HEALTHY HAIR WORKSHOP LAGOS: THE FLYER

I'm so excited about this event and can't wait to come see all my peoples in Lagoos:) Please save the date and spread the word.
Bless!

HUMIDITY, SHRINKAGE AND MY NO-COMB REGIMEN

The weather in Abuja has been very confusing. One day harmattan, next day extreme heat, and before you know it rain is falling. Two months ago, when the weather changed from dry harmattan to humid, I got braids done to allow my scalp breathe. But because my hair is past shoulder length, I could not make the braids short. My scalp could breathe but having the braids brush against my neck was very uncomfortable. For this reason I had to put the braids up most of the time but that made my neck hurt as the wool used for the braids made the bun too heavy. Solution? Shrink and LOC.

SHRINKAGE (Short Hair)

Since cutting my hair is not an option, I decided to work with the gift of shrinkage. Natural hair is known to be able to go from BSL to chin length in seconds. Thanks to water and water based hair products I could get the perfect length for the season without using scissors.

LOC METHOD

The LOC method is a method used to keep hair soft and defined for as long as possible. Here's how it works:

LAGOS HERE I COME!

Yes you read right! On the 9th of May, 2015 Natural Nigerian, Dr.Purejoie Austine Ihesie and I would be organising the first healthy hair workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. And "We're taking haircare in Nigeria to the next level, with ACCURATE SCIENTIFIC, EVIDENCE-BASED, AND MEDICAL INFORMATION about everything hair."

This workshop came from the need to educate the Nigerian woman on the need for her to take responsibility for her hair and know that having healthy hair IS normal. Over the years, no thanks to a lot of myths and bad hair care practices, Nigerian women have come to believe that healthy hair can only be found on the heads of people from outside our borders. 

As African women we spend so much money on our scalps but almost always end up with very disappointing results. For instance, scaring alopecias have almost become the norm that we are beginning to see nothing wrong with hair loss. The truth is that healthy hair does not begin with how many products you use or how often you use them but from understanding exactly what your hair needs and aiming for the best results with whatever is available to you.

Furthermore, I have always said on here that if you don't understand your hair and products used you can not know when you are getting bad services from your stylists. Even the best of stylists who do their best can still make mistakes. We all know that not every product responds well with every head of hair and that leaves the hair stylist with the onerous job of studying each and every clients hair separately, searching for  which product works best for each client. You would agree with me that is nearly impossible. So the best person to alert the stylist on a practice about to go wrong is no one but you.

AIM

Our hope is that after you attend this workshop you should be able to:

• Understand your hair better and be able to tell when something is not right.

• Know what products will give your hair type the best results.
• Understand when your hair (or scalp) is revolting against a particular product or practise.
• And best of all, pass on the information to your friends and hopefully the next generation.

This workshop is open to any and every hair type (texlaxed, relaxed, natural).  For information on how you can be a part of this please send an email to nn@naturalnigerian.com or eskinks@gmail.com.

See you soon :)

REMEMBER WHEN WE WON WITH BAGCO SUPER SACK (THROWBACK NIG.)

My brother shared this video with me on Facebook and I just had to share it with you guys. Remember Bagco Cement, the one wey no dey turn kakaraka like Zuma rock when rain beat am? Lol. Click play and go back to a time when NTA was boss and Dangote Cement was probably not even an idea.

 

If you were born and raised in Nigeria but can't remember this advert, you were probably not on the planet by then.

YOU TOO CAN DIY

Knowing I won't always be around my junior sisters I taught all 3 of them the basics of hair care (washing, braiding, twisting, threading, safe flat ironing, deep conditioning etc) This has taken some of the responsibility for their hair off me. In the past I did everything for them even when it was not convenient. Now, I only help out when it is absolutely necessary.
Here are pictures showing their first twists which were done solo.

 

                   I was so proud to see both of them working in sections I had to  take pictures

Notice how stretched out their hair is? Well they both decided to use a hot iron. Being the over-saby that I am, I remember not being in support. But hey, its their hair so I held back on all the do's and don'ts and let them do their thing...while secretly monitoring them *.^

End Result

EXTRA BENEFITS

Last month, I had a cut on my finger and could not braid my hair that was already washed and ready for styling. So for the first time, I let one of my  students plait the braids for me while I watched a movie. Below are the results

Week one

  I wanted the twists to be loose and frizzy so I did  most of them by myself.

 

 Week 3 (playing around with my simple style)

I was really impressed with her work so when she comes back from school, I will try to get her to braid a bit more often so she can perfect her skills.

So what do you think? Good teacher, awesome student?

MAN-SHANU FOR HAIR GROWTH

 

Question: Can man-shanu grow my hair like the Fulani?

Answer: Man-shanu  is milk fat that has been separated from fresh milk. From what I have been told, the Fulani and other people of Northern Nigeria, eat it and use it to soften and retain moisture on the skin and hair. Due to the fact that most Fulani people have long soft curly hair, there is a myth in Nigeria that man-shanu is solely responsible for their beautiful hair.

True or false?
I have not been able to find research done on man-shanu (or ghee) to hair growth but I have found sites that claim that it does grow hair with one claiming that it has the magical ability to open up closed follicles. Don't take my word for it but I wouldn't advise you to get your hopes up based on that.


Afro Hair Growth
According to Audrey Davis-Sivasothy's book, The Science of Black Hair: A
Comprehensive Guide to Textured Hair Care, afro hair growth occurs through a

PREVENTING BREAKAGE DURING TAKE DOWN

Ever kept a style in for 3 weeks or more only to notice that your ends are breaking off as you loosen the braids? Well, you are not alone. To those of us who aim for length this could mean that you are loosing - instead or retaining - what little length you might have gained over time. A culprit for this could be dryness. Yes, you might spray with water and seal  frequently  but the water and oil combo sometimes does not properly enter the braid or twist.Thus, the surface of the braids might feel soft but the inside could be very dry.
Here's a simple way to moisturise your hair before take down to reduce breakage:

 You will need...

1. Spray bottle
2. Pick comb
3. Castor oil or Shea butter
4. Conditioner
5. Water

Direction
A night before take down...

1. Mix 5 parts of  water to 1 part conditioner in a spray bottle
2. Since you are about to loosen your hair there is no need to worry about frizz. Spray the mix on braid/twist and smooth. Make sure the braid/twist is damp.
3. Apply enough castor oil or Shea butter to the section. For this,think sealing. The only difference is that you'll need slightly more oil than you'll need for a normal styling session.
4. Braid or twist braids together (if possible) and put on a plastic cap. If you are not comfortable sleeping with a plastic cap you can wear a satin bonnet and/or tie a satin scarf.

By the next morning you should wake up to braids that feel soft and are perfectly moisturised. As you loosen using your fingers or a pick comb (see pic. above) you should also notice minimal hair breakage (if any).

Possible question: Why can't I just loosen immediately after spraying with water?
Answer: Our hair is at its weakest when wet so you want to reduce the amount of damage that could come as result of pulling and detangling at this point. Note also that the thick oils mentioned help seal in moisture and give slip, making it easy for the hair strands to be separated from each other.
This method of of moisturizing before loosening afro hair can be useful during the hot-humid and dry harmattan weather in Nigeria.

YOUR HAIRLINE, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Compare Nigerian hair in the 60's with the unhealthy fluff that we see as normal today

If you spend one week in a salon in Nigeria, the number of women with hair and scalp related problems will surprise you. As Nigerians, we rather assign responsibility for a lot of things to other people than learn how to do it ourselves. When I speak to ladies with hair problems like traction alopecia, there is always a story of how the stylist used too much of this or added that other product wrongly. "He or she pulled my hair tightly" or "I was advised to plait my tender scalp so the hair can grow".
While I feel very sorry for them, my response usually is "are you not aware that there is no legislation covering hair care in Nigeria?" We all know that  most of us stylists learned by observing people who might not have  known better themselves. The rate of women with unhealthy hair on the streets can testify to that. So it is for this reason that I advise Nigerian ladies to know their hair first before trusting some else with it. That way, you can guide anyone styling your hair to do what works best for you.

A FEW TIPS TO KEEP AWAY "IYA IYABO" (no hairline)

 Braids, twists and weave-on's are usually the styles of choice for most of us. Not only do they help us save time and money on daily styling ,they also help keep our hair from breaking and/or entangling as a result of over manipulation. While this is a good thing, it can be also be harmful to the hair at our edges. When braids are done too tightly, they can cause damage to your hair follicles leaving you bald in one spot (marginal alopecia) or all through your hair line for the rest of your life. Here are a few tips to remember:

My hair loose chunky twists

1. As the stylist braids your hair, press down the beginning of the braid with your finger to reduce the amount of pressure to your hairline.
2. Avoid plaiting the same style over and over again. If you take down a style like ghana braids, leave your scalp to rest for about 2-3 weeks and then do a different style. As for me, I like to do chunky, loose twists after taking down styles like Ghana-braids or havana twists. 
3. If after braiding or twisting your hair you feel unbearable pain, take down the style. A lot of us think about the money spent but trust me, that amount isn't worth getting bald for.



Notice the sores?

4. The moment you notice little bumps around your hair line with  pus coming out, please loosen your hair immediately and see a specialist. And if you think that it is just hair and should not be taken that seriously, note that sores (like the one in the picture) have been known to cause infections. Where hairlines are concerned, safety should come before beauty.

Understanding Ahia Natural Nigerian Abuja

Source: That Igbo Chick

The Natural Nigerian hair and body line is produced and packaged by the owner of Natural Nigerian.com. When the brand was created, the first people to enjoy its goodness where those of us who lived in Lagos and its environs. At the time, NN, having a passion for healthy hair and a healthy life style in general took the products to her clients the best way she could; through Ahia Natural Nigerian online store. Thanks to the internet, all her early customers had to do then, was order online and for just an extra fee of 500-700, they could get their favorite hair/body products.

Seeing how Lagos curlies were getting all the good stuff, those of us in Abuja  refused to be left out. At that time, our only hope of getting good natural hair products was to save up and wait for a friend who was traveling out of the country. But listening to and being considerate of her growing audience, NN decided to bring the party closer to the people. ABJ ladies were then given the option of either ordering from Lagos and picking up their products or having them delivered to their doorsteps. This however came with a price that many of us tried, but could not afford to pay. 

What to do...

Once more, NN decided to bring her products even closer to her Abuja customers. We looked for and found 2 stores that belonged to women who understood Naturals and the difficulties they faced in understanding their hair, product labels, and techniques.

Why go through all that stress?

Well its simple, since you can not see Natural Nigerian all the time, you can visit any of the stores - not just to buy products but to also get good hair care advice from veteran naturals.

Is that all?

NO, these stores are strategically located. Keeks pharmacy is located in Jabi at Bright star plaza, No 50 Ebitu Ukiwe street. Apart from customers in Jabi Keeks pharmacy also serves customers from Utako district,Wuse and Maitama.
Next on the list is  Lumo Naturals Store and salon which is  located at Suite G8, Mbouty plaza, Marcus Garvey street , behind Emirates hotel, off 5th avenue, Gwarinpa. Lumo, apart from her gwarinpa customers also serves customers from Apo, Life camp, Kubwa and its environs. 

Isn't that great?! Of course but that is not all....

For those of you who prefer home delivery; you can place your orders by sending an email to orders@naturalnigerian.com to have your products delivered right at your doorstep for a fee of N500 (within AMAC)

So lets do the math...

Ordering from Lagos:

• 1 NN leave in: :N2500
• 1 NN coconut oil (4oz): N1000

• 

  Source: NaturalNigerian.com

• 1 Tea Tree essential oil:N1500
• 1 hemp seed oil:N1050
• Total: N6050
• Delivery:N1500
• Grand Total: N7550

Buying from Lumo Naturals Abuja:

• 1 NN leave in: N2500
• 2 NN coconut oil:N1050
• 1 tea tree essential oil:N1600
• 1 Hemp seed oil:N1100
• Total:N6250
• Delivery:****
• Grand Total: N6250
• Savings: N1300 (a bottle of palm kernel or sweet almond oil + N350 change)
  
• Awoof: Apart from your savings, you get to share your hair frustrations with the owner of the salon/store who will definitely share tried and trusted solutions.

Home Delivery:

You get to have all of the above while saving cost on transportation... after all N500 can not comfortably take you to your destination and back.

And before some of us start rioting for equal representation, know that we are still working hard to bring NN's products much-much closer to you. Ladies and gents in states like Kogi, Nassarawa, Kaduna, and Niger state, can also reach out to us and we would find a way of putting a smile on your face.

Much love to all our esteemed customers, we totally appreciate your support and always look forward to a serving you the best way we can:)

Thank you and stay Blessed!

Please NOTE that Abuja prices may slightly differ from online store prices.

3 Months of Hair Freedom

For some of us 'free-fro-care' hours are a luxury. Type 4 hair is beautiful but as it gets longer, so does the time and effort to keep it healthy increase. See below for a brief description of what my regimen can be like...

Day 1 (Prepoo): Apply oil and put on a plastic cap, tie a head wrap and dash out of the house. Return home, wash hair, deep condition and braid. 

Day 2 : Hair is still damp so I  apply leave in conditioner, detangle, seal and braid or thread.

Day 3: Hair is dry so I loosen the thread or braids and style.

Too much? I know, but wetin man go do? *sighs.

Tired, I thought of ways that one could reduce the amount of time and money spent on our hair every week without getting bald and the solution?....

PROTECTIVE STYLING!

Want a break from your tight curls? Then get a protective style. With the right style and techniques you can expect length retention without doing much. 

But before running to the market square, I came up with a short list of tests that my protective style/regimen must pass for it to be worth sharing with others.

1.Time spent on daily styling must not exceed 10 miutes

2 month old twists

2.Wash day must not be a 12 hour event
3.Because a healthy scalp will produce healthy hair, the scalp must be accessible,and
4.Hair must be healthy after take down-with a reasonable amount of shedding of course

If any of this points gets a zero...as in if I so much as suffer from a dry and scaly scalp during this time, the trial would get a big red X 

BEFORE STYLING

Hair was washed, deep conditioned, sealed and stretched, ready for styling.

AFTER STYLING

The first week was relatively easy. All I had to do was tie the twists at the back of my hair in a big knot during the day and tie a satin scarf at night. The good thing about this easy every day style was that I could control how much tension the twisted extensions put on my hair line and it took me seconds to tie the twists up.

Weekly maintenance: By the third week, I needed to moisturise my hair so I used that opportunity to wash it and clean my scalp (using NN black soap). When it got a bit dry, I applied castor oil to the roots and sprayed on the hair a mixture of Natural Nigerian leave in conditioner, water, and coconut oil.

SECOND MONTH

By this time, my hair had started looking frizzy but it did not look bad at all. I still got compliments and random strangers asking what and how many extensions I used. (See picture above)

Weekly Maintenance: Hair was kept clean (as stated above) and moisturised. To protect my edges, I took down the extensions and loosely re-twisted each section without using extensions. I don’t think anyone could tell the difference because my hair texture and that of the extensions were not that far apart.

 

Twists get swollen when wet.

THIRD MONTH

By the third month, the parts at the roots were beginning to close-up. To be sure that my hair was not breaking, too dry, or shedding unnaturally, I took down a few twists and noticed something…length! Nice!!

Because the twists were now super frizzy I began brushing my hair with a soft brush (almost daily),and to keep those strands down,I used eco styler gel. But this meant that I had to wash my hair more often.

SOLUTION: Spritz  hair with daily moisture mix (NN leave in, coconut oil and water), smooth hair down with my palms and then tie a satin scarf. 
No more worries about time, damaged hair cuticles, and sticky edges.

By the second week of the third month, I began hearing snapping sounds whenever I had to take the twists apart to oil my scalp. 

What was happening? O_0
The new growth at the root of one section was getting entangled with the sections closest to it. Matting had begun.

SOLUTION: Take down :(

TAKE DOWN MADE EASY

To reduce breakage, I put some olive oil in a spray bottle and sprayed each individual twist from the root to where my hair stopped before loosening . This helped, especially with the hair strands that had begun to get entangled with the extensions.

 

 End Result

So did I get all I wanted? Yes, I did not loose hair (#4), did not suffer from dandruff and dry scalp during and after this time (#2 and #3), and best of all I had 3 months of mane freedom! (#1)

Did I encounter any problems? The only problem worth sharing is that I had to trim off some new growth at my edges-twice. This is because the free hair was growing longer but I was not brushing it (for fear of breakage) and so it began to matt, forming into a small fine lock (dada)

Did I learn anything during this period? Yes, I learnt that...

-Type 4 hair is better off with little manipulation

-Natural hair does not need to be time and money consuming

-Travelling for long periods at a time or having a busy life in general does not have to be more stressful because you have natural hair and

-I think I'm going to get my hair locked at some point in my life :)

  
Lets hear from you, can you carry a style for more than 3 weeks? If No, tell us why and if yes, please share your hair type and regimen .

Keeks Pharmacy is Naural Hair Friendly

Hi Ladies!

"Due to popular demand, we at Keek's pharmacy now carry more natural hair friendly products. To buy the products shared with you, and more from Natural Nigerian,  visit us at bright plaza, No. 5 Ebitu Ukiwe street, plot 363 cadastral zone, opposite first bank beside zenith bank, Jabi district, Abuja."

NatM. says: Keek's therapy will have a stand at LRR on Saturday the 30th of October 2014 . 

Another meetup hosted by Lumo Naturals!!

Salute my people!!
Lumo Naturals salon is organising a meetup for Abuja based naturals.
WHAT TO EXPECT....

• Free DIY journal
• 50% off Lumo hair kit
• 50% off Beloved perfume
• 50% off ayurvedic powders in stock
• 20% off selected services (for card holders)
• Free body butters (for purchases over N5000)
• Cocktail hour
• Hair talk by Ameera
• Complemetary goodies bag 
• Lots of products from vendors like Natural Nigerian, Keeks Pharmacy, Hemani zait, Essence of ladinah and many more

Alot for anyone to think of missing. Spread the word and be sure to come early.
See you all on Saturday:)

DETANGLING MADE EASY

There is nothing as tiring -and sometimes painful- as detangling your kinks after 1-2months of protective styling. You take down the extensions/plaits looking forward to seeing what little length you must have gained during the period, but then you notice a lot of build-up at the roots. So what do you do? You pour lots of conditioner and/or oil on your hair and begin taking apart hair strands that are clumped together. Not only does the exercise feel like life is forcing you to learn divine patience, but you are disappointed by all the short hair strands that are falling off as you work through all the knots.

MY NEW SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM: MANSHANU!!
2 weeks ago, I bought a bowl of manshanu from wuse market for N500. The plan was to use it as a dc protein treatment after washing with a shampoo but detangling a small section of hair took 2 days and I decided, in frustration, to try something new.

 

 

HOW TO
I smoothed on some manshanu to a little section of hair until it felt soft and then loosely twisted it. A few minutes after saturating all my hair with the product, I noticed that it was really easy for my fingers to pass through the knots without much of a problem (nice!). I then went on to take out the shed hairs with a wide tooth comb which was just as easy. No pain, no time wasted.
If there is one thing I love about manshanu is that it has got SLIP. This makes detangling so much easier and faster!!

I left the product on for another 30 minutes and washed it off afterwards.

Detangling has never been so easy and breakage was minimal

  Hair is soft and manageable one week after  treatment

On Sunday I tried the same process on my Mom. If there's one thing I know about her regimen is that she never washes her hair or puts anything liquid on it without properly detangling it first. When I offered to try manshanu on her hair using this method I could tell that she wasn't really buying my 'gist' but fortunately she let me work my magic.
During the process, not one "careful!'' was uttered. Instead I got a "what exactly is this?" and "how did you find out about it's uses?"
Answer to question 1:It is magical manshanu.
Answer to question 2: Out of frustration and I'm still learning about it.
The major lessons I have learnt during my hair journey are that one should never be afraid to try new things and short-cuts do make life easier (not all the time sha *_^).

NOTE:A little goes a long way. Apply too much and your face and neck will be full of oil in no time.

Storage: Manshanu should be stored in a refrigerator

Ready for use? If your manshanu is solid and sweating as seen in the picture opposite don't use heat to melt it. Rather, let it seat for 30-45mins (depending on how hard it is) and it would return to its original state.

Save the Date

Guess What I found...

 

...a picture of my crazy hair line back in the day.

 I never knew how bad my hair line was until after I went natural...throwing away that last  relaxer pack was a very good decision

    

                          JazzWife was right, I do have good hair *_^

My sister and I had a good laugh at the first picture but trust me when I say that 4 years ago, it was definitely not a laughing matter. I'm sharing these pictures not to show off growth but to encourage all the ladies who have shared their hair loss frustrations with me.
Please keep on with your new hair techniques and ignore all the negative energy. One day soon your hair line would be back to normal :).