'I Can't Go Natural, I Haven't Got Good Hair'

Good hair . . . I have heard this term for as long as I can remember.  It frustrates me that some people identify 'good hair' by the texture, rather than how healthy it is. When I was growing up, good hair was said to be hair that has a loose curl/waves, shiny, easy to comb etc.  

I do however feel like there has been a shift recently. With more and more people identifying with their naural hair, good hair is more likely to be linked with healthy hair. But there are still statements like 'you haven't got good hair, don't go natural' floating about and I don't want this to discourage anyone who is thinking about going back to natural hair. Keep your hair healthy and that will lead to 'good hair'.

It is problematic to class certain hair as 'good hair'. This could dissuade people from going natural and create a divide in the natural hair community. You're hair is beautiful,  whatever the texture.

Xo

Her Hair Has Grown Ten Inches in Two Weeks!

I’m back!! Happy New Year. I hope you all had a wonderful rest and feel ready to take on 2014. First post of 2014, let’s go!

I have been guilty of feeling like someone’s hair has grown at a ridiculous speed when I look at their journey, it feels like they have super grow hair and mine is still waking up! But, fear not! Hair is growing, we might just not notice it happening. Think about it, you see your hair every day and might unknowingly be doing a length check every day so it may not seem like any progress has been made. I thought I’d had hardly any growth and realised my hair had gone from collar bone to about bra strap length (yay). So I would recommend taking pictures of your journey, you might surprise yourself.

Also, when watching YouTube videos, be aware of the timeframe. I have spent hours watching an embarrassing amount of videos and it feels like the person has gone from chin length to belly button length in no time and I have to remind myself that is not the case and to have patience.

Remember everyone’s hair is different. Hair grows an average of half an inch a month, I believe my hair grows slower than average, but who wants to be average anyway? Lol.

Comparing your hair growth to someone else’s can act as a motivator, but don’t let their growth dishearten you – enjoy the journey guys!

Go Natural . . . Throw All Your Clothes Away!

I know, throwing all of your clothes away because you are choosing to go natural sounds extreme, but, people are seriously considering it. I have been speaking to a number of relaxed ladies and they have told me if they go natural, they HAVE to change the way they dress – completely. So out with the saucy dresses, nice skirts and glamorous blazers and in with the ‘ethnic looking clothes’ Now, don’t get me wrong, I love prints, they scream ‘I am BEAUTIFUL’, but, it is not by force! Going natural can influence the way you dress and the way you feel about yourself, but changing your dress sense is not a bi-product of going natural.

During this discussion, I said that going natural does not mean you have to change the way you dress and I was met with blank stares and the comment ‘but these clothes don’t look good with natural hair’. As I stated in Take Your Hair to Work Day wearing your hair natural is not a hair style, it is a type of hair and it can be styled in so many ways that will work with any outfit.

Now, I am not trying to force anyone to go natural, but if you are genuinely thinking about it, I assure you, you don’t have to throw away your lovely clothes =)  

Help! The Middle of My Hair Feels Like A Desert!

Now I know deserts can be beautiful places, but no one dreams of desert hair because it is not an ideal situation. The middle of my hair seems to suffer from desert syndrome, but I have found a way to reduce this.

(Picture from Google)

What causes desert hair?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I show a bit of favouritism to the front and back of my hair. If I am putting my hair in a bun for example, I will make sure the front and back are smoothed down and the middle is squashed between the two. Due to this, this middle of the hair needs some TLC. Also, when moisturising the hair, it is easy to miss the middle of the hair so it might feel a bit neglected and we all know what happens when our hair is not happy – angry hair.

How to Combat the Dryness

o   Put hair into smaller sections. This will help when trying to distribute the moisture effectively. Smaller sections will allow the moisture to get into those hard to reach places.

o   Deep condition. This is an excellent treatment that puts moisture back into the hair and what does dry hair love? Moisture! So deep conditioning is brilliant for replenishing the moisture dry hair needs.

o   Steam the hair. This allows you to put that much needed moisture into your hair and encourages ingredients to penetrate the hair properly. This is great for getting all the nutrients into the hair.

So there you have it! How to banish the desert from your hair with some TLC. Also, if winter is causing your hair to suffer, check out winter care for natural hair for some winter survival tips. 

What I Learned From Burning Off My Hair

Some of you may recall from My Natural Hair  that due to inappropriate use of heat, I burnt off my hair – sad times. At university I started to wear weaves and these were straight weaves that needed to be blended with my natural hair. I therefore straightened my leave out consistently and I did this without the use of a heat protectant. I don’t know what I was thinking, I must have temporarily lost my mind or believed my hair was made of metal! Anyways, I burnt my hair on one side and then other when I switched the parting because obviously once was not enough for me. This prevented me from putting my hair into a bun because there were fuzz bits poking out from everywhere and this was not a good look =(

I knew I had to do something to get my hair back to normal and the only thing I could think of at the time was a full head weave to let my hair rest.

I HATED it! It didn’t feel like I was looking at myself in the mirror and so I had to take it out. My hair was still short, but I had to find a way to nurse it back to health without scaring myself when I look in the mirror. I knew I needed to stop touching it and checking to see if it had grown because it was making my hair unhappy.

I learnt that my hair was dry and needed intense moisture and protection from combing and brushing. I also learnt that I needed to be patient. My hair had had a shock and was sulking from me accidentally burning it off so it needed recovery time. It was not going to grow over night and I just needed to leave it and let it do it’s thing. Patience is key with regard to hair growth in general including growing back fuzzy burnt off bits of hair  - so keep it in mind. ♡

Help! My Hair is Not Growing!

I used to think ‘textured hair’  did not grow and it got to the point where I thought it was normal for hair to only grow up to the shoulder and it was some kind of miracle if it grew more than that. Now I know I was WRONG! Textured hair has the potential to grow and grow and grow if it is looked after properly.

Why is your hair not growing?

It IS! Unless you have a medical condition that is preventing your hair from growing, it IS growing. There are just things happening that are hindering length retention. Think about it, if your hair was not growing, you would never need to retouch, there would never be ‘new growth’ in relaxed hair and trimming over time would result in no hair and this is not the case.

Here are a few things that disrupt length retention -

Breakage – this is one of the biggest reasons for people thinking their hair is not growing when in reality, hair is growing from the scalp, it is just breaking off at the ends. The ends are the oldest part of the hair and they need to be treated accordingly. Breakage results in the appearance of no growth. In order to minimise breakage, hair needs to be moisturised and sealed and handled with care.

Split ends – this is when a strand of hair is split into two or more strands at the end and they can cause a lot of damage to the hair if they are not dealt with. Split ends cannot be ‘fixed’. If the hair has split apart, there is no way of getting it back together, so it is best to remove the damaged hair as soon as possible. This is done by trimming off the split end and creating a healthy environment for your hair.

Product build up – too much product in the hair means heavy hair that is unable to breathe and this is not a healthy environment. If the hair and scalp are unable to receive the nutrients they need, the hair is not going to thrive. So make sure the hair is clean and not weighed down under heavy products.

Your hair is angry with you – Yes, you do need to listen to your hair, because if you don’t, it will let you know it is not happy! If your hair does not like a product you are using, it will protest. It might become dry or tangled and this is going to prevent it reaching its maximum potential. Therefore, make sure the products you are using agree with your hair or else!

So give your hair some love and watch it grow ♡

Eat Your Way To Healthier Hair!

What we put into our body is important to how healthy we are and how healthy we look – this also applies to hair. Now, I’m not saying we have to live on celery and government juice (water), but there are some things that we can include in our diet that can improve the health of our hair. Here are some things that could help your hair.

Protein – Our hair is made up of protein so it is important that we have enough protein in our diet to ensure that the hair is strong and healthy. Lack of protein can result in dry and weak hair and that is never a good look. Good sources of protein for the hair are chicken, fish and dairy products.

Dark Green Vegetables – Dark green vegetables are packed full of nutrients. They also contain a high percentage of water which is essential for keeping our hair hydrated. Green vegetables have the wonderful vitamin A which in turn leads to less breakage. Vitamin A is also needed to make sebum (the natural oil in the scalp). Lack of sebum can result in an irritated scalp and dry hair.

Iron – Iron is a very important mineral for the hair. Lack of iron disrupts the supply of nutrients to the hair follicle. This may have a negative impact in the cycle of growth and could even result in hair loss – eeek! So keep your iron levels up with foods such as red meat, fish and leafy green vegetables.

Omega 3 – These are fatty acids that we get through our food as we cannot create them ourselves. Omega 3’s keep the hair and scalp hydrated and can be found in foods such as salmon and avocado.

Zinc – This is an important mineral that is said to slow down hair loss and thinning - always helpful. Zinc can be found in nuts such as walnuts and cashews.

So there you have it. Stuff yourself with goodies and eat your way to healthier hair!