Everyday Haircare

LOVE this pic!
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Everyday hair info we tend to brush under the carpet

• Over shampooing strips your hair of its natural oils. When you shampoo try to lather up once. Also give co washing a try, especially when you don't have major product build up.
• Maintain a healthy diet. The healthier you are, the healthier your hair will be. FACT.
• Use less heat. When blow drying choose use a cooler setting. Heat makes dry hair even dryer. If your hair isn't too 'due' you can also give airdrying a try.
• Always condition after shampooing and deep Condition too. Dc-ing with heat is even better as the heat opens up your hair cuticles allowing the moisturizer to penetrate the hair shaft.
• Drink enough water a day, your hair needs hydration and gets it from your body too.
• Be Gentle with your hair no matter what state it is in. Hair is fragile.
• Dry your hair gently, by blotting and squeezing, not wringing or rubbing.
• Always use a heat protector
• Use a silk or satin head scarf to wrap your hair at night. This is a smooth surface and therefore reduces breakage or split ends caused by rough textures.
• Do not over process or overlap your existing straighten hair. (over processing is relaxing hair that isn't new growth)
• Always wait at least 6/8 weeks before your next relaxer.
• Use leave-in-conditioner. Leave-ins nourish the hair and help protect the hair from the sun and environment. It also helps protect against heat damage. 
• Moisturize and seal- Protect your strands with a light moisturizer and then seal them with oil. Your ends are the oldest part of your hair, they need extra moisture. This reduces breakage and split ends.
• Use wide tooth comb
• Rubber bands and Metal hair clips can cause breakage

(part source : Traycee kiss)

x edF

Todays hair

Evening guys,


today wasn't particularly special. Well, it was because i'm alive and well, and more than blessed, but hair wise i was (up until an hour ago) rocking overdue airdried hair. My hair is in its 4 month without relaxer as some of you already know, and i've come to the stage where no regrowth is going to stop me from keeping my swag! I simply can't sacrifice not getting married because of re-growth. So.... i decided to straighten 3 teeny weeny sections of my hair.


Honestly i feel great. It's funny what 1 heat pass on three sections of hair can do for you!!! See if i was natural i would rock my hair with pride, but living with airdried hair and two hair textures is something different, especially if your airdried hair was a previous braid out that went awfully wrong!


(Just to reiterate i love my re-growth, without it i'm grumpy, however i had an awful braid-out air dry experience and didn't want to product overload or continuously brush my hair in order to click my hair down).

I love my waves... going to invest in eco styler to keep my hair tamed

who would know that beyond this straight layer , lies a jungle of growth!

x edF

Weave Maintenance part 2

Evening amours,

today has been a really quiet day in my world, but quiet isn't always a bad thing! My weekend highlight had to be spending the day with a new found friend miss Dayana. Not only is she a hair lover, she also introduced me to the next best weave site!  Details to follow!

At the same time i've added 2 more tips to the weave maintenance post so if your into weaves check it out. Additions are written in pink.

So... back to this amazing site. 

Reniece is a hairdresser based in the US, and i'm sure many of the american sistahs are very familiar with her hair profile. Reniece is known for retaining length via constant weaves, and on the site (which is 100% genuine) you can see the fruits of that labour via her clients.

For those who need a little more encouraging i think weaving in order to retain length and hair health is a great idea. Your hair is tucked away and therefore you experience less environmental damage. It can also be easier to maintain than your own hair if of course your stretching or simply don't have time to maintain a more detailed regime.

So here's the link...

http://abc.eznettools.net/reniececompany/healthyhair.html.

 Reniece is also on youtube

Be encouraged, be patient and get to rocking that weave!

x edF

Conditioner Concoctions

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There's no doubt in the hair world that natural hair products can work wonders. They work just as well as many of the products we spend big bucks on and do the same job at a supermarket value prices. On the downside they usually require a patient individual and a fair amount of ingredients, hence the reason why many of us prefer the already made supermarket shelf product.

Either way homemade concoctions work a treat and can actually be fun to make. Here are some recipes i found from the long locks cookbook.

I've highlighted the recipes i have tried and their results.

Avocado Deep conditioner- tried Ingredients 1 small jar of mayonnaise 1/2 avocado Directions Peel avocado and remove pit. Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl with your hands until it's a consistent green color. Smooth into hair being careful to work it to the ends. Use shower cap or plastic wrap to seal body heat in. Leave on hair for 20 minutes. For deeper conditioning wrap a hot, damp towel around your head over the plastic, or use a hair dryer set to a low to medium heat setting. Results: Funnily enough i tried this recipe on a guy! Yes that's right a guy let me do this on his hair! I think he thought he was getting a simple wash and condition, so when the whole process was over and he touched his hair he was shocked! It was hilarious. His hair was very very soft. So i guess this is a great softening conditioner as well as protein treatment due to the mayonnaise. *** Bodifying Horsetail Hair Rinse Ingredients: 2 1/2 teaspoons dried horsetail Directions Steep horsetail in boiled water for 20 minutes. Shampoo hair and rinse thoroughly. Poor horsetail rinse through hair and leave in for ten minutes. Rinse with clear water. *** Rosemary Hot Oil Treatment- tried Ingredients: 1/2 cup of organic dried rosemary 1/2 cup organic soybean oil or organic sunflower oil Directions Combine ingredients and heat until warm. Strain through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Coat the entire head and hair with the oil mixture, working it through to the ends. Wrap hair in plastic wrap and wrap in a warm towel. Leave oil on hair for 15 minutes. Wash hair until oil is completely removed. Hot oil treatment for Damaged Hair- tried Ingredients: 1/2 cup organic soybean oil or organic sunflower oil 8 drops oil of sandalwood 8 drops oil of lavender 8 drops oil of geranium Directions Mix all ingredients well. Warm oil to a comfortable temperature and apply the mixture to damp hair. Wrap hair in plastic wrap and apply a hot towel for 20 minutes. Shampoo. Results: I gave both of these hot oil treatments a try last year and as with just about any hot oil treatment it worked great and I loved the results. My hair was shiny and mega soft. There's just something about oil and warmth that makes my hair go weak the knees!

For more recipes check out the long lock cook book :

http://www.longlocks.com/hair-care-recipes-cookbook.htm

P.s i'm sure many of you have tried the egg and mayonnaise deep condition. That one goes back for decades!

x edF

Dear Japan

I know this is a hair blog, but my heart is so weakened by Japans pain right now. It reminds me of how fortunate and blessed we are to be alive today and not have to worry about dying or where our family or friends are, and if they are alive. Please keep Japan in your thoughts and prayers.

'Dear Japan

It's been a while since i had that sick gut feeling that something wasn't right. I see pictures of what your going through and i'm struck with pain and hurt. The thought of my world parting before my eyes leaves me breathless and i can't even imagine your pain right now. My words are probably empty because my hands produce no solution, but know in your heart that i'm praying for you. Hold on... it will be over soon

xxx a prayerful heart

Weave Maintenance

How to maintain your weave

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One of the biggest topics for just about any weave wearer, is how to keep the good stuff looking good whilst maintaining a great standard of hair care. The common misconception is that maintaining a weave is very complex. However having been a frequent enough weave wearer, I know it doesn't have to be. 

I won't say that rocking a weave is easy because we all know.... weave wearing can be as messy as wearing stilettos with two left feet. Truth is....

when rocking your weave you:

- have limited access to your actual hair (especially if rocking a full head weave)

- tend to want to straighten your hair (if some is out) so that it looks like the weave

- wonder how you can moisturize and seal whilst wearing a weave 

- steer away from oiling your scalp because you don't want to ruin the good old indian or brazilian hair

So... the real question at hand i guess is how to maintain a weave if you are stretching your relaxer, and/or simply using weave as a means of protective styling?

Here are a few things to keep in mind

1- You can still wash your hair at least once every 2/3 weeks. Though u may be worried about ruining your   weave, it wont! Or should i say with a good weave shouldn't. Smelly weave due to lack of washing, product build up and straighteners isn't cute. Bacteria build up can reduce your hair growth rate.
For easy shampooing you can dilute your shampoo with water and apply it to your scalp using an applicator bottle. This allows easier access to your scalp whereby you can then do a general head massage on the top of the weave and then rinse. You can also do the same with your conditioner. Be sure to rinse thoroughly so that no product is left behind as this can harden and cause problems.

2- You can still feed your scalp when rocking a weave. All you have to do is invest in some hair clips to hold your hair in the right position so that it steers clear away from oils. Castor oil on your scalp and weave is a magical combination

3- Scalp massage. You can still do this! Of course its a pain especially with a full head weave, but it can still be done. Even if you've oiled your scalp and then massage the weave, you are still massaging, and your scalp will be stimulated.

4- For those who have to straighten some of their own hair, always remember to use heat protectant. Also to avoid having to straighten several times in between washes, try and wrap your straightened hair. If on the other hand your weave is curly, you can also create curls (on your own hair) without heat, by using rollers, pin curls, flexi rods, curlformers etc

5- Having your cornrows braided horizontally works better than vertically. Vertical cornrows make the whole weave system almost like a game of noughts and crosses. You can barely fit your fingers anywhere!

6- If you want to go the extra mile with your weave regime and find time to do this (even if it isn't everyday), it would be a great idea to moisturize and seal when wearing a weave. Despite the fact that your hair has been cornrowed with extensions, you can still add a moisturising spritz to each cornrow and then seal the cornrow with oil. This will require more time however will keep your hair moisturized and super protected. This works best if you intend on washing your weave, otherwise you will experience product build up.


7- Avoid weaving freshly relaxed hair, too many people do this and forget that this is when your hair is extremely fragile and weak. A week or 2 later is much better than straight away.


8- If you do decide to wear weave using the bonging glue method, only do this if you are 100% sure that it is being applied and removed in a professional way. Otherwise this method can be extremely damaging to your hair. I would not recommend using glue at all!

Weave advantages:

+ it is a protective style

+ less manipulation in the long run because you cannot comb your hair everyday

+ hair is not so exposed. e.g strands are tucked away

+ more of your hair is close to your scalp which means closer to warmth. Hair grows faster in warmer temperatures.

Weave disadvantages:

- its is initially quite stressful on your hair. This is usually at least for a few days when the braids feel tight

- you tend to want to straighten your left out hair in order to suit up with the weave (heat damage)

- washing and/or moisturizing and sealing seem to require to much effort

- when you take your hair out you seem to lose quite a bit of hair (however note, this is because your hair has shedded during the period of the initial wearing of the weave to the weave removal. Therefore this is hair you would have shedded if your hair was left out and without weave).

P.s I'll officially be rocking my stretch weave in 2 weeks time! All the way till November. I'm going to have it re-done more than once of course! Look forward to showing you :)

x edF

tumblr Love

Just before i sign off for the night, i just thought i'd share some of the A-Mazing pictures that have been rolling through on tumblr. I'm not the biggest art appreciator but photography really speaks to me... check it out.

P.s these are pictures on the blogs tumblr page: http://loveyourtresses.tumblr.com

Night night 'n' sweet dreams :)

x edF

 

 

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Stretching Rant and Upcoming posts

"Having completed a 6 month stretch last year, i figure i've done very well this year. It's been so much easier. I haven't got one of those urges to just relax because i'm finding the stretch to stressful...HOWEVER... last weekends washing and airdrying experience had to be the worst yet! So bad i was in too fowl a mood to take a picture! Hmm

So what went wrong?

The biggest mistake i made was being too lazy to wash whilst in the shower. Nope... Fiona went for the old school kneel head down method. Anyone wise enough would know that this isn't the smartest thing to do when 4 months post relaxer. 

On top of washing it this way I also rinsed this way after my DC! What a knob!

Anyway lets just say trying to get my hair to adhere with gravity (when styling) just wasn't happening! I had to detangle quite a bit out of the shower and use extra products to try and keep this badboy tamed".

Moral of the story!....

1)  Washing in the shower with your hair down makes its easier to manage once dry because your hair is flowing in its natural gravitational direction.

2) Patience is your hairs best friend!

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Part 2 of this post is to apologize for not committing to all of my 'Upcoming Posts'. I must admit the final weekend in Feb was a bit of a ditsy one! 

I forgot that February had 28 days and what's more i had a special surprise visitor and steered away from being an internet geek while they were here.

So... its a new month of course and there are also new upcoming posts, including those that were not fulfilled in Feb.

Lets March into March!

*Shampoo then what series: Braidout
*Transition tales- intro to transitioning

*Natural lifestyle
*Maintaining a weave (also when stretching relaxer)

*Conditioner concoctions

* Natural vs organic- do you really know? 

x edF