so much time and energy in making my relaxed hair look great, and learn how to care for it, surely I can do the same for my own. naturally grown hair. Surely. And that's what I did, and continue to do. Now, a year down the line of not relaxing, my hair has grown to 5-6". It wasn't easy but it was exciting! I loved researching and discovering this whole new world of online naturals that I never knew existed. Without the internet, and the women on it sharing their knowledge and experiences, I would have been entrenched in some really bad hair practices. The first of which is probably combing my hair while dry.

So far, I've gotten frustrated but never have I thought of my hair so hard and unmanageable that I NEED to relax it to make it easier. I just thought, I need to give it more time. I need to give myself more time, hopefully one day I'll get so used to it. And that point came a few weeks ago, that it's become second nature now to twist my hair before bed, spritz in the mornings and evenings, wash and comb once a week. That's it. I now FINALLY understand what peeps are talking about when they say "listen to your hair". I can tell now, with all the dense curls I have sitting on my head, that it's dry. It can be oily but it's not moisturised. There's a subtle difference and I notice it now. I know if I dare go to bed without twisting it, I'll be shedding 3x as much hair when detangling day comes.

This month has been chilled. I've been trying to let my fro rest before putting another protective style in. I haven't taken many photos this month, mainly because I've been in such a rush in the mornings but also because I haven't really been doing anything new. Ummm, except for that nightmare of an experimentation with the banana DC. Damn, lol. But last week I decided to leave my fro be the entire week, no styling. So I can give my edges a break. I love pulling my sides back, putting it in a puff etc. but I think my edges can only handle so much so I may have to do that sometimes. Which is cool cos it's still summer and I'm loving my summer style with my fro. It just compliments it.

So a year down the line, I'm glad for that day in the salon. Because if it wasn't for that disaster, I wouldn't be natural now, sporting a healthy, thick ass mass of hair on my head. I'm still as excited as ever to see it grow higher, into an inconvenient fro :D

Here's to another year!

Look of last (last) week: Hat

I finally wore my hat the other week. I'd bought it agggges ago, when I first went natural and I think wore it like once. Then my hair just grew. And Kev began to wear it like it was his, lol. So I thought, it's a lost cause, my fro's way too massive to wear such a hat. Beanie, okay, I've figured it out, but hats like fedoras? No ways...then I saw her:

 And I was inspired...

 

I think now that I know how I can wear it, I can experiment more with outfits :D