Tip from Anonym: Aloe Vere gel for your hairline?

For the first time, I met a lady in her 50's who walked up to me and said "I Love your afro dear".  Responding with a shy smile and a thank you,I noticed that she had a beautiful grey Teeny Weeny Afro and a healthy hair line. Since I'd  gotten questions about  breakage at the edges I asked  what her secret was and she said  "Aloe Vera gel".
Me: That's all?
Lady: Yes. Plant some Aloe Vera and  use the gel that comes out of it- when it gets mature- on your 'baby hair'. I have found that it helps prevent breakage. And...*whispering* ...that's how Onyeka Onwenu maintains her healthy hair line."

Among other benefits, Aloe Vera gel has been known to prevent hair loss, reduce dandruff, maintain PH balance, and promote hair growth.
When at home (where I can get better Aloe Vera leaves without begging my neighbor J), I use aloe vera gel- straight from the plant- as a leave-in and in my deep conditioner . For easy application and  detangling during a deep treatment,  I mix it with a conditioner and Olive Oil. This leaves me with soft manageable hair. I'll advice that you try this out if you have coarse natural hair.
 But before rushing off to start something new, note that Aloe Vera gel can leave the hair feeling hard and dry when applied alone. So if I'm to try out what our Anonymous  Lady said, I'll mix the juice with something...Shea butter...castor oil ...or better yet, I'll mix it with some water and Olive oil and then spray the mix on my hair!!
What do you think Ladies?

Ayo shares her simple regimen...

Last week I met with a fellow Coper whose hair I had been admiring from afar. Ayo let me know that she has been natural for 11 years and has never regretted her decision to quit the perm. She knows next to nothing about natural hair blogs and I was really impressed that she found a regimen that worked for her in a time when there was no information on natural hair in Nigeria. After the initial “I love your hair and I love yours better” Ayo went on to share her basic hair care practices.

1. Washing: Using one part of shampoo to two parts of conditioner I wash my hair bi-weekly. This leaves my hair clean,soft and easier to detangle.
2. Deep conditioning: After washing I use Emily Millionaire Fertilizer as a deep conditioner.
3. Styling: After deep-conditioning I part my damp hair into 4 sections, apply Morgan Pomade (pic. to the left), and then thread my hair using the rubber threads that you find in markets and salons. Threading straightens my hair and reduces knotting. When my hair gets dry I loosen the thread and comb it out using a wide tooth comb. I do not and will not advice anyone to use the “blue” tail combs because the bristles are too small and they “up-root” the hair.
4. Heat styling: Before applying direct heat to my hair I apply oil (heat protectant) to my hair, then I comb it well using a wide tooth comb to remove the knots. After this, using a hot comb to straighten my hair is super easy. I do this once in a while or when I’ve been asked to by a friend getting married.

Favorite Products

My favorite products are: 

-Cheap conditioners like petals that cost three to four hundred Naira. They work just as good as the expensive ones.

-Wide tooth combs

-Morgan Pomade
-Rubber thread.

-Traditional wooden combs for sectioning hair.

Again, I say thanks to Ayo for sharing her straight forward regimen. I’ll also like to share that I have used Emily Millionaire  but I found that my Mayo mix worked better so I gave it out. Goes to show that what works for me might not for you and vice-versa. Emily Millionaire is a product that contains quite a number of natural ingredients and it is  available in markets and stores in Nigeria. So what do you think of Ayo's regimen?

Tips from Anonym

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Happy Sunday my  people!!

How una dey? I hope sey una dey kampe?

I will like to announce a new segment on DB&K called ‘Tips from Anonym’.  I have recently met with a couple of Natural Nigerian Sisters  who are kind enough to share their hair care tips and tricks. But when I ask for a picture or personal information they shy away. To give security to these lovely ladies (and hopefully gents) I have decided to create a segment called ‘TIPS FROM ANONYM’. Here, I will post hair care tips from random Naturals. If you are a reader and will like to share your tips or make constructive criticisms please feel free to send a mail to eskinks@gmail.com.For better illustration you can also take pictures of just your hair/hair style and send. 

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As the popular saying goes, no man is an island so also can no one can claim exclusive knowledge on natural hair care. This is because we as people of African descent all have different hair types and textures (this is also true in Nigeria: not all Nigerians have the same hair type). Some of us have coarse hair while some have fine hair, some are tender heads and some are not. It is also a known fact that most of us have different hair patterns on one head. Therefore, It is my belief that if we come together and share our best hair care practices we can have more material for new and aspiring Naturals.

So keep those mails rolling in. Remember the key words here are CONSTRUCTIVE criticism (that is if you don’t agree with something posted on here).

Me ma, I hope to learn from una o!

Can’t wait to hear from you J….

Peace!