ME, MYSELF AND MY FRO : Twists and Twists Out on My TWA

Hello ladies, this is the second post on ME, MYSELF AND MY FRO. I hope the first post made some sense? Well without wasting time, let’s dive into this right away. To twist my hair, this is what I basically do. I have included some things I did not include in my hair routine post, because the first four items on the steps I have listed down here, form part of my current hair regimen as well.

These are the steps I follow to twist my hair:

1.      Co-wash my hair with my Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner (Please click the natural hair language tab to find out what co washing means).

2.       I dry my hair with my T shirt. I use a T shirt because the shirt material is more gentle on the hair than a towel. The towel tends to absorb more moisture from the hair. We know our natural kinks need moisture to stay healthy

3.       I use a water based leave in conditioner to moisturize my hair. A water based moisturizer has water as the first ingredient and natural hair loves water. An example of a water based leave in conditioner is the Giovanni Direct Leave in Conditioner or My honey child Aloe Vera Leave in Treatemnt. There are so many other types of water based moisturizers.

4.       Then I seal in the moisture with my bled of oils. This blend has all sorts of oils which I mix into an applicator bottle I hoarded after using the Vitals Olive Oil Virgin Hair product, lol. Here is a list of them:

a.       Extra Virgin Olive Oil

b.      Coconut Oil

c.       Jamaican Black Castor Oil

d.      A few drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil

e.      A few drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

5.       I section my hair with my clamps as if I were to do a large cornrow from front to back. I am sorry I do not have pictures but here is a link to my YouTube channel to see how I do this.

6.       On each of the large sections, I section off another little one which I would be twisting.

7.       I apply some styling product to every little section of hair before twisting. I was using the MissJessie’s Babbybuttercream, but it is finished now and I just got the Moisture Butter Whipped Curl Cream by Beautiful Textures and the Kinky Curly Curling Custard. They both smell nice but I haven’t tried any of them yet.

Here is what my hair looks like after twisting it. 

Here are some the results of a couple of twist outs I've done. Obviously I haven’t really gotten a hang of a technique that would give me a better definition. Someone from Olori has suggested I twist my hair dry, so I will be trying that soon. Do you have another suggestion as to how I can get a better curl definition for my twist outs? Please feel free to put it down in the comment box below.

Thanks again for stopping by. See you in the next “postpisode” (Post and Episode), on ME, MYSELF and MY FRO, lol!! It is going to be a quick one month length check.

Cheers,

Acharacha

ME MYSELF AND MY FRO : My Current Hair Routine and Products I use

Hello ladies, like I promised, this is the debut of my series on Me, Myself and My Fro. I plan to make it as exciting as I can. So hope you'll be reading, commenting, suggesting and subscribing *wink*.

My hair is in the Teeny Weeny Afro (TWA) stage. This basically means that my hair is still short and lets say, it is still less than six inches. My hair is about three inches long right now. The TWA stage, for me, is a stage where your hair is easy to manage without much hassle. So here are the things I do

Cleansing

I wash my hair with conditioner (CO-WASH) every three to four days. This depends on how much time I have and also on how my hair feels. If my hair feels groggy and weighed down in two days, I might wash it. The product I use is the Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner. Then once a month (I’ve been natural for a month) I would cleanse my hair with Dudu Osun (Black Soap).

Deep Condition

I have decided, at this stage of my journey, to deep condition once a month. I have done this once since I big chopped and in future I will let you in on the steps I take to deep condition my hair. I would also have some pictures to show. Currently I use the Carol’s Daughter Olive Oil Infusion Kit for my deep conditioning and hot oil treatment. The kit contains the Khoret Amen Hair Smoothie and the Khoret Amen Hair Oil. I use the Khoret Amen Hair Oil for my hot oil treatment and the Khoret Amen Hair Smoothie for deep conditioning.

Detangling (Comb)

I detangle (comb) my hair with a wide tooth comb only when I am washing it or when it is partially damp with water and a leave in conditioner. While cleansing my hair, it is saturated with either water or conditioner therefore preventing it from breaking off. If I want to comb my hair between wash days without water or conditioner, I would only lift the roots and pat the top of my fro in order to achieve a neat, presentable look.

Drying

After washing my hair, I just scrunch it a little and wrap with an old T shirt. I do not rob vigorously, I just wrap my hair gently until I am ready to start twisting it. The reason I use a t shirt is because the microfiber material of the t shirt is mild on the hair unlike the regular towel material. Additionally robbing the hair vigorously may cause serious tangles you defiantly do not want to deal with when you are done.

So this is my very simple routine, it is something anyone can adopt, I guess. Currently I do not use any form of heat in my hair, I just let mother nature do its thing (air dry). Then at this point, I plan not to do any style that will require the use of hair extensions or any attachment. I just want to let my fro be. I am new to the whole natural hair world so I would welcome suggestions and comments as much as possible. Till next time, thanks for stopping by.

Acharacha

Save the date: Naturals in the City 6

Hello people, so sorry I’ve been MIA. Work has been hectic these days, we have an important presentation coming up and the whole thing dries up my time, mtcheeww. Anyway I missed my blog and I missed you guys joor. So I decided to come here and make this special announcement.

It is the 6^th natural hair meet up in Lagos and I am so excited about it and you should be too. Meet ups are so wonderful because it gives us a chance to meet and mingle with other naturals in the city. It is also a time to make new friends and ask all the questions you want about natural hair. I was there for the last one and I sure had a great time. One other thing I like about the meet up is the venue, the Omenla Gallery. I love, love and love that place. It’s a nice little cottage with a sea side view and a lovely garden at the back. There is also a bar where you can order any drink of your choice, *wink*.

I will be there live and I would love to see someone that would shout out to me and say, “Hey Acharacha I am one of your readers and boy do I love your blog?” Lol! Just kidding sha!! 

Coming up next on this blog will be a series of posts I have titled "ME, MYSELF AND MY FRO". It is going to be about my hair and how I've been taking care of it and rocking it. So watch out for that.

Till then, cheers ladies,

Acharacha

My thoughts on "AMERICANAH" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I wanted to do an original book review on AMERICANAH. But some days of research revealed that "BOOK REVIEW NO BE BEANS, lol!! I really wanted to share my reading experience with you guys. So while doing my research, I found these quick book review questions on a website called askville.amazon.com. I know this is a bit lazy of me, but wetin man go do na? Anyway here we go jare.

What is the title of the book?

AMERICANAH

Who is the author of the book?

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

Did you love the book?

 I loved, loved, loved the book, the characters in the book are so typical. At some point, while reading the book, I felt like jumping in and becoming one of the characters. That’s how much I loved it.

What is the story about?

This is a story about love, race and of course natural hair.

Who were the main characters?

The main characters of the story were Ifemelu and her first love, Obinze.

What is their story, did they have adventures?

Ifemelu leaves her first love behind to another country and experiences a world very different from the world she is used to. As a result, she went through a lot of life molding experiences, transforming her into a totally different version of herself. At some point, towards the end of the book, I could hardly relate the Ifemelu of the end to the Ifemelu of the beginning!!! I wondered if I were reading about the same person.

Obinze, the Nigerian boy with dreams bigger than Nigeria. Who goes through his own experiences that altered his dreams and aspirations. However, unlike Ifemelu, he did not allow the experiences of life transform his original personality.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Don't you just love her hair?

Who was your favorite character in the story?

My favorite character in the story was Ifemelu. I totally relate to most of her triumphs and frustrations in life.

What was your favorite part of the book?

My favorite part of the book was Ifemelu’s relationship with Curt, lol. I had a smile on my face in that whole part of the book.

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

If I could change the book, I think I will change the ending. However, I have thought a lot about the ending and concluded that it was quite open. It could be interpreted in so many ways, really.

Would you recommend this book to anybody?

Of course, I was recommending the book before I finished it, lol!! I actually made some of my friends buy it.

What type of person will like this book?

Anybody in the natural hair community, especially in Nigeria, will love this book. Then anybody who is interested in topics relating to the concept of race in America would also love this book.

What book are you going to read next?

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

 

 

THE MANDATE by Pastor David Ogbueli

My Diet and Exercise Routine in 2008

My diet consisted of six timed meals a day, three main meals and three snacks. The meals were just enough to satisfy hunger while the snacks were mainly made of fruits and veggies. If for some reason a meal time came and passed and I hadn't eaten, I just let it slide and have some fruit. Let me give a practical instance. There was a day I went for a church program that extended till very late in the night. Dinner time came and passed while I was in the hall. I got home really late that night so I just went to bed, hungry!!! However the next morning, I was the first to wake up, guess what I had for breakfast? GARRI AND OKRA SOUP!!! Lol! In my opinion, this was a good move because the best time to eat heavy food is in the morning. The reason is because your system is most active during the early hours of the mornings. However, please do not eat Garri and Okra soup in the morning!!! I decided to put together the diet plan, as much as I can remember on this post. Please, please and please, this plan was tailored specifically for me. I feel I should let you know how it all went down with the financial aspect. As you know, I was not working at the time I started this weight loss journey, so you can imagine how I coped with all the fruits and veggies. For the snack s part, I was eating mainly garden egg and groundnut, cos it was the cheapest and easiest fruit to get lol!! Then sometimes I would just buy those N50 fruits that all these Aboki guys sell, yes I eat that too and I am still alive and well, thanks for asking, lol!! I honestly feel it's okay to eat those, I know some people might object to that, though.

My 7 days diet plan in 2008

For exercise, I did a forty minute, total body burn aerobic exercise twice every day, except weekends. Now this must not be the way your own should be. I did this because I wasn't working at that time so I had all the time. Besides I felt I needed to stay active, since I wasn't actively involved in any other thing at that time. The aerobics exercise lasts for about 1 hour, including warm up and final stretches. When I started, I could only do about 5 MINUTES of the entire thing!!! The first week was horrible cos I was in serious pain for that whole week. Sometimes I felt I was going to pass out, but my dietitian actually told me that I was going to experience these feelings, so I knew ahead of time. I was determined and I didn't want to give up. By the third week I could do at least 20 MINUTES NON STOP!! I kept improving until my stamina was greatly developed and I could do the entire thing without stopping, I actually started looking forward to my exercise time!! So if you have ever tried exercising and given up even before you got used to the exercise, try again, please don't give up!! 

Front cover of the Aerobics DVD I used for my exercise. 

I have also added a couple of tips I feel you might need as well. Please put down your reactions in the comment box below.