My Hair Goals For 2022

Welcome back to my blog.

Happy new month!

Who is still setting goals for the year at this time of the year? This girl is. Last year I ran on vibes and my hair went through a lot. From a bad salon experience to stress from my exams, it was just a whole lot and by the time the year ended my hair was a tangled dry mess with lots of rough ends so I said this year I’m going to grow out my hair intentionally.

This year I plan to be very minimalistic with my hair and avoid a lot of manipulation and the plan was to have my hair in faux locs and braids but after taking down the locs I did in January I still have my hair in the twists I did for the locs. It’s been about 3 weeks with the twists and I’ve been having a swell time. I’ve been enjoying the medium sized twists I have on now and I think I’ll stick with it for a while, especially now we’re on strike and school is not in session.

So my broad hair goal is healthy, long hair but I have 3 sub goals to get the main goal.

Goal 1- Grow my hair to mid back length

My hair doesn’t grow as fast as most people’s hair. Most people grow half an inch per month but my hair grows less than that. When I used to relax my hair, my 5 months of new growth was barely 2 inches of hair but that’s the amount of hair others grow in just 4 months.

So the plan is to retain as much length as I can while my hair grows by doing the following:

Protective styling 80% of the time. I don’t plan on wearing my hair out as much this year. I’ll only wear my hair out for special occasions.
Washing my hair in twists. Because I’ll be wearing twists most of the time, I’ll be having my whole washday in twists and only take them down to moisturize and retwist or air dry for the next style.
Detangling my hair very carefully.
Scalp massages 3-4 times a week. I only oil my scalp twice a week though.
Eating healthy and incorporating fruits and vegetables. Also exercising for overall good health.

Goal 2- Prevent single strand knots

My hair shrinks a lot, which leads to tangles, which leads to single strand knots. I’ll be preventing it by:

Keeping my hair in stretched styles.
Double moisturizing and sealing my ends.
Dusting off my ends regularly.
Detangling carefully.
Avoiding hair salons.

Goal 3- Keep my hair moisturized.

My hair always finds a way to stay dry every time and finding a moisturizer for my hair that actually works is quite hard. Having low porosity hair, most of the products just end up sitting on my hair strands. I plan to keep my hair moisturized by:

Deep conditioning with heat every washday.
Use heat for a few minutes after moisturizing my hair.
Only apply products on damp hair.
I switched from whipped Shea butter to whipped mango butter to seal in moisture in my hair and my hair stays moisturized without feeling oily.
Sleeping with a satin scarf every day.

I did a length check and I’m pleased to announce my hair is past bra strap.

I didn’t even believe it because my hair shrinks up so much, hiding all the growth. So growing my hair to mid back length should take an additional 3 inches which I hope I’m able to retain by the end of the year.

I’ll be back for the after because I want to be held accountable this time.

Do you have hair goals for the year or you’re on vibes like I was last year?

Thanks for reading!

Things I miss about having relaxed hair

Welcome back to my blog.

I was moisturizing my mini twists and I realized that it’s been over 2 years I cut my relaxed hair and over 3 years since I relaxed my hair. I transitioned for about a year.

So I was going down memory lane and it was a good one. I hardly knew anything about haircare in my relaxed hair days. The only thing I did intentionally for my hair was stretching my retouching to every 5 months because I noticed retouching every 2, 3 months was making my hair weak.

Then applying ori(Shea butter) because there was this rave about Shea butter. I think it was the period when having natural hair became more popular. Everybody was swearing by Shea butter and coconut oil for their hair.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I hardly did anything haircare to my relaxed hair apart from relaxing, applying hair cream(sometimes Vaseline) and braiding my hair) but it was growing fairly okay till it reached a plateau and never passed my collar bone. And I had my relaxed hair for about 6years.

Dealing with my natural hair meant a change of lifestyle literally. I could no longer be nonchalant about it the way I was with my relaxed hair. It was kind of easy though because I transitioned so I eased into it. And let me tell you, if you think maintaining natural hair is hard, try transitioning hair. It was twice as hard because you’ll be dealing with 2 completely different textures of hair.

I miss being able to comb my hair freely.

I can’t do that anymore with natural hair. My hair has to be damp with water or saturated with conditioner for proper detangling. Infact since going natural I don’t comb my hair as much. I basically only comb on washdays and I finger detangle every other time. I remember I could comb my relaxed hair dry but I don’t have that luxury anymore.

My relaxed hair wasn’t thick thick.

You guys, my natural hair is thick thick. Now don’t get me wrong, I love it but sometimes it’s just a lot. Especially the top of my hair. I can’t pull my hair into a low ponytail easily because of it and it stresses me out.

There was no shrinkage

This should have been the first point because!!!!! My hair shrinks a lottttt. Even when it’s not wet. My hair shrinks when it’s exposed to air so I can’t go out and come back with the same hair length and it’s so annoying.

I can’t impulsively put my hair in any style.

My hairstyles have to be planned. You know how you can just wake up one morning and feel like wearing a wig? I don’t have that luxury because if my hair wasn’t in cornrows prior to that time, I can’t wear the wig because like I said, my hair is thick and I can’t put it in a smooth ponytail easily or do quick cornrows because it won’t be flat enough to wear a wig on top. And ain’t nobody wearing a wig that doesn’t lay flat on my head so that’s a no. It’s a whole lot. I have to know what I want for my hair before the morning.

There were no single strand knots.

With shrinkage comes single strand knots and that can be very hard to work with. And tangles too. My hair tangles a lot. I didn’t have to bother about this with relaxed hair.

My hairstyles lasted longer.

Natural hair gets frizzy very fast and that makes hairstyles look old faster. My braids could comfortably last 2 months with relaxed hair and I only had to worry about my roots but now the roots and body of the braids start looking old from 3 weeks, 1 month if it was braided tightly and with proper care. My cornrows look old after 1 week(I usually make about 10 cornrows).

I have trust issues with people handling my hair.

I’ve only been to the salon a number of times since going natural but it always ends in tears. It’s either they’re not handling my hair carefully or the grip for the weaving is too tight. It’s always something and these hairdressers do not listen to complains. It’s like they don’t care what you want. Luckily I can do my hair myself and I enjoy doing it but sometimes I want to relax and let someone else do it but it always ends in tears. The one time I went to a so called natural hair salon, I wasn’t impressed with how my hair was handled. I would try out some more natural hair salons, but they’re more expensive than regular hair salons.

Do you miss your relaxed hair if you’ve ever relaxed your hair?

Thank you so much for reading.

Don’t forget to like, comment and share✌️

My Favourite Low Manipulation Styles For My Short to Medium Length 4c Hair

Welcome back to my blog 🙋Happy Friday. I’ve been waiting for the weekend since Sunday night. Classes have been hectic and we were told we’ve not even gotten to the stressful part. Chile…I don’t like it here but I’m grateful nonetheless.I think I can finally put the medium length when describing my hair even though I feel my hair is still on the short side. I mean, if my hair can be packed into a low ponytail then it’s not so short anymore.So low manipulation styles are very simple styles which are done to prevent everyday manipulation of your hair. They last anywhere from 3 days to a week. I like to think of them as short term protective styles even though all of them are not really hiding your ends.When I’m not wearing braids or wigs which are my 2 go-to protective styles, I try to do simple styles that prevent everyday manipulation.

Low Bun

This is my favourite. It’s very simple and suitable for any occasion. Together with my glasses, it gives the ultimate serious medical student look(don’t mind me, I just had to throw that there). I usually tuck my ends in with this style so it’s kind of protective for me and I don’t have to worry about shrinkage or tangling. I sometimes add kinky extensions for a fuller looking bun to elevate the look.With this style, my satin scarf is my best friend. I always tie my hair down so it lays flat and doesn’t get frizzy or start getting loose and scattered. I’m currently wearing my hair in a low bun and it has been this way for 2 weeks now.

High Bun

Basically the same as the first but it’s rather on the top of your head. Another chic hairstyle for any occasion.

Two flatwists

This was a favourite when my hair was quite shorter and I could flatwist easily. Now for some reason I can’t get my flatwists to come out right which is really annoying. But it’s a simple and quick style that lasts for about 3 days to a week.

Twist out updo

This is the last and it’s the only style that my hair is sort of free. I’m no longer a fan of twist outs. I only do them once in a while now. But when I do a twist out, after wearing it free the first day, I put it in an updo situation by pinning the back of my hair upwards with bobby pins and leaving the front in a side fringe or bangs situation.

What’s your go-to low manipulation style?Is it the high puff? I only wear high puffs on special occasions. I used to have issues with the tension it causes on the hairline but I’ve found a way to reduce the tension to almost none.Thanks for reading.Don’t forget to tell me your go-to hairstyle in the comments😊

6 Reasons Why Protective Styles Are Damaging Your Hair

Welcome back to my blog 🙋

Anytime I’m asked how I grow my hair I always say I just make my hair and make sure it’s always moisturized. Now when I say moisturized I don’t mean applying oil or hair cream to my hair or the actual LOC or LCO(leave in conditioner, oil and cream) method but that’s a whole separate story.

Today we’ll be discussing on how protective styles can do more harm than good to your natural hair. But before that you should know that I protective styles are really good and I swear by them. Why?

It reduces knots and tangles in your hair and keeps it more manageable.
It gives your hair a break from frequent styling or manipulation.
Protects your hair from harsh weather.
Reduces hands in hair syndrome.
Helps retain length.
Allows you to easily switch up your style.

Now if they do these great things for your hair how can they still damage your hair?

It’s too tight.

Do we still make styles that snatches away our edges in 2021? No ma’am, miss me with that. Your style can be neat without it being tight, don’t believe that lie we grew up with that tight hairstyles last longer. If it’s too tight, it causes too much tension on your scalp and can damage your hair follicles causing hair breakage or worse, hair loss.

You don’t prep your hair properly.

Since your hair is going to be tucked away for a while you need to make sure that it’s clean, deep conditioned and properly moisturized. Do not put away dirty or dry hair in a protective style.

You abandon your hair.

I know protective styles give you a break from your hair but it doesn’t mean you should totally abandon your hair. Leaving your hair dry in protective styles is doing more harm than good. You need to regularly moisturize your hair, oil your scalp and clean your scalp every 2 or 3 weeks.

Sleeping without a satin/silk scarf, bonnet or pillowcase.

With natural hair, we’re trying to avoid dryness at all cost and this is a good way to do so. I’ve recently started wrapping a satin scarf around my pillow because I sometimes get lazy and sleep without my bonnet or scarf. Protecting your hair properly also prevents your protective style from getting frizzy early.

You leave it in for too long.

It can be very tempting to leave your protective style for long because it’s easier to manage but that’s not a good idea. If you leave your protective style for too long your hair would be dehydrated and extremely tangled when you want to take your hair down. Your protective style should last you anywhere between 2-6 weeks. 8 weeks is okay but that’s a stretch for the brave.

You’re not gentle when taking them out.

Now that you can feel the new growth through your braids and it’s time to take it down, if you’re not gentle with the process you’ll be losing the length you were able to gain while your hair was tucked away. Your hair is going to be fragile since it has been away for a while so you have to handle your hair with care.

Are you guilty of any of these? In my next post I’ll be sharing how to take down your protective style properly and retain all the length you gained.

Thanks for reading✌️

Product Review: VO5 Dry Scalp Moisturizing Shampoo

Welcome back to my blog 🙋

Today I’ll be reviewing this very affordable shampoo I got a few months ago. I’m almost out of it so I’ve used it quite a number of times. I’m a black soap shampoo stan but I couldn’t be bothered to make one and this vo5 shampoo was really cheap so I got this instead.

This brand is famous for their five vitamins and five oils formula but this one contains just 5 vitamins and one oil.

Key ingredients: sodium laurel sulphate Sweet almond oil, panthenol, tocopheryl, niacinamide, ascorbic acid and biotin

Packaging: the shampoo comes in a 325ml(11oz) plastic bottle with a flip cap which closes perfectly so I didn’t experience any spilling.

Texture/Appearance: it has a light runny gel like texture and has a whitish transparent appearance.

Scent: the scent is not so overpowering.

Claims: Soothes and relieves dry scalp.

Pros

The shampoo is really cheap. I got it for less than a thousand naira. It was 850naira(about $2) in everyday supermarket.

It cleanses the hair properly.

Cons

It contains sulphates so it’s drying to the hair. It left my hair feeling dry and tangled.

It’s too runny and I wasted a good amount of product.

My experience

This shampoo is quite drying to be a moisturizing shampoo. Moisture where? If I don’t wash my hair in sections or in twists my hair is left feeling dry and tangled.

The only time I enjoyed using this shampoo is when I prepoo my hair with oil or shea butter. The oil barrier prevents the shampoo from drying my hair while still leaving my hair clean and the best part? My hair is soft whenever I use it this way.

I got about 8 uses from this bottle of shampoo. It would have been more but it’s quite runny and so it usually slips from my hands if I’m not careful. I feel like it can be used up to 10 times or more if you’re not heavy handed.

Rating

I’ll give this shampoo a 5/10

It’s an okay shampoo if you wash your hair monthly. If you wash your hair weekly, stay away from this shampoo. If you wash your hair biweekly you can get away with it if you prepoo your hair.

Have you used this shampoo before?

What’s your favourite shampoo for your hair?

Hair Update|Dry Hair, Extreme Shedding, Bald Edges And A Drastic Trim.

Welcome back to my blog 🙋

This is an old post that has been sitting in my drafts since April. I just didn’t get to edit and upload it before my exams in May and after exams I forgot about it. I just wanted to publish it before I bring out the new natural hair content I have stashed in the drafts.

My hair went through IT this year whew!

After the braids I did in late January which I took down mid March, my hair has been going through a lot. I finished 1st semester exams last month and I’m preparing for another one next month so my hair is the last thing on my mind. When I took down the braids, my ends were raggedy and rough because the girl that braided my hair thought it wise to comb my hair with a rat tail comb while dry despite my complains but that’s a story for another day. So I had to trim quite an amount of hair.

I’ve always heard that stress can affect your hair and skin but I had never experienced it on my hair before now. My skin usually gets most of the effect. Once I’m stressed, it would start showing from my face but my hair has always been a strong girl. She couldn’t take much this time I guess. My skin hasn’t really acted up yet. I’ve been maintaining beauty with all these stress.

This has been the most stressful time of my life. My routine has been wake up, eat, go to class to read, sleep, eat, read in the hostel, complain,rant or cry then read again.

My hair has been in cornrows for the most part but it’s currently in twists now. It has been dry and feels so crusty. The shedding is also crazy. I try to avoid using combs now because that’s a recipe for disaster so I use my fingers to detangle.

My edges? They’re slowly getting bald. It doesn’t also help that I sometimes twirl loose hair around my edges when I’m stressed, anxious or reading and I’ve been reading a lot, so yeah.

I’m consciously trying to at least spritz my hair with water or a moisturizing spray everyday before I go to class since I put my hair in twists and it has helped to an extent.

Update

My exams have come and gone and yeah I passed😊. April and May especially, was the most stressful time of my life. I had 6 weeks to prepare for my exam. And the exam ran for 3 weeks. Those 9 weeks? Horrible. But I’m happy it’s over.

My hair is in a better place now. The shedding has stopped, it’s no longer extra dry and my edges are growing back.

I had kinky twists before my exam started so I wouldn’t be bothered about it. Right now my hair is getting better and I love that for me.

Thanks for reading.

See you in my post✌️

Blogmas Day 17|My Updated Washday Routine.

Welcome to blogmas day 17.

Let me first say that I can finally comfortably wash my hair in twists now!! I mean, they’ll unravel at the end, but I use a scrunchie to hold it in place.

So as my hair is getting longer, I’m looking for ways to make managing it easier and make washdays easier. I wash my hair weekly or biweekly depending on how I wear my hair and how my hair feels. There’s no much difference or newly added steps, just a different technique.

Prepoo/Detangling

I prepoo my hair 80% of the time. The remaining 20% is when I do a clay mask or I’m lazy. I don’t know how some people just hop in the shower and drench their hair in water then proceed to shampooing. My hair would be a tangled mess.

So I’ve moved from using an oil to prepoo, to using conditioners cause it’s faster, to using Shea butter and conditioner, to using an oil and conditioner. I’m back to my old gee palm kernel oil which I used to use when I was transitioning. It really does work amazingly on my hair and I remember why I used to love it. My hair does this weird thing we’re it stops responding to a product like it used to, so I’m forced to stop using it or take a break.

Palm kernel oil is a penetrative oil and is a good alternative to coconut oil if your hair doesn’t like coconut oil like me. I use olive oil sometimes, but like I said, conditioners just make things easier cause the slip is better even though ideally, oils should be used to prepoo.

Excuse my mini rant here, I just wanted to explain myself and share somethings that might be helpful. So for my prepoo, I divide my hair into 4 sections and spritz my hair with some water to make it pliable then take a smaller section and apply some palm kernel oil, working it in with my fingers, then I go over it with a conditioner. When my hair is feeling very dry, I go over the conditioner with Shea butter. After applying everything, I finger detangle as much as I can to get the products in and lightly remove any shed/tangled hair then twist up that section.

When I’m through with the 4 sections, I cover my hair with a plastic cap and let it sit for 30 minutes to overnight, depending on how dry my hair is, my schedule, and how energetic I feel.

Shampooing

This is the part that has the new technique. I wash my hair in twists now. So instead of unraveling the twists and pack into sections like I used to do, I’ll just use scrunchies to tie the twists into 4 sections.

I use very lukewarm water. Somewhere between cold and lukewarm. I don’t like using hot water cause I feel it just strips excess moisture from my hair. And cold water won’t easily remove the oils I slathered on my hair like lukewarm would.

I shampoo my hair twice if It’s really dirty or when I do an oil prepoo. I take down each scrunchie to shampoo the section, focusing on my scalp then running the suds through the twists then tie it back with the scrunchie when I’m through. After shampooing, I rinse off the shampoo then squeeze out the excess water and wrap my hair with a cotton t-shirt.

Deep Conditioning

By this time, the twists would be looking raggedy and hanging on to their dear lives, but I’ll take down each twist and apply my deep conditioner then twist it back. I don’t attempt to use any tool to detangle my hair until I’ve deep conditioned with heat or just wrappingng a warm towel over my head. By then, my hair would have absorbed the conditioner better and it would be softer. So I go ahead and take down each twist then use my tangle teezer to gently detangle my hair from tips to root then twist it back up.

When I’ve detangled everything, I rinse off the conditioner with my hair still in the twists. And yes, I’m able to get all the conditioner out.

Moisturizing/Styling

I usually let my hair to air-dry to about 80% or I’ll leave it wrapped in the tshirt for a while before I go ahead to moisturize it. I don’t like working on soaking wet hair.

So I take down each twist and apply my leave in conditioner then seal it with my whipped shea butter then twist or braid it back to air-dry. When I’m done with that, I oil my scalp and massage it in for a few minutes and I’m done.

Everything usually takes about 2 hours including the deep conditioning time but most times I take breaks in between. I can shampoo my hair and leave it for a few hours to do other things before I proceed to deep condition.

The new method of washing my hair in twists has made it a whole lot easier. It keeps my hair somewhat stretched and prevents tangling. I’m through with everything relating to washing my hair for the year and I’m happy. It’s prepped and ready to be put away before aunty harmattan comes.

P.S- A little digressing, my hair goal for this year was to reach chin length and armpit length by the end of the year, but I didn’t quite get there. I’m not so far from it though. All things being equal, by the time I’m taking down my protective style next year, my hair should have grown to that extent.

Thanks for reading.

Did you reach your hair goal this year? How long does your washday take?

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Follow me to keep up with my blogmas posts.

Stay safe!

Blogmas Day 13|Quick Fixes For A Bad Hair Day.

Welcome to blogmas day 13.

Have you ever twisted or braided your hair, expecting a bomb hairstyle the next day? Or you’ve imagined how your that hairstyle you’ve planned is going to be but it doesn’t come out as planned? Girl, me too.

I’ll be sharing some solutions to salvage your hair game.

Headwraps

I love me a pretty headwrap. It’s a perfect solution for a bad hair day and can work for all hair lengths cause you’re literally hiding your hair, except you want a style where your hair still shows. Just get a pretty headwrap and tie it to your style. The good thing about headwraps, there are different ways to style it to suit your style.

Wigs

Am I the only person who thinks that wigs are lifesavers? They are a good alternative for headwraps when you need to wear cooperate clothes (this is what I just personally feel). Perfect for all hair lengths too. Just throw a wig cap on and put on your wig.

Puffs

High puff has been saving the natural hair girls since 1960. Just throw your hair in a puff sis. It’s a go to style for almost everyone, but for some reason I feel high puffs look weird on me, but I wear it anyways (I can actually count the number of times I’ve worn a high puff and that says a lot). It can work with different hair lengths too.

Facecaps

Do you know there are satin lined facecaps too? I know, that’s amazing. You can now wear a facecap and still protect your hair with the gentle texture of a satin material. Perfect for when you don’t want to be bothered with your hair and still look amazing.

Faux Ponytails

This is another chic hairstyle that I love. But it can only be a quick fix if your hair is long enough to be put in a quick ponytail before attaching the faux ponytail. It’s beautiful anyways, and if you get a ponytail with your hair texture, you might just get away with making people believe that it’s your hair.

There, you have it! 5 quick fixes to get you through a bad hair day.

Thanks for reading.

What’s your go-to for a bad hair day?

Sharing is caring, so share this blog with a friend.

Like if you enjoyed it and leave a comment too. Let’s gist in the comments section.

Catch up on my previous blogmas.

Stay Safe!

Blogmas Day 10| DIY Black Soap Shampoo For Natural Hair

Welcome back to blogmas day 10.

This post has been sitting in my drafts since late October. I totally forgot I hadn’t published it, but no content goes to waste over here.

You guys already know I’m a DIY princess right?😂 I honestly want to reduce the amount of things I do myself, but we basically have these things at home and so going to buy the store bought ones are like wasting resources so I’m not about that wastage life.

When it comes to shampoos, I’m not so picky. As long as it doesn’t leave my hair feeling stripped off moisture and it cleans my scalp, then I’m good. I’ve been using We Naturals blacksoap shampoo from their hemp oil range and I really liked it because it cleaned my hair without leaving it feeling dry and stripped off moisture. The shampoo was a 500ml bottle and I’ve basically used it throughout my hair journey(since I started transitioning) I got the whole hemp oil set in 2018 and the shampoo just finished. I’m almost out of it though, so I started making plans for a new one then I remembered we have black soap at home.

For this shampoo, I used the same things I used for my diy whipped Shea butter. When I tell you my hair was soft after shampooing my hair, I was shocked at how moisturized my hair felt. It felt better than when I used the We Naturals shampoo. And I was even heavy handed when using the shampoo.

How to make.

For this shampoo, I didn’t use any specific measurements. I basically just eyeballed most of the ingredients but I was able to get a 13oz bottle of shampoo.

Ingredients
1.) Any black soap
2.) 1 tablespoon of Shea butter
3.) 1½ tablespoon of Honey
3.) 1 tablespoon of palm kernel oil
4.) 2 tablespoons of olive oil
5.) 5 drops of tea tree oil
6.) 10 drops of vitamin C serum
7.) A cup of hot water

Procedure
1.) Shred the black soap into little pieces then put in a cup of hot water and allow to melt.
2.) Melt the Shea butter using the double boiler method (put the Shea butter in a container then place it in a bowl of hot water).
3.) Add the melted Shea butter, oils, honey and the vitamin C serum into the cup containing the now liquid blacksoap then stir properly.
4.) Transfer your moisturizing shampoo into a bottle and shake.

This process is very easy. It doesn’t take up to 15 minutes and you’ve made yourself a bottle of shampoo. You can make your shampoo as much as you want and add any other oils or herbs to your shampoo. Just make sure you do your research concerning your hair’s needs and the shelf life. I wanted mine to be pretty basic so I just used basic ingredients.

Thanks for reading.

Would you try this out?

Catch up on my previous blogmas

Stay Safe 😊

Blogmas Day 9|Harmattan Hair Care Tips

Welcome to blogmas day 9. Hope you’re all enjoying my blogmas because I am. Which other bloggers are you keeping up with their blogmas posts?

Today I’ll be sharing some tips on how to care for your hair during the harmattan season. Harmattan season is an intensive dry weather that comes with dust and causes chapped lips, cough, catatrrh, dry skin amongst so many other things. And last but not the least, dry and brittle hair. Taking care of your hair during harmattan has to be done consciously.

Here are some tried and tested tips to get you through the harmattan season.

Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize!

You can never have too much moisture in your hair during harmattan. You have to moisturize your hair more regularly than you used to. I usually moisturize my hair every 2 days, but during harmattan, it’s essential that I do it everyday. Twice daily if I have to go out.

Deep condition regularly.

You need to step up your deep conditioning game this period. Deep condition your hair weekly or as often as your schedule would allow you. You should focus on moisture, so moisturizing deep conditioners should be used.

Increase your water intake.

Water is good for your skin and hair. You should significantly increase the amount of water you drink during harmattan season because you can easily get dehydrated.

Cowash more and shampoo less.

Cowashing can be beneficial during this period because shampoos can overly dry out your hair which we’re trying to avoid. You should still shampoo your hair to remove excessive build up, but it should be done less and with moisturizing sulphate free shampoos.

Stay away from heat.

Stay away from blow dryers, flat irons, curling wands and other heat tools. The weather is already dry enough, so you don’t need to add more external factors which would end up making your hair dry and brittle.

Massage your scalp with oil regularly.

This will prevent you from having a dry and flaky scalp. Massaging your scalp regularly would ensure increased blood circulation which encourages hair growth. Ensure that you spritz your hair lightly with warm water before oiling your scalp. This will help keep your scalp moisturized and not just oily. Here’s how to massage your scalp properly

Use butters and thick oils.

You want ditch your light oils like olive, coconut, almond oils and opt for thicker oils like castor oil or butters like shea, cocoa and mango butters. If your hair doesn’t like raw Shea butter, you can make a whipped shea butter like I usually do. The butters and thick oils would help to seal in the moisture you put in your hair and ensure that your hair is protected and doesn’t lose moisture quickly.

Avoid dust as much as possible.

Headwraps and facecaps are your bestfriends this period. They’ll help prevent dust from settling in your hair.

Wear satin bonnets.

Satin and silk are your hair’s bestfriends. Ensure that you wear a satin bonnet to sleep because it would help retain the moisture in your hair for a longer period. Also try and wear it even during the day when you’re at home.

Avoid overly using humectants.

Humectants such as honey and glycerin are great to draw in moisture from the atmosphere into the hair, but during harmattan the air is usually dry so your hair will tend to lose moisture to the atmosphere as water tends to move down it’s concentration gradient (from higher concentration to lower concentration) resulting in dry and brittle hair which is prone to breakage.

Protective styles.

If you’re like me and can’t be bothered to be have her hair out, get a protective style. That way, you’re hair is protected from direct exposure to the dry weather. It’s important that you still moisturize your hair with that protective style to prevent breakage. You can check out this protective style look book for inspiration.

Thanks for reading!

Don’t forget to drink water and stay moisturized.

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Stay safe 😊