7 Tips to help with hair boredom

When I get bored with my hair, the scissors look so appealing and I feel as if they are calling my name! When I run out of hairstyling ideas, I believe that it is time to "trim" my hair and I end up cutting it too short. After, I have cut it short, I usually call my sis and complain about how my hair "does not grow". Then one day, she pointed out to me matter-of-factly that if I stopped cutting my hair it would be longer. As a result of that eureka moment (thanks sis) I decided not to cut my hair and to let it grow. Thus, my last 'big chop' was in 2008. I have reduced trimming down to twice a year and I can say that I can see significant growth since 2008.

So what to do when you are feeling down in the hair dumps and bored with your hair?

1) Remind yourself about your hair goal. If you don't have one, now is a good time to make one. This gives you some milestones to  work towards and something to look forward to. Some popular hair goals include: grow hair to waist length; grow out the permanent red dye; etc. Plus it is always a treat when you achieve your goal.

2) Change your hair style or hair routine or hair product or satin pillow case or hair towel or ... You get the point right? Do something different and change it up a bit. This gives you something to enjoy for about 24 hours until you get the itch again! A fun way of trying new products is to get a few Napps together and have a product swap. Bring products that are not working for you and exchange with some one else who brought a product that is not working for them. You can do this while the Mission Impossible theme song is playing in the background!

3) Get a hair buddy. Hair buddies can be life savers I tell you! Share your goals with your hair buddy and commit to being accountable to them. Share challenges and exchange success stories. They can help during times of frustration and both of you can share things you have learned with each other.

4) How about doing another person's hair. It doesn't have to be about you all the time. Offer to wash, condition and seal another person's lovely napps and you'll be thinking of how to do it well instead of how bored you are with your own hair. It is wise to stick to simple hair care services like the ones I just mentioned. You sure don't want to offer anything technical if you are not a trained and licensed hair care professional. It is about giving to others and not about doing your best to get sued or loose a friend.

5) Check out some new natural hair blogs and You Tube videos. Take a vacation from your usual online lounging spots and try some other online sources of great info on natural hair care. You will get some inspiration and learn something new. And what happens when you learn something new? You want to try it out!

6) Maybe you should put your hair in a weave or extensions (braids or twists or cornrows/weaving). Not seeing, touching or playing with your hair for some time should give you some new found appreciation for your hair. Absence should make your heart grow fonder. Just remember to moisturize well while you have extensions / artificial hair because you don't want a disaster when you take out the extensions.

7) If all else fails, grab a pair of scissors and cut your hair! Then repeat steps 1 to 6.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Naija Diamonds Season 2

Hello All,

Naija Diamonds season 2 is here. And it's time for you to send in your nominees.

Did I hear someone say what is Naija Diamonds? Well, Naija Diamonds is a television series that debuted last year. It profiles the lives of everyday Nigerians who are positively changing their communities and even the nation through something that they are doing.

Last year the television series profiled the stories of 36 Nigerians. All of them had something unique to offer. There were people of all ages and from every facet of society. Some of them were business owners, others were students, some were running NGOs
while others had personal stories of triumph. Some of them were using music to change the nation while others were using the power of books to impact children. Now Naija Diamonds season 2 is in need of nominations for this season. Do you know any Nigerian ( or are you that person )who is impacting the community or nation positively through their own initiative. It could be
through business, non-profits, education, technology, medicine, sports e.t.c.

If you do, you could either nominate that person (or yourself) by visiting www.naijadiamonds.com to download a nomination form.

or

Send a story about yourself or nominee in not more than 500 words to nominations@naijadiamonds.com. Completed stories can also be posted to P. O. Box 51286, Ikoyi, Lagos

Entries open from August 29 to October 31, 2011

Source: http://31exchange.com/31exchange/?p=227


And if you like you could notify me about any nomination you send in. Thanks
a lot everyone.

I'm looking forward to Naija Diamonds season 2 and I hope you are too.

And please feel free to forward this information to others.

Tyra gets an "F" (and parodies too)!

I will not say much oh! The internet is already buzzing. Type F (Tyra Bank's new website) has some videos on how to care for natural hair. This is the first video I saw from Natural Haven's blog.

The line that got me LAWLing and LOLing (please don't use these words because they are not real words) was "Vigorously apply it to your hair". Vigorously?! I burst out laughing. I guess this "Tutor" missed Natural Hair Care 101 class. Folks please do not vigorously handle your natural hair. If you do, you'll loose hair (like the front of the Tutor's hair) and you'll get a headache.

Natural hair is actually the most fragile of all hair types. Believe it or not, it is true. That is why it is easily prone to breakage especially when handled improperly. So handle your natural hair with care as if it is cashmere. BGLH also has a post on how terrible this and other videos are. Check it out here.

Of course the parodies have been rolling in and some have been posted on Youtube. You can watch some of the parodies here. We are all learning about natural hair as we go along. It is good to do some research and check out several reputable sources. There are many reputable sources out there with excellent information on how to care for natural hair. Plus, it is a good thing to challenge some hair care advice - do it with respect and everyone is a winner. This just shows that not everything you read is correct. So I hope Ms. Banks and her Tutor have learned a thing or two.

Keep it natural (not vigorous. Sorry I could not resist)!

Omozo

Interview with Abi

Abi is a gifted and skilled poet and writer! And she not only rocks lyrically, she rocks lovely dredlocs too. Last Thursday, we posted an email she sent to us. View her email here. Plus, she will be sharing her work with us on the last day of the month; starting in October. Enjoy her interview below.

Name? AbiodunTemitope Idowu

Where are you from? Badagry Lagos State, Nigeria [residing in the UK]

What do you do? I'm a writer-poetry and short stories. I also volunteer as a teaching mentor at my local library and also volunteer as a Human Resources Consultant and Administrator at my church.

What is your passion? I love reading, writing, and having interesting food to try.

Where can we find you online? On the following:

http://abidowu.vpweb.co.uk/

http://www.writeoutloud.net/poets/abi

http://abiwritesatnight.blogspot.com/

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural? It was a nightmare to keep in the English weather and also expensive. Besides for a very long time, I had wanted dreads but never dared while I lived in my mother's house back in Nigeria.

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? I went to my hairdresser then and asked him to cut my hair, that I wanted to start dreads but he was horrified and refused. So I sat at his chair, pick up the scissors and chopped off my hair! He had no choice but to neaten it up. The next week I went back and persuaded him to start locs. They were tiny; they looked like popcorn!

Did you grow out your locs immediately you went natural or did you wait for some time? I had been growing out my natural hair under the relaxed for a while, so I had huge undergrowth which I started locing as soon as I could.

Why locs? For me, they are natural, all my hair and the most worry free hair I've ever had and as I suspected, it suits me lol.

How has the locing journey been so far? It didn't start out rosy. Infact, I had such massive opposition about them. I had everything chucked at me: theories of madness, invitations to hairdressers to 'sort me out' etc. I still get the occasional 'Oh so you still have them, when are you cutting them off?'

So you got negative comments? Any positive comments when you started locing your hair? More negative than positive. Amazingly, my mum was the first to say something nice about them. She liked the fact that they were neat and looked straight. Later some of my friends started responding better to it.

Why do you think people responded negatively? I think personally that its the whole myth malarky of being associated to madness, then a bit of jealousy about my expression of my individuality set in. Funny enough, men respond differently, they want to touch it and smell it. I can't count how many times at church I've had my head upside in church while people run their hands through it, trying to find a join or just check the texture-many free head massages I tell you!

How do you deal with negative reactions? I ignore them. I love my hair; its me. And the person I was worried the most about-my mum-likes it so the others can take a hike! That's what I say.

What’s your daily hair routine? I wash my hair once a week, but I daily rub coconut oil in it and tress it out, removing kinks. Then at night, I spray jasmine oil on it and wrap it up in a hairnet or silk scarf, that's why its so glossy and long.

What do you like best about having locs? I can swim or walk in the rain with it and not bother. It is defining and when taken care of, it can look really beautiful.

What do you hate most about having locs? My hairdresser comes to neaten it up once in 3 months, that's when I hate it, the pain!

Have you ever done anything to your natural hair that made you say "Ooops!" or "Yeparipa!"? If so, what was it and how did you resolve it? I've dyed my hair blonde and it wasn't a fab look, but I brazened it out for about 2 weeks and dyed it back to black as soon as I could-Never again!

What do you say to others who want to grow locs? How about those who are having challenges at work because of their locs? Make it your own! Look at the shape of your head and check which would suit you. Make sure its always neat, glossy and inviting. Once people start stopping you in the street about your hair-know you're doing good. Remember there will always be haters who hate you being an individual. Tell them Jesus was a Nazarene (its true, no blade touched His hair) and you're His child. Enjoy your hair.

Spoken word or written poetry? The natural bounce of my hair echoes the rythmn of my hips; they sway inviting the curious touch; my lover smells my hair ; inhaling jasmine kisses and coconut hugs; my hair falls; natural to my back, thick , black, luxurious; so very me.

Thank you. and God bless xx

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Don't diss the Fro - By Cabella

My dear friend, Jumai, invited me to join her, her husband, and his cousin for ice-cream and a movie. Jumai is not subtle so she said "Hubby's cousin is single and wants to get married so ..." and she went on to list his good qualities and how funny he is. Free ice-cream and a free movie with the man of Jumai's dreams for me is an offer that I could not refuse.

I was not sure how to carry my hair. I was torn between the two styles below: Free Afro or Afro-puff.

Finally I decided to go with the Free Afro style with a small hair pin at the side to hold back my hair a bit. I arrived at the ice-cream place and made my way to where my friends were sitting. Hugs for Jumai and her hubby and a warm handshake for the cousin (let's call him U.J). Very nice looking young man. "Jumai don try this time" I thought. We sat down and started chatting about stuff and getting to know each other.

We were all enjoying ourselves when U.J. turned to me and said "You know when you came in I thought 'Whoa to the Fro'!" We all chuckled and I took it as a compliment. U.J. continued. "I said to myself I better be nice to this lady. She may have hidden a knife in that Afro to stab me with if she does not like me!" I think U.J. was the only one who laughed. Jumai and her husband looked at me, half smiling and half terrified. I was not smiling. But Mr. U.J. The Comedian was on a roll. "We better sit in the last row for the movie so that Cabella's hair does not block the other people in the cinema." he said slapping the table and laughing louder.

 All I could hear was his I-am-so-funny-I-should-be-a-Comedian laugh. Jumai's husband tried to change the topic but U.J. was not having it. He reeled off another Afro joke and that was when I decided e don do. "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom before we leave" I said as I frowned at everyone on the table. Jumai follwed me. "I am so sorry" she begged. "I hope your husband is talking to him o because ..." Jumai interrupted me "I know, I know. Sorry I beg. Just chill please and still come to the movie. Maybe he is nervous." I eyed Jumai.

By the time we got out of the bathroom, Jumai's husband and U.J. were waiting at the door to leave. Jumai's husband suggested I go with U.J. in his car. I shook my head but U.J. did not see me.  "Which way are we heading?" U.J. asked. "That way" I said pointing in the direction away from the cinema. "It is the Idiot's exit".

Cabella

All about awesomness

My nieces and I play the "Awesome Game". One person starts by telling the other that they are awesome. Then the other person responds by saying "No, you are awesome!" and it continues back and forth. One day, my nieces came into the room while I was taking out my twists. "Aunty are you doing your hair?" they asked. I said yes and they got excited. "We can help you! We know how to do it!" they said jumping up and down.

I was thinking that it would be nice to teach them some basics of natural hair care. After all, they will have to take care of their natural hair by themselves one day. (And I am a cool Aunty). So I agreed to their offer. Excitedly, they ran to my dresser to grab their tools of choice. As they worked, I instructed them on what to do. Really, it was so that it would not be too painful for me. "Comb from the tips Samantha". "Hold the section you want to comb Stephanie". And on it went.

When they were done, they both stepped back to behold their work of horror art. "Wow Aunty you look so bootiful!" Stephanie exclaimed with wide eyes. I would have believed her if I had not looked in the mirror. Eeek!

Not to dent their self esteem, I responded by pointing to them and saying "You're awesome!" Stephanie leaned forward and responded "No! You're awesome!". I looked at Samantha and said "You're awesome". Samantha looked at me and replied "Yup! I am awesome."

Keep it natural!

Omozo

6 Tips to deal with slow internet connection

If you live in Lagos Nigeria then you may have experienced slow internet connection. I feel as if once in a while my ISP (Glo Nigeria) decides that I will not "rule my world" that day. So here are 6 things you can do while waiting for an upload or download or page load to be complete.

1) Convert your week old twists to bantu knots.





































2) Mix some homemade Shea butter goodie for your hair.

3) Spray some leave-in conditioner on your new do. Add some Eucalyptus oil while you are at it because it relieves itchy scalps and encourages hair growth.

4) Oil your scalp with some of the Shea butter goodie you made earlier.

5) Cut up an old or a damaged pantyhose for a headband. You may need it if your Bantu knots do not come out as planned. Oops!

6) Massage your scalp.
Yes it stimulates your blood vessels and aids hair growth. But Lord knows you'll need the massage to relax your head (and nerves) if your pages have not loaded by now!

Pages loaded? Quick! You better get working because you never know when you might get disconnected and have to repeat these steps again. 

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Email from Abi

Here is an email from Abi. She shares some interesting feedback she got regarding natural hair / hairstyles. We will be posting an interview of Abi within the week. She is a poet and writer and she can be found on her blog. Make sure you check out her blog here! Check out her other site here. Thank you for sharing Abi.

Plus, we will be posting an interview of Abi next week Monday. So exciting. Check out the interview on Monday!

Keep it natural!

Omozo
-------------------------------------------------------
Dear O'Naturals

Infact, just recently, my mum called to tell me that a pastor at the church she went to said that parents should warn their chidren who have natural dreads to cut them off as it will invite the spirit of madness, so I educated her about the film 'Good hair' and she's happy for me to leave my hair [in dreadlocs].

Then more recently, someone had the audacity to 'suggest' to me that the reason I was still single was because of the 'nature' of my hair! Seriously fa! I almost decapitated the guy.

Anyways I have enjoyed your blog and I'm now following it. I've learnt so much from it and I'm even taking better care of my cherished locks.


Best wishes.

Abi

Shuku styling from Ibhaze

As is common practise by most napps, Ibhaze took pictures of her hair while at work. *We napps can be so vain sometimes* ;) She shares, below, how she achieved this hairstyle. We also interviewed Ibhaze for the blog some time ago. Read her interview here.


"I lazily put on that scrunchie/ribbon thing on my head this morning, it doesn't seem to sit well but I like it there at the middle of my shuku.

So, basically, I told the hairdresser to make a shuku with curvy lines and some twists in front (that I later turned to braids because the twists shrunk).

I asked her to leave the ends of the plaits. After forming the shuku, I asked her to weave these ends forming 2 major plaits at the back of my head, and then to tuck them in. That's how the style was achieved."

Thanks Ibhaze. Your hair is lovely and that scrunchie ain't so bad!

Keep it natural.

Omozo

Traction Alopecia

I see a lot of women walking around with no hair at their edges. It’s very common, but what I realize is that the hair is receding so much that I think many women have failed to notice that they are loosing their hair.


This brings me to the topic for today. Traction Alopecia. Traction alopecia seems to be common among black women often because of some of the styles we wear. For example many of us braid our hair and sometimes, it’s just too tight. Or we pull our hair back too tight to achieve a smooth look. Then there are the cornrows done too tightly as well. And children are also suffering hair loss at their edges as well. Plus when we add relaxers and hair dye this can also aggravate the whole situation.
So if you braid your hair often, you need to be careful and make sure that you are not loosing your hairline in the process.

Traction alopecia is reversible if diagnosed early, however if you do not do something about it early it may lead to permanent hair loss for you. Once you see that you are loosing your hair please see a dermatologist. Your dermatologist should be able to recommend some treatment.

On another note you can prevent traction alopecia by changing hairstyles to styles that are less strenuous on the hair line. When you wear braids consider telling the person braiding your hair not to pick at the little hairs in front of your hairline. Also change up your hairstyles. Do not braid your hair all the time or wear a weave all the time. Let your hair breathe once in a while. If you do wear lots of braids or cornrows then change the style for example do not insist on cornrowing your hair all back all the time. That is a lot of pressure on one side of the hair. Try other styles. This especially applies to children who are required to wear cornrows or braids to school. Do change up their hair styles and consider skipping the extensions once in a while. Extensions are sometimes heavy on children’s hair.


Oghomwen

A tribute to the Afro

Aevin Dugas (pictured above) has been officially recorded as having the world's biggest NATURAL Afro. It is over 4ft. Major congratulations go out to her! Read more on Guinness website here. Last year, BGLH interviewed  Aevin and you can read that interview here. So in celebration of Aevin and of course the Afro, we are posting some pictures of our own Afros. From small ones to big ones; from stretched ones to free-form Afros. Perhaps not at big as Aevin's but ... Enjoy!

 

 

It burns! It burns! - By Cabella

Aunty Baby (we call her Aunty B) came to visit my Mommy. I went to visit my Mommy too. I entered the house and after the pleasantries sat down with the ladies for some girl chatter. We talked about food (which I eat and love to cook), clothes (which I enjoy but hate to buy), men (of which I want one to marry) and of course hair (which I have a lot of and it is natural). My Mommy reminded Aunty B that I have not relaxed my hair in over 10 years. Aunty B seemed interested for the first time. Before now we had talked about natural hair and her response had always been constant and consistent: it ain't happening on MY head.

So when she started asking me questions about natural hair, naturally I was intrigued. "Aunty B how far? You never showed interest before" I chided. Aunty B said "You know as one grows older, one starts to look for ways to reduce stress" I guess relaxing one's hair falls under stress for my darling Aunty. I was not convinced though. My spidey senses were tingling and I sensed there was a story behind her sudden interest. I  prodded some more. "What happened? Are you thinking of cutting your hair? Shebi you just re-touched it?"

My Aunty hemmed and sighed. "My dear I just re-touched o" and then she sighed again. She was using this high pitched feel-sorry-for-me tone to talk. I had to talk to myself not to laugh. I had not even heard the story yet and I was amused! "Haba! What happened Aunty B?" I asked. Everyone likes a good story abi?

My Aunty B proceeded to narrate how she used a new relaxer that she heard is not so harsh on the hair. "They said it does not burn" Aunty informed me. She decided to do self application at home. She applied the cream and did some chores around the house. I could see where this story was going to end and it was not going to be a happy one! She continued. "Honestly I did not feel anything like discomfort or my hair peppering me. I had even forgotten that I had the thing in my hair and by the time I washed my hair ehn! The back of my hair fell out!"   Poor Aunty B ran to the nearest salon for help! After doing all they could, the Owner offered her some advice. "Madam, e be like say you go wait like 6 months before you relax this hair again o. Make e grow small". 

I imagine this is how her hair looks at the back

I was in shock. Aunty B tied her hair so I could not see the damage. I wanted to ask her to show me but decided that it was not a sharp idea. I kept staring as she shook her head and sighed. I promised to help her with her natural hair 'detour'. Who knows, the hair detour may be a better journey and she may decide to continue with it. Poor Aunty B!

Cabella

"Some of my friends can't keep their hands out of my hair" - Interview with Tiwa

On Monday we interviewed Eki who is one half of the blogging duo OreMeji. Read Eki's interview here. Today we are glad to introduce you to Tiwa who is the other half of OreMeji. Tiwa is an artistic young lady who is on her way to great things. Enjoy!

Name? Tiwa Adediji

Where are you from and where do you live? I'm from Nigeria and I currently live and attend school in the US.

What do you do? I'm a student.

What is your passion? I'm passionate about a lot of things, but to narrow it down, I'm an avid reader and burgeoning guitar-player. A big fan of the arts.

Where can we find you online?

www.youtube.com/TiwaDij: where I post guitar covers and;

http://www.oremeji.wordpress.com/: where I blog about a variety of things.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural? Well, I hadn't really been taking care of my relaxed hair properly, so it had extensive breakage and heat-damage. It was a sorry sight lol. I got tired of picking hair off my pillow every morning, so I decided enough was enough.

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? Going natural was a bit of an impulsive decision. Although I had been toying with the idea for a while, I didn't really think I would go ahead with it. However, one day, I was in the process of taking out braids from my hair. As I removed the first braid, a huge chunk of relaxed hair fell out with it. So I grabbed a pair of scissors and just chopped off all the relaxed strands, leaving only the undergrowth. I stood there for like 10 minutes thinking... "What have I done?!!" After I got over the initial shock though, I just kept on taking out more braids and cutting off the relaxed hair. I did this all by myself, in front of my bathroom mirror. No encouragement whatsoever.

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I don't have a "hair crush" in particular. I generally just admire anyone who has healthy natural hair and knows how to pull it off.

What’s your natural hair regimen? I'm very minimalistic with my hair care. I'm really not a product junkie at all. I wash with Trader Joe's Peppermint Shampoo every 2 weeks and condition with Trader Joe's Citrus Conditioner. I moisturize A LOT with raw shea butter and pure tea tree oil, because my hair is dyed and it tends to dry out easily. That's pretty much about it.

Products you would wait in line for? Raw Shea butter. It works wonders for my hair, especially with regards to moisture.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? The reactions are generally positive. Some of my friends can't keep their hands out of my hair. One once said it felt like "touching the softest rug in the world'.

If you get negative comments who are they from and how do you deal with them? I've only ever gotten many negative comments. One negative comment that I can remember, ironically, was from one of my best male friends. He said "Why did you cut your hair? You were so beautiful before!". I didn't take it personal though, because everyone has their own perception of beauty, and I can't hold that against them. To each his own.

Comment about natural hair in your school. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to school? Since I had cut my hair in the safety of my home, I did feel a tad bit awkward going back to school with my TWA. I really didn't know what kind of reactions I would get. But that only lasted for a couple of days. I eventually grew comfortable with my hair and learned to flaunt it.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? I tend to do a lot of twist-outs because they provide volume and body and I'm a sucker for big hair.

What do you like best about being natural? It's very low maintenance, at least in my case. I don't have to worry about breakage or getting retouched every few weeks. Because I can wash-and-go, I don't have to spend hours struggling with my hair every morning to make it look normal, like the way I did when it was relaxed.

What do you hate most about being natural? It can be limiting in terms of styling. But if you're creative enough, you'll find ways to switch it up and keep it interesting.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” or “Yeparikpa!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it. Yes oh!!!! Although this is common sense, I hadn't yet realized that moisture = shrinkage. I had twisted out my hair the night before and taken out the twists in the morning to reveal a beautiful curl pattern. I walked to class in the rain without an umbrella, thinking the curls would hold up fine. By the time I got to class, my hair had gone straight back to being a TWA. All that twisting for nothing! Tschewwww.

What do you say to students like you about being natural? It's definitely an exciting journey. I, for one, was amazed at all the new things I could do with my "new" hair. It's nice to get to experiment with different styles I couldn't try while I was relaxed.

Big Brother Africa or West-African Idol? West-African Idol. Why would I opt to watch people sleep and eat, when I could get a free concert on my TV?

Keep it natural!

Omozo