closed for lent

So I've decided to give up blogging for lent, beacause I seem to be spending too much time on here and on other blogs, and feel the need to re-focus my energy on building my faith . Will be sure to take loads of pics in the mean time. Take care lovelies and I'll c y'all in 40 days :)

Love,
Miss Jay

Mane Man interview #2

Hey guys, so I'm bringing you another instalment of the Mane Man Series. I interviewed another friend, 'white wizard', a very outspoken and creative soul; and this time I made sure to clarify what I meant by the term 'natural' to avoid any ambiguity. Anywayz, this was what he had to say..Enjoy!!!

z hot seat

Q1. What's your hair preference and why?

I love seeing weaves on girls because it makes girls look so perfect.


Q2. What things come to mind when you see a lady with natural hair?
Maturity- not age, just a cathing flair- it emphasises her strength (womanly). I'm attracted cos she puts herself above all the 'artificial' girls.
I see weave-on as I'm hot, I'm sexy... I see natural as I'm cool, I'm collected....I'm a woman.


Q3. Why do you think most nigerian women don't wear their hair natural?
Cz they watch too much tv.lol ;-). You know what I mean.
Well, Nigeria is a very very artificial country.
The people watch dstv all day and see hot girls with long hair and etc- it's pretty, so they want to look pretty. They feel it makes them look younger, therefore, more appealing. (you're chatting with a marketer and advertiser; it's my job to make them wanna buy more weaves....sadly


Q4. Are there any associated stereotypes (good and bad) with wearing one's hair in it's natural state?
Good- it's lovely and true; it depicts confidence and it's so pure.
Bad- lord of lords!! Very few women know how to take care of their natural hair!!


Q5. What do you think of the natural hair movement? Why do you think a woman would cut off or grow out her relaxer to wear her hair in its natural state?
Mehn, my dear- I honestly feel it's only deeply exposed women who would do that- it's deep- tracing back to slavery and 'black bondage'....I feel women who do that do so because they wanna truly be free.

*   *   *

So those are all my questions. Very good interview I must say. However, if I may ask- Is your view of women looking 'perfect' with weaves tainted by the media and the unidimentional standard of beauty it imposes? Can a woman not look 'perfect' in her natural hair? (afterall that's how God made us).
About the interview, it was a great pleasure.

Of course women would look perfect in their natural hair- as a marketer, perfection is artificial....As a person, natural hair is beauty. We are in an artificial world and selling the idea of natural hair to women would be hard because  businesses stand to lose alot, and as I said earlier.....meeeen only deep women would understand what you're saying.
Many of our ladies don't give a damn about history or black power or etc. They care only about themselves....it's sad- the world is becoming selfish.


So that's all for now folks. Take care and stay blessed.

XoXo
Miss Jay

Style Series #3

The 'wet' bun- This is my go to style which I absolutely love. It is quick, it's easy and it's neat. There aren't too many steps involved either. You simply co-wash and detangle your hair and after rinsing out SOME of the conditioner you pack your hair in little bun whilst the hair is still wet and easy to manipulate. I then tie a satin scarf on my hair for at least 15 mins to set the style and voila!!!.... (N.B- I always wash my hair in four sections hence why the centre part is automatically there...lol).

a side view

 I must say the only thing I hate about this style is that after day 3 or 4  my hair starts to mat at the back. What  I used to do was simply to co-wash and repeat the style again.
However, as I'm trying to reduce manipulation, I tried something different this week; I made 6 fat twists (to stretch the hair) and then tied up the twists in a bun.

fat twists on dry hair

Nwys, that's all for now folks..

XoXo
Miss Jay

Mane Man interview #1

So I decided to interview a couple of my guy friends on their thoughts regarding natural hair. Now some of you may be thinking, does it really matter what people think? Well, no, not really, but I think its interesting to have these conversations. Also for those who may be wondering but are unable to ask for whatever reason, I hope such interviews provide some insight.
I think its pretty obvious that one persons opinion is theirs and not collective of a whole nation, so please lets respect them, whether we agree or disagree.

So the first person I interviewed was my good friend, Kofi.... Now what's funny was that I had to do this interview twice because we had two different definitions in mind...lol..He was really sweet and tried to be politically correct but I told him to be honest and speak his mind...so pls don't crucify him...lol.
It was a bit long but some good conversations came out of it in the end. I included both the 'before and after' conversations to make for a more rounded interview. Enjoy!!!

Question 1: What is your hair preference and why?

To be honest, I do not have a preference on how women decide to keep their hair. As long as its attractive and neat. But I wouldn't date a woman with locs tho.. Lol

Question 2: What things come to mind when you see a lady with natural hair? 

Initial answer: Natural beauty. See most women,  especially those of color always tend to hide the real beauty of their hair, and try to copy/immitate their western/Asian counterparts by having them long.. But they fail to understand that beauty is beauty, whether short or long, black or blonde.. A womans real beauty comes out when she goes natural.

After clarification that natural meant without a relaxer: As long as they pull the hair back and make it neat, then its fine.. Or if they put it in braids..

Question 3: Why do you think most nigerian women don't wear their hair natural?

Initial answer: Because they watch a lot of Hollywood movies, glued to E network televison, and think the"norm" for beautiful hair is long Brunette or Blonde. Thus they copy it..

After clarification:  Black hair ist naturally straight or curly.. The term used mostly is nappy and unkept.. Thus one has to look neat, therefore that's why African women go for relaxers. (Ok, I want to be anonymous..lol)

Question 4: What are the stereotypes (good and bad ) with wearing one's hair in its natural state?

Initial answer: Well, the stereotype for women of color (African origin) is that their hair is naturally short.. I think its the media that has brainwashed them into thinking its bad to have short hair. I say, confidence is key, and as long as you feel good no matter if your hair is short or supershort, then you have beaten this negative stereotype.

Any positive stereotypes?

Not that I know of....There are women who naturally have short hair, and keep it short while looking stunning.. Few that come to mind are Hally Berry, Jada (Gbagaun!!!!...this was when I realised we were on two different planes..I then went on to describe what I meant by natural)

After clarification: Bad stereotypes: are Nappy, Rugged, unattractive, unkept.. Basically Not SEXY

There isn't a positive stereotype.

Question 5......involves a bit of background information.

I don't know if you are aware but there is a natural hair movement in the states in which more and more black women are chosing to wear their hair in its natural state. The movement is slowly speading to Europe and less so to Africa. Are you aware at all of this?

Nope.. Maybe because their movement isn't succeeding as they anticipated..(Lol.. Oh boy, women are gonna HATE me..lol)

Nah it is gathering a lot of followers; So my question is- What do you think of the natural hair movement? Or better still, Why do you think a woman would cut off or grow out her relaxer to wear her hair in its natural state?

Maybe its because they are tired of all the negative stereotypes they hear, and want to stand against it..(Wow, I hope I'm not contradicting myself..)

That's great thank you very much for your opinion and honesty. Its been an interesting interview; Just before I let you go let me ask one last question.

What can we do to eliminate or reduce this stereotype? 

More women should feel confident and wear they hair in the natural state..

......So that's all for now folks. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Stay tuned for some more interviews and leave any comments if you wish.

XOXO

Miss Jay

Kennaland- the B.C Venue???

So I was reading the Corinne Bailey Rae interview on Curlynikki here and she spoke of a London based stylist, Kenna from the salon Kennaland who specializes in afro-hair.  At reading this I became quite excited because for a long time I felt I would have to go to the US to get my B.C due to the lack of natural hair salons here.  And so I'm thinking...hmmm this could be an alternative.

I was looking at the pricelist and my oh my, the ladies cut is quite expensive if I may say. (I guess that's how much you charge when you have a celebrity clientelle- Did I mention He does the likes of Shingai Shoniwa's hair??....More on her hair later). 
Anyways, so being me, I tried to rationalize and felt that if I had spent 2 years transitioning, its only fair that I got a professional job to complete the process.
The salon looks fab and has a retro feel to it. Here are a few pics I found:

styling chair

waiting area

z washing chair

another view

the man himself...mr kenna

in action...

Right now my hair feels very shrunken and I am thinking geez, how much longer am I going to have to wait to BC. I am hoping I would be ready before the end of the year... that should give me enough time to save.
My hair is currently in a bun and I'm thinking of sharing some recent pics in the upcoming posts so stay tuned :)


XOXO
Miss Jay

lets show some love

Woohooo......It's valentine's day today (as if y'all didn't know that already...lol). Anyways, I wanted to use this opportunity to show some lurveee (deep Barry White voice) ......Hahaha I know this is kinnda random (and yes I'm laughing at myself) but I just remembered a lecturer we had at uni who always spoke in a baritone voice...his voice was so low and smooth you could instantly imagine the lights dimming and some jazz music playing in the background anytime he spoke....you could almost start swaying to his voice. I don't even remember his real name because everyone called him Dr Love....he sounded kinnda cool unlike 'Fela' our secondary school  chemistry teacher....but ya that is soooo besides the point of this post.

So today, I wanted to show some love and appreciation to the youtubers who have helped me tremendously on my journey. These are the lovelies I have pretty much followed from day one and in no particular order they include:

• Rustic Beauty - she was one of the first naturals I encountered when I started my healthy hair journey. She is a beautiful young Nigerian lady with very long (mid back), healthy natural hair and is a testament to the fact that we Africans can grow our hair to any lengths if we take care of it.

• Kim Love-I love love love this chic. She knows how to break down and explain concepts very clearly; from the basic structure of hair to protective styling. I love the fact that she takes a fact/science based approach when discussing hair not only because it feeds into my geekiness ('',) but also because it makes what she says credible.

•  Laila-Jean- A british youtuber of Ghanian descent. She is very animated and is quite fun to watch. She is very talented when it comes to styling and braiding her hair and just like me, she was a long term transitioner.

• SimplYounique- She comes up with some of the nicest 'untwisted' styles and layers products really well. I like the fact that her styles are always very neat. (who says natural hair has got to be messy?)

• Nikkimae- Her videos have a very optimistic and upbeat vibe to them....hence why I like watching them. She appears very involved in the Natural Hair community and brings loads of updates as to whats happening on the scene. She's also does a good bit of product reviews and finally, I like the quality and editing of her videos.

•  Naptural85- She showcases a variety of hairstyles including some really cool sophisticated styles. She comes across as being very chilled and low maintenance...(kinnda like me). I also enjoy watching her non-hair videos.

• Jirod Greene- I love love love this kid...and yes I know he's not a girl but he is the reason I fell in love with locs. He is soo goofy and funny and makes some real good music. Y'all should check him out ;-)

I watch a couple others as well but these would be the guys I check out the most. Who do y'all like to watch??
 Anywhoos, that's all for now. Happy Valentines Day :)

XoXo

Miss Jay

Style Series #2

So I'm going to share another style with y'all that I tried over the christmas holidays...' the tuck and pin'

This is a style I got from kimmaytube, and you can check out her 'how to' video here.

It is a pretty straightforward style that can be done on stretched hair, and offers a professional styling option. Once again, these are pics taken from my phone archive and are of a finished style but I hope it helps all the same :)

What you need:

banana clip

yer hands

side combs

bobby pins

 Step 1: using freshly washed or stretched hair, make a centre part up to the middle part (crown) of the head.

Step 2: starting on the right, grab a section of hair and begin to twist the hair inwards and backwards, starting from the centre part. When you get to the 'parietal ridge' secure the twisted section with a side comb before continuing to the nape.

Step 3: When you get to the nape, use bobby pins to secure the twisted area and leave the ends to hang loose.

this pic is just to show how far back you need to twist

Step 4: repeat  the same process on the left side.

Step 5: use your banana clip (in the horizontal plane) to 'pack' the loose hairs. What I then do, is to grab the ends of all the loose hairs and tuck it 'underneath' the banana clip, securing it with one bobby pin.

Voila, and you're done :)

XOXO,
Miss Jay

# Inspiration- Life, oh life...

So I was driving home from work yesterday and felt the need to have a pep talk with myself as I felt I had reached a low and was living on autopilot once again..I don't know about you, but do you ever get one of those lows where everything you are doing is just average and you know you are not putting in your best? Well I get them...a lot.


I started by reminding myself that life is short. This is something I know but somehow seem to push into my subconscious. Sometimes I hear of people dying around me and especially when they are not close to me, I kind of distance myself from the truth of that reality, as though it would never happen to me.


The truth is we are all going to die someday. It may be today, it may be tomorrow, we don't know. I'm not trying to be morbid here, but I think it's important we have this at the back of our minds so as to spur ourselves into doing and giving the best we have to give everyday.


Life is not a training ground. There is no part 2. This is all we've got. We don't know when it's going to end. Every second of what we do here counts towards our eternity and that eternity is far REALER than anything we are experiencing here on earth.

I believe that when we die we will give an account to our creator of what we did with our lives on earth and with the talents given to us. With that I ask- what are you doing with the talent's you've got? Are you hiding them because you have low self esteem and worry of what people will think of you? (Is that what you will tell God when you stand before him?) Or on the contrary are you developing them and using them for the benefit of yourself and those around you?


Dig deep guys. Begin to explore an excavate what is within you. What makes you tick? What brings you immense joy or immense grief? What do people compliment you on? It's all in YOU.


I really want to encourage you and me to make the best of this puff called life. Do not live a second rate life...infact RUN from one. If there is anything you are doing that you regret, change course now before its too late. I watched this clip on Steve Jobs and thought his viewpoints were spot on and really inspiring. I'd implore you to check it out:

So with that guys I say, Dream dreams and pursue them with all you've got. Develop your talents. Travel, see the world. Meet new people. Care for the poor, the sick, the unloved- never look upon such things as a burden cos the truth is there is greater joy and happiness in giving- be it our time, money, love etc.

Peace and blessings (dnt mind me trying to form 'conscious'...lol)

Miss Jay :)

The DEFs of healthy hair growth

Hi guys, so I am just going to quickly finish up on the previous topic. Today, we are going to focus on the external factors and this is where many people  tend to lose a lot of hair, so stay tuned :)

EXTERNAL FACTORS

1. MANUAL HANDLING- Yes, this I find is the commonest way of experiencing breakage and it comes in many forms. Afro-textured hair in particular is very prone to breakage as each kink or turn provides a point of weakness.

• COMBING- For natural hair, it is imperative that one uses a WIDE-TOOTHED comb when managing the hair. Those small tail combs are NOT your friend, no matter what the hair stylist tells you. If you are going to attempt to comb your hair, my advice FIRST is to detangle your hair with your fingers and then to comb it when WET AND COVERED IN CONDITIONER, or at the very least after misting the hair with water. If your hair is relaxed you can use a comb with smaller teeth but always try to tease out any knots with your fingers before putting the comb to your hair.

• WASHING- You know the way 'they' SCRATCH your scalp with the fingernails in the salons and wash the hair in a zig-zag manner.....that is totally UNACCEPTABLE for two reasons. Firstly, by scratching the scalp you are damaging the cells in the top layer of the scalp and putting strain on the body to replace those cells. Secondly, washing in a haphazard manner simply creates uneccessary KNOTS and TANGLES. I personally choose to wash my hair in sections ONLY, as it makes it so much easier to manipulate; Yes, it may take more time, and require some patience, but it's totally worth it. 

• DRYING- When drying the hair, it is important to PAT the hair dry with a towel or microfibre cloth. Once again, that haphazard towel drying they do in most salons is simply unacceptable for the reasons mentioned above. Air drying is generally recommended being a heat-free method; But if you must blowdry, use a cool setting and blowdry in sections to avoid tangles.

Sorry I kinnda went on a rant on this topic, but I see it happen EVERY time I go to the salon, and it really gets to me.  I always create an unwanted scene because I'm very particular and tell the hair dressers not to comit certain sins against my hair. Afterall, it's my hair at the end of the day.



2. SHAMPOO- Many commercial shampoos contain sulfates, together with other ingredients which help with the lathering / cleansing process  process of the hair; however, these sulfates have a drying effect on afro-textured hair. Now some sulfates are more drying than others, and this can easily be detected by reading the labels on shampoo bottles. Ammonium lauryl and laureth sulfates tend to be the most drying followed by Sodium lauryl/ laureth sulphates. On the gentler end are the TEA and MEA lauryl sulphates. A lot of naturals use sulfate free shampoos but unfortunately I havn't found one that gives me a good enough lather and is cheap as well. So ya, if you guys know of any please drop me a comment :).

3.CONDITIONING- Deep conditioning is very important for restoring the health of the hair after exposure to the elements. It is good to do this weekly or fortnightly, hair in a plastic cap, with or without heat. Conditioner-washing is also a good way of adding moisture to the hair and can be done a couple times a week.


4. MOISTURIZING AND SEALING- As our hair is prone to dryness it's important to use a moisturizer as frequently as needed. Sealing the moisturized hair with oil helps to trap in the moisture. It is also good to oil the scalp periodically with essential oils, some of which promote hair growth.


4.PROTECTIVE STYLING- As the ends of your hair are the oldest part of the hair they need to be kept away from the elements or fabrics which may cause friction and breakage as frequently as possible. Such styles include buns, twists, braids to mention a few.



So that's all for now folks. Hope you enjoyed the read and learnt a bit. If you have any questions, please drop a comment. :)

XOXO,
Miss J

The ABCs of healthy hair growth

Now let me start by making a disclaimer...I don't claim to be an expert on natural hair. I haven't got a degree on it so don't take my word as the gospel. There are loads of detailed information and research out there which you can check out for yourself.
I am just sharing from my little experience what I've learnt from reading books, blogs and watching youtube videos. Without much ado, here's my ABC of growing healthy hair.....Happy reading :)

INTERNAL FACTORS:

1. GENETICS- Yes our genes determine our hair growth cycles, particularly the rate and duration of each phase. The average person grows 0.5-1 inch a month irrespective of ethnicity.

2. FOOD- You are what you eat. Our hair and nails are usually the last 'organs' in our body to absorb nutrients as our heart and brains take preference. Hence, it is important to maintain a healthy balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Some people take vitamins to complement what they may be lacking in their diet. Foods rich in biotin (vit B) and protein for example are good for the hair.

3. WATER-....the fountain of youth, is not only good for your skin but also your hair. Even though hair is dead once it emerges from the scalp, imagine the water you ingest, going into your blood vessels and 'liquidizing' the blood thus improving it's flow to the hair bulb (underneath the scalp), where 'mitosis' takes place. Drinking 2 litres of water a day is the general rule of thumb.

4. HORMONES- I think they play a much smaller role overall as not everybody gets pregnant or develops underactive thyroid problems which can cause abnormal hair shedding. Some drugs e.g. the pill, can offset the balance of some hormones in the body causing hair loss.

5. STRESS- Yes major stressful events (e.g. the death of a loved one or severe financial burdens) can cause hair loss. Two medical conditions associated with stress include:
 i) Alopecia areata- where the bodys white cells attack the hair follicles, stopping hair growth and casuing the hair to fall out.
 ii) Telogen effluvium- here, stress pushes large numbers of growing hair into a resting phase causing the affected hairs to fall off within a few months.

6. EXERCISE- Ah yes, the one I am guilty of not doing too often..lol. Exercise is very important as it increases blood flow which in turn increases the rate at which oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the cells which need them.

I didn't want to overload you with too many points and so will do a part 2 on this topic focussing on the external factors. Hope you found it useful anyway. Till next time....

Love,

Miss Jay

References:
* Mayo Clinic
* Kimmaytube

Inspiration- Embracing Otherness

I was just browsing through curly nikki's blog when I saw the link to this video- a TED talk by Thandie Newton. I don't think I have ever heard anyone candidly and gently describe the problems we as humans place on one another simply out of the fear and ignorance in our hearts. It is simply beautiful and echoes completely what many of us go through internally but fail to analyse or verbalize. Enjoy!!!

Style Series #1

Hey guys, so this is series one of what I hope to be a regular feature of this blog. In this series, I will showcase some of the styles I have rocked over the course of my journey as well as new ones I learn.

Today I'm going to show you a style I coined- the 'Pipeline' -for all you surfers out there y'all should get my drift...lol. 
So I was going to a beach event on this day and couldn't decide what to do with my hair. After several fumbling attempts I finally came up with this one which I thought was pretty cool :)

Unfortunately I didn't take pics of each stage of the styling process and as such have pics of only the finished look, but I hope it helps anyway. Enyoy!!!



What you'll need-

Your hands

Banana clip

Eco styler gel (optional)

Bobby pins

 









 Step 1: Make two side parts on both sides of your temples and then make a horizontal line at the middle of the head to join the two side parts to give you a section of hair in the front (like if you were making a pompadour)

Step 2: Pack the rest of the hair using the banana clip (in the vertical orientation);  then roll the hairs sticking out of the clip upwards and pin into place.
N.B- you may want to use some gel to smooth your edges when doing this.

banana clip holding the back section together

Step 3- With the frontal section of hair , make a longitudinal part dividing that section into 2.

Step 4- Starting at the posterior end of one section,begin to roll downwards/inwards advancing all the way to the front of that section and continuing with the second section, rolling it all the way to the back of that section.
Once you're happy with the height of your 'pipeline' pin the twisted section into place and pin away any stray hairs.

My pipeline- view from above

Front-ish kinnda view

xoxo
Miss Jay