4 Reasons NOT to Trim Your Hair - Courtesy Jc

Would you believe you would ever hear this? Trimming is an important technique used to get rid of split ends and those stubborn knots you can not detangle with your fingers. Jc of The Natural Haven explains on BGLH why there are times you should not trim your hair.

In summarry you should not trim your hair if:

1. You trimmed it last week

2. You notice one side is longer than the other

3. Your ends appear thin/ see through but you regularly do search and destroy trims



4. Your ends are dry or do not curl like they used to but you cannot see split ends

What say you?

Keep it natural!

Omozo

A twist on African Threading

Threading is a way to protect your natural hair and stretch your hair without using heat. Read some of our blog posts on threading here and here. Thanks to BGLH I came across a cool way to style your hair using thread. Here in Nigeria, people come up with funky ways of styling hair with thread.

That's me with a combination of cornrows and threading

This variation below of styling hair using the threading method by Barbara L made me smile and has given me some ideas. It is a flat single strand twist intertwined or wrapped with thread. Sounds deep ehn? It is not at all.

Hmmm ... feel like taking out my twists and trying it out. I shall be patient and maybe try it for my next hairstyle. Check out the video to see how it is done and get inspired.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Pin Curls with Bobby pins - A video

The ends of my hair do not curl like this normally. I used pin curls on my twists to get this curl pattern

 I tweeted a while back about how happy I was with the pin curls I successfully achieved on my hair and I got a request to "show and tell". I finally finished editing a video on how to get pin curls. Yes this is O'Naturals' first public video. Okay O I am saying "sorry for the quality" in advance.

Go ahead and try the technique on your hair. Remember: don't be afraid to adjust the technique so that you get various results. Try it out on braids or do the pin curls on your whole head of hair and see what you get. It is the weekend so go ahead and try it out and rock it this weekend. And when you do, please don't forget to share your pictures! :D @DamiOyedele this one's for you! *wink*

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Twists curled with a curling iron

It is really easy to get this hairstyle. Here is how I did it:
1) Twists were a week old so I did not use new twists or freshly washed and conditioned twists;
2) Apply serum to the twists. I applied by sectioning the hair, spraying the serum on each section and then working it through the hair;
3) Use medium heat on the curling iron. If you see smoke coming out of the iron then you know it is too hot;

4) Take your section of twists and curl with the curling iron. I rolled the curling iron inwards as if tucking in the hair;

5) After you have curled your whole head use a holding spray. This should keep the curls for a day or two. If you are in a humid area (like Lagos Nigeria) you may not be so lucky. My curls barely made it to the end of the working day!

One very very important point: make sure you deep condition after using the curling iron on your hair. Frequent use of direct heat to your hair may damage your hair. There you have it folks. Try it out and let's know how it works for you.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Curls on locs

My friend's display picture showed her with curled locs and I asked her how she achieved it.

1) Wash and re-loc hair. I think you can do these curls on hair that is not re-loced;
2) Put in the flexi-rod hair rollers while hair is damp;

 3) Allow hair air dry then use a hand dryer to finish the drying process if necessary;

She did not use any gel or holding product and no holding spray. She said she will use holding spray next time so that the curls last longer.
 

There you have it. Try this out on locs (and "un-loced" hair too) and share your results please.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Harmattan and Dry Ends

For many of us around the world, the cold / dry season is approaching. In Nigeria, we call it harmattan. It can get really dry, dusty and cold. During this period lots of things can get drier: your lips, your feet, your hands, your throat, your clothes hung outside and your natural hair too. So what can be done to limit / prevent the season from taking a negative toll on your hair?

I read a simple, straightforward blog post on Curly Nikki on how to cope with dry ends. The great thing about the post is that these are healthy hair practices that really should be done as part of your regular hair routine. The post discusses 5 steps including: deep conditioning, moisturizing and sealing, trimming etc.

I would like to emphasize moisturizing and sealing. If you have not already done so, consider using a conditioner (rinse out or leave-in) as part of your regular hair routine and then putting your sealant over it. This helps retain more moisture in your hair for a bit longer. Your sealant can be any of the butters you prefer (Shea, cocoa, mango) or natural oils (olive, jojoba) or a mixture of both.

 Check out the full post here.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

A trim in time

I no longer fear the scissors and trims. I have had my share of horrific experiences when it comes to getting my hair "trimmed". You know the times when you ask the stylist to take "a little" off the ends and you stir from sweet salon slumber to see you just got that Halle Berry Bond Girl cut! And in Nigeria the stylist may soothe your screams and tears by telling you the style is "reigning" or  "it fits you oh!" Yeah those ones!

I typically trim my ends myself. My hair is long enough now for me to be able to pull the back hairs to the side to see what I am doing. Taking off a little hair off your ends is referred to by some people as "dusting". Now if you need a major cut it is advisable to go to a professional. I gave myself a major big chop in 2008 and let's just end the story now with "bwaahhahhahahaha at the lop sided result"!

My last trim was last April so I'd say I was due. Plus my ends looked dry and like they needed help. And the ends had started snagging, more than usual, whenever I was taking out my twists. For me all these are signs that I need a trim. How do I trim my hair?

1) I trim my hair just before taking out old tiny twists;

2) I put my hair in sections and get out my SHARP pair of scissors. Don't use blunt scissors because you do more harm than good;

Put hair in sections to make it easier to work through

Sharp scissors please. If unsure, buy a new pair.

3) I stand in front of the mirror and decide how much to take off and I trim one twist at a time. I never trim two or three twists together.

Looking at the mirror to make sure I do not trim off too much hair

All done?

My ends look much better than before

Time to take out the old twists, shampoo, deep condition and style. It is much easier taking out twists after trimming and I have less snags.

So there you have it. Go to a professional if you are not comfortable trimming your hair yourself. Just be sure to stay awake and alert!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Another slamming twist out!

Remember the last blog post about the 3 week old twists? Check it out here. So after rocking the revitalized twists for a week I took out the twists and here is what the twist out looked like.

Can someone scream D-E-F-I-N-I-T-I-O-N!!!!! I totally loved the look and decided to rock the twist out for another week. You guessed right I took it to work. And not a peep of complaint from anyone at work. They are learning *wink*

So this is how it "happened":
1) I washed and conditioned my hair as usual and used thread to stretch my hair
2) I did micro twists with my usual shea butter mix
3) After the 3rd week  I used gel to roll my hair with rollers (see post)
5) I took out the twists after the 3rd week and got this twist out.

We would love to hear your own stories of "Slamming styles" and pictures would be a bonus. Have a fab weekend!

Keep it natural (and slamming)!

Omozo

Spruce up old twists (or braids)

Okay! You have had your twists (or braids) for a long time: they are looking old but you are not ready to take them out. So what do you do? Put them in a bun or hide them in a scarf?




3 week old twists. What do I do to spruce them up?

 No need for that! Do you have rollers? Can you do bantu knots? If so, use those methods to spruce up your old twists or braids.




Aha I've got an idea!

 

How? Easy! Get your rollers ready. The size of rollers does not matter - the size of the rollers depends on how big you want your curls to be.

Wash, condition and seal your hair as you would normally do. While damp, put your twists or braids in the rollers (or bantu knots) and let your hair air dry (or use a dryer if in a hurry).





Small rollers on old twists. Use any size of rollers you want or have.



Take out the rollers or bantu knots and voila newer looking twists (or braids). Use a product that will give you some hold, like gel, if you want stronger hold or longer lasting curls.





Voila! Newer looking old twists. LOL


 I was able to rock the curls for an extra week before taking out the twists.



Styled for the office. Not bad I'd say.


Hope this helps. Have fun putting new life into old twists (or braids).

Keep it natural!

Omozo

I straightened my hair

Yesterday I went to the hair salon and straightened my hair. Oh boy!

I washed my hair, put leave-in conditioner and my O'Naturals Cocoa-shea hair butter. Then I stretched my hair with thread. I felt that I should "help" the straightening process by stretching out my hair a bit. Then I went to the salon and said *drum roll* "I want to straighten my hair". The stylist opened her eyes widely and I grinned sheepishly. This stylist has styled my hair before so we have history. I sat down in the chair and still kept asking myself whether I should not just twist my hair and call it a night. I forged ahead.

I took my own serum because I guessed (and rightly so) that there would be none at the salon. I instructed the stylist on how to use the serum and, to her credit, she took the instructions well and used the serum well. When I saw the smoke coming out of the flat iron I almost jumped out of the chair! Meeeeen! Then she started to straighten my hair. Every time she ran the flat iron over my hair there was this evil hisssssss that could be heard. I could hear my hair strands crying "Whyyyyy? Why do you torture us so? Whyyyyyyyy?" After straightening about 3 sections at the back of my head,  I asked her to stop. I took a deep breath and we continued. When we were done my hair looked straight. Well, not too straight because I told her to chill on the straightening. It also looks very full.

I must be honest, it was traumatic for me. *Yes I am a bit of a drama queen* That amount of direct and high heat on any texture of hair cannot be good. Yes I could see some of my real hair length and my hair was bouncy but at what cost? I got home and put more hair butter on my ends.

One thing that is very important when applying any form of heat to your, is the use of serum. Use a serum. Use a serum. The serum will protect your hair from heat damage. Regularly applying high heat directly to your hair is not a healthy hair practice because the hair is exposed to heat damage. If you must, try to space it out a bit and give your hair a bit of a break between each straightening session.

So will I do it again anytime soon? Nah. This kind of trauma takes time to heal.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Stretching hair - Bantu Knot Technique

We spoke about the fact that natural hair shrinks (see post here) and mentioned some methods of stretching natural hair so that more of the true length can be seen (see stretching post here). We have talked about using thread to stretch your hair (see post here). Today we will talk about using Bantu knots as a stretching method.

Bantu knots are called various things. I have heard them called china bumps, periwinkle and robo-robo. What else have you heard them being called? Bantu knots can be used as a hairstyle too but today, it is about using them to stretch your natural hair. I think you get the best results when you put in the bantu knots when hair is damp or wet. Of course you can then style as you want after you take out the bantu knots.

The video below shows you how to do bantu knots on your hair. Start at 1:57 minutes to see her doing bantu knots.

Here are pictures of my hair with bantu knots and after I took them out.





Bantu knots in






Bantu knots out. I picked out the hair some more and rocked it for the day



So try this out and let us know how effective bantu knots worked for you for stretching your hair.

Keep it natural,

Omozo

Over sabi nearly ruined my hair!

A few days ago, I had been in the sun for a long time without covering my hair. By evening, I could tell my hair was really dry and needed a moisture boost. Instead of simply wetting my hair and applying some rinse out or leave-in conditioner I decided to do over sabi. I put some coconut oil on my hair and covered it with a shower cap and went to bed. The plan was to rinse it out the next morning then seal with some hair butter. Instead I left the coconut oil in my hair all day the next day because I figured that since it is coconut oil and it softens hair there is no harm leaving it in my hair with my hair covered with a shower cap the whole day - 24 full hours.

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

When I was ready to rinse my hair in the evening, my hair was hard! I mean hard like thin cardboard. No joke o! *insert horror movie multiple stabbing scream here* My heart was pounding and I kept thinking "I am in trouble!"

If you think that was bad just add another thing to the equation. During the day my head was itching more than normal. I have some peppermint essential oil in the house. I reasoned that I would put some in the rinsing water and rinse my hair. Omozo now decided to POUR (don't know why my wrist was so loose sef) about half a cup of it into the bucket of water because in Omozo's mind it was a big bucket. Then I rinsed out  the coconut oil using the water with excess peppermint EO. My hair felt even harder and much dryer.

Solution? Do what should have been done in the beginning. I:
1) Twisted my hair while sectioning carefully. I noticed my hair was really matted while sectioning so I had to detangle with a comb. I did not expect the matting to happen. *More horror movie screams and music*
2) Washed my twisted hair once with a little shampoo to get out as much of the coconut oil and peppermint EO as possible.
3) Applied rinse out conditioner. Waited five minutes before rinsing it out.
4) Applied a creme based leave-in conditioner especially to the tips of my hair.
5) Sealed with some of the hair butter I made that day.
6) Trimmed the ends: my hair was due for a trim anyway! (And I did a length check too :D)

The result? Better feeling and looking hair! *dropped to my knees thanking God* The shine was back and my hair truly felt softer. Phew!

Bowing my head in gratitude while humming "The storm is over ..."

 
Moral of the story: I need to practise what I preach and "KEEP IT SIMPLE SIS!" If you do something or use a product that your hair does not accept, just wash it out and condition as usual. Don't go and do over sabi* because it will most likely not end well. Feel free to share your own "over sabi" stories.

Keep it natural (and simple)!

Omozo

*"Over Sabi" is a Nigerian slang used to describe over doing something because you feel you know too much. I think it can be used as a noun or adjective or adverb.

Stretching Hair - Threading technique

So let's talk about using thread to stretch out natural hair. We have a blog post on using it as a hairstyle: read it here. Some people call this technique "African threading" or "Ghana Braiding or Plaits", some call it "Nywele" (which is Swahili for "hair"). In twi, it's called "Engina-gina hc" (not sure how you pronounce it). And it is called "Irun kiko" in Yoruba. The Damn Salon in Atlanta promotes threading as a "100% heatless way to stretch natural hair". You can use Chinese thread or sewing thread or thread used for weaves for this.

The length of time it will take you to thread your whole head will depend on the length of your hair, the number of sections you want to do, and whether you will be wrapping each section completely with thread or leaving spaces as you wrap the section. Your sections will look sort of like twists if you leave spaces as you wrap your hair.

Threaded hair with spaces making it look like twists. Picture from Cherish My Daughter blog

Threaded hair with sections fully wrapped

Using thread is quite simple actually. It is, of course, best practice to put leave-in conditioner on your hair and properly seal with oil or butter of your choice and detangle your hair properly before threading it. Do not use too much oil or butter because it will make your hair slippery which can affect your threading process. You can thread wet or dry hair. You will have to experiment to see whether dry or wet threading works for your hair. Remember that you still have to handle your hair carefully whether threading wet or dry hair.

So how is it done? I think it is better to see it being done than to write about it. So here are some videos showing you how it is done.

The more you use this technique the better at it you will become. So do not be discouraged if it takes longer when you do it for the first time. We would love to see and post pictures of your hair before stretching and your hair after stretching with thread. Please send pictures to onaturals@gmail.com. Many thanks!

Right side shows before using thread to stretch hair and Left side shows after. Picture from Naturallycurly

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Stretching and Straightening Natural Hair

In the last post we talked about shrinkage. Read more here. It is important to note that shrinkage is not a bad thing: it is just the nature and characteristic of natural black hair –that’s all. Sure it can be a bit annoying that the whole world cannot see that your hair reaches your buttocks but it gives you something to say when playing those “tell us one thing no one knows about you” games.  So what can be done to manage shrinkage? I use the word “manage” because shrinkage cannot be eliminated. Yeah, that product you just bought to end shrinkage forever is fake!

In Napp world, many people use the term “stretch” to indicate the drawing out or lengthening or extending of the hair without removing the kinks and coils completely. So one’s hair is stretched out but you can still tell the hair is natural because you’ll see some little kinks or coils especially at the front and neckline of the head. The techniques used are also different from when one straightens the hair. Stretching is almost always temporary which means you can go back to your full coils after washing your hair. After stretching you usually have some elasticity still left in the hair. You have to be careful and ensure that you do not over manipulate your hair in the bid to stretch your hair. Do everything in moderation and with gentleness and care.

Natural hair stretched using braids. Braids taken out and hair combed out with a wide tooth comb.

Straightening natural hair is usually used to indicate the complete removal of the kinks and coils. The intention is for the hair to be straight (as in the word) usually like Caucasian hair. This can be permanent like when relaxers are used or temporary like when high levels of heat (blow drying, curling iron, flat iron) is used.  After straightening, there is usually no elasticity left in the hair. 

O’Naturals does not advocate using relaxers because it permanently alters the texture of our natural hair and it can be harmful to your health.  O’Naturals also discourages the use of frequent direct heat to the natural hair. It is not using direct heat but using it all the time, especially at high levels, that can cause problems. Frequent application of direct heat to natural hair can also be very damaging because the heat removes moisture from the hair which can lead to breakage. 

Hair straightened using a relaxer

Natural hair straightened using blow dryer and flat iron

 

There are various methods of stretching natural hair. The fun thing is that these methods can be used as hair styles and protective styling. These methods become stretching techniques when they are used before the actual intended hairstyle is done.  For example, I put my hair in big braids over night to stretch it out for the Cinnabun Bun hairstyle I did.

 

The following techniques can be used to stretch your hair: Braids, Bantu knots, 2 or 3 strand twists, Flat twists, Corn-rows, Banding, Threading, Flexi rods, Big rollers, Pin curls. You can also use a blow dryer to stretch your hair so long as you do not straighten it! Figure that one out! We will have posts up on the techniques mentioned above as stretching tools. Stay tuned!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Simple Home-made Detangling Spray

It is good hair practice to de-tangle your hair before washing or styling. De-tangling should be done first with your fingers because you are able to feel the knots in your hair and can work carefully to undo them. After using your fingers, you may use a wide-tooth comb to comb through your hair. Also, de-tangling your hair, with your fingers, after you take out a hairstyle (like twists, braids, Bantu knots etc.) helps you find twists that you may have missed. I use my de-tangling time to also massage my scalp to stimulate blood flow.

To assist in de-tangling, your hair should not be dry. A simple home-made de-tangling spray can give you some moisture and help you through the de-tangling process. This spray is easy and very inexpensive to make. You will need Glycerin for this spray. “Glycerin is a humectant that is one of the most effective humectants found in black hair products. A humectant draws moisture from the surrounding air and brings it to the hair or skin. When on the scalp, it also draws moisture from the deeper skin layers up to the uppermost scalp skin layer.”  (The Science of Black Hair By Audrey Davis-Sivasothy). Glycerin is odourless and colourless. It can be purchased at your local health food store or Pharmacy. Do not use too much glycerin in your spray because it can leave your hair sticky and this means extra washing to get it off your hair.

Ingredients:

100ml bottle

Water

Glycerin

 

Recipe:

Fill 80% of your 100ml bottle with water;

Fill the rest of the bottle with glycerin (should be 20%);

Shake properly to let the water and glycerin mix;

Spray on your hair as required so that you soften your hair for the de-tangling process.

This spray can also be used to give your hair a moisture boost during the week. Add some drops of Peppermint Essential oil to the spray and it will stimulate blood flow and relieve an itchy scalp.

 Keep it natural!

Omozo

Cleaning your hair tools

When was the last time you cleaned your hair tools: your combs, brushes etc? Yeah, I can see some of you walking away to clean your stuff instead of answering the question! That's okay too. :>)

I suggest that you use your hair wash days to clean your combs, brushes, hair rollers and other tools you use frequently. Use some shampoo mixed with warm water to clean combs and brushes. I use an old sterilized toothbrush to clean between the comb teeth and brush bristles. Then I rinse in warm water and dry with a clean towel or let it air dry consider adding some disinfectant / sanitizers, like Tea tree oil or good old Vinegar, to your water and shampoo solution.

I suggest you wash your satin bonnets, hair nets, hair scarves, and pillowcases weekly. Getting them clean and getting rid of accumulated hair debris and sweat which the naked eye cannot see is important. This means you should have more than 1 of each item. Also consider replacing some of these items too. Some of us (like me) have had our pillowcases for ages! *I will head to the market after this post to buy some new satin fabric for new pillowcases*

How about things like bobby pins, other hair ornaments like head and hair bands and pins? Most head and hair bands, scrunchies, decorative hair scarves etc can be washed and should be. Some hair ornaments on the other hand might go bad (i.e. rust) if you put them in water. Try using a clean cloth with just a little Eucalyptus or Tea tree oil to wipe them down and remove dirt. Not sure how alcohol will work on these items so I say use alcohol with caution.

Things do not seem so tedious when you get into the habit of doing them. Also share your own cleaning tips and secrets, we would love to learn from you.

Keep it natural!

Omozo