Hi! Welcome to our Natural Hair blog.

Okay, first things first - our story is very simple. We work together in a store in London (but we can't disclose the name for legal reasons bla bla bla). One uneventful, BORING shift (as per usual tbh) after talking about our hair journeys and types (Zee's a 4a/b with some type 3 at the front, Paris is a 3c/b) we came to the realisation that as Natural-hair-lista's(?) living in the UK, we don't have much access to all things natural hair - be it natural hair bloggers or vloggers, to actual hair products. It is the typical sob story of most curlies here in the UK. We are totally OBSESSED with our American counterparts - what they use, don't use - and have to go out of our way to locate, navigate and investigate on where we can get a certain product or service, and more often than, not splash out money we don't have on these expensive products that have been imported in.
So... That's where we step in! We are here to do it all for you! We MUST find alternative products that can be found here in the UK. We may include the odd international product if we've been hearing really great things about it and it's not too difficult to get our hands on. With the diversity between us, we hope to be more helpful by trying out the same products so that a wide-range of people can have a good idea on whether or not they should invest in a product. There's no point in reading a review by a 4c if you have 3a hair!

Anyhow... before we continue to ramble on! There you have it; our story and our reasons. Oh and, before we forget, this blog will feature other stuff as well. As much as we love natural hair, we are not only about that. We love dabbling into all things beauty, be it make-up, nails, clothes, SHOPPING *White Chicks style*... so yeah thats it. Tune in, click on our profiles to read our personal hair stories, and WATCH THIS SPACE!

Mmmmwwwuuuuaaaahhh! :)

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

**NEW CHALLENGE ALERT**


Hey hey,
Its Zee here. I wanted to announce my healthy hair/ hair growth challenge that I have decided to take part in as of today (13th March 2013).

1st thing is first: My current hair length is just under APL (Armpit Length)
                        This here is my NATURAL hair, freshly straightened with a straightener.


I am giving myself 6months from today to reach BSL (Bra-strap Length) - the length my hair was just before my big chop after transitioning for 8months:
This here is my RELAXED hair freshly straightened with a straightener.


The reason I have decided to go on this challenge is because of the CRAZY level of breakage and shedding that I have been experiencing as of late. Without even touching my hair, these little curls just fall (below).

Imagine this times 20! (no exaggeration!!) Its slightly worrying. The fact that its so constant is more than alarming. YES I am aware that light shedding of the hair is perfectly healthy but with what I am experiencing, I genuinely fear that I may go Bald! and seriously, its no wonder! last year alone, I think my hair went through 5 make shift colouring and highlighting: From Redish-Brown to Chestnut-ginger to God-only-knows-what-mix to blond and then back to black.




So yaaa.... I'm retiring lol. To get me started I thought why not actually decide on a couple staple products for a .... wait for it, ...... 


HAIR REGIMENT!!!

LOL

I have never everrrr everrrr had one. Seriously since going natural the only thing my hair has regularly seen from time to time is my trusted Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some good ol' H20. Sure I've run into a couple of hair products here and there but as far as an actual strict-ish regiment goes, I have none...and so I thought that would be a good place to start. My scalp/hair has been soo good to me in that it hardly ever gets dirty so my wash routine has always been once a month or twice a month in the months where I would go product crazy and experiment on a few. I do however feel as though this routine is likely to change just because I know that having a regiment consists of applying actual products on a regular basis on to my hair, which of course will cause product build-up and then consequently mean I would need to wash my hair much more frequent than I currently do... Well that's my theory on it anyway, but I shall update this blog if that's not the case and I am still only having to wash my hair once a month :).


Anyhow... Moving on to the line I have chosen to use for my brand new regiment is the KeraCare by Avlon. 
1. Intensive Restorative Masque - £15.99 - PAKS hair shop (for monthly deep conditioning)
2. Humecto Creme Conditioner - £12.99 - PAKS hair shop (for whenever my hair needs a wash)
3. Butter Cream - £8.69 - PAKS hair shop (for whenever my hair is in need of moisture and for twist outs etc)
4. High Sheen Glossifier - £5.49 - PAKS hair shop - for sheen on glamorous - going out hairstyles.
AND of course my bestie Extra-Virgin Olive Oil will forever be in the mix for sealing and what not.

Also I wanted to put in there that I will be choosing an alternative bunch of products to alternative with my KeraCare ones just so my hair doesn't become too accustomed to the properties in them to the point that they lose their effectiveness on my hair! (Wow what I bloody mouthful, I know!) Hopefully I will have the monies to afford the Moroccan Oil line. FYI I am fully aware that both lines are on the pricier side of things but I personally have been feeling as though I owed it to myself to invest in a good hair regiment. However I do maintain that you could probably achieve the same results with cheaper substitutes, hell, I've done so for the last year and 5months! 


Lastly, below are some pics I took today to kind-a explain to you what the application process was for me and how I "plan" for it to be in the next 6 months on this hair challenge towards BSL

I will make sure to do a 3month (halfway point) update to see what, if any, progress I have!

-Kisses


To begin with I sprayed my hair lightly with water and then I just HAD to apply this AMAZEBALLS hair masque to put back all the moisture lost from the last 2weeks of having straightened hair! This is because, as most of you know, straightened hair + moisture = revert aka TOTAL WASTE OF TIME STRAIGHTENING THE DAMNED THING IN THE 1ST PLACE :/
After applying the mask I put on a generous layer of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and detangled using... MY HANDS (Yes I forgot to say that I will be giving up combs an brushes during this challenge as the breakage caused to my hair from these tools is a mother...)
I then twisted, pinned up my hair then placed a plastic cap over my hair for 3hours. On the tub it does say to sit with the masque for 30mins but the LAWD knows I needed more time... my hair needed more time! - All together, I had 4 sections.


I then washed out the masque using this conditioner. Just so you guys know, I do not use shampoos UNLESS I am about to apply some major heat unto my hair - which in that case I use the Tresemme Thermal Recovery shampoo and conditioner (both  -£5.49 - Superdrug - for 750ml) and the Tresemme Keratin smooth Heat Protectant spray. I don't plan on using heat on my hair during this challenge as, as you can see from the picture above, I have some major heat damage as a result of many months of abusing heat WITHOUT using heat styling tools such as a heat protectants during the early months of my natural hair journey.




I just wanted to take some time to show you guys the TWO textures of hair that I have to deal with day in and day out despite having 100% natural hair. On the left side of the picture is how my hair is from the middle of my head to the front (3b-c). On the right side of the picture is how my hair is from the middle of my head to the back (4a-b). I can safely say this is an on going struggle for me! I CANNOT do a good looking wash and go to save my life. the shrinkage I get at the back of my head is UNREAL!



Lastly, after blotting my hair to 60% dry with an old t-shirt of mine (to avoid unnecessary frizz caused my towels). I then parted four sections within the four sections I already had when conditioning my hair, applied the butter creme to those sections, sealed with the glossifier, then two-strand twisted it. After doing so I would bundle the four two-strand twists from each of the four big sections, twist then bantu knot them all in one and secure with a bobby pin (I hope that was even REMOTELY understandable LOL! Before I go to bed, I will place my satin scarf on and then I will untwist all the two-strands in the morning before I go to work for a twist out do. This process will be my standard monthly regimen for the next 6months. WISH ME LUCK... also for those of you who are on challenges of your own, sharing is caring(?) looooool... something like that



**[For a more detailed review of these products, please click on the link below]**
http://thatfrochick.blogspot.co.uk/p/challenges.html

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