Requested By A Reader/ Products to Use When Transitioning

Before thinking of Transitioning, click here to read what you should know when transitioning.

The products to use when transitioning does not entirely alter your normal hair care routine but your hair will need an extra care because you will be dealing with two different textures hence you might have to use different products.

You will soon discover that the products you use to maintain you relaxed hair are not going to give you good result when used on your natural hair. There are some basic products you'll need to start off but you can still add more along the way as you begin to understand more about your hair type and porosity.

Here is a list of product to start off with.

A SULPHATE-FREE SHAMPOO - sulphate free shampoos are by far more preferable to sulphate shampoo. Sulphate shampoos are drying. It was found to cause frizz in curly hair and harmful to colour treated hair. Sulphate free shampoo are mild and do not dry out the hair. Shampoo your hair every one to two weeks. A good sulphate free shampoo is ORS hairepair invigorating shampoo.

DEEP CONDITIONING TREATMENT - A deep conditioning treatment is essential for natural hair. If you want to get more benefit, after apply a deep conditioner of choice, cover hair with a heat cap and stay under a steamer for 15 minutes. A deep conditioner should be used after every wash day.

Deep conditioners to buy are

● Crème of nature intensive conditioning treatment

● Cantu shea butter deep treatment masque

● Eden Body works Jojoba Monoi deep conditioner

PROTEIN TREATMENT -  You cannot avoid breakage when dealing with two textures but you can keep your texlaxed/relaxed hair strong by treating with a good protein conditioner. Always cut off split ends. Split ends makes the hair uneven and unhealthy. Keep cutting off split ends and relaxed ends until you eventually get rid of the unhealthy ends. Always treat your relaxed ends with a protein conditioner every wash day and deep condition with a moisturising deep conditioner. For the new growth, use only deep moisturising conditioner. You can use a protein conditioner every 2 months on the natural hair.

Good protein conditioners are;

● ApHogee 2 step protein treatment

● ApHogee 2 minute reconstructor

LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER - Leave-ins provide moisture, helps with hair manageability. Leave-in conditioners are  a staple for every naturals. After conditioning, a good leave-in should be applied when your hair is damp or dry (read the instructions on the purchased product on how to apply).

Good leave-in conditioners;

● Elasta QP olive oil and mango butter leave in conditioner

● Cantu shea butter leave-in conditioner.

DAILY MOISTURISER - Daily moisturising your hair will be an added benefit to maintain a healthy hair. You can mix up your moisturiser by added a good leave-in, oil and water in a spray bottle or using only water to spray on your hair or using a product such as Elasta QP olive oil and mango butter moisturiser. Healthy hair doesn't just have to be what you put on the outside because what you put inside can also keep your tresses healthy. Drink at least 3 liters of water every day to keep your hair and body moisturised.

OILS - Oil is used for different purpose. Click here to read on the oils I use, how I use them and how I make them work for me.

Other oils to purchase include

● Almond oil

● Castor oil

● Avocado oil

● Grapeseed oil

● jojoba oil

HEAT PROTECTANT - Heat protectant should be used before blow drying, flat ironing and roller setting. Apply heat protectant to wet hair with a setting lotion or foam before using any form of heat. Heat protectant helps to prevent the  hair from any further damage that can result from using heat tools. Exposure to too much heat without proper protection can loosen your curl pattern and damage your hair.

A good heat protectant you can find in Nigeria is African's best Organics olive oil smooth and polish serum. The ingredients are awesome.

COMBS

Always try to detangle your hair with your fingers first, try as much as possible to remove knots and when detangling your hair, try to work your hair in sections. Part your hair into four and work on one section at a time. Divide a parted section into two, comb with a wide tooth comb first before using a fine tooth comb then twist the detangled section. This helps to remove all Sheded hair.

SATIN SCARF/SATIN BONNET - Invest on a good satin scarf/bonnet. Do not sleep on a cotton pillow case after applying all these goodies on hair because a cotton pillow case will dry up your hair and this can lead to breakage. Cover your hair nightly with a satin bonnet before bed.

CO-WASHING -Wash your hair with a conditioner when your hair feels dry. Instead of using a shampoo, try using a conditioner. This can help infuse moisture into your hair.

Good conditioner include;

● Dove Intensive conditioner

● Inecto Pure Coconut Infusion Conditioner

● Salon tech conditioner

● Herbal essence hello hydration conditioner

Advice- There are so many good products out there. When you get a product that works for you, stick to it and don't let the product junkee habit get into you.

Thanks For Reading.

Love always, Martyna.

Transitioning From Texlaxed To Natural Hair without the ''Big chop''

Transitioning from texlaxed to natural hair is more than just deciding to stop relaxing your hair. Transitioning alters everything about your hair care routine. When transitioning, you are going to be dealing with two textures - Your natural and Texlaxed hair.

Some ladies prefer to big chop (cutting off the relaxed or texlaxed hair) and letting the natural hair grow without having to deal with two textures. They prefer to rock their TWA and see their true beauty while rocking their natural hair. While for others, cutting off their long hair might seem difficult.

Transitioning is the process of eliminating chemical treatments and allowing the natural hair to grow while gradually trimming off the chemically processed or damaged ends.

@ journeytowaistlength

Having to deal with two textures requires more care. The texlaxed/ chemically treated part is prone to more breakage due relaxer application and the natural part will have thicker texture and hence, breakage will surface at the line of demarcation.

What you should know when transitioning

1. Keep your texlaxed / relaxed texture strong with strong protein treatment. Follow up with a deep conditioning treatment.

2. Use a moisturising deep conditioner on your natural texture to keep it softer. Use protein treatment once in 6 weeks or 2 months

3. Use a good leave-in conditioner after every wash day and weekly before moisturising.

4. Always seal your hair with an oil after moisturising to lock in moisture.

5. Massage your scalp with oil. This softens hair and promotes growth.

6. You can't avoid breakage when transitioning or dealing with two textures, always cut the split ends.

7. Always use a satin bonnet / Satin scarf. Sleeping on a cotton pillow case will dry your hair

8. Water will definitely have to become your best friend. Spray your new growth with water. This hydrates your hair.

9. Co wash ( washing your hair with conditioner) when your hair feels dry. It makes your hair feel soft and moisturised.

Thanks for reading.

Love always, Martyna.

Wash Day at 5 months Post relaxer

Good evening ladies.

How are you today?

I am so sorry this post is coming late. I was supposed to make an update since my wash day but I have been very busy. My hair was exactly 5 months post relaxer on 18th November 2015.

To start off, I prepooed using coconut oil mixed in my Inecto Pure Coconut Infusion Conditioner, covered my hair with a heat cap and slept off.

The next day, I detangled  my hair in smaller sections with my fingers then with a wide tooth comb and finally with a fine tooth comb. I twisted each detangled section before washing.

I washed my hair with Hawaiian silky hydrating shampoo, focusing on my scalp. I towel dried and wrap my hair with a towel for about 15 minutes.

I mixed egg (white and yolk) with olive oil and Vitale mayonnaise and applied on each section of my hair

The twist loosened a little after I washed my hair 

I covered my hair with a heat cap for about 1 hour (you don't have to stay that long but I was very busy so  I over stayed). 30 minutes is perfect for your hair to absorb all the goodies.

Next, I rinsed my hair with cool water and wrapped my hair with a T-shirt to absorb excess water.

I applied my leave-in conditioner and sealed with shea butter when my hair was damp

My hair after applying cantu shea butter leave-in conditioner and sealing with shea butter

This is the length of my hair presently.

I went straight to the salon after moisturising and sealing to roll my hair.

I bought this heat protectant for N1000. I applied on each section before rolling my hair

After rolling.

My hair didn't dry as expected because I was exhausted ☺

I finger combed and packed with a pony tail holder. I am sorry for the picture quality.

Long day but it was really worth it because my hair came out as expected. I am so happy with the result.

Thanks for reading,

Love always, Martyna.

MY FAVOURITE OILS/ HOW I MAKE THEM WORK FOR MY HAIR

There are many benefits of using oil on the hair and scalp and there are different ways of using oil to solve your hair needs. Below is how I use oil to solve my Hair need.

OLIVE OIL
I was using olive oil as a sealant (to seal the hair moisture), for scalp massage and to mix with my conditioner for slip. But I noticed that sometimes this oil didn't work for the purpose I was using it. When I used it as a sealant, my hair didn't absorb the oil. The oil sits on my hair and thereby making my hair greasy. When used as a scalp massage in small quantity, my hair pretty much absorbs it. But in all, olive oil gives my hair a great slip when mixed with my conditioner. I love this oil in my conditioner. No oil gives me such slip as olive oil. Even when I purchase a conditioner that didn't give my hair what it desired, I mixed 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil and the conditioner does wonders.

SHEA BUTTER
There are two types of shea butter. We have the refined and unrefined shea butter. Recently I got the unrefined sheabutter from Ghana and I notice one difference...... The smell. The unrefined shea butter has a bad smell when compared to the refined sheabutter. Shea butter is thick and a great sealant for my type 4c hair. It doesn't weigh my hair down or make it greasy. My hair absorbs this oil so well and it makes my hair feel soft. It is just perfect for sealing in moisture.

COCONUT OIL
Coconut oil is everything or maybe almost everything for my hair. I love love and love the smell. This oil helps reduce protein loss and it penetrates into my hair easily, keeping it healthy. It is great for detangling hair, great for massage and great to control frizz. I use this oil to massage my scalp, it is an excellent sealant but not for my 4c hair probably because the oil has a light consistency when compared with shea butter. Lastly, I use this oil when I'm not feeling my hair. It just makes my hair feel good.

Thanks for reading.

Love always, Martyna.

Product Review/ Luster's S-Curl "No Drip" Curl Activator & Moisturiser Formula

Happy new month.

We are almost at the end of the year. Just 60 more days to go. Have you achieved what you planned on achieving this year? We still have few days to go and with faith in God, nothing is impossible for him to do. So keep praying and keep believing.

I can be kind of blunt when it comes to reviewing products. The truth is when a product is a "no no" for me, I'm definitely going to give it a big NO. But never mind because such product can work for you.

Luster's S curl no drip moisturiser is a product that is hyped by most bloggers and vloggers and I accidentally came across this product at Casabella PH for #3000

This product pomisies that if used daily, it can eliminate frizz, condition, soften and strengthen your natural, curly or wavy hair style. It contains botanical conditioning agents including Argan oil and Olive oil, as well as vitamins that strengthen, eliminate breakage and gives your hair a natural healthy sheen. The special "No Drip" formular is absorbed into the hair-shaft to condition and strengthen your hair from the inside out and it is soothing to the scalp. Never leaves the hair with a greasy feel.

Direction: Hold bottle six(6) inches from hair, spray S-Curl Curl Activator & moisturiser evenly over the entire head, using finger-tips massage completely through hair, then style as desired. Use daily to maintain proper moisture balance

The ingredients are nice and that was one of the reasons I bought it. The second reason I got this product was because of the review.

My thoughts
It didn't work for my 4c kinky coarse hair and I actually bought this product about 4 months back and actually  just realising that I have a moisturiser I haven't used up.

People said the old formular worked for them but I didn't realise on time that the product have been changed and in actuality got bad review after the changes.

I do not understand the problem with most manufacturers, if a product is selling and has got good review, why change it?

I am not going to condemn this product totally because it worked for my mum's hair. My mum has a finer texture and I guessed that could be the reason it worked more on her hair

It is still a good try because few people still admitted that it still works. But for me? NO.

Thanks for reading.

Love always, Martyna.