Natural Me "Tega"

Hey Guys,

A Natural Me post featuring Tega, I have the worst hair crush on her, enjoy.

What is your name and where are you from?

Hi, I’m Tega and I’m from Lagos, Nigeria! J

How long have you been natural or transitioned?

 I’ve been natural for almost 6 years now; I cut my hair August 2006.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are in your life

I’m currently in school, getting my M.S. in Counseling. My life is pretty simple, or at least I try to keep it that way. I go to work, I go to school and then I sleep. Lol. I really do enjoy sleeping. Some other things that bring me joy are cereal, chocolate cake, reading, dancing, cooking and hanging out with loved ones J    

Why did you decide to go natural?

I never made a conscious decision to go natural. My hair was in terrible, terrible shape, it was breaking off so bad I thought I had cancer *covers face*. So one day I woke up and was like, “Yo, I’m done with this mess” so I had a close friend take me to a barbers shop and I cut it all off.  Short hair is ridiculously awesome, if I didn’t love big hair so much, or wasn’t obsessed with seeing how long my hair can get, I would cut my hair off again.

Anyways, somewhere along the line, I fell in love with my hair. She’s currently in the best shape she’s ever been my whole life and I just see no point in getting relaxer put in. 

What are some of your favorite Hair products?

I use Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle to co-wash, Terressentials mud wash to clean. Giovanni’s leave in conditioner is divine (especially mixed with Aloe Vera gel) and oils. I always play around with different oils, coconut, sweet almond, Castor, jojoba, and grape seed. But Castor oil is my favorite I think. But, next week I’m trying Oyin handmade’s whole line from cleansing products to styling products.… I’ll let you know how Eva responds.

What is your current hair regimen?

I keep my hair covered up for almost 9 out of 12 months. That’s just a guess, but my hair is usually in extensions or in cornrows under a wig or in twists for 80% of the year. When it’s in this state, I moisturize with my water and vegetable glycerin mixture and then follow with any oil every other day or my leave in conditioner and then an oil.

When my hair is in twists or an ‘out’ style where I have direct access to my hair i.e. it’s not covered up,  I wash it once a month with Terressentials mud wash and co-wash once a week through the other 3 weeks. On wash days I deep condition with whatever mixture I can find in my fridge and cabinets (Greek yogurt, coconut milk, oils, etc.). After every wash, I apply my leave in conditioner mixed with Aloe Vera gel to my sections, followed by coconut/sweet almond oil, and then I seal with Shea butter/Castor oil. It depends on how I’m feeling.

 I try to spritz my hair at least once a day with water and glycerin and apply product (oil and/or leave in) every other day to keep build up at bay.

But all this might change soon, I plan on trying Oyin Handmade’s shampoo and conditioner and if the shampoo is mild enough, I’ll start cleansing with the shampoo twice a month and co washing with Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Conditioner twice a month.

What is the toughest challenge you have had to face with your natural hair?

De-tangling. De-tangling is a bitch. I wish my hair could automatically de-tangle itself. Even after a week of stretched out styling, I still hate wash days because I have to detangle.

Do you foresee any changes to your hair?

Nope. Right now I’m just working on seeing how long my hair can get and finding the right products and a regimen that makes her happy. When I get bored, I usually just buy a new wig, or find some extensions.

Words of advice for natural out there.

Be Patient and don’t compare. You can’t fully enjoy your hair if you’re not patient and if you’re constantly comparing your hair to other naturals. Hair is just as individual as personalities and comparing yourself to those around you will frustrate you. If you’re not patient while handling your hair, you’ll just cause more damage. Never style your hair or attempt to manipulate it when you’re in a bad mood because trust me, it will manifest in how you handle your hair.

Where can we find you?

You can find me on Twitter - @FashionDivvah and my blog - http://fashiondivvah.blogspot.com/

 Hope you enjoyed

XOXO

Bella Joya

Curly Friends

Hey Guys,

I love how pictures always seem to capture a wide range of emotions.

Curly friends

Do you have pictures of you and your friends you would like to share?? Email them to rootsdontlie@gmail.com and make the subject Curly Friends

XOXO

Bella Joya

HAIR PRODUCTS I FREQUENTLY USE

XOXO

Bella Joya

Take 2 on the Carols Daughter Hair Milk Line

Hey Guys,

After day 3 of the first take on this line my hair felt super greasy and I was ready to wash it out.
I thought all the greasiness was from the hair oil I used to take down my twist so I decided to co-wash my hair, and try the products again.
I co-washed using suave naturals coconut conditioner, I used both the leave-in conditioner and the styling cream. By the time I was done I realized that my hair was greasy. I think the leave-in conditioner is the culprit. I am quite heavy handed with products and after taking a second look at the ingredients i realized that the product is full of lots of oils (good oils) and that probably where all that grease was from...oops.

I only set my twist overnight and i took down the next morning.
Here are the results.

The next time I try this line, I will use my regular curl junkie leave-in conditioner, and the curl pudding so that way I can be certain the greasiness is from the leave-in conditioner.

Have any of you tried out this product line? if so what was your experience with it like?

XOXO

Bella Joya

Twist-Out Using Carol's Daughter's Hair Milk Line

Hey Guys,

After seeing a video review by  Meechy Monroe on this product line, I knew I had to get my hands on it to try it for myself. My hair is really thick and thrives on products with a Shea butter base so I was a bit skeptical about this product after seeing how light it was, and not at all like anything I had ever used before, but I gave it a go.

I washed my hair using a nature's gate shampoo (I don't remember the exact name but I got it from Central Market) and I used the Hair Milk original leave-in conditioner and Hair Milk Pudding.
I parted my hair in 6 sections, and working one section at a time, I applied the leave-in and then parted into smaller sections, applied the pudding and twisted.

Here are the results.

I think the results are good.

I will try and stretch this hairstyle out as much as possible. Stay tuned for more pictures.

XOXO

Bella JOya

De-Tangling Made Easy

Hey Guys,

I find that one thing that makes the thought of growing natural hair a bit daunting is this whole de-tangling business. When I first went natural, I did not have a clue what it meant to de-tangle, and I thought it was this long detailed process that was supposed to take hours. I guess if your hair is a lot longer then it might take a while but I figured a way to make it a quick and easy process for myself.


De-Tangling on Wet Hair

Tools:

• A spray bottle with water, or a mix of water and a cheap conditioner
• A wide tooth comb
• Hair clips
• Denman or Tangle Teaser

Process:

1. I part my hair into 6 sections, using my fingers, (2 in the back, 3 in the front, and one in the middle/top of my head) and clip away each section with a hair clip
2. I start one section at a time, saturate the section with water/ mix and smooth through your hair
3. Gather the section, and then gently start combing, with the wide-tooth comb, from the ends of the hair to the roots (scalp).
4. I go through a second time with my denman, to make sure I get all the shed hair out.
5. I twist each section once I am done, and move on to the next section, till I am done with all 6 sections.

If I find that my hair is too tangled, I may split each section into 2 smaller sections, to make the work a little easier.

NOTE: I do not finger de-tangle my wet hair. I have tried, and lets just say I had a head ache and I still had to go back and use my comb after. However this is just for me, your hair type may be different and finger de-tangling may work. Don't be afraid to try it out.


PS: I plan to make a video on how I de-tangle, stay tuned for that.
I am also on instagram @Bellajoya.


XOXO

Bella Joya

Protective Styling: "Box Braids"

Hey Guys,

I decided to put my hair in box braids because got tired of dealing with my hair. I used 1 and a half pack of 'Expression Braiding Hair'. It took me about 15 hours to get them done, so I knew  wanted to keep them in for at least a month. I got a little tired by the time I got to the front so they are not as neat as I would like them to be. I decided i would re-do the front after about 2 week, but I got so busy I ended up leaving them the entire 5 weeks. I also thought I would wash my hair at least once during the month but I never got around to it..

To maintain my braids I moisturized with either my leave in conditioner mix, or just plan water and then I sealed with oil and allowed it to air dry.

Here are a few pictures of the various ways I wore my hair.


PS: Usually I don't keep in extensions or protective styles for long because they start to itch but for some reason (which I am yet to figure out), I was able to keep these braids in for about 5 weeks, and I experienced very little itching/ scalp irritation. I will have to look into this again to figure out exactly what I did so I can stick to it.

 

XOXO

Bella Joya