Yup I have finally succumbed! It's time to be Au naturale and I am super excited to inform you my dear readers that I have resolved to turn my back away from............artificial hair products!!from now on most of all the products I will use on my hair will be natural products!

I can imagine what's going through my natural hair readers' minds 'thought she was going natural as in turning away from the creamy crack called a relaxer!hissssss' LOL


Well I am still relaxed and plan on staying that way for much longer, when I was younger in secondary school I had natural hair since they made me cut my hair and I hated it!! Seeing so many people go natural has tempted me I won't lie but by the time I remember how stressful combing my hair was I am convinced to remain relaxed, so natural hair ain't my thing but I love the way natural ladies care for their hair and so I have resolved to be relaxed but treat my hair like its natural because at the end of the day, relaxed hair is more fragile due to relaxers and needs all the care it can get!

So from now on I am switching from normal shampoo


To BLACK SOAP!! 


It's all natural, has no sulphates which damage and dry hair out. Instead it's a mixture of shea butter,honey, palm kernel oil, aloe Vera juice etc basically all natural goodness! I bought the dudu-osun brand and used it on my hair over the weekend and though it didn't lather as much as shampoo, it's Tuesday and my hair ain't itching me so I'm good!

I have not found a replacement for conditioner but for leave in conditioner I did the switch ages ago to WATER & GLYCERINE mixture in a spray bottle


The hair product I use more than anything else is hair moisturizer, now I can say bye bye profectiv or Organics because I have swapped them for 
WHIPPED SHEA BUTTER with ESSENTIAL OILS! 



Thanks to the natural blog NATURAL NIGERIAN which I found through African naturalista's blog, I learnt how to make this concoction and I am loving it!Let me take you through the steps quickly;

First you heat raw Shea butter placed in a bowl over a pot of boiling water( this method is good so the Shea is not over heated and losses it's nutrients)


When it's melted, you add your essential oils, I added castor, olive, tea tree, coconut, sweet almond and then glycerin

After you add the oils you whisk the mixture preferably with an electric whisk. 






You'l need patience sha, I'm saying this because the impression I got was that the mixture turns white and fluffy soon after you whisk just like making cake but nope, it took the whole day! I whisked initially, it stayed watery and then I left it alone, came back a few hours later whisked it again then it was slightly thicker, hadn't changed color though and I honestly thought that I had done something wrong. Left it alone, checked it in the evening and it had really thickened so I whisked it again that's when it became this thick yummy looking mixture that you can mistake for vanilla ice cream!
When it cools down it goes from looking like this; 






 To this; soft, buttery and above all moisturizing!! Shea butter(ori) can be found in the market and its very affordable!



For coloring I finally found some henna dye in an Indian shop in VI! 
Henna is all natural and not only colors but conditions hair.




For hot oil treatments I will incorporate Indian oils I got from the same store with my usual oils, they are infused with extracts from herbs like neem, amla, tulsi which are all great for healthy hair.


I got a relaxer treatment over the weekend and it went well, by the end of the week I will do one of these treatments and let you know how it goes. For as many of you that want to join the natural club either in my way or the actual way(no more relaxers) please you will be doing your hair great injustice if you do not research before you start. You can start with this post then check out natural blogs like the ones I mentioned, those ladies know what they are talking about, they also sell natural products which I will be patronizing once I get the hang of things, I don't want to be a natural product junkie just yet :)
Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned for my next post, feel free to comment or warn me about any of the above products I want to use!

Ciao,
Dabs

SCALP HEALTH
Hiya,
I have been meaning to put up a post focused on Scalp health for a while, I have finally gotten the chance to put my thoughts together so here goes;

The Scalp is like the soil of your hair, crops depend on how conducive the soil is before they can grow. Let me take you back to Agric class for a minute; from what I can recall, the best soil for growing most crops is Loamy soil because it contains more nutrients and hummus and can retain more water and manure compared to sandy or clay soil. Likewise the scalp is the foundation of your hair, healthy hair depends on the state of ones scalp.

Beneath the scalp are over 100,000 hair follicles which are responsible for distributing oils and nutrients from root to tip.  Failure to care for your scalp can result in the following; thinning hair, dry brittle strands, slow hair growth, scalp dryness, itching and dandruff!!

Most people that have any of the above conditions affecting their hair fail to blame their scalp health; to them it's  either the fault of a hair style, stylist or  hair product!

So how can you ensure your scalp is healthy;

Keep it CLEAN; Not SQUEAKY CLEAN though! The first foundation for a healthy scalp is cleanliness. A good shampoo preferably without sulfates should do the job. But washing your hair 5 times so it is squeaky clean is not necessary for a clean scalp, depending on how dirty your hair is all you should need is one wash concentrating on your scalp, leave the ends alone because shampoo can be drying. If your hair is piled on with a lot of product you might need a CLARIFYING shampoo, it will break down all that product build up.

OIL IT ; Don't  GREASE IT!  There is a difference, oiling your hair with light natural oils versus petroleum based oils allow your scalp breath and be infused with nutrients  rather than be clogged from manufactured petroleum oil! Clogging means your scalp cannot breathe and thus hair growth will be stunted.

PROMOTE CIRCULATION; your scalp needs proper blood circulation to thrive and the best way to stimulate circulation is giving it a good massage at least once a day preferably after oiling it. Massaging is not only good for your scalp,it's a great way to relax and put in a nice workout for your arms.

AVOID PUTTING STRESS on your scalp through hair styles that will pull hair out of it. Once Alopecia( nearly irreversible hair loss) takes place it's another battle altogether, so allowing your hair to be held so tightly till bumps show up is the worst idea ever. If you are already suffering of Alopecia and baldness in parts of your hair you might consider getting a scalp analysis from a trichologist.  The Gentle Touch Hair Institute has trained trichologists who can use their technology to find out what's going on with your scalp.

I have come to the end of this post. Hopefully with these tips you can put your scalp in check, remember you only have one scalp so take care of it. Thanks for stopping by and catch you in my next post.

Ciao,
Dabs

Hiya,
What's good people? I browsed through YouTube the other day and noticed most of the channels I am subscribed to we're titled the 7 deadly sins of beauty tag! And I decided I'd post something along those lines with regards hair!

So here goes;


Greed-What is your utmost almost outrageous desire for your hair?
For some people it is fuller hair from root to tip, absolutely no split ends or hair that moves in the wind with zero tangles. For me it's all of the above because I am greedy like that! *wide grin*

Wrath- What is the one thing concerning your hair that can invoke your wrath on anyone? 
Mine is when my hair is really due for a relaxer and I have carefully combed out all the tangles and then an absolute stranger comes from no where and admires my hair by RAKING their fingers through my hair!arrrrghhh! That really upsets me, I actually have had random people touch my hair in the bid to make sure its really mine and it takes all in me not to snap at them rudely but being the well mannered girl I try to be, I politely remove their hands or move my head away before I loose my temper!


Gluttony- What is the hair product that you can never have enough of?
Virgin Coconut oil! I really do not know how I have spent a majority of my existence without this oil! I was introduced to it in 2009 when I started researching on hair products, I purchased some and haven't looked back since, I can use it in large, gluttonous amounts all day, everyday especially the scented type and I also think its just super cool how it becomes solid and then liquid and solid again!

Sloth-What about your hair do you neglect most due to laziness?
Since I started my hair journey I have tried my absolute best to stick to my regimen but I must admit I have been lazy about moisturizing and sealing daily especially at night. At the beginning of the journey I moisturized and sealed  morning and night without fail, these days I've been slacking however I almost always wear my satin bonnet which helps preserve any moisture I have left from the morning.

Pride-What do you love to show off about your hair and How?
For me it's definitely it's fullness. I will take a full head of hair over length any day! Luckily I have full hair if I must say so myself!(that's my pride speaking)LOL. How I show off? With different hairstyles especially buns, I love when I get asked 'is that all your hair?' ( ok, I have to move on before I get out of hand with this sin : )

Lust-You know you can cause lust when you are doing what to your hair?
Hmmmm I never really set out to cause any one to lust over me abeg but I do know that whenever my hair is bone straight, patted in the middle my husband  loves it! 

Envy-If you had a choice whose hair would you have?
I never really like to dwell on ifs but if I had an option to make such a choice I'll definitely want Halle Berry's hair! I love the texture, love how it looks short or long,curly or straight, the color and those silky edges (sigh if only we could all have such  delicious textures)


Oh well I have come to the end of this post, I'd love to tag all the hair bloggers reading it, would love to read your views on these 7 Deadly sins of hair on your blogs. For the rest of you, hope you enjoyed it, Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao, 
Dabs

SALON TIMES; I AIN'T PAYING FOR THIS! CALL THE POLICE!!
Hiya,
How many times have you been at a salon and giggled to yourself while a drama unfolds before your eyes between the stylists or sighed within because something inappropriate was going on, well this is your chance to share your true story with us under SALON TIMES! The purpose really is for readers to enjoy a good laugh or any other emotion deemed fit and maybe learn something in the process.

Let me lead the way by telling you guys about what went down last week Thursday when I went for a pedicure at a salon in lekki! As I was being prepped for my pedicure, I noticed a lady with full natural ( no relaxer) hair getting her hair blow dried, I admired it and wondered what she was there for, maybe a weave or extensions? I kept observing the stylist and noticed when the lady stopped the stylist from using a brush on her hair, then the stylist packed her hair in a ponytail and braided the end and tucked it away. By this time, my feet were being massaged and scraped, the salon was its calm self UNTIL I heard the lady with the natural hair at the counter loosing her temper.

Apparently she was African American and had been to the salon in the last three months and guess what? For the exact same services, she had paid a different amount each month!this time around they told her she owed them N13,000. She was like last month for the same exact services they told her N9,000 and the month before it was N8,000, this time around there was no way she would pay, she kept on screaming 'I ain't paying for this, what nonsense, Y'all. Need to get your act right up in this place!' 'go ahead and call the police cuz I have had enough of all this'

It was so funny and uncomfortable because she kept on looking at me as she complained almost as if she wanted me to join in the conversation, I was politely nodding in agreement because frankly she was right!
The duty of salon owners to 'customers' is to at least inform them about price changes! Most salon owners in Naija are either never there to monitor the going on of their salon or are there but clueless about running it, all they are interested in is being called madam and collecting the cash at the end of the day, they need to be schooled! And this lady schooled them alright, she asked to speak to the owner of the salon and as usual the manager of the salon rudely refused, she threatened to never come back and tell all her friends never to come
there, yet miss manager didn't budge! I was astonished!


finally the lady refused to come back for the braids she wanted to get the next day which made
up the 13,000 bill and just paid for the wash and color she got, she was so mad at the manager and at one point even dragged the manager's hand while asking for her change! In fact she was furious and I am sure she will keep to her word by never returning there and with
the way she was treated I honestly will think twice about recommending the salon to anyone!

Lessons Learnt; Always ask for the price of a service at the salon before you settle for it,
especially when you are having multiple services, knowing the price before hand will help you
decide whether you want to spend such an amount or not.

For Salon/ business owners; keep people that smile, are friendly and handle situations maturely and calmly as managers. This manager was wack! A simple smile and softer approach could have brought down the customer's defenses! She didn't have to be so aggressive and annoyed as if the lady was blabbing rubbish, she really put me off! As a manager, I would have offered some kind of discount to the lady just to calm her down and keep her coming or if that was out of my reach I would have kept apologizing profusely! I didn't hear the manager apologize once! She was acting like it was a personal battle!

Well that's the end of my major Tatafo! Hope you enjoyed it, if you have any Salon Tatafo( story) for me feel free to send it to daboju@yahoo.com  with your name, I'd love to publish it on here!thanks for stopping by!

Ciao
Dabs