GHC's Friday Frotastic Feature:Geraldine the Great (Waist Length in 4 years)

Hello beautiful ladies!Its been a little while since I posted but I hope everyone is doing well. Today is Friday so you know what that means! A feature on an amazing hair icon!!
Today's article features Geralidine the Great,a Nigerian Natural Haired woman with amazing hair. She reached wast length hair in 4 years of being natural. A few of the members of the Ghana Hair Chick Facebook page requested for a feature on her and she kindly agreed to answer a few of my questions, so here goes!

Q.How long have you had natural hair?. 
A.I've been natural for 5 years.  My last relaxer was on October 2008, and I big chopped in June of 2009.

Q.How did you go natural?Did you transition and for how long?

A. I went natural after suffering from breakage post weave installation.  My hair thinned out and I swore off all manner of manipulation on my head.  I ended up transitioning for 10 months.

Q.What helped you during your transition?Any tips for transitioners?

A.I transitioned by wearing kinky twists.  I would periodically redo the twists so that they remained fresh in appearance.  I also moisturized obsessively, once I learned that my two textures of hair were fragile.  If you're transitioning to becoming natural, experiment with styles that require a low amount of manipulation.

Q.How did your family respond to your decision to go natural and how did you handle it?. 

A. My family was accepting of my transition, but I received the most amount of support from my boyfriend who actually assisted me during my big chop. I was resolute in my decision to becoming chemical free, so outside opinions and comments did little to deter me from my mission. 

Q.What has been you greatest challenge with your hair and how did you handle it?

A.My hair is extremely dense and tightly coiled.  I'm also a heavy shedder.  These qualities used to make my detangling sessions dreadful. I adapted to the task by cutting down my detangling and shampooing sessions to once a month, with co-washes in between.

Q.What do you love most about your hair and what was your proudest moment?

A.My proudest moment?  Being able to wear a bun!  Lol, it may seem silly, but if you have dense 4abc hair like mine, then you know that a lot of work goes into gathering this hair-type into a bun that doesn't pull uncomfortably at your edges.

I love that my hair is thick and dense.  I'm happy that I don't have to  work too hard to coerce my hair into appearing full.

Q.Please share your regimen/hair care routine with us.

A. I'm very big on protective styling.  When I first went natural, the tightly coiled hair mantra of the time was that our hair types liked to be left alone.  To an extent, I do agree with this sentiment, and so I employ a lot of protective styles in my regimen (wigs, twists, braids, buns).

Generally speaking, I'm quite simple in my routine- a monthly deep conditioning, detangling and shampooing session, and co-washing whenever it suits me. 

Q.What would you say is the most important thing that has helped you retain length and health of your hair?

 A.Protective styling and finger detangling have gotten me to waist length in 4 years.  These are the two biggest factors that contributed to my length retention.

Q.Any final tips/advice?

A. If you're thinking about doing it, do it.  Furthermore, if you are thinking about becoming natural, be prepared to shed a lot of misinformation that you might have had about hair care.  Keep an open mind, and lose all your hair expectations.  You are embarking on a journey that sets you outside of societal boxes, so don't regress by stringently abiding to hair rules, categories, and expectations.  An open and determined mind will push you through the moments of self-doubt and frustration.

Geraldine can be found on Facebook as Geraldine the Great and on her blog at http://geraldinethegreat.blogspot.com/

Many thanks to +Geri GeraldinetheGreat for allowing me write this feature on her..:).

Hope you enjoyed reading this and got inspired. If you'd like to see someone specific featured here on the blog, simply drop a comment below and I will try to get her here..lol. Thanks for reading and have a fabulous day!

Hair Shedding and wash day updates

Hello everyone!
I believe we have begun this week ready to enjoy it.There are only two weeks left in 2013, so I recommend getting as much fun as possible out of 2013 before it goes away.And of course, if you have any health, hair or life goals left, 2 weeks is still plenty!I am definitely going to get at least one more item on my resolution list for 2013 squared off before 31 December.
If you read my last post, you probably know that I am struggling with a bit too much shedding from my hair.If you missed it, here are pictures to summarize the shedding:

Last week's shed hair

A whole pam full of shed hair

That's a whole palm full in case you can't tell! However,this was my first detangling after about 3 months, so I am guessing that may have been the cause.In order to prove that, +Annette Akye of Naturalista Gh suggested I detangle every week, collect the shed hair and put them together for 3 months in order to see if it would be this much.I've taken that suggestion and so this is the beginning!
This weekend I washed my hair in a rather abbreviated fashion.
Since I had my hair in medium size twists I untwisted about 3 or 4 twists at a time, then spritzed a mixture of olive oil,conditioner,black/herbal tea mix and coconut milk onto it.I then rubbed on more conditioner so my hair was  slippery but not dripping wet.Then I finger detangled, followed by a wide toothed comb.That was a very easy detangling!That was my prepoo step, if I was going to use a shampoo.Then I covered my hair with a plastic cap for a couple of hours before I finally co-washed.

The products used in my spray bottle

Untwisting hair-notice hair is  shiny!

After washing with my conditioner, I didn't feel I neded an Apple Cider vinegar rinse for clarifying,since I did one not too long ago.I did an oil rinse instead.This is an update to my regimen, since this is only the second time I've done it.The first time I did it was last week, and my hair was very shiny and moisturised (see picture above) even after a week, so I decided to do that consistently.The oil rinse for me is just olive oil poured into my hair while still wet,massaging it in and rinsing it out completely.After that I used the Shea Moisture leave-in conditioner and my whipped shea butter mix to seal in moisture. I retwisted my hair in smaller twists,since I will be wearing a hat the whole week.

 Here is how much hair I shed this time:

Such a reduction!

That's actually not bad for a week.I will try to keep up this regimen in addition to deep conditioning and other treatments to see how much hair I shed in a month.

How was your wash day and what are your current hair challenges?Head on over to Facebook and join the discussion on the Ghana Hair chick page!

Hair Shedding and the GhanaHairChick Facebook Page

Hello!Its a been a little while since I last posted.I hope everyone is doing well and their hair is too!Before I get into the post, a short announcement:There's a Facebook Page for the blog now!Here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ghana-Hair-Chick/551431108276415
Please go like and share it.I created the page so we could stay in touch even if there's no blog post.Plus,I figured it might be a better place to interact, share our stories and tips, encourage each other and ask questions.Its a community page so please feel free to post to it:pictures, questions, comments etc.
Now on to my hair!I mentioned in a past post that I had an abnormal amount of shedding when I detangled my hair.A fellow blogger suggested a tea rinse or  a variation of that where I actually soak my hair with the tea, cover with a shower cap for a while and then wash my hair.I had been doing tea rinses already so I decided to try the tea soaking for a few months.I'm still not sure if that's helping, because I detangled my hair this past weekend after a henna treatment, and there was a lot of shed hair!However, I think it may have to do with my updated regimen.
My hair had been in twists under a wig for about 6 weeks, and then under just a beanie cap for another month or so.I washed my hair several times during this time, deep conditioned,did two henna treatments and moisturised, but never really detangled.I would only undo the twists, put them together in big ones for easy washing and then re-twist without really detangling. I only used my fingers to kind of part my hair and remove really big knots and shed hair.So with this background, when I took my wide toothed comb this weekend to detangle, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was still a lot of shed hair.
I have put pictures down below 9first one is my hair right after washing). It was enough hair to fill the palm of my hand.I don't know if this may just be normal for me, because I shed this much hair every time I actually detangle my hair (which is usually like once every 3 months).Maybe I need to detangle more often to reduce shedding, but I don't know if that would help.I read around as well, and it looks like amount of shedding is highly variable.What do yo guys think?Is there anyone having this same issue?What has helped you to resolve it, if it is resolved?Please let me know.Others may also benefit.Thanks a lot and see you over on Facebook!

Curlformers:A Ghanaian Natural's experience

Well hello!It has been forever in the blogosphere since I posted anything so here I am,back again!All I can say is please bear with me.School has been very busy so posting hasn't been as frequent as I would have liked.Hopefully today's post will excite you so much I will be forgiven :D.
I was browsing Youtube a while back and saw a 4c textured natural(basically someone whose hair is very kinky) with these really cool curls.I watched the video and she used Curlformers. Apparently those have been around for a very long time but I didn't know they existed till then.
Now for those of you who were as confused as I was,Curlformers are these rod-like things made with a more flexible plastic than rollers or setting rods.They come in various sizes and lengths,and their main purpose if to make your hair curly without having to use heat or  rollers.The reason why these fascinated me was because you didn't need pins or anything(I HATE sleeping in pins) so they looked to be very simple to use,plus they REALLY stretched the hair.
If your hair is anything like mine,that part should have you very interested.My hair shrinks like crazy,and I really enjoy styling it even when its all shrunken because I like the short hair look,but sometimes I also want to have stretched hair so I can maybe have a ponytail or a bun or just something  dressy.
So I decided to give curl-formers a try.The original ones were much too expensive for my budget,so I got knock-offs from China that were MUCH cheaper.Let me be honest and say it wasn't as easy as it looked in the videos!It took me a very long time to pull my hair through but I finally figured out a way to do it without tugging out all my hair.I put them in on freshly washed hair, which was damp, and slept in them.It was uncomfortable,but it wasn't as bad as having pins in my hair.I didn't use any setting products apart from my regular Cantu Shea butter leave-in Repair cream and a shea butter mix that I made at home.I think if I were to use setting lotion for example or gel,it would look much smoother than this.My ends still looked pretty rough,but my hair really stretched out and the curls weren't bad.Unfortunately the style didn't last as it was rainy,but the stretch was so good I could tie my hair up in ponytails the whole week.
Here are some pictures.Enjoy!

Great African Products for Natural hair:Oils and butters

Hello everyone!So I have been conspicuously absent,but please forgive me.Its been a crazy couple of weeks.I have been planning to post this forever,so here it is!This is the second instalment in the series on products that are great for hair available in markets and shops all over Africa.If you missed the first post,please click here to read it.
Natural oils and butters are the best products for sealing in moisture and making sure your hair stays soft and grows healthily.Natural oils when applied to your hair,do not just help moisturise,but depending on the properties of the oil you use,you would be protecting your hair from infection,stimulating your follicles to grow and also making sure your scalp stays healthy.In some cases,the Oils helps to prevent irritation and help with itchy scalps and dandruff.But,are these oils available in Africa?Yes they are!
Off the top of my head,here are the oils that I have seen in the market and in shops.

1.Extra Virgin Olive Oil
This is usually imported,but I know almost everyone has seen olive oil,especially if you're Christian,since its used very often in church.Just ask the salespeople for 'anointing oil'.

2.Coconut oil
For whatever wierd reason,most people prefer to look for bottled or imported coconut oil when there's coconut oil in the market.Almost every market you walk into will have coconut oil,locally made and most likely organic.If you prefer foreign brands or already bottled oil,just check your local neighborhood shop.You're likely to get it in there.Personally,I like the yummy scent of African coconut oil.Its very different from the foreign brands,but they both work the same.I use coconut oil in everything:prepoo,hot oil treatments,deep conditioning and sealing in moisture.Its awesome!

3.Palm kernel oil
Yep.Its true.The locally made palm kernel oil(adwenno as its called in Twi in Ghana) that is in the market is great for hair,relaxed or natural.It works pretty much the same or slightly better than coconut oil,and if you can get over the unique aroma it has,then your hair will thank you for it.A whole commercial well known hair care line is based off of palm kernel oil,and these products are patronised not just by black women,but also by women of other cultures.The next time you need an oil for a quick pre-poo,try that

oil sitting in your kitchen!

4.Vegetable oils
Various vegetable oils are available on the market.You can use pretty much any of those on your hair.I have used regular vegetable oil in my hair as a prepoo when I was out of coconut oil,and it worked wonders!So next time you need an emergency fix,check your kitchen.Just make sure there's no mineral oils in there(I doubt there will be since its for cooking,but just as a precaution).

5.Shea,cocoa,mango butters
These are so common in the market that I don't think I need to say it.However,in case you haven't got some yet,please run out and get yourself some local shea or cocoa butter.Shea butter is very popular in hair care lines,and for good reason.It is a great butter for your hair,nourishes and strengthens it while keeping it moist.I use shea butter for most of my styling,and I usually get great hair styles.You can mix it up with some oils and some gel,and it is great as a holding or curl defining cream.Mango butter is less common,but it also works great as well.If you can have just one of these butters in your hair care regimen,your hair will appreciate you.

Most other oils you will read about are available in shops such as Indian shops,Chinese shops,with the sales people in the market selling herbal products and in the pharmacy.For example,castor oil is sold in the pharmacy but its great for hair.You don't need a name brand,just regular castor oil.Almost all the essential oils are in either pharmacies,Indian or Asian shops or in just regular shops

around.Just look around more!

WAIT!Before you cut/trim your hair..

Here's to hoping everyone is doing great!I am still on the hair basics series and today I wanted to share some information on split ends.What they are,how they happen and how to fix them.Whether natural or relaxed we've probably had issues with split ends before and we've always been told that the only option is to cut off the split end before it travels up the hair shaft.That is simply not true!I've had to trim a least 2 inches of my hair in the past because I would keep cutting off whatever split end or single stranded knot I saw in my hair.If you wash your hair often,then you know that you can end up trimming your hair every single week,and that is simply not practical for me.Our hair grows at the average rate of 0.5 inches a month,so if I cut off an inch every couple of months there's no way I'm going to be able to retain length and get the long hair I want.So what do you do then?Here's a short video that was very helpful to me!

Hair Basics:Deep Conditioning

Whether your hair is natural or relaxed you've probably at some point been told to deep condition your hair.If you've left your hair care to a hair care professional or hair dresser then they've probably had you do a deep condish.I know I used to get them all the time,but I didn't know why I needed it.Since becoming natural and taking care of my own hair,I've realised that it is one of the single most important things helping me.Here's why:

Protecting your hair while swimming and exercising

This is one of the things that I personally struggled to find a solution to because when I became natural I was worried I couldn't go swimming again.I love swimming and the thought of not swimming was not appealing so I looked for a solution.Here's how I protect my hair when I'm going swimming, and these tips should help both natural and relaxed hair.

1.Part the hair into four sections.If your hair is in a protective style such as braids or twists please do the same.If its corn rows or flat twists then you can skip this step.
2.Get your bottle of conditioner and apply to each section thoroughly.You can use a cheap conditioner(I use V05),and please make sure that each hair strand is completely covered with conditioner.
3.Apply any oil of your choice on top of your conditioner to your sections of hair.Extra virgin olive oil is what I usually use.
4.You can twist each section of hair up if you can.If you can't then you can cover with a swim cap and you're good to go.I have also swam without a swim cap several times,and I do apply conditioner and oil to my hair before I swim so my hair is usually fine.However a swim cap is recommended.
5.After swimming,wash your hair thoroughly with clean water and use a good shampoo to wash your hair.After that you can apply conditioner or deep condition and you are good to go!

When I'm exercising a lot(like right now I exercise everyday) I wash my hair at least twice a week,once a week with conditioner and the next time with a clarifying mudwash. This helps to prevent sweat and salt buildup on my scalp.After washing I usually deep condition and then style my hair.
So that's it!Depending on how active you are,I hope this post is helpful to you!

Two Posts in One:Top things You wish you knew about your hair

In making the decision to become natural,a lot of us read and perform some research to decide if it is something we really want to do.Let me just say right now that I didn't do that.I should have,but I didn't,mainly because I kind of just started the natural thing having no idea that it was this big deal or that so many women were doing it.So it didn't even occur to me to go look for information on it.Having become natural,for the first few months I didn't even read or check to see how I could take care of my hair.If you're newly natural or considering going natural or transitioning,let me salute you for reading this because it shows your commitment and readiness to make sure you know as much as possible before you jump in.So what's this post about?I am going to attempt to summarise the basic things I should have known and that you should know at the start of our hair care adventure.I know I know..nearly impossible.I started yesterday and nearly quit so clearly,its tough!But I am gonna try anyway,because I am just foolhardy and will do anything because its a challenge.Please note that this is intended to be a guide and not a rule post,so adjust the information to suit you and your personal needs.

1.Being natural is a commitment
I know some people who went natural because they thought it required less time and care than permed hair.No true.You need time to care for your natural hair if you want it to grow long and healthy.You can't get away with putting on a wig or braids and ignoring your hair ,otherwise you only end up with a tangled,dry unmanageable mess on your head.I should know,because I was like this when I first went natural!

2.Dirt is not your friend
I don't know about anyone else,but when I had permed hair my hairdresser urged me to keep my scalp dirty before relaxer treatments because it was better for my hair.Not true.It might help to reduce chemical damage from the relaxer,but its bad for your hair.In order for your hair to grow healthily,it needs a clean scalp that allows air circulation and proper blood flow(sorry to go all sciencey..lol).Therefore,if you want good hair,keep your scalp clean.And this means washing your hair even when its in braids or other protective styling.It might mess up your hairdo a bit,but its worth it.

3.Your hair growth isn't the problem,length retention is

 A lot of us attribute short hair to genes.We see some ladies with long hair and begin to assume its because of their family,or genetic make-up and hence their hair grows faster.Not true.There are individual differences in hair growth rates,but the averages are very similar no matter who you are or what family you come from.You might not be experiencing the same growth rate though as someone else because there are several factors that influence this.Hormones,diet, exercise and the growth phase your hair itself is in might have a contribution(more on this later) but to a large extent,long hair isn't dependent on the rate of growth.It depends on how much of that growth actually stays on top of your head(lol).This is what you might see commonly referred to as length retention.Therefore,assuming two people have the same hair growth rate and are in the same phase of the hair cycle,the only thing that would influence hair length would be their length retention.How much length you are able to keep depends on how well you care for your hair.This is basically what having a regimen is about:caring for your hair to retain length.The basic in any regimen is moisture,cleaning and strengthening.Everything revolves around these 3 things.And then,keeping your hair in a protective style helps retain length because the ends of your hair aren't being stressed out and breaking off.Since this is the oldest and most fragile part of your hair,this usually results in healthy hair.

4.Water is your friend
Water is one of the single most important things that will help to make your hair what you want it to be.Drink it,wash your hair with it,spray it on your hair.This is the basis of moisturizing. If you have natural hair,its really hard to keep the hair moisturized and so you need to keep applying water to it.This helps make your hair soft and easier to manage so that when you style your hair,you aren't straining it.After applying water,in order to ensure that the water actually stays in the hair and doesn't escape(lol) you then apply an oil or butter to the hair which is referred to as sealing in the moisture.So now if you see moisturising,thats all it is is.Water on hair and sealing with an oil or butter.

5.Trying to fix your hair when it is completely dry is crazy!
Yep.I learned this the hard way.Before you even put a comb in your hair(assuming you use a comb),there has to be some moisture(water) in your hair.Completely dry hair that is my hair texture is a nightmare to try and style or comb.My friend told me once that she didn't know this and was trying to comb her natural hair with a comb.Her mom told her to stop but she didn't pay any attention.2 broken combs later,she decided to listen to her mom..lool.Dry hair is too tightly coiled to be manageable If you need to do something to your hair,back to water first.Better to style damp hair than dry hair.

6.Have some fun and stop obsessing

Haha!This is a good one.Sometimes we become so obsessed with oUr hair that we don't even enjoy our hair anymore.Please,relax!Hair is just a part of who you are and not your whole person.Try and enjoy it,and make it a complement to your already awesome self.Trust me,obsessing will leave you with nothing but a broken comb..haha!

7.Your hair can grow long,but it will NOT look long
Lol..another good one.Our hair texture is so interesting that you can have really long hair and look like you just chopped off all your hair.I didn't really know this before I became natural.Now that I'm natural I have experienced it and I really like it.I see tons of videos with ladies that have very long natural hair,but immediately they wash it,their hair looks as short as mine..lol.That's shrinkage!And the good thing is that you can really enjoy shrinkage sometimes just to change your look.So don't worry about it,your hair is just too coiled to have that sleek long look!

8.Know yourself,your hair and like it.
No two heads are the same.No two people are the same If someone can wash their hair 3 times a week and you can only wash yours once a week,to thine own self be true.If you can't style your hair and  go to a professional so they can fix it for you,that's ok.Its your life.Do whats best for you.All you would probably need to do is take your own products and show the person what to do if they are trying to comb your hair dry,for example.Not all of us are natural for the same reasons,so no need to compare yourself to someone else.If you can't wear a wash and go,you can still wear a nice afro,so it all depends on you.Know your hair,and do what's best for it.

9.What goes inside usually comes out on top of your head
Yep.If you eat badly,your hair will suffer.What you eat and drink affects every part of you including your hair.Being natural is also for me about being as healthy as possible.Drink more water. Exercise more.Balanced diets.More laughter.Less stress.Better sleeping habits.Its about the whole you and not just your hair.If you use the best products in the world but don't have good habits,your hair will not be happy.

There's lots more,but this is already a long post.I'm going to end here and let you to finish it.What would you add to this list if you could?

Having realistic expectations for your hair(4C to 5Z)..

Haha!4C-5Z is kinda made up,but I laughed for like the first few minutes of the first video because she's really interesting and funny,and also because when she talked about the Wash n Go I remembered my own experience(and +AfroDiva Nally agreed with me on that..lol).Some things just don't work out well with some hair types and porosity.If you don't believe me look at my first ever wash and go pictures below.I didn't agree 100% with everything she said but she made a lot of sense.There is no way I can just spritz my dry knotted up hair with water,fluff it up and just go out.I'd look CRAZY..lol!Its just the way it is and I wouldn't try to change it for anything!The second video is a response to the first one..and its also quite good!What do you think?Are they being dramatic or do you have the same issues?Comment,like,share,subscribe!Enjoy the video below..;).Till next time,stay fabulous and blessed!