Naturals In The City Event is here again!

Hope to see you there! I will be there!

Monday Motivation: I am proudly Nigerian

Hello my people! Here's a Monday Motivation for us. Please despite the things going on in our Great Nation, I encourage us to refrain from speaking about the negativity. Instead let's speak good things into existence in our country. 

Yesterday in church, I was made to understand that constantly talking about problems has never been a solution. Rather let us be the solution that we want to see and speak good of our country. 

One Year Natural Hair Journey

So sorry I've been away for so long people, life happens. Do you think my hair is growing well? Please watch the details on my You Tube Channel, Acha Racha (click to go to my channel).

:: GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED::

Hello there! I want to say a very big thank you to all those who entered for this giveaway. A winner has been selected using a LIST RANDOMIZER see the images below. At first I put the names in the order in which they appeared in the comment section. Then I clicked on Randomize, the result was what we have in the second image. So there you have it, Oyesola won the leave in, yaay! Better luck next time. Ciao!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy new year everyone!!! Hope we all had an awesome holiday? I love this time of the year because it spells new beginnings, fresh starts and fresh clean slates to start over or pick up where we left off in the past year. So my prayer for my readers is that God will grant you the grace to pick up where you left off in 2013 and launch you to greater heights in this year! God bless you!! Cheers!!!

:: GIVEAWAY :: NATURAL NIGERIAN MOISTURE AND SHINE DETANGLING LEAVE - IN CONDITIONER

Hello everyone! I am very excited to be doing this giveaway, supper excited! So in my previous post I promised you guys that something fun was coming up and this is it people!! So here's a chance to win this awesome awesome leave-in conditioner. To qualify, bellow are a few things you'll need to do:

1. You must make a comment on this post stating what you like about my blog and what you think I should do to improve

2. You must be a member on this blog

3. You must like my facebook page

4. You must follow me on twitter

5. You must subscribe to my YouTube channel

So the fun begins! Let's get into it!! Good luck!!!

P.s This is only open to Nigerian residents, that includes all thirty six states in Nigeria. 

THE GREAT KINKY HAIR CHRISTMAS AFFAIR !!

Hello there! So The Kinky Apothecary presents this hair event this weekend. I have never gone for an event by Kinky Apothecary so this will be my first. Hope to see you out there. Cheers

PRODUCT REVIEW: NATURAL NIGERIAN Moisture and Shine Detangling Leave in Conditioner

Yaaayy!! I am so excited to be doing a product review on the Natural Nigerian (NN) Moisture and Shine Detangling Leave in Conditioner. I've been looking forward to doing a review on this product because I love it so so so so MUCH! I've been natural for like seven months and I have tried a whole lot of products and this is my best leave in conditioner so far. Every thing about this leave in is just da BOMB!! I will be reviewing this product under the following categories: My Experience, Ingredients, Fragrance and Colour, Consistency, and finally discus some cons. So let's get into it, shall we?

My Experience

First of all I would like to say that this product was made by a Nigerian and for Nigerians, no one can debate that fact, SIMPLES!!. I have used about three different leave in conditioners prior to trying this one and I am glad to say that this product is ON POINT BABY!!. I love love love this product, I can not say it enough. It has everything in the right proportion, meehn!! It's light weight and not too greasy. It also leaves my hair feeling moisturized and shiny, I no lie you at at all!! Chaii this leave is da BOMB y'all, lol. I use it for twists, I put it  in my daily spritz and sometimes I just rub it all over my hair after applying my oils (I use the LOC method). It also works well with my other products and I like that about it. 

Ingredients

The major ingredients in this product, that my hair loves are Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract (Aloe Vera), coconut oil (my hair and coconut oil are BFFs, lol) and glycerin. My hair loves these three ingredients and they are at the top of the list of ingredients,awesome!. So since my hair loves this product, I am guessing it agrees with the rest of the ingredients even the ones I can't pronounce, ha ha.

Fragrance and Color

The NN leave in conditioner has a very lovely mild citrus fragrance and I love it. The color is creamy yellow.

Consistency

This product is very light, it has the consistency of Farm Fresh Yogurt or say watery custard/pap (y'all know what I mean, right?). Anyway, my hair loves light products and it sure agrees with the consistency of this product.

Other

Now let's talk price. I have seen a review on this product saying it is pricey and I totally disagree. Now this is my opinion, okay? I really believe that for the value I get for a 236 ml/ 8 fl oz product, N2, 500 is not so bad. I have spent more buying foreign brands that never ever worked for my hair. The packaging alone is on point and it looks really classy. So for me, the product is not too expensive. 

Some Cons

One thing am not very comfortable with is the name Moisture and Shine Detangling Leave in Conditioner, mehn that's a mouth full of words for a leave in conditioner. I can't count how many times I had to look at the product just to get the right name while writing this post. Apart from that, meehn this product it GOOD TO GO!!

Just a hint, something fun is coming up for this Christmas on my blog, so stay tuned. Peace!

HOW TO COMBAT DANDRUFF AND ITCHY SCALP

Before I started taking better care of my hair, I had serious dandruff issues, it was embarrassing. So dealing with these was one of the major things I focused on when I started my hair journey. So starting from the basics, dandruff is small dead skin cells in a person's hair. It could result from several causes such as dry skin, oily skin, irritated skin or just not shampooing enough. In my case I think it was due to dry skin and using the wrong products for my scalp. Itchy scalp is another result of excessive dandruff and it is possible not to have dandruff but have itchy scalp. Here are a few easy steps to deal with dandruff and itchy scalp:

Wash your hair regularly

You should wash your hair at least once a week. Some people might say everyday or twice a week. Whatever the case just ensure you have a regimen for keeping your scalp nice and clean.

Incorporate Peppermint Oil and Tea Tree Oil in your regimen

These are essential oils that are very good for dealing with dandruff and itchy scalp. When I first started treating my dandruff, I was told to get the peppermint oil. The dandruff went away but the itching continued. So I was advised by Natural Nigerian to also get the Tea Tree Oil. The Tea Tree oil is an anti-fungal oil that helps to keep hair clean. It is also used for treating lice infection in the hair. I noticed that my hair stopped itching me when I started using the tea tree oil.
It is important to note that these are essential oils and should be used in drops. For example, if I had a glass of water filled with Coconut oil and water, I would add just five drops (or less) of peppermint and tea tree oil in it. I put some drops in my shampoo when I wash my hair

and I also add some into my daily moisturizing spritz. 

To purchase these oils visit www.naturalnigerian.com, www.vanityoils.com or http://thekinkyapothecary.blogspot.com

So these are just the 2 easy steps I would recommend for dealing with dandruff and itchy scalp. Till next time, take care!

LET'S TALK SHRINKAGE!

Shrinkage is one of the major characteristics of natural coily hair. It is the  ability of coily hair to reduce to about 70% it's original length when it comes in contact with moisture. Some people's hair (like mine) might be 6 inches long but when wet/moist, with no restriction, could shrink to 2 inches. While some people fight this all the time, others have learnt to embrace it. It is important to note that shrinkage is an indication that your curls/coils are in good shape. If your hair springs back without breaking then your natural hair is healthy. On other hand, shrinkage comes with its own issues. Complex knots and tangles could result when several strands coil up and interlock with each other. These can be difficult to undo and may need to be cut off hence impeding hair growth. So although we might not want to fight with our kinky hair forcing it to be what it's not, we might still have to find ways to reduce shrinkage and prevent these complex knots and tangles from occuring. In another post we will look at the various ways to reduce shrinkage and it's effects, so stay tunned, lol!!

HOW DO I KNOW MY HAIR TYPE?

Hello beautiful people, so today we would be looking at the hair typing system and what it's all about. The hair typing system is just a way various hair textures are grouped based on their curl patterns. Curl patterns range from very straight to tight kinky coily/zigzag and range in scale from type 1 for the straight hair to type 4C for kinky hair. Every hair type require certain care regimen and products.

Natural kinky hair ranges from type 3A to 4C and most women from this part of the world (West Africa) tend to have hair within this category. I have 4C hair and most ladies I have seen in Nigeria have this type of hair texture. The 4C hair texture has strands of tightly kinked up coils that shrink about 70% it's original length when in contact with any form of moisture.

I can hardly say that there are specific natural hair products for specific hair types. The reason is because I have found that although I may seem to have the same hair texture with someone, some of the products that work for them may not work for me. For instance, it's been said that raw Shea Butter is good for kinky hair and that it softens natural kinky hair. Well for me that does not work, raw Shea Butter makes my hair feel like hay, lol. My hair hates it in any form, raw, whipped or processed. At first I thought I was buying adulterated versions but my last attempt proved to me that my hair does not just like it. Every head of hair is different from the next, there might be similarities but one needs to study their own head of hair to determine what ways are best for caring for their hair.

My thoughts on HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Hello my people, how have you been, great I guess? I know I have been MIA and I am so sorry about that. Like I said in my previous post, a lot has been happening and that's life, really. I have so many posts that I want to do, I will do them once things slow down. I just came here to quickly write on one of the books I read lately. I have read so many books in the last few weeks and I wish I could write my thoughts on all of them but you know, man na man. Anyway, here are some of my thoughts, what do you think?

What is the title of the book?

HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Who is the author of the book?

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

Did you love the book?

I loved the book and I still love it. I read it twice, may I mention that this is the only novel I have ever read two times, from start to finish. The book is amazing and it is EPIC!! No wonder it has been made into a movie and I cannot wait to see it!

Chimamanda is a gifted and exceptionally talented writer. I’m very sure that this has been said like a gazillion times but if I have to say it every time I make a post on her, then I will. I don’t even know how she was able to capture the events set two decades before she was born (How sure I'm I, right? Hahaha). I was riveted by every single page and line of this book, it is simply amazing.

What is the story about?

It is about the story of love, loyalty and survival during the Nigerian Civil War also known as the Biafra War which lasted for a period of about three years (1967-1970).

Who were the main characters?

The main characters (in my opinion) of the story were Olanna and Ugwu.

What is their story, did they have adventures?

Olanna had just come home from acquiring a master’s degree in Britain and decides to move to Nsukka, against her parents’ whish of course, to work as a lecturer. The lecturing job was just an excuse to live with her lover, Odenigbo whom she met in University of Ibadan. In terms of character, some words that come to mind when I think of Olanna are exceptionally beautiful, kindhearted, soft spoken, gentle, slim, light brown (skin color), intelligent, loving and insecure.

Ugwu is an Nsukka boy, Nwa Nsukka, who was sent to serve his master Odenigbo, in the University campus. This servant-master relationship gradually turns into something deeper, more like father-son relationship. Some words that come to mind when I think of this character Ugwu, are loyal, hardworking, kind, humble, ingenious, smart, dependable and intelligent.

Who was your favorite character in the story?

My favorite characters in the story were Ugwu and Kainene.

Ugwu, just because he is Ugwu. I just loved the guy, his character is indelible. I just love him.

I love Kainene because she has sharp edges, in the right places, if you know what I mean. With her, I sensed the assurance that the people around her had, a feeling that with Kainene, everything will always be alright and sorted.

What was your favorite part of the book?

Hmmm I have so many, lemme see, eeeehhh I guess it would be the chapter that revealed that Ugwu had not died in the battle field.

 I can clearly remember what happened the day I was reading that part of the book. I was in the room and my husband was working on his laptop in the sitting room, immediately I read a few lines about Ugwu and some sort of excruciating pain on his right buttocks, I ran to my husband, literally screaming at the top of my lungs “UGWU IS NOT DEAD, UGWU DID NOT DIE” I was elated, lol!!

If you could change the book, what would it be? 

Of course Kainene would never have gone to Afia Attack, simple.

Would you recommend this book to anybody?

Of course, I’ve recommended it to a lot of my friends, even though most of them had read it before me. But yeah, I’d recommend it to anyone who cared.

What type of person will like this book? 

Anybody interested in Nigerian history convolved with some love stories will definitely love this book.

What book are you going to read next? 

THERE WAS A COUNTRY by Chinua Achebe, I love that man, lol.

ONCE UPON A SUNDAY

HAIR STYLE!!!

Hey guys, so sorry I've been away, a lot has been happening. I just wanted to do a quick post on a style that I do a lot these days. Please indicate in the comment box if you'd like a tutorial on this in future. Style inspiration is http://naturalme4c.weebly.com/. The style looks like a simple Afro Puff in front but on the sides,it looks like a Fro Hawk.

Cheers

HOW TO GROW AND PROTECT YOUR EDGES (HAIR LINE): 5 EASY STEPS

Just take about three days and observe the hair line of any woman you see on the streets of any city you live in, my guess is that eight out of ten of them have damaged hair line. Now do the same for men, you'll find that the men who have damaged hair line are just going bald, lol. The obvious reason is that most women tend to put their hair in styles that put stress on the hair line thereby causing it to recede. I had this problem and I am still nursing my edges back to health. Here are five easy steps that you can follow to bring those edges back!

Step 1 Get The Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO):

A lot of people feel that any castor oil will do but I highly recommend this brand of castor oil, I find it to be very effective. Apply this nightly on your edges, lightly massaging the problem areas in circular motion.

Step 2 Cover your hair with a satin scarf every night: 

Do this after applying the JBCO. For me, I tie my edges with a scarf after applying the JBCO and then I finally cover my entire head with a satin bonnet. Some people would add the use of a silk/satin pillowcase case.

Step 3 Avoid styles that put tension in that area: 

If you do step 1 and 2 and still continue to do styles that are too tight on your hair line, you will not see any significant change on your hair line. The tension on the scalp can damage the hair follicles in that area, preventing it from allowing hair to grow properly. So caution your braider or stylist to take it easy on those areas.

Step 4 Leave the edges alone:

Sometimes, you may need to let the hairs in that area be, just leave it alone. Don't braid it, don't weave it, don't brush it, just let it be. You may even need to take a break from applying the castor oil because too much attention might just be what it is, TOO MUCH ATTENTION. This might sound crazy but I think it is true, I am speaking from experience.

Step 5 Just give it time, it will grow back:

When I started taking care of my edges, I expected to see changes immediately, but I was disappointed when I did not notice any change in a month. I now decided to read a couple of articles and then I realized that it could take up to A WHOLE YEAR to recover damaged edges. It takes time, so just be patient and give it time. As long as you are doing what you need to do, you will gradually see changes.

So that's all folks, as always, put your reactions in the comment box below. Cheers!

HOW TO CREATE A SIMPLE REGIMEN FOR YOUR NATURAL HAIR

Trial and Error

From my own personal experience, I believe this is very important if you want to develop a healthy hair regimen that would be beneficial to your own type of hair. You might watch a ton of youtube videos and research all sorts of blogs, just to find that the products you have seen others use on these platforms do not work for you. You will need to invest time and money in finding out what works for your own hair considering your budget, schedule and availability. You may need to buy and try a lot of products (samples if possible) before you discover the ones that work for your hair. Additionally you need to consider how much time you are willing to spend on your hair. For me, I started out with washing and deep conditioning weekly during my transitioning period, this turned out to be tiring and cumbersome. Then when I big chopped I co washed every two days and styled every night, this I also found to be time consuming. Right now, I style once a week, deep condition bi weekly and co wash every alternate week. Its obvious my regimen has evolved over time and I am sure to make more changes as I go along. As for products, I have used all sorts, but this does not have to be you. You can start on a very conservative note, just buying the basics and then progress to bigger things. The main aim, if you have kinky hair, is to find products that are moisture rich and that help to soften your hair.

Determine how often your hair needs to be washed

Be it co washing or shampoo washing, you need to find out how long it takes for your hair to start feeling groggy or itchy. For me, if my hair is in a protective style like a flat twist-updo or mini twist, it takes about six days for my hair to start feeling dirty. Then I know it is time for a wash. If it is not in a protective style, I might need to do a co wash at least every three days. So because I work and live in a busy city like Lagos, I find it much better to put my hair in a protective style on Sundays and wash my hair every Friday night. So I wear my hair out only on weekends. I co wash every two weeks and shampoo wash every alternate week. This means that if I co washed this weekend, I would shampoo wash the next.

Determine how often you need to do a deep treatment or deep conditioning

This could go from doing it weekly, to bi weekly or even monthly. Whatever you decide, it should be based on what your hair needs. For me, I started out doing this once a week during the time I was transitioning, to once a month when I big chopped. However, as my hair grew longer, I noticed it was getting dryer and dryer, I also noticed that I had a lot of split ends and mid shaft breakage, so I decided to deep condition more frequently. Right now, I deep condition every two weeks.

Find out how often you need to moisturize your hair 

Natural hair and moisture are BFFs and I mean it when I say it. Whether you are using the LOC method (Liquid-Oil-Cream) or LCO method (Liquid-Cream-Oil), you must keep your hair nice and moist to prevent breakage. For me, I moisturize every day, if my hair is not in a protective style and I use the LOC method. If my hair is in a protective style, I may not need to moisturize everyday, I just spritz my hair lightly with water or my daily spritz. My daily spritz is essentially a home made concoction of  50% water, 30% leave in conditioner and 20% oil, in a spray bottle. For some of us who work in strongly air conditioned offices, you might need to keep that spray bottle handy because the cool hair dries out the hair causing it to need light spritzes once in a while.

Discover the products that work for you

This is very important, like I said before, you need to find out what works for your hair. By this I mean, what makes your hair soft and keeps it moisturized for as long as possible. For all the steps that I have mentioned above, you need products that would help you achieve them. You need a good shampoo (sulphate or non sulphate ), a rince out conditioner, a leave in conditioner, a good deep conditioner, a styling conditioner/butter, light carrier oils, and at least one essential oil.

So peeps, I may not be a natural hair guru, but these a couple of things I know about developing a simple hair regimen for your self. Below I have listed my current regimen and the products I use

Acharacha's Current Regimen

1. Conditioner wash (Co Wash) every two weeks - Tresemme Natural Nourishing Moisture Conditioner

2. Shampoo Wash every two weeks (alternate with co washing) - Shea Moisture Yucca and Boa Boab                                                                                                           thickening shampoo

3. Protective Style once a week - Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Coil Moisturizing Souffle

4. Deep Condition every two weeks - Organic Root Simulator Hair Mayonaise

5. Moisturize weekly - Natural Nigerian Leave in Conditioner, Sweet Almond Oil or Coconut Oil

6. Hot oil treatment every two weeks - Mixture of Sweet Almond Oil, coconut oil, peppermint oil and tea                                                                 tree oil

KINKSPIRAION: MEET GRACE, SHE DID HER BIG CHOP, YAAY!!

Hello people! I have decided to start featuring new naturals in the city on this blog. I believe this will serve as an inspiration to those who are still thinking about going natural. I am really excited to be featuring someone that I inspired to go natural and who is enjoying her natural hair journey so far. For this feature, I asked her the very same tag questions I used on my big chop post and here are her answers:

How long did you transition for?  

For about 3 to 4months

Why did you decide to do the big chop?  

I just wanted to feel and look at my natural "unrelaxed" hair (new growth). Before I did the big chopped, I would always go through pictures of other natural sisters, then wet my own hair just to see how long my undergrowth was. However, I finally ran out of patience and big chopped on the 9th of August, 2013.

What products did you use?  

I use the Dudu Osun soap as my shampoo (as advised by Acharacha), coconut oil and Shea butter. I also did the the lemon tea hair rinse and I intend to try out other natural products as I am on my way to becoming a natural miXtress.

 

 

What was your initial reaction to your new do?  

First I was proud of myself, then when I took my first photo, I saw that looked like my brother, at that point I just said to myself "...you need make up and big earrings, lol".

What were other people’s reaction, spouse, office, family and friends?  

Mixed reactions, everyone had an opinion. I even made the mistake of asking and got some negative ones that almost made me buy a wig, thank God I realized on time that it was about me and not other people. My colleagues like it, my mum and all my sisters are naturals so the only big deal for them was that I should have waited a little before doing my big chop. My friends like it, in all I have gotten more positive reactions than the negative ones.


So that's all people, cheers!

SAVE THE DATE: DOMINION CITY WOMEN CONVENTION

Just thought I should come here and announce this program. This is literally the best program in Dominion City, no kidding. I have never regretted going for DC women convention, it is always a blast!! You get practical, deep and mature teachings on everything imaginable that a woman needs to hear. I love,love this program, and I am sure this year's version of the Women Convention will not fall short of my expectation. So if you believe you need to be there for this program, please make plans to attend, you will not regret it!!

MY Thoughts on the Dark & Lovely "AU NATURALE" Brand Name: “ANTI SHRINKAGE”

Like I said in my last post, I think it was a very good thing that Dark and Lovely came up with this New Range, AU Naturale. However, I have a problem with the connotation “ANTI SHRINKAGE”. I do not believe that there is any product out there that will reduce the level of shrinkage on any head of natural kinky hair. Shrinkage is almost synonymous with Natural Kinky Hair. Natural hair shrinks because it is naturally coily or curly and it coils/curls up once it comes in contact with moisture. I believe this is a way natural kinky hair preserves moisture on its own.  So anything that removes that ability of natural hair to shrink has altered its chemical state, thereby permanently making it straight. So I think it is a bit “gimmicky” for Dark and Lovely to add “Anti Shrinkage” as part of the brand name for this new range of products. I do not even want to go on and say whether or not it reduced shrinkage in my hair, I think we all know what my answer is. So ultimately, I would suggest the company takes off that connotation from the brand name. That’s it for me y’all.

DUCES!!!

My Review of the NEW Dark and Lovely Au Naturale Range

Hi there, how have you been? Hope you had a great weekend and are getting ready for the new week? Yeah me too, sometimes I feel that we should add more days to the weekend, Saturday and Sunday aren't just enough, lol!! Anyway, so in this post, we will look at the New Dark and Lovely Au Natural Range. If you have been following my hair updates, you would have noticed that I promised to do a review of these range of products in future and this is the future people, ha ha. I also mentioned in my NITC 6 experience post, that I was part of a focus group selected to try out this new range by Dark and Lovely. 

Source

I really appreciate Dark and Lovely for recognizing the ever increasing natural hair community and coming up with this new range specifically made for naturals, I think it is awesome!

For this review, I was given samples of the following products:

1.       The Hydrating Soak Shampoo

2.       The Knot Out Conditioner

3.       The Coil Moisturizing Soufflé

4.       The Curl Defining Cream

5.       Sheen Sealing Nectar

I have separated these products into two, The Good Stuff and Not So Good Stuff

The Good Stuff

1.     The Coil Moisturizing Soufflé

Let me just say that this is the BEST, styling product I have ever used for twisting my hair. If you know me, you must have realized that I have tried a lot of products for someone who is just three months natural. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT. I don’t know what they put in it, I think it has to do with the glycerin, but for my hair, Dark and Lovely got it right with this one. It makes my hair so soft and moisturized all day. This product is going to be a staple in my hair product collection. I love it! I give this product an eleven on a scale of one to ten, people! lol!

2.    The Knot Out Conditioner

This has most of the good stuff to look out for in a conditioner. It has water as its first ingredient, it also has glycerin which is a good humectant that draws moisture to that hair, then it has fatty alcohols like Cetearyl Alcohol which moisturizes the hair. This product also has natural oils like palm oil and mango seed oil, so that's some good stuff. I particularly like the name of this product, THE KNOT OUT conditioner. The name prompted me to use it, for the first time, to detangle my really knotty hair. It worked really well with my hair.  It has good slip and it was easy to work through my hair. I would defiantly purchase it again for detangling my hair. I give it a seven on a scale of one to ten.

The Not So Good Stuff

To be honest, I did not try to use these products at all. The ingredients in them are not so good for my hair. For example, The Sodium Laureth Sulfate in the Hydrating Soak Shampoo and the Curl Defining Cream discouraged me from using them. My hair does not like that ingredient at all. It dries out my hair and turns it into what looks like a local sponge for washing pots in the village, honestly. So Dark and Lovely, I am really sorry, I did not use these products, I didn’t even try. I also could not try the sheen sealing nectar for the same reason, I just felt it was going to be like the Oil Sheen Spray I used when I was relaxed.