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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,

It’s been a while! Hope you all are doing well!! This post is taking you all back to the basics! I have had at least two requests concerning HAIR TYPES and although I had earlier mentioned the different types of hair we have in my ‘How to transition to natural post’, I only brushed through it. This time around, I want to take my time and explain it to curious readers.

Basically, four major hair types have been formulated; Type 1 to 4. The higher the hair type, the tighter the curl! It’s that simple!

Type 1 hair is naturally straight (it does not need a relaxer to get it straight) and it does NOT grow from our scalp ( Naija or African scalp) but from Caucasian or Asian scalps. If you hear a babe claiming her hair is naturally straight, she is lying oh!! Or she is wearing a very good LACE WIG!!

Moving on, Type 2 hair is grown mostly by mixed race ladies, while the hair is usually coarse and prone to frizzing, it is a bit more manageable than type 3 or 4 because, just a little manipulation with a blow dryer can get it straight and getting back defined curls is not that difficult as the hair comes naturally like that. It is further sub divided into 2A, 2B and 2C. 2A being the thinner texture and 2C being the thicker texture. The hair strands are more wavy and can form the letter ‘S’. Celebrity Lisa Bonet has Type 2 hair!!

Type 3 hair also subdivided into 3A, 3B and 3C according to thickness and tightness of curl, 3C being the tightest curl pattern, is also very curly and full of body mostly forming ringlets. The owners of this type of hair most likely have some Caucasian/ Asian in them, though it does not have to be from their parents. The curls are usually tight and can be packed together in many strands causing the hair to be very prone to tangling but it can be easily styled like type 2 hair because of its elasticity. Our this month’s natural Hair Style Icon Nnneka has Type 3 hair

The final, most common hair type to us Naija babes is Type 4 hair. It is also subdivided into 4A and 4B according to thickness and tightness of curl. Type 4A hair is almost like type 3 hair because the curl is looser while the type 4B curl pattern is very tight and the strands form a Z rather than S. This hair is the most coarse hair type and its ends rather than curl softly, bend in sharp angles making this hair type the most fragile hair type to manage ( you see why growing our hair can be such a hassle). This hair type also does not retain as much moisture as other hair types and thus dries out easily; it is the most easily damaged by heat for this reason. Going natural with Type 4 hair needs a lot of patience and care so the hair remains healthy and strong. Because of its very tight curl, most people with Type 4 hair get a relaxer to loosen the curls and make it more manageable but you all by now know the relaxer has it own adverse effects and should be handled with care. Below is India Arie rocking her Type 4 hair but take note 'SHE IS NOT HER HAIR' :)

In sum, knowing what type of hair you have can help you better manage it and bring out the best in it especially if you want to stay natural. Note that one head of hair can have different type of hairs on it. It can have Type 4A at the back from Mummy, Type 4B in front from Dad’s sisters, Type 3C on the right side from grand aunty who was from the Caribbean and Type 3A on the left side from great grand papi who was from Egypt (Wide Grin) Hope you get my point any way… So as I said in my transition to natural hair post, before you join the band wagon of natural sistahs, study a strand of your hair, know your hair type and research on how best you can manage it! Hope this post is helpful especially to the readers who requested for it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Dabs
  
Hiya,
The much anticipated time has come! I’m finally going to share my daily hair regimen with you. A regimen is a process you repeat over and over again until it becomes part and parcel of your everyday routine. Below is my daily hair regimen but let me stress that everybody’s hair is different and you must first identify how your hair responds to a product when you initially start using it. If the response is good these are few traits your hair will portray; breaking or shedding will be minimized, it will be easy to comb, it will be bouncy and shinny. You know a product is not doing anything for your hair when you use it and lumps of your hair are falling out, your hair is dry and brittle, Its unmanageable; you sleep and wake up and there are strands of hair on your pillow, you sit on a chair and when you get up, the same thing; strands of hair! Now when that is happening, no matter who recommended that product to you, even if it’s me; throw it in the bin!!

There are 3 main things you want to accomplish with a daily regimen.
  1. You want to ensure that your hair especially at the ends are MOISTURIZED. Moisturizing is extremely essential for our Naija hair because of our weather. The humidity and heat together will dry out the little moisture your scalp naturally produces and since the strands of our hair are made up of protein bonds which can easily be broken when there is no moisture, you need to keep the moisture balanced with the protein and all that will take a simple application of hair moisturizer to your strands especially the ends because they are the oldest and most fragile part of your hair.

     Now just as not all fingers are equal, not all moisturizers are equal. There are some products out there that I will tell you straight up are posing as moisturizers but are in actual fact NOT moisturizers! Please do me a favor, take a close look at the BODY LOTION you use, feel its consistency, look at its ingredients, most times the first ingredient is water(aqua). Now if you are done with my little exercise I’d like to tell you that  your hair moisturizer should be just like your body lotion if not its doing nothing for your hair! Let me explain; Below are pictures of the two moisturizers I am using at the moment. The first is Africa’s Best Organics Shea Butter Plus (Dry hair and Scalp oil Moisture Therapy) it cost N600 from Lekki Oniru Market and the second One is by Excelsior Botanical Hair Systems; Anti- Breakage Hair strengthening cream From Lekki Market aswell for N1200.


















As you can see from the picture with the moisturizer on my palm, these moisturizers are like body lotions that just glide down your palm and are light because of their water based nature! If you do not buy a water based hair moisturizer then the alternative which would do NOTHING for your hair is Petroleum or Mineral Oil based hair moisturizers. Who remembers BLUE MAGIC or SULPHUR 8!!! Even before I had any hair knowledge, God help any Salon stylist that brought these hair creams near my hair! lol. They are packed with mineral oil and the bad thing is that Mineral oil will NOT penetrate into your hair shaft as such an oil like most oils cannot dissolve, so all it is doing is sitting on your hair and doing nothing for your hair internally, now keep using it everyday and it will build up and finally clog your hair from any kind of moisture, no moisture means dry, brittle hair! 

These days, brands like Dr Miracle, Motions, Profectiv still use mineral oil in some of their products, you know why? I hear it’s really cheap! Now I know you don’t want that cheap stuff on your hair, no matter what miracle it claims to perform! Invest in an actual moisturizer and see the difference!Below is a  Picture of such a moisturizer. Please STAY AWAY!!















2.The second essential step in your regimen is SEALING the moisture into your hair strands. How? you might wonder? With essential oils like Olive Oil ( see the picture of Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil below, cost is N 250).


 Other very good oils include Coconut oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil (A bit too thick so use a little) and Tea Tree Oil( See my collection of essential oils below; bought them in the US but I’m scouting for them here in Naija and will let you all know if I find them)! 


I section my moisturized hair into four sections like I would if I am getting it relaxed and then gently coat the hair from root to tip with my oil of choice.(see picture below).


 I recommend Olive oil the most because of its lightweight nature and then Coconut oil because it is the only oil that penetrates the hair shaft thus moisturizing and sealing at the same time. Sealing plays the following role; as I said earlier most oils don't dissolve, they just sit on the hair thus with sealing, as the oil sits on your hair, it prevents the moisture from escaping your hair and the moisture in turn prevents the hair from drying out and breaking! Genius!! 


3.The final step for my Daily regimen is spraying a LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER on the ROOTS of my hair. Leave-in conditioners are liquid and can frizz up your ends if you have had them straightened or curled so focus on the roots of your hair which most times needs the softening from the conditioner especially when your her has new growth or in Naija Terms 'is due'. Right Now I am using Vital Olive Oil  Leave In Conditioner with Pro Vitamin B5, cost N700 at a supermarket in Lekki. Below is a picture of the leave in conditioner and how I spray it, focusing on my roots.









After you have successfully gone through these steps then you proceed to combing your locks with a WIDE TOOTH COMB! It does not matter if your hair is just 4inches long, use a wide tooth comb to at least detangle your strands first before you smooth it out with a smaller comb. Remember we are trying to retain as many strands of hair as possible! Below is a picture of my wide tooth comb from Walmart. Take a close look at the teeth of the comb, so you know what to look out for when purchasing one. 


In Summary, I hope this post has been useful to you. My daily regimen is pretty straight forward and I am usually done in five minutes but I must point out that when I started my hair journey I did not restrict myself to doing this regimen only once a day like I do now, I did this regimen at least twice a day. In the morning and at night( your hair is actively growing at night). So if your hair is damaged like mine was, I encourage you to go through this regimen at least twice a day. Also I would like to point out the fact that I don't believe in sticking to a whole line of products from hair companies.Some people are in a rot with their hair because for instance, they will only use products from Dr Miracle or Kera Care or Profectiv, as you can see from my product line up, I beg to differ. Why? well from the point I made earlier about mineral oil being cheap that's why companies use it, you can see that these companies want to cut costs so they cannot put the best ingredients in ALL their products. So expect that in a product line of 10 products, maybe just 4 of the products are of high quality, now do you want to be stuck with the remaining 6 crappy products? I am sure your answer is NO. So you see, please pick and choose what's best for your hair. 

Ill end here but expect my WEEKEND REGIMEN, going through it together with my daily regimen has made my hair a force to reckon with. Your's can be too! Drop a comment ask a question and Ill gladly respond!

Stop By Soon,
Dabs  

Hiya,
As you must know, in every society there must be a common language of communication that members of that society understand and can translate. Well its no different in the black hair society  and to care for your hair you must understand effectively the various terminologies out there concerning your hair! I also will be using these terms quite frequently in their abbreviated form and so you understand what I'm saying, its best I introduce these terms to you right away!

HAIR LENGTH
So your hair is relaxed but what is the length of your hair and what is your goal length?

Most Naija babes are at Chin length hair (CL) and with CL hair the most common look is a bob and it will look good if your ends are well trimmed ala Rihanna in the picture below

The next recognized hair length is Neck length (NL) or Shoulder length (SL). This is most Naija babes definition of 'Long hair'! To them, if you can feel your hair on your neck mehn that's long hair!lol! and to be honest if your hair can get to this length without u caring for it then you have the POTENTIAL for long hair!Below is a picture of me at NL/ SL!

 The next Hair Length which most Naija babes have resolved never to reach because of bad hair practices is, Arm Pit length (APL). This is when your hair can comfortably rest on your back up to your arm pit and if you bring your hair forward you can tuck a little of your hair under your arm pit. This is a realistic goal to have and let me tell you when u have hair that is healthy at that length, you don't need to go and buy 12inch or 14inch packs of hair when you have your very own growing from your scalp. As you can see in the picture below, this lady has her hair in a graduated hair cut and most of the ends of her hair are APL!

 Bra Strap Length (BSL) is next and as the name implies, its hair that reaches your bra strap! Its my present goal at the moment as I have already gotten to APL but for my trim which was graduated also and has set me back a few inches! I shall be BSL by December! Say Amen to that!!!! AMEN OHHHH! Below is a picture of a lady with BSL hair;


Now this  next length is for the Naija Babe who wants to look like an Indian babe!! Its the Waist Length ( WL)! Trust me if you have hair at this length in Naija don't be surprised if random people dig their fingers in your hair searching for weave tracks!lol, happens to me at APL!! and please don't be upset if you start hearing rumors that you have a marine spirit!! In all, if its your goal, trust me when I say it is achievable of course not as quickly as it is for you to get that 24inch Indian weave on your head! You'l need time and patience!

Below is Shima, she is African American and as you can see her hair was 'nappy' as a kid just like any kid from African descent, as she grew older in the second picture her hair is basic and should be about SL or APL but then she started her hair journey and aimed for WL hair and viola!! In doubt? visit her website; www.shimahair.com. She claims she used her specially formulated oils and methods to grow her hair from SL to WL in 10months!!! I strongly doubt that part of the gist sha but I do know its her hair for sure!Basic good hair practices and you too could be the next Shima!











This is the first of a series of Hair Terminologies I would like to introduce you all to. Expect more from HAIR LINGUA in the near future.The aim of going through the various hair lengths above is to encourage you to set some goals for your hair. A lot of you expect nothing from your hair when you get a relaxer! No improvement in body, length, shine, texture,  nothing!! and that's like going to Uni and staying in first year for the four year duration of your course!!Point is, your hair strands at your roots are CONSTANTLY growing but for you to move from one length to the other you must retain hair at your ends! The next post will focus on building a regimen that will help do just that so please stay tuned! Hope you enjoyed this post. Drop a comment, ask a question and ill gladly respond!!

Stop by soon,
Dabs
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