THE EFFICACY OF HOW CREAMS AKA RELAXERS MESS WITH THE KINKS OF OUR BEAUTIFUL AFRICAN DIVAS.

       Am sure a lot of women would say oh she has started again oh! But abeg let me just spill this out as its an issue to address. I got a lot of mails from some beautiful ladies complaining about their hair being burnt and the after effects, which has made some of them  have some horrible complex about themselves and well the shame they feel. This burns was as a result over processed hair with relaxers. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmn, If your graced with healthy relaxed hair, just thank your creators oh. Ok back to my story;  with a lot of research, I observed that loads of women really don't care about what is put into their hair, as long as its not kinky anymore and its so easy to comb, erhm ok permanently straightened. there used to be a time that me oh, I thought that if your relaxing your hair and it did not tingle a bit, it has not relaxed at all. Alas I was destroying my beautiful hair especially my edges *sobs*. It was not funny at all oh, as I started to look like iya eko with multiple burns. My favourite stylist was a major culprit as she was always begging me to hold on some more. Chei I suffer oh, the most painful part was that my hair never relaxed but my scalp always burnt irrespective of how expensive the kit I used was.

                                                                                     We all know the causes of chemical burns but do we know that some of  the chemicals used to make relaxers are actually used to make drain cleaners or they r used to unclog pores? Do we wonder why most of this very good kits always recommend that we use gloves? Or do we even think of the fact that relaxers are hard to rinse of your hand if you don't use gloves? Nawa sha, I bet we never ask ourselves why the relaxer shouldn't get contact with eyes, mouth, nose? Or do we even reason why this relaxers fry our hair like over ripe plantain? Lolz you sure don't wanna know oh. Relaxer burns causes blisters/ scalp lesions/scabs aka 'the fried hair' like I call it; that sticks to the burnt scalp in a messy way such that it breaks of if you try to peel it or mess with it.  As odd as this could sound, relaxers was actually invented by a black man who was actually trying to create a product for one of those sewing machine shops back then in 1910. He was making use of a particular chemical, when he wanted to clean his hands, he did that with a wool cloth and noticed that the chemical gave the cloth a very smooth and sleek appearance, sure you never thought of that sha. The chemical must have been bad ass lolz.
         In another form, excessive exposure to frequent burns leads to thinning of edges and napes for some people, hair breakage, split ends, over processed fragile hair, secondly this burns expose the body to the negative chemicals in the relaxers. If not careful, it could produce negative health effects in the body like horrible scalp infections. Thirdly, for those with extra sensitive scalp, the phthalates in the relaxers could flow into the blood stream through the burns which could lead to fibroids in some women, well I cant actually decipher the number or rather ratio of women sha. Trust me this is no joke oh, or let me use naija slangs- this one no be joke oh. The phthalates also increase the risk of developing uterine leiomyomata in very few women. Don't ask me ask Google naaaaaaaa. The most painful part of it all that touches me to my bone marrow is that it could lead to total/permanent hair loss in some women *sobs*.
       Okay let me bring the positive side of it, asides the stress free hair route, if its done well, you could still have a healthy head of hair, but abeg sometimes we just have to ask ourselves if its worth the stress?  While we see the beautiful silky hair as a better option, the health risks are never said to the general public. Very stingy mean people I must say. Biko information is meant to be shared. I should not tell you this but if u still opt to use relaxers, don't make it too often. Give your scalp space ooohhhhhhh. Or u could opt for more natural processes like applying little heat to your hair or *winks* u can as well go natural like I did. Lmao, no be force sha. Just a sisterly advice for my lovely divas out there. You all heard me, caution for your own self oh, Enjoy.

BENEFITS OF BEER(GUINNESS EXTRA STOUT) RINSE FOR HAIR.

      

          A whole lot of women complain especially the natural divas about how dry and crunchy their hair feels without knowing exactly what to do to alleviate this problem. After loads of experiments on myself too and it basically wont be fair if I keep all the information to myself, Lolz I discovered that our very guinness stout is a perfect remedy for we ladies who complain about this issue. Beer especially guinness extra stout contains loads of vitamins, trace minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and protein that the hair requires on a normal day. This is something that a lot of naija guys get high on, lolz nawa eh. If I had known this ever since, trust me I wont allow most of this guys enjoy this goodness alone. Even if I don't have the power to drink, I can sha use it on my hair abi now. Lolz, back to our gist- This is one of he reasons why its good for the hair most especially because of the nutrients it gives to the hair cuticles, follicles, scalp.

           THE VARIOUS NUTRIENTS FOUND IN STOUT

* VITAMIN H: (Biotin), this is one of the most important vitamins for healthy hair, skin and nails.This vitamin helps eradicate hair loss , itchy dirty scalp, gives hair strength and increases he density of the hair.

* MALTOSE: this helps strengthen the hair follicles , adds volume to the hair without impairing it from getting its adequate nutrient.

*PROTEIN: This is the most important nutrient the hair needs as the hair itself is made up of over 94% of protein and 6% water. without protein the hair would feel weak and lifeless. this leads to quick breakage of the hair. this is an excellent source for protein treatment.

*ESSENTIAL B- VITAMINS: they help stop premature greying, stops hair loss, keeps the hair follicles healthy s its ready to grow hair faster, aids blood circulation to the scalp.

*SUCROSE: adds shine to the hair by making the hair cuticles tighter hereby aiding it to retain moisture just like ACV does.

*RICE PROTEIN: this also boosts density of the hair and also adds volume to the hair herby giving it strength. Other trace minerals include  magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium which are also essential for the growth of healthy hair.

                         BEER RINSE RECIPE

*1 cup of guinness extra stout

*1 drop tea tree oil

*1 cup of water

*2 tablespoons of ACV

* fragrance oil (optional)

 It cleanses the hair and helps get rid of built up dirt.

            Beer could also be used as a deep conditioner, here is my amazing recipe*winks*

                     BEER RINSE DEEP CONDITIONER

*1 tablespoon full of honey

*2 tablespoon of coconut oil

*1/4 bottle of  bottle of beer

* Your favourite conditioner

* 2 tablespoons of rose water

* 1/4 can of coconut milk; depending on the length of your hair.

Mix it all up and coat your hair with it; making sure it is evenly distributed throughout your hair, cover your hair with a plastic cap for 15- 20mins rinse out and let air dry. this helps restore the natural shine to your hair, adds volume and density, also softens your hair. Voila your hair would feel super awesome.

DIY DEEP CONDITIONING HAIR MASK

For the DIYers, coconut is an essential in most of our recipe. This is because u could get a whole lot from just one coconut. The oil, the water, the milk.

        COCONUT MILK DIY DEEP CONDITIONER
You need:
1. coconut milk
2. coconut oil
3. coconut water
4. honey
5. aloe vera whole leaf juice
6. conditioner of your choice, I prefer to use natur vital without cones, parabens, silicones, but any good one would do.
7. avocado
8. and I cant forget my sweet banana. lolz
 This is like a jumbo park because It is parked with a whole lot of vitamins, minerals that the hair needs.  First of all blend your banana and avocado and aloe vera  juice together. I recommend the plant/leaf aloe. Blend the them together until u get a fine paste. If it aint smooth, the banana would leave chunks in your hair and it aint easy to get out completely. pour the mixture in a bowl, add our coconut oil, coconut water, conditioner, honey, and coconut milk. I find it soooooo cool that the coconut milk always thickens up my recipe. (giggles). mix it all up and voila u have your silk, moisturising, deep conditioner.

THE MOST AMAZING VITAMINS THAT AID HAIR GROWTH FROM INSIDE OUT.

Hair loss can occur for a whole lot of various reasons, which includes; genetics,vitamin deficiencies, tension due to too much pulls, manipulation, also a form of illness people ignore. If you have lost your hair  and your trying to grow it back, the following vitamins may help internally.

     Depending on the cause of the hair loss, various vitamins aid growth, depending on your body's need. Its advisable to get a multivitamin with the following vitamins or add foods containing them to your daily diet, mainly because without going to the doctors u may not know that which ur body needs.



Biotin: Biotin also called vitamin H is known as the "hair vitamin" for tremendous reasons. It lengthens hair, gives the hair more weight and also restores and increases density. Biotin deficiency can lead to thinning of hair, it also produces keratin for the hair.



Vitamin A: Vitamin A helps produce healthy sebum in the scalp a scalp oil that works as natural hair conditioner which keeps the hair and scalp hydrated.



Vitamin: B12 Vitamin B12 is also an important vitamin for our hair and its deficiency can cause hair loss and premature greying. Adding vitamin C and iron in your diet will help in the breaking down of vit B12.



Niacin: (Vitamin B3) Niacin aids blood circulation to the scalp, for this sole reason, it could aid in the  hair growth.

 Vitamin B5: Vitamin B5 also known as Pantothenic acid gets vital nutrient into the hair follicles, strengthening it, improving its functions, and keeping it healthy so the follicle can grow hair.



Vitamin C: Vitamin C prevents hair loss as well as premature graying, dryness, and reduces breaking of hair. It helps the hair gain density, it supports the tiny blood vessels that feed the follicle and its also critical for circulation to the scalp. It is also an anti oxidant.



Vitamin E: Vitamin E helps to prevent and reverse hair loss, thanks to its ability to regrow new blood vessels and increase scalp circulation due to increased oxygen uptake in blood. It aids in supplying oxygen to the blood and thus retards cellular aging. Topical vitamin E applied to the scalp may also help to re-grow hair.



Vitamin D: Vitamin D is beneficial for the whole body and this includes the scalp and hair. vitamin D is the precursor to the hair growth circle. Also, vitamin D is necessary in order for the body to absorb calcium, which is essential for healthy follicles. without vitamin D hair loss is bound to take place.



MSM: Methylsulfonylmethane or MSM is a nutrient that is crucial for the health of the hair. Because a lot of people are deficient, many experts recommend taking an MSM supplement for healthy hair and skin.



Zinc: A zinc deficiency can lead to hair loss as its one of the most important compound that the body needs. zinc helps regulate certain hormones and there is a link to hormones and hair loss, zinc is good for fighting hair loss because of its distribution through out the body. A portion of the body's total amount of zinc is held in the hair follicles.



Folic Acid: Vitamin B9, it helps hair grow faster and healthier, it helps in DNA copying because the root of hair involves some of the most rapid dividing cells of the body. Each ell has its own copy of DNA needed. Folic acid makes sure you get the right copies being generated, meaning that the cells of the follicle do their job and form a new hair. This process is essential for new hair growth



Iron: Research has shown that iron deficiency can  cause alopecia or hair loss in some women. Researchers have found that women who develop hair loss have lower levels of iron than the other  women who don't have it, most especially when the hair loss is caused by alopecia i.e thinning of hair.

It is important that you should not take extra amounts of iron before checking with your doctor because too much iron can cause problems just as too little can cause. A visit to the doctor to have  your vitamin levels checked, including iron etc, would help you and your doctor figure out exactly what is causing or contributing to your hair loss. So regular check saves the day.

The thing called discrimination amongst the black folks.

 Wow its a beautiful sunday evening, sitting with my cup of beverage and erhm also going through a lot of sites, blogs and groups/pages I was so amazed at what my eyes beheld. Let me just say this BEAUTIFUL GOOD HAIR IS HEALTHY HAIR. But the way another diva chooses to wear her crown should not result in backlashing  and condemnation.

         Ok 1st of all am a Nigerian and am so proud of my heritage, because am here for a reason and I choose to use it positively. Back to our yarns (gist) when the natural movement started to unfold in many black communities, u get to see a lot of we black ladies crucifying our own kind. We started calling our sisters nappy head, loads of ladies got offended by this and they still do get offended. Meanwhile nappy in my own context means natural roots that shows diversity. With the new form of degradation; a lot of our sisters started fighting back and defending their rights in various forms. This birth a beautiful movement called #teamnatural ! We got to see a lot of naturalistas standing up together, teaching one another beautiful ways to manage the hair that a lot of people called bad hair. There was beauty in their uniformity. To at least see how we stand together for something, then came the no chemical team. This team was educative, loads of informative talk; in between division set in, it became chemical free verus chemical induced ladies. A lot of backlashing went on and the end of each episode wasn't one bit beautiful, like I say common ladies ITS JUST HAIR, WELL NOT JUST HAIR! ITS MY HAIR , I WOULD CHOOSE TO WEAR IT AS I WANT AND STILL BE A POSITIVE BEAUTY.

               Ok back to the reason I was upset again, with the division in the natural hair fold, the chemical team aka 'creamy crack' aka relaxers; this beautiful divas tore down their sisters, in ways beyond imagination, I got thinking what is really the fuse? Would u ever see a white sister tear down her fellow sister and call the beautiful head of hair all sorts of names? Why do we black women enjoy ripping ourselves off and then calling the white racists? Racism isn't just about skin texture or colour; it also comes in various forms hair, skin, looks, etc. You would never see a white wear  an afro as a style, but we wear their hair styles. Nothing wrong in that. its your choice. But in the process of doing that must u make others feel lower than u? The practical truth is my hair, your hair, our hair is ours to work with if its kept healthy for us. Some feel returning natural is a trend, well I say no, because its a part of us like it or not. Its who we are created as; depends on how we now alter ourselves. I for one returned natural because my hair started thinning out, never relaxes and then my scalp burns like hell irrespective of what I use. Relaxers may be for u, it may not be for the lady close by. Tapered, dyed cuts may be for u; long hair might be for the other. Please, why drink panadol for another's headache? meaning why carry another's problem and leave yours?

                Ur hair is part of who you are, never let anyone dictate how u run it, but the main key is, make sure u don't  go bald before ur 30! lolz yeah I said that. With that said am a naturalista with a difference. I promote the African culture. Hate it or not blacks are Africans or have African roots. Pardon my rant we sure are back to keeping a healthy head of hair. For u  it might be relaxed , for me its naturally sassy. * winks*

The thing called H20.

There is a certain myth about H20(as in water; not hard water) a lot of people say washing ur hair often stops growth, some say it leaves ur hair dirty etc. But the truth is a lot of them don't know the essence of water to our crown and to the body generally.

  Permit me to deviate a little bit but water isn't just good for ur outer being but its also the best thing for ur inner being.

 

Dehydration is also linked to chronic headaches, it reduces blood pressure, aids bowel movement, helps detoxify ur system, gives u a better skin and a whole lot more.

 

Now to our former yarns (talk) a type 1-2 as in straight hair consists more of water than protein, but I also observed that the type 4 hair is made up more of protein well around 95% and the rest is water. The nappy natural hair because of its formation needs more moisture to balance the protein content. This is where moisture come in, without moisture the nappy hair is prone to being very dry and brittle, as in extremely sick by looks lolz. well yeah without moisture u probably wouldn't know ur hair is growing because it would definitely be breaking at a high speed, bad move right lmao. 

 

With concurrent research and erhm a lot of experiments with myself also  I got to find out that the more moisture your hair has, the greater it is for your hair to thrive the hair needs moisture to survive and moisture is water.  

well check out our next update on the continuation of our water episode. thanks yall                                                                     

Tips of taking care of ur tresses

Tips of taking care of ur tresses regularly

•After you wash day, try using a wide toothed comb, or even your fingers that is finger detangling, rather than a brush.

•When drying ur hair use a micro-fibre towel if possible or u can as well opt for an old tee. Don't rub the hair vigorously. This splits the hair. Using a micro fiber towel soaks up lots of moisture.

•Massage your scalp often:this ...will help your blood flow through it, and get your hair to grow faster.as it stimulates the scalp.

•Rinse your hair with vinegar before shampooing,or u can as well use it after conditioning It makes your hair look shiny and cleaner; plus, it treats dandruff. Use 1 part vinegar (preferably organic apple cider vinegar) to 3 parts warm water, then rinse and wash your hair like normal.

•Detangler spray helps with knots so you don't have to rip your hair out while trying to comb it. its been said to be safer to comb or finger detangle slightly damp hair. PLS REDUCE COMBING DRY OR VERY WET HAIR WITH COMB; FINGER DETANGLE

•If you absolutely have to use heat, make sure you use a protectant first. These are very inexpensive.

•Rinse your hair under cold water after you finish shampooing and conditioning to make it shine and look even more luscious than it was before, as cold water helps close up ur cuticles.

•Deep conditioning is very good for your hair. It keeps hair soft, healthy and moisturized. Try as much as possible to feed ur hair with the right conditioning products, if possible all natural products work just fine. Find that which suits ur head

•Don't blow dry hair too frequently. Frequent blow drying, or use of other heat products, can stress your hair.

•Taking a biotin and multivitamin supplement daily can help strengthen your hair and nails. The generic kind works fine and is inexpensive.