Tips for mini twists.

1. Cleanse and deep condition your hair before hand. Before you twist your hair is the only time you will be able to get to your scalp with out causing frizz.

2. Apply a heavy butter whilst twisting. Shea butter will suffice. But there are also store bought products.

3.twist on dry stretched hair. This will allow you to see more length and cause less knots.

4.Wash your hair. If you are leaving your twists in for longer than 2 weeks it is best to wash your hair. The misconception that twisted hair no longer need to be washed is ridiculous.

5. Sleep with a satin scarf, bonnet or pillow!

Argan Oil Hydrating Hair Masque

I had seen this product in so many shops and because it only cost £1 I thought why not give it a try. The ingredients are not too bad considering the price, no mineral oil or sulphates and argan oil is the 6th ingredient so it contains a fair amount.

I did not use this product in its purest form so this may not be such a fair test. Instead I melted some shea butter added an oil mix and honey to 3 table spoons of the mask. I do this with all my shop brought conditioners, as I heavy handed with them and it also gives me a hot oil treatment at the same time.

I applied this mixture to my damp hair and put a shower cap on then I put my heating cap on. I actually had a nap with the mask on and it ended up being in my hair for 3 hours. I rinsed my hair with warm water and finished it of with cold to close the cuticles. I then plaited added shea butter and an oil mix to my hair and plaited it in  plaits to stretch it. 

The next day I woke up and my hair wasn't dry as the plaits were quite big. I'm not sure if this was anything to do with the fact that my hair felt dry, normally when I apply a mask my hair feels extremely moisturised for about two days. This has not been the case with this mask. I don't think I will repurchase this mask again even with the favourable price as it does not seem to agree with my hair. Maybe this mask is more suited to someone with straighter hair. I will be conditioning my hair again with another product as I am not happy with the way my hair feels.

Pros 
Price

Cons 
Does not hydrate!

Protective Style Challenge

29/08/2015 marks the beginning of my 1 year protective style challenge.

My guidelines

-No heat (not even indirect)

-No combs or styling tools (finger detangle only)

-Deep condition every 2 weeks (natural products)

-Protective style (mini twists mostly)

-Very low poo (I will alternate between shampoo and co wash monthly and use clay wash in between)

29/08/2016 I will do an updated video.

Join if you wish, and good luck.

Homemade Cocoa Butter Cream

While I love palmer’s cocoa butter it can be a bit pricy. I decided to research natural alternatives. After much trial and error I came up with a full proof recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Unrefined Cocoa Butter

1/2 cup Refined Shea Butter

1/4 + 1/8 Unrefined Coconut oil

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

3 Drops of Fragrance (optional) 

The reason I used unrefined cocoa butter and coconut oil is because they have a pleasant smell. The smell of shea butter tends not to be as appeasing and refined usually has little to no smell. 

Method 

Firstly melt all the ingredients on a double boiler on a medium low heat. This can be done in the microwave but the double boiler is a gentler process and will allow the ingredients to retain more nutrients.

Once melted place all the ingredients in the fridge. Leave for a couple of hours.

Remove the bowl from the fridge if the mixture is too hard to mix with your finger then, let it sit in a warm room for another couple of hours.

Once the mixture can be mixed with your finger. Use an electric mixer and mix it until it become light and fluffy.

Finished Product 

Mini Twist Care Routine

I usually wear my mini twists for about 3-4 weeks. It is my favourite protective style as it is simple to do and very versatile. 

I would reccomend washing mini twists if you keep them in for longer than 2 weeks. As hair that is left without moisture is more prone to loc!

I always sleep with a satin bonnet on!

Week 1 
I do not spray my hair with water for the first week as this will cause premature frizz, instead I just add an oil mix to my hair every 3 days.  I may apply bantu knots or perm rods to style. I know this is counter productive as I am just sealing in dry hair but before installing a protective style it is best to DEEP condition your hair before hand. 

Week 2
I will apply water and aloe to my hair once and will seal it in with a mixture of oils. I will then plait it or put some rollers in it to stretch it. 

Week 3
At this point my hair will be very dry, so I will deep condition. I won't Usually use homemade deep conditioners as it can be difficult to wash them out.  I would take any deep conditioner and mix with some oil and honey. 

I then wash my hair and rinse with apple cider vinegar and bentonite clay rinse. I don't shampoo or co-wash as I try to limit the amount I use commercial shampoos.  I then apply oil or shea butter, if I feel my hair is particularly dry I will apply both. To dry I will put my twists into medium/small plaits. once dry it will give my hair a nice crimped look. 

Every couple of nights I will apply a small amount of oil and water to my hair and put my hair into plaits. I do this to stretch my hair as when it gets old it will starts to look frizzy.

Week 4 - Week n 
Repeat week 3. 

This is how I try to keep my hair moisturised.The longer mini twists are kept in the more chance there is that your hair will loc, Also deep conditioning seems to becomes less effective.

Cheap and Natural Hair Products

I have decided to stop buying expensive hair products and as I am not entirely happy with the cheap alternative, making products is my only option.

Sealant/styling cream- Whipped shea Butter

Unrefined Shea butter mixed with any natural oil. This is an excellent sealant and is very economical. 500g is about £9 and will last around 6 months. That's £1.50 per month!

Sealant- Oil

Extra virgin olive oil, coconut, avocado, jojoba, grapeseed, Jamaican black castor oil and castor.

This list is not extensive. Cheaper oils like EVOO and coconut oil are just as effective as argan oil in my opinion. Don't be tempted to splash the cash on argan oil as you believe it to work miracles. There is no actual evidence that argan oil even penetrates the hair.

Leave in- Aloe vera juice

Try to make sure that this is as natural as possible, it is great to use on freshly washed hair.

Cleanser (shampoo) - Apple cider vinegar and bentonite clay.
I will post a recipe for this but it consists of apple cider vinegar, oil and clay.

Gel- Flaxseed gel

I have the recipe up on here. This can be used for wash and go's, perm rod sets and twist outs. It is very moisturising which is something normal gels are not. 

Deep conditioner- Avocado, banana, honey, oil, mayo, coconut milk and egg. 

In various mixtures and combinations these items make up my deep conditioners. 

Moisture -H20- Water 

water is the only true moisturiser most products are designed to seal in water. putting a sealant on dry hair will only seal in dryness. 

edge tamer- water, coconut oil  and satin scarf
spray your edges with water apply a generous amount of coconut oil then cover with a satin scarf and allow your hair to dry for an hour or so. After your edges should look "layed".

This is what I will be using on my hair for the foreseeable future. 

OFF TOPIC How To Deal With EQUITA

Do not waste your time and money on the phone to these people. they are extremely rude and will just aggravate you. communicate via the online form on their website.

Do not not be fooled by idol threats of bailiffs coming to remove your stuff. they can only come into your propriety via "peaceful entry". this means that they can walk through an open door or climb through an open window. they cannot break into your home with a locksmith.

if you have a complaint about a equita's conduct contact the council only do not try to complain to equita about equita. they are the most incompetent company you will ever have to deal with. 

usually they will give you an ultimatum to pay a ridiculous amount before they will even contemplate setting up a payment agreement. if u cannot afford this write to them via the online contact form with a formal payment offer. ask them to respond in writing if they reject send this to your local council as they may take back the debt. They will avoid explicitly rejecting your offer in writing, as they know this will lead to the council taking back the debt. If they start using their foolish tactics of skirting around the answer promptly COMPLAIN to the council.

Pay what you can afford, regularly. That way if they try to take you to court (doubt it). You can say you paid what u can.

Any enforcement and bailiff charges are not money you owe the council. Therefore it's up to you if you wish to pay them.

if a bailiff does visit your home and you are in. DO NOT even open the door or acknowledge their presence.  if you let a bailiff in your home once they DO have the right to break in on the 2nd visit. 

if you are expecting bailiffs put a notice of removal of implied right of access on your front door. this is a document which means anyone who want to access your home must do so by written request and must wait for your acceptance before knocking on your door. this can be found by typing "notice of removal of implied right of access" in google. 

these companies are designed to scare vulnerable people but just remember they have no real power and are masters at writing strongly worded letters to scare you. if you notice 90% of the letters you receive will have no signature. this shows that they do not want to be accountable for the almost false information the letters provide. 

think of them as a pantomime or a circus clown. They have little to no power and are a joke LOL.

Once they realise you will not co operate with there nonsense. They will send a letter which states they are sending the debt back to the council. The letter will state consequences such as "committal to prison". Whilst you can go to prison for refusal to pay council tax it is very unlikely and only happens in cases where you outright refuse to pay. Pay what you can monthly even £5 and this should suffice. 

IF YOUR DEBT IS INCOME TAX THEN 

DIFFERENT RULES APPLY AND THEY MAY BREAK INTO YOU HOME. 

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information supplied herein, the AUTHOR cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions.

• 
  

Gelcap Deep Conditioning Cap

Heat and deep conditioner are a match made in heaven. I got sick of using my hooded dryer as it’s too hot and noisy. After doing some searching n the internet I came across the gelcap. I frantically searched for reviews online but couldn't find any. So I made the purchase.

The gelcap arrives In a neatly packed box, and comes with a sample of a conditioner. The instructions are on the back of the box and are easy to understand. The only problem I did find is that it says microwave for 2 mins with no mention of what wattage your microwave should be.

I applied a deep conditioner to my hair and put the gelcap in the microwave for 2mins. Once I it took it out of the microwave the gel felt quite warm. When on my head I could feel that the deep conditioner had begun to warm up.

There were a few problems I encountered with the gel cap:

It seems to lose heat quickly.

It is heavy when its warms and becomes even heavier when cold, which means wearing it for long periods of time is a hassle.

Due to the fact that it is hard to sit with it on  for long periods and doesn't retain heat for very long I would not suggest purchasing this product. It can be useful for someone who only wants to deep condition for 3 minutes which I believe is the intended use of the product.

How to remove protective styles gently!

Removing protective styles without being gentle can have the effect of reversing any progress made by using them. So it is vital they are taken down with care.

Spray your hair with water. Then add any oil to your hair ( if you use jbco mix with something) put on a shower cap, conditioning cap and then a warm beanie. Leave this in your hair for 30 minutes.

Now carefully untwist or unplait,  this will aid your detangling process after and will also work as a pre poo.

Pro longing deep conditioners

After wearing mini twists for 3 weeks, they had started to unravel and I was getting an itchy scalp, I decided to remove them.  Once unraveled I pre pooed, shampooed and deep conditioned.

I did something a little different with my deep conditioner, as the all natural ones are expensive I decided to add some other things to it.

I added
 2 overripe bananas(even the skin was soft)
2 tbl spoons of honey and
3 tablespoons of evoo

To a blender and blended until smooth, I then proceeded to sieve this mixture into a bowl. Sieving will aid when trying to remove the mixture from your hair. I then added 1 and a half heaped tablespoons of shea moisture's jbco deep conditioner to the mixture, I also added another tablespoon if pure jbco for good measure. I made sure it was thoroughly mixed and added to my hair it sections, finger detangling whilst doing so. The mixture looked like this.

I sat with a shower cap and a conditioning cap for an hour. Once removed my hair felt very soft and moisturised and my curls were defined. I even managed to wash it out of my hair with no banana residue.

Over all this banana mixture has helped me prolong the life of my deep conditioner as i would only usually get 2 uses out of it using this method I would get 4. So I would be saving money in the long run.

Pros
economical
all natural

Cons
although i did not have this problem, getting bits stuck in my hair.

Coconut & Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser

I haven't washed my hair for 2 weeks and it was in need of some TLC. I applied hot oil treatment to my hair and wore a shower cap and conditioning cap for 1 hour. I then applied the Coconut & Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser to my hair focusing on my roots but still massaged it throughout my hair.

My hair felt clean and moisturised and did not feel stripped. This product doesn't lather much at all but this doesn't affect its cleaning ability. I am very happy with the results but the product only comes in a small bottle which is annoying and my hair is like a dry sponge.

Pros

Smells beautiful

Gentle cleansing

Cons

Small bottle 

As i am Hydration Elation

I was impressed with the as I am co wash so I thought I would give the deep conditioner a try. I applied this to my freshly hot oil treated and shampooed hair. I applied about half of the jar to the hair, covered it with a shower cap and a conditioning cap whilst I sat under a hooded dryer for 20 minutes.

I then rinsed this out thoroughly applied shea butter and put my hair into plaits. I am happy with the results of this conditioner as my hair did feel really moisturised. But this product did not work much better than shea moisture which is cheaper, so I don't think I will be purchasing this product again

Pros

Smells lovely

Natural ingredients

Cons

Kind of expensive

Not available in 500ml  

Carrier Oils Confusion

I recently went to my local beauty supply store in search of carrier oils. I have noticed that they are being advertised as 100% pure when in fact they are diluted.

The oil I wanted to purchase was avocado oil. Which on the bottle was advertised as 100% avocado oil. Upon. Closer inspection of the bottle I noticed two ingredients which were both in Latin. A quick Google search later and I discovered that it was in fact mixed with almond oil.

I was surprised at this because I didn't think avocado oil was particularly expensive. So if ever you are purchasing oils read the ingredients otherwise you may be paying over the odds for a cheaper oil.

ORS Hair Mayonnaise

I decided to try out this product on my cousin’s hair as my hair is in twists and he is in between cane rows. His hair was very dry as he had left it out or a long period of time and had been sleeping on cotton pillow cases.

I applied a hot oil mixture (JBCO coconut evoo) treatment to his hair for 20 minutes whilst he wore two shower caps and sat under a hooded dryer. I then shampooed his hair in 9 sections, only concentrating on the roots and allowing the rest to be cleaned as the water trickled down. I used shea moisture retention shampoo which worked like a treat. His hair actually felt as if it had been conditioned.

After I applied the ORS mayo treatment liberally to his sectioned hair. He then sat under the dryer for another 20 mins. After washing out the treatment his hair felt moisturised and a lot healthier. As ORS is a protein treatment and can leave the hair hard, he would have benefited from me applying a moisturising treatment after but I was short of time so couldn’t.

Pros

Cheap £3.99 for 454g

Cons

Contains Sodium lauryl sulphate and mineral oil

 

Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo

This shampoo is amazing, it cleanses my scalp without leaving a stripped feeling. It also has the added bonus of being sulfate free. Even though it is sulfate free it lathers really well, so if you like to feel that sud feeling this shampoo will provide you with that.

I use this shampoo maybe once every 4 weeks or more frequently if i have a product build up. I will usually pre poo with a hot oil treatment, which is a mix of various oils.I only massage it into my roots as when I rinse it out it will reach the rest of my hair. 

Unlike conditioner this shampoo will last a long time and you will not have to keep repurchasing which is an added bonus. 

Pros
Reasonably priced £12.95
Not harsh 

Cons 
Nothing 

Africa's Best Hair Mayonnaise Formulated With Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I searched protein treatments and this was one which appeared on various blogs. I was quite surprised considering the fact it was far from “natural” ingredients and it also contained the dreaded mineral oil. Despite this I made the purchase.

I applied to freshly co-washed and conditioned hair and put a conditioning cap and applied heat for 15 minutes. After I rinsed out I applied conditioner again as protein treatments can sometimes have a drying effect.

I was pleasantly surprised by the results my hair was very soft and felt moisturised. I will be purchasing this product again but will not use use it to often due to the fact it contains mineral oil.


Pros
Very Cheap £1.99 500g
Cons
Mineral oil!

AS I AM Coconut CoWash Cleansing Conditioner

Today I tried As I Am Coconut CoWash. My hair was shampooed 3 days before so there was not much of a product build up. I applied this product throughout my hair as if it was a conditioner and massaged it into my scalp. I then rinsed out and applied a conditioner.

My hair felt clean but did not feel stripped. I am happy with the results and will be using this product again.

Pros

Does not strip hair

Pleasant smelling

Reasonably price £10.95 445g

Cons

Would not be suitable for hair with a product build up 

Homemade Flaxseed Gel

Ingredients

¼ cup Flaxseeds/ Linseeds

2 tbsp. Aloe Vera Gel

2 cups water

5 drops of a desired scent

Method

Add the flax seeds and water in to a saucepan and boil until the mixture becomes gooey. Strain into a bowl using a sieve and add your desired scent. Once cooled add the aloe vera gel. Et voila the Gel is made. Personally I like to strain into an empty shower gel bottle as it makes application less messy.

Uses

Can be used for a super defined wash and go or to get more definition with a twist out.