Lade June 22, 2015

THE NHCG SALON DAY OUT 2015

Hello ladies,

It was awesome!!!!!! The Naija Hair Can Grow (NHCG) Salon Day Out 2015 was absolutely awesome.

The event was held on 7^th June at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos. I loved that all hair types were welcome. It didn’t matter if you were relaxed, natural, texlaxed, loc’d, weaved, braided up or anything in between. Isn’t it great when we all hang out together!!

I had my hair styled in a bow bun and bangs which was quite popular on the day. I can’t count how many times got asked for a picture of the style.

The day kicked off with a panel of hair care bloggers ( natural, texlaxed and transitioning) all talking about their hair journeys. Dabs ( the founder of the blog, Naija Hair Can Grow) was kind enough to ask me to speak on the panel. Even though I was well prepared I was so super nervous but got through my section without embarrassing myself too much. The other bloggers also did such a good job with their sections and were soooooooo funny and informative.

Following the bloggers panel, there were showcases by stylists and salon owners who did live demonstrations of how to create some hairstyles (on natural hair and extensions).

The style demos were followed by the Battle of the Hairlistas in which two groups of natural ladies were given various hair style and hair care challenges to complete.

There were also many hair and beauty vendors in attendance. I had stocked up on hair products before the event but indulged in some skin care products from Ajali, an all natural handmade skin care products company.

My sister and I’s wig company Hair by Type 4 also had a stand and we displayed some of our sample wigs and got to meet land speak with a lot of attendees about our wigs and services. More news on our wigs coming soon.

All in all the day was eventful, educative and positive. A big congratulations to Dabs on hosting such a fab event. More grease to your elbows Dabs and see you again next year.

As you may have noticed majority of these pictures are from the Berry Dakara blog, who did a much much better job of documenting the event than I did.

The next blog post will be a hair update. Its wash day for me today so the post will be up soon.

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade June 10, 2015

HOW I WASH MY HAIR IN BRAIDS

Hair had been pre-pooed over night with coconut, olive and a little bit of black castor oil

Hello ladies

How are you? Happy and well I hope.

Washing in braids is not an essential technique on a hair journey but it is one that I began using when my hair reached BSL. Before that period, I could wash my hair in it’s loose state without experiencing too much tangling.
At BSL and with hair that was becoming more and more texlaxed, I found myself with major tangles every time washed my hair loose. I went online and saw that some natural haired ladies wash their hair in braids. I looked up different ways in which this was done and soon found a method that would work for me.

I get asked very often how I wash my hair in braids and so I decided to write a short(ish) blog post which I hope clears it up for anyone who is interested.

How I wash My Hair In Braids

I detangle my hair and apply a little coconut or olive oil to help remove knots and tangles.
I put my hair in 12 -16 box braids. Note that the box braids start at the scalp and are firm but not excessively tight.
To prevent my hair from unravelling during the wash process, I two strand twist the ends of each braid. I find that when I finish each braid with a two strand twist, I am able to unravel it more easily after I have completed the wash and condition process. I hope the above makes sense.
I apply a little more coconut or olive oil to the box braids and cover with a plastic cap which I leave on for an hour or overnight.
I pour water over the box braids until they are well saturated. I apply shampoo and wash the box braids focusing on my scalp and the roots of each box braid.

I DO NOT unravel each box braid.
I rinse thoroughly till I am certain all the shampoo and lather has been rinsed out.
I remove any excess water and apply my deep conditioner. I DO NOT unravel each box braid. I simply apply the conditioner over the box braids.

The box braids with conditioner

I deep condition using my soft hood drier for 30 to 45 minutes.
I rinse out the conditioner very very very well until all the conditioner residue has been removed.
I wrap my hair in a t-shirt to absorb excess water. I unravel one box braid, finger detangle, apply my leave-ins and comb gently. I repeat this step with each braid until they have all been unravelled.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of each stage but I do hope the ones above are of some use.

Additional Tips for Washing in Braids

Size Matters

I have been told by some ladies that washing in braids caused their hair to matt.
I believe that if the braids are too big i e just 4, then your hair may matt at the base. When I wash my hair in 12+ box braids I get very little matting at the base which i can separate/remove very easily. Also if the braids are not firm enough especially at the base then there might also be some matting.

Its Not For Everyone

Also as I always say what works for me may not work for another lady. Do not feel as though you have to wash your hair in braids. If your hair does not tangle when you wash it loose or is not very long then washing in braids or in sections is not something you need.

I hope you have this post helpful.
I spoke at the Naija Hair Can Grow Salon Day Out last weekend and will be sharing my experience and pictures from the event in my next blog post. It was such a blast….come back soon to read all about it

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade May 14, 2015

I’AM SPEAKING @ THE NIGERIAN NATURAL HAIR & BEAUTY SHOW!!!!!

Although my hair is texlaxed, throughout my hair journey I have always visited and learnt from so many natural hair blogs. One of those blogs is The Kinky Apothecary based here in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Kinky Apothecary is hosting a Nigerian Natural Hair & Beauty Show this Saturday in Lagos. I was so honoured when Nibi ( founder of The Kinky Apothecary) asked me to give a workshop about healthy texlaxed hair and to join the panel of amazing ladies speaking about natural hair.

Ladies there is sooooooo much to look forward to such as

* The “Loving Your Hair With Natural Care workshop by natural hair expert and celebrity stylist (to stars such as Jill Scott, Teyonah Parris & Will Smith) Felicia Leatherwood.

Additional workshops by:* Ngozi Opara of The Heat Free Hair Movement

* Obia Ewah of Obia Natural Hair

* Wunmi Akinlagun of Woman In The Jungle

* Ijeoma Eboh of Klassy Kinks

* Cassidy Blackwell of Natural Selection Blog

There will also be

* Discounted shopping at The Kinky Apothecary Pop-Up Shop as well a variety of hair and non-hair related vendors
* A Make Up & Pamper lounge from Lola Maja at Sacred Beauty

* The chance to get your hair done…for free!
* Networking* Giveaways

* Amazing goodie bags sponsored by SheaMoisture & CURLS

Tickets for the expo are N8,000 each, and can be purchased from:* www.afritickets.com
* www.naijaticketshop.com
* www.ariiyatickets.com
* Sacred Beauty, 2 Abiola Close, Shonibare Estate, Maryland

So who is coming???????X

LadeLearn | Change | Grow

Lade May 14, 2015

A PARTIAL TEXLAX UPDATE

Hello ladies

How are we all doing? And your hair journey?

Getting straight to the point, I texlaxed my hair last week at 21 weeks post and I have partial results to share with my favourite ladies.
The results are partial because unfortunately I could not do a length check.

The whole process went smoothly.
I texlaxed using ORS No Base relaxer. I used a little over half of the jar mixed with 1 and half teaspoons of olive oil. I also applied JBCO and olive oil to my new growth and previously texlaxed hair. The whole application and smoothing process took 17 minutes. I neutralised four times.

When it was time to deep condition, my hand dryer which I use with my hood cap broke. So I didn’t deep condition. I left the conditioner in my hair for a few hours …..and then I air dried.
My texlax day is one of the few occasions I indulge in blow drying with heat and it helps me stretch my hair out a little so I see more of its real length. A lot of ladies flat iron on texlax day but i’ve always been too lazy to do this and was happy to do a length check on just blow dried hair. I’ll have to do a length check after I pick up a replacement hand drier sometime soon. The positive thing about this is that I got to see all the texture in my hair and I loved how big it looks.

Sorry if I look miserable in the pictures, I wasn’t honestly, just super tired after a looooooooooong texlax day. My eyes were actually stinging

Have you relaxed, texlaxed or big chopped lately?

Happy hair journey.

xx

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Lade May 6, 2015

Exercise & Your Hair (Part 2)

Hello ladies

I hope May brings you good health, happiness and blessings from God. This blog post is the sequel and final part of the Exercise and Your Hair series.

Please see part 1 here in case you haven’t read it already.
In part one I discussed how to combine caring for your own hair whilst exercising regularly. As I noted in post one, sweat residue left on our hair and scalp can increase dryness and the risk of breakage. Not cleansing our hair after exercising can also lead to a smelly head. No one wants this however washing after every exercise session is not practical for most ladies.

In this post, I share tips for caring for your hair when wearing extensions and exercising. I hope it will help get more of us working out without worrying about its effects on our hair.

PRE WORK OUT

Braids, Cornrows and Weaves

Put the braids, the length of the cornrows or weave in a ponytail, high bun or pineapple (pineapple will help to preserve the curls).
Wear an exercise head band or tie an absorbent fabric over your hair to absorb sweat.
Optional
You can cover the entire style with an absorbent/breathable (cotton or exercise hair net) scarf to keep the hair in place as you exercise

Wigs
If you are wearing a wig for a week or more, your hair should be put into cornrows or box braids under the wig.
Prior to your exercise session, remove the wig and cover your hair with an absorbent exercise hair band/ scarf or cap.

POST WORK OUT

Remove the exercise band, cotton tie or scarf.
Clean the parts of your scalp that you can reach with baby wipes or dilute a mild skin astringent with water and use a cotton pad to clean scalp. It should only take a few minutes to do. This should be done after high intensity work outs to help remove/absorb some of the sweat residue.

You don’t need to complete this step if you did not sweat much during your work out ( ie, if it was a low intensity exercise session)

Your scalp will be a little damp after it has been cleaned. Allow it to air dry.

Combating Sweat Residue During the Week

Keep your hair within the braids/cornrows and under weave/wig hydrated and conditioned during the week by using a moisturising leave in hair spritz/spray.

For weaves, simply lift up the weave hair wefts and spray the base of the weave.
For Cornrows and braids spray the base and length of the braids
For wigs, remove the wig and mist your hair.

This can be 2 or three times a week to help combat the drying effects of any sweat residue A mild protein leave in hair spritz may be used once a week to help maintain protein moisture balance. You don’t want your hair become over moisturised, too soft and weak within or under the extensions. Do not over saturate the hair, the aim is to mist the hair lightly, not to get it drenched.

You scalp can be oiled very lightly with light oil olive , coconut or jojoba oil mixed with a few drops of essential oils such as tea-tree or rosemary oil which are known for their anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. These will also help keep your hair smelling fresh. For easy access and to create less of a mess, bottle with a nozzle can be used to help apply the oils to your scalp.

Thorough Shampoo and Conditioning

You do not have to wash your weave and braids every time you work out but ensure that you do not keep the styles in for too long.

Braids , Cornrows and Weaves
Ladies who wear their hair extensions for long periods and exercise very regularly may need to wash and condition it every two weeks to three weeks using diluted shampoo and conditioner. How to shampoo and condition hair when wearing braids or weave can be seen here.

Wigs
After a week to two weeks, your hair should removed from the box braids/cornrows, detangled thoroughly, washed and deep conditioned. If your hair tangles very easily, you should consider washing it in sections or in braids. Please see this post on putting hair in big box braids before washing

I hope you have found this post useful. So now that your hair is taken care of, let’s get on with regular exercising.

Happy hair Journey

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow