The Dos and Dont’s of Deep Conditioning Natural Hair

The Dos and Dont’s of Deep Conditioning Natural Hair.

Jamaican Castor Oil = My new best friend

Tags

hair growth, Jamaican black castor oil

 

Firstly, I want to say. What is the difference between Jamaican black castor oil and extra dark castor oil? is it the branding, or is there a difference in the way the oil is extracted or something? I have been trying to find out but not very sure if there is a difference.

My little sister introduced me to castor oil earlier this year and I have been trying to use it as often as I can, but with not having a applicator it is very difficult to actually transfer the thick, sticky liquid from the bottle to my scalp. It has been said that mixing it with olive oil or even coconut oil may make the application a little easier which I will try and do in combination with a application bottle.

Jamaican castor oil is used for numerous things, including inducing labour supposedly, for hair growth,eyelash and eyebrow growth, acne, and so forth. MY main use for it of course is for hair growth, with the goal to target my edges, as well as boosting the general length of my hair, not so much the thickness as I know this will naturally come along with it. The oil is said to boost the blood circulation in the hair follicles which in turn help with hair growth, whilst also targeting hair breakages and split ends which I suffer from quite a bit. I have tried in the past other products like Dr. miracles which I think is a complete joke, ‘Organic root stimulator hair mayonnaise’ which to be fair I had not used for a lengthy time to notice any affects on my hair and from since I can remember I have greased my scalp with Dax. But as you do, you try different things until you notice a product starting to take effect.

I have watched numerous youtube videos which have testified that this Jamaican castor oil works miracles. Daily use is important as well as having a lot of patience. I really need to motivate myself to do use it frequently, but the bottle isn’t exactly cheap. Roughly £10 for 8oz which I’m guessing used daily will last about 2 months if that.

When I am using it I tend to section off my hair in numerous parts and massage it into my scalp so that every part is oiled, and then I tie up my hair in a silk scarf to sleep at night to prevent the oil reaching my pillow, and also to prevent my hair from drying out quicker.

 Lets see how I get on with this, and whether I can dedicate my time to moisturing/sealing my hair every other day.

What’s taken me so long to update

This post has been Longgg over due. I have always had it in the back of my mind that I haven’t updated my hair blog, and I guess this reflects how I’ve been attending to my hair needs for the past 5 months I’m sure.

I have had so much going on! I’m currently pregnant! expecting twins. A big shock to myself also. And I have to say, this pregnancy has brought about a LOT of change in my life including my appearance. This is my first pregnancy, and I am hoping it is my last to be fair.I’m expecting a boy and a girl 🙂
I don’t really enjoy being pregnant lol. I can’t fit into any of my size 8/10 clothes, and so I’m limited to what I can wear, and this affects how I feel, and in turn I don’t have the energy to attend to my hair. I’m choosing to not do long term hairstyles like braids, twists or sew in weave, as it makes me feel so suffocated with them in, and I would literally want to pull them out the following week. I tried it, and sleeping was a struggle with the braids in. It’s hard enough as it is trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

It’s been quite a stressful time for me and I also think this has had an impact on my hair. The edges that I had damaged from being in Hong Kong have shown little growth, and despite the fact I haven’t permed my whole hair since March this year, which I am extremely happy about; there is little sign of any of my natural hair growing through. I don’t understand why this is. People always tell me pregnancy helps your hair to grow; is it different when your expecting twins? I’m eating a lot healthier.

I have recently invested in wigs. I love the idea of wearing the wig, and yanking it off at night when your indoors lol. It is a lot like when you get home and you can take your bra off. One of the wigs is a 14 inch straight yaky texture which is perfect for blending as it is very much like my own hair when it is relaxed. I leave out very little of my own hair and I don’t even add heat to it, and I guess I get away with it. The other wig is a 18 inch curly hair which I love more, I think I suit curly hair and although I would love it to be tighter curls and shorter it will do for the time being. My hair underneath I wash with ‘Creme of nature moisture and shine shampoo with Argan oil’ every two weeks, followed my the matching conditioner which I usually tend to leave in for 10 minutes or so. When I can be bothered I will add Jamaican castor oil and coconut oil and then cainrow it straight back.

*Will post some pictures in due time!!

Patience, deep conditioning and creativity!

How Aevin Dugas Got the World’s Largest Afro.

Present time…

So being abroad in Hong Kong meant I had to do a style that I could somehow maintain for another 6 months as finding a hairstylist in Asia I knew would be difficult and expensive if I ever was to find one. Prior to going back to Hong Kong for my second semester at University I went to my hairdresser based in London. My mum had been going to her for yearsss, and I always loved the weave hairstyles she did for me.

I got a bob with some ‘Virgin Brazilian’ hair I purchased at a hair store in Luton. Little did I know, that this hair was not real, and was shedding like HELL! I was so angry, as I hadn’t known until I actually arrived back in HK and I was constantly sweeping my room to hide the hair that was accumulating on the floor, and when washing it, it didn’t have that nice silky feel it was meant to have. Being in a rush prior to coming back to HK I had not done my research on where to get hair. I lost £60!!

So, because of this dilemma I was in search of a hairstylist in HK. I googled, and searched and found a lady who also lived in New territories. I had bought some weave on Aliexpress and she did a long hairstyle for me with some of my hair left out at the top. She charged me the same price I would get back home, and it wasn’t the best styling, but it was all I could do at the time. To get braids would have been more money.

I destroyed my left out! I permed it myself and straightened it thereafter and saw my hair breaking off. It was so difficult to blend it. As you can see from the picture, the roots clearly needed some help, and the edges too.

The above pictures aren’t how my hair is any longer. I had to leave Hong Kong quite early than expected sadly, I was partly happy because I was able to sort out the disaster that was my hair. But I was meant to have stayed till early June. The same day I got home, I took out my weave and gave it a longgg wash, added conditioner and even used some Jamaican caster oil that my sister had.

After 3 weeks of being home, and having my hair rest from the weave and heat. I had to perm it. I was so distraught, but it had to be done. I was to meet someone – basically a date, and I had not planned how I was going to style my hair. I had no money for someone to style it, and so the cheapest and quickest option for me was to perm it. I can’t believe I did it, but there was nothing else I could do.

This was the state of my hair prior to perming.

After I permed it, my hair was still thick but more manageable that I could actually brush it up in one, which is what I have been doing for the past few weeks. Occasionally I will cornrow it myself back very messily. This was only because the hair up was stretching the edges, and giving me headaches from me trying to tie it up in one too tight lol.

 

 

un’ruly | 13 travel tips for natural hair << Great read.

un’ruly | 13 travel tips for natural hair.

“There is no texture that NEEDS a relaxer. None.”

My first perm was from the age of 13 my mum recalled. When I asked her why it came to happen she told me my hair was becoming too difficult to manage. She couldn’t handle it nor could I, she said. And I do remember. I have always had thick hair and at shoulder length it was definitely quite tiresome to look after. Having to blow dry it out all the time, and grease it most days. I was always afraid of leaving it out too long or else it knotted up again. Having to always style it was also a problem. I used to be afraid of my hair too. Whenever someone tried to comb through it I would tense up and yell out. Washing my hair was also a problem, my gosh. I think I got this from my mum. My head was super sensitive back in those days.

Going to school, I remember I used to beg my godmother to plait/cainrow my hair for me in the fancy styles she used to always do for me, as my mum did not know how to do my hair – she couldn’t cainrow or even plait. If I missed a appointment with my godmother, I would be forced to attend school in my mothers styles that morning, which would consist of what we called ‘doo doo’ plaits hahaha. Thinking about it now, I remember I used to actually cry knowing I’d have to go to school like that. She didn’t care how it looked, just threw some bobbles in my hair and that was that. I was so embarrassed. I tried at times to style my own hair but that never worked out for me either. My godmother was literally my saviour for years!

I have always seen the importance of making sure my hair looked good. When my hair looks good, I feel good. 

I can vaguely recollect the day I first permed my hair. I remember trying to swish my hair from side to side, and seeing it have a greater bounce to it than before. Being able to run my fingers right through my hair with no tangles, and actually fit it into a hairband without it breaking made me feel fantastic! Little did I know, that I’d become a perming addict from that day forth.

My next post will be about the condition of my hair now –“You have the power to change the world if you start with yourself” – Unknown

Hair type 4B/4C

Tags

4B hair, 4C hair, Curls

 

Type 4 hair refers to Kinky hair/ extremely tight curls and can vary from being thin to coarse. This hair type is also said to shrink up to 75% of the actual length. 

This type can also be subdivided into 4a and 4b and sometimes into C. I am a 4b/4c which means my hair can have that cotton like feel to it. 

 

 

My hair story begins; with an Introduction

Tags

Afro-Carribean, Black, black hair, Hair, Hair Diary, Natural Hair

Oh gosh, where do I begin.
I think first of all I should introduce myself, and then let the story unravel from there I guess.

My name is Rochelle, I am 20 years old, born and raised in London, England to Jamaican parents. I am the middle child of my mothers children, and the eldest of my fathers. I am also currently at University majoring in Psychology (currently on my study abroad in Hong Kong), hoping to eventually pursue a career in consumer behaviour/ fashion psychology/ marketing, still not certain of my direction as yet but those are my interests.

The main reason why I feel it is necessary for me to start up this blog is mainly because I want to see some kind of progress, if any in the way I treat my hair. I’m not here to say I have fully dedicated myself to be on this natural hair journey tip, nor am I trying to bore you with my life story that isn’t that interesting. This is really just my open hair diary for me to come back to once in a while; and as a reader I am inviting you to follow me and perhaps even give advice.

What provoked me the most was the fact that I had been following some people on Instagram:
Healthy_hair_journey

NaturalHairDoesCare

and

NaturalHairDaily

and I hadn’t realised until now, that seeing the admirable posts of beautiful black women with natural hair updos in every shape, size, texture type, you name it. Some styles I didn’t deem possible for black hair! this I feel subconsciously spoke to me. Seeing the images told me that I too need to go natural. And for a very long time I have had it in my head to be this way; and seeing these women proudly showcase themselves to actually doing so, of various ages as well, just reinforced the fact that going natural is a progression for some. And like myself, they too have a lengthy hair story.

In my 20 years I feel have experimented in every way with my hair. My hair is originally a type 4b which I will later explain what that refers to. But I think from the age of 10/11 I have since permed, hot-combed, braided, twisted, shaved, dyed, weaved, glued. It’s so bad! The current state of my hair is in a weave with some left out at the front, which I aim to post a picture of eventually. And even this is a disaster. Despite all of this, I have good hair underneath, surprisingly. I always get compliments when my actual hairs out, blow-dryed and afro-like. “Your hairs so thick”, “It looks so healthy”. I do nothing to it.

The feeling I get from those compliments though is so much greater than when someone notices my new weave and admire the silky bone straight hair that is hanging from my real unkept hair burrowed underneath a net and some hair extensioned cainrows ( AKA cornrows – I prefer my pronunciation better).

I believe my Caribbean roots on my mums side can still save me, and undeterred; my hair will continue to growth thick and wild. One day I envision me going natural, with my big afro styled beautifully, and feeling more confident that ever. One day that is.

My next post will be about the day I got my very first perm –

“There is no texture that NEEDS a relaxer. None” – Unknown