DIY Hair: New Hair do ...BLT

Hey loves,
What a week it has been. I've got a new hairdo: I've gone back to box braids, but with a twist.
for most people box braids are considered as a protective style, but it's more than that. For me, styling my hair is a way of self-expression. My personality and creativity show through how I look. I'm lucky in that I don't work in corporate environment; academia is pretty lax when it comes to personal appearance, you just need to be "not naked"...we're only interested in your grey matter...end of story.

So those who've been following me for a while know that I love to wear fashion colour braids; it's just more fun.

I got my inspiration for this look from @the_haircologist Moné save my hair on instagram; she's a celebrity natural hair stylist based in Atlanta, Georgia. I started following her work becuase i love how she installs Goddess locs, bohemian and gypsy locs. So a couple of weeks ago she uploaded a post on a new style that she calls the BLT (not the snadwich type ...Bacon, lettuce and tomato) which stands for Braids, Locs, and Twists. Here's the image

Beautiful! @the_haircologist BLT Braids.Locs.Twists 

I've done a combination of two extensions at a time; braids & locs or twists & locs but not all three, so I was pretty exicted to try it out. I obviously don't have the money for a return flight to Atlanta and I'm not sure about finding a hairstylist locally that will do it exactly the way I want it, so I did it myself.
I decided to use Darling Superstar extensions [colours #500 and bleu] that my friend purchased while she was home in Cameroon visiting family.

Darling Superstar used for braids and twists in the colours #500 and bleu *

Cuban twist hair in the shades teal/black and blue/black were used to wrap briads for locs #

I prepped my hair by washing, deep condtioned and applied leave-in conditioner before installing.
It took me all Saturday; I'm a bit out of practice with the box braids (it's been 6 months since I last installed them).
Here are the final results:

Blue hair don't care

They're waist length and I love them. I'll keep them in for about 4 weeks before uninstalling.
For maintenance, I spray my hair with Mandy hair growth mix and oil my scalp alternatively every second day, and I shampoo my hair once a week.

Where to purchase?
In South Africa: you can buy the darling superstar at most hair supply stores like Jabula and New look cosmetics for ZAR 53.
Freetress Cuban twist hair is available from wwww.haircity.co.za ZAR 130 for 12 inches and ZAR 150 for 16 inches.

What do you think of my new hair? Is it worth the day of toiling?

See you in my next post,

xoxo

DIY Hair:Goddess locs

Hi all,
Best wishes for 2017! (I hope you all had a blessed holiday). i'm late to the party I know. It's already February *gasp*
It's good to be back! First post of the year...Yay!!!
I'm so excited about my new protective style I had to share.

I've been looking at goddess locs for a while; they're super popular on social media. I've been looking at those posts all googly eyed and I've finally done it.

So what are goddess faux locs?
Goddess locs were created by trichologist Dr Kari williams (click here for a link to hair website) and was debuted by Meagan Good. This is style is inspired by the forever beautiful Lisa Bonet.

Getty Image

Getty Image

The goddess locs designed by Dr Kari are done with kinky human hair for wrapping and  deep wave hair for the curly/wavy ends. She has a tutorial available on how to instal on sale on her website, you cna also purchase a complete goddess loc kit from her website.

How do they differ from faux locs?
Faux locs have blunt ends and goddess locs have curly and wavy ends. Traditionally, faux locs are done by doing box braids and then wrapping them with kinky synthetic hair such as Marley hair (which makes them quite heavy). As I said earlier the Dr Kari's goddess locs are done with human hair. Human hair is really expensive and necessity is the mother of invention :-) so there are synthetic alternatives one can use that are way cheaper.
The curl refinery in the USA has made goddess loc packages for every pricepoint; 100% human hair, human/synthetic hair blend, and 100% synthetic hair package (Here's a link to their site). There's a UK site called Boho locs that sells packages and has a salon in London as well. They sell human hair and synthetic hair packages as well (Click here  to visit their site). I think boho locs ships internationally, but I'm not about to pay what they're charging, add to that shipping and South African customs fees.

How I installed my goddess locs?
After months of research...on Youtube and instagram I finally found a tutorial I was happy with, one that would give me the most realistic and natural looking faux locs. Here's a link of the tutorials I watched before installing my locs. (Click on the names for direct links to the video tutorials)
Supa Natural
Lynda Moyo
Cassandre Beccai

What you need?
Rat-tail comb
Leave-in conditioner: I used the Cantu Leave-in conditoning cream

Leave-in conditioner

Oil/butter to seal: I used my own concoction that mainly has grapeseed oil and Jamaican black castor oil

Oil mix

Synthetic hair:
For Wrapping: 1 pack Fina Nubian twist wave, 1 pack Darling Vibrations and 1 pack Kingston braid
For the curly ends: I used weaves from Xpression and Darling for the looser curls - Rose Deep and Brazilian Wave (I just cut off the weft and I'm good to go). For tighter curls I used the Darling Vogue curls and Freetress Bohemian crochet hair.

Curly and Wavy hair

Kinky hair

Installation:
I twisted my own hair  and left the last inch loose. I then added the curly hair to the ends of my hair by braiding in three pieces one at a time for a tapered effect.
I then wrapped my hair with the kinky/curly hair, I didn't use glue to seal, the hair is tapered so I just wrapped upwards at the end until I ran out of hair.

Final results: Tada!!! What do you think?

The day after installing

Two weeks later. I refreshed the front and added string for colour

from the back

I've had the goddess locs for about three weeks now and I plan on keeping them in until the end of February. I love them more everyday; they look more natural as the hair gets more frizzy.Will definitely do them again in the future.

First post of 2017...done!!!
see you in my next post friends

xoxo,

 

Hair: It's my one year nappiversary!

Hi all,
I celebrated my one year nappiversary last week. Can't believe the year has gone by so quickly.
I'm not going to go through the reasons and back story for going back to being natural, you can read about it here in a previous post.

Protective Styling &Length Retention
My main goal this year was healthy hair and growth; I defintely wanted to regain the I'd lost when I chopped. As a child my mother maintained my afro by keeping it in big braids and then later cornrows or threading.
In high school, I maintained my hair by doing two-strand twists and braids. When I got to varsity I kept my hair in box braids.
So I know that the best way for me to retain length would be to do protective styling which is I maintained my length in the past. Box braids and marley twists are my preferred methods, and to keep things interesting I decided to use coloured extensions instead of the brown and black I usually go for.

Purple ombre

Gunmetal grey/ Silver

Blue & Green Marley twists

I never kept the braids installed for more than 4 weeks at a time, after which I took a 2-3 week interval before re-installing. during those weeks, my go to styles were twist-outs and braid-outs, and just wearing scarves when I was feeling lazy.

December 2015

 

April 2016: 2 years post-relaxer

Head wrap

Heat Styling
I tried to keep heat to a minimum, and when I did use it - I slapped on that heat protectant. In the past year I've blow dryed my hair maybe 6 times and this mostly in the winter when I didn't want to sleep with wet hair (It's really uncomfortable and it takes forvever to dry). I blow dry with a round brush at medium heat and speed. I used a hair straghtener only once this year and that was at my 2 year post-relaxer mark in May.

Colour
Up until 2 years ago, I'd never coloured my hair, but I've been coloouring hair since I started my transition. I lighten my the ends of my hair with bleach and then use sem-permanent hair dyes such as Manic Panic and Crazy Color. So bleaching is not go for your hair; I lightened my hair in three steps 3-4 weeks apart until I achieved the desired shade of blonde.
To minimise the damage, I do protein treatments with aphogee 2-step every 8 weeks, and I do a light protein treatment every month with the CHI fortifying treatment. I also deep condition every week, no exceptions and minimise the amount of heat I use on my hair.

Favourite products of 2016

Jamaican Black Castor Oil - If there's a holy grail product for me, It's JBCO! I use to pre-poo by adding it to my conditioner. I also use it in Mandy's growth mix,  in a new Mafura butter mix I'm currently using and the scalp oil mix I use (I'll have to do a post on my DIY hair products).


Shea Moisture JBCO range - is one of favourite haircare ranges. I have the shampoo, treatment masque, leave-in anf styling lotion. When used together, the results are amazing.

Mandy's growth mix - I've talked about this in a previous post. It's an old school South African growth recipe that Mandy from The Mandy expedition modified as the original recipe is quite drying. Click here for her recipe. I add rosemary and peppermint essential oils to my mix and I use Jamaican Black Castor Oil instead of normal castor oil.

Challenges
My scalp has become really dry in the last year. and the flaking was out of control in the winter. I had to use the Shea Moisture African Black Soap range to reduce the flaking and it helped.

Supplements
I considered giving into the hype and trying Hairfinity, Mane Choice etc., but I decided against it as I already take the Vital Hair, Skin & Nails supplements. I started taking these for my nails which tend to break when I don't take the supplements.
 
Goals for 2017
Maixmum length retention and to grow my hair to bra-strap length
To keep it healthy

December 2016; 1 year natural.

It's important to realise that there isnt one magical product that will make your hair grow. Your have to eat properly and exercise, drink enough water and take care of your hair; limit the amount of direct heat and keep your hair in protective styling to maximise length retention. 

I don't think I've left anything out,

See you in my next post,
xoxo, 

Hair Review: Dark & Lovely Au Natural Range ft. the BFF

Hi loves,
I' was so excited about the launch of Dark & Lovely's Au Naturale range in South Africa (Designed specifically for the South African market, there's a plaiting pudding cream...), which couldn't come soon enough. I can't believe how long it's taken them to launch a natural hair care range considering how long they've been operating in South Africa....tsk.tsk.. But let by gones be by gones...
I'm happy to say that this review will be done in collabo with my BFF; we're both on a natural hair journey and certified product junkies. We got the products from Clicks and Dischem when they first launched (So for slighlty cheapper than the recommended retail price). She reviewed the shampoo and condtioner, and I reviewed the condtioner and mositurizing butter.

Shampoo 

Her Review:

The Moisture-Replenishing shampoo is egg yolk yellow in colour and slightly runny. It’s got a strong mango and tropical fruit fragrance, not unlike the Mango range from the Body Shop; A bit strong for my liking, but I’ll live. I used it as a clarifier after a protective style and as a weekly shampoo since purchasing. From the first wash, it lathers quite well (yay for suds!!) cleanses my fine strands clean without stripping; which is what I want, from my shampoo. I have shampooed my hair with this product both with and without pre-pooing and it delivered the same results. My strands are quite fine and dry out quickly so this is a win in my book. I just would recommend only shampooing twice if you really need to (i.e. you've been rolling in mud and/or attended the colour run). In my case, a moderate amount went a long way so I think this bottle may last me about two months.

Price: ZAR 39.95


Conditioner

My Review:
The Knot-out conditoner in this range also has a strong Mango fragrance but I'm not complaining. I must confess I'm more of a deep condtioner girl, so I used this conditioner as a pre-shampoo treatment/detangler.
The Verdict? It's great! It's got a ton load of slip which is what I need. It really made my from more manageable and removing knots easily. (I finger-detangle and follow that up with my Denman brush).
For pre-poo, I normally mix my conditoner with Jamaican Black Castor Oil and this condtioner works really well with JBCO (so that's another plus).
I feel like this is a great alternative (It's silicone-free) for those of us who miss Tresemme Naturals something fierce (I'm still mad about that by the way...How could they take it away from us?)

Her Review:

It’s light and with a creamy spreadable consistency. The fragrance was something akin to mango and tropical fruit smoothie; a bit overpowering for me, but bearable. Plus it doesn’t linger.

I first used it as a detangler on my 4b strands and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It has SLIP. As in you can detangle with your fingers or paddle brush with ease (provided your hair isn’t extremely tangled). So that passes the first test. The downside is that you have to use quite a bit of product to saturate your hair. But as it’s fairly inexpensive, I don’t mind it.

I also tried it as a deep conditioner and left it in for 20min. Here.... ja, it’s not a deep conditioner. It’s not bad but it left my hair wanting a bit more. I tried again but added some of my favourite oils for extra extra-ness. This time it did a better job. But since I hate doing that, I think I will just stick to it as a quick conditioner or a detangler.

Price: ZAR 39.95

Afro moisturizing butter

 My Review:
I decided to go for the moisturizing butter instead of the plaiting pudding cream because I have a strong aversion to pink creams. Why must you be so Dark & Lovely? Pink? Really?! NO!
The moisturizing butter is quite firm with a smooth texture, which I really like (no dripping all over the place). The fragrance...I don't like at all. It's very chemical (trying to be herby..I don't know) It smells a little like Sunlight dishwashing liquid to me. That being said I really like how it feels in my hair. It's super mosturizing; great for use as a the moisture component in conjunction with an oil to seal. Also gives great slip if you're detangling your hair post-wash. I also used it on my hair with my whipped mafura butter when I installed Marley twists.


For those who are silicone-sensitive, it does contain dimethicone. So despite the not so awesome fragrance, we're keeping it! 

Price: ZAR 79.95

My final verdict: All three of these products are super affordable. They're available in selected Dischem and Clicks stores. Also, Clicks has an online store, you can order there too.
So Dark & Lovely, well done! Took you long enough.

Her final verdict:

All in all, this combo is great and budget friendly if you’re looking for good, cheap products that do the job well. Will I repurchase? Yup! It’s worth it.

What's your verdict on the Au Naturale range? Yay! or Nah!?

See you in my next post,

xoxo








*Product images are from www.darkandlovely.co.za

DIY Hair: Protective Style Crochet Faux Locs

Hi loves,
I've been sitting on this particular review for quite a bit, seeing as I've changed my protective style twice since installing my crochet faux locs.
One of my friends was in the United States this summer and I took that opportunity to order hair extensions from Samsbeauty.com. They do ship internationally but the cost is quite high and orders are subject to customs and duties.
I've always wanted to wear faux locs but I don't want to sit for hours and hours t oachieve the look. So, I was pretty excited to see crochet faux locs that are already pre-loced and ready to install.
I'd been seeing Youtubers wax poetic about the Bobbi Boss Bomba faux locs.

Image from SamsBeauty.com

Here are a few links to some of the videos that inspired me to try this look:
colouredBeautiful
Lexis Hair
Love Naturally

How I installed them...
I'm not a fan of the traditional method of installing crochet braids; this involves braiding your hair into cornrows. I feel that this works well if have short hair but with longer hair you end up with a bulky bun or chunky cornrows. So I searched YouTube for a method that wouldn't require cornrows.
Jazz Nicole came up with this method of installing fauxlocs on individual braids or twists...Hallelujah...life had been given. Here's a link to the video in which she describes and demonstates the method.

I ordered the extensions in two colours blue-black T1B/Blue (2 packs) and green  T1B/D.Green (3 packs).I also used one pack of reggae braid hair in black 1B to wrap the roots.

It took about 6 hours to braid my hair and install the extensions; This is much shorted than the time it takes me to install box braids.

Here are some pics of the finished product.

How do they feel?
These are very light and easy to manipulate compared to twists and box braids that I favour for protective styling. My only gripe with these is the snagging, as the hair gets fluffier as time goes on causing the individuala pieces to stick together. I solved that by just snipping off the loose pieces whenever they apppeared. I was so happy with these...I got my mermaid on (Life Ambition).

These were also really easy to remove. I just unravelled them because they're hollow coils.

Cost
I got these for $4.99 a pack. Samsbeauty has Buy 1 get 1 promotion on right now, also delivery is free for orders >$50 in the USA. Bobbi Boss extensions are not available in South Africa, but the Outre and Freetress faux locs are available from Hair City (I haven't tried them out yet) and they deliver countrywide.

I will definitely be installing these again in the near future. I absolutely love how they look and feel.

See you in my next post,

xoxo,