Thursday 29 July 2010

Hard as Nails


Hey people!!

This post shall be brief.

I just wanted to share the fact that as well as giving my hair TLC, I will also be doing the same with my nails. I'm not even a beginner in this regard but very much a minus-er!!! Yet, I have faith! I have sausage fingers (short and fat) with nails that simply wont grow. Today I decides that if there are certain products that will help hair grow, there must be similar for nails.... Soooo today I bought Sally Hansen's "Hard as Nails" with Nylon, the clear version.




The nail treatment promises to help strengthen and promote nail growth. Although a vast variety was on offer at Superdrug I decided to opt for the one I did, which was £4.65 and if this doesn't give the desired results I'll try something else. I'll give an update in how it works for me 2-4 weeks depending on the results : )

♥Lamide

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Fake Hair, Real Love!

Holla Mi Amigas!!!

I have soooo much to share with you all, particularly my braiders/weave wearers! I was asked last week what the point was of doing all 'this stuff' to my hair as it is in braids..... here goes my response

We all know that person that has their hair in braids or weaves ALL the time and they say that they are doing so in an attempt to grow or protect their hair. But what is somewhat strange is the fact that more often than not, no real growth or change occurs. Weeeelll that is because doing nothing to your hair whilst in such 'protective styles' (ie they protect your hair from the weather, clothing etc) makes it almost impossible to have any hair retention. What is happening is that your hair is happy because it is not being bothered so it will grow but if care is not taken it will just snap off.

Some simple steps to keep your braided hair snap free...
  • Wash your hair at least once a week.
If you are like most people I have mentioned this too, I expect your thinking LOOOONG!!!! But its not that bad especially if you know how. It means that you are keeping your scalp clean and this is conducive to hair growth!
  • DEEP CONDITION at least once a week. (I actually love to do this, sad...perhaps!)
I usually DC the night before I wash my hair to save time. This is when your gets to indulge in any guilty pleasure you deem fit! It is soooo important to listen to your hair, is it brittle and dry... perhaps try a moisturizing conditioner such as Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Maybe its limp and breaking... try a protein treatment instead. Id recommend Organic Root Stimulator's Hair Mayonnaise, Apgogee's 2 Minute Reconstructor or Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor .

When I DC, I literally make a concoction of all that I think my hair needs! In fact thats what my next post will be on so stay tuned.
  • Use a moisturizing and a light protein spray daily. On the hair not the roots, we don't want no build up round hair...get it ; ) !!!
 It is important to know that although wearing a weave or braids will protect your hair, they also absorb moisture from it too and this is not good. Imagine what would happen if you creamed your feet then put socks on and a month later, with no vaseline in sight, took them off... apart from one crazy stench, your feet would be DR-RY. Synthetic hair is more guilty of this than human hair so if you do use it try to find one made of kalekon. I often use Expressions which is 100% kalekon. a good moisturizer will replenish the moisture lost and keep your hair healthy.

The protein spray is to build up your hair stands and make them stronger. Its similar to the way guys use protein to get hench, your hair can get hench too!!!

As for me...

Moisturiser: Every other day Aussie Miracle Leave In Conditioner (mixed with a little pure Glycerin and Argon Oil) and once a week I'll use Scurl (mixed with a little water). This has been my fav moisturizer so far in fact i just bought a fresh bottle today, holla!!! But seriously, I bought it at the same time as the Kera Care Moisturizing Oil and it was put to shame.



Protein: Every other day I use Chi Keratin Mist (I freakin love this but I get it from America and my stash is running low) When my supply runs low I use Infusium 23, the original formula. I put it in a spray bottle to make to easier.

  •  Oil your scalp once or twice a week.
I do this once and usually after wash days. When my hair was out, I did it more often but because I dont wash it as often I stopped. The reason behind this (and I would say this is more so fir braids) is to avoid build up on the scalp. It is good practisc to avoid weighing down the braids and too much oil can cause this. I usually use sweet almond oil which is great as its really light but I am now trying argon oil which people seem to love. Ill keep you posted on any differences I've notice : )




  •  Keep you braids weave in for no longer than 2months.
 If you leave if for anything longer than this you are very likely to experience matting. Clearly that isnt a problem for everyone...


You also dont want to get those gross looking dirt balls that are the result of build up. For me 6 weeks is my absolute maximum however the next point has helped me with this...
  • Re-do you edges.
These are sensitive and it is good practice to get them redone every 3-4 weeks. You are then able to make sure your sides arent being pulled out from being too tight or breaking off due to build up overload. I did this for the first time on the Sunday just gone and I feel pretty again!!! This also gives you the chance to give your hair a nice treatment before it gets put back in. I definitely took advantage of that!

Thats all for now. I would like to briefly share my excitement that August 4th will mark SIX MONTHS without my creamy crack a.k.a relaxer! I took a picture of my length a month or so before I began my stretch and in mid August im going to share the comparison pictures so we can see if this stuff actually works!!! Due to the fact that my tresses have become one big ball of new growth, I have no clue what going on in there so we shall see!

♥Lamide

Monday 19 July 2010

INTRODUCING THE BRAID QUEEN


Familia heyyyyyy!

I'm so not sure where to start...so much has happened since my last post. For one I now live in Munich!!! Its beyond beautiful :) I'll put some pics up very soon in a slide show just so you can see :)
This is just a quick post to formally or should I say properly introduce my big sis a.k.a the braid queen.

I'm sure most of you have seen her post (http://www.loveyourtresses.com/2010/07/two-heads-are-better-than-one.html ) but i just wanted to give you a low down!

So... her name is Olamide...lam...lambchops...lambrini....etc. She's 23 and currently she's stretched her relaxer for over 6 MONTHS!!! She constantly has braids in and before she had them re-done we could see tremendous growth in her hair. SO... she'll be posting from time to time about her hair journey. 

Finally there's also a surprise for y'all which will be revealed ever so shortly! But till then stay blessed and blog happy :D

x edF x

P.s:- This is a pic of her hair in December 09- look out for her growth pics in August 2010 :)



Saturday 10 July 2010

Two Heads Are Better Than One!

Afternoon Folks!
So Fiona and I started out HHJ (health hair journey) around the same time however, we both have different regimens that work for us. In an effort to make this blog even more effective I will also share the things  have learnt along the way!

I tend to use different protective style to my sister and this is because my hair is much shorter so stretching is a WHOLE DIFFERENT experience!  About 4 years ago I decided I wanted to be Nia Long type sexy ; ) so I cut off all my hair which was shoulder length and worked the short look. I continued to do that but last year I got bored and decided to stop cutting it. At the end of 2009 I began paying attention to growing my hair in a healthy way and so here we are.

I am using braids and weave as a means of hair growth so a large majority of my posts will relate to how to care for your hair and retain its length whilst doing so.

Errrrm I think its only fair to warn you that I also suffer from verbal diarrhea so there may be a few weird ones in their :-/

*heres a pic of what my hair looked like late last year just so you know what im working with : )*

ps. the dude in the picture with me is single at the moment so if you want a hook up HOLLA!




                                            ♥Lamide


 


 
 
 

 
 
 



 
 

Friday 2 July 2010

Black Tea & Coffee can reduce shedding?


  Sounds weird right? Tea reducing hair shedding!!! Oh perlease! But before you think the weird and wonderful read some facts I've found...


*Tea is especially loved for its antioxidants, but also contains caffeine which according to scientists has many benefits for our hair :)
*It has been proven to thicken the hair, stop hair falling out in clumps and also for stimulating growth.. (hmm now the wonders of tea tree oil make sense- random thought..)
*The main benefit of caffeine is that it blocks the DHT a.k.a Dihydrotestosterone which is the resulting product
of direct contact between the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, found in
the skin and the scalp, with the hormone testosterone. from causing the hair to shed..

*Did you know Black Tea has more caffeine then a cup of coffee?

HOW TO???


Take a large jar or cup with water and pour it into a pot and boil the water..Add at least 2-4 bags of large black tea bags (more if your tea bags are small) ...Turn off the fire and let it brew in the boiling water for a couple of hours or overnight...put all over your hair as the last step before you proceed to styling


MY EXPERIENCE

Well I tried this out almost laughing @ myself initially but was shocked when I went to detangle my hair and no hair came out...and whats more when no hair fell out when I did a naughty detangle when my hair was dry. Plus my hair was soft and strong! So i really would recommend u try it out

x muchos Liebe x

x edF x
P.S You can check these articles out too :)