Hiya,
How's everyone doing? I got asked to treat the topic of hair and protecting it during the harmattan season and I jumped at it as I was already thinking of doing a post on the topic.

So in the West there are 4 main seasons; winter, spring, summer and fall. In West Africa there are however  just 2 main seasons, the rainy season and the dry/harmattan season- when the Northeast trade wind blows from the Sahara into the Gulf. This season starts at the end of November through Mid- March..

So right now we are very much in the harmattan season, during this season, our hair and skin get a hard hard hit!! Lips will start drying up and if care is not taken, cracks will form and even sores for those really badly hit, your skin will be ashy and dry and for those with dry skin, scaly and itchy. In the same breath, your hair cannot get too moisturized in this season. If not attended to, your hair will break at the slightest touch, your split ends will multiply and your edges can disappear!!


When I started to notice these changes I went into combat mode and I have been fighting harmattan hair ever since and plan to come out on top. In this post, I will share a few things I am doing- nothing beyond the usual but its the intensity, frequency and consistency which I have focused on to make me come out on top at the end of March!

Strategy 1; My focus is Moisture over Protein! As I stated earlier, your hair cannot be ''too moisturized'' in this season!! You think you are going to get away with just 2 pea sized pumps of hair moisturizer and a dime size of oil to seal in the moisture? No Ma'am :) You will need to increase the amount of moisturizing and sealing sessions in A DAY to get past this dry season successfully!!

I'm sure ladies that are busy working are giving me the side eye-LOL! You see I'm just being real, moisturizing and sealing your hair has to now be 3 to 4 times a day, if you are busy  then the perfect solution to this is to make a moisturizing/sealing hair spritz- mix your favorite moisturizing  (especially the thick ones- you don't want heavy products weighing your hair down since you will be using them quite often), mix in some light weight oil(olive, jojoba, sweet almond, grape seed) and if you want even extra moisture, mix in a conditioner or leave in conditioner and lastly a small amount of water- Have the spritz bottle with you in your bag, after a few hours in the day, check to feel if your hair is dry- ALWAYS CHECK FIRST ( Let your hair speak to you is what I always say) If it feels like you haven't applied anything on your hair all day- which is most likely how it will feel because of Mr. Harmattan, then shake your spritz to ensure its mixed well and spritz all over your hair from root to tip, spritz the mix until you have coated every strand without it being soaking, dripping wet! The trick is spritzing your hair from a distance, so the spritz lands on the hair like mist rather than massive rain drops :)


 So we've got the daily  hair care strategy down, my next strategy is all about infusing even more moisture in your hair. During this period more than ever, you cannot go long periods with weaves/extensions in your hair. I understand its the holidays, everyone wants to look good for Christmas and the New Year and that's fine but please don't let your REAL HAIR suffer for it if not you are going to spend the next year nursing back your hair to health. My advice for lovers of extensions, go 2 weeks MAX with them and before you get them done do one major protein treatment, I'm talking eggs, henna, mayonnaise, coconut oil, cholesterol conditioner- anything that will infuse strength in your hair to withstand the aggression of the pulling and tugging that comes with extensions. While you have the extensions in for the two weeks duration, you will deep condition your hair be it weaves or braids and that deep condition will be all about moisture we are talking using a moisture based conditioner, moisturizing oils, glycerin... for hours or under a steamer and you should do that twice in the two week duration, once the weave/extensions is out, please repeat the protein treatment following the uninstall to give back your hair the strength it lost during the process.

For us non weave wearers, the work is more...doing deep conditioning moisturizing treatments is now TWICE A WEEK for me! But again its because of the texture and length of my hair, if you have studied your hair enough you will know how often it needs deep conditioning but generally once a week in this season is advised. Another way I am adding moisture to my hair is co-washing( especially when I do not have time to  deep condition- I simply douse my hair with conditioner for a few minutes in the shower, put hair in a shower/cholesterol cap and rinse out just before I get dressed. Co-washing I like to do at least once a week so that's 2 conditioning processes in a week usually on Fridays into Saturdays( overnight deep conditioning) Wednesday (co-washing) and then repeat the process of deep conditioning on Friday into Saturday. If my hair is feeling really dry, Monday I will do a co-wash too. And the cycle continues.

Today when I was done with the deep conditioning process my hair was sooo grateful!!


I could see the shine...Now as for protein, I will be doing that once a month so out of 4 weekends in a month, 3 weekends will be for  moisture and 1 for protein, that's what I feel my hair needs (my post partum shedding has stopped, YAYYY) , the way your hair feels, sheds, breaks will let you know how much protein it needs but generally, 2 protein treatments in a month is just right.

That's that for treatments, let move on to styling...You cannot over manipulate your hair in this season. Your hair will not have any of that especially your ends, so you just have to find creative ways to style your hair that will not involve too much combing, brushing or tugging and for me that style is a meeeeannnn twist out or braid out- I like to incorporate a non-alcoholic hair gel for a more solid hold like the Ecostyler gels. With twists-outs I find that running my hand through my hair is impossible and combing it takes out the waves so I just keep my hand out of my hair, I can pack the twist out up, to the side, re-braid it, do whatever  but if my hair was straight, I'd be brushing and combing to put every strand in place. Now that's my go to protective style, there are other styles you can explore, like buns, chignons, big braids, clip in extensions etc. I am compiling looks for my look book soon, stay tuned...

Finally during the harmattan season pay even extra attention to the very tips of your hair. You will need to coat them with a vitamin E and B packed oil like Argan and castor oil, just before you go to sleep(your hair regenerates while you are sleeping) coat your very ends, I'm talking the last 2 inches of your hair with a small amount of oil, its the extra TLC those ends need to stop them from splitting any further, it will derive the same effect as applying a lip balm on your lips before you sleep to prevent cracked lips. You can use the oil on your edges as well if your hairline is receding and of course further protect the whole hair and preserve the oils/shine with a satin bonnet/sleep cap.

With these tips my dear friends, we can overcome this dry, stiff aired hamarttan season that is upon us!! In other news, the demand has arisen and I have succumbed but not fully...well, I am opening a flagship store for my Savvy & Chic Hair Beauty Hub;

and I have decided to create a little appointment only salon area in there! Appointment only because I want to ensure that I am actively involved, it will be the salon day out experience all over again---with consultation, I will help guide ladies, put them on a regimen, recommend products and all this I will do in front of the stylist I will choose to train. Hopefully, I can find someone not set in her ways, willing to learn the new way of doing Naija hair. I will give this my best shot and with your support ladies, I am praying its a decision that I will be proud of... more updates will come on this project, there's a lot of work to do because I am scheduled to launch this space next month so its crunch time, heads down...can't wait to show you all the finished product...

Thanks for all your support!!Feel free to let us know if you have any harmattan combating tricks...

Xxx
Dabs

Hiya,
So as I promised in my last post I owe you ladies a post on how the last few weeks of my Relaxer Stretch went to complete the 'STRETCH WITH DABS SERIES'!

I am still in awe of how well the stretch which ended up lasting 15weeks and 4 days went! I attribute the success to being so busy those last weeks I forgot about counting the weeks...but I didn't forget about caring for my hair, in fact I have never had as many co-washes before as I had during this stretch!! I literally let my hair speak to me, let me share some of the things it was saying and how I responded!!


One of the things my hair said to me very sternly I might add, during the last few weeks of my stretch say from week 12 was ''please don't comb me everyday...just don't''- So this is what I did, during my weekend treats once I was done, I would make sure I comb my hair gently and smoothly while it was damp after I had moisturized and sealed it and then I would put the hair in a ponytail still while damp and then use my stocking scarf (I cut off one leg of an old panty hose) and tie it round the base of my ponytail like this;



My hair would remain in the ponytail and dry out while I take care of the ends for the next 3 days, moisturizing, sealing the ends and styling them either by braiding them, twisting them or just rolling them into a bun/chignon . By mid week, either Wednesday or Thursday I would have gone almost all week long without combing my hair, if my hair began to itch, tangle or just simply feel dry, I would repeat the process all over again...


Another major issue my hair brought to my attention was MY EDGES!! Unfortunately for me once my new growth steps in, my edges refuse to cooperate! My go to trusted edge controller used to be....you guessed it-ORS's Edge Control...remember THIS POST! But after a while I dumped it because of its overly thick, tough gooey feeling that made application on my edges rough-it just didn't rub on smoothly!
 Then I found Eco-Styler Olive oil Gel which I reviewed some time ago HERE and I found that though I love it, it has the tendency to cause build up after a few days of usage, I combated that by spritzing my edges with water first before adding the gel and it still works but I decided to try pure Aloe Vera gel which I LOVE!




 Its just the right consistency for smoothing out my edges without causing build up and it kept them conditioned!


Finally, during the last lap of my stretch, I was MISS. K.I.S.S- Miss Keep It Simple Sister (There's a You tube guru whose channel is that name called Tracey, she was one of the first ladies whose videos I watched and loved when I started my hair journey in 2010). I could not afford to experiment or concoct hair treats not only because I was super busy but also because I just wanted to stick to my tried and tested hair treats, moisturizers, oils etc. Some of my staples;

Hair Treats; I stuck to a combination of Silk Element's Mega silk Olive moisturizing treatment;



WITH;
Hair Trigger Explosive Growth Elixir (will always be a staple product for me, stretch or not!!love it)




Then depending on the weekend I would add a protein based or conditioning based ingredient like Henna, Honey, coconut milk or oils...

ADDING MORROCAN ARGAN OIL

Moisturizers/Detangler; My go to detangler will always be Mane n Tail Detangler-



This product worked the hardest during this stretch!! For moisturizers I stuck like glue to Giovanni's direct leave in;


and the Darcy's Botanical Coconut Lemongrass Transitioning crème which came just in time for my stretch and helped a great deal!!


Finally my go to sealing oils were olive oil and grape seed oil which I mixed in my root applicator bottle and used to seal in my moisture daily, I also used the Jamaican black castor oil for my nape hair to help it fill out!



Before I knew it, week 16 was almost here... it was Thursday the 18th and I just had a phone call from an aunt in Houston and she said she would be over to visit with the family...I took one good long look at my hair which was struggling to look presentable in a bun then I looked at my Calendar, just 3 days to go till week 16...immediately I psyched myself up, mixed a whole cup of my favourite relaxer in the world; Silk Elements Megasilk Relaxer;


That's how I was able to successfully stretch my relaxer, my next relaxer touch up will be in December!! Yes I am stretching again :) in the mean time stay tuned for the relaxer update, it's my next post!! As usual, thanks for stopping by!

Xxx
Dabs

Hiya,
Can you believe it, the year is almost over!!!Welcome to Sweet November Y'all!! Wishing you all things sweet!!!Well I hope all my hair tips and tricks have been helpful to you my dear readers, I will keep coming back here as often as I can to let you in on simple hair secrets to keep your hair growing longer and stronger cuz believe it or not, Naija hair can grow o!!!

This time around I have come up with a post focused on getting the ends of your hair healthy and strong. As you all should know, the ends of your hair are the oldest part of your hair, if you have long hair your ends sometimes can be over three years old that is why you must look after them and prevent them from breaking off and getting limp and weak if you are to record any kind of hair growth progress. The BAGGING method is a great way to focus on your hair ends, infusing them with the needed oil and conditioning treatments they might be lacking due to their age. Look at your ends like you look at your grandma, if you are travelling with her and wanna get off the plane, do you shove right past her and leave her to wobble down the plane stairs not caring if she falls down or gets hurt? I'm guessing not, rather you would hold her hand and make sure you carefully usher her down the plane step by step, going at her own pace. That's the same way you should treat your ends! you should give them the most attention in whatever treatment you do to your hair. Work your way up gently till you get to your young and agile roots!!

Ok Ok enough rambling already, let me show you how to bag your ends!!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED;
A Cellophane Bag(Roll down the mouth)
AND  Your collection of hair oils and conditioner (optional);
Simply pour your oils and conditioner if you want in the cellophane bag;
Mix the oils in the bag or you could apply the oils directly to the ends of your hair which should be held in a ponytail. Bag your ends with the cellophane bag and its contents(if you choose to pour them in the bag) and MASSAGE your ends!!
Secure the Cellophane bag round the ponytail with a clip if you have to;
Leave your bagged up ends over night, this will allow your ends soak up all the oil and conditioner giving it the needed attention and strength to withstand breakage and split ends. This method will NOT mend split ends but if done regularly, it can prevent you from having more split ends!

Why the Cellophane bag? The cellophane bag serves the same purpose as your shower cap in hair treatments, it prevents air from getting into your ends and drying them out but rather creates heat at the ends of your hair thereby allowing your hair shaft to open up and absorb all the oils. You can Bag your ends as a Preepoo treatment Step and then Co-Wash after you take em out. Either way, your ends will thank you for bagging them!!

Hope this post is helpful!! I do not want to believe I and my sisters are the only Naija girls with growing hair oh!! so please if you have before and after pics of your hair since you started your hair journey please send them to the facebook page 'Naija hair can grow' and lets send a message to all those Naija gals who have given up on their natural hair abilities. I'm expecting your feed back. Thanks for stopping by!!


xoxo
Dabs!!