Posted by Lil

Hey Huggers! [#hugmyhair]

It's been a while since I've posted but I'm back! I'm here to give you a quick update on my hair just incase y'all aren't following my YouTube Channel (which I believe you really should YouTube.com/EyeDahFineMe ) I don't even remember what the last thing I updated you all on was ... *checks previous blog posts* Ahh yes, the Marley Twists lol. Well believe it or not I actually tried them again despite the whole failure of the first attempt... my second attempt wasn't any better lol. I think I will just stick to my box braids and yarn braids (hey, have you checked out my yarn braid tutorial??? Check it out here ). Those who know me or follow me on instagram (@StarryEyed_Ahh) will know that I can't keep the same hairstyle in for a long period of time, even if that is just a week. Meaning that over the holidays I experimented with a few hair styles, here are some of them:

All of these styles were completely new to me, sometimes I wasn't even trying to achieve them, it just happened lol. The first picture was when I tried out Finger Coils which I have a tutorial for on my YouTube Channel. The second picture was taken when I bought myself my first scarf from Primark and experimented with it ;), the last two pictures were taken more recently. I started a One Month No Combs challenge on September 10th and since then I have discovered that my hair can do things that I had no clue about prior to the challenge. So the third picture was from a twist out I did with my first ever middle parting. In the final picture I had used Hug My Hair's 'Because Olive You' and my own concoction of essential oils to do some flat twists and bantu knots that I took out the next day and styled. I am thinking to do a tutorial on that style soon because I have recieved a lot of questions about it.

I am currently loving this No Combs Challenge because I am finding out more and more about my hair each day, and loving every moment of it! Okay, despite the whole finger detangling bit lol. I'll post a detailed account of my experiences when the challenge is over ... stay posted!

Have any of you tried a similar challenge? What were your findings??

Let me know

Aida

Posted by Lil

LEAH #hugmyhairbeautyspot

 

H: Introduce yourself

A: Howdy my name is Leah and I love anything that is creative, colourful andFOOD related.

H: Describe the moment you were spotted by Hug My Hair 

A: I was at the WITJ event and I was with a few of the girls chatting by the Hug My Hair stand, one of the lovely ladies came over to say hi.

H: Have you always liked your curls/kinks/coils? if not how did you come to embrace your natural hair?

A: The funny thing is I didn’t always know that I had this mass of curly fuzz on my head, strange I know but I mainly saw my hair blown out or in braids. When I started doing my own hair I would see the curls but I would still blow dry and straighten it because I never knew how to style it whilst curly. I then used to wear it curly from time to time which would involve me wetting my hair and loading it with conditioner. My curls were never as tight as they are now but I guess that is due to my hair constantly being straight. Eventually I just wanted to stop all heat and just be all natural so I started my quest for reviving my curls. Now I love my curly hair wouldn’t change it for the world!!

H: How would you describe your hair texture? 

A: My hair texture is curly, quite fine stands and thick in density and (a diva).

H: Tell us one 'Do' and one 'Don't' for your hair type 

A: A ‘do’ for my hair is to keep it moisturised also do as she says and a ‘don’t’ is to not let her get too tangled (by wearing styles that don’t keep my hair stretched).

H: What advice would you give to someone considering going natural? 

A: I would say to invest time and patience into your journey because they are the two important factors. Also a good routine goes a long way in making it more enjoyable.

H: How do you love to wear your hair? 

A: I love to wear my hair big, wild and free but this isn’t so friendly on the moisture factor, so the next option is a high mighty puff.

H: How often do you wash your hair and what products do you use? 

A: I wash my hair once a week on a Sunday it is my ‘Wash Day’ I will pre poo with an oil or conditioner, shampoo with Desert Essence coconut shampoo, deep condish with Yes to Cucumbers conditioner. Once I am all rinsed I will seal with an oil like extra virgin olive oil and use a leave in something like Kinky Curly knot today or Curls whipped cream. I will either wash n go then throw it up on top of my head or put in some chunky twists to dry overnight.

H: Describe your WORST hair day 

A: My worst hair day was a few days ago, I have just been wearing my hair up for a few days and it just got so tangled and dry. I had knots all over my hair and I just wanted to shave it off (dramatic I know).

H: Is there a blog or website where we can find you?

A: You can find me on me in my lil world called Planet Stylisoulstar, jump on the Aztec printed spaceship and head far north see you there >>>www.stylisoulstar.wordpress.com 

 

Hey guys! [#Happynaturalhairiversary]

Guess what… today is my one year natural anniversary!! YAY ME!!  I actually have been looking forward to this date for a while now  It's been a year since I cut off my relaxed ends and it's been a year and eight months since my last relaxer. Looking back on my year of returning to natural hair I often wish that I had big chopped rather than transitioned, mainly because I would like to have embraced the short hair for longer. Doing my transitioning days I didn't really know that I was transitioning, to me I just couldn't be bothered to relax my hair again. Only after the sides became quite curly did I decide that I wanted to cut my hair. I wasn't 100% sure about it, plus the people I told seemed about weary, which slightly put me off. I've learnt to not let other peoples opinions cloud your decisions because I would have big chopped probably in January of last year rather than wait until it grew more. But hey, nothing I can do know right.

  

I didn't know that this whole natural hair community existed until I had actually cut my hair, I then started discovering all sorts of information and youtube channels. It took me a while before I realised that I too could start helping out people. It started with tumblr; I posted a few pictures of my hair journey around the site and some of them were well received, I was even asked a few questions about my hair and how I take care of it. This then moved to my instagram, then to getting questions on the street, until I finally decided to make a YouTube channel in April. It's kind of a bittersweet thing that being natural gets so much attention. No other races are able to have hair events, hair talks, blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to their hair. But hey, I guess it's the Western countries we live in. Anyway, I have a tendency of blabbering on so let me just cut to the chase…whatever that may be. Just want to say that I've enjoyed this year and my goals for my next hair anniversary is to reach armpit length. I'm just about collarbone length (if I pull real hard lol). I just want to prove to myself that my hair doesn't stop at a certain length…. let's see what happens  Until next month folks,  Aida Content Creator

#Number One - Eggs in your hair

 

 

 

 

 

Eggs - Do they really benefit our hair? Arguments for eggs: -Contains a lot of protein and conditions the hair - Strengthens the hair - Increases thickness - It's natural - Rich in Vitamin A, D and E (vitamin A helps in the production of sebum which works to cure dandruff, vitamin E helps increase the absorption of oxygen and vitamin D helps promote hair growth) - The yolk makes the hair glossy/shiny Arguments against eggs: -It's meant to go in us, not on us. - Doesn't contain hydrolyzed or quanternized proteins (small enough to penetrate hair, less than 2500MW). - Egg protein molecules are too large to repair/change/penetrate the hair. - Doesn't change the condition of the hair - just coats the hair strand. - natural/unprocessed proteins have a negative charge, hair has a negative charge as well, therefore there's no natural attraction to adhere to the hair. - No lasting effect. #Number Two - trimming Makes your hair grow faster Trimming - Does it really make your hair grow faster? Arguments for trimming: - hair stops growing or slows down when cuticle layer thins - trimming triggers new growth -regular trimming can make your hair look longer because the ends of your hair tend to be thinner as they are the oldest parts of your hair so regular trimming makes the ends appear thicker and therfore more visible = longer looking hair Arguments against trimming: - your hair folicles determine how fast and how long your hair grows - trimming does not affect this #Number Three - you can 'Repair' damaged hair Can damaged hair be repaired? Put simply - no. Products that claim to repair split ends or repair damaged hair are lying to you. Damaged hair is damaged forever. Products can only alter theappearance of damaged hair. So please don't try to 'save' split ends because they can travel up the hair strand and damage the whole strand if not cut off early.

ANDREA -  #hugmyhairbeautyspot 

H: Introduce yourself

A: Hi everyone! I am Andrea aka Dreya... I'm a 25 year old mom of one, Baker soon to be Pastry Chef and flourishing business owner and ofcourse a Naturalista!!!

H: Describe the moment you were spotted by Hug My Hair

Hahaha... chatting about Erykah Badu's 'fro pic and how I can't wait to replicate that pic!

H: Have you always liked your curls/kinks/coils? if not how did you come to embrace your natural hair?

A: I never minded my hair, which I believe was my biggest problem...it was just there! Growing up relaxing seemed to be a right of passage (kinda like a black barmitspha - transitioning from child to teenager/adult), so as soon as I turned 13, I pestered my mom if I could relax my hair... I didnt enjoy the whole process though as despite my following the hairdresser's advice...dont comb hair the day of the appointment etc, I still ended up with ma-hu-ssive (covered my entire scalp) burns! After that I only relaxed about 2-3 times a year and then did my first big chop in Year 10.

I rocked my 'fro in puffs and twist until in college I started experimenting with the hair straighteners and by the time I left college... dying my hair became a major staple. I found a really good hairdresser, who was my neighbour at the time, and everytime I had the urge to do something different... her house( when she wasnt at her salon) was my first point of call. She did my next relaxer, as I wanted a bob, which was not possible on afro hair (trust me I tried)... I loved it for a while and got bored (story of my life), started wearing extensions and unknowly transitioned.. which was easier as I started working as a receptionist at a Natural Hair Salon. I continued dating natural hair then cheating with relaxer (one time I relaxed my hair myself, and both sides fell out - I ran over to her house and had her shave some more off the sides and rocked my hair with both sides missing) until my daughter was a few months old and I realised how much of an impact I had on her life and the way she would feel towards herself.

I wanted her to believe that she was beautiful even with the kinks that grew out of her scalp and the only way for her to see that - was to fully embrace who I was when I decided to stop with the relaxing and keep my kinks. So on December 31st 2010, I did my BC... my motto was New Year, New Hair!, and I have not looked back since. Trust me it was not easy... I looked in the mirror and I looked like I was a cross between Tito Jackson (during the "I want you back days") and Wanda Sykes... after the 2 months I wore my hair constantly in braids as it was hard not having hair in my face. But I did enjoy washing my hair, shaking it and then leaving the house... Now I can't see myself without my 'fro... though sometimes she doesgets on my nerves... I love her...!!

H: How would you describe your hair texture?

A: My hair texture is confused...LOL... Its curls in some places... and in some it's like cotton. My hair is a mash up of all textures! LOL

H: Tell us one 'Do' and one 'Don't' for your hair type

Do- Moisturize Moisturize Moisturize Don't - Don't wear your hair out toO often... protective styling is a must!

H: What advice would you give to somone considering going natural?

A: My advice is do it... But remember that your natural texture is alot different to your relaxed texture. Enjoy it and become your own hair whisperer... listen to what her hair needs and do it... having a routine is good, but knowing what your hair needs is better. If your hair feels dry, that's the time to moisturize it. If it feels dirty, thats the time you wash it!

H: How do you love to wear your hair?

A: I love wearing my hair in high buns or high puffs and recently updo's has become another staple hair style of mine!

H: How often do you wash your hair and what products do you use?

A: I wash my hair, when it needs it and for co washes - Herbal essence hello hydration has become the must for me or when I'm doing the works... I will deep condition on dry hair with mizani deep conditioning mask or have a a hot oil treatment with a mixture of oils - coconut oil (love love love holland and barretts organic coconut oil), jojoba, olive and argan oil. After washing I use my Direct Giovanni Leave in conditioning spray then anorganic shea butter mix on my hair , seal it with argan oil or coconut oil and twist or braid.

H: Describe your WORST hair day

A: My worst hair day is when my hair (at that time I call her Eva) decides not to work with me... so those times you will find her in a puff or bun or headscarf or a combination of all the above.

H: Is there a blog or website where we can find you?

I don't have a blog or anything about hair... But you check out dessert business facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sweet-Hibiscus/202188803189328