Three Styles For That Awkward Length Of Natural Hair

Hey guys, we all know that when you get to that awkward length you feel as if there's not much you can do with it. But I'm here to help! Here are three easy styles to do for short/medium length hair. The first two are especially nice for transitioning hair.

Zee xx

My Puff Crème!

Hey y'all! I’m hoping you’ve seen my video on three hairstyles for short 4c hair, if not, why don’t you check it out here eh?

In that video I created a puff (one of my best yet) using a mixture I created quite a while back at the start of my natural journey. If you’ve ever had a problem slicking down your edges and products such as Eco Styler Gel don’t work, then my puff crème is definitely something you should try out.  It’s a very moisturising equivalent to gels which can typically leave your hair feeling crunchy, dry, brittle and not to mention flaky! 

With 4C hair, allowing our delicate edges to become brittle alongside our already tight curl pattern can lead to breakage and loss of our edges. Yeah... I’ve been there before :/  So try this out if you’re looking for soft, moisturised and slick edges. 

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons of Vegetable Glycerine 
• 4 large tablespoons of Eco Styler Gel (I use the Moroccan/Argan Oil version)
• 1 and a half tablespoons of Sweet Almond Oil
• A large empty container
• A spoon to mix the ingredients together

It’s pretty simple… just dump all of the ingredients into your clean pot and stir well! The mixture should become a white colour with a slightly heavier consistency than the Eco Styler Gel you’ve used. That’s it!

I normally spray my edges lightly with water before I apply this, but if my hair is well moisturised, it can also be used on dry hair. It leaves no flakes, smells delish and dries clear. I hope you find this useful. Let me know how it works! 

Zainab xx

End Papers - Yay Or Nay?

Hi guys! I do love my old twist-out but now that my hair is a bit longer I've decided to become a bit more adventurous style-wise. I thought I 'd try something with a little more va-va-voom, so I decided to try out a Twist & Curl! There's also been a bit of hoo-ha about end papers and whether they're any use so I decided to test them out, and being the poor student that I am, I found a suitable alternative that is in your kitchen cupboard - greaseproof paper!

The perm rods have tiny bumps on them which sometimes grab on to strands of my hair so I first wrapped all of the rods in paper for protection.

I twisted about three quarters of the way down the twist and then rolled the endpapers on to the end of the twists on the left side of my. All the twists on one half (in the picture I am facing you so it's the right side) have endpapers on the actual end of the twist. The other half have the untwisted ends left bare (in the pictures the left side) and I wrapped them around the paper covered rod. The side without end papers took me about 30 minutes to do. Putting the end papers around the twist was quite fiddly and difficult at first so it took about 20 minutes longer to do that side, but once I got the hang of it it wasn't too bad. It ended up taking an hour and half to put 24 twists in my hair.

My L side

My R side

When I finished the twists

 I then left them to dry overnight and the next morning removed the rods...

Removing the perm rods from my left side

R side with no rod

L side with no papers

So the left side with the end papers was a lot sleeker than the R side and had better curl definition. After I had removed all of the rods and before I had separated, this is what my hair looked like:

Then I separated the pieces (I split each segment into two or three) and fluffed out my roots, here is the end result:

Both ways have their pros and cons. I would say that with end papers you get much more curl definition but it's a lot more fiddly to put on the papers so takes longer to do. On the other hand without end papers you sacrifice curl definition and end up with a fluffy airy 'fro look but obviously it's quicker to do as it's less fiddly. Of course you could just have fewer twists which would significantly cut down your time.

I prefer the fluffier look (but then again I'm quite lazy and want everything to be done asap). The style lasted for about one week before I had to put it in a puff, however the curl definition at the ends really lasted, it remained for about 9 days.

I'll probably be doing this again and I'll film a tutorial so I can show you guys exactly how I did it.

Maz xx

Mariama's Flat-Twist Tutorial

Hey guys, recently we went to a family Christening and I decided to do a flat twist, something I never really do (too much effort and I like the fluffier afro look of a normal twist-out). Have a peek at it...

Maz xx

Which Detangling Tool is the Best For You?

Hi guys! Mariama and I recently purchased a few new detanglers: the Tangle Teezer and the Hercules Seamless Combs. We thought it would be best to make our own opinions about them and purchased them. After using them for a while now (along with our Denman brushes) this is how they all compare to one another. Enjoy!

The Tangle Teezer

PROS

• Makes detangling a quick process (it took Mariama half an hour to detangle one half of her head with it)
• Detangles gently without snagging strands
• Easy to use once you get used to it 
• Wide availability! (Although its often sold out because it’s so sought after)
• Smoothens coarse hair making it easier to twist or braid

CONS

Very difficult to get teeny hairs out

• Can become very slippery when detangling hair because of the shape but can get used to it
• Very short bristles so can’t brush through large sections of hair
• Not very easy to clean because the bristles are close together!
• Expensive for a small brush! RRP: £11.20 but can be bought for a little cheaper online. 
• Sounds as though it rips through hair  (but it's not!!) which can be off putting
• Not specifically made for afro hair so difficult to brush through coarse ends (Maz had to use the comb to go through her ends afterwards because all of the knots had bunched up and the Tangle Teezer couldn't get through)

Denman - D3 Medium 7 Row Styling Brush

We take out 4 rows instead of 3, it removes much less hair this way

PROS

• Easy to hold due to long handle
• Detangles large sections because of long bristles
• Easy to remove bristle rows to modify the brush to suit you
• Easy to clean
• Widely available and affordable RRP £6.99 

CONS

• Not very gentle when detangling (I lose more hair with the denman) 
• Can’t be used with heat styling tools as the bristles melt and snag hair
• Have to remove bristles for afro hair (although there is the Freeflow specifically made for detangling longer thicker Afro hair)

Hercules Sägemann Seamless Combs: Detangling Comb 1975 and Magic Star Jumbo Rake HS5660

PROS

• Long handle makes it easy to hold on to
• Durable product which can easily be used for years
• Can be used with heat styling tools without damage as they are made using heat resistant vulcanised rubber
• Detangles really large sections of hair very quickly and gently (especially the Jumbo Rake - it can take 30-45 minutes for Maz's whole head!)
• Less hair lost when used 

CONS

• Difficult to find in the UK
• Largest comb is very expensive and retails at approximately £15. (needs to be weighed up with its lifelong usage)
• The HS1975 detangles hair quickly and thoroughly, but still takes a little more time than the Tangle Teezer (it took Maz about 10-15 minutes longer for one half of her head)

Drum roll please...

Our winner is...

We both agreed that Hercules Sägemann ones were the best, although the Jumbo Rake is pricey (there is a mini version for £10) you have to realise that some of the comments from buyers on the website have said that their combs have withstood more than 20 years of use!! Plus you are paying for much better quality. (Ask someone to buy it for you as a gift if you really don't want to pay for it.) We do like the Tangle Teezer, but it's probably better suited to shorter afro hair as Maz had to detangle her ends with the 1975 comb.

For now, the Denman is staying in the drawer. We're using the Jumbo Rake for co-wash detangling weekly and the 1975 detangler for proper thorough wash day detangles once a month.

Here are the cheapest prices for the all the detanglers that we could find (also check TK Maxx, sometimes their hair selection can surprise you):

HS5660 Jumbo Rake (or click here for the Mini rake)
Tangle Teezer: here and here (With the one from Paks actually check that it is a Tangle Teezer, when I went to buy mine they tried to sell me one from another brand)
Denman: Classic or Freeflow. (My one was from TK Maxx for £5.99)

Zee xx

Mariama's Draw My Natural Journey!

In case you haven't seen it, here's a quick overview of my natural hair journey (there are actual pictures too at the end):

Maz xx

How To Clean & Moisturise Your Hair When In Braids

As promised (and so your hands don't have to cramp up trying to write everything down) here's a written list of all the ingredients used in my braid spray:

Roughly 100 ml water

1 teaspoon of your chosen oil(s)

1 tablespoon of a leave in conditioner

1 tablespoon of glycerine

3 drops of tea tree oil

3 drops of a fragrance oil (optional)

Less than half a capful (about a quarter teaspoon) of apple cider vinegar 

Most of these ingredients you can buy in your local supermarket/ local hair shop and the fragrance oils we buy from FreshSkin or Amphora Aromatics (the physical shop is in Bristol).

Zee xx

Mariama's First Ever Get Ready With Me!

Zainab reviews three Shea Moisture products!

In case you don't know we've started a YouTube channel (and we've been quite active on there), so what are you waiting for?! Go on take a peek, here are our last three videos all about Shea Moisture...

Deep Treatment Masque

Curling Gel Soufflé

Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Check us out!

Natural Hair Product Review: Aunt Jackie’s Knot on My Watch - Instant Detangling Therapy

Hi guys, I’m back with another review! I know. I’m very good to you all! It’s in my nature . This time, I’ll be stepping outside the box (just a smidge) as I bought a detangler. As many of you may have noticed, most naturals use a conditioning product to detangle their hair from roots to end either on wash days, or co-wash days. I wondered if buying a product specific for detangling would benefit my hair, especially as I am desperately trying to combat dryness and breakage on my 4c hair. 

The product claims to be free of sulfates, parabens, mineral oil and petrolatum. It also 'softens, helps restore moisture balance and eliminates knots and tangles for natural curls, coils and waves'. So, did this product work for me? Keep on reading to find out . . .

Ingredients: 

Consistency: The detangler was surprisingly more watery than I hoped it would be. As my hair is very coarse, wiry and quite dry, I think a thicker consistency would have benefitted me more. However, the product was still quite creamy. I give this a one out of two.

Scent: Oooh this stuff smells delish! It is a sweet and fruity scent without being too overpowering and sickly. It also makes me feel as though my hair is clean because it smells so fresh. I give this a two out of two.

Moisturisationess: My hair did feel quite moisturised with it… for a little while. Once the product dried into my hair, it didn’t seem to do much even with the Shea Butter and Olive Oil. I had to use the LOC method to really seal the moisture in and even then, I didn’t feel as though it had gone into the strands. It felt more like it had disappeared! I’ll have to give this a zero out of two. 

Slip/ Detangling: I felt that because the product was quite watery, it detangled my hair quite well and quite quickly it soaked each section well making it easier for my fingers and the comb to pass through. I also didn’t really need to spray my hair with water as the product kinda did it all in one. Yay! Two out of two. 

Price: I bought mine for £4.29 but in most places this retails for £5.99. I think the price is average for this 355ml bottle. Considering you don’t need a lot to detangle your hair, the price is fine for me and the product will last quite a long while. I give this a two out of two.

Overall, this detangler rated:

I do like the way it detangles but the main issues were it consistency and moisture. I feel as though type 4 hair needs a thick creamy product to really combat breakage whilst detangling, and since I’m a lazy natural I’ve realised I like everything to be done at once – exactly what a deep conditioner would do. I did like the product but I don’t think it’s something I can see myself repurchasing, especially as I’d find it difficult to fit into my wash regimen. It’s not moisturising enough to be used during my pre-poo sessions and whilst I deep condition I tend to detangle too. It would most probably be something I use mid-week but detangling mid-week is not something I do often anyway. So yeah, it was lovely, but not for me unfortunately. Thanks anyway Aunt Jackie!

See you soon guys. Zainab xxx

Twist-Out Tutorial for Type 4 Hair

Looks like I forgot to put this up on the blog. Enjoy my twist out tutorial!

Mariama xx

Mariama's Hair Regimen

I’m sure none of us have days to waste doing our hair, so I’ve had to reduce down my regimen so I spend as little time as possible during the week doing my hair.

I was...

• co-washing once or twice a week, but who has time for that?! When you have kinky-curly Type 4 hair, your hair can take hours to wash and condition. I tried washing my hair once a fortnight/ once a month but it would get too dirty and dry. Now I try to wash my hair once a week with either the full prepoo-shampoo-deep condition or I co-wash with a deep conditioner (Yeah that’s right, I said deep conditioner!)
• detangle three times, THREE! What a waste of a day! I used to finger detangle, use a wide-tooth comb and then use a Denman. But to be honest, once your hair is detangled, it’s detangled. Doing it three times is just pointless. I tried just finger detangling for a while instead of combing but didn’t notice any difference in the amount of hair I was losing, it took FOREVER and my hair was more knotty than when I was using combs. Now I detangle my hair wet once a month with a Denman and the rest of the time using a wide-tooth comb.
• have a lot of conditioners (…in fact I still do, heh) but I’ve decided to stop experimenting and stick with two or three conditioners. But I have allowed myself the pleasure of experimenting with leave-in conditioners, but I am only allowed to buy one at a time!
• buy expensive oils because everyone was raving about them. Now when making my own products I use only a few ingredients and I cut out the more expensive oils like jojoba oil, argan oil and vitamin E oil. Instead I use much cheaper alternatives that were already high in vitamin A & E. Macadamia nut oil is a much cheaper alternative to jojoba oil, and like jojoba is similar to sebum. If you’re allergic to nuts and would rather avoid them then you can use the even cheaper apricot kernel oil. Altogether I have a collection of six oils that I buy in bulk and use to make my skin oil, hair oil and hair butters. 

Products I use (this list isn’t here to make you run out and buy these products, it’s more to encourage you to find products that work for you.)

Prepoo, Shampoo & Deep Conditioner

L’Oreal Expertise EverSleek range + my hair oil. There are two sub-ranges: Smoothing & Intensely Nourishing or Smoothing and Moisturing, what the difference is I’ll never know. I just buy whichever one is there. I tried the EverRiche line for dry hair, but I prefer these ones instead. 

Co-wash

Depending on which one is on sale (because I like to save my pennies) I use Herbal Essences Hello Hydration, Beautiful Ends Intensive Mask (the conditioner was kind of meh, but this I like) or Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair Therapy Conditioner.

Styling Products

I make my oil mix and hair butter myself.

For my edges, buns and puffs, I use aloe vera gel and sometimes Zainab’s puff cream (which she told me she’ll tell you about soon).

Phew, all done. Tell me about your regimens!

Maz xx

How I Shampoo & Deep Condition my Type 4 Natural Hair

Hi guys! Here's part 2 of the video about washing my hair. You are now members of the small group of people who have seen me first thing in the morning. Gah!!! Anyways, watch away :D

Our first YouTube video!

Hi guys! Finally after months of promising we've finally done our first Youtube video. Sorry for the lack of voiceover but I started doing one and realised my voice is booooring (I'm so used to peppy American voices, so my South London voice sounds dry in comparison). This video is about detangling my hair, enjoy!

  

Bon Annivers(h)aire!!

One year's worth of growth

So guys, it’s been a whole year since I went natural! There have been many highs and lows but overall I’m so glad I did this. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures from when I did my semi-big chop (I know… How annoying?!) but I started my natural journey with about two and a half inches of hair. It’s been a huge struggle to get used to my kinky texture, and to be quite honest, I’ve only just started to accept it and care for it the way I should have a long time ago. This has come through writing the blog (which has acted as a record for the way I look after my hair) and also through slowly building a regimen. I know a year sounds like quite a long time but my hair regimen is only just being created. Prior to this, I was just watching YT videos and attempting to copy everything I saw. It was fun but the routines didn’t last, I was growing poor and my arms began to ache from two-strand twisting every 5 seconds. Through reading natural hair articles and picking Mariama’s brain, I’ve been able to build the basic layout for a regimen that is unique to my hair type, texture and length (I need armpit length hair for graduation - 2015 baby! Woop!) I’ve only just entered that awkward length phase but here are some of the things I’ve learnt over the past year and some things I’ve added to my hair care routine:

• Finger Detangling – It’s made such a difference to my understanding of my texture. When you use a comb, you don’t really get to feel what your hair is like. I’ve been able to really get to grips with my 4c hair (hey! An accidental pun!)  and I’ve discovered that it's a bit 4B as it has a couple of clumped kinky-curls tucked away in there. 
• Co-washing – I’ve started washing with conditioner once a week which is slowly improving my high porosity hair and adding moisture. I need to dabble with the products I use but it’s working slowly! I started this at the beginning of my journey and even though it was working so well, I couldn’t keep up with it. I’m a lot more determined now :P 
• Shampoo – I now only wash with shampoo once a month and then detangle thoroughly with my wide tooth comb and my Denman brush. Finding a shampoo that is moisturising is so essential! I use the L’oreal Elvive EverSleek which always works wonders and… it’s sulphate free! 
• Braids and protective styling – I braid my hair all the time now and attempt to keep them in for a maximum of six to eight weeks. I’ve found this is the best length of time to prevent that gross oily clump at my scalp and also to minimise breakage and unnecessary shedding. 
• L.O.C method – Mariama pointed out to me that I never stick with products and see them out ‘til the end! Using my own advice, I have to see this stuff through. My hair has been pretty dry recently so hopefully using a leave in conditioner, oil and then thick cream/butter will make a difference. I started this method a while back and yeah… I gave up (rolls eyes vigorously).
• Blow-drying – I’ve been loving my blow dryer for adding stretch to my afro texture. It makes it a lot easier to do up do’s and protective styles as well as allowing me to see how much my hair has grown. I’ve noticed that where my hair had a lot (and I mean A LOT) of shrinkage, the blow-drying has helped it to stretch permanently but without heat damage. 

This year, I’ve also given up on twist outs and braid outs for definition. It was a sad day but I just realised they weren’t working for me! I’m waiting for my hair to grow out a bit more before I attempt a defined twist/braid out but I will continue to use them to add stretch to my hair before I do a style. My next goal for my natural journey will be moisture retention (in particular for my edges and ends). As I mentioned above, my hair has just been super dry. As I build a cupboard of staple products, I’ll let you guys know but for now, I’ll continue to search!  

Obviously I'm a bit too pleased with my growth here...

Are there any products you use that work amazingly? Spill the beans – comment and email with your questions and suggestions! 

Until next time… Zee xx

What separates a great shampoo from a poo shampoo?

While some shampoos can leave our hair squeaky clean these same shampoos can also strip our hair of all moisture - a big no-no for already dry afro hair. A good shampoo merely cleans whereas a great shampoo cleans, retains moisture and prepares your hair for the next step: conditioner. So what’s in a great shampoo, I’ll explain below!

Over time hair becomes dirty and smelly due to our old friend sebum. Sebum is great at lubricating and nourishing the strand but attracts absolutely everything it comes into contact with: perfumes, smoke, dirt particles, sweat and man other yucky things. All this and more is trapped on your scalp. The basic function of a shampoo is to break down the smelly sebum and stop it from reattaching to the strand during washing and this is done by surfactants. Surfactants are small particles that weaken the bond between your dirt and the hair, allowing your fingers to rub off the dirt and there are three types: anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic. During the rinsing stage the surfactants also prevent the dirt from reattaching to the strand and voila… clean, fresh hair! 

Anionic surfactants have an overall negative charge and are the harshest type of surfactant. The original anionic surfactant was just plain ol’ soap, which actually isn’t that great for hair! Soap causes skin and hair damage by causing an increase in pH and by causing the calcium found in hard water to be deposited onto the scalp. These two things result in dry, brittle hair.  Synthetic anionic surfactants were developed to solve these two problems and include anything ending in: 

• Sulfate
• Sulfonate
• Isethionate
• Sulfosuccinate
• Sarcosinate

These synthetic ones are still pretty harsh, but they’re cheap, cheap, cheap! Why is that bad news? It means big companies tend to use them the most so any shampoo/soap product you have in your house most likely contains mostly anionic surfactants. Even worse, the two most common anionic surfactants: sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, are designed to work in hard water (like the water here in London) so strip away all the sebum on your scalp and hair leaving it dry and unprotected. As I’ve said before, sebum stays on the scalp and upper parts of the afro hair strand so the lower (and older!) parts of curly/coily/kinky hair have no sebum to wash away, instead they become damaged by the harsh detergent. Imagine someone who washes their clean hands over and over again, eventually their hands become super dry and the soap causes the skin to break. That’s what happens to your hair! 

On top of all that (!) your hair needs sebum for protection and lubrication, so when you wash it all away your hair is left open to damage until your scalp produces more. Even conditioners, which are meant to ‘replace’ the lost sebum post-shampoo are only synthetic sebum mock-ups, so it’s best to leave some sebum behind when washing. 

Amphoteric shampoos contain both negative and positive groups on the end of their chains. They are the betaines, sultaines and imadizinolium (aka Miranols) derivatives and are much more milder than the anionics. Usually they are combined with the anionics and stop them from adhering to (and therefore cleaning) the strand as strongly.  

Non-ionic components are the mildest cleansing surfactants and aren’t usually used as they don’t foam as well as the others. In actual fact these types of surfactants are very good at breaking down oils, proving that a cleanser doesn’t have to lather for your hair to be clean. Non-ionic surfactants include polyoxylethylene, polyglycerol and ethanolamides.

So when looking for a shampoo, what you want are more of the amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants rather than the anionics. It’s unlikely that you’ll find a shampoo without any anionic products but you want the betaines and sultaines to at least be in the top 5 (and because ingredients are listed from most to least the amphoteric ingredients should probably be listed before the anionic ingredients).

Next time, I’ll tell you about the most important step of hair washing – conditioners! 

Information from:
Bouillon, C (1988) Shampoos and Hair Conditioners. Clinics in Dermatology, Volume 6, Number 3, pp. 83-92
Gray, J. (2001) Hair Care and Hair Care Products. Clinics in Dermatology, Volume 19, pp. 227-236

Natural Hair Product Review: Dr. Bronner’s Magic Organic Hair Crème

Ingredients: Water, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Ethanol, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Fair Deal Hemp Oil, Organic Lavender Oil, Organic Avocado Oil, Organic Quillaja Saponaria Extract, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

Uses: Leave-In Conditioner.

Packaging:  There are two versions: lavender and peppermint. There is writing all over the packaging that informs you about how eco-friendly and fair the company is to its employees. The lavender comes in a purple bottle and the peppermint in a blue bottle. Both have a pump mechanism, which is very handy when your hands are slippery with hair oil. It can also be pushed down and locked to prevent leakage. The downside of this is that once you get close to finishing the product, it's difficult to get it out (and you can't decant it into a pot as it hardens when exposed to air). Another negative is that the label wraps around the entire bottle so you can't figure out how much has been used.

Scent: It smells like lavender yoghurt! The lavender is the strongest scent then there are tiny hints of coconut, which to me combines to smell more like Greek yoghurt.

Price: The cheapest I found this online for was £7.99 + £3.99 P&P from the Dr. Bronner site (in the US it’s $7.99, the UK is always getting ripped off!) and the same price from feelunique.com (but with free delivery). I bought mine from ASOS using my student discount, but they’ve either run out of stock or stopped selling it. For that price you get 177 ml (6 US fl. Oz.), which is not a lot, but you only have to use a small amount. Mine has lasted me for the last 4-5 months and I’ve been using it weekly.

Slip: Despite it containing so many oils there is very little slip (it may be because of the ethanol) so you can’t use it to detangle after you wash your hair. It took me about 3 or 4 uses to get used to this, now that I’m used to it I don’t mind. Unfortunately it also means that it doesn’t really help to control frizz.

Moisturisationess: Even though it has no slip, my strands stay moisturised for ages. I don’t even have to use oil and shea butter on top to keep the moisture in. I simply seal with oil and twist up my hair and I only have to spray water and apply oil every 1-2 times a week (as opposed to everyday) now that I’ve been using it.

Consistency: It’s very thin and watery, not sticky at all. Because of this it dries quite quickly compared to other heavier creams.

Overall Score: It loses points for the lack of slip, but wins me over because it moisturises and lasts for so long. It also helps that it supports Fair Trade and is eco-friendly. I give it...

 Mariama x

Protective Styling: A Beginner's Guide

Hello guys :D

I’ve been using “Protective Styling” for a very long time now but to some people it’s still a bit of a mystery. To be honest, it’s pretty straightforward and is often used (as the name suggests) to protect your hair from things such as the weather, styling tools - like combs and pins - and also your little mitts! (I can never stop touching my hair. ‘Hand in Hair Syndrome’ is alive and kicking!) Protective styling is incredibly important when trying to retain length and moisture as afro hair doesn’t retain moisture as well as other hair types. Not protecting afro hair from damaging actions such as those mentioned above can cause the strands to become brittle and snap off – more commonly known as breakage. 

Like many women (and men) with afro hair types, my edges are my main concern! After a Jheri-curl that went horribly wrong back in 1996, the hair at my temples has always been incredibly fine. It’s sparse, drier and breaks off more easily than the hair on the rest of my head. It’s a problem that I’ve seen far too much here in the UK and within the black community as a whole. Regardless of whether hair is natural or relaxed, it seems that edges are always the first to bounce. This is usually down to overuse of gel on the hairline, pulling from tight hairstyles (such as braids and weaves) and sometimes... it just happens! :’( My loss was a mixture of pulling my hair in all sorts of directions (ah primary school days. I had lots of gel and NO CLUE what I was doing majority of the time), overuse of chemicals (the Jheri curl was the first straw, frequent and subsequent relaxers just took away the few sparse hairs I had left!), and also just lack of knowledge. In this sense, going natural and including protective styling in my regimen was the best option for me. 

So, spill the beans! What is Protective Styling?!

Put simply, all you have to do is make sure your ends are covered in some way. That’s it! The ends of your hair (as I’m sure you’ve heard many times) are the oldest parts of your hair, and for this reason they can dry out easily preventing you from getting the long, luscious and healthy locks you’ve always desired. Here are some tips on how you can use protective styling and still enjoy your hair: 

Oooh yeah, looking good :P

1. You can try twisting your hair in sections and pinning these into an up-do. This helps your ends stay covered and still allows you to leave the house without looking like a rag doll. I aim to do this once or twice a month. It also means I can put my deep conditioner in and run errands. Yay for multi-tasking!
2. Using extensions are my all-time favourite! Braids, micro-braids, Senegalese twists, kinky twists, Havana/Marley twists… You name it. There are so many styles to try and with the extensions in, you can achieve a completely different look. I recently just discovered that 6 weeks is the perfect length of time to leave my braids in. No breakage occurred and there were no tangles, plus it was just the right time before I started missing my own hair lol. (I leave the braids in for 6 weeks and leave my own hair out for 6-8 weeks. I can review my new growth, try some new styles and then protect it again before the windy weather comes back to attack.)
3. My favourite of all... The turban! The silk scarf is a woman’s best friend. The silk has anti-ageing properties for the skin, keeps hair moisturised and prevents tangling. My turban is used on days where my hair is getting on my wick or days when I haven’t got much to do but still want to look after the fro. 
4. Other extensions such as wigs, weaves and tracks. Although I haven’t worn a weave for a while, they were very good to me for a long time. My hair underneath always managed to stay moisturised because the weave creates such a warm environment (That sentence makes me sound a bit like David Attenborough). Again, I wouldn’t exceed 6-8 weeks with a kinky hair texture like mine. I’d be inviting back the breakage!
5. General styling can also be protective. For example, high buns/topknots, and roll tuck and pins protect the ends of the hair. My hair isn’t quite long enough to do a bun, but I’m getting there! All I’d say is, if gel is used, keep it minimal or be prepared to wash it out. (Remember, excessive gel products can lead to hardening and breakage of the hair shaft.)

So, there are loads of ways to style in a protective way. Mine is the roll, tuck and pin as well as my beloved braids and the turban. Mariama loves her top-knot (especially with all her new found length.) Find your favourite way and protect those ends! You can thank us later ;P 

Zee xx

Afro Hair & Beauty Show 2013!

The Afro Hair & Beauty show is an annual show celebrating afro hair. Regardless of whether you;re natural, relaxed or wear weaves there's something for everyone! Zainab and I went this year, had a blast and got loads of freebies. If you're around London next year at the end of May definitely check it out (although take a Berroca or something before you go, you'll need the energy to get you through the day lol).

Zainab put her braids into a loose fishtail plait

My hair was a 3 day old twist out 

Excitement because of the freebies!!! 

And we both met the lovely Wunmi Akinlagun, the creator of  Woman In The Jungle

Zainab and I each bought a jumper (2 for £25), and Zee bought a Dr. Miracles pack for £10

Free stuff, and yes some were FULL SIZE items!

Mariama x

Creating a Styling Routine

After washing comes the fun part – styling:

How will you moisturise?

The most popular way to moisturise type 4 hair is the LOC method (which stands for Leave-in, Oil & Cream). This method requires you to layer a water-based leave-in then a light oil (like coconut or jojoba) and then a heavier butter/cream (like shea or mango) over one another to seal in the water. The water moisturises your hair, whilst the other products form a barrier outside the strand to stop the water diffusing out. Due to the LOC method my hair has began to retain moisture all by itself (I’m so proud!) so I no longer have to do all three steps. You will also need to moisturise your ends regularly by spraying a light mist of water and applying some oil to it.

Will you use heat?

I was a heat junkie, I used to straighten my hair every week (sometimes two or three times a week) causing it to break off and never grow past my shoulders. So when I decided to go full hog with this natural thing I stopped using direct heat for a year. To be honest I haven’t really missed it! I’ve straightened my hair once since then because I was excited to see how long my hair was, but my impatience resulted in this:

Excuse the poor quality and that I'm not wearing make-up!

It was New Year's Eve and I was going out so had to rush. I didn’t wait for my hair to dry - which you definitely should! If not, bubbles can form in the strand causing splitting and breakage) so it ended up looking like I just blowdried it. Because it wasn’t fully dry so it just poofed up once I straightened it. Anyway I’ve kind of diverted from the point. Give your hair a looooong break from heat at first, after about a year you can start to add it back into your regimen. Zainab bought me a Vidal Sassoon Hood Dryer for Christmas and I love it! No more overnight drying sessions for me! But I only use it rarely or for certain styles (like rollersets). Seeing as my hair has grown quickly without heat I don’t see a reason to use it so much anymore.

What will be your signature style?

My current favourite styles now are plain twist-outs (flat twist outs are too much effort) and big ol’ buns because they’re so easy for me. But when my hair was shorter I preferred puffs and up-dos. Braid-outs (same as a twist-out but with braids) stretch hair more than a twist-out so allow you to see more of your length, but require more time to put in and take-out. You can also do protective styles like extensions, weaves, wigs (although you should leave your hair out for at least two weeks in between weaves and extensions so your hair isn’t constantly being pulled out of the follicle), corn-rows, up-dos, buns... Just have to decide which one is for you!

Maz x