My 13 Favorite Things from 2013

Banky W "R&BW" Album - To be precise I loved the Yes/No track, everyone in my house did. We over rocked this track. 

Body Shop Body Mist: I love sweet, mild, calming and close-to-nature fragrances. I have been using the body shop body mists for two years now and I will keep stocking up on them whenever I get the chance. The Mango and Shea mist is definitely my favourite.

Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In / Detangler: Its super light and non-greasy. The Ingredients in this product is minimal, not full of junks you wouldn't understand.

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My Digby Metal Frame Boxy Handbag by Dunes London: This bag is so functional and classy/classic. When I first set my eyes on this bag I knew I had to have it. 

 St. Ives Body Lotions: Usually I use oils and butters but since I started using the St. Ives Body Lotions I find myself pushing my butters and oils farther away from me. The great thing about this lotion is that contains no parabens, no phthalates, not animal ingredients. They are hypoallergenic (i.e. they contain  ingredients that cause fewer allergic reactions versus/when compared to the average lotions in the market), fast absorbing and non-greasy.

JVC Gumy Headphones: Not only are they super cheap (about £6), they are durable and the sound is good and very clear. Of course, no fancy bass or techno thingzzz but it does the job well. I have had mine for over a year now and considering the fact that I handle it roughly, it still works perfectly well.

Wafers like no any other, I will love to introduce Loacker's Classic Wafers. The vanilla is the best of the four flavours I have tried. I can take down more than 15 of this in a day. Yeah, that is how much I love them. It virtually melts in my mouth. Only writing about it now makes me want it.

If you havent seen my post on Unripe Plantain Fufu, then now is the time to have a look. Because I can't go a week without having this dish.

Social Media: YouTube, Instagram and Twitter kept me interested and updated this year. I fell in love with Bloglovin and so many blogs I can't begin to mention

                                                                      

I joined the Mac Ruby Woo bandwagon (*sigh* I thought I had over-grown for social pressure but nah nah). I don't regret it.

Zenith Bank MasterCard, the fact that my bank just one a MasterCard when you open any type of account that can be used anywhere in the world is bliss. It made traveling so much easier, hassle free and cheaper (because you exchange at bank rate and not black market rate) for me. #teamzenithbank #justbecause


The way Beyonce dropped her Beyoncé album.... I was like

I love this year's New Year Eve because I know it is far better than the previous year. I am more grateful this year for so many amazing things that have happened to me.

So that is it for 2013.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

XOXO

Aloe Vera Gel - One Man's Poison is Another Man's Cure

I have beautiful aloe vera plants at home which has grown so well because I take very good care of them. I didn't nurture these plants because of my love for the plants. I nurtured them because of my love for my hair and its growth. I have read and heard about the amazing benefits of the aloe vera plant for the hair and skin. So knowing that my mum had so many pots of dying aloe vera plants that she couldn't be bothered with, I decided to nurture most of them back to good health. 

The thing now is after nurturing my plants to great health, I can't bring myself to actually use them. I don't know if it's just sheer laziness on my part to get the aloe vera gel out of its green shell or my unsuspecting gradual attachment to the plants. Whatever it may be, I just can't bring myself to get some useful 'gel-ness' for my hair.

Allowing my aloe vera plant to continue to blossom, I decided to get two tubes (200ml each) of Holland & Barrett Aloe Vera Gel (99.9% soothing hand filleted organic aloe vera gel content). What the hell, 99.9% in my books means 100%.

FOR MY HAIR

I have very low hair porosity, water takes a very long time to penetrate and products normally just sit on my hair. It takes quite a while for products to sink in. I tried the aloe vera gel in so many ways to see which result will work the best. 

Note: My hair is still in one of the TWA stages (about 6.5 to 7 inch hair length when stretched)

1st way - On my wash day (after shampooing and conditioning), I used the Cantu Shea-butter leave-in cream (never works well with any gel on my hair), followed by the aloe vera gel (like a tablespoon full). It resulted in lots of residues and white junks, so I had to rinse everything off my hair. (EPIC FAIL)

2nd way - On my wash day (after shampooing and conditioning), I used my Aussie Moist Miracle Insurance leave-in spray, followed by aloe vera gel (like a tablespoon full) and then a few drops of oil. It was alright, it sank well into my hair. However by midday, my hair felt very dry. (FAIL)

3rd way - After co-washing, I properly moisturized with my two leave-in (cantu and aussie) and sealed with oil (usually this is all I need for three days) then when the products had properly sunk in, I used the aloe vera gel (like a tablespoon full) on top. The overall feel was great but midday, my hair felt very dry. I had to constantly re-moisturize. (FAIL)

4th way - In between the week, on a 2nd to 3rd day wash n go, I spray my hair with water and used the aloe vera gel (like a tablespoon full). Again, The overall feel was great but by midday my hair felt very dry. I had to constantly re-moisturize. (FAIL)

5th way - GIVE UP. Patience and all ain't one of my many strengths.

I was kind of pissed that it wasn't working for me and I really wanted it to work. Even though I read on the lowporosityhaircare blog that aloe vera gel is a frenemy to my kind of hair, I am also a believer of what works for you might not work for me. But in this case, I have to admit that she was right. However, she gave other great recommendations on how to make make aloe vera gel work for low porosity hair but my hair care regimen is not channeled in that direction. It is a pass for me.

While I was still thinking of what to do with my tubes of aloe vera gel, I was mildly breaking out on my face. So on one random night just before bed, I decided to actually read what was on the tube and apply the gel on my face as a moisturizer. It was so amazing.

FOR MY FACE

It gives my oily face a well-balanced moisture. It helps keep my make-up and face so matte, It is a great primer I must confess. It mixes well with oils, so I use it with my jojoba oil at night. It is very soothing on the face and neck. I used it on insect bites too and it helps soothe them for me. 

I feel like it's a win win for me now. So it didn't work well for my hair but it works great for my face, make-up and skin.

Homemade Black Tea Hair Spray

After big chopping (BC) my hair, the first couple of months that followed, I experienced little to no shedding/breakage. In fact, not intending to exaggerate, I comb and manipulate my hair a lot and still have no hair loss at all. I never understood why many naturals complained of shedding and breakage. I automatically assumed that I was blessed with hair genes that didn't allow for shedding and breakage. 

Fast forward six month later, I am on the Internet surfing for ways to reduce hair shedding. It is not problematically bad but it is enough to get one of my eye raised up. In the first three months of my natural hair journey, I always incorporated green or black tea into my wash day hair regime, although then I didn't really know its uses. I just did it because the naturals of the blogs I read did it. I stopped doing it because I wanted to try other things and later reduce the must-dos on my wash day regime. 

When I read the amazing benefits of black and green tea here, I decided to use the black tea spray to reduce my shedding rate without increasing my time spent on wash days. I prefer black tea because I like the stain it will leave on my hair. I am a sucker of jet or dark black hair.

What I Use

- A spray bottle

- A bag of black tea

- 50 ml boiled water

- Essential oil of your choice (I use about four drops of rosemary essential oil)

I brew my black tea in 50 ml of water for about 10 minutes. I prefer it concentrated since I am not spraying my hair wet or damp. I can use this mixture for about four to five days but I use it for only three days. I use essential oils to preserve it and still put it in the fridge everyday (just to make sure bacteria doesn't take it cause). There are various ways in which I spray my black tea mix. 

Method 1 - On the first day of making it, I put the very warm tea in my spray bottle and add about four drops of my rosemary essential oil. I spray this warm mixture on my dry 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th day wash and go hair depending on the day I make it. Note that: I don't use this on my wash or co-wash day. I mist my hair every other day to fluff n go and/or to give it moisture before I seal with my oil, cream or butter of my choice.

Method 2 - On the second day of using the already cool mixture. I first use a cream or moisturizer of choice before I take a shower and allow the steam to open my hair cuticle. Then I spray my cold black tea to close it up. 

Method 3 - For all the black or green tea drinkers out there. Ignore all I have said above. Whenever you make yourself a great cup of tea, take three teaspoons or more and put in your spray bottle. Spray your hair with it and seal with oil or cream of choice. This is by far the easiest method if you are into drinking tea every now and then.

What I Noticed After A Month

- My shedding has significantly reduced. I am not declaring that it has stopped by a 100% but it has reduced enough for me to get a good night's rest, knowing I am doing everything right to reduce shedding.

- My hair feels stronger. Maybe strengthen is the right word. I am not really sure why it feels that way but it does. Just make sure you seal or use a moisture every time or every other time you use the spray.

- It also feels just a bit softer. This might be as a result of the stiffness I heard black tea makes the hair, so I always endeavor to properly seal it with moisturizing creams or oils. 

- I get to moisturize my hair with water instead a leave-in or mist spray.

- It can act as a refresher on those odd days that the hair needs it.

How Often Should it be Applied
I am a freelance hair person and do whatever I so please but considering the fact that I have read that an overdose of caffeine on the hair can cause stunted growth, I will recommend about three to four times a week.

Am I the only wacko one or has anyone else given this tea hair spray thing a try?

Not Another Natural Hair Tale

I am trying not to make this blog about my natural hair journey because there are so many bazillions blogs out there about it. However, these past two months have inspired me to write this post. I decided to go natural sometime mid August last year (2012) but I didn't big chop my hair until November. While I was glad that I had B'Ced, I felt very vulnerable and open with a tiny little afro. 

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I was so worried about what my family members (especially my mum and dad) will think when they see me. My mum was in no way happy with my new look but because my dad loved it, she didn't give me much hassle. Her greatest concern was that all my ''potential boyfriends/partners'' and/or men will not find me attractive with natural hair. Four months in and my thin, scanty and lifeless hair gained so much volume, life and kinks.

Contrary to my mum's concerns, men have been my greatest supporters. For every lady (a few though) that has asked 'why I cut my hair?' I have had a man come in my defense, even before I could utter a word. I try not to mention to people that I am on short hair because I am going natural, I don't want to start explaining my reasons to closed minded people. 

To my awe, many ladies have approached me to ask how I do it and what they should do when they go natural? I get inspired each day by the number of questions I get from strangers about my hair and the friends around me that have started considering going natural. Another huge inspiration for me these past two months, are two newly acquitted younger teenagers (10 and 12 years old) I have come to know. The 10 years old has been disturbing her mother about cutting off her relaxed hair from the first day she met me. She tells her mother that she want a big chop like mine. Her mother had to eventually do it earlier this week after a month of persistent asking.

The other 12 years old asked her mother about it but she got a big NO. So she decided to do it on her own with a scissors. (What have I done? Don't want to start an army of lil rebels). Her mother is fine with it now though. When I heard the story of these two precious ones, I felt humbled and overwhelmed with joy. Not because I have an issue with relaxed hair but because my actions have inspired people that I didn't make an effort to inspire. I have been considering adding some colours to my hair but with the amount of little eyes around me, I don't think I will do anything too crazy. We don't want mothers holding meetings over my hair and their kids rebellious behaviours. 

So far my hair journey has been a very worth well one. The biggest news of all and the main reason why I decided to do this post - My mother said to me today ''K----! I think I want to go natural like you''. *My mouth drops*

Hair style moment – Up-do side plait

When I saw this hair style picture on the BGLH blog, I was inspired to post it. I fell in love with this up-do side plait and can't wait for my TWA to get to this length to do it.

This is a picture of Natassia and to read more about her hair click here.