The Hair Whisperer – How to choose the Right Conditioner 2

Hey guys.  My name’s Aislynn but you can call me “The Hair Whisperer”

First things first, I have to start off by saying:

Conditioning your hair is Important

Your choice of conditioner depends on your hair type unlike your choice of shampoo which depends on your scalp type.  Choosing the right conditioner can help avoid greasy, limp locks or a dry frizzy head of hair.

Oh how we neglect our hair!!  Alot of us act as though our hair magically takes care of itself. And, instead of taking care of your natural hair we stick on “band-aids” to mask our problems (weaves, braids and etc).  We forget once we remove the “cover” we’re back to square one or even worse.

Huge amounts of money is spent on taking care of our body and face but not our natural hair.  It’s very important that we use proper conditioners to create that beautiful head of healthy hair.  Conditioning the hair helps to add shine to your hair along with clipping the dead ends.

There are a number of conditioners in the market that can be freely used but we must find the one that suits our hair texture.  People with natural hair without relaxer should condition and treat the hair often to keep it soft and supple.  I prefer to use more natural products on this type of hair ( shea butter, honey, olive oil etc.)  People with natural relaxed hair should invest in alot more moisturizers and protein treatments (Protein Treatments I advise should be used once a month as Protein can have an adverse reaction if used too much and instead, of making your hair strong your hair can become dry, brittle and break).

Event: Champagne, Cupcakes & Curltalk – Sunday 18th December 1

Kinky Apothecary (who just happen to be our favourite natural hair company in the entire world) is celebrating their 2nd birthday!!

Join us in celebrating with them, and celebrate the beauty of that which we were born with naturally. There will be advice on hand regarding natural hair care, free samples and lots of shopping to be done.  The event which is hosted at Bogobiri House in Ikoyi is sure to be lots of fun so don’t miss out!

Death in a Jar: Seperating Fact from Fiction – Haircare by Debola 7

Hello my Sacred Gods & Goddesses

Now that we’ve covered a bit of the basics on Black/African hair, I want to get into some of the nitty gritty of some hair care errors that we’ve been programmed to believe, basically from birth, to ritualize. In my short time here in Lagos, this has been one of the most challenging topics I’ve encountered in trying to convince my clients that its just plain wrong! I mean I just get fought left, right and center. So lets get down and dirty…

Hair Care Error #1: SAY NO TO GREASE aka POMADE aka “DEATH IN A JAR”

I have yet to visit a salon or household in Lagos that does not house a plethora of hair grease/cream options. And every time I see it being used on someone’s scalp/hair, it literally pains me! (We’ll talk about other things that pain me in the weeks to come).

I mean, globs of grease /cream are slabbed onto the scalps and hair strands of endless amounts of black women and we think it’s okay because, after all, that’s what we’ve grown up accustomed to. But just because that’s what we are use to, doesn’t negate the fact that we’ve been brought up on the wrong information. Well, folks it’s time to set the record straight. There are loads of problems that using hair grease comes along with and we’ll cover those as time goes forth, however today, we’ll just talk about the science of it.

What Type Are You? – Natural Hair Care by Debola 7

Hello again folks! So last time we began our lesson on understanding “our” hair and how to take proper care of it. We went a bit into a common misconception about black hair, which is whether or not black hair is different from hair of other ethnicities. We found out that it’s not, and in fact all hair is made up of the same exact components. This week, I’ll be discussing the different hair types and textures we as black women possess. So let’s get started, shall we?!

Part of learning how to take better care of your hair is understanding what type of hair you have. All Black/African or mixed race hair is naturally curly. The difference is in the size of the curls. This is where we find that there are different types of black hair. Fact: Curly hair is fragile and needs lots of moisture. When wet, the curls stretch out, but as the hair dries it absorbs the water and contracts to a tight curly state. This is how you distinguish what your hair type is.

One of the most popular methods of classification of black hair types and textures was created by Andre Walker, a stylist and author, who also happens to be Oprah’s personal hair stylist. And we all know if you never ever believe what any other expert says, you damn well can believe whatever Oprah’s stylist says…we did all see the “Good Hair” Oprah episode right?! If you happen to be living under a rock and didn’t get to watch it, I suggest you YouTube ASAP…moving on…

Hair: Natural Hair Care – Getting to the Root of the Matter by Debola 7

For the life of me, I just don’t understand why a majority of Nigerian women neglect the health of their hair. As long as the finished hair style looks good, we tend to think that’s the end all be all to hair care. It isn’t until our hair looks like the remnants of a scorched scrub brush or we are, what I call, scoop bald around the edges, do we now begin to consider the steps necessary to look after the health of our hair. Why do we as Nigerian women wait until our backs are against the wall before we decide to take action, where our hair is concerned? We’re so in love with the immediate gratification or solution, which I regret to inform you, like all other things, there are none!

We have a tendency to believe that we know it all, even though we have never stepped foot in a single hair care course. We attempt to do a bit of research and think; after all, if it works on “Sade’s” hair, surely it will work for mine. We lug the treasure of hair products we’ve collected over the months or even years, believing it will do miracles for our hair, to our beloved salons.

Hair: Brazilian, Indian or Russian Virgin? 6

Growing up in London i’ve always sported a short edgy crop.  I would dye my hair a variety of different colours every other month.  Some days I might wake up and have an uncontrolled urge to go pink or blue or just for the heck of it, green.   However, the more I started travelling back to Nigeria I became very aware of hair. It was everywhere, long luscious bouncy hair.  I stuck to my crop as long as I could until one day I decided to venture down the path of.. a weave on!!  *gasp*

Now you must understand, this was a pretty big thing for me. If I wanted long hair i’d wear a wig or a ponytail (and I still do sometimes, they’re so much fun and you can scratch your hair at night, my poor husband has seen this many a time).. but back to the point.  I clearly remember plucking up the courage as I was coming to Nigeria in December and you just KNOW everyone’s in Nigeria in December.  I went to the store & I was transfixed by the vast array on offer.  I mean I live in hair stores but if i’m doing braids how much are you really going to spend on a pack?  So one of my older sisters friends swore by Remi Goddess.  And to me, she was a weave queen. If anyone should know good hair then she was an expert.  I almost died when I was informed that my total purchase was about £120.  *huge sigh*  I went to the best hairdresser I knew and I prepared to come out to Nigeria very confident that I was decent enough to flick my hair with the best of them.