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Showing posts from 2022

Wash Day With Aphogee

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 Washing gives your hair the moisture it needs and for me, moving from once a week to twice a week washing requires new strategies. One method I'm trying is hairlicous way of washing. I've tried it before but time constraints made it difficult to continue.  1) Washed with Head and Shoulders anti dandruff shampoo to cleanse my scalp thoroughly.  2) Followed with light protein conditioner. I used aphoghee 2 minutes reconstructor and left it for 5 minutes. The reason  the 2 minutes reconstructor will be amazing is because it's not time consuming. I can do all the washing during my bath time. To be able to deep condition weekly will be beneficial for the bleached parts too.  2) I used the As I Am so Much moisture and then sealed with Olaplex oil.  I'm about 3 weeks post relaxer and I'm aiming at relaxing at the end of January. 

Bun Mistakes That Cause Breakage

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 I love buns as they are the most easiest and least expensive protective style you can wear. There are a couple of tips and tricks to use in order to derive maximum benefit from buns. 1] Rotate the position of your buns at least every 3 days. 2] Use thicker hair bands to allow better gripe when taking down. 3]You don't have to sleep in the bun; you can take it down nightly. 4] You don't have to comb daily to put your hair into a bun. 5] Be sure not to make it tight in your attempt to achieve a smooth look. That can lead to hair loss around the hair line. 

This One Thing Could Damage Your Hair

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The sulphate or no sulphate debacle has been going on for a long time but recently,  there has been a middle way with respect to these ingredients.  In addition, a lot of the advocates of the sulphate free movement have actually gone back to including sulphate based shampoos or cleansers in their routine. Why?  It all comes down to removing build up in the hair! Even when you use sulphate based shampoo, you tend to have build up from styling gels, moisturizers and oils.  The sulphate free shampoos are unable to cleanse this build up and leaves your hair dry as a result. The only way to treat this is to use a chelating or clarifying shampoo! You don't need to use  sulphate based shampoos all the time. Once a month should suffice. An alternative will be bentonite clay to ensure a clean and healthy hair! You can also use salicylic acid based shampoos or glycolic acid cleansers too.  The key is to ensure that the hair doesn't suffer from build up. 

Is Your Hair Dry? Shampoo To Moisturizer Tips

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 The first point of moisture is actually your shampoo. If your hair feels stripped and dry right after washing out your hair, it may be time to change it. Lately though, most shampoos are quite moisturizing and then to give a conditioner kind of feel. Next is obviously your conditioner.  It's usually the deep conditioner we worry about as regards moisture yet your conditioner can equally provide the moisture or even needed protein. The quality of your shampoo and conditioner is therefore critical to a healthy hair. Another reason your hair might be considerably dry is due to product build up. Chelating and clarifying as often as possible will eliminate that problem. Additionally, limit using blow dryers since the air from them are concentrated at just one part instead of diffused like hooded dryer.

Blow Drying Natural Hair Without Damage

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 Keeping your natural hair stretched is key to preventing knots and tangles, especially, single strand knots. Aside using a heat protection serum or spray, you can use these tips to prevent potential damage from blow drying your hair. 1. Use cool setting if possible. 2. Detangle properly amd keep the hair in small sections as you blow dry. Blow drying in small sections makes it easier.  3. Allow the hair to air dry about 50% to reduce the water content before you blow dry. 4. Apply your leave in conditioner and then follow it with heat serum.  5. Be sure to deep condition your hair prior to blow drying. 

How To Switch From Relaxed Hair To Texturized Hair

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 Texturizer generally target loosening your Curls instead of completely straightening your natural hair.  However, the application process of the texturizer can equally end up leaving your hair straight. Therfore, follow instructions when applying it. How then do you switch from relaxed hair to texturized hair?

How To Alleviate Itchy Scalp

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 Our scalp is the first focus as regards hair regrowth and health. When there is an infection or even inadequate sebum, your hair can get itchy.  How do you manage itchy scalp?  

How To Get Fast Hair Growth In Braids

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Protective styling especially with braids is usually the go to  styling option whether by naturals or ladies with relaxed hair.  How do you maximise your hair growth whilst in braids?  Here’s a short video about how to get your hair to grow faster with 

Thin Hair To Thick Hair Tips (Part 4)

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Aside thin hair being a challenge, it's also a huge stumbling block when it has to do with  even the hair style you can wear.  Let's go through more tips to help repair your hair.  1] Look beyond biotin and include zinc, sesame seeds, vitamin C, dandelions and other herbal remedies. Dandelions aid  Catch more in the video 

These Vitamins Are Very Potent

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 Biotin and collagen as well as MSM are well known for their ability to promote healthier and thicker hair with consistent use. There are other vitamins that will help you to achieve shinier and stronger strands.

Amazing Oils For Your Scalp

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 A lot of the oils we have access to are great for our hair and scalp. Each oil has its unique benefit for the health of your hair.  

Do You Prefer Hair Growth Oils Or Vitamins?

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There are tons of hair vitamins and hair growth oils to choose from these days. When it comes to promoting faster growth and thickness, what's your choice?

Wash Day With Olaplex No.8

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 The Olaplex No.8 is a Bond intense moisture mask and it  was a gift to me! I didn’t want to misuse it so I waited till after touch up to use it. 1]Shampooed twice with Difeel Ultra growth shampoo and then applied the Olaplex No.8.  2]Applied Ultra growth leave in and my Ayurvedic oil.  The No. 8 really lives up to the hype! My hair was extremely soft and easy to manage for days.  In terms of hair growth, I’ve been taking collagen and multivitamin gummies for the past two weeks.  I want really want to speed up the growth process but at the same time, my skin is the priority in addition to maintaining a healthy body.  The vitafusion  contains 5000mcg biotin which is quite high as well as other nutritional supplements.  It’s easier to prevent iron deficiency and other deficiencies now rather than ignore and hope it doesn’t get bad. I’ve learnt so much over the past ten years of this hair journey and keeping your body healthy is top priority if you want long and healthy hair too.  Both th

Why Your Relaxer Seems Not To Be Working

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 Relaxers are chemicals that help straighten the hair permanently and can therefore make or break your hair journey. There is the tendency to notice that changes in how your hair responds to your regular relaxer. One cause of your relaxer not working might be changes in the amount of new growth you have. The longer your stretch, the more growth you will have and that will need more relaxer. If you use the same quantity, you may not get the results. Therefore, if you go beyond your usual stretch time, make room for additional relaxer. Also, changes in your hair during certain seasons or even changes in your hormones such as during your cycle and pregnancy can prevent the relaxer from working. Thirdly, changes in diet and taking certain medications can cause changes in your texture. This might prevent your relaxer from working the way you want.

Wash Day: Using Cantu Styling Gel

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The Cantu styling gel has been a time saver and you’ll find out why.   First, My postpartum shedding has reduced drastically and I can’t wait to share more wash days posts. For this week, I was under the weather so I really needed something quick and easy!  1]I washed with macadamia shampoo and conditioner three times to ensure all the previous gel had been washed out.  2] I applied my Ayurveda oil on the wet hair and called it a day. Two days after, I wet the hair again and applied the cantu styling gel. It turned out so beautiful! I didn’t need to go to the salon to get this style done. Well, at least it wasn’t for any fancy visit so this was okay.  How’s your doing? I’m currently taking a couple of multivitamins to recover from a terrible headache and cold. 

Why Your Hair Vitamin Isn't Working

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Hair vitamins really do help boost growth if you know how to take them the right way. I've had quite a few bad experiences with hair skin and nails vitamin mainly due to the high strength or dose. However, once I got to know the limit of biotin my body can handle, I have had immense benefits. You are taking it on empty stomach. Most supplements are to be taken during meals, especially main meals. That means you take them when you are eating so that it mixes with the food for digestion and absorption. You lack other nutrients. Taking just biotin alone may not suffice because you body may be lacking or deficient in other nutrients eg iron. If you are taking any biotin supplements, be sure to include a multivitamin to get the absolute best! Your hair practices are causing more harm. Taking hair vitamin won't automatically make your hair healthier. You need good healthy hair regimen to derive maximum impact or benefits.  You don't take it long enough. Some supplements are to be

How To Use Wild Growth Oils

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There are two types of the wild growth oils; the oil moisturizer and the wild growth oil. What’s the difference? The oil moisturizer in the yellow bottle is a type of hair moisturizer but it has more oil than water. They are light weight and can be used daily, especially, if you are in a protective style.  To use oil moisturizers when your hair is out and free, I recommend you use your water based hair moisturizer such as As I Am So Much Moisture first and then follow up with the oil moisturizer. You may still follow up with any butter of your choice or even thick oil to seal.  The Wild Growth hair oil in the white bottle is mainly for scalp and edges. Aside the herbal smell, it's light weight and a little goes a long way.  Have you tried these two wild growth oils? 

When Do You Switch Relaxers?

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 Using a particular brand of relaxer doesn't really matter until you probably notice changes in their ingredients or how your hair feels after use. You may also switch if you've noticed a certain problem with each use. For example, dry and itchy scalp. You may also be using a high strength relaxer which leaves your hair thin. Consider using 'fine to medium' instead of coarse.  Another factor to consider is the texture of your hair. Do you get the texture you want? If no, then it's time to switch. If your relaxer leaves you with burns despite all the healthy hair practices or measures you put in place prior to touch up, then you should consider switching. Lastly, if you are just curious to try other relaxers, be sure to read reviews first. 

Why You Aren't Retaining Length

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 Length retention can't be overlooked when you are on a healthy hair journey because for most us, long hair is our dream. Yet it doesn't come easy. Find out why.  Hope this is helpful. 

When It's Dry Scalp

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Dry scalp could stem from lack of adequate sebum on the scalp, using extensions or even washing the hair too frequently.  1) Get a dermatologist to check and diagnose the problem if you’ve had it from childhood or for a long period of time.  2) If it’s just dry scalp, use scalp mist with essential oils and oils like Avocado, Jojoba and emu oil.  3) Avoid heavy butters and oils on the scalp.  4) Exfoliate and detox your scalp regularly.  5) Find the cause of the dry scalp eg allergic to certain foods, hair extensions etc  6) Keep the styling tools clean. 

Moisture Protein Balance Tips

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 Protein treatment is common among newbies from my personal observation because the first tagert is stopping breakage. The idea is strengthening the hair leads to less breakage. 1]Your products may already be balanced: from shampoo to your deep conditioner,you may have protein in the products already. 2] You don't need hard protein all the time.  3] Weekly light protein may actual be more favorable than hard protein once in a while. The thing sith Baird protein is you must follow up with moisture based deep conditioner. To save time and money, it may be more viable to use light protein often. 4] Don't wait till you need to balance it. If you useoisyire based products, you still need to incorporate protein at least every 3 months even if you have natural hair. Wear and tear may cause some damage and protein can help repair it.

The LOC And LCO Confusion

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Moisturizing and sealing is the food your hair needs to thrive and if you aren't doing it well, you'll definitely have to contend with dry and brittle hair all the time! Over the years, there have been several techniques a lot of YouTubers have proposed to be the best. However, recent trends point to one particular method as the most effective.  The LCO or B method The liquid, cream, oil and butter method for 4C natural hair is an amazing combination to keep your hair moisturized and soft for long periods. The confusion is usually with how to layer each product to achieve maximum hydration. First: You can use either watery  leave in conditioner, or water or aloe vera. I've even used rose  water as my liquid. Then you follow with a thicker or creamy based moisturizer or leave in conditioner. You then use your oil and or butter. Another point of confusion is with curl creams and styling gels. In the LOC method, the liquid  comes in and then the oil. You then follow with curl

Don't Relax Your Hair If...

You've just taken down your extensions or weaves or braids. I know it's quite a common practice among hair dressers and even clients. Once you take down your hair, you are eager to touch up so that your hair is easier to manage. Have you considered the impact of that though?  Do you know why you should not do that?  Find out why.

How To Soften Natural Hair

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 When natural hair seems hard or tough, most hair dressers claim there are products to make it soft which is in the form of texturizer. Texturizer is simply a type of relaxer hence if you use it with the aim of lose curls, you may end up with straight hair because these stylists don’t apply it correctly too.  There are other solutions that don't involve losing your curls.  1) Use hair mists and thicker leave in conditioners and moisturizers if your hair tends to dry out quickly. You may need to do it daily until you reach maximum hydration..  2) Use more moisture products when washing, from shampoo to conditioner to leave in conditioner.  3) Wear styles that won’t create tangles and knots  4) Try pre shampoo treatments eg Olaplex.  5) Trim your ends to get rid of thin ends and split ends.  6) Sleep  in satin pillows or use bonnets 7) Use butters to seal if your hair easily dries up  8) Stop blow drying it!

Try These Herbal Infusions

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Instead of plain oil for Prepoo and hot oil treatment, why not up the potency of your oils with herbs? The most common one is onion infusion.  All you need is to  1]chop the onions into your oil and leave for 24 hours or more before use!  2] Make sure you  have enough oil to infuse.  You can do a complex herbal infusion with a variety of herbs.  *garlic *rosemary *clove *amla powder *ginger *basil *parsley *lemongrass *dandelion *neem Among a host of herbs around us. Just be sure you aren't allergic to any! 

7 Ways To Increase Length Retention

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Length retention basically refers to the ability to retain the growth you get. It's easy to increase hair growth but retaining that growth takes effort.  1. Allow your hair to rest: When you take down your hair from extensions, allow your hair to breathe for some days before jumping into the next style.  2. Be consistent in moisturizing and sealing: once your hair is moisturised, there won't be breakage and you'll retain the length.  3. Protect the ends and that means keep them off your shoulders. This will prevent the ends from rubbing on your shirt or dress thereby minimizing breakage.  4. Minimize wash day setbacks: This includes trying not to do every treatment in one wash.  5. Trim ends on time so you won't have to cut off large amounts due to severe split ends or thin ends.  6. If you have natural hair, keep the hair in stretched styles to minimize knots and tangles. 7. Find a detangling method that works for you and stick with it! 

How To Grow Long Hair With One Product

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The desire to have long and healthy hair is admirable but can one product really get your hair long? The challenge I encounter daily is when women seek for long hair but aren't ready to invest in their hair. The assumption that a single product is capable of keeping the scalp clean, keeping the hair moisturised, increasing growth and thickness is absurd! If any company can develop such a product, we'd gladly jump on it! However, there is no such product! You'll need an array of hair products to keep your hair in good condition. Anyone who promises long hair with a stand alone oil or  shampoo or conditioner that will give you thick and bouncy hair is out to take your money. That's the simple truth.  Products are meant to be used together and not as stand alone items! You can't use just a shampoo and expect your hair to grow long. It has to be a complete hair set from shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner and oil, hair mask to bonnet and most importantly, your re

How To Fix Moisture Overload

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I know everyone talks about moisture and that's a good thing yet too much of everything is bad. This is equally applicable to the use of moisture without balancing with protein. When your hair has too much moisture, it feels limp and mushy and even breakage! Your moisture overload may not be due to moisture mask but rather the other moisture based products eg shampoo, leave in conditioner and even moisturizers. The last time I experienced taught me quite a couple of lessons. 1] Use protein once in a while to strengthen the hair. Don't wait till your experience breakage. 2] You don't need to use hard protein to reset. A little protein like mayonnaise can create the balance you need. 3] A quicker fix is to switch to protein moisturizer or leave in conditioner because you'll use these daily.  Just as with protein overload, you'll need to use the protein treatment for a couple of weeks.  Hope this helps you! 

How To: Prepare Ayurveda Gloss

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Ayurveda mask or gloss can strengthen your hair whether natural or relaxed. Preparing takes a few minutes and rinses out quite easily too if you have a conditioner with slip. Ayurveda herbs can be incorporated into your hair.  1. Conditioner or deep conditioner, enough to saturate your hair.  2. Ayurveda herb: about 2 teaspoons full 3. Warm water or tea: enough to make the mixture turn to light paste.  4. Essential oils : 10 drops  5. Bowl and spoon to mix it.  Put all in the bowl and stir until your paste has no lumps.  Shampoo thoroughly and then apply your mixture and leave for about 10 minutes before rinsing. You can do a gloss treatment once a month and same apply to the mask. The difference is with the mask, you don't add any conditioner or deep conditioner. Hope this is helpful. 

Micellar Water To Cleanse

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 Micellar water is mainly known as a skin care product for cleansing. However, this product can go beyond that and help keep your scalp clean. Have you tried it? 

From Thin To Thick Natural Hair

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How do you get thick natural hair?  1. Genetic factors: If you have fine strands or thin hair, one way to boost the thickness is with collagen, biotin and MSM. These work from within our bodies thereby promoting the overall health of our hair. You should also get some blood work done to eliminate other health conditions that may be causing the hair loss.  2. Ayurveda herbs like henna, Brahmi, Ashwagandha can help thicken your hair. They don't give instant results, you need to consistently use them to get the results you want. These can be infused in your growth oils like Jamaican black castor oil. You can prepare hair mist and even mask with these herbs! 3. How you detangle your hair: There are several techniques in detangling natural hair. You'll need to find the one that works best for you. Whilst others prefer running water for detangling, some opt for conditioner or oil.  4. Your styling tools: The tools eg fine tooth comb can use severe breakage leading to thin strands and

Glycerin For Moisturizing Your Hair

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 Most hair products contain Glycerin as a humectant to draw moisture into the hair. There are other ways to make use of this ingredient. 1) Prepoo treatment: You can mix Glycerin with aloe vera into your prepoo treatment or even use them alone as prepoo. You can equally add oils to the mixture and use it. 2) You can add the mixture to your deep conditioner or conditioner to enhance the moisture content. 3) As a hair mist: Add aloe Vera and glycerin to water and use as a hair mist.  4) You can add to your hair moisturizer to boost the moisture content. As with humectants, you should have some moisture as a base before using glycerin in your hair. 

Olaplex Wash Day

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 The Olaplex No.O and No 3 have received massive hype within the hair care community and for good reasons. I'll post a full review on YouTube soon.  I began with the  No.0 on dry hair and topped up won't the No.3. I left it in for a while and then shampooed and conditioned the hair. Though I like the John Frieda Hydrate shampoos, the conditioner doesn't really have much to offer. However, I'm glad I've tried the Olaplex and would be definitely invest in the large size. I moisturized with the As I Am So Much’s Moisture and Olaplex Oil. My hair is doing okay now and I look forward to seeing more length retention .

Emoliants and Occlusives

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 Your hair product may contain additional ingredients in the firm of emoliants and Occlusives in order to deliver the best results. Occlusives  act as a barrier to hold that moisture in. (Sealants) include:  Petrolatum Mineral oil Lanolin Waxes Silicones These ingredients have had a bad reputation but the problem isn't about the ingredients but then how we use them and when we use them. I stopped the No mineral oil bandwagon years ago when I gained better knowledge of ingredients and their correct usage. Emoliants are lubricating and film-forming and help smooth, soften and seal the hair cuticle. They are hydrophobic or water-repelling ingredients which prevent loss of water from your skin and hair.  These include:  Oils Butters  Ceramides Basically, some products may contain all of these! When sealing, these ingredients play a crucial role in preventing moisture loss. Several emoliants can double as Occlusives too! In the LCOB technique, we essentially combine humectants, emoliant

Humectants For Your Hair

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 Humectant simply refers to substances that attract water from the air or from deeper in the skin. This equally applies to the hair! Occlusives refer to substances with the ability to prevent moisture loss. This gives rise to the need to  moisturize and seal! Keeping moisture in the hair has been out mantra over the years and with the influx of new ingredients and brands, therw are now new ways to incorporate moisture into the hair. Hyaluronic acid is also noted as a great humectant as well as Glycerin. There are two new ingredients on the horizon now; the Polyglutamic acid and pryyol Aside the moisturizers we use, you can still incorporate additional humectants. To use hyaluronic acid, spray a little water based leave in conditioner and then apply the hyaluronic acid and then seal with your butter or oil. To use Glycerin, the same method applies. Aloe vera is also great for prepoo treatments.  P olyglutamic  acid helps draw moisture from the atmosphere into your skin. Its properties a

Why Your Hair Doesn't Like Coconut Oil

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In as much as coconut oil has a reputation for being one of the best oils that actually penetrate your strands,  there are some whose hair just doesn't like it and here's why.

Relaxer Update and Hair Highlight

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The final relaxer for 2021 went pretty well and I retained so much length within 6 months! 1. We used the mega growth relaxer and she did well to apply to just the new growth. 2. She did comb the relaxer through the hair hence I didn’t sit down for more than 5 minutes. She rinsed out with the mega neutralizing gel 4 times because I asked her to. Then, she followed with wave nouveau conditioning neutralizer for another 10 minutes.  3. She used the John Frieda detox conditioner and then followed with Pantene hair treatment serum and then blow dried the hair as I was pressed for time.  After a week, I moisturized with the As I Am So Much Moisture and then Ayurveda oil. You can check out the full details in the video. Now, to the highlights. 1. The highlight was basically bleaching the hair! After that, my hair dresser shampooed the hair and then conditioned it. She used small rollers to achieve curls. 2. I intentionally did just the ends because I will definitely be trimming the ends duri