What I've Been Upto (Hair Update)


Hi ladies,
Hope my Naija readers (especially those of us at the centre going up north) are enjoying the harmattan weather. The air is not really dry but we are getting there. 
As for me, I'm undergoing some changes o. As a natural hair blogger, I can go on and on about Natural hair but the funny thing is that my nonchalant attitude towards my hair would not allow me do anything with it apart from wash, deep condition and braid. After washday, its a turban from Monday to Saturday. Boring but simple...The picture to the right shows what my hair looks like (most of the time) under head wraps.
However, your girl is going for a change. Why? There is no Fro Representation in Bee-You-Jay! At the meet-up most ladies claimed to be natural under their weaves and when asked why, the common response was 'I don't have the time'. In my opinion, the problem is that Peruvian, Caribbean....or whatever they call synthetic hair these days is not only more accepted in these parts but is easier to maintain .
To encourage those of you who think  that styling natural hair is nothing but wahala  I have decided to wear my fro out more often. This move will also force me to come up with a regimen that will allow me stick to my lazy hair laid back lifestyle and still come up with simple  hair styles to share with you all.
So let's start with the following.

 
 After the meet-up I did a henna treatment using henna from Natural Nigerians Ahia Market. Pictures above were taken after the treatment...love my frizzy braid out! 
I decided to do a braid out because it is easier to keep a comb out of my hair when the hair strands are clumped together and  braid outs help reduce the dreaded knots at the ends of my hair.
STYLES OF CHOICE: A BUN

 I had my hair in a bun for the most part of the week. My regimen was to tie a satin scarf at night and smooth my edges in the morning.To help with styling, I bought ORS Edge Control which cost N750 at Shoprite. Unlike most gels, it helps keep my edges smooth for as long as possible without drying up the hair.
WEEK 2
 
 I washed my hair and braided it into 7 chunky braids/cornrrows. The next day, I took down the braids and styled my hair. I think I prefer doing cornrows on wet hair.Shrinkage was minimal and my hair got dry faster. I also spent less time unraveling the braids and fluffing the hair. I will try this out again and do a post on it.

 
 After work on Monday, my ends felt very dry. So I went through the products I had and found a bottle of ORS Hair Moisturizing Lotion that I had not used in a long time (fortunately, it was not expired). I applied it to my ends, detangled a bit and braided hair as seen in pic above. The next morning, my ends were soft and stretched out.

 Pictures above were taken after a long day at work... Still looking great if I may say so.

 Today, I decided to try something new as I have mastered the art of putting up a bun in less than 10 mins. *_^
 After taking down the chunky braids, I applied very little coconut oil, fluffed  and tucked my hair in using three bobbin pins. Thats right, 3 only! 
To get a sleek look, I used ORS Edge Control and there you have it...
Picture below was taken after work.
 
So I'm thinking....should i just tie a scarf, go to bed and refresh hair tomorrow morning  or should I braid and create another 5 mins. hair do?...


  
This is another of my go to styles. I can get my hair in two french braids and tuck in the ends in 10 mins. The only down side of this style is that my ends coil up tightly after take down, giving me detangling work *_*.
Lessons:
1. You don't need to spend too much time on your hair for it to look nice.
2. You don't need too much money and too many products to get good looking hair.
3. The major problem a lot of ladies have with natural hair is the difficulty they experience when trying to control/style it. If your hair is too full, try braid outs. I have found that it is easier to style my hair in buns, braids and other  styles when the strands are clumped together.
4.Visit blogs and sites for hair-inspiration and practice what you have learnt in your free time.

Next on my list is to try Geri's Classic Pomp.

29 comments:

  1. I just started trying different styles with my hair. I actually flat-twisted my hair yesterday and took it out today. I like the results and I hope to get better with styling my hair often! The bun and braid-out is really nice. Pretty head-band too! :)

    I think most times, it's not that we naturals don't want to style our hair, it just might be laziness. Yes, I said it, because it was like that for me. I do have full hair and it will take time to twist and braid it, but if I choose to want to care for my hair, I should set time aside to do so. And, that's what I'm learning to do! :)

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    1. Thanks for the complements Sis! I agree with you when you say laziness is the culprit. I wash my hair and braid it hoping to get a mean twist but when I think of the time...*sigh*...I just let the braids be.Setting aside time for your hair might work for now but when you have a job and other responsibilities that can't wait, hair time might be difficult to find. That's why it is very important to find simple styles that take no time to create.

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  2. Great tips. My hair is still too short to put in buns, so a plain afro is my default style.

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    1. Hi Myne!
      Nice! How short is your hair though? You know you can use bobbin pins to create a bun with short/medium hair length right?

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    2. I was just going to say same as Myne ...your hair is long to be very versatile and still look professional....

      so how do we use bobbin pin to create a bun with short/medium hair length...i have medium hair length...pls share... thanks!

      p.s- nice blue hair band

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    3. Thanks for the complements Aloted! Not to worry, I should have a post up for you by tomorrow.

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  3. Yay!! I TOTALLY support your undertaking missy. Natural hair beauty amba-ssa-dor!! Lol.

    I hid in a wig too, the last time I was in Naija, but next time sha. Hmm, folks better watch out! Whew! Your hair is so pretty. Look at how smooth you were able to get your buns!

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    1. Thanks for the complements Geri! Lol at 'natural hair beauty amba-ssa-dor' ^_^... wetin man go do na? I gats represent! Hopefully when next you come you wont have to hide under a wig.

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  4. Blessings.....
    Your hair looks lovely....
    thanks for sharing.

    Stay blessed
    Rhapsody
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    1. Thank you Rhapsody B! and thank you for visiting.

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  5. Hey Nat, how do you do the henna treatment? As always your hair looks gorgeous. P.s show us your face nah..

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    1. Hi Pepi girl!!
      Thanks for for the love. I will try to do a post on my henna mix real soon but if you need it urgently please send me a mail.
      Lol...this blog is about my hair so you might not be seeing my face on here anytime soon. Sorry...*_^

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    2. Tehehe..also know where I can find suave coconut conditioner or any of the line..I don Waka tire today .:(

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    3. Hmmm....I used to get mine from Assorted foods supermarket at wuse 2 opposite the Mtel office and not far from glo office (the name of the store is not assorted foods o but it is in the same building)I'm not sure if they are still open but you could look sha. I have also seen the conditioner in the market. If you have tried that with no luck then you could visit shoprite in Apo there is a beauty store in the building and thy sell herbal essence and other such products although I havent seen suave conditioners there yet. Their prices are something you might also want to consider as they are a bit higher than market prices. Oh, let me also not forget Sahad stores in Area 11. I know I've seen suave conditioners there. Hope this helps.

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    4. Well I've been to wuse market, utako market, shoprite, exclusive and amigo. No luck. I went to that store in shoprite. They've got the kinky curly line, taajid wahid,.n the herbal essence shampoos and conditioners..quite pricy though. Well ill check Sahad and "assorted foods". Thanks Nat :D

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    5. Na wa o...you don waka no be small *_* Hope you get it soon. But my Sister if you go Sahad and still don't find Suave, abeg ehn, just pick another conditioner from the ones they have. I think Sahad always has Garnier Fruictis (hope I got the spelling right) Most of the time ,I stumble on good natural products...this BUJ sef...

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  6. Would that be good for leave in? Cuz I'm at sahaad n not suave..

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    1. You could try that. I have used it before and it was okay. Some ladies on the blogosphere with our hair type also recommend it...no harm in trying shey? *_^

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    2. Check well, I think they have the leave in conditioner.

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  7. Styling black hair in general takes time! Natural hair just takes the longest time! I have to say that although it might have taken you less than 10min to put your hair in simple styles, the time it takes you to take down that style at night, put it back up in the morning, wash, deep condition and style is what makes many (if not most) women stay with the synthetic hair they wear. Because then they don't have to "worry" about their hair for the next 2-3-4 months! I think it goes beyond laziness, because i've seen women take better care of their weaves better than they do with their own hair!
    How come you never use to wear your hair out? i've been wrapping my hair this week, only because it's winter and the updo that I did makes my scalp vulnerable to the cold, plus the style didn't turn out so well :(
    Also, i notice you don't use any leave-in. Just coconut oil.
    as always, cute hair styles!

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  8. Thank you Adeola! You have made many valid points. This year, I made a decision to cut down on the time I spend on my hair. Its more of a decision really. Early in my journey, I followed almost everything I read on hair blogs but my Sister, the tin can be exhausting sef. Believe me when I say I don't strictly follow the nightly routine. When I'm tired from work I sleep with the style on my head and the next morning I'll just spruce it up a bit (that's why I love buns).
    As for the leave in's I use them when I'm not going to leave my hair in a porotective style for a month. I've found that leave in's help me with styling and its really not necessary to have it on. Thanks for commenting. Blessings!

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  9. I'm new to this blog and I must say I have visited so many. But this stands out and I'm glued. I'm new to natural hair and ie being transitioning since march this year. It's the best decision I ever made. Seeing ur post and ur hair journey has given me so much hope and I don't want to ever go back! Thank you

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    1. Aww...thank you...you've made me teary eyed. Thankyou for the kind words and congratulations on going natural! It might not be easy at first but with support on here and from other natural sites, you should be good to go.
      Much love and blessings!

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  10. Ha! I'm guilty of "in" styles because of work and for the health of my hair. The wind blows my twistouts anywhichway!
    I've decided to stick to minitwists, buns and on rare occasions twistouts.
    Natural hair care does take time especially If you are a newbie but once you've maintained the moisture balance in your hair, it's soft and pliable for longer periods making styling less time consuming.
    Your hairstyles are gorgeous. My personal have is the beehive bun with just 3 bobby pins.

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  11. thanks for the tips but i still havent found natural hair products in the market oh

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  12. I live in Lagos on VI I have been natural fora yr now and my hair grows fast but i still haven't found natural hair products. I have only been using coconut oil and water the olive oil conditioner is that okay?

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    1. Hi Bamiyoh,
      Glad you could stop by. Congratulations on your one year of being Natural!
      Hm, finding Natural hair products in Nigeria as a whole can be hard work but not to worry, bloggers like NN and our girl from NaijaHaircangrow.blogspot.com are doing a lot of work to end the natural product drought. Note however, that if what you are using works well for you then you shouldn't concern yourself much with product finding.
      For more info on available products in Naija, you can visit the Product Find page above.
      Have a fun filled weekend!

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