Ghanaian Emprezz

Today's post is all about the shampoos for Ghanaia natural hair though I wonder if there's anything like that LOL. When ladies as me why I hardly talk about some of the top notch products being raved about day in and day out, I tell them my hair journey shouldn't be complicated. Shampoos are the first products you need when it's wash day and with knowledge about sulfates, most ladies are looking for shampoos that would give them the best results. Be it moisturizing, clarifying or sulfate free, choosing a shampoo can be a bane of naturals in Ghana. The few shampoos I have used haven't disappointed me namely; creme of nature shampoo, ors aloe shampoo and now we naturals hemp shampoo. African black soap aka alata samina is also awesome for natural hair. My advice to you is not look at the expensive nature of a shampoo and qualify it as being effective. Cheap can be equally effective.

Let me start off by saying that this challenge is hosted by Jen of Justgrowalready and Jay of relaxedthairapy [ Yep, the two Js] For me, this is an accountability challenge. I've had several forms of protective styles but the key thing missing is the ability to keep them in for a long time. Therefore, I want to use this particular challenge to help me keep this cornrows till at least 31st of August. I've already done a week so an extra 4 weeks would be awesome. I'll have a weekly update to let you in on what goes on.

The Nuage Skin Facial Scrub hasn't disappointed me at all. I bought it some weeks ago when I revamped my facial care and have been consistently using it in my routine. I talk about how I use it, its effectiveness and where to purchase one. Nuage Skin Facial Scrub Review: [YouTube=https://youtu.be/rQAU93z1fB8]

The Afro puff is a go-to hair style for naturals with medium to long hair and here's how to the the easiest twa afro puff(4b/4c natural hair).   i Even though my hair is very short, at least, I'm able to put it in a puff. I don't wear it frequently in order not to put pressure on my edges. The fun part is that it takes less than 2 minutes to create and requires only a scarf and a bobby pin! [Youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tufeegTXT44&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

If you are on the mission to use local products on your natural hair, then, take a look at these oils for natural hair . 1. Palm kernel oil: I was excited when I learnt about the wonders this oil can do for our strands. But as Ghanaians as we are, we disregard it😩😩😩. I know and understand how the smell can be a put off yet why not find a way to solve that? Well, I have chanced upon a vendor who has done that. Check out Wenaturals on Facebook and grab a bottle of palm kernel oil for your prepoo, hot oil treatment, sealing and also scalp oiling. 2. Palm Oil: OK, so, I haven't yet done my palm oil treatment as I had planned and that's because I've been tucking my hair away too much! That's even the reason why my products stay for 2-3 years in my stash; terrible, I know. This oil is so easy to find in our markets, something our sisters abroad will envy us for but we don't value it. Don't worry, I'll be running 4 days of palm oil wash challenge very soon so we

The rains are getting intense , our hair is getting more moisture Lol. When you think you have a fly twist out going on and puff, the humidity gets the green card to play with your twist, the next best thing is to finger out how to prevent knots and tangles.  Here are 5 tools to help you handle your hair during this raining season. 1. Fingers: your fingers are your best detangling tools this season. With so much moisture getting into the hair, there's the tendency of your hair getting tangled and knotted or matted if you get soaked on the rain. Wet natural hair is very fragile thus it's prudent to have a finger detangling technique for such incidents 2 . Protein treatment : I can't emphasize the use of protein this rainy season will prevent moisture overload which can also be equally harmful as protein overload. A mild protein product can keep that balance. 3. Shower Cap/Scarf: keep this in your bag as you may get caught up in the rains. One of the things naturals claim i

About 2 years ago, I purchased the freeman facial peel off masque when I saw another youtube vlogger rave about it. What is a peel-off masque? This facial mask has a plasticizing agent that forms a thin film over the face, when dried. This is peeled to remove dead skin, blackheads, and exfoliate (source: http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/amazing-benefits-of-peel-off-masks/ ) When you decide to care for your face, you'll need to use a mask at least montly to help clear the pores. By removing dead skin, your skin gets the chance to regenerate healthy skin and also reduce or even remove blackheads. I use the freeman peel off mask monthly in my skin care regimen and it's been very good. I wasn't diligent with the freeman peel off mask until I revamped my facial routine and since then, I've come to value this mask. In the review, I talk about how I use it, how it works and if I've seen improvement in my facial skin. [youtube=https://youtu.be/WOAxkawIeW8]

Every natural hair or relaxed hair lady has some oils stashed somewhere for moisturizing and sealing but do you know about using oils for   hot oil treatment  ? I have a short post on how to do hot oil treatments (see here ).  The next thing to tackle is what oil you can use for your treatment. Coconut Oil This is by far, the most popular oil in the hair care industry and it's for a good reason too. The coconut oil has been proven to have the ability to penetrate the strands far which makes it one of the most effective oils for hot oil treatments. It's able to prevent the hair from absorbing too much water which can cause hygral fatigue so go ahead and use your coconut oil Palm Kernel oil Although the smell of this oil can be a put off, it's benefits for the hair should motivate you to use it for your treatments. The good thing about the oil too is that it's readily available in the markets. The other oils that you can use are: Castor oil  which does not only grow hair

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="396"] Twist out on short natural hair[/caption] Yes, the availability of hair products now hasn't totally made our hair journey easier. It has its own stress which together with together with other problems, make our journey difficult. 1. Internet services: when surfline sent my hubby a notification that our credit was finished, it just left my in a limbo. How could that happen when I hadn't viewed youtube videos??? With our mobile networks, internet bundles are so costly that it's virtually impossible to watch more than 3 videos even in a month! How would naturals access youtube videos and also even support channels like mine?☺ This is very frustrating! Any network willing to solve this? 2. Cost of item delivery; it's very annoying when I have to send items to customers and I'm charged more than the price of the product. How is that going to help the customer? Paying for something and having

Who doesn't like free stuff? Certainly, all of us love freebies. When you set your eyes on a product and you start budgeting for it, the waiting time can kill 😂😂😂. So, how can you get free hair products? Give Aways Bloggers Your favorite bloggers have give away contests that affords you the chance to win products. Just follow give away rules( like mine) and you are on the way to winning products! Manufacturers The good old ways of getting freebies just got better even for our Ghanaian hair products. Our sisters are creating a variety of hair and skin care lines that will certainly get you daydreaming about them. All you need to do is follow them and support them. Vendors Also, sellers do give aways so don't miss them too. You get to do a few things like share a post but hey, it's worth it! Some of the products you win are simply too expensive to miss. Swap You don't need to tweak and make sure every single product works for you by hook or crook. Why not swap or excha

If I doubted the efficacy of Jamaican black castor oil, my edges are more than a prove that jbco indeed works. When I tried a different growth oil on my edges for a month, I didn't see any progress so I'm beyond convinced that consistent use of jbco yields results. Because of this, I've decided to join another hair challenge by hairequest. I don't have any jbco challenge planned for this year so this is a good opportunity to get it done. I joined the hairequest Ultimate challenge. ULTIMATE LEVEL -  Apply castor Oil to your scalp atleast three times a week ·       -  Use castor oil to seal after moisturizing your hair ·       -  Add a few drops to a tablespoon of castor oil to your deep conditioner ·         -Use castor oil in your prepoo mix or on its own as a hot oil treatment. Read more about prepooing  here. Some people may be concerned about moisturizing hair while in protective styles such as braids and weaves. Simply make a spritz of your own which can cons

As part of our group challenge, we'll be doing hot oil treatments during this month. What is hot oil treatment? You simply heat up your oil a bit, apply to your strands, cover up with caps and either rinse the oil out or leave it in. The difference between this and prepoo is that the prepoo is meant to be done before shampoo and is not necessarily with oil. There will be about 4 hot oil treatments for July which will be part of either my wash day routine or co wash routine. I only have one day in the week to wear my hair out too so that will be when I can do the hot oil treatment. I have an already prepared hot oil treatment you'll get to know very soon! For now, let's call it "X factor" Lol. Don't forget to enter my Instagram give away-www.Instagram.com/emprezzabena Or youtube give away www.youtube.com/EmprezzAbena How do you do your hot oil treatment?

My review of the aphogee 2 minuted reconstructor was when I had relaxed hair. Now that I'm natural, I still use it. Even though natural hair is chemical free, there are other factors that might lead to protein depletion in the hair. For example, using a comb regularly can lead to protein loss. Also, too much moisture can cause moisture overload so you need to create a healthy balance. With the aphogee, I get to strengthen my natural hair too thereby preventing breakage. I know a lot of naturals sing about moisture, moisture but having this bit of protein guarantees a well balanced moisture- protein levels. How do I use the aphogee 2 minutes reconstructor? I share 2 methods and explain how to vi about it. [Youtube=https://youtu.be/k7U-q9MfzGs]

I've been sharing a few facial products with you for some time now. Here's is the review of queen Helene avocado and grapefruit masque which has bentonite clay. I've had this masque for more than a 2 years! However, with the changes in my facial routine, I don't think it will be available by the end of the year. I'd been slacking on it but since I got serious about getting a fresh, glowing face, I haven't looked back. It's been part of my weekly facial care routine and I'm glad to be using it the way it ought to be. Don't forget to comment.

Back in somewhere May or June 2013, I took my facial care seriously and the first thing I grabbed was the Forever Clair facial products -see here  which included the forever clair hydrating wash and acne wash. Afterwards, I grabbed more and have since been using them religiously. Whilst most people complain about this line, I've found a way to make it work for me thanks to what I learnt about hair products. You tweak what may not be working and make it work for you-like me using my shampoo to bath when I hated it ☺☺☺. Anyway, it's the same story with the FC Beauty products and now, I really enjoy them. [Youtube=https://youtu.be/keEhzgmGDUY]

Hi empresses, I'm sharing with you how how to care for  natural hair under  wigs which  helps with growth and retention. Even though I love weaves, I find wigs to be easier to maintain as well as giving me the chance to still care for my hair underneath it. Wigs and weaves  are a great form of protective style. When you choose to use wigs, there's the temptation to just forget about your hair and allow it to be. Most people have come to use lace wigs, lace fronts and other forms of wigs as a means of protecting their natural hair or relaxed hair, especially during cold months. Well, in as much as you want leave your hair alone, remember that the wig can't moisturize and seal your hair nor wash it for you. Just as you will wash the wig, oil and comb it, you need to pay attention to your own hair so it can thrive beneath the wigs. In doing that, you'll ensure that you derive maximum benefits from the wig as well as allow your hair to retain whatever growth you get. P

How do you do that? Well, that's one of the search words that have popped on several occasions is how to turn relaxed hair into natural hair instantly. I want to address this in case you have other people thinking the same way. First of all, the relaxer process involves the PERMANENT break down of the hair(simplest explanation). The chemical changes are irreversible; that's how the relaxer is supposed to work else you will have a temporal straightness like that of a flat ironed hair. Whereas a flat iron changes the bonds for a short time, the relaxer brings down the protein bonds, straightening and rearranging them in the process. What can you use to turn relaxed hair to natural at once? The simple answer is NOTHING! Vinegar cannot make your relaxed hair turn into natural one. Neither will key soap, duck bar soap, OMO, Ariel, or even Akpeshie. Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe to ghanaianemprezz so you don't miss a post!

I won the Dark and Lovely Hair refresher & Scalp wash in a give away. It won't surprise you to know that I've had my eyes on this line for sometime now. Well, God brought them to me on a silver platter when I won it in a give away hosted by dark and lovely GH. Here are my initial impressions about these products. [Youtube=https://youtu.be/LV2n1IEeEtc] Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe to ghanaianemprezz so you don't miss a post!

I've been using the L.O.C.method on  4C natural hair[my 4c hair]. The liquid, oil, cream method basically means using a water based product first, followed by creamy product and sealing with oil. When you start right, you end right. Since I'm fully natural now, it's best to give the hair all the nourishment it needs as it grows out. By the time it becomes a big Ass afro, the wouldn't be the need to suffer from dryness. That said, I've continued with the liquid, oil, cream moisturizing and sealing technique I was using when I had the relaxed and natural hair to contend with. The assumption was that if it worked for the natural and relaxed hair, then, now that there's no relaxed hair, it should work better. Indeed, I haven't been disappointed yet. I don't know how long my hair will love this method but I'm going with the flow for now. Here's a video demonstrating how I use the L.C.O method on my 4C natural hair -TWA. [Youtube=https://www

I've heard ladies complain about the forever Claire Skin care products  not working for them. Well, I nearly became one until I tweaked how I use it and since then, it's been a jolly good ride. I started using the Forever Claire products in July 2013 or so. What I've been doing is to using a cleanser first before applying any of the products. Well, I discovered the reason why the product didn't seem to be working well on its own. When using the cleanser, I'll dab a bit of cotton in it to clean my face. Apparently, it wasn't the cleanser that was doing the work, it was the cotton. The cotton was getting rid of dead cells by acting as an "exfoliating" material. It was cleaning the skin surface. One evening, I skipped the cleansing and decided to follow Hubby's method of cleaning his face. I used my sponge to gently rub the FC product on the face. This face scrubbing technique left my skin feeling soft and smooth just like when I use the cotton and cl