GHC's Friday Frotastistic Feature on Amma Mama

Hello everyone!I believe we're all great and healthy and our hair is happy!Today is Friday and from now on I will try to make Fridays frotastic for you by posting a feature on a healthy haired lady.If you want to be featured here simply email me at nyvonne2010@gmail.com.You don't have to be natural to be featured,just on a healthy hair journey.

Today's frotastic lady is Amma.Popularly known as Amma Mama on social media, she has been featured on Black Girl Long Hair and has some amazing hair.Here's a short interview with her.Enjoy!

1.How long have you had natural hair?

    I have been natural for four years. I big chopped on Oct 11,2009.

2.How did you go natural?Did you transition and for how long? Did you big chop and do you have any picture from that time?

   I transitioned for about 8 months. I wanted to transition longer and allow my natural hair to get longer.
However, my new        growth and relaxed ends were in a tangled battle. I couldn't even comb my hair. Out of frustration, I let my sister-in law big chop it for me. This picture is a couple of days post-big chop. I asked her to cornrow the front.

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

    During my transition, cornrows with extensions helped me and so did roller sets. Roller sets really helped to hide my new growth but it still allowed me to wear my hair out. Natural hair blogs such as Black Girl Long Hair helped me not to run back to to the creamy crack. My advice to transitioners would be to big chop when it becomes too difficult to handle the two different textures. If you're uncomfortable with the length of your natural hair, big chop it and then keep it in a protective style until you're comfortable enough with its length to wear it out. However, don't hold onto the relaxed ends if they're troubling you like mines were. The tangles & frustration are not worth it.

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

    My immediate family, my mom and three older brothers were very supportive. My extended family such as my female cousins didn't understand why I would cut off my "long" relaxed hair.

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

    My greatest challenge has been dealing very DRY hair after a over processed at home dye job (BAD idea). I dealt with it by cutting the dye out of my hair little by little until it was all gone.

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

   I LOVE the thickness of my hair. My proudest moment was learning how to flat two strand twist.

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

   I usually wash and blow-dry my hair once a month.
 I wash my hair with Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo.
I condition with the Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Hair Masque for about 30 minutes to 1 hr (sometimes under the hair dryer).
I rinse it out and then use a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair using the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Extra-Moisture Detangler.
  I then put my hair into big two strand twists & then let it air dry for a little bit. I then unravel the twists and put Grape Seed Oil (as a heat protectant) on my hair from the root to tip and then I blow dry my hair. Once my hair is blow dried, I twist my hair into two big flat two strand twists which I call Celie Twists (they look like Milkmaid braids but are twists as in the first picture below.)

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

   The most important thing that has helped me retain length is protective styling. My hair flourishes when I am not manipulating  it. It likes to be left alone.

9.Please share a few of your favorite hairstyles and pictures with us.

Celie Twists {My hair is worn like this most of the time.)

   

Marley Twists

Blown out Afro

Bantu Knot Out

Cornrows with extensions {great protective style for me}.

I LOVE my Afro Puffs!

My first and only press in back 2011

10.Any final tips/advice?

     I would say that managing my natural has not been easy. There were times I wanted to relax my hair again. I secretly told myself that I would. However, that is no longer an option for me after four years. My hair is manageable and it is beautiful. It is work but a beautiful work created by the hands of God. Be patient with your natural hair and learn how to manage what God gave you. There are many helpful blogs, books and YouTube channels dedicated to natural hair care. Do your research and find out what works best for your natural hair. 



And that's Amma!She can be found on http://allthingsammamama.com/ and on Facebook and Instagram as Amma Mama.To be featured on Friday's Column, email nyvonne2010@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting and have a fabulous day!

Break the Silence about your hair

HelLO!It has been quite a while since I posted and I feel very guilty(guilty face).I've just been very busy with my school work and very tired.However today I just made up my mind to post something and here we are!I hope everyone has been doing great!My one year anniversary since big chopping came and went in August,and I did a length check video which I can now not find on my computer.I know,weird!But I will try and post some pictures of what I've been doing with my hair since June(wow..that's a lot..lol).I have had several different protective styles including braids,kinky twists and wigs.

Currently,my hair is not in any style.I have an old bantu knot out from Sunday that I have been keeping under a cap to protect my ends from the cold.I also hennaed two weeks ago,and I should have taken pictures,but I didn't..(sad face).I will be doing it again and I will definitely take pictures then!
My hair isn't doing as great as I'd like.I have retained a lot of length,but the thickness is not improving so I'm looking for ways to fix that.I also think I may be shedding too much,but how much is too much?The shedding has always been a lot for my hair so I don't know if that's normal or not.Anybody ever have a similar hair issue?How did you fix it?

In other news,I had a friend make a comment about my hair and I was tempted to respond badly but stopped.Have you had such an experience?How did you deal with it?I'm still trying to find a way to respond,so let me know what I should say..lol.
Finally,I will soon create a page on Facebook so that even if I don't post here I can share some pictures and other things on there, and you can also share your own pictures.Without much ado then,here are some pictures for the last 3 months!Enjoy.

Great products for healthy hair in Africa:Haven Organics

I have been sharing quite a bit on the resources available to help you make your hair healthy.I know however that some of us prefer already manufactured products that we can just buy and use.Great products in this category are actually available now in Africa,and I will be using the next couple of weeks to share African companies making good products available for sale.
The first company is owned by an African woman who used to live in the UK but just moved to Ghana.Haven Organics uses all natural ingredients to make products that your hair is sure to love.Here's what Angela,the owner,had to say about her products:
'Haven organics was originally born/began as an organic haircare range that was created for women with chemically treated hair however as i made my own transition from relaxed hair to natural the vision for my company began to change. Noticing and also becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of organic but also high quality hair care products catering for coily hair textures like my own not to mention very few black/british owned brands so I set out to change this.''

Currently,they make a Seal and Shine finishing oil,Nourish and Smooth leave in milk and a curl polishing cream.
A brief description of each product is also provided by the website with the benefit of each ingredient listed.Let's take a peek:

1.Curl Polishing Cream
'Coily hair can sometimes struggle to hold a well defined frizz free curl. Haven organics Curl Polishing Cream was created to combat this problem. It creates long lasting, well defined, elongated and "stretched" curls by reducing shrinkage'.

2.Nourish and Smooth Leave-in milk

'This super moisturising leave-in conditioner is suitable for daily use.

It is enriched with the moisturising and detangling properties of south african oils; mafura, xinemina and pracaxialso elongates curls helping to reduce shinkage.'

3.Seal and Shine finishing oil
'Without sealing, afro hair can become dry and brittle losing its moisture to the environmental elements very quickly. Seal and shine finishing oil locks in the moisture already present in hair and helps maintain its lustre; keeping your coils nourished for much longer.It also helps reduce frizz; working as a finisher for curly styles like twist/braid outs.'

These look like really great products at great prices,and with shipping offered worldwide why not head on over and place an order?You can also get your order anywhere in Africa.Their website is: http://www.havenorganicsafro.co.uk/ourshop/
Haven Organics is also available in Ghana through www.ghanaianemprezz.com and also through their own shop located in Accra.Contact me if you would like more info.

I hope this helps anyone looking for good natural products.I will be sharing some more on other companies soon so don't forget to come back!Till next time,
The very best!

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!

Can you really be natural in Africa?

First off,one of my posts is guest posted on African Naturalistas,one of the most interesting African hair blogs around.Please check it out.I'm very happy about that and I hope that the information in that post reaches more people.

And on to today's post!My aim in writing this post is to try and help us make use of the natural resources we may have,instead of going to look for commercial products from other countries which may be inaccessible to us.
Basically,this post will be about localising your regimen to use products that are available and will still help you.I may end up having to split this into two because there's a lot of things to write about.This post will be especially appropriate if you live in Africa,particularly West Africa.

A lot of ladies living in Africa don't believe it is possible to have beautiful long manageable natural hair,mainly because they believe all the products they need are not available.Well today,and over the next few weeks,I hope to remove this mindset.Before we delve into products though,let's talk about the perception of being natural haired in Africa.
Growing up,every woman has had a specific image of what it means to be beautiful in her mind.Think for a moment and call up the mental image of that beautiful woman you wish you were so badly.Now,let's examine that image.Does she have natural hair?I don't think so.She probably has a perfect body with long smooth hair,heels and some nice clothes.That right there,is the first problem we are dealing with.You will need to either completely remove the image of what a perfect woman looks like,or replace that image with an image of yourself.Your physical appearance is just a little part of you.I'm not saying neglect it,but I am

Source:http://revelinks.com/barbie/

saying that maybe its time to create a new perfect image of a woman with little focus on her appearance but on the things she's made of and has been able to achieve. If you can do that you';re halfway there.This is usually one of the biggest stumbling blocks,the fear that you will look ugly without a wig or weave or straight hair.This is simple not true.You will look beautiful,because you're beautiful..period!
The next challenge is society's perceptions,and this is easier to deal with than you might think.Its easy because once you are comfortable in your own identity as a woman who is not all about her looks,specifically her hair,its easy for others to not fixate on your appearance as much,and easy for for you to ignore people who try to fit you into the mental image they have of what you

should look like.Remember that you aren't the only one who has that Barbie doll image in her head,almost the whole world does.It takes some patience to let people begin to see beyond the hair and accept you fully.You will probably be told to go get a relaxer.You may even be taken to a salon by someone who will offer to pay to have your hair relaxed.Don't allow any of this to get to you.Consider this as a way to build your own self confidence in your ability to break outside the mold.It's not that easy,but its definitely possible.If your workplace is an issue,try and wear your hair in a way that doesn't affect your work,and these days there are so many videos with different hair-dos that it will be ok. Plus,whether you're natural or not,some hairstyles are simply not appropriate for the workplace.You can't go to work as a lawyer with a blue wig for example.It doesn't matter if your hair is natural.It only matters how you style it. I have a banker with natural hair in

Source:Black Image

Ghana,and she always looks absolutely classy,elegant and professional. All it takes is a little trial and error and you will soon be wearing your own hair to the office with no fears.In the end,your own self assurance is what will help others enjoy your natural hair too!
In my next installment,I will talk about the myth of no natural hair products in Africa.Please remember to comment.I'd love to have your take on this!

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:

Feature Wednesday:African Hair Blog

Today is Wednesday and I'm going to try and share a good blog with you every Wednesday.All the blogs will be owned by Africans and will either relate directly to hair and beauty or to health since that influences our hair as well.

Today's blog is dedicated to providing information to African women who want healthy relaxed hair as well.Some of the posts are helpful for natural haired ladies too.Apart from this it also includes some useful information on caring for your hair while its in protective styling such as braids.Please head on over to African Hair blog for more articles and reviews especially if you have relaxed or

Tendayi of African Hair Blog

chemically treated hair.Owned by Tendayi who lives in South Africa,this blog has been around for about 2 to 3 years and serves all African women.She also reviews a number of products which are suitable for natural hair and did a recent post on products purely for natural hair so definitely check her blog since there will be lots of useful info.
I haven't shared any updates on my hair in a while and that's because I have been so busy that my protective style is now in its fourth week and needs freshening up. I've washed it  and moisturise it regularly but I need to refresh some twists so it looks good.I will share more on how I wash the Marley twists and refresh the style as well.I am also going to make the twists into faux dread extensions and hopefully they will look good.Till next time,stay blessed and fabulous!

Good Hair Practices for healthy long hair

Despite the fact that I have completely natural unrelaxed hair I will be sharing a lot of information that I believe is beneficial to both natural and relaxed hair sisters.This is because a lot of the things that work for natural hair also work for relaxed hair.So long as you're here to learn to grow your hair and take care of it so that its as healthy as possible you will benefit from this blog.I will therefore be featuring not just natural hair profiles in the Featured hair section,but also ladies with relaxed hair to encourage everyone seeking healthy hair.

Today I wanted to share a little bit about things that we can do on a regular basis to grow healthy hair.A lot of these involve the scalp because that's where the hair is growing out of,but some of it is also focused on our bodies.

1.Massage your scalp
Scalp massages stimulate your hair follicles and increase blood flow to your scalp,helping to boost how much oxygen and nutrients your hair follicles are getting.This results in healthy hair growth.Try massaging your scalp with a light oil on your finger tips at least once a day.Apart from hair growth,its very relaxing!

2.Keep your scalp clean
If in doubt,refer to the first post in the hair basics series.Clean scalp=good hair growth.Dirt will clog all the pores in your scalp and slow down the gas exchange process which is critical to hair growth.To stop this from happening,try and wash your hair and clean your scalp as much as is possible.

3.Moisture,moisture,moisture
Once again,if in doubt read the first post.Visualise your hair like a young plant.The roots will always need water to grow,just like your hair.I will do a post on the science of hair,but keeping your hair moisturised is one of the single most important determinants of how healthy your hair will be.If you're relaxed this is usually easier but its harder with natural hair.If you remember to do this,you're halfway there.

4.Drink water
Staying hydrated will help you remove waste and toxins from your body and this also affects your hair.One of the first signs of a diseased body is unhealthy looking dull hair that is breaking.Drinking a lot of water will usually help ensure that you are healthy and your hair will be too!

5.Eat healthy
Your hair is built from protein.Your body needs protein not for your hair(lol) but for other essential processes without which you would die(no kidding).So if you were your brain,sending protein that is in limited supply to the hair follicles is a misplaced priority when your immune system needs it,for example.This is why you have to eat a balanced diet.If you get enough protein then your brain can turn its attention to your hair.Vitamins and minerals work the same way.Without them your hair will be brittle and breaking off.Eat well and you'll have enough to keep your hair healthy.And when I say eat well I am assuming you know what that means because you've probably heard it too many times now!..Same applies to exercise..lol!

6.Stop fighting your hair
A lot of us do that with our combs,headbands,ties and even our fingers.Stop fighting with your hair.If you're trying to run a comb through it and its not working don't force it through.Stop trying to style your hair when its dry and resistant to any parting.You will just weaken your hair strands.One of the most important clues that you are not fighting your hair and that your hair is growing healthily is not to have pain when you're combing or styling it.If your scalp hurts,you aren't doing it right.Always remember this one thing as it will be a good way to keep track of yourself.

7.Keep it simple
This isn't just for the health of your hair,its for the health of your pocket and all those around you.Try to keep it simple with your hair.There's no need to spend tons of money on products when you can make some of them on your own.You don't have to do a different style everyday because it will actually damage your hair.Your regimen doesn't have to be complicated.You can actually just relax and enjoy yourself.Try not to obsess over your hair.You don't need to buy every new supplement that says it will grow your hair.Stick to healthy food,exercise and water and you'll be surprised at your own hair.I'm not saying don't take vitamin and mineral supplements,though that is the subject of another post.

Finally,watch this video because laughter is great for your health,and your hair!She was talking about getting thick hair but the tips work either way...Stay blessed and fabulous!

Hair Basics:How to train your stylist...and why I became natural!

I have been asked why I decided to stop perming my hair and go natural.That's a question with such an interesting and dramatic answer that I did a whole post on it here.If you don't like reading it there,try it on this one.A surprise awaits you when you click to go read it.I hope you're not too let down by my reasons for being natural.I just happen to have a very different way of looking at the reasons and motivation people may have for doing what they do and I just don't believe in looking or dressing a certain way because that's what the media has said I

Low manipulation style

should wear through movies and books and music and all that stuff.The end result is a 'fake' woman as I would call it(I mean no offense by that term).Please go read this post to see what I mean before you get mad at me!..lol. Enough ranting!On to hair!

 I have just updated the Hair Profile page with an amazing hair story that I'm sure you're just going to love.I hope it encourages someone to see that its possible to be natural and take care of your own hair,even when you live in a country where good products are hard to come by.

I know that a lot of the people who visit this blog may either be natural or relaxed,but would like to learn how to take care of their own hair.Some of us however would prefer to have hair stylists or other people do our hair for us. This post is meant to help just such people know what they have to do in order to ensure that their hair doesn't get damaged.Ready?Let's go!
Hair stylists,especially those in Africa,are notorious for damaging hair and scalps.They are usually trained to make you look good,not feel good.A common saying you're likely to hear is 'Beauty is Pain'.Even the natural hair salons that are supposed to have a bit more expertise are not really better because they only style and don't know how to really take care of their clients' hair to grow it and cause no pain.In order to hep minimise the damage likely to occur from salon visits,here are a few helpful things to do.

1.Include your salon visits into your regimen and take responsibility for them
Here's what I mean.Don't just go sit in the chair and let the stylist do whatever they want.Plan your salon visit the way you would plan your own hair care if you were going to do your own hair.Determine what day you will go,pack your hair products in preparation and have your money ready..lol. Plan your salon visits so that you know which days you get a protein treatment or a hot oil treatment.Remember those are important too!Prepare for your visit and tell yourself you're going to get pampered,not hurt.A positive outlook helps!

2.Get a bag for the salon
In your salon bag,you would keep all the products that are a normal part of your regimen.If you're newly natural and just reading this,check out my previous post on the basics of a regimen.You will be needing a good sulfate free shampoo or natural cleansing product if you plan to shampoo,a conditioner for use after shampooing or for washing your hair if you co-wash,a good deep conditioner for deep conditioning after washing your hair,a leave-in conditioner and an oil/butter such as a shea butter mix to seal in the moisture.If you will be doing a protein treatment that day,you need your protein treatment.If its a hot oil treatment day,make sure the oil is in the bag.Depending on the style you plan to get,put a styling product in the bag if you need one.Whatever be the case,be prepared.

3.Be ready to speak up
If you're going to just plomp yourself in the chair and expect your stylist to do everything right,then you have another thing coming.A lot of these stylists have no idea what they're doing to you or your hair.It is your job to tell them when they aren't doing it right.I know,I know.They will get annoyed or whatever.But remember tip 1?TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! What I like to do is to tell myself that this is an investment for my hair.I use the same salon all the time and chances are

Crazy twist-out 

so do you.If that's the case try and have a relationship with your stylist and tell him/her that you want to try and grow your hair.Therefore you're going to need their help to do so.You're going to need to tell them when they're hurting you or trying to run a fine toothed comb through your hair,for instance.Tell them nicely and they might not get offended.If they do,then you might need to find someone that doesn't get offended.You need to make sure that they don't keep doing the same thing to your hair that causes it to damage so be ready to talk.
If you feel any pain on your scalp,speak up.Tell them you like your edges and not to braid them too tight.Tell them to detangle your hair after deep conditioning with wide tooth comb and not a tiny comb.Be ready to do the detangling  yourself, if need be, to show them how to do it.This is why its important to have a relationship with the stylist.This way,you can talk to them and they're not likely to get angry.

4.Be ready for the long haul

Perm rod set on 4C hair

Don't be a salon jumper for too long.Try and find a salon that will let you stick with one stylist otherwise you will be saying the same things every week.Its easier to call ahead and make sure your assigned stylist is ready for you.That way you don't have to go and subject yourself to someone else who does't know what

you need.Be prepared to spend about 2 hours in the salon whether you're relaxed or natural.Be ready to pay for good service when you do find a good salon.

5.Your hairstyles should be helping,not hurting you
This is an important tip.If you want healthy hair,you have to make sure your hairstyles are helping with your aim.Pick hair-dos that are lovely and chic,but will not put strain on your hair.Some hair styles will put so much strain on your hair edges that you have to spend time growing them back.Others will result in such tangled hair that its just not worth it.Remember the realistic expectations post?Its important that you remember this.If you want to grow long hair for example,it might be better to get a low manipulation or protective style that will protect your hair from the damage of daily handling.Whatever style you pick,also remember that you have to take it to school or work and it needs to be appropriate.

Kinky twists

In conclusion,if your scalp hurts when your stylist is doing your hair,they aren't doing it right. It shouldn't hurt unless its getting damaged.Show them what they should do and go with the products you need.Remember that we do not scrub
the scalp with our nails.We use the soft pads of our fingers to wash our hair.If they begin to vigorously scrub your hair(like they used to do to me so much so that I got a headache) have them stop.If they try to use heat on your hair too often too much or with no heat protectant,tell them to stop.Be ready to train your stylist.It won't be easy,but beautiful healthy hair with no pain and a great stylist will be your reward.Totally worth it I'd say!

To co-wash or not to co-wash?.That is the question

Over the past week we've talked about a number of things to help with our hair,and yesterday I shared the basics of a hair care regimen in this post.Following a simple regimen is the easiest way to fix dry tangled hair once and for all.For a lot of you who read and watch a lot of hair tutorials,you probably noticed that I didn't talk about co-washing and may be wondering why.

Co-washing is basically 'conditioner-washing',that is washing your hair with conditioner.For a lot of natural haired ladies,co-washing is a part of their regimen.Instead of washing hair with shampoo,a lot of us prefer to use conditioners to wash our hair.The reason for this is to basically help keep your hair soft and moisturised.Shampoos generally tend to remove a lot the hair's natural oils and leaves

Image from Officially Natural

it so clean that you have to immediately replace that moisture or risk hair damage.For afro-textured hair,its already particularly difficult to keep the hair moisturised because it is so tightly coiled and absorbs very little water.That's why a lot of natural hair ladies will wash their hair with conditioner so that right from the cleansing stage your hair has moisture.

In yesterday's post,I didn't bring this up because I think that the decision to co-wash your hair or not will depend on a number of factors.

1.Your location
I think that co-washing works great when your hair isn't exposed to a lot of dust and heat from the sun which causes your scalp to sweat.For an African living in a typical African country,you are faced with lots of dust and sunshine on a daily basis.I really don't think that a conditioner is cleansing enough to remove all of that dirt from your hair.It is purely my opinion based on my own

From Ghana Natural Hair community Facebook page

experience,but in such an environment washing with a sulfate free shampoo,mudwash or African black soap shampoo is more likely to remove all the dirt and sweat and still leave your hair nice and moisturised,especially if you pre-poo before washing.

2.Your lifestyle
Directly related to your lifestyle will be how much you sweat and how much time you spend outdoors.If you spend a lot of time outdoors,you get more impurities into your hair that you will need to wash out.If you exercise  a lot for example then your scalp will need to be cleaned better than someone who doesn't exercise as much.If you swim,then most definitely you will need a good shampoo or natural cleanser to remove the minerals,salt and chlorine from your hair.If you consider all these factors and you don't think co-washing will work for you,then you need to consider a good shampoo or natural cleansing product.

3.The products you use and your styling techniques
Dependent on where you live,chances are so far you haven't been using all natural products in your hair because you don't have access to them.These products,even after you wash them out,will leave some residue behind in your hair and scalp.For example,a lot of gels contain alcohol,parabens and mineral oils and all these are very good at sticking to your hair and staying on your scalp.Co-washing alone doesn't remove these products completely.After a while,you will notice your hair isn't

Photo from Black Girl Long Hair

as healthy,shiny or thick as before and doesn't stay moisturised as well as before.Your hair will also usually feel greasy or weighed down.In this case,you may have product build-up which happens when you use a lot of commercial products.In order to remove product build-up,you have to use a shampoo,mudwash or black soap.Co-washing will only make the build-up worse.

These are the 3 main reasons why co-washing wasn't on yesterday's list,especially since this blog is targeted mainly to Africans living in Africa..;).What I have personally found to help,is to alternate co-washing with shampooing.If I shampoo my hair once a week for example,I will co wash in the middle of the week or something like that,depending on if I have the time.I hope this post has helped answer a lot of concerns for you.My next post will probably be on the politics of natural hair and hair health with regards to physical exercise and water sports such as swimming.And I have a fabulous blog lined up for our next featured blog so don't forget to check back.Please subscribe,like,comment and share!
Till next time,stay blessed and fabulous!

No more dry,tangled hair..forever!

Happy Easter everyone!I trust we all enjoyed a lovely time.I was supposed to have posted something on Saturday but was a little busy with some school work.Never fear though because here it is.
We have been sharing information you need to have for your hair and my last post dwelt a little bit on how to begin the journey to natural hair with my own experience as an example.If you missed that post just click here to read it.
So at this point, I'm going to assume you've made your choice and you know which path you're going to use.As I said in my very first post, no two heads are the same and so please do not feel obligated to follow the method someone chooses to use to go natural.The same method may not work for you because of your own different hair or schedule or just individual differences.We usually share our experiences with you so you can decide to use them as examples for your own journey and to be encouraged to know that you can get where you want to get.

The biggest complaint I get from natural sisters, especially of African origin and those that are considering going natural, is "My hair is so hard!It gets tangled easily and I can't comb it.It is too painful!It is so dry"..and so on and so forth.Today I'm going to share with you very simple things you can do to solve this problem.

Photo from Long Black Natural Hair website

Now, this may seem like a huge letdown for some of you, but dry, hard and tangled hair is not a unique experience to only you.Probably everyone who went natural without knowing all the things I'm going to share with you has had this problem at some point.I had this problem when I took my braids out after my big chop.My hair was such a mess that it took me 2 days to detangle(no kidding).I nearly gave up and went to buy a relaxer there and then, but +Annette Akye encouraged me and I decided to stick it out.Why was my hair so tangled?That is a question for another post I
will write so you can avoid making the same mistakes.So anyway, how did I get rid of the tangles and how do I keep them out of my hair right now?The answer is simple really: A regimen.
Now that you're completely natural,you need to work out a methodical schedule for your hair so that you can keep it soft and moisturized.Moisturized hair doesn't tangle as easily as dry hair,and its easy to manage.So how do you start a regimen?You need 3 basic components and after that, you can decide what to do and when to do it.

1.Cleansing your hair and scalp

Photo from Long Black Natural Hair website

Remember one of the things I said in the first post about dirty scalps?If you want your hair to grow well and stay moisturized, you need to clean both your scalp and hair regularly.How often you do it depends on you, but you can do it as often as you have time.In order to clean your hair and scalp, you need either a good sulfate free shampoo, mild action shampoo or a natural cleanser/detoxifier such as a mud wash or African black soap shampoo.Why not just regular shampoo?Sulfates in the shampoo remove all the natural oils and moisture that keeps your hair strong and soft, so if you use them you will end up with dry hair and a really dry scalp resulting in hair breakage.That's why it is recommended that you use a sulfate free shampoo. Two of my favorite sulfate free shampoos are from Cantu (available here for my Ghana-based audience or here internationally) and the creme of nature moisture and shine shampoo (available here for my Ghana-based audience or here internationally).
An extra step before you wash your hair which will help your hair to lose as little moisture and natural oils as possible is the 'pre-poo' step.Here, you basically put an oil such as olive oil or coconut oil into your hair with water and cover with a plastic cap for about 30 minutes to an hour before you shampoo or wash your hair.It helps make your hair extra soft.You can choose to mix a conditioner into the oil and water before you put it on your hair for extra moisture.Depending on your preference, you can detangle your hair at this step, while you're washing your hair or later.Detangling refers to removing whatever knots or tangles are in your hair, and you can use either a wide tooth comb or your fingers for this purpose.You should not detangle dry hair because its harder.Always try to detangle your hair while there's conditioner or oil in it.

2.Moisturising your hair
Water is our hair's best friend!Don't ever forget it.After you wash your hair, you want to keep some of the water in your hair by applying a moisturizing product to your hair.Right after washing, you can pat your hair dry with a microfiber towel or tee shirt and while your hair is still damp, there are several things you need to do at this point to ensure your hair is as moisturized as possible.First is  deep conditioning.There are a number of deep conditioners that are really great for our hair, so you'd need one of those.The Eden Bodyworks deep conditioner is a great choice (you can get it here in Ghana or anywhere else worldwide).
Sometimes, I mix up my own batch at home.Whichever one you want to use, just make sure to follow the

Photo credit Naptural85

instructions on the container and you're good to go.After you wash out the deep conditioner, you can go ahead and apply a leave-in conditioner, oil to seal in the moisture and whatever styling cream or butter you're using for your hair.I use Cantu leave in (available here if you're in Ghana or internationally here), a mixture of oils and shea butter for my sealant, and sometimes a styling cream or a gel.Depends on what I want to do.

3.Nutrition,nutrition,nutrition
I know you think I'm going to say eat good food etc.You already know to do that so I'm not going to talk about that.Your hair needs its own nutrients sometimes.This is necessary especially if you want thick hair or your hair is weak.First here is a protein treatment.Protein treatments basically make your hair stronger and prevent breakage.Done right, a protein treatment will leave your hair nice and shiny.There are some really good protein treatments out there, but I like the Aphogee simple system.You can get it here in Ghana or if you're anywhere else, click here.The important thing to remember is that you shouldn't do protein treatments too often, since too much protein results in brittle breaking hair.I shoot for once a month, unless when my hair is damaged,in which case I will do it twice in a month.Look at your hair and decide if you really need it.

Photo Credit Superstock

The other thing in this category is hot oil treatments.Not a lot of people do hot oil treatments, but they are great for your hair.Basically, you would take whatever oil you want and heat it up slightly and apply it throughout your hair.You can sit under a hooded dryer with a shower cap on or you can wrap you head with a warm towel to keep the heat in your hair.Usually 30 minutes to an hour later you can rinse out the oil and your hair will be soft, shiny and less prone to breakage.I do hot oil treatments twice a month, usually right after I deep condition or use a protein treatment.
Some people include protective styling in their regimens,but that's up to you.Protective styles keep your hair protected so it doesn't break.Such styles include braids, weaves, and wigs.

Finally, this isn't on the list, but trimming your hair will help to keep it from breaking and knotting up.You don't have to trim like once a month, but you should just watch your hair and trim off whatever damaged ends you observe.I trim my hair by putting my hair in medium size twists all over my head and cutting off the pointy broken ends that I see.I don't do this more than once every 3 months though.

Photo from Long Black Natural Hair website

This is a basic regimen.You can add things on as time goes on,but at the very least, you should be washing your hair, conditioning it, moisturizing and doing protein treatments.And this includes even when your hair is in a protective style such as braids or weaves.If you can do this,y our hair will be so easy to manage and will grow really well.That's it then.The solution to dry tangled hair is in your hands.I hoep it helps you!Till later,stay blessed and fabulous!

Photo credit Black Girl Long hair website

Photo from darkerthanbrown.blogspot.com

Photo credit Ghana Hair Chick

Photo credit Ghana Hair Chick