TRIMMING/DUSTING HAIR...I DID IT MYSELF!!

As much as "trimming" hair sounds disheartening to anyone looking to grow some length,  it is very important and essential for one to have once in a while. I've always wished I won't have to trim my hair at all but hay, that was just a wild dream. 

Trimming is more of evening out the ends of the hair strands whereas dusting is cutting off some dead ends. Trimming is more effective and beneficial compared to just dusting. 

So, why trim or dust hair? Trimming or dusting hair is important to prevent unnecessary breakage of hair and "It promotes growth" . When the ends of hair are damaged, it is recommended that you snap the damage off rather than leaving it to snap on its own. It also promotes better hair growth and health. 

When it comes to when one should trim their hair, I say different strokes for different for  folks. Some people have a strict schedule on trimming hair, some do it when they need it, some are just scissor happy, they just love the neat look a trim gives. 

I recently dusted my ends off myself at home. I used Carmen's of My natural sistas technique to archive this. 

I knew I needed some sort of trimming when my hair started feeling fried, dry and stringy. my hair was tangling a lot even after I have put my precious time into detangling it. It was very frustrating. The styles weren't coming out nicely as I know they could. I twisted my hair and left it for wigging. I haven't taken it out as yet to see how different it is after the trim. 

This is how much I snapped off >>>>>>>>

xoxo!!! 

MY HAIR JOURNEY, RELAXED TO NATURAL

I always had my hair relaxed for as long as I can remember. In fact I don't remember myself with coils on my head. My sister always had my hair stretched though my mom  preferred my hair short and less complicated.

I grew up knowing and believing my hair needs to be stretched and so  I "learned" to take care of my relaxed hair. I quoted "learned" because looking back now, I now know I knew nothing about  healthy hair. anyway I continued wearing my hair relaxed until in 2010-11. I went through a rough patch in my life and the stress caused a lot of damage to my hair. my hair just started thinning out and breaking off to the point of no return. I cut my hair very short.

2011 Feb



I took that as a fresh start to grow it back but I didn't relax it right away, I only blew it out there and then. 

2011 around august



 Fast forward to 2013 when my hair started showing signs of weakness again,I started looking for answers. My first search on Google was "why does African hair not grow" I don't remember what I found there but my next question was "how to grow African black hair" and boyyyy did I open cans of lovely worms? blog posts, images and videos POPPED up hunny, a lllot. There I was expecting to see what girls use to relax their hair, who and when do they relax and how often blah blah blah!, but no,  I saw "aliens", girls with long beautiful healthy natural hair and I was like wwwwwhat??????? how on earth?  I was so surprised I couldn't live with myself. From there on, The rest is history, here I am. 

My last chemical session was in September 2014. 28th October 2014 I finally chopped all "chemicalized" hair off.  

The guy who cut and dyed my hair did a crappy job with the dye but I left it, I wasn't going to put any more chemical on my hair. It meant walking around with that weird color on my head and so I did. I couldn't care less, I just couldn't wait to start my virgin hair journey.

I'm approaching my 1 year mark yayyy!!. I am in my basic learning stages and enjoying the journey.
From here on, I will be sharing my journey with you in picture so that you can see how it is going and all that I do and will be doing with my hair. I'll also be sharing all the challenges, accomplishments and lessons about my hair.

March 2015



This is my hair now, dyed black. May 2015

 

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You are beautiful, You matter. you are priceless. xoxo!! 

 

BENTONITE CLAY EXPERIENCE

Clay cleanser/detox vs clay deep conditioner

Hello hello loves. As promised I'm here with my clay experience as a cleanser and as a deep conditioner.
The first time I used the bentonite clay, I used it as a cleanser and as a detox for my hair from the protein overload I had experienced due to over indulging in protein treatments. The clay worked magnificently for me, I was very happy with the results. The brittle and the dry feeling my hair had, vanished straight away so I was over the moon with the clay results. My hair didn't feel "cleansed" It felt moisturized and detoxified. I will however try it again in the future as a cleanser on a much healthier hair and see how it feels, given that previously I was not necessarily looking for clean hair, I was looking for soft moisturized hair. I didn't pay much attention into whether it removed the build up or cleansed my scalp. So It'll be unfair of me to say it doesn't cleanse.  Here's a recipe for the clay cleanser should you want to try it.

Recipe for clay cleanser:

• Bentonite clay
• Apple cider vinegar 
• rosemary essential oil
• peppermint essential oil 
• water 

This past weekend I tried the clay as a deep conditioner and boy I LOVED the results. By far this is my most favorite deep conditioner I have ever had. My hair was so soft, the tangles were melting like butter. My coils clumped together like lovers ooolala!!. For the first time since I've been natural I felt the bounce in my hair. When I shook my head, I felt my hair moving. I saw my real curl pattern YAYYY!. I love my bento' ladies, I hope it'll give you great results should you try it too.

STEP 1

• On freshly washed hair I applied the paste 

STEP 2

• I covered my head with a plastic back for deeper penetration and left it for about 2-3 hours while I continued with my chores. I also wrapped a towel for that extra heat. ;) 

STEP 3

• I thoroughly rinsed off the clay using warm water then followed up with my tresseme naturals conditioner and only rinsed half of it off. I then T-shirt dried my hair. Immediately, I followed up with my leave in conditioner, raw Shea butter then castor oil to seal. I use the LCO method. 

STEP 4

• I stretched my hair . http://naturallycoiledsa.blogspot.com/2015/07/african-threading.htm

STEP 5

• styling 

Recipe for clay deep conditioner:

• Bentonite clay 
• apple cider vinegar 
• 5ml extra virgin olive oil
• 20ml organic coconut oil
• 10ml cold pressed castor oil
• Rosemary essential oil
• Water 

PS: The measurements for water, the clay and the ACV depends on the length and the thickness of your hair and how you personally want your paste to be.

Have you tried the clay ladies? please do share your experiences and tips on how I can make the most of my bag of clay in the comment section below.

Happy hair days to y'all.. mpwaaa!!!