Keratin not for natural curls...

Saw this video recently about the dangers of Keratin treatments for curly hair. Also highlighted how hairdressers can have such a lax attitude to what a customer wants. Glad the lady in the video found a salon that understood her needs.

Milky Way Que Hair Bleach Experiment

I have always been told that you cannot bleach or dye hair from the local hair shop unless it is a top grade or even "virgin"hair. So I had a look on youtube and found some folk had some good results on the hair that I bought. I have used MilkyWay Que before but never messed with it. Just curled or straightened it. Que is a human hair blend. I do not know why the advertising bodies do not require hair companies to properly label what they are selling.

You will see from my video that I got mixed results. One bundle bleached and dyed ok. The other was a completely disaster yet both are from the same brand. It was an experience so although some hair has been wasted I can honestly say I tried and it did not quite work

Edge Control Product Review

So I have been wearing my twist extensions for a while now. In my previous post about ORS Edge Control  I showed how amazing the product was for slicking my edges down. The below video gives an up to date overview alongside another similar product by African's Pride called Silky edges. 

My New Do - Twist Extensions

I finally decided to put my hair in one of my preferred styles Twist Extensions. After a few months of weave good and bad a time for a new look was needed. When taking my weave out that I used a lace front closure with I accidentally cut my own hair. I basically was using the razor that people use to trim their eyebrows. I was not using a mirror and thought the thread was extra tough and ended up cutting right through my hair braid. It has meant that one side of my hairline is butchered whilst the other is okay.

My stylist loved the fact that all my hair is natural. She told me the condition was good and that the back has more body than the front. So I do wonder what can I do to increase the the front of my hair.

I have some pictures of my hair out prior to the extensions which I hope to post later on this week.

In the meantime here is a video of my new hairstyle. It is a weak old in this video.

The 10 Weave Commandments

Saw this video about weave etiquette and thought it was funny but so true.

What my son said....

So by now you should know that I am pretty much stagnate in "protective" styles aided by extensions and half wigs. However I am starting to venture into weaves especially for the brute winters we have in the UK. Yes I know its not as bad as other places but it is bad enough for me to feel it. Right now I am stil on the hunt for winter boots that can fit my calves. 

 Anyway as I prepped my own natural hair to be washed, I showed my husband how long the back was. It is almost APL. I dare not say it is APL because when I get it trimmed this month it will be just between. I also noted to him how the middle is shorter and the front even shorter. He claims he has the same issue. My sons always love seeing my hair and often comment on my various hairstyles. So today my oldest seeing my hair in its natural state said this to me: 

 Son " Mum why do you wear hair when you have hair?" 

 Me " Because I like to change styles often without damaging my hair" 

 Not sure if he was unimpressed with my answer he replied 

 Son "Only bald people are supposed to put hair on their head"

I can understand his analogy and at only 7yrs old I Am in awe of his observance and questions. I am slowly building up a healthy hair routine to see if I can get my middle and sides and hairline to reach the same lengths as the back of my hair. I air dried my hair today but on those dark winter nights this may not be possible depending on time of day. I will finally invest in some rollers and may try a rollerset challenge. I am inspired by EbonyCPrincess who although was natural and is now relaxed her blog and youtube channel is all about healthy haircare whatever the texture.

One more thing I revisited an old friend from my relaxed days. That is ORS Hair Mayonnaise. I left it on for about 30 minutes and my hair was so manageable and easy to detangle. I will try use this once every month or every other month depending,

MeHair Initial Review

I finally bought some "quality" hair. Last year I bought some hair from the hair shop that tangled relentlessly. So I saved up and did research and after a relative bought hair from this company I took it as my okay to go ahead and place an order. I ordered the day before a bank holiday and yet the delivery was about 3 days minus the holiday. 

The hair came packaged in a black pull string bag. Each bundle individually wrapped in plastic. I settled for two bundles of 14 and 16 inch length. I am only 5ft1 and doubt I could manage anything longer.

The wefts seem very neat and well put together. Though when I washed the hair there was some shedding. So as a pre-caution before my install I will seal the wefts. 

My overall initial review is that the hair feels soft and doesn't tangle. Comb goes through it easily. There is definitely some shedding which was noticeable when I washed it. Cannot say if shedding is excessive for this hair as vendor hair is new to me compared with going to my local hair shop. I just hope next month when I am wearing this hair it doesn't tangle. If you buy quality hair and know of any good vendors please let me know. I am hoping to get a lace closure as my own hair is still natural and probably will stay that way. 

Hair Growth Cycles

I found this advert by Nanogen that comes on Youtube often. I usually skip it but decided to watch it. It is quite interesting what it teaches about growth cycles and hair. I hope you find it just as informative. Please note any product mentioned is NOT endorsed by me in anyway. I am just primarily concerned with the educational information.

Pelo Malo / Bad Hair

Have you seen this documentary yet?

My full thoughts can be found on my other blog Lushes Brown Thoughts. This documentary mainly concentrates on people of Latin and Caribbean America many of whom live in the USA and just goes to show that this inbred attitude towards our hair is very unhealthy. However the tide has been changing so let it continue.

I know for me right now I tend to use protective styles but I hope to change that to a winter protect and spring summer flowing free UK weather permitting. 

Hair Care Rehab

This is a pleasant surprise to come across. The author of The Science of Black Hair, Audrey Davis-Sivasothy has a new book out called Hair Care Rehab. Upon first looks this is a general hair care book as the pictures show different ethnicities and textures being represented. If you have an E-reader like a Kindle it is currently free as a download from Amazon. Now if you do not have a Kindle there are free Kindle apps for your computer and mobile phone which will allow you to download the book for free. The published book is £12.43. So even if you do not need a new book yet this is a freebie worth having. I have seen this offer on for a few days now so get it while it is free while you can. 

This hair of mine

Well I know I do not post often on here. However what I think may start doing shortly is sharing information on haircare that I like and intend to try at some point. I had my hair in a protective style. Just a short weave but I need to look into care of my hair underneath more. Decided on this style as previous styles means too much tension in one are on my head top was not working out. I have noticed I am getting scabs on my scalp that sort of remind me of relaxer burns. Yep that deep. Now my hairstylist does not braid my hair too tight and my scalp has been oiled. I just wonder if I need to switch to Jojoba oil or something. My scalp has always been super dry.

I am supposed to try using the rollerset method for future occasions when I wash and dry my hair. I have seen some great pics on that. My natural hair is shoulder length when blow dried. I have now after just over a month taken the weave out. With the summer like heatwave we have gotten in the UK over the past weeks I decided i needed to come out so I could give my hair a decent wash. The longest I should go without washing my hair is a week with no hair oil or I can get 2 weeks with an oiled scalp. When I do no t oil my scalp it gets really dry and sometimes scab in places. It may not be scabs could be dandruff. I may need to do a clarifying wash treatment or something. So I guess that will be my next research topic

Random 99p shop hair purchases

I bought these items months ago. I saw them in one of many 99p shops in my area. The first one has a bowl and some applicator brushes. I saw a video by YouTuber "ulovemegz" who said she poured her treatments and conditioner into a bowl and then applied to hair. I thought this could be a good idea to copy. At 99pence I will not be out of pocket.

Now the hair scissors seemed like a good idea however I know many will say for hair you cant use these as they are too cheap. I do not know how much they would cost in another shop though. I only dust my ends when I think about it, I have yet to fully do a proper trim so I  go to my hairdresser to get a proper trim. These are just a random purchases anyway which I hope will become useful.

Dr Miracle's Tingling Intensive Deep Conditioner

I have noticed that my hair care was lacking deep treatments. When I was younger and permed my entire school life I would get my hair steamed in between touch ups. Roll on to the natural hair me and I have surely slacked in this area. For the last few years I have only had a deep treatment once a year at the salon when my hair is being trimmed professionally. On a whim I bought a few treatments and so far have only tried one. I do not know why these treatment packs just do not come in a bottle or a jar. Would be so much cheaper than paying 99p or more per treatment.

The Dr Miracle's Tingling Intensive Deep Conditioning Treatment claims to help breakage and dry scalp. As you know I have suffered from breakage and I am slowly recovering. My breakage has slowed but still anything that says it will help breakage is a good thing so I hope. 

I left the treatment on for 30 minutes. It tingled as promised but the sensation was not annoying to me. Once rinsed out my hair felt really soft and well conditioned. My hair is often dry so this feeling was a welcome relief. I will definitely try this product again at some point. However if there is a jar or bottle equivalent or similar I would prefer that. 

It is clear to me I need to improve moisture levels in my hair. Still working on that moisture and seal. Surprisingly using products I have is working okay. Any good conditioning tips and moisture retention balance etc suggestions? I want to have at least 1 or 2 regular products to use for deep conditioning my hair.

Hair thoughts and support

I am considering joining Long Hair Care Forum. When I first went natural I joined many hair sites and began to follow many blogs. Except now I only really visit one forum, though always check out the bloggers and vloggers. Months and months ago someone tweeted to me that LHCF would be a nice place for me to be as anything I do with my natural hair would not be condemned. There is a natural hair website that to me is quite militant so I only really browse there these days. 

Now with LHCF there is a small fee. Which I do not mind paying as due to currency conversion is spare change. I was reading EbonyCprincess's blog which featured a lady who although relaxed has gone from neck length hair to mid back. When my hair was relaxed I only suffered breakage when I did stuff to it like bleach and dye. The areas of my hair now where I suffer breakage are new to me. I have no intention of relaxing my hair right now. Only because my scalp built up an indifference to relaxers. Nowadays my scalp just wants to be cleaned regularly as in once a weak where possible and the noo poo method is not a friend of my scalp. 

One thing I noted I do not get treatments as often as I feel I should. I have bought a few and will definitely share what my thoughts are on them. Income is low so although I would be tempted to buy products I need to use what I have and make it work for me. Except I will invest in some Jamaican Black Castor oil. I would like to improve moisture, growth and hairline. I love the moisture and seal method. My hairline has always been fragile it does not need any traction to break. It goes through a break and growth cycle. I could be wrong but I have never had to tempt it to grow back.

The Science of Black hair sounds like it would be a good read but at nearly £20 is a bit steep for me. I have just discovered it is on Kindle for just over £7 and wonders whether this type of book is best suited to hardcopy. Are there any other useful books out there?

World's biggest Afro

I was browsing Concrete Loop and saw this video. It is about Aevin Dugas who according to the Guinness  World Records has the largest Afro in the world. It measures 4ft. Wow. 100% natural afro kinky hair. In some other videos I have watched she says the afro is not her everyday style and she usually opts for a more simpler style.

If anyone know what her youtube channel is if she has one please let me know

Here is another video where she is interviewed on BBC news.

I got hair huh!

When I took my hair out of the weave I caused damage to my hair. It is not too bad and I know better next time. I accidentally cut my hair at the back whilst removing the thread and tracks. So that means a whole length of hair is gone. Now because the X-pression hair mirrored m own it was hard to tell. Thankfully it was at the back so no one will see. 

I took this picture after combing out my hair after the weave was taken out. I shampooed my hair and conditioned it and used Miss Jessie's Sweetback Treatment. However I feel although I love that product I need a better product that is cheaper for deep conditioning treatments. This pictue lets me know I have a whole lot of hair. Just do not be fooled. It looks thick and lush. But it is simply dense and fine. my plaits have no oomph to them which is why I stopped doing twists and braids on my own hair unless it is bulked with extensions.

One of my friends who shaved off her hair and wore a TWA for over a year has been growing her hair out. She wears it in a fro with pride. I used to think my face would not suit such a style. However I took my hair out of big plaits and it was styled like a chunky curly fro. I looked in the mirror and thought wow it looks good and would be perfect for this summer with a maxi dress on. However the summer in the UK is not quite here. 

If you know of any good hair treatments that can be done weekly or bi-weekly please let me know. If it is not sold in the UK I will find a way to get hold of it.

All weaved up!

After going to the hairdresser I decided that I wanted to leave my hair alone kind of. I have tried sewn in weaves before and always hated the experience. My scalp would itch and at times feel as though it was on fire. This time around my experience is different. 

I have a friend who does hair and she does not charge me an arm and a leg for her services. so as she was super affordable I thought why not. Now I did not want to have any hair left out so I got a full head weave. My natural hair at times can be very resistant to heat and reverts quickly whether that be summer humidity or winter rain and snow. I am always cautious of my edges and thankfully she does not apply any noticeable tension on my edges or anywhere on my head.

The base is a standard circular canerow/cornrow base. She used a small bit of X-pression hair to thicken my own hair out for the base.  The only part of the  whole process was the closure. I got jabbed in the head a few times by the needle point. Other than that it turned out lovely.  Unfortunately I have not got the best of pictures as the hair turned into a mess way too quick.

I used two bags of Sleek Spanish Weave hair. Two of my friends did say this hair does not last long and indeed it did not. I feel like I could get a further 2 weeks out of this sew in but the hair has served its purpose. Right now I am wearing it in a bun until the weekend when I can take it out. 

To care for my scalp I used The Organics Root Stimulator Anti Itch Oil. I found this useful and my itching was not that bad. Also to keep my scalp clean I bought their Dry Hair Shampoo but found because of the braid patter would not be practical and I simply washed my hair with the weave. I think my scalp was grateful for a bit of clean.

Now the spanish weave hair jumped back to life in the shower and detangling was easy. However once dried it matted back up and needed to be untangled again. I know people who are serious about weave will probably tell me it is what you paid for but surely at £32 per bag, it could have been better. Next time I will try a straight weave. I am just trying to grow my hair back and gain additional length. I will also not neglect getting trim when I am supposed to.

Hannah Pool Black Hair Documentary.

I saw this small documentary on Black hair by Hannah Pool. The link was posted on the Black Hair magazines Facebook page. It covers the usual discussions on identity and culture but alas it concluded it was about personal choice. I do feel more black women are informed about their hair these days. You simply just cannot tell a Black woman how she should wear or style her hair or whether its okay to wear weave or au natural. If she does not feel the choice is hers she will not care what you think.

Hannah Pool Black Hair Documentary

Trimmed and treated

I was not able to take pictures yesterday. However I finally went to the hairdresser and sorted out my split ends. The breakage was so sporadic that he had to trim what needed to and then blend where was necessary. So for now my hair is at different lengths or layered. My stylist took off 1 1/2 inches. I also had a deep treatment too which was much needed. 

One thing though. My stylist does not believe that you can grow your hair by following any set routine. He feels that from his experience your hair will grow to its own desired length then stop and brake off. I think he meant natural shedding. I have however seen otherwise on others. I should sort out my hairs breakage and prove him wrong. But more so show myself with a little determination my hair can grow longer and healthier. 

What home treatments do you recommend? 

A few textured hair pics

lightly blow dried

I wash my hair yesterday and thought I would take some textured hair shots. I used Tresseme Naturals moisturising shampoo and conditioner. I find this one feels less stripping to my hair and definitely moisturising. Anyway I took this as an opportunity to share some textured pics. My hair is not yet in the best condition but it is getting there. I am finding that my hair needs washing at least once a week to help it's moisture levels. I could be wrong who knows but that is what I think. I need tips on moisture breakage prevention. As soon as I am able I am going to a professional to take off about 2 inches just to ensure all split ends are gone. I just still cannot work out why right in the middle of my head I have the strangest breakage. Some of pics are taken without flash as the hair was not showing up as I could see in the mirror. So I may need to work on my camera technique for the next time. 

with flash