OKRA AND MY HAIR.

As a typical Nigerian child, okra or rather okro was an easy staple when we had to eat solid food. when I say solid food I mean eba, amala, pounded yam etc. A lot of my African sisters would understand me lolz. We never had enough of it back then, because of the slimy nature of okra, it helped in swallowing food. Wow those were really awesome childhood memories. Then my mum would cut the okra, boil it in water and add the spices, it was always an interesting family experience. chei if only I knew back then its amazing benefits for hair; I would have scooped some for my hair lolz.
       Okra could also be called okro, lady fingers, gombo, etc and it is harvested right on our African soil. Hmmmn in Nigeria it is so cheap we barely value and know its many uses. Okra roots back to many generations ago. The pods were boiled, cooked, fried then the seeds were also toasted, ground, servedas a substitute for coffee and tea, yikes okra tea I think I should try this tea lolz. Okra has amazing hair benefits which a lot of us either ignore or do not know about, if only we knew of this back then. Okra is packed with loads of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Amongst this include :  vit
C, fibre , vit A, vit B6, vit K, niacin, thiamine, copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium, manganese, calcium, riboflavin, beta carotene, lutein, iron, zeaxanthin, folic acid, protein, carbohydrates etc. It is also low in calories and fat free, amazing for those thinking of shedding fat. The protein and oils in it is found in its seeds and is enriched with amino acids like tryptophan, lysine and various other sulphur amino acids. This nutritious oil has a slightly greenish yellow colour and is high in unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acids, not to forget it has a pleasant fragrance to it though it doesn't have a long shelf life.
     Am sure a lot of us do not know that okra could be used as a shampoo, conditioner, hairgel, setting lotion, leave-in conditioner, or even a final hair rinse. Study also shows that okra can help you rid of lice and scalp problems. I think I would enjoy mine as a leave- in conditioner or just a final rinse lolz.
                                                 MY RECIPE

- Cut about 3-8 pieces of okra horizontally
- Add the okra to boiling water and allow to boil till its frothy and slimy
-Add rosemary and a little bit of ginger to it so as to help with antibacterial properties, then let the mixture boil up for sometime.
-Strain it into a container and let cool as this would make it form a slimy and a very gelatinous paste.
-Add your essential oils (I would recommend tea tree oil or peppermint oil) or you could just use freshly squeezed lime/lemon juice.
-Depending on what you want to use it for, (as leave-in, final rinse etc) allow your hair air dry. Okra adds bounce and extra shine to your hair and also leaves your hair very soft and soooo moisturised for a couple of days. NOTE: if you don't use immediately, let refrigerate or just add a preservative.

BIOTIN AND THE BODY

Biotin as most of us know is a pro-vitamin B complex  also known as vitaminB7 or vitamin H. It plays an essential role in metabolising energy but most people don't really know its major effects and advantages. What a lot of people don't know is that biotin naturally occurs in our body, but it occurs in small quantities. It helps a lot in most of our body functions which involves metabolism. It helps the body process energy  and also aids the body to transport carbon dioxide throughout the body. When you have adequate biotin levels n your body; it helps your bone marrow, nerve tissues function effectively.
       With sufficient supply of biotin n your body; your daily food intake is processed and broken down fast, this is why it is prescribed for those which issues in breaking down of food intake by doctors. Also if you are trying to shed or loose fat, biotin helps due to the fact that when your food is broken down fast, it also helps breaking down glucose. Normally glucose if not properly broken down into energy becomes stored up in the body so also fat gets stored up, but with biotin, the fat and carbohydrate is broken down and used adequately by the body for its various needs. This is why biotin is soo good for diabetic patients because it greatly helps the body in glucose production as it breaks down your carbohydrate, it also helps in the regulation of sugar in your blood and body.


            BENEFITS OF BIOTIN FOR THE HAIR/SKIN/NAILS.
Biotin sure plays an important role for your hair, skin and nails. Biotin deficiency causes brittle nails, rigid skin, damaged hair. damaged hair such as - thin hair, brittle hair, splitting hair and basically hair loss. When the hair becomes unhealthy, it can become fragile, break more easily, possibly fall out which causes alopecia in a lot of women today. Biotin is used to prevent hair disorders especially alopecia, alopecia involves partial or complete loss of hair in certain areas of the head. Biotin when combined with zinc is very good for combatting hair loss. biotin also helps the body produce keratin for the hair. when hair follicles become blocked with skin flakes, it impedes hair growth which aids hair loss. when your scalp is kept clean, biotin is able to do its major work in rejuvenating the lost hair. Also biotin increases the volume of the hair, it lengthens the hair, gives the hair more weight, restores and increases its density also known as volume as we said before. Taking biotin supplement  helps stimulate new growth and new nail growth. this is why it is found in a lot of cosmetic products. Before intake of biotin, its advised to consult your doctor.

ONIONS AND THE HAIR

               A lot of women complain everyday about issues concerning their hair growth, thinning of their hair, hair loss etc. We get so worried , we barely have time to think straight and let unnecessary depression set in. I bet most of us wouldn't have the time to research and help our selves naturally. Onions we have found out to be one of the best hair treatments for women of class. Fret not as help is on its way in a way you would never expect. 
      Onions are known as vegetables but they are more than just random vegetables; research has been shown that they help increase hair growth and reverse thinning and also grey hair when applied to the scalp. It is one of the oldest and most efficient remedies used for thinning and greying hair. Onions when juiced, helps provide a certain type of nourishment and healthy circulation of blood to the hair follicles. Because of its antibiotic properties; it helps kill germs, fungi, parasites which could cause hair loss.
         Because they are high in sulphur, they boost the production of collagen tissues and help in the regeneration of hair follicles. They are also said to be beneficial for the reduction of certain inflammations. All this help and boost the growth of hair cells. Grey and thinning hair could be caused by the build up of hydrogen peroxide also when there is a decrease in the natural antioxidant in hair, the hydrogen peroxide causes oxidative stress which in turn causes greying and thinning of hair.

                HOW TO MAKE AND USE ONION JUICE FOR HAIR.
There are different ways you can afford to make onion juice- blending, juicing, grating. Even with all that, the juice is the most important component needed, below are various ways to use onion juice for hair.
     Using raw onion juice:
This is the easiest way to get the raw sulphur contents from the onion bulb, just blend some onions, extract the juice and apply directly to your scalp and leave for at least 30 mins or more if you wish, rinse of using a mild shampoo or a sulphate free shampoo like our shampoo bars, this should be done about 3 times a week, after a month or 2 , expect amazing regrowth of hair.


    Using onion-honey mixture:

    

 

Using honey-onion mixture is a great option, add 1/4 cup of onion juice to honey, let it sit for a while, apply every day till results are seen.

Using onion-rum concoction:                                                                                        

 

 

A lot of sisters complain about the smell onions leave in their hair. For those who cant stand the smell, this is a great option. Also any type of rum would do for this, it doesn't have to be the expensive type of rum. Just any good one. Add onions juice to your rum, let it sit for approximately 24 hours, then strain the mixture and voila the rum mixture is ready to be applied to the scalp. You could also use this as a hair rinse. Do not refrigerate this as its not needed. So ladies, start caring for your hair while you can now. Not only would it eliminate hair loss and greying of hair, it would also give you thick, curly , rich mane.                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

 

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL INSIDE OUT

     

Ok beautiful people, this isn't a ranting session but an advisory session and I guess our very own Lupita Nyongo inspired me to do this. Not just because of what she said but because I live in an environment that discriminates against itself. They say in your walk in life, if you cannot make a difference; then you are a living dead. Yes this blog is mainly a hair/beauty blog but even in that, am I changing lives and inspiring others? I might be here happy about myself now but are all the young girls out there comfortable about how they are created? Beauty they say comes in various sizes, looks, pattern , etc  but due to our twistedly complex society; standards have been set for certain types of beauty.
         I live in a country/continent whereby beauty is defined by your hair, colour of your skin, size, height and other frivolous things. Don't get me wrong, am not condemning those who think that way. I guess it just their way of life , their mentality or the way they were simply brought up. I once had a friend who her self esteem was damaged beyond measure, this was as a result of how she was taunted as a younger girl. Let me give u a brief information into how I also felt then. I used to feel pissed about some certain things in my life. I went to a boarding school and erhm I was a smallie *covers face* I was smaller than my pairs, even my sisters and cousins. I did not like my hair the way it was, I was relaxed but the annoying hair back then never used to relax but always burnt. Phewwwwww it was not funny oh chei, lolz . Even my own people used to call me sponge hair. My hair always looked cranky, I felt out of place sometimes because I simply was small, for me it was my small size/hair, for some other sisters its their big size that's an issue or their skin colour. I used to think 'at least if this my hair behaves, I would look better than I was ' Taaaaaaa, all that was just a mere lie. Me deceiving myself. I never felt good about my hair, always had it made up, later on my edges were almost gone and I was almost looking like iya eko. This wasn't my fault but due to unnecessary tension exerted on those spots. My image about myself worsened. Please don't be fooled, horrible hair can lead to low self esteem. You would feel so ashamed to carry your real hair outside. It got to a point I had to go back to the drawing board and talk some sense into myself. Now back to my friend,  she did not like her skin colour, her hair and her looks. she just felt out of place in every way. She opted for creams to make her lighter, maybe with this she would be accepted by men, friends and the taunting would reduce. We kind of talked about this, I was hurt for her because even if she altered herself that wont solve her problem; the solution was to take place from within.
        We are in a world where even our men feel if you aint light, with long curls of extension, tall, slim, sexy, phonetics speaking, etc, you are not beautiful. *shaking my head* If only they know what they have to make a lot of women go through to feel accepted by them. This has become a norm which is a venom poisoning the minds of our very beautiful women. I told her - Beauty doesn't have to be defined by the way some one else looks; beauty isn't a form of pill or food that can be gotten! Beauty is who you are from inside out. You cant be someone else and be called beautiful. However horrible u feel you are, your made that way for a special reason, in our diversity lies our beauty. I may not be the extra large hipped lady but I am made this beautiful way for a purpose. A lot of young ladies and even adults need to go back to their drawing board, your hair, your skin, however you are made is unique in it own amazing way. We were created from the finest of dark sands with the kinkiest of hairs in our beautiful bodies because we are all wonderfully made. If that man doesn't like you the way you are then he does not deserve you. If your hair becomes a barrier in your friendship, then good riddance. This life is too small to be engrossed in the what ifs and appreciate the what haves. What you have is enough and amazing for you. Embrace who you are and appreciate what you have, believe you are royalty and you are. I have come to appreciate my kinks, small size and everything about me. How would I inspire another if I hate myself because its self hate for one not to appreciate himself/herself. You don't have to live by the world's standards! Carve out your own beautiful standards and live a beautiful life without self hate. Young lady, if you are reading this I oblige you to love yourself irrespective of your flaws because in your amazing flaws lies your unique beauty. Remind yourself of how awesome you are and the world would see how you radiate and glow . I would say it again, beauty lies in our diversity; our uniqueness shows the beauty of God's creativity. There is no shame in being a black princess as we all are. Thank you for learning to love yourself.

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.