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Showing posts from April, 2012

Know Your Protein (Part One)

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Most of our hair products contain various protein ingredients. Some people may or may not need protein depending on their hair type.  Find out what these protein ingredients are and what they do. Silk Amino Acids - Help to seal the hair cuticle, increase detangling & shine, and acts as a moisturizer by preventing dryness. Used to penetrate the hair to add body and strength. Wheat Amino Acids - Wheat amino acids increase the hair's ability to retain moisture and impart shine and gloss to damaged and dull hair. Due to its low molecular weight, wheat amino acids easily penetrate the hair shaft and bind to hair's inner fibers. Keratin Amino Acids - This amino acid helps to restructure damaged hair. Keratin helps strengthen and build healthy hair. Hydrolyzed Soy Protein - Known to add strength and manageability to hair. It is able to keep the cuticle smooth, repair and strengthen hair. This vegetable protein helps hair retain moisture. Hydrolyzed soy protein also ad

Style With Your Hair With Scarfs

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Scarfs are great styling tools everyone on a hair journey should have. Aside protecting your hair at night, you can purchase some chic scarfs to style your hair to work, church and other social events.  Gone are the days of the traditional scarf methods. Join Vannerella , WomanInTheJungle and MopTopMaven as they use scarfs to create contemporary styles. 

Herbs In Ghana: Bay Leaves

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Today's post brings out another common herb found easily in the market. It is mainly used in preparing soups and stews and has a very strong sweet aroma. Description Bay leaves are about 1 to 3 inches long and are oval with pointed ends. The leaves are shiny with dark green tops and are a lighter green underneath. For Dandruff For the divas searching for a remedy for dandruff, use Bay leaf tea. Boil a quart of water, the remove the pot from the stove and add about 3 teaspoons of crushed bay leaves.  Cover the pot and steep until cool. Pour some in the hair after shampooing and rinsing, and massage into the head for a few minutes. For best results, leave it in for an hour before rewashing hair.Each time you wash your hair you can use the bay leaf mixture as a soothing rinse that will help eliminate dandruff.  Bay Essential Oil Aides in hair growth Provides dull, lifeless hair with luster and shine. Curbs dandruff problems. Bay Oil Infusion Wash and dry all t

Tips On Selecting A Hair Moisturizer

Most often, new naturals (newbies) tend to get confused with terms like "moisturize" in hair care. However, this difficulty is understandable since some naturals do not make the distinction clear enough. They may also not state what they use to moisturize and how they do it. Simply put, there are two main moisturizers and thus two ways of moisturizing. There are Oil Based moisturizers and Water Based moisturizers. Water Based Moisturizer Water is the number one ingredient on the list of ingredients.These include liquid leave-ins and products labeled as "moisturizers" which have water as the first ingredient. It adds water back into the hair to keep it moisturized.   Oil Based Moisturizer Oil is the first ingredient on the list of ingredients. For example Jojoba oil, Coconut oil. Used to seal in moisture: After co-washing or washing the hair, it stays wet for a while. To prevent the water from evaporating from the hair, it is best to seal it in. This is

The Bane of Natural Hair In Ghana

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It's quite interesting to see naturals abroad being bombarded with products and services from a large array of manufacturers and natural hair service providers. Can that be said of us in this our dear nation? When one goes to any cosmetic shop, it is easier to obtain products for relaxed hair. But if you need  natural hair products, you might  be lucky to get two or three at Makola Market or at well-known shopping malls.This scarcity can create frustrations in caring for the hair.

Banana Twist

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We are know that twists can never depart from a natural hair gallery of styles! But do you know there are a variety of twist styles you can wear? The traditional twists natural hair ladies wear have seen some serious overhauling. You don't need your usual two strand twists, try a banana twist for a change.  Here's a tutorial on the banana twist by  LaMonicaD  

Herbs In Ghana: Garlic

--> Benefits Stimulates blood flow to the scalp and purges out toxins Makes hair stronger Shinier hair and less prone to breaking Alleviating dry hair and itchiness in the scalp area. For Hair Growth A. About an hour before bedtime, crush a garlic clove and rub the clove into the area of the hair loss. Leave the garlic juice on the scalp and then rub olive oil onto your scalp at bedtime. You will probably want to wear a shower cap to bed. Shampoo your hair when you wake up in the morning. Continue this routine for a few weeks. or   B. Separate the garlic into cloves, then peel each clove and squeeze in a garlic press. Collect the juice in a small bowl, measuring until you get to a tablespoonful. Mix honey into the garlic juice. Set the garlic/honey mixture in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Garlic Oil Infusion  Boil water Peel the garlic and chop into small pieces Add Olive oil to the chopped garlic Place the mixture in the hot water for 30-45 m

Alata Samina (Africa Black Soap)

-->  Debbie asks... In hair care, what do you use alata samina for? Alata Samina is derived from the combination of two words: "Alata" which is a reference to mainly the people of  the Hausa tribe and "Samina" from the Twi language meaning soap. Other names for this soap include: African black soap, Black soap, and Anago soap. Ghana's Alata soap is the best quality black soap because it is the ORIGINAL. Are we not blessed to have this in abundance? It is one of the cheapest product you can get from any market in Ghana!   For Hair Aalata Samina is used as a natural shampoo . This soap was what our great, great grandmothers used before the advent of the shampoos we know. It's the only soap in the world that does not require lye but lathers more than any other soap without the cancer-causing laurel sulphate. Liquid Black Soap I soak the soap in water and leave it for hours to melt into a liquid state which makes it easy to use. Emprezz Ref

Natural Hair Deep Conditioners: Honey To Banana

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; Deep Conditioners have an important place in retaining moisture.  What happens when you want to use only natural deep conditioning products on your hair? You go to mother nature. Here are a few homemade deep conditioning treatments that can be done at home. See my Mango Deep conditioner treatment here A.Honey -1tsp honey -2tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil - normal Conditioner Mix them together and leave on the hair for about an hour before rinsing out. B.Avocado -1 avocado -1/4 cup sheabutter -1/3 cup olive oil -2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar C.Yogurt -2-3 cups yogurt -2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar -1/4 Molasses -1 banana D.Egg -1egg yolk -1/2 tsp Olive Oil Don't forget to rinse out with luke warm water (not hot water) E.Banana -1 banana --Olive, Sheabutter and Coconut oil (your own measurement) Emprezz Reference: http://www.curlynikki.com/2010/05/homemade-deep-conditioner-recipes.html

Herbs In Ghana: Parsley

Description  Parsley belongs to the Umbelliferae family of plants with the Latin name Petroselinum crispum. The two most popular types of parsley are curly parsley and Italian flat leaf parsley. The Italian variety has a more fragrant and less bitter taste than the curly variety. There is also another type of parsley known as turnip-rooted (or Hamburg) that is cultivated for its roots, which resemble salsify and burdock.  Benefits Healthy scalps Stimulates scalpel circulation Acts as a hair conditioner Helps to balance the sebaceous glands Heals any scalp problems and boosts hair growth. For Shiny Hair Boil water in a pot on high flame. Put the parsley leaves in this boiling water for 20 minutes Pass this through the blender to get a smooth paste. Apply this paste on your shampooed and clean hair the way you would apply henna paste. Leave this on your scalp for 1 hour. Rinse off with water. Don't shampoo your hair again. Scalp Lotion As a scalp lotion, par

How To Wash Your Own Hair

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 For this weekend, I share my wash day routine and hope it helps you. Products for Washing  Here are the products I use on a wash day (not co-wash day): * Deep Conditioner (DC) *Shampoo *Conditioner *Plastic/poly Bag *Headbands *Shower Cap *Wide Tooth comb/medium tooth comb Steps In Washing I deep condition at the end of every month usually on early Friday mornings (for now). I part the hair into small sections using my fingers. For each section, I apply DC and secure the section with a head band. If I have to detangle, I use the DC as my detangler because it has some good slip. I detangle with my fingers first which helps to feel and get rid of knots easily. Then a wide tooth comb followed by a medium tooth comb. I then put on the poly/plastic bag and finally a shower cap.  After an hour, I wash out the DC, clarify with a shampoo, apply a conditioner and take my shower. When I am through, I rinse out the conditioner, scrunch (not rub) the hair with a t-shirt to re

How To Do Braid Outs

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If you've been wearing two strand twists, look beyond that and consider braid outs!!!. Braid outs can equally be classified as protective styles because you don't manipulate your hair for days- you can switch up the styles too in a matter of minutes. The key thing about braid outs is allowing the hair to dry properly before unravelling the braid. Braid outs aren't worn by only natural hair ladies; relaxed hair ladies can also wear braid outs.    br0nzeqt  and  fgrogan create a braid out style that you can try on any hair type.

Sesame Seed Oil

The quest for products for Ghanaian naturals has yielded another discovery. This time, it's the Sesame Seed Oil. Description Sesame oil (also known as gingelly oil or til oil) is made from pressed sesame seeds.This oil is the natural oil present in sesame seeds. Sesame seeds derive from a plant 2 to 4 feet tall that bears pods containing the seeds.It is cultivated in the northern belt of Ghana. Active ingredients: Iron, magnesium, manganese,copper, calcium, vitamin B, (thiamine) and vitamin E (tocopherol) lignans, sesamin, anti phytic acid, polyunsaturated fat. Scalp Massages massage your scalp and hair regularly with sesame oil. Hair Mask 2 tbsps warm sesame oil 2 tbsps neem oil (find how to make neem oil at naturalnigerian.com ) Mix and massage into scalp, comb hair with wide tooth comb, wrap hair in a hot towel or cling wrap and keep on for at least 15 minutes or overnight, then shampoo out. Dandruff Treatment 1 tbsp ginger root juice 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp lemon jui

Natural Is Not Perfect

cause of their hair choice. Remember your own days! Don't break up your friendship with your relaxed hair friends because friendship goes beyond hair choices. My best pal has relaxed hair. Never feel you're being more religious by sticking to your God-given hair texture. Religion entails your whole life. You might be natural but bleaching your skin. Being natural doesn't necessarily mean you're healthier than relaxed sisters. At least not when you still take "turkey tail" every evening. Don't consider  relaxed ladies to be product junkies all the time. You might be more of the product junkie. Don't assume being natural means spending less time on hair care. Your hair might require as much attention as a relaxed hair.  Being natural doesn't guarantee long hair. Genetics play a role in long hair You wear protective styles and use hair dyes. Relaxed sisters wear protective styles and dye their hair.  You can experience breakage and length

Herbs In Ghana: Rosemary

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Photo Source:hairboutique.com  A search through the net has revealed that herbs are useful in hair care. Some of the concerns of naturals in Ghana have been which herbs are available and where to purchase them.  The series, Herbs In Ghana , has been created to address these problems. Today, the focus  is on Rosemary.   Description  Rosemary is a dark green herb with needle-like leaves and pale blue flowers. It's native to Mediterranean areas, and the name means "dew of the sea" in Latin. The official botanical name for rosemary is "rosmarinus officinalis."It is a bushy type of evergreen that can grow six feet or higher and the tree contains leaves that are stiff and leathery. Rosemary has different uses but the concern here is on hair care. Check hairboutique.com for other usage. Benefits This herb aids in: stimulating hair follicles for hair growth  slowing down or even permanently holding off premature hair loss and gray

The Rains Are Here: Caring for Hair This Season

When it comes to our hair, the state of the weather determines the hairstyle you wear, the products you use and how you care for the hair during the day. In Ghana, except in the north, two rainy seasons occur, from April to July and from September to November. In the north the rainy season begins in April and lasts until September. Now, we are in the rainy season and styling can be tedious especially if you depend on "trotro" or "troski" (public transport).  Goel  of completewellbeing.com gives the following advice for hair care during rainy season: The rain showers bring with them many pollutants. If rainwater touches your hair, it damages your hair shaft and weakens your hair in the process. If you do wet your hair in the rain, make sure that you wash your hair as soon as possible with a mild shampoo and condition after that. Do not leave the rainwater in the hair for long time as it is high in chemical contents and can damage the hair. Washing your hair 2