treatments please

Ok well i want to dye my hair. I'm thinking of 2-3 shades of highlights all over. My friend says my hair is long but its just shoulder length when stretched.

my aim for the next 3 months is to have treatments every two weeks. I am not sure which treatments to do or try. The easiest would be hairdresser as i am due a trim and dont like snipping my ends myself.

I would love some colour suggestions

style challenge

Right now my main style is canerows. i do love the curly fro pieces that are about. big hair

but its soooo cold in england right now
so its strictly protective styles now

canerow every week

Not much in hair land
i have tried out anita grant's wonderful products.
trying to save to buy more

i am on the look out for something to soothe my scalp. its dry it flakes and if i dont wash it before it begins to itch i am suffereing.

i was addicted to my curly fro instant weave. but i have let that go.

i found when i was on my hols in caribbean i did no need any oils. the heat just brought out my natural oils

anyway i will give this a better update soon

canerow tension

My friend canerowed my hair for me just before christmas. Which i was grateful for. As you can see from the pic the point parts were also along the hairline and her grip was tight.

However when i came to take them out there were oads of white bulbs around my hairline. My hair was basically being pulled out from the root. I thought at first it was a product i used. but no. Anyway my hairline is damaged. Though one of my friends says its not bad and could be worst.

I told my friend who did my hair about the damage and she was apologetic but at the same time i should have said to make it less tight.

Traction alopecia is no joke. some people recover some dont. so you know i am now on nappturality reading there alopecia forum to see what is what.

Do people learn lessons mmmm who knows but I intend to get a weave for my birthday. I have never had one. plus i dont wish to straighten my hair and a weave is just a style option I',m gonna see if i like it.

If when your hair is done you cant smile cause of the pain speak up and say lessen the tension my dear.

twists to go

Since my hair was in need of some TLC from the micros i did the following.....

I detangled my hair combing through ends to root. section at a time. Then i lavished my hair with Vatika as a pre-shampoo treatment. I left it on for half and hour. Then I shampooed with creme of nature shampoo. I have yet to find and alternative..suggestions are welcomed. Usually i use my Lush conditioner bar its a green one but cant remember the name off hand.

I squeezed excess water from hair and sectioned it off into four sections and applied to each keracare essential oils, keracare moisturiser, glycerin (which i have found that i need to buy a vegetable based one) and castor oil. each item listed i only use a small amount as the water that is still in my hair helps to spread it through easily. Due to time constraints I had to use a blowdryer. I dont blow dry my hair straight.

Then i just oiled my sclap using organic root stimulator jojoba oil and twisted my hair all over. My hair needed trim so i snipped the ends as explained by Motown girls diary. Oh yeah the front i flat twisted as my canerow didnt look good. I took down my twists just before i went out. The pic looks good. I recieved loads of compliments with this twist out. So looks like me and twists have a new relationship but just for twist outs

tight micros and lesson learned

My good friend Mary did these micro braid extensions for me. She says there is no excuse for a mother not to have her hair styled. Bless her.

If they look tight that is because they are.

My hair has been braided using Jazzy Kanekalon fibre. It is only braided about an inch and half which meant lots of my own hair is left out. Then the hair is braided into 5 or 6 big tight braids hence the extra tension on my scalp.

Then the hair is dipped into boiling hot water for about a minute. This curls the hair or gives it a waved crimped look. Now when this was done in my hair the hair was unraveled wet. Which meant when it dried although moisturised my hair frizzed up, Next time my hair will be left in the big braids untill completly dry so that my own hair stays in that style shape.

Now i have taken these out but found one of the braids came out by itself. From my investigation it was on my hair line. Which feels tender. Lesson learned. Next time i will insist my hair line is not braided so tight and that i take them out sooner.

Oh yeah please note yet again it took me over a week to take these out even though it wasnt plaited down to the length of my hair. micros and newborns are a no no. if it wasnt for another friend i would still be taking them out now

twisted

These twists were done all by me in august 2005. I got a bit lost as to what to do with them. The picture makes them look better than i thought. Though you can see the gaps which only reinforces my hair being fine. but hey. i did get loads of comments when i wore my hair this way. i think i just ran out of ways to style it that i felt looked good on me. practice makes perfect i say.

progress

Well my hair is au natural now. I dont have any set routine. Yes i do wear my hair in braids and canerows. but i also wear my hair out. right now its just in a pony puff but i am finding my ends are getting knotty. any solutions much appreciated.

Looks like i will be twisting my hair up tomorrow as i will have a busy friday.

I love the castor oil. but it is thick. so i use it sparingly. I wore my hair in a twist out to church and everyon was so in awe. so i know that is one style to keep using. but rain and mist caused frizz. mmm solutions

wearing my own hair

Yes thats right. I am wearing my own hair and have been for the past week. This is week 2. i have it styled with canerows in the front and the back is left out. i usually do a braid out which i am am so proud of or i put in a pony. I never realised people could be so obsessed with my hair. quite shocked that some people asked me if it was my own hair. they werent black those that asked.

my two newest purchases have been organic root stimulator jojoba oil it came with a free sample of soy oil and palmers frizz ease serum. now i use the frizz when i set my hair as it makes the style look sharp.

my scalp is still flaking up so i may have to wash it more often. unsure really.

to be honest i thought wearing my hair out would be bad but it is really nice. i am loving it. now i just need to work out how i am gonna do an afro puff for summer.

micro madness

I cannot believe that it has taken me 4 days to take out my micro humain hair extensions. I cut my own hair as i forgot my hairs lenghth. It was just pure madness. Luckily my friend helped me with the last few.

Now i am in style limbo. So my hair was seriously dry that my hubby pointed this out to me. So i gave my hair a pre-shampoo oil treatment. of coconut oil, amla etc. its called Vatika and indian hair treatment 100% natural. it felt nice in my hair i am tempted to use it as a daily pick me up when my hair needs it.

After my micro hell i am considering canerows som much easier to take out. I did try doing my own hair myself but i cant canerow backwards the way i would need to make the style work.

Well as they say practice makes perfect

discovering natural remedies

Well I have been looking at natural hair remedies. Let me tell you the ladies on Nappturality know their stuff but so does my friend. She is indian and she has been telling me of natural remedies that they use
First there is Shikakai which is a natural shampoo.

"Shakakai" which means fruit of the hair and is a low ph balanced fruit used as shampoo and conditioning. the stuff i read on the web says that it promotes hair growth and helps prevents dandruff basically the powder form is mixed with water to make a paste and used as shampoo

Fenugreek which is a herb, she says that I should mix it with plain natural yoghurt and apply to scalp and that it does good stuff for scalp and hair.mmm yoghurt in hair...recently found that people use mayo in hair so i am assuming it cant be that bad

Though my first natural remedy will be a product called Vatika. My friend gave this to me. The bottle says that it is premium coconut hair oil enriched with Henna , Amla and Lemon(oil). You apply to the scalp and hair. The bottle says best results leave overnight but i am going to use it as a pre-shampoo treatment. I am sure there many other ways to use this.

I also have in my natural collection - pure coconut oil, coconut oil (not pure as mixed with other stuff), Castor Oil, Glycerin and Coco butter oil...Its like i never knew afro hair shops sold most of these. well i cant waut till i BC so i can use them all depending on style.

Must not forget Aloe Vera gel...the thing is though how do i know if i am getting 100% pure stuff i have an aloe vera plant(single bible) mmm...on a mission to find out how.

Kinky Twists

Well i do like kinky twist i think they look really regal. so in say a month or two when my micros come out i will be getting either kinky twists or canerows.

my scalp is still flaky ish so i will be going to the hairdressers to have a extensive scalp treatment. If i cant afford to i will just do it myself at home.

anyway i am off to find some afro kinky hair for the kinky twists as i do like to store my hair in bulk so in those days when i am broke i can still do my hair.

dry scalp

Happy new Year !

Right now my scalp is suffering. Its dry and flaky which is not good when your hair has been immaculately braided by someone else. My friend suggested lavender water whih i never heard of. I am a bit scared of using an additive as such. i have considered many things but feel the best i can do is get a cloth damp it and wipe my scalp clean. Then oil my scalp again. This time i will use the dry and itchy. I am tempted to go and buy sulphur8 though if i do i will buy the light formula.

i was going to keep my hair in these micros for 3 months so that i wouldnt have to re-do my hair for my holiday. But i will take it out and get some canerows styish ones at that.

human hair

Got my micros done. Which i must say i am so pleased with. This is the first time i have used human hair to do my extensions. My aunty chose the hair type which is wet n wavy. i bought two 14 inches but turned out i needed one 14 and one 16 inch as my hair was longer than what my aunt thought. Her back is not too good but she braided my hair for me in what could have been done in a day but left the last hours work till the morning. It is shoulder length. she had some red 16inch hair so she used that to top up mine. in all it worked out that we only used one bag of hair roughly.

No i like human hair but for curly styles though. Me, I just need to work on my grip to be able to take up those small curls on my neck

shampoo...style

Well i finally gave my hair a thorough wash and condition whilst in the shower. My hair feels lovely. I plan to try my first conditioner wash prior to putting my hair back in extensions.

my hair was doing this puffy thing at church so i got out my flat irons just give some control. Th effects of a flat iron dont last long in my hair as within a day my hair is back curly/frizzy. i do like it still

By the end of 2005 i hope to have done my BC. fingers crossed emotions ready....

Twists

Well I was truly a bit reluctant to have my hair out. My aunty said she would twist it up for me. So the two of us took down my red extensions which i started to dislike, and she canerowed the front of my hair and twisted the back. The ends unravelled a little but it looks nice still. Gives my hair movement. I like it. just wish hair was thicker or had more body.
sofrolushes indeed!!!

the finishing touch

Although I have mastered doing my braid extensions. I am not entirely satisfied with them. The middle gives way to centre part and for the life of me i can not correct it right now. So I am hoping and praying that I do get to fix it soon.

I used the shea butter by organic root stimulator it really moisturises my roots and scalp. I will see what the condition of my hair is when i take down braids. My mission is to find some hairstyles to put my braids in. Also i am starting to like the sound of that dominican blow out. But heat control - I will need to make sure it is only done once ever so often.

Been trying to get onto nappturality to top up my natural haircare knowledge. But due to some site upgrade i cannot get in. fingers cross it is sorted by the weekend.

Practice makes perfect

I can say that i am now fully fumctioning in self dependence. I love the fact that i can do my own hair in single braids. they are not as neat as i would like or dont have the finish i love. but practice makes perfect. sorry no digital camera so i cant show you any pics yet.

I recently bought organic root stimulators shea butter for braids locs and natural hair. it was reccomended to someone else so i thought i would give it go. seems okay. anyway my next challenge is to be able to do canerows and canerows extensions.

My key terms today are Dominican blow outs and twists.

nappy ever after!!

transitioning times

I originally posted this poem on a forum. it somes up my journey.

Transitioning times

woa is me for these are transitioning times
my scalp is sore my
scalp is over dry
why or why lye
got so used to the creamy crack
thought i couldnt turn back
the abuse that society induced
felt like i was one step away
from injecting the lye to keep my hair in line
now blessed be He who has shown me love for the napp
my hairdresser seemed distressed
whilst my hair is becoming diverse
two textures i have at war
curly roots through to straight limp ends
pass me the shea butter and my wide tooth comb
curls today twists tomorrow
a revolution is amongst us
watch the manufactures scramble
to entice me to buy natural hair care
however now i can make my own
stay blessed forever nappy and loving it!!!

extensions by me

Well it has been a long time since I have written in my hair diary. I just stumbled on it today. So here is what’s new
I have successfully put my entire head in single braid extensions. So proud of myself. Basically I have always wantd to do this but finally decided aftr some events words that I need to stop depending on people to do my hair. I should only be spending the cost of the hair. Plus those who do my hair for free I often feel it’s a chore to them. But anyways I am very happy. When I last took my hair out and was blow-drying my hair I felt rough hair at the line of demarcation. Its what is called scab hair. Its texture is in such contrast to the rest of my hair , well at least it will get rimmed off eventually.
My next task is to be able to do extension canerows in my hair. I am gathering info on home recipes for hair care.