Fro's in the White House... First Lady takes it there?

Call a UK girlie late but this has to have been the coolest pic edit, especially because of the uproar it caused on twitter!

Natural cheer: Michelle Obama has joined #teamnatural

Truth: Some photoshop whizz edited a photo of Mrs O and natural hair blogger Natural Chica and voila we have a frolicious first lady

I guess this isn't the first time the First Lady has been in the frolight!

source

What difference do you think it would make in the hair community if Mrs Obama was to sport a natural wig or go natural? Would it make any?


Avec amour...
edF ❥

Wednesday's words... moved to Thursday! Debate on Afro Hair Manchester University ACS

I should be progressing with a dissertation right now but the beautiful ladies; Belle from Natural Belle and Crystal from UNITED KinKdom posted this video link. Though i've been enjoying our mini tweet frenzy on the issue - I must say in all seriousness the hair debate is definitely a sensitive issue in the UK, and quite far behind it's US comrades who have advanced far and beyond.

 There's one thing I've come to stand for over the past 2 years and that is that a woman should not be defined by her hair type, and even more to the point, should not be labelled as unattractive because she choses natural over relaxed hair. Anyway this video definitely was quite heated! Glad I wasn't there! Let me know your thoughts on the topic...

Enjoy!

P.s I completely forgot to post my topic for Wednesdays words, perhaps fate made me wait till today! Haha just kidding will resume next week [smacks hand]!

Avec amour...
edF ❥

Diary of a Transitioner | The decision to go Au Natural

So here it goes, my first transitioners diary entry. I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but couldn't quite figure out what to write a.k.a major bloggers block!

If you're a frequent reader it'll be no news to you that I am transitioning! Yes that's right i'm joining the natural crew! I decided to transition in November when after my relaxer I was in complete shock at how curly my hair and roots were, it was as if I hadn't relaxed at all! 

My curl pattern and roots

That, however, was not the only reason for my decision to go natural...

1| First and foremost I love both relaxed and natural hair, but having spent a lot of time with my 8 year old sister during the summer holidays and right through to September - I started to notice how 'not' into her hair she is. She would always make comments about wanting to be my age with straight relaxed hair, in fact the way she spoke about it was as if relaxer was her long lost love! Moral of the story, I want her to be able to see how beautiful natural hair is through my hair journey. They say vicarious learning is the bees knees!

2| I think i'm entitled to a change! 11 years with a relaxer has been fantastic, but I want to try something new! You may call me naive but I truly believe that the straight look which most people look for in a relaxer can also be achieved when natural. It may take a good hand and fantastic pair of straighteners, but I don't feel like I'll be missing out on much, except the longevity of straightness of course!

3| Perhaps the most important reason has to the loss of a loved one to the big C. Before you raise your brows, I know good and well that the healthiest vegetarian can get cancer just as quickly as anyone else - but i'm at stage in my life where I've embraced a healthier lifestyle and scrapping another chemical friend from my habits list- just doesn't seem like a bad idea at all. I'm not saying i'm a health guru or advocate of all things cholesterol free, because truth is as a Nigerian that's simply impossible! I just feel like this is an area of my life I want to explore for now, who knows when I'm 40 I may decide to relax again! 

How I plan on transitioning

I will be transitioning for two years because i'm a long hair lover and refuse to big chop. Hair grows on average 6' per year which means after 2 years I should be back at neck/shoulder length with 12' of natural hair before I cut off my relaxed ends. As for other methods I have embraced and plan on continuing to take me through the 2 year transition...

1|Co-washed buns - Following my recent no heat airdrying bun success, I will chose [on some weeks] to co-wash 2-3 times, and simply put my hair into a damp bun. As ever my trusty ORS Edge Control will provide a sleek finish on my edges.

2| Protective styles - I tend to have at least one weave installed on a yearly basis, so there's no doubt I'll get bored and will have another one installed.


3| Braid-outs & Twist-outs - I still have a lot to learn with regards to natural friendly hairstyles. My first 2012 attempt at a twist out wasn't so bad, so I'll be trying my hand at more of these kind of styles. I'll throw in the occasional rollerset too of course!

A few weeks ago I expressed my inner rants and concerns with ex transitioner and new natural Laila from Fusion of Cultures, so look out for that in my second diary entry, till then...


Avec amour...
edF ❥

5 articles...

A stone carved photo gift from Singapore

Big and bold Marni ear jewels! Let's hope they don't drop of my tiny ears!

The best perm rod results my eyes have ever seen! My friend Dami and her yummy curls

Some intertwined fairy lights to create a warm atmosphere

Zara dress I've had in the wardrobe for way too long- Spring wear to be!

Avec amour...
edF ❥

See you there! Weekend Hair Event | Multi-Textures Hair Workshop

For tickets click Here

I received my tickets for this event months ago and have been craving for the day to come since then! The Multi-Textures Hair Workshop will be hosted by Gidore, Beautiful Textures & Loving your Hair with natural care, and will feature natural hair specialist and celebrity stylist Felicia Leatherwood, as well as Jane Carter, Chimolle Williams from SheaMoisture and many more.

The line up couldn't get any better! I'm especially excited about the breadth of knowledge I know I will get from the event, as well as meeting some of the hair bloggers that I have gotten to know in the cyber world but have yet to meet in person!

Do let me know if you'll be there too! 


[P.s be camera ready... i'm very snap happy!]

Avec amour...
edF ❥

I get by with a little help from my friends... Hair, Food & Shenanigans!

I've been having a very lovey dovey relationship with my hair as of late! Wash days are a blast even with my transition, and i'm still in awe of my BaByliss results, the shine in my hair is immense! Close your eyes folks it's blinding! To top off my fab week in hair, my girl took a train down and made my weekend real special, hair, food et al... ENJOY!

Fully embraced our old school karaoke session!!!

Honey garlic sticky wings... finger lickin'! Perfect for my weight gain plan!

Shine, shine and mo shine!


Avec amour...

edF ❥

Babyliss Ceramic Straightening Brush & weekend hair results [picture heavy]

A week ago I took a trip to Boots and bought the Babyliss Ceramic Straightening Brush and it's compadre the Everyday Paddle Brush. After today I won't be straightening my hair for a while so I wanted super sleek results that would last for up to two weeks, hence where these two brushes came into hand. 


With my transition in full force I find that I often get 'poofy parts' when straightening. Basically, the extra curly sections of my hair [especially the back] tend to need more than one heat pass in order to achieve the results I'm after, because my curl pattern is quite defined and needs more heat to get it straighter! I know that re-straightening is simply no good for my hair, so I figured the straightening brush would be perfect in helping straighten out my curls without heat whilst using heat, if that makes any sense!


Did it work? Err yes it sure did, I did one heat pass and the end results were soft and flowy tresses, my hair would literally fall through my fingers! Here are some pics followed by a review of the two brushes and how I used them.

BaByliss Ceramic Straightening Brush 

Price| £11.22

Claims| When used while blow drying, the ceramic coated plates heat up and retain heat to cut down on drying time. The ceramic coated plates also help frizz to give your hair a stunning silky smooth finish.

My experience 

Frizz control | The Straightening Brush definitely helped tame my frizziness, considering the fact that I airdried after my last wash, my hair was very frizzy. The brush smoothed out the frizz which I was then able to straighten effectively.

Silky finish | As you can see from the pics my hair ended up very smooth and silky, need I say anymore! 

My response | The bristles on the brush may look very harsh but they were not, I was sure to use a tad bit more of my leave-in conditioner topped with serum to ensure that it glided through my hair more easily. I found that if you actually hold the brush on it's handle it gives a much lighter grip, than if you hold it closer to it's head [which I was tempted to do initially for better grip]. All in all I used the brush for straightening rather than alongside my blowdryer, which is how the brush is supposed to be used according to instructions. I checked the brush for broken hairs after use and I barely found any, which means that this has now made a permanent stop on my product staples list.

BaByliss Everyday Paddle brush
Price | £9.18
Claims |  The Professional BaByliss Everyday Paddle Brush is great for everyday brushing and smoothing and works well with straight and wavy, mid to long length hair.

My response | I absolutely love this brush, I will be using it in the future alongside my blowdryer pik attachment but also as a detangling tool. I used this in place of my wide tooth comb and loved it. I will still use my wide tooth comb as this never disappoints, and will continue to observe this brush on my hair because I would like to see if the great results were due to my great co-wash experience, or if the brush was actually an all rounder.


Avec amour...

edF ❥

Feature your Hair Journey Story on LoveYourTresses

If you would like to share your hair story, then LYT would love to feature it!

 You can be relaxed, transitioning, natural, texlaxed, rocking dreadlocks... and your hair does not have to be flowing to the ground to be feature worthy!

All you have to do is send your hair journey pictures and story to eaudefiona@loveyourtresses.com with the subject of the e-mail being Diary of a Tress Lover.

Be sure to include:

- hair type and length -

- how long you've been on your hair journey -

- two to five photos of your hair -

- your hair regime - 

- top hair tips/lessons learned -

- biggest challenges faced since being on your hair journey - 
- 3 hair products you would take if stranded on a desert island -

- your blog / site / tumblr / twitter -

and of course anything else you would like to share!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

When Airdrying & Co-washing give extreme Softness | 4 months post relaxer

Having watched FGrogans latest video which mentions her 7 month no heat challenge, I knew and was reminded again of the need to reduce heat in my regime. In fact my friend Toks and I decided to do the 'black girl' observation exercise, and assess what FGrogan does out of the ordinary in her hair regime that may be the reason for those long strands she owns a copyright too!

Conclusion was... she co washes 3-4 times a week and uses no heat! Ka-ching..??? Not quite! Who, especially in the UK, has time to wash their hair so frequently especially given our lovely hard water [I thought to myself]

Well that thought changed today when I experienced one majorly easy breezy covergirl co-wash experience! It was crazy! I thought that washing/co-washing gets messier/harder the further into your transition or stretch you get, but no joke I haven't loved washing my hair this much in 2 years!

Before I break down what I used and why my wash was so great, I've decided as of May, when I embark on my 'May no heat Challenge', that besides not using heat- I will also co-wash 2-3 times a week and do exactly what I did today... pre-poo, airdry, slick the edges, headscarf and voila! 

The wash...

Plan| The plan was simple, pre-poo, co-wash, deep condition, then blowdry and straighten 

What really happened| I co-washed and then was in so much shock at how soft my hair was that I skipped deep conditioning and opted for airdrying instead!

Products used...

Prepoo| Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Co-wash| Used ORS Replenishing Pak mixed with Porosity Control to wash my hair in 4 sections

Styling| I used AtOne Leave-In Conditioner [re-emerged from my product junkie stash] which gave immense slip and softness. I then added 1/2 a squirt of Pantene Serum and gently brushed my hair into a bun using my new Babyliss Paddle Brush [I actually preferred this to my wide tooth comb - it was more effective in detangling]. Finally I used a soft bristle brush and the fab ORS Edge Control to slick my edges down.

Why the soft hair?

1- As ever, I have to say my pre-poo's never disappoint and have given results since I started using them. Coconut oil has been proven to penetrate the hair shaft and definitely nourished my hair pre co-washing

2- The combo of ORS Replenishing Pak and Porosity Control has to be the best thing since chicken wings! I usually DC with the Replenishing Pak and then use Porosity Control for 5 minutes after, but the combo...hot dang, major softness, my hair felt like butter, detangling was beautiful!

3- My new detangling brush [subject to name alteration!]. Perhaps cheeky of me to use a brush to detangle, but considering how soft my hair was I figured the brush would smooth my hair out even more- and it did! Gave great results when detangling in the shower and when brushing my hair into a bun for airdrying

4- Products with slip! I won't completely brush my Joico Daily Care Leave-in Conditioning Detangler  to the side, however I've learned that product suitability works according to which hairstyle you are wearing. In this case, I needed something creamy and almost slimy to cater to my hairs needs- and AtOne was the perfect substitute. If I had decided to blowdry I would opt for Joico more so than AtOne. The reason being that I use lighter products when dealing with heat.

Extra note: It was such a quick wash! I usually spend up to 4 hours doing my hair on wash days, [including DC time] so this was definitely a quick fix! Water bill & housemates would have been happy!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Dinner Dates and Curly Heads

I've said it a million times and i'll say it again! I love eating out! I had such a lovely evening with some close friends yesterday to celebrate my housies new job. I'm sure you'll recognise her face from previous posts where we are eating out yet again! [1 , 2]

We all ventured out to the Leeds Corn Exchange which very much so reminds me of Italy! The interior design and heightened ceilings are stunning, enough to make you melt!

Anyway here are some pics and a few captures of my curls from my recent twist-out!

Enjoy!

I guess the surprise worked! Dimples in full form ^_^

Glimpse of my curls and T's new braids!

Now isn't this A-mazing! Two dimensions in one!

Chef @ work

Grubs up!!!

OKAY well Mocktails!!!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

4 months in... Transitioners Twist Out

Without even realising it I've passed my 4 months post relaxer and 4 months into my transition anniversary! I've mentioned so many times how so not into twist outs and braid outs I am, but on a quest to reduce heat damage and embrace my soon to be head of natural hair, i've decided it's time I started experimenting!

I won't say that this was the best of attempts at a twist-out, but it has definitely geared me into wanting to achieve an even better one! I simply sectioned my hair after washing and made 10 chunky twists, securing each one with a perm rod. My AtOne Leave-in Conditioner gave some much needed slip and a dab of Ecostyler on each twist helped to give each curl some hold. 

My next attempt at an even better twist/braid-out will be in May when I hit 6 months into my transition and when I will be embarking on a no heat in May challenge, in order to reduce heat damage. I would say no heat in April but I have a few events I am attending, [weddings! wohoo] and a failed twist-out/braid-out is simply not going to cut it! 

It was nice being able to see how much natural vs relaxed hair I have so I got edit happy and marked it out for you! 

P.s. my first transitioners diary entry goes up this week! So everyone who is wondering why I am transitioning... imma tell you there!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

The hottest heads of hair, if I say so myself... F Grogan and SimplYounique

Following the YT journey of relaxed sisters with sexy hair doesn't make transitioning easy! I'm so inspired by FGrogan and her comitment to healthy hair over the past few years. If you need some sunday evening inspiration, then watch this now- it'll make your cheeks smile so hard you'll create dimples you never had!!! When she combs her hair out of it's wrap, try not to faint!

At the same time SimplYounique does exactly the opposite and inspires me more than ever to get me some natural tresses that flourish and grow like hers. Black hair does grow folks... these ladies are testimonies to that!

Avec amour...

edF ❥

The hair returns ... weave take out & wash day tales

The weave has finally come out and i'm back to buns, buns and more buns! As usual my hair feels very light and thin having just come out of an install, it's the one thing I don't look forward to when taking a weave out. As for shedding, breakage, growth and overall results of my install, here is a quick breakdown...

Shedding

I didn't experience any shedding out of the ordinary. I'm no longer terrified by the ball of hair that comes out when removing a weave, because this is of course hair that should have shedded on  a daily basis, which was unable to due to being sewn up underneath.

Breakage

I'm in need of a trim and ironically enough it seems that the hair I left out during my install is loudly screaming for one. I have a habit of combing my hair by the sink because I get a better idea of how much my hair may be breaking, and lately i've been seeing quite a few broken ends in the sink! I've decided to treat myself to a morning search and destroy dusting* session before my next wash this coming weekend! They are so satisfying and hopefully I can get rid of the 'splities' when doing it.

* search and destroy is simply searching for your split ends and getting rid of them a.k.a destroy! Dusting refers to a lighter version of trimming whereby you simply trim a minute amount of hair 

Growth

Yep my hair grew, of course it did! I went in on the stimulating scalp oil when rocking my install and the re-growth surely speaks for itself. I'll be wearing my hair down in 2 weeks time and will try not to do a length check then because I want to hold out till I'm 6/7 months post. I wonder how much it has grown!

Now to my wash, post the weave take out...

As per usual I prepoo'd, shampoo'd and deep conditioned my hair. I also switched my trusty ORS Replenishing Pak for the Kerastase Nutritive Nutri-Thermique Masque I was sent to review. I'll fill you in on that experience in one of my next posts, in the meantime here are some pics and the products I used too!

- Pre-poo'd in 4 sections with Philip Kingsley Elasticizer  -

- Washed in 4 sections with Anita Grant Babassu Shampoo bar -

- DC'd with heat using Kerastase Nutritive Nutri-Thermique Masque -

- Rinsed out DC and used a mix of Porosity Control & Aphogee 2 min Reconstructor for 2 minutes -

- Used Joico Leave - In Conditioning Detangler -

- Followed by a few pumps of Pantene Serum -

- Blowdried using the cool air setting -

- Straightened roots with 160 degree heat setting -

- Wrapped hair and secured with headscarf - 

oh and before I finish... HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to each and every beautiful woman out there fulfilling her motherly duties xxx

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Transitioning Campaign : Solange Knowles...'the movement begins'

Apologies for being ghost lately, I'm rounding off with studies for the Easter break so have had my head down for the past week!

One of my girls sent me the most interesting link i've seen all week! Solange is the face of the Carol's Daughter 'Transitioning Movement'!!!!

I'm speechless... natural hair is really voicing itself in the celebrity sphere- which I know in the long run will mean so many changes... I look forward to seeing what it will bring!

The campaign aims to help and encourage black women to go back to their roots, and will offer many tips e.g. how to wean off your relaxer and eventually embrace your natural hair!

The Transitioning Movement launches this Spring 2012

 

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

 

Avec amour...

 

edF ❥

Goodbye weave hello Hair! Last waves in Weave

The day has finally come! Weave out and time to reunite with my scalp and hair! I've missed buns, wrapping, ponytails... the list goes on! Busy weekend but there is always time for haircare ;) Catch up with you and more posts soonish! In the meantime, my final hairstyle before the big take out! Braid... unravel & gooooo >>>>

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Weave 101 Series| Part 2 | Maintaining your Sew-in Weave Video

Finally edited the second part of the Weave 101 Series, here's a link to Part 1 just incase you missed it ^_^

Avec amour...

edF ❥

Life in Protective Styles... today's hair in pics!

Weave is out this weekend so i'm finishing off with a blast! It's been fun whilst it's lasted- definitely opting for another weave in May... exams will mean some serious protective styling!

Avec amour...

edF ❥