Ghanaian Emprezz

When naturals in Ghana ask me what to do or not do with their hair, I tend to smile because it means starting from the basic Regimen and sharing some dos and don'ts of natural hair in Ghana. ** Make sure your hair is at least damp before combing. Be sure to ditch the small tooth comb and use a wide tooth comb. ** Use a moisturizer as often as you need to and find ways to retain moisture. Our weather is usually dry for the most part of the year so look into moisture retention if you want to gain length. My new technique is to moisturize 3 times a day if necessary and deep condition twice a week if needed. ** Limit the use of shampoos. At least a weekly use is enough. As a natural, you can go without a shampoo for weeks if you have been using natural oils. **Find a good sealant. Many of the so-called natural oils may not be enough to seal YOUR Hair. Some hair do well with grease eg Vaseline and Dax. So don't worry yourself with Natural oils all the time. One caution will be to cl

Well,  I came across a post about the relaxer pH, I found them quite interesting. Our hair has a pH of 4.5-5.5 and these relaxers have a highest of 14. That's how strong they are in order to work on our hair. Source : black hair media The pH balance determines how harsh the chemical is. Research has shown that the lower the pH, the less damaging the product is to your hair. Water has a pH of 7. Anything less than 7 is considered acidic. The lower this number gets the greater the acidity. Any pH greater than 7 is considered alkaline. The higher the number gets the greater the alkalinity. A one point difference in pH's could have a significant impact on your hair A product with a pH of 13 is 10 times more alkaline than a product with a pH of 12. This same product would be 100 times more alkaline than a product with a pH of 11. The pH levels even tend to vary among the same products from batch to batch. A relaxer that worked great for you the last time you touched up, may cause mo

There's a general post already about relaxed hair dos and Don'ts but it's been requested that  I do dos and don'ts of relaxed hair specific to Ghana, especially,  with the kinds of stylist we have. Dos 1.  Take your own neutralizing shampoo, protein deep conditioner and leave in. If you have apple cider vinegar, add it as well as roux porosity control. Some stylists don't have anything. 2. Keep an eye on the comb used to spread the relaxer. Some stylist will scratch your scalp with it. 3. Be sure the stylist isn't too busy when applying relaxer ; she might leave it on for too long. 4. Do base your scalp if possible before going to the salon.  5. Also,  in case you want to do your prepoo or hot oil treatment, do it yourself before going. You may be surprised to know that some stylist will dissuade you from doing these treatments with the claim that they will damage your hair when they are the reason our hair isn’t thriving.  6. Guide the stylist to  deep conditio

Huddah Monroe is a Kenyan. She calls herself Kenya's sweetheart and that is rightly so because her insta feed is simply stunning. [YouTube=https://youtu.be/yTWzzZHUBIs] Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube - www.youtube.com/EmprezzAbena

The world of DIY hair care isn't complete without kitchen products including baking soda and though the actual Scrub I used was the ORS scalp Scrub,  I couldn't have done it without baking soda which therefore, makes it a baking soda scalp scrub. Since this week's wash day experience is all about something new,  I was really excited about the scrub. The ORS scalp scrub has been in my stash for over a year, waiting for me to purchase  baking soda which is a needed ingredient. Well,  I finally, bought one at shop rite, Accra mall and did a scalp scrub with it. The preparation of the  scrub is easy and the results were pretty good. It is recommended that the scrub is done once or twice a month so that's what I'll be doing though I may probably go beyond the month. To begin the process,  you'll need a mixing bowl, the baking soda also called bicarbonate of soda, ORS scalp Scrub and a spoon to mix the ingredients. In the video,  I show you the whole process from the

In this post, I will  share a DIY amla powder hair mask with you. I love using amla powder so I just had to film the process this time. The purpose of the treatment was to not only strengthen the hair but give it some boost for the harmattan. As the season draws to a close, we have to prepare the hair for the hot season that's to come which can dry out the hair. In my opinion, my hair is thriving better than ever due to taking preventive measures. Therefore,  I'll be doing more hair treatments to give it all nourishment it needs. I'm not doing experiments, I'm using products I know already. If it's not the case,  I'll alert you. When washing out the Amla hair mask, do so under running water and use a wide tooth comb to get rid of particles. Here's the tutorial [YouTube=https://youtu.be/zGtH3mI7uzU] What did you do this weekend?

I bought the forever Clair natural skin Lightening Soap for hyperpigmentation as a result  of walking through the sun. If  didn't like how my face especially looked. It's been about a couple of weeks since I started using the fC natural skin Lightening soap for hyperpigmentation,  scars among other. Does it work? The soap costs between 10-20gh depending on the retail shop. I used it twice a day as directed.  You leave it on your skin for 3 minutes before washing off. I did exactly as directed and I did see a huge change in my skin,  especially my face.  Due to this,  I'll be grabbing two more soaps soon plus the body Cream or lotion. It smells ok, very mild and lathers well. I noticed that it lathers  well if you use a wet sponge rather than  on dry sponge. If it's not working for you,  perhaps, you ought to follow the instructions for use. In addition,  you may have to use the whole like for effective results. Does it bleach the skin? No, it removes the dark spots and

It's all about making the right choices so you hair thrives when it comes knowing how to choose a relaxer to suit your needs. We already know of no lye and lye relaxers,  their various components  and uses. However,  even if you choose one of these,  how do you know it will work for you? You certainly need to know your texture. Naturals base their product choices usually on their texture in order to achieve desired results. In the same way,  you need to know your texture to choose from mild relaxer  to strong relaxers. There are relaxers for fine to medium textures and those for coarse textures so know your hair type and use that to help choose a relaxer. Another factor to consider is whether you want bone straight hair or texlaxed. If you want to have some texture, then,  a mild relaxer is best. Sometimes,  it's assumed that no lye relaxer processes less faster but there are some which actually work faster than the lye. The last tip on how to choose a relaxer is your budget. L

Since the harmattan has been pretty severe even in Accra,  I've been asked to recommend the best hairstyles for harmattan. [caption id="attachment_7409" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Cornrows[/caption] I recommend basically 3 styles for harmattan so check it out. [YouTube=https://youtu.be/Ew1TaxQsMPM]

Have you tried cooking oil on your hair? Well,  I have. I remember just doing so out of curiosity. What I used was frytol cooking oil- the one made from peanut or groundnut butter. I had run out of coconut oil, I think and needed to prepoo before using a shampoo which contain sulphates. I remember scanning my brain to find out which oil I could use. I went to the kitchen cabinet and frytol cooking oil was the first thing I saw! I poured some into my hands and it was quite thick. I prepooed with it for some hours . Unfortunately, I don't remember if I shared the results on this blog. What I recall is having very oily hair after the prepoo. It was worth trying though. Now, after all these years, my definition of cooking oil goes beyond what we use in the kitchen. I don't use frytol again; I've switched to a healthier one, the sunflower oil. I might even move to coconut oil very soon for some basci frying eg omelettes. Most of us limit our understanding of cooking oil t

Glycerine can be a good humectant but there's a reason why you shouldn't use glycerine in harmattan. Dabs explains why you shouldn't use glycerine in harmattan. Read on Naijahaircangrow.blogspot.com

Here's a question that has come up and I do know that this is a question on the minds of newbies. Can Braids protect your hair from harmattan? Yes, it can. In fact, in my opinion, compared to weaves,  braids are the better protective style for harmattan. You are able to wash and condition braids more than when in weaves due to the individual strands of the  braids as compared to  the cornrows of the weave. Also,  it's less stressful spraying your moisturizer on your braids than on your weave ( see my Y ouTube channel for how I moisturize and seal my hair when in Braids or weaves). Thirdly,  braids are more airy compared to weaves. Despite these problems,  I'm more of a weave person who tried to become a braids person and failed.  I do love weaves regardless of the season, all that matters is you paying attention  to your hair in whatever style you choose for the harmattan.

Can you believe is day 10 already? Today,  I talk about being a mom -  the joys of motherhood [YouTube=https://youtu.be/rtkPa-_ZgJ8]

Just as we shampoo our hair to remove dirt, facial cleansing is to remove dirt, dead skin and excess oil that can block the pores. There are differing views on the most effective method of cleaning. Some advocate in the mornings because the skin sheds the dead cells during the night so morning cleansing is best. Others are of the view that make ups and stuff need to be cleaned in the night before bed so it'd better to cleanse at that time. Personally, I advocate for both. If you wear make up,  then,  you can use a make up remover and then use a facial cleanser.  I leave out the facial scrubbing for the morning. I simply wet the face in the morning and apply a Scrub. I get to enjoy a fresh face both night and day. What to use for Facial cleansing?  We have  facial soaps and face washes. The difference is that the wash is more milder. I,  now,  use African Black Soap as my facial cleanser and it's doing just well. I love the FC facial washes too. Just like hair products, you have

I wonder why I hadn't tried a Cantu Sheabutter deep treatment masque wash ever since I got the product. For week two of the deep conditioning challenge, I may just stick to one wash because I don't want to loose this smoothness I'm enjoying as regards my hair all thanks to the Cantu Sheabutter masque. I was out of my mind when my stylist couldn't do my hair due to her faulty dryer so I had to seek for a new one. She's a bit far from me but after this experience with her, I may just make that trip all the time. To begin,  she cleansed with renpure cleansing conditioner. Whilst she was washing,  I think she was taking glances at the directions on the bottle and all the products I had brought. When it was time to deep condition, she applied the deep treatment masque to the edges first -  something madam know-it-all doesn't remember to do Lol.  She also read the directions and wanted to follow the time to use the Cantu sheabutter deep treatment masque but I obliged