Oh, Look, Cocoa! Hey, feel, Softness!

Hey people!

Before I go into anything, we have more than 1000 views on le blog! *shakes shekere* *dances the Funky Chicken* *side-eyes other bloggers with 10s of thousands of view wondering why the excitement*. Many thanks for the clicks on this blog. They are much appreciated. Do come again :D

 

I should have written this post several days ago but I am getting lazy. Still, hair I am! Tehe!

Last week Wednesday, I tried bantu knot outs AGAIN! It looked promising at first then did a fast downwards spiral when it got to the 'out' stage. *sigh*.



Bantu Knots night before: Looking good

 

Unravelling the knots next day: Looking even better



Further unravelling to give body: What is This??!




[source]

I eventually put a comb through the thing. We trudge on.

 

So I set off after this hair mishap to get to e-centre at Yaba. I only went to see Pacific Rim and Despicable Me and ended up not only seeing those but parted with so much money on some impromptu shopping. Chai! *bites finger in memory of surviving account balance* I won't go into details on that but a little fraction of the money got spent on this hair AGAIN!

 

On my way to the mall centre plaza (really, what do you call that place), I made the most amazing discovery. A woman selling Cocoa right smack in the middle of Montgomery Street! She had so many! I immediately thought of some cocoa butter and made a detour towards her. She spoke no English, which was fine. I got one big cocoa for N200. I really wasn't sure what to do with it or how I was going to extract any butter from it but I was curious enough. She told me throw the cocoa pod on hard ground in order to be able to break it and that I shouldn't bother with a knife as it wasn't going to crack it. Then she said I was to lick the seeds. Interesting.

On getting to e-centre, after the movies, I did a quick dance to my new favourite store, Health Plus Pharmacy and parted with about 2000 naira in exchange for a bottle of Almond Oil and a bottle of Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I know I had just bought a new conditioner like 2 days before that but I'd explain why I bought this Natur Vital version.

Next day, I broke the cocoa pod just like the woman said to do. Threw it on hard ground while wrapped in a nylon bag and it easily split in two. Upon opening the pod, it revealed about 30 or so seeds covered in white succulent juice. I looked inside to see if I would find some butter but other than the seeds, all that was left was a hard interior. I then went on Google and searched. Google Google on the Web, where is the butter? Well, it would seem that the butter is actually gotten from the seeds. The seeds are dried and fermented and the butter is extracted. Oh well. If there was no butter, those seeds needed some licking! I dug in.

 

The taste was so nice. Very little anything to use to compare it. It tasted nothing like chocolate. I thought it would but my research revealed that all those chocolatey taste, smell, colour all come from the seeds after drying and extracting. If you see anyone selling these, please buy it. Everyone needs to know what cocoa seeds taste like. Weird that it's not commonly seen in Lagos even as it is widely grown in the South-West.

Pocketful of sunshine

As for the almond oil, I know I've been buying a lot of oils lately but I felt I needed this one. Almond oil is really good as a carrier oil for the hair as it is a good sealant and good for hair growth and thickening hair ;). I wanted to get some Jojoba oil too but it cost N4300! I did a quick 180degrees.



200ml/N1200

You have probably only heard of Sweet Almond Oil as being good for hair. Well, this Almond Oil is the same as Sweet Almond Oil. Here's how you can tell the difference. If it's a carrier oil or oil in a big carrier oil sized bottle labelled 'Almond Oil', it is the Sweet Almond Oil. Where you find it as an essential oil though, that is Bitter Almond Oil. Sweet Almond Oil is the carrier oil while Bitter Almond Oil is an essential oil. No need to fret when you see just plain 'Almond Oil'. :)

 

When I bought the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner, I was actually looking for a good leave-in and then my eyes caught this. I've always known Natur Vital as my mum is a loyal customer and they are known for using natural ingredients for their products. I remember the one time I wanted to buy the Shampoo though, it had sulfates so I never went near it after that. This time though, I discovered that this particular conditioner had no silicones or parabens or colourants or preservatives or mineral oil in its ingredients but even boasted to containing "100% organically grown Ginseng and Sage extracts". I was sold at that point.

N880

[click for a closer view]

 

So, I did a quick comparison of both the V05 Tea Therapy Blackberry and Sage Conditioner against the Natur Vital Sage Conditioner. I used the V05 on one half of my hair and the Natur Vital on the other half. Here's a quick review:

 

V05 Tea Therapy Conditioner:

• Smelled AMAZING! Blackberries.
• Had lots of slip
• Detangling was a breeze
• My hair still smelled of blackberries after rinsing out.
• Light conditioner. A bit watery.
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

 

Natur Vital Sage Conditioner:

• No striking scent
• Really thick consistency
• A little went a long way
• Gave good slip
• Its thickness makes it good for deep conditioning
• My hair was left soft afterwards
• Contains certified organic sage which is very good for scalp health and hair growth

My verdict: Both are fantastic! I'm glad I own them. The scales tilt a little more towards the Natur Vital for me though because of its thickness and more natural contents.

 

As for my oils! (Bet you thought this post had ended, yeah? Don't be lazy!) Remember I got the Haitian Organic Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Organix Argan Oil some time ago? Well, I tried them all out.

 

Organix Argan Oil: Contains cones. In fact, those cones are the first 3 items before you get to the Argan Oil itself on the ingredients section. Because of these, I haven't really opened my heart towards this. But I did notice a bit of softness to my hair whenever I used it. Smells nice. I wouldn't use it often. Because of the fear of build up, I washed my hair more often.

 

Grapeseed Oil: Of all the oils I bought, I expected the most out of this and found it to be somewhat disappointing. My biggest frustration with it? It's too light! It's so light that you need a lot. A bit annoying as I bought a small quantity of it, 2oz. And even after putting what you feel is a lot, you still feel like you don't have oil in your hair. It hardly locked up any moisture for me. And surprisingly, whenever I used it, my hair super itched! This surprised me greatly as I thought it was supposed to do the reverse and it was mixed with tea tree oil. Smh. Too poor. I later found that Grapeseed oil is suitable for people with fine hair. Only means I don't have fine hair.

 

Haitian Castor Oil: This seems to hold the most promise. It claims to be organic unrefined castor oil. It is refreshingly thick especially when you're coming from the water that is Grapeseed oil. I usually put Castor oil on my scalp as it is heavy on my hair most times but with this oil, I decided to put it on my hair. It made my coils pop! So exciting! I loved it. And the softness it gave to my hair... It's a winner. I'm still applying it to my edges though with the hope that it'll do a miracle.

 

My verdict: Yes, Haitian Castor Oil, Yes!!!

So, after the test of my 2 new conditioners, I did a combination of all my oils and made twist-outs in my hair. I unravelled the twist outs on Monday morning and I had my first perfect twist-outs! I couldn't believe it! Something is finally working and I'm so glad. Not only that, I had never seen my hair have such incredible softness. I used to think my hair was soft. Now, I know it wasn't. My hair was left tangle-free too which I never have after my unsuccessful twist-outs. Amen to whatever did the magic (this includes my 2 new conditioners and my too many oils). I tried uploading the pictures but they're particularly heavy and my internet was suffering. Will do in some later posts. But still, this was how I felt after my twist-outs.

I have definitely seen the light [source]

 

I know. Long post. Don't complain. You should read more. :P

 

Ciao!

Stay beautiful and seek out cocoa!

 

Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control - A Review

Hi guys,

 

I did promise in my last post to write a review of the Organic Root Stimulator Edge Control which I used to create my frohawk.

 

My sister was kind enough to send the product over to me to try out so I didn't buy it here. But I did spy it in the popular Alhaja's Shop some weeks back. The tag on it says £4.95 so it shouldn't be too different from that here.

 

The pack promises "superior hold and shine" and perfect control for your edges. It further promises moisture and excellent hold without hardening the hair.

 

WHAT IT CONTAINS: Some natural products and scientific name products. Of note are the fact that it contains parabens. If you are finicky about paraben free products, you may need to take a step back here.

 

So, I used this gel to sleek down my edges when I was styling and it did a pretty good job. My hair was not made stiff from it. It got the hold it needed. I also saw that a little went a long way with this one. So, I didn't have to pack on the gel. The hold was just fine. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the hairdo when I just styled it. It was also not greasy for me and gave good hold.

 

 

HOWEVER, about 4 hours or so after I had used this gel, I noticed it had turned to water or oil, I was not sure which. It had lost all forms of hold and just sat on my hair strands like that. Making itself totally useless. Many times, I tried to sleek it into my hair with my fingers but soon, it came out and just sat there. That was a bit ticking off. If it does provide moisture, shouldn't said moisture be absorbed into the hair?

That shine you see on the sleeked section? That's not shine. That's the gel. Just sitting there. Doing nothing.
[click on image for a closer view]

The gel is not too clear on this image but if you look closer, you'd notice a
whitish looking substance on the hair

 

PROS

• Non-greasy feel
• It didn't harden or stiffen my hair when I put it in
• It gave great hold when I put it in
• Smells delicious!
• A little goes a long way
• It is clear gel

CON

 

• Contains parabens
• Hold lasted only for a few hours
• Its claim to provide moisture is questionable 

I won't be throwing it away. I may use it for a style I don't intend wearing for too long and wash my hair afterwards.

 

 ASIDE:

I'm out of my V05 Moisturising Milk Conditioner so I went on a hunt for it today. I found very few of the conditioner and no moisture milk variance. I wasn't sure which to get. When I spied the back of the V05 Tea Therapy Revitalizing Conditioner where it read "revitalizing formula, with blackberry and sage extracts, gives hair volume and bounce" though, I quickly grabbed that off the shelf. You know how I'm presently hunting for some volume.

 

[click for a closer view to read what it claims to do and the ingredient]

 

 

I may write an update on how this turns out.

 

 

Ciao people!

Stay beautiful and useful!

 

 

 

NB: I wrote this post on night of the 30th of July but the internet didn't let me publish it. I'm not making any alterations as to dates. 

Here's to a Healthy Mane Regimen!

Hi guys,

 

It occurred to me that from most of the views I get on this blog are from people here for the Natural Hair care posts. Just as a sort of disclaimer, everything I post on my hair is based on what I have found to work for MY hair. Natural hair is so versatile and interesting that most times, there is no one size fits all. You can only borrow people's ideas and try to see if it will work for you. Some of you will see that I try out a couple of stuff on my hair that do not work out and I move on. I urge you to do same. Visit different blogs and try out whatever interests you (but with some caution) and see if it works for you.

 

That said, I wanted to give my visitors/readers an insight into my hair regimen. Daily or otherwise. I like to keep my regimen very simple. I used to think I'm not very adventurous with a lot of things. So when I find something that works for me, I tend to stick with it and move on. Natural hair has taught me otherwise. Truth is, if you really are curious about natural hair, it's hard not to be a tad adventurous. In fact, making the change from creamy crack to natural hair is a major adventure on its own. Finding a new regimen is an adventure on its own. Having a regular DC mix you use but wanting to try something new is an adventure on its own. So, hard to be a natural hair enthusiast and not be that little bit adventurous.

Still, I like to keep my regimen very simple.

- Co-wash: This works twice a week but my busy work life moved it into weekly. Hey! I work hard! I co-wash with my V05 Moisture Milk Conditioner which I got a while ago and mentioned here. I also detangle during my wash. I do each co-wash in sections of 8 or less (as my hair grows, the number reduces). I usually put in the Conditioner twice and rinse respectively.

- Deep Conditioning: I do this every 2 weeks when I don't have a weave in. My DC mix is usually done at home because I'm generally more trusting of using a mix made of natural foods than anything else and also, there is a dearth of natural hair products in Nigeria. I put in my DC mix in my hair and in sections and then wear a plastic bag (or 2) for about an hour or more, depending on how busy I am. I wash with a shampoo and condition twice after every DC. I also finish with an ACV rinse and/or tea rinse. As the spirit leads.

- Moisture and Seal: I moisturise and seal in the moisture after every wash. I first put in my Profectiv 3-in-1 solution which I use as a leave-in conditioner

 

  then I put on Coconut oil/olive oil (I prefer Coconut oil)

 

 

and afterwards, add on a little shea butter.

My mum helps me get these from the local market and she can tell the original product from the altered.

I make sure to massage my scalp with some Castor Oil. Castor Oil is a heavy oil and shouldn't be too concentrated on your hair, lest it weighs it down. Very good for the scalp. Did wonders for my iya iyabo hairline ^_^

I use this oil very sparingly as it took me a long time to lay my hands on this bottle.

- Spritz, Spritz, Spritz!: I try to spritz everyday! Our hair loves and needs moisture. No better moisturiser than water. Just try not to soak your scalp in too much water. If you're like me, you'd just catch a cold if you do. My Spritz bottle contains 80% water, 10% coconut oil and 10% olive oil. The oils help to seal in the moisture once spritzed. I don't have any elaborate spritz bottle. I just use an old Body splash bottle that does the job. Put it in your bag and spritz when you remember. You may not be able to avoid the occasional curious look from strangers or friends when they wonder why you're spraying Body Splash on your hair though. Lol. I even had a friend once return from a trip to the States where he bought me several bottles of Victoria's Secrets Body Splash cos he "knew I love to use this a lot". No, I don't!

Handbag accessory

- Night, moisturise, seal, braid: That's what I do. I moisturise and seal in sections as above. Then I braid the hair and tie on my silk scarf.

- I style in the morning.

Note that in doing all of these, I almost never comb my hair. I do more of finger combing. The only time I tend to comb my hair is when I want to style it. It helps for length retention so there's less breakage.

I want to try my first hot oil treatment soon. Will post on the results.

Everyone should have a regimen. What's yours?

Ciao now!

Stay beautiful.


 

SQUISH, SQUASH, SPLATTER!!!

Hi, guys. here's more on my hair update.

Yesterday, I wanted to have a DC (Deep Conditioning) and decided to try out something new. Some time ago on twitter, a friend had suggested I try a Banana, avocado mix. Now, usually my routine DC mix is a combo of mayonnaise, egg, honey, coconut/olive oil and/or shea butter. This new mix though was:

Bananas - 4

Avocado - 1

Egg - 1

Honey - 2 tablespoons

Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon

I bought a very ripe, perhaps even overripe avocado. I thought it was going to blend easier. I don't know if that was a mistake. By the time I opened the avocado, it was really yucky and disgusting! I don't like avocado so I wasn't ready for the surprise of this look. I took a picture for your consumption.

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED! Tehe!

Lighting was poor in my tiny abode so pictures may not be very clear.

I blended the bananas first to be able to get a good paste free from clumps. Even stole a few spoons out of that. Next, I put in the yucky avocado. I tried to use as much as I could. The rest went in the dustbin. I really can't stand that fruit. I hear a lot of nice things about it and how it helps with weight loss. No, thanks. I'd rather exercise. I noticed that after I blended in the avocado, the mix turned brown. I couldn't explain why. Is that supposed to happen? Was the avocado bad? Still, I noticed the mix was really quite think. I added very minimal water to the blend.

Next, I put in the honey, egg and coconut oil. I noticed it was still quite thick and I was glad. I first braided my hair in sections of 8 or more and then proceeded to put in the mix.

This is the point where it starts spiralling downwards.

The thickness was a façade. The mix had no hold! As I put it in my hair, it was splattering everywhere! And before I knew it, once I put in the mix, it already began to turn into water and drip all over me. There was mixture everywhere! I quickly put it in and put on two plastic shower caps. Honestly, I was ready to wash it all out immediately but my brother came visiting and I couldn't leave him behind to go wash my hair. I smelt like bananas and honey. Once he was gone about an hour after, I jumped in the bath.

I noticed there was a pool of liquid already sitting in my shower cap. I first rinsed, then washed once and in sections with my shampoo. I use the Hawaiian Silk Moroccan Argan Oil Hydrating Shampoo (Too many words).

I like it because it's non-sulphate and doesn't leave my hair dry. After which I co-washed twice with my V05 Moisture Silk Conditioner. And then I finished it up an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse to remove build up and clarify my hair and scalp. Need I say I took a vigorous bath afterwards?

I dried up my hair with a towel and then put in my Live-in conditioner. I use a Profectiv 3-in-1 Solution as my leave-in. As an aside, I am yet to see a blog that says what leave-in they use. That was why I was stuck with using this Profectiv. Although it seems it was made for relaxed hair but still... What leave-in do you use by the way?

After the leave-in, I put in coconut oil and sealed with shea butter. I did all of these with my hair in sections. I'm sorry, I didn't take any pictures of that process. I thought to braid it in sections again for the night but instead, I put my hair in bantu knots. I tried by first using my LustraSilk Curl Activator (I must remember to write a post about this) for each knot but after the first knot, I noticed it left my hair feeling dry. Afterwards, I just put some shea butter on my fingers for each knot. I'm still interested in knowing how the knot with the Curl Activator turns out though.

Afterwards, I tied on my silk scarf and went to bed. Mehn, I started at 7pm and ended about 11pm. This natural hair thing is not a small sometin.

About my DC, after I was done with it, I don't think it made my hair any better than my normal mayo mix does. It was okay. My hair was soft afterwards. I just didn't like all the mess it caused. I sure wouldn't be trying it again any time soon.

My bantu knots are still in, I'd post a photo of the knot out when I'm ready to unravel them.

Till next post, Stay Beautiful!

PS: Yes, I did see Fast & Furious 6. To post a review or not is my dilemma. Girls are tired, biko! All I know is buff bald men are not my thing.

PPS: How do I follow blogs o? Especially Toinlicious' blog. That place confuses me.

PPPS: Wouldn't be bad if you followed this here blog, you know ;-)

 

My Summary Hair Story

This will probably be my first something akin to a post and it's going to be about my hair. :D
Yes, I am presently on a transitioning journey from relaxed hair to natural. Excited much! \(^_^)/ This natural hair journey just came upon me when I realised my once extremely full mane was now really thinning out and I was slowly but surely developing Iya Iyabo type hair (my edges were chopping off) >_<. Upon some research, I came to the realisation that my hair was losing it's life and essence because of the relaxers I was using to weaken it. I wanted my hair back in all of its glory and hence made the decision to go natural. Yes!
And so! 6 months post relaxer and transitioning - I never got to rock a TWA :( (Story for another day). I am still at that stage where I am finding what works best for me. I hope to update my blog on my discoveries, failures and successes in this respect.
Here's a photo of my hair before I put in braids last weekend for protective styling. You can see I'm a bit gone with the natural hair.

Here's my braids photo. I love them, by the way ;)

I would (notice the use of "would" and not "will". #LazyWomanTalking) post an update on how I care for these braids and progress so far.
Ok, so today, I got 2 hair products from Park n Shop. Park n Shop is right next to my office (which is just pure torture, btw!) so I get most of my hair care products from there. Which means I spend at least 2 days in each week, ogling their hair aisle. The hair aisle is not exactly favourable to black naturals but you can see get some pretty interesting stuff over there. So today, I got myself a Parachute Coconut Oil which I've been using from the get-go and totally love!

And also, Alberto V05 Moisture Milks Moisturising Conditioner which I heard a lot of wonderful reviews about.

I am going to try out the V05 and see if my hair loves it. Good thing is, it's not pricey so experimenting will not be a problem.
Oh yes! Almost forgot! I got this too :D For my tea rinse. Details on that subsequently

Ciao now!
Stay beautiful!