Hair Goals- 2015

1. Moisturize hair daily. 

I have to confess that I'm a lazy natural, I kinda just do it when needed and it's worked out fine. But I'm gonna try something different this time and maybe I'll have better results. My goal is to have a daily routine of keeping my hair soft and moist. (Hate that word btw... Sounds so wrong... Moist? Ugh!)

2. Retain length.

So I've put my hair through something terrible for quite some time now. I've been cutting my hair with regular scissors! *hides under the covers* 

I know, I know it's the worst thing you can do to your hair but I couldn't help it! Every time I felt those single strand knots it made my skin crawl. Regular scissors can cause split ends and breakage.

My commitment for this year will be to only use hair shears and limit myself to two or three trims.

3. Edges, edges, edges *sigh*.

Guuurl-honey-boo boo-chileee-buhbay... My edges have been through a lot. Relaxer, micro braids gone bad, hand-in-hair syndrome. All types of bad... As a result, my hair line is a lot thinner than my crown. I've been seeing some progress lately and I will definitely document my pursuit for fleek'd edges here.

4. Deep conditioning.

I know that this is natural hair 101 but I don't deep condition every week. I do it about every third week or so. I am really spontaneous with my hair but I really want to establish a routine and stick to it.

5. Protective styles. 

I prefer my hair in protective styles. All the time. Not only because I'm lazy but my hair thrives when it's not constantly manipulated. However, it's important to have in between styles, so I plan to keep my hair out for about two to three weeks at a time.

Overall, my goal is to obtain healthy hair, just need tweak my regiment a lil bit! 

                                   

                                                 Source: @thecreamycrackrehab on IG

What are your hair goals for 2015?

Stay tuned to see my progress.

Love Always,

Yaya

My beloved Heat Wrap!

When you do a hair treatment such as deep conditioning and oil treatments, it's highly effective to incorporate heat because it causes the hair cuticle to open up and allows the product to penerate into the cortex. (Source: Blackhairinformation)

I bought my heat wrap on Amazon (<---- Click the link!) Make sure you purchase from the warehouse in the UK; amazon.co.uk because shipping is going to be cheaper.

These liquid filled cushion things (I clearly don't know what the correct name is.. But you get what I'm saying lol) can be heated in the microwave or on the stove. I heat them up for about 1-1.5 min in the microwave. 

The next step is to put the liquid things in the pockets of the wrap.

The big one is placed on top of your head, from forehead to nape and smaller ones are placed on the sides.

The texture of the wrap is similar to a towel. You have to put on a plastic shower cap before putting on the wrap.

This is what the package looks like.

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,
Yaya

DIY: Onion & Rose Water Hair Growth Mix

As I mentioned before, I made three DIY (Do-It-Yourself) concoctions that I'm currently using on my hair.  In case you're not familiar with DIYs it  basically means creating or modifying something without any professional experience.

In this post I'm gonna tell you about the onion and rose water mixture.

Onions carries nutrients that are beneficial for hair growth such as; sulphur, folic acid, vitamin B6 and C.

The onion juice also has anti-bacterial properties, promotes blood circulation and if used religiously it can lead stronger hair and prevent scalp infections. (Source: StyleCraze)

I find it difficult juicing the onion since I'm using a blender, so I added some rose water because:

A. it helps to liquidize the onion. I use a blender and it helps to blend smoothly when liquid is added.
B. to somewhat disguise the smell because onions stink!! Although it didn't quite mask the smell entirely, it wasn't overpowering. (Depending on how much rose water you use.)

Rose water has it's own properties that will stimulate hair growth, moisturize, nourish hair, and also treats dandruff and scalp infections. It's perfect for stabilizing the hair porosity level as the pH balance of rose water is close to the ideal state of the hair. 

Click on the source for details on how to incorporate rose water into your beauty regim. (Source: StyleCraze)

Don't get me wrong.. You will probably still smell like OLW Grill Chips (my swedes know) with the solution in your hair and you have to make sure to thoroughly wash your hair afterwards.

I chopped up 1 small onion with the peel.

I then poured about 1 dl rose water 

Finally, I strained the mixture to get rid of the chunks.

Stay tuned for more.

Love Always,
Yaya

Wash Days...

Wash days... Sigh.. I don't like them. At all. It always takes FOREVER! I need to give myself a time limit, when to start and finish, also prep my DIYs (Do-It-Yourself products) and my hair the day before. I did do three DIYs last week, my results weren't the best but they'll work for now.

Let me tell y'all about the wash day I had this past Sunday.

1. I started off by finger detangling on dry hair. I usually finger detangle with conditioner in my hair but this time I didn't want to add anything so that my hair can be ready for the next step. 

2. I followed with my first DIY which is my onion juice and rose water mixture that I put in a spray bottle. I put on my heat wrap and left the mixture for about 40 minutes.

3. I rinsed out the mixture with lukewarm water and shampooed my hair with Aphogee Shampoo for Damaged Hair.

4. Since I was waaaay past my bedtime (aintnobodygottimefodat), I just did a quick deep condition with the heat wrap for 15 minutes.

5. I rinsed out the deep condition with cold water and dried my hair about 70% with an old tshirt. 

6. I use the L.O.C method when I moisturize my hair. 

Leave-in, I used my other DIY which was another mixture with rose water and a little Herbal Essence- Hello Hydration conditioner.

Next, I apply both Almond and Coconut Oil.

And finally, I use my last (failed) DIY, a Shea Butter Cream with Almond and Coconut Oil.

I ended my misery by putting cornrows in my hair that I wear underneath my wigs and keep for no more than 2 weeks.

I'm probably going to modify my routine a little and add a midweek routine because my hair is so dry lately and I'm really striving for thicker hair and stronger edges. I'll keep you posted!

After I've finger detangled my hair, I section it into four parts. #yesfilter

Wearing my heat wrap while deep conditioning. I will post information about in another post. #yupanotherfilter

I will have a separate post with information about my DIYs.

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya