NEW YEAR: STARTING YOUR HAIR JOURNEY (HAIR PRODUCTS, PART 2)

Hey there! I hope you had a great week. How are your New Year resolutions coming along? Great I hope. Did you see the part one of this post? If you missed it click here (It will only take a minute).

Here are the remaining list of products I use in my regimen.

Apple Cider Vinegar

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USAGE: ACV can be used for so much, more mixtures are still being combined with it. I use it to clean my scalp whilst in weaves and braids with a cotton wool every two weeks

PRICE: beautiphic.com (₦3,500 for 16oz)

Silk scarf, Silk bonnet

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USAGE: Bedtime

PRICE: beautiphic.com (₦2,500)

Moisturising Shampoo

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USAGE: Wash hair every week when it is not installed in weaves or braids, before/after protective style and a least one week before relaxer.

PRICE: jumia.com.ng (₦2,500)

WHAT I THINK ABOUT SULFATE/SULFATE-FREE SHAMPOOS: I know a lot of hair bloggers will come at me for this; but I don’t use a sulphate free shampoo because I don’t believe in it. Now before you start shouting at your computers/ phones give me a chance to explain. It is true that Sulfate-free shampoos aren’t as harsh as the ones that contain sulfate, but as long as I do a pre-poo treatment on my hair I think I’m good to go (I promise I will write a post on that soon). You just have to keep in mind that when using shampoos containing sulfate you don’t shampoo more frequent than once a week. During this week you can rinse your hair with a conditioner once, which is called co-washing. (Woah! Clearly this is another post because I apparently have more opinion than I thought on this. So I am just going to stop myself from typing further and start writing a post on it). I just had to clarify why there is no sulfate-free shampoo in these list of products.

Neutralising shampoo (For Relaxed Hair)

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USAGE: After a relaxer treatment

PRICE: jumia.com.ng (₦1,500)

Conditioner

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USAGE: Pre shampoo, Relaxer prep, detangling braids during take down and Co-washing

PRICE: Local supermarket (₦560)

Bobby Pins

USAGE: Sectioning hair for moisturising and sealing, deep conditioning and for styling hair.

PRICE: local supermarket (₦200)

Shower cap (Set of 6)

USAGE: To deep condition hair

PRICE: jumia.com.ng (₦920)

This might seem like a lot of money to spend all at once but you can split them into three parts of ₦10,000 each until you have all of them. These products last so you don’t have to worry about spending this much for a while. You might just need to top up on leave in conditioners regularly.

First Chunk (Assuming you already have a shampoo): Take out at least two weeks, (one month is best) without installing braids or weaves and just pay attention to your hair.

Leave-in conditioner

Moisturising deep conditioner

Sealant (Shea butter, coconut oil/olive oil)

Silk/Satin Scarf/Bonnet

Second Chunk

Moisturising Shampoo

Shower cap

Spritz bottle

Conditioner

Third Chunk: A more detailed haircare routine

Mild protein

Hard Protein

Bobby Pins

Apple Cider Vinegar

So that's it guys. I hope this post was super helpful. 

Post you soon guys.

NEW YEAR: STARTING YOUR HAIR JOURNEY (HAIR PRODUCTS, PART 1)

Hey there! How are you doing? How has 2017 been for you so far? How are your resolutions going? Well I am here to help out with a little bit of that. So to start of the New Year I thought of a series in two parts that could help out with starting your hair journey. I have split them into two parts one to focus of hair products and another to focus on hair regimen.

These posts are for you New Year resolutions fanatics. I am not exactly particular about them, which is why this post isn’t at the start of January…lol. I started my hair journey in March and I have been keeping track since then, but I understand that some of us believe in a fresh start in the New Year.

When I first started researching on hair care, one of the major things that confused me was the products to use and how often to use them. I found myself not having as much understanding as I thought I did and kept using the wrong products for months. It seemed so confusing, but here you are with all the hair products you will possibly need in one post and their prices (Aren’t you lucky?)! With that said, let’s get to it!

People ask me questions like, “Dolapo, what products do you use to grow your hair?” My answer is nothing. You read right, absolutely nothing. What? Well it’s because hair grows already; what you need to focus on is length retention. These products listed are a balance of moisturising and protein products, and hair care it is all about striking that balance. Click here to have a clearer understanding from a previous post I wrote.

Let me just say I could not believe the surge in these prices since I last got them. It is ridiculous! Please don’t waste any more time just get them. Even though I am still learning a lot about hair care, these are all the products I use currently. You don’t have to use these exact products, it is just a helpful guide.

Leave-in conditioner (moisturiser)

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USAGE: Every day/ every other day in four or more sections

PRICE: beautiphic.com (₦3,800),

Moisturising Deep Conditioner

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USAGE: Every wash day mild deep conditioners aren’t used. Use when you first start out your hair journey without installing any weaves or braids for the first two weeks.

PRICE: beautiphic.com (₦4,400),

Hard Protein Treatment

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USAGE: When your hair seems to be breaking uncontrollably or your hair feels too mushy. Check my post here for a clearer picture. Use a moisturising deep conditioner after this.

PRICE: beautiphic.com (₦4,750)

Mild Protein Treatment

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USAGE: Before and after a relaxer treatment and protective style

PRICE: jumia.com.ng (₦2,500)

Sealant (Like Shea butter, Coconut oil, Olive oil)

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USAGE: After moisturising hair and before relaxer

PRICE: From ₦2000 

Spritz Bottle

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USAGE: Every two days while hair is installed in weave or braids

PRICE: jumia.com.ng (₦900)

Okay guys, I’m going to stop here because I don’t like long posts and I’m sure you don’t too. I want to keep everything detailed and registered so it doesn’t seem like too much information all at once. So have a great week.

Post you soon guys.

HOW I GOT PAST SHOULDER LENGTH (PART 2)

Happy New Year Darlings!! I hope you all have a great year. Always remember that even if you are slacking on your hair journey or any other goals you have in March, you can start again. In essence, there really isn’t a perfect time to start anything; you don’t have to wait for a new year or a new month. Start right now! Did you read my last post on ‘How I got past shoulder length’? If you missed Part 1, see it here. After you have read that you can move straight on to the second part.

Keep Your Hair off Your Shoulders

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This probably is one of the major mistakes we make in terms of hair care. Black hair needs all the moisture it can get and letting it down frequently can affect growth. Most of the clothes we wear are made of cotton or polyester. In the last post I talked about how cotton pillow cases dry out your hair, this works the same way for clothes. When we let our hair down, the ends of the hair keep rubbing on our clothes and after a while they become dry and most of them break off.

When your hair gets past the shoulders a little you can let them a little more, but throughout the time that your hair rests on directly on top of your shoulders, please keep them off. There are beautiful hairstyles you can do with your hair like updos and buns but keep in mind that bantus are not protective styles if your ends still rest on your shoulders.

Once you have comfortably passed shoulder length only let your hair down 20% of the time. In my case, after I get a relaxer I leave my hair out for two weeks (14 days), this means I let my hair down twice in 14 days. 

Stretch Your Relaxers

This means extending the time between relaxers. Stretching relaxers prevents over processing of already relaxed hair because you have more new growth to work with. Only relax new growth, do not relax the entire hair. I stretch my hair for 12 weeks a time. To make it easier to stretch you should protective style or wear wigs. Just ensure that you properly cleanse your hair in protective styles.

A few tips on selected protective styles (just a guide, you don’t have to of course):

Braids

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• Cleanse: With apple cider vinegar using a cotton wool every two weeks
• Moisturise: With leaving in conditioner using a spritz bottle and seal with any light oil
• Max Duration to Keep Style: No more than eight weeks because your hair might start to lock

Weaves

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• ·  Cleanse: With apple cider vinegar using a cotton wool
•   Moisturise: With leaving in conditioner using a spritz bottle and seal with any light oil (between tracks)                                                                                                                                With leaving in conditioner and seal with any light oil (on hair left out, if any)
•  Max Duration to Keep Style: No more than six weeks to prevent matting and tangling that is unmanageable

Don’t be Afraid to Trim

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Your hair will grow! Trimming your hair doesn’t stop it from growing. All you’re doing is getting rid of the older part of the hair that’s weak. (Confused? Don’t worry, I got you)

Imagine one strand of hair growing out of your scalp, just one. Eventually with proper care this hair reaches shoulder length. The part that rests on your shoulders is the end and is the older part of that strand because it has travelled all the way down. The part of the hair that is at the root is the newer part of the hair. (Too much? I had to make sure you got it. I hope you get it)

I can’t stress how important a trim is because this is majorly what made me start my hair journey. I was losing way too much hair from lack of trimming. Oh, Dolapo I’m sure it’s not that bad, you say. Oh? Did you know that no matter how much you care for your hair a spilt end won’t go away. When your strand is split and you don’t trim it off it travels all the way to the top and you eventually have to chop it off! Enough said.

You can trim your hair every 3-4 months to stay safe, It is unncessary to trim off more than half an inch unless your hair is really damaged from split ends.

So that’s it lovelies! Now you know the things that limit you from getting past that shoulder length hurdle. No excuses. I wanna hear hairstimonies (hair testimonies…lol)

POST YOU SOON GUYS

HOW I GOT PAST SHOULDER LENGTH (PART 1)

Hey lovelies. I have missed being on here so much. I must admit I am a bit of a nerd and I got so consumed with school work; I really wanted to graduate with an amazing CGPA. I didn’t get my target but I am really proud of what I accomplished. Even though I wasn’t particularly diligent in my hair care practices, there was no way I was going to completely neglect it. So here are a few things I have learnt since the beginning of my hair journey that helped me get past the shoulder length hurdle.

Striking a Balance 

Now some people tend to find this bit a little tricky, but it is actually pretty basic. Pay close attention to what your hair needs and use the appropriate deep conditioner every wash day. If it

 1. it feels dry and brittle: Your hair either needs a wash or is not fully moisturised. It might need a wash because dirty hair is weighed down, clogged up and the product being added just basically sits on top of the hair shaft and doesn’t pierce through. If you have just recently washed your hair then you can use a conditioner in place of a shampoo (This is called co-washing). Always deep condition with every wash. You can use a moisturising deep conditioner after this wash.

Use a moisturising leave-in conditioner religiously.

Guysss (…or girls because what guy would be reading this, right?). You need to get your hands on this leave-in, if you haven’t already. It is ridiculous how good my hair feels after use.
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One deep conditioner I can’t get over is Beautiful textures’ Rapid Repair, OMG I love it so much.
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 2. it feels overly mushy and soft: Your hair has a moisture overload and needs more protein. You could use an egg and mayonnaise mixture, have a look at how here

 3. Know the difference: A moisturising deep conditioner would usually read ‘moisture-rich’ or something related and a protein conditioner would read something like ‘fights breakage’

 4. How to keep your hair balanced: a. Use a hard protein treatment for when you feel like your hair is lacking protein (reference to number 2 above). I know what you’re thinking, ‘this Dolapo sef, which one is hard protein again?’ Just stay with me, okay. These are protein treatments that are mostly based with protein ingredients. You will need to use a moisturising deep conditioner after this because they tend to be very harsh. A good example is the Aphogee 2 minute reconstructor.

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b. Use a mild protein treatment before weave installation and after take out. If you’re relaxed use 5-7 days before relaxer and on relaxer day to strengthen your hair for the relaxing process. A good example is the Olive oil replenishing conditioner. 

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I know it seems like a lot of work but it is pretty straightforward once you start trust me. Are we ready for the next step? If you have any more questions send me an email at dolapokuforiji@gmail.com

Silk is Your Friend 

Yassss that’s how you rock a silk scarf.
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Sleeping with a cotton pillow case tends to suck the moisture that hair has and black hair needs all the moisture it can get. To help the moisture stay in our hair overnight we should sleep with a satin/silk pillowcase/bonnet/scarf because it keeps the moisture in. I must admit I have become a bit obsessive about satin/silk. Even when I am sick, I have to get a satin scarf on wherever for my pillow and a satin bonnet to be double sure. I would suggest using a satin bonnet instead of a pillowcase because the oil from your hair tends to go on your face which could cause breakouts.

Oh wow. I didn’t plan to have a part 2 for this post but I still have a lot to post about. What are your hair care tips?

POST YOU SOON GUYS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Hey guys. Boy it has been forever since I came on this blog. I honestly can’t say what happened. At first a lot of things came up that took my time and then my phones got spoilt. My tab picture quality was so discouraging to use for blogging. I am so sorry guys. Please forgive. 

One of the major reasons that motivated me is people asking me how I grew my hair long. Hopefully I will be able to post on my regimen and basic areas of hair care. This year is going to be simply amazing I can feel it! This year I will join the ‘Naija Hair Can Grow Six Inches Challenge’. Since half an inch of hair grows every month, in the whole year six inches should grow right? So the challenge is about infusing all methods of hair care and making sure that WE GAIN THOSE SIX INCHES.

Also I thought I would just use heat TWICE this year; on my birthday and for the challenge submission at the end of the year. So much is happening I don’t even know how to contain all of it in this post. I pray God’s gives me the grace to keep you guys up-to-date. What usually happens is I have post topics but I never come around to writing them.

Do any of you have New Year resolutions? If you do that’s great and if you don’t you really shouldn't feel any pressure. New beginnings can start from anytime in the year; it all depends on when we have made new discoveries and just want to work on ourselves. I really really want this year to be different for EDK. In order not to sound redundant…lol, let me stop here and honestly hope that someone out there still reads this blog.

POST YOU SOON GUYS!!

My First Week

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! What a week! My week at Eventful...was eventful lol (not funny? Okay). Sorry let me rewind, how are you guys doing? I hope your week was great and you are looking forward to a new week.

Mehnn this week ehn was so stressful but also so much fun. I was going to do a "First day post" but there was no time. On my first day I was so nervous but when I walked in I received such a warm reception it was was scary. Everyone was so nice to me. I had actually never experienced this. I was assigned to my desk (I know right, my own desk).

Wednesday's Wake Keep (I apologize for the camera quality)

Thursday's Burial

My first event with the company was on Wednesday. I was kinda uncomfortable and clueless when they told me to wait at the venue with an usher. I was really freaking  out, I didn't know what to do. But later own I got the hang of it. That wasn't even the sad part.

On Thursday, you can obviously see what I wore. That is how I wore it to the event o. What is wrong with that abi? Everybody at work came in casual and changed! Everybody was looking fly and I was looking like one desperate job seeker. I decided to make up for it on Saturday o! Yes ke... I cannot be slacking like that.

Saturday's wedding

No full pic. Sorry

The most proud I have ever been of myself was yesterday, moving about for hours in heels. It was yesterday I actually started considering this "event management" thing for real. I honestly cannot wait to resume work tomorrow.

New week new hair (Yes that is hair oil on my top...lol)

So, how was your week?

Project Fame Season 8.0

 <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/14336745/?claim=5urnhztxc5v">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Hey you guys. How have you been o? I hope you have been good.
This post is really exciting because it is my first non-hair post. Yayyy!!! Lol. From the title I guess you already know what I want to talk about. Darn! I was really looking for a catchy title shaa.

Had a soft spot for this gal! Her story seemed so similar to mine. She was 23 and I will be 23 next year. I see the signs!!

This project fame season makes sense o! Maybe it is because I just started watching again. I stopped watching because of a personal beef.  They gave me a 'no' twice and I genuinely thought I was good.  One particular judge in Lagos told me "Come back next year" after like 12 seconds of singing. She told the person by her side "Se on korin abi kini?". My Yoruba peeps will understand. I can't translate directly but it meant that she thought I was terrible. In my mind I'm just like she doesn't get Soul music. I mean who doesn't FEEL Etta James? 

I have shaa learnt my lesson and decided to sing a genre that people accept or a song that was known. My Ibadan audition was better. The judge was nicer even though he said I sounded like a baby. I was 18 at the time and was a firm fairytale believer so don't judge me. I sang Demi Lovato's This is real or is it This is me? I forget. Anyhoo you get why he said that.

So how did we get there? Ehen... Project fame don dey make sense o. I am genuinely impressed and trust me when I say I am hard to please. The voices stand out from the norm. I knew West Africans were talented  but I honestly didn't expect much...lol. After watching the top 18, I was wowed. They are amazing!! Did I mention I was impressed?

In fact ehn... I'm so motivated to rehearse and train my voice now. My music muse needs to be awakened mayne!! I'm not promising o, but I will try and link YouTube videos of me singing to this blog. Won't that be cool? Don't expect much and the camera quality may be bad so... just ignore that ehn?? So let's see how it goes.

In other compeltely unrelated and possibly unimportant news, I start internship tomorrow in an event's company. It is called Eventful founded by Yewande Zaccheaus. I'm Sooo excited!!! Okay I aff finish my talk talk. Now to hear from you.

What new discoveries have you made about your hobbies?

Post you soon guys
Dolapo

My Hair is Beautiful

Hey hey heyy. How you guys doing? I hope you are fine.
 Diving straight into it I wanna talk about an issue that has been bugging me for sometime. I noticed there is a particular "tag" going  round. It is the tag of #teamnatural or #teamrelaxed . We really need to stop these things because hair is hair and how we and I choose to take care of it is totally up to us. :)

Who better to represent flawless natural hair than... Janelle Monae

I choose to be relaxed because natural hair is too much work for me. This does not mean that I do not take care of my hair between relaxers and on relaxer day. I have a strict regimen. I deep condition after every shampoo and moisturize every other day or as needed.
My relaxed hair is thick and has a lot of body. I'm not looking for anymore fullness. Frankly speaking I believe that if you can stretch your relaxed hair for as long as 6 months, you CAN go natural.

 I am not relaxing my hair because I want to look "oyinbo" or because I want to "disobey God"; I relax simply because it makes it more manageable. Believe me three months is a real struggle for me. I would love to emphasize that relaxed hair CAN be healthy too. Do not let anyone tell you that if your hair is damaged you should just result to transitioning to natural. Because I am relaxed does not mean I neglect my hair and it will remain damaged.

Lade of Rehairducation... Look at that length

Don't get me wrong I think natural hair is beautiful. I admire natural hair gurus and how they can switch up their hair styles and have defined wash and gos. Honestly guys, what can I do if I can't manage that? Won't I deal with what I can handle.

Please don't be discouraged if you have transitioned to natural and want to relax again after a few months. Don't worry about what people will say. If you are relaxed and are willing to go natural, don't think about people's opinions.

So please let's stop tagging hair and just embrace it. Why are we bringing segregation into this community. It is not worth it. Let those that want to go natural do it right and those that want to be relaxed be diligent as well.

What is your opinion on this discussion?

Post you soon guys
Dolapo

Apologies! Apologies!! Apologies!!!

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Hi blogger!!! Dolapo here. I am Sooo sorry again for my absence. It started off as exam preparation and then spiraled into job huntshunts. I'm sure you are just wondering "what is wrong with this Dolapo girl?"  I know I know and I am ready for all you have to say...lol.
The thing is a lot has been going on but I just haven't come around to blogging because of one major reason... I TAKE IT WAY TOO SERIOUSLY. During my silence I have visited other blogs and I noticed that there is a smooth flow in writing. No matter what is the subject matter of the blog it is never that serious. So how do I assure you this apology will not occur like this again?

• I am going to write about what ever blog post I think of as soon as I think of the topic, instead of looking for a way to make it classy
• Relax and blog about what I love

I love blogging. I shouldn't be too strenuous. Okayyyy enough seriousness for one blog post, I promised against it (I really hope that English makes sense). Expect more from my music and aspects of my life. Isn't this exciting?!!

What new discoveries have  you made to better yourself?

BOX BRAIDS SERIES | Styling Challenge Update

Hey y'all. How have you been? I am sorry for being absent again. School work got in the way and I also fell ill. Well I'm much better now and I'm ready to post all the things I should have. Remember the styling challenge? Well here are the results. It went pretty well and I have taken them down already *shame face*. I will share my next procedure with you guys. Here they are:

And that's it!! It wasn't easy but I did it. What do you guys think?