Why Did I Go Natural?

Hey guys! How was your weekend? Hope it was awesome :)

A lot of people have asked me why I decided to go natural and when people first started asking I used to try and come up with a good answer. Some people have some deep reasons for going natural but I never did so I used to try and explain how my hair didn't used to get relaxed no matter what kind of relaxer I used anyway or that I didn't like straight hair.

To be honest, my hair actually didn't stay relaxed for more than 2 weeks. Like 2 weeks after relaxing it people would be asking me 'your hair is due oh when last did you relax it'. I kept getting stronger relaxers but they would just burn my scalp and my hair would refuse to get straight and I kept having to straighten my leave out whenever I did weaves.

But the main reason when I went natural was out of curiousity. My hair wasn't cutting or looking unhealthy in my eyes so I guess I wanted to try something new. I mostly did braids and sometimes weaves and when I had my hair out I would just put it in a side part and pack it. My cousins had gone natural like a year before and I thought it was cute but I had always thought people went natural when they wanted to start growing their hair again maybe so that they could relax it after.

I don't remember which one it was but I stumbled on a YouTube video with a girl with long natural hair and then I watched a few more YouTube videos and I was like oh.. so there are other options apart from braids, weaves and side parts. I also couldn't remember what my natural hair looked like because I relaxed it when I was 10. The memories I had of my natural hair were mostly made of thick, full hair that broke combs but for some reason that didn't really discourage me.

I was quite curious to see what my natural hair would look like and actually start taking care of my hair and I was so excited to try things like protein treatments, bentonite clay and do some cute natural hairstyles.

For a long time I couldn't really answer the question because I had so many reasons. Over 2 years after going natural, I can finally say that I went natural because I was curious about natural hair and I think that's a good enough reason :)

Do you have natural hair or are you planning on going natural? What are your reasons?

Oyime :)

Crust & Cream

Hi guys! It's Wednesday :D. It's almost Friday and that makes me happy. How has your week been? 

Yesterday during my lunch break at work I went with some friends from work to this place in VI called Crust and Cream. I thought it sounded like just a pastry place but they have pasta and ....

There was a bit of traffic as we had suspected so we placed the order before getting there. Thankfully when we got there our food was almost ready. 

I loved the display and everything looked soo good. But I was there for food not chocolate so I had to resist...

I had a red velvet cupcake though and it was good :D. The cheesecake looked good but that's for another day. 

Because we couldn't stay we had to take our pasta in take away packs so it doesn't look too good. We had the shrimp pasta and the pasta carbonara.. They tasted okay though I would have liked mine a bit spicier and with a little more salt.  The pasta also came with garlic bread which I loove. .

It's a really cute place and I'd like to go there again on a day I can actually stay there for more than 15 minutes. 

Oyime :)

7 Things I wish I had Known Before Going Natural

Hey guys! It's Friidayy! :D lol.. Hope your week was good

Flashback Friday 

Before I cut my hair I watched so many YouTube videos and read a lot of blogs.. I think that happens to a lot of people when they decide to go natural.. I was so excited but also a bit confused because I was like wait I need conditioner, leave in conditioner, I need to deep condition, what is the LOC method?? I was just really confused and the more videos I watched, the more confused I got.

So today I want to talk about a few things I wish I had known before going natural and during my first year of having natural hair. 

1. Oil Does NOT Moisturise Hair

For the longest time I thought oil was a moisturiser. I got castor oil, coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil and tea tree oil. I would wash my hair, slap some oil in it with a little shea butter and be wondering why my hair was so hard.. hard times mehn (no pun intended). Anyway I found out that oil is a sealant so you're supposed to use it After you've moisturised your hair.  And oh yeah tea tree oil you're supposed to use just a few drops.. I used to use wayy more than a few drops when my scalp felt dry or itchy and it just made it worse cause I was using too much.

2. Deep Condition! Deep Condition!! Deep Condition!!!

Like I said in this post I didn't deep condition my hair the first few months of being natural. Maybe I thought my hair was too short for it or I didn't know exactly what to use for it. And welll since I had so many choices on products that were confusing me I decided to just buy anything for deep conditioning.
Now I deep condition once a month or if my hair is out, once a week and it makes a big difference in the health of my hair.

3. What works for one person might not work for you

I used to watch YouTube videos with people that said how they benefited from protein treatments so I tried this for a few months without good results because like I've said my hair is protein sensitive. I also got the Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque and the conditioner because a lot of 4c naturals seemed to like it but it's just sitting on my shelf because it actually made my hair feel dry. My point is there are a lot of things that will work for someone that looks like they have your hair type but won't work for you because there are other things to consider like the thickness of your strands, hair porosity, etc.

4. Money....

Depending on you, you might have to spend more than a little money trying to figure out what works for your hair. I've gotten a number of products that didn't work for me in the past 3 years but now I have my staple products so I don't have to spend a lot of money trying new products. I still try new products because but I don't spend as much as I did during my first year. This definitely doesn't apply to everyone because I know people whose hair likes anything they put in it (lucky them).. so they don't need to keep trying different products.

5. Just get a Satin Pillowcase

Cotton pillowcases are a big no no when you're sleeping with your natural hair. They end up making your hair so dry. I got a satin scarf but it always somehow ended up far from my head when I woke up. I finally got a satin pillowcase and things have been so much easier since then.

6. The LOC Method

Hmm.. This Loc method.. A lo tof people were saying they do LOC, LCO, LCCO and no matter how you did it this was the way to moisturise your hair. So I did it (Liquid, Oil, Cream) but I used water, castor oil then shea butter and like I said my hair wasn't feeling moisturised. Then I realised the liquid was for water AND a moisturiser like leave in conditioner or glycerine so that's what was missing.
So I use this method like this: Spritz my hair with water and glycerine, use my cantu leave in conditioner and then castor oil or shea butter and it keeps my hair moisturised for a day or 2.

7. Don't Sleep Without putting your hair in twists or braids

I made this mistake about a month after going natural and the result wasn't too pretty, I woke up with one side of my head totally flat and my hair was a bit tangled. This was harder for me when I had just cut my hair because I had to put it in many twists to sleep (I'm really bad at cornrows). Now, I can just put it into 2 or 4 braids and go to bed if I'm really tired.

Oyime :)

How To Take Care of Braids During the Dry Season

Hey hey!  

How's it going? Hope your week is going great!  Mine is dragging a bit to be honest I can't wait for the weekend and it's just Tuesday. 

I realised that comments from people without a Google+ Account was disabled when someone told me she tried to make a comment and it didn't work. I've fixed that now so if you want to make a comment feel free to ;) 
Also, please make sure you vote in the poll so I know what you would like to see more posts on.

Okay now onto the business for the day... this harmattan is too real. I decided to hide my hair away in braids when the dry season started because of how dry my hair was feeling and I thought I wouldn't have to do too much to it while in braids. So I was just doing my normal spritzing once in 3 days but my scalp was so dry. 

I was still using water, glycerine and castor oil in my spray bottle but glycerine really isn't good for hair during harmattan so I had to change my braids regimen a bit.

These are a few things that have worked for me 

1. Spray Bottle: Water, Aloe vera and Castor oil 

I've eliminated my beloved glycerine for the time being and replaced it with aloe vera and castor oil. I've also started spritzing my hair every other day as opposed to once in 3 days so I spritz my scalp and hair about 5 times a week now. 

2.  Oil Hair and Scalp with Castor Oil 

You can use coconut oil to avoid product build up or any other oil but if you're protein sensitive  you can use whichever oil works for you. After spritzing my scalp I use castor oil about 3 times a week. Because of how thick castor oil is though it's best not to use too much.

3. The Green House Effect

This involves covering your hair with a shower cap or plastic bag overnight to increase moisture. I usually do this with my natural hair and I'll do a post on this when my hair is out. I did this with my braids twice last week and it helped with the dryness.

4. Stay Hydrated

We all know how important water is for the health of our hair. If our body is hydrated our hair is more moisturised and less dry too..so it's really important to drink more water. 


Thanks for reading :)

Oyime

House of Tara Lip Stain Review

Hey guys!

I got these House of Tara lip stains a few weeks ago. I didn't actually plan on buying them because I don't really like lip gloss but when I saw them I really liked the colours and I couldn't resist.

Makeda

I have to confess when I first used this I wasn't too happy because of how glossy it is. I expected it to be a bit matte but it felt too glossy for my liking so I decided I'll just use it with one of my really matte lipsticks. I decided to try it out again and I think I actually like it..I just won't use too much of it.

It's very easy to apply and you only need to use very little of it.

Nana

I loovee this colour. Anytime I don't feel like bright lipstick I use this. It's highly pigmented and is actually very matte when it dries which surprised me a bit.. I like that about it though and if you want something nude and matte I recommend this. 

It also stays on for a long time and is easy to apply.

I got them from Casabella for N1,600. 

Oyime :) 

Benefits of Aloe Vera Gel

Before you start wondering why I dedicated a whole post to aloe vera I'll just like to say I love aloe vera :D It has so many benefits not just for our hair but also for our skin.

The first time I got aloe Vera it was because I read somewhere that it would make my hair soft and make it grow. (That didn't happen btw). You can't just put aloe Vera in your hair and expect it to grow faster..at least I can't. But used the right way it could help. 

Hair Moisturiser

I use aloe Vera in my spray bottle to spritz my hair and scalp when it's in braids and I also use it sometimes with my leave in conditioner. When I use it alone it doesn't moisturise my hair but when used this way it helps.

Reduces Spots 

A few months ago I got bitten by sand flies and I had spots all over my legs. I read that aloe Vera helps with spots and so I put it on my legs twice a day for like 2 weeks. I can't say that's exactly what made the spots disappear because I forgot about them for some time and when I looked again they were gone. I think it played a big part in the process though.

Helps with sunburns

In this hot lagos that I'm always forgetting to use sunscreen I use aloe Vera on my face sometimes when I get home because it moisturises and soothes the skin.

Reduces Scars

Aloe vera has healing properties and helps skin repair itself. It probably works better with smaller cuts but it does work. I had a deep cut on my finger and I used aloe vera on it for a few days and it didn't leave a scar.

Aloe vera has many more benefits but this is what has worked for me so far.

Oyime 

New Year New Hair... Happy New Year!! The Braids are back :)

Happy New Year guys!

I was really missing my braids (my cousin said I'm addicted to braids and I think she's right) lol.. so I got small braids done yesterday. It took a reallyy long time.. almost 8 hours because only one person did it and yeah it was really small.

Before going to the salon I stretched my hair by putting it into about 12 cornrows just like when I was still in secondary school. My hair was really stretched the next day but it felt a bit dry probably cause of the dry season because I had spritzed it a bit already. I used some shea butter to moisturise it so it wouldn't be too dry when I loosen it in a few weeks.

I'm really happy with my braids and I can't wait to try different styles with it.

Thanks for reading and I wish you an awesome year ahead!

Oyime :)