29 Things That Make Me Happy: Curly Kinky Hair

Day 7...

Afro textured hair! (Particularly mine :D)

So some of you may know that a little over a year ago, I stopped doing all kinds of chemical treatments to my hair (relaxers, texturisers, curl loosening everything), it was a decision I made for various reasons but mostly because I just wanted to see. 

My hair has always been on the fine, thin side of life and I remember multiple times being told by stylists that I should stop relaxing my hair because it didn't need it. Literally I would have 3 months of unrelaxed hair and be able to comb through it quite normally like someone whose hair was only 2 weeks post. Well some time last year after going through different phases like relaxing only 3 times a year and then only twice, I decided to stop relaxing forever and I've loved every minute of it!

I LOVE the way my hair curls up when it's wet, when I was first transitioning I would stand in front of the mirror and just be amazed at how adorable my curls looked. Vain right? I know. But it honestly did and still makes me a very happy bunny, even through all the various ups, downs and roundabouts. I try everyday to take better care of my hair because I really want to see if it would ever get past shoulder length or if I'm just destined to have short hair forever.

Here's a few different hairstyles I've done both with my hair and with extensions...

Box braids, my favourite protective hairstyle!

Fluffy fro a couple of months ago.

This super quick twist-out fro came out so much better than I expected, think I left the twists in for like 20 minutes with no curling products.

Shrinkage! x_x

Bantu knot out while I was still transitioning to natural, I need to do a bantu knot out again actually! It's been a minute!

Faux dread locs, my current hairstyle. I was initially super skeptical about doing them but now I LOVE them. #IslandGyal

Hair Talk: Tresses by K Vera Cruz!

Hey my lovelies, please don't fret, I haven't disappeared again. Not yet. I sometimes find it so hard to blog during the week because after an exhausting 8 till 5 day and driving home in traffic the last thing I want to do is stare even more at a computer screen even though it's for the purpose of something I actually love doing.

One thing that I love doing is my hair though! So at some point I became borderline obsessed with my transitioning hair and every time I would twist it or try and style it, the thin texturised ends would drive me up the wall. So one day, out of sheer frustration as I twisted my hair I picked up the nail scissors laying harmlessly by my bathroom sink and started snipping at the ends of the twists. I was SICK and TIRED of them and something inside me must have snapped because afterwards I had a real "What have I done?!" horrified moment! I regretted it momentarily when I realised I had been a little too scissor happy on the front and cut it so short it could no longer pull back into a bun! 

Oh that was a fun fun fun day for me and it also marked the day I officially ended my transition. I wish I could find pictures but I have no idea what happened to them, I took off about 2 inches of annoying scraggly ends all around with my very sharp nail scissors. Since then I've been kind of taking it easy with my hair, not doing too much or worrying too much until I was fortunate enough to meet a tricologist (someone who studies the science of hair) by the name of Koyinsola Vera- Cruz. Koyin is starting a hair company called Tresses in Lagos hopefully by the end of the year and so I was very excited to have her come for a general consultation for my mum and I. At the end of it my mum walked away with a LOT of goodies for both me and her. She's starting a healthy hair journey too!

Carol's Daughter, Aubrey's Organics, Organix and even some Tresses branded essential and carrier oils! I was in hair heaven!

We talked about EVERYTHING! From moisturising to sealing to wash days to porosity, moisture- protein balances, you know, the whole shebang and I'd be sharing some info on some of the hot topics with you later. But it was very nice to be able to ask personal questions about my hair and get them answered immediately and Koyin is such a lovely person. I can't wait till she comes back with all her gear so she can assess my scalp and give a completely personalised regimen suggestion!

After she left I immediately went to straighten my hair so I could do a length check and see how far I had come. The answer? I'm STILL neck to shoulder length! Lol. 

I've pulled the shirt up in this picture so you can see where my hair ends a little better. I know the right side looks really straight and a lot longer but it's not. That's just the side I straightened first and I freaked out that the iron was too hot and my hair would never curl again! Lol. That's also why the rest of it is so frizzy!! Lol

 Look how ridiculously far away I am from the "1" mark! Lol. I drew a line in between the collar and "1' and called it "0.5" and that's my hair length goal for the rest of this year. It's a little far off but hopefully with best practice and perhaps an emergency inversion method I can make it! 

And this picture is really just here 'because' I guess it shows a nice front view of my hair too.

Silly faces with my twin cousin! Lol.

I would definitely be putting up more information on Tresses as soon as I get any. Oh and let me say Koyin is NOT natural so relaxed girls don't feel like there's nothing you can gain from this! If you're interested in long, healthy hair there's a lot to be gained. And even if you're not... Hey, no knowledge lost!

One Inch In One Week: Inversion Method Results!

So I promised myself that I would never have to play catch up on this blog again but looks where we are... Catch up time! This time I'm not as behind as I have been but it's still bad enough, blame it on the laziness that came upon me one day and quite simply refused to be shaken off. Not that I was trying very hard, laziness would do that to you. Lol.

On to today's post, the first thing we should catch up on is my last hair post! As you might remember I mentioned that I'd be trying the Inversion Method and I was supposed to post my results up like a week ago... *awkward*. Well you'd be happy to know that I still did all the measurements I was supposed to like a good little blogger but then yeah... Procrastination happened. Anyways, a few mentions before I show you the before pictures of the inversion method. First, you're supposed to do it for 7 days in a row, Reni J did it for just 5! Lol. I completely forgot on day 2 and then on day 6 there was just too much going on, I literally had no time, nope, not even four minutes to hang my head upside down. Lol. Also, my method of inverting was by sitting leaning forward like I was painting my toes for most of the days. On the other days I just hung my head off the edge of the bed. Lol.

As you can tell there was a lot of inconsistency in my one week living life on the flipside! However! There were still some decent results! Here's the before pictures just to remind you.

Top Left: Back left, 8 inches. Top Right: Back Right, 8 inches. Bottom Left: Front, 7 inches. Bottom Right: Edges, 5 inches.

And now, for the moment you've allll been waiting for *drumroll please*.... 

(is this enough suspense??)

(okay surely this does it!)

The After Pictures!

Top Left: Back left, 9 inches. Top Right: Back Right, 8 inches. Bottom Left: Front, 8 inches. Bottom Right: Edges, 6 inches.

So there you have it! My hair did actually grow an inch everywhere and I only did it for 5 of the recommended 7 days! That's pretty impressive considering the fact it would usually take up to two months to grow an inch! For some weird reason though, the right side of my nape didn't seem to grow.... Tres strange. I always used to blame the hairdresser for not trimming in a straight line but perhaps it was never really their fault... I shall be investigating this more soon.

Well, what do you guys think? Would you be trying the inversion method? Or have you already tried it and got results? Let me know in the comments box :)

Reni xx

Ouu see those fun looking icons below? Click on them and watch the magic happen! Lol. The g+ one is actually bloglovin.... Don't ask.

Let's Talk Hair: Inversion Method and Going Natural

Wow, I can't believe it's been like actual months since I did a hair related post. Like 3 and a half months at that.. That's crazy! Well a lot and a little has changed ever since my last hair post here's a quick run through.

1. Inversion Method

I'm trying out the inversion method! After seeing loads of my favourite hair bloggers try it out and get results, I decided to give it a shot! I started on the 18th of November and so should have results by the 25th, let's see if I get that promised 1 inch of growth! For those who don't know the inversion method involves massaging warm oil into your scalp and then slightly inverting your head every day for 7 days. No need for headstands here! Read more on it on Naija Hair Can Grow where blogger Dabs results  really inspired me to try it. Here are my starting length pictures, sorry they aren't the best, it was a real last minute decision to actually measure

Top Left: Bottom left, 8 inches. Top Right: Bottom right, 8 inches. Bottom Left: Front, 6-7 inches. Bottom Right: Side, 5 inches.

2. My Regimen has changed A LOT!

I realised that I was trying to do too much and copy all my favourite hair bloggers and incorporating what they ALL do, instead of finding out what's good for me and my hair and sticking with it. I was essentially missing the point of this whole hair journey, I'm glad I realised it before the year ran out though.

So here's my new regimen; I should say though that this has only been for this month of November mostly. August was filled with experimenting and my hair was in braids for most of September and all of October!

Wash days are on Thursdays, I:

Shampoo with Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo

Swapping to ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo at least once a month to clarify.

Deep condition with ORS Replenishing Conditioner

This is definitely my favourite deep conditioner, it's one of the few things that I'm absolutely certain that my hair loves!

Air dry

I use the t-shirt method to air-dry were I wrap my hair in a cotton t-shirt for at least half an hour to soak up the moisture.

Apply leave-ins and detangle

I'm still struggling with this, I was originally going to use the Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in which my friend brought me from America but I read the ingredients and it's packed with protein! I'm trying to tip my hair back in the moisture rich range after I had a massive fail with protein treatments. So right now I'm using Dark and Lovely, Corrective Leave-In Conditioning Therapy, which is alright so far I suppose, it's a bit early to tell.

Moisturise

After applying my leave in, I moisturise with Elasta QP Olive oil and Mango Butter Moisturiser and seal with sweet almond oil.

Co-wash on Mondays

I started co-washing with Tresseme Luxurious Moisture Conditioner to really kick my moisture levels up and help me moisturise my new growth I'm currently 19 weeks post with the intention of stretching till the end of the year, more on the "why" later.

And there you have it! My current regimen :)

3. Naturalista time!

So don't scream or anything, I'm not sure yet! It's not 100% but I have been seriously considering going natural. Part of the reason I'm not texturising till the end of the year is because I want to see what my natural texture is like and decide if I love my ziggly, coily tresses enough to full embrace it! I might big chop in the new year... Or maybe I'd decide to be a long term transitioner... Or maybe I'd just texturise! Lol. But no decisions are going to be made till 2014 that's for sure!

Well that's all for now on hair folks! As usual please drop comments, especially advice about my regimen! I found the last ones so very helpful! My biggest question right now is...

What's your favourite leave-in conditioner?

Reni x

Research is Key!: Length Check Number 2

Would you believe me if I told you I've been trying to post this since Monday? My laptop has had soo many tabs open and so many e-books due to all the dissertation research that it just refused to upload any pictures on to blogger but I couldn't shut it down and have to open all those tabs again and I couldn't do any blog posts without pictures either... *sigh* I was between a rock and a hard place until now, finally I closed everything and gave the lappie a much needed reboot and it's working perfectly again, well nearly. Lol. So I was going through my blog the other day and realised it has been a while since I did a hair related post and I've been harping on about how I will write my regimen down as well, which to be fair is probably more for my benefit than yours (I can be so forgetful!) But I did a length check the other day, the second one of the year and thought this would be a perfect time to share with you again.

I think my current regimen would be a good place to start otherwise I might forget to write it down all over again! Haha. So here goes... Actually I'm realising that this is kind of a boring post to write! Especially considering the fact that I have three yummy food posts in the works! Haha. I love blogging about food, there's just something so satisfying about reliving those moments where I bit into an amazing burger! Okay, back to hair.

I think the reason I don't really feel like writing this post is because I'm disappointed with the menial length of hair I retained this quarter of the year. I know I should be more focused on health and not length but sometimes it's so hard not to grow impatient, just the other day I was thinking of chopping it all off again and going natural, but I'm trying to be patient and give it till the end of the year at least! I've only been on this journey for 7 months you see, but hair envy is real! Lol. I just want my locks to flow already, or at least look thicker! Here's what I've been doing to my hair:

Monday's are wash days and I:
Shampoo with Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo. (I clarify once a month with ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo).
Do a green tea rinse to combat shedding.
Apply ORS Hair Mayonnaise for 20 minutes because my hair loves the stuff!
Condition with ORS Replenishing Conditioner for 45mins to an hour.
Air dry my hair in a cotton t-shirt for 60 minutes
Apply my leave-in; I recently switched from Motions Nourish Leave in Conditioner to Dr Miracles Leave in Conditioner, I've been searching everywhere for Cantu Shea Butter leave-in but all the stores near me are permanently put of stock! I'm in need of a really awesome leave in.
Allow my hair to finish drying without the t-shirt.
And then depending on what time it is as I usually wash in the evenings, I either moisturise with ORS Carrot Oil and seal with Sweet Almond oil or I just tie my hair up and moisturise and seal the next morning.

This has been my regimen from the beginning of the year, the only addition being green tea rinses and also switching from ORS Carrot Oil to Kids Organics Shea Butter Detangling Moisturising Hair Lotion (goodness that name is such a mouth full!) at about 12 weeks post when my new growth needs some TLC to stop it from drying out so easily! So on to some pictures:

I'm definitely claiming proper shoulder length now! Next stop is collar bone length which looks about an inch or two away, sadly! OMG can I just stress the importance of reading up on stuff before you try it right now? So I was looking at my regimen as I wrote it down and trying to see what differences I've made between January and March where my hair grew quite a bit and March and now where it hasn't really grown at all and the only major difference was doing tea rinses. So I went to my best friend, google, for help to see the negative impacts of tea rinses and the very first thing that came up was an article from curlynikki.com, here saying that tea rinses can STUNT growth! Now I was like hold up, say what?! But as I read more I realised I had been doing some fundamental things wrong, for instance I never took the tea bags out of the bowl until I was ready to use it, which was hours sometimes, when really you're only meant to leave in the tea bag for a minute or two to get a weak brew! Lack of knowledge is no excuse as my hair showed me these last three months, but now that I've identified the problem (I think) at least I can try and correct it and see how I do in the third quarter of the year.

Hmmm, hair posts aren't that bad! I'm washing my hair right now and going to try a roller set tonight, I'd do a post on the outcome later on if it turns out nice, or even fairly acceptable. :)

Ciao ladies!
Reni x

P.S. I really need to do something about the middle of my hair, the breakage is disastrous! Look how much shorter it is! Any tips? Also I made a length check post so you can see all of my progress pictures from the beginning of the year here: Length Check Progress Pictures

Length Check, Progress Pictures

Decided to d a little post which I will update whenever I do a length check to track the growth of my hair.

December 2012, before my cut/trim:

January 2013, the start of the journey!

March 2013, length check numero uno

July 2013: Length check 2