LITK

Bantu Locs

2012-01-26T15:21:00.000Z

Why are Bantu knots called Bantu knots? I should probably Google this instead of throwing the question out via a blog post, but maybe one of you knows the answer. I know West Indians call them Chiney knots? Did I spell that right? Is that a even a racially appropriate term? I come to you full of questions, yo.

Anyway, I recently realized that my locs were now long enough to tie into knots. Excitement galore! See, I joined a few, so my normal habit of occasionally twisting them and braiding them to hold the twist just wasn't working unless I used rubber bands, which I don't want to do. So being able to twist them and then tie them into a knot is a cause for celebration, it's more efficient, which means I can be more lazy. Awesome, in my book.

So I twisted the locs, tied them into knots, and there we go. I didn't really take pictures of the knot-out because, well, it didn't look great, haha. It was wonky locs sticking in all directions and I ended up just pulling them back as usual. But when my locs are much longer, I think the wonkiness of the curl will look good.

Oste Accessories Sale in NYC!

2012-01-22T18:23:00.001Z

Zara has just returned after her sojourn in Africa and came bearing a selection of items from Oste Accessories! If anyone is interested in purchasing from her, they can send her an email at litk@leaveinthekinks.com or check out the full selection available with pricing, by clicking HERE.

Get them while you can! Shipping can be arranged.

On Natural Hair in Nigeria... Or The Lack Thereof...

2012-01-13T16:34:00.001Z

I found this article (as well as LITK's email blogging address) today and wanted to share it with you guys. Read and comment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/curls-nigerian-women-straight?mobile-redirect=false

Gratuitous Miss Fizz Shot

2012-01-08T13:44:00.000Z

Feast on that, and we promise, the post on how the meetup went will be coming up. Soon.

Happy New Year From LITK!!

2011-12-31T23:49:00.001Z

Miss Fizz and I are being boring and going to sleep after spending the day gallivanting around Lagos, swimming, and chopping well well.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support, for interacting with us, emailing us, being a part of this.

Here's to another year of awesome sauce!

Love,
Miss Fizz and Z

Champagne, Cupcakes and Curltalk- "Birthday Edition"

2011-12-13T16:33:00.000Z

It's almost here! Spread the word... Looking forward to seeing you guys :)

The Venue

2011-12-11T09:49:00.002Z

So the Champagne, Cupcakes and Curltalk- Birthday Edition is almost here! I checked out the venue yesterday and was so pleased with what I saw. It is being held in Colours in Africa which is located on Musa Yar'Adua street, off Idowu martins, off Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island.

It is a lovely furniture store filled with beatiful pieces made here in Nigeria. Just stunning stuff. You might want to bring your chequebook to pick up something unique for your home. We've also got vendors selling everything from clothes to accessories and there will be hard to find hair products for sale as well as food and drink. We will also be giving away samples of my new body butter and of course goodie bags!

We've got so much planned for the day so come along and have a good time.

Tickets are N1,000 and can be purchased from Colours in Africa, Bogobiri House Ikoyi or by calling 07082315325 or 017654546.

See you there!

Freeform Lust

2011-12-10T17:51:00.000Z

Ladene Clark

by Quazimotto

Upcoming Interview: J'odie

2011-12-06T17:43:00.000Z

So we've got an interview coming up with the Nigerian singer J'odie, and this is your chance to get in any questions you'd like to hear her answer! J'odie describes herself as a soulful musician, songwriter and jewelry artist, who has a passion towards sharing experiences through music, writing or speech, in order to encourage and inspire young people to truly live.

Here's her bio:

Born Joy Odiete Eseoghene to an Esan mom and an Urhobo father, who is a Pastor as well, J’odie grew up in Lagos – in a very religious environment and as a child sang in a choir; in high school, she led the school choir and at every point in her life, has been a member of a choir or singing group.

After High school, Jodie went on to study Mass communication at the University of Lagos, graduating in 2006, and the following year a new chapter opened in her life as she auditioned for the Idols West Africa talent show. Though not emerging Winner, petit-statured Jodie was a favorite as she thrilled viewers and Panelists with her vocal richness. The Church may have been her take-off point, but being in a competition honed her skills and increased her musical repertoire as she delved into other forms of music apart from gospel.

After Idols, Jodie completed her national orientation program [NYSC], and has since been growing, learning and defining herself. That growth and definition has birthed the single Kuchi kuchi; the soothing rhythmic Zouk track, which since its release late last year is enjoying massive airplay. Jodie has worked with talented acts like Timi Dakolo and Ace Producers Cobhams and TY Mix, and has also performed at various events including the House on the Rock Carol Service 2010, This Present House (The Dome, Lekki), and La Vita Nuova 2010. With her inspiration borne mostly out of personal experiences and the bible, Jodie comes out with a message of love, peace, and hope; all universal messages but with a personal spin that we can all relate with.

There you have it. Now, send in those questions!!

litk@leaveinthekinks.com

Pictures From the November Meetup

2011-12-06T06:10:00.002Z

Pinned Loc Bangs

2011-12-04T20:31:00.000Z

I don't think I'll get tired of working the pinned bang look for a while, haha.

Street Curlie: On Broadway With Headphones

2011-12-03T20:28:00.001Z

Chipotle had this awesome person chilling with his awesome hair.We had to take his picture.

My 1.5 Year Old Locs!!

2011-11-30T14:36:00.001Z

Whoa! I just counted the months and it's been exactly eighteen months since I started loc-ing Poofy!! Ah, I remember how frustrating those first few months were....it felt like NOTHING was happening. In fact, let me go find a picture from when I started loc-ing.

This isn't from the beginning, this is from February this year, after about nine months. NINE! Okay, now, today, it's about another nine months from the above picture and Poofy looks like this-

Look at God.

I haven't even hit two years yet. So to clarify, this is 1.5 years of locing my hair, and about 2yrs 3months of growth from when I shaved my head. And this is growth with hella shrinkage due to the locs.

I love my hair.

I usually tie it up because, well, I've never liked wearing my hair down haha. Also, everytime I washed my locs, they would just be sticking out everywhere. Yesterday, when I washed them, they lay down! Obediently! Dangling about my face and whatnot. I was so excited.

Then I tied them up #kanyeshrug

My routine is very very simple. I washed them, threw in my oil mixture, wrapped in a towel and then pulled it back with a headband to sleep. This morning, I ran wet hands through them, added some more oil, tied the top, pinned up the locs in front and called it a day.

A year and a half!

Damn.

Champagne, Cupcakes and Curltalk... The Birthday Edition ft. LITK

2011-11-30T12:28:00.000Z

**Cross posted from The Kinky Apothecary Blog**

Hello ladies,
We are finally in the position to divulge much-anticipated details of our 1st birthday bash, which we are throwing in conjunction with the ladies from Leave In The Kinks (
http://www.leaveinthekinks.com/)!

Date: Sunday 18th December
Venue: Colours In Africa, Musa Yar'Adua, VI
Start time: 1pm
Entry: N1,000

We have planned a fun and interactive event also incorporating live demonstrations and product consultations. And while the main focus of the event will be a workshop covering a vast amount of information on natural hair care, maintenance, styling, etc, the event will be set up so that people can drop in and out, and visit the stalls all day. This event is for naturals, transitioners, and relaxed alike. We know that not all our customers and supporters over the past 18 months have been natural, but we appreciate you all equally and hope you can all come down to celebrate with us.

Watch out for a number of giveaways throughout the day of Aubrey Organics and Giovanni products; Fizzy's accessories; signed copies of "London Life, Lagos Living", the new book by Bobo Omotayo; signed J'odie CDs, etc. And no 1st birthday party is complete without goodie bags to say thank you for coming!

Keep an eye out in the coming days for details of ticket outlets, vendors on the day, and exciting previews of the event.
Thanks ladies, we are so excited, and really looking forward to seeing you all there!
Nibi xx

PS: We still have vendor slots available, so email me (missfizz87@gmail.com and/or kinky.apothecary @gmail.com) for information if you are interested in taking part. If you communicate your interest to me before Saturday, we will still be able to include your name and logo on our marketing documentation

Models Wanted!!

2011-11-29T10:43:00.000Z

I'm looking for natural haired women in the Lagos area to participate in a mini photo shoot before our event next month and also to be hair models at the event itself.

If you're interested, please email me at missfizz87@gmail.com

Week With Straight Hair...

2011-11-28T19:29:00.000Z

So I wore my hair out and straight(ish) for the past week. I couldn't seem to stop messing with it and did something different everything. I didn't take as many pics as I should have cos I was so busy but here's what I've got: on monday I rolled my hair into large flexi rods and the first pic is the result.

On tuesday, I did the flexi rods again but (single strand) twisted the tips before rolling.

Wednesday, I did a twist and curl, thursday a braid and curl and on friday I cornrowed it before bed and wore it wavy the next day. On sunday I put it in medium twists which are currently sitting in a bun on my head. I combed it out most nights before styling and loved the big hair effect... Made me feel very rawwrrrr hehe...

The reaction at work was quite subtle, I noticed a lot of approving looks and everyone assumed I'd gotten a weave and/or relaxer. When they found out I hadn't, I was encouraged to get a relaxer. The conversations went something like this.

" You look different. You relaxed your hair?
"No I straightened it"
"Do you dye your hair? Its so black and so full"
"Thanks, it's natural"
"Why don't you like to relax your hair?"
"Because I'd like to stay very black and very full"
*confused stare*

Or another variation:
"Ooh your hair is lovely, is it brazilian?"
"Nope it's Nigerian"
"Huh?"
"It's my hair"
"Your real hair?"
"Yup"
Proceed to check for tracks.
"Wow it's so long and so thick. How?"
"Because I don't relax my hair"
"Why don't you relax it?"
"Because it's so long and so thick and I'd like it to remain like that"
"You should relax it, it will be very nice and smooth"
"But you JUST said it was nice...?"

And so on...

My hair also inspired some fierce debates. I walked into a store and as I was making my purchase, two women broke into a fierce argument, speaking rapidly in a northern Nigerian language. They kept glancing at me and I wondered if I'd inadvertently offended them by walking in. Eventually, one of them walked over to me and barked "is that your real hair?", I nodded. She turned to her partner with a triumphant "ehen! I no talk am?!" (I.e. I told you so). I quietly made my exit.

It also prompted an impromptu photoshoot right in the office. One of my colleagues is into photography and happened to have his camera with him one day. It was a few minutes before I noticed him snapping away. He loves Stef... So I wasn't too surprised and I let him take all the pics he wanted. He's promised to let me have some to put on LITK.

Mostly I got a lot of "is that your hair?" And a lot of jaw dropping.

I sent pics to my friend who is trying to go natural and she thought I was trying to make her jealous. I explained to her that I wanted her to see where her hair could be in the next two to three years, and that I'm not the exception but the rule. With proper care, natural hair can grow to unprecedented lengths (or heights). I'm quite lazy when it comes to caring for my hair so if I could get to here with little effort, imagine how far you can go!

**please forgive the crappy picture quality**

Straightening My Hair?

2011-11-20T20:42:00.000Z

Started off ok but the humidity won lol. The moisturisers and oil I used contained some humectants and it didn't help that the power went out as I was doing it so no air conditioning. PHCN you kill me!

Started off with good intentions ended up a beautiful poofy monster. I've put it in big flexi rods for the night. Let's see what they say at work tomorrow...

Still cursing that darned egg and clutching my tummy.

Deep Conditioning Wahala

2011-11-20T16:22:00.000Z

So I definitely ingested some of the mixture and have spent the past few hours in the bathroom puking et al. I'm now in bed shivering and clutching my belly and cursing eggs. Maybe next time I'll lean backwards over the sink and not forward where gross stuff can get in my face smh.

After the rinsing and before the puking I moisturised and sealed my hair then put it into big twists to stretch it. I also trimmed the ends of the twists. I sat under my hooded dryer for a bit but gave up when my stomach started hollering. Hopefully I feel well enough to finish what I started.

Bloody eggs!

Sunday Conditioning Part II

2011-11-20T11:55:00.000Z

So this is what my hair looked like after I rinsed the gunk out. It's very soft now but feels a bit dry, so on to the next stage...

I plan to straighten my hair today so I really hope I got all the egg out or else I will be picking omelette out of my hair.

I may have accidentally swallowed some of the mixture cos my stomach still feels queasy. The moral of the story is, don't swallow hair stuff.

Deep Conditioning Sunday

2011-11-20T08:48:00.000Z

It's a hot, humid sunday morning and I decided to take advantage of the sticky heat to deep condition my hair. I mixed my ORS replenishing conditioner with egg and honey and applied it to my just washed hair, wrapped my hair in a plastic bag and then turbanned. The towel definitely helped to reduce the flow of raw egg down my face (which was making me feel quite ill). Today is my chore day which means laundry, cleaning, prep for the work week and hair. Will just let this stuff sit in my hair while I work and hopefully have better hair on the other side.

When deep conditioning with an eggy mixture, it is not advisable to use heat if you don't want to be picking bits of omelette out of your hair.

The smell really is making my stomach churn though...

LITK for Mobiles!

2011-11-19T09:00:00.000Z

Leave in the Kinks is now available in a mobile friendly format so you can catch up with us on the go! Simply type in the address in your mobile browser and you'll have access to our easy to read layout. You also have the option of viewing in the regular desktop format if you prefer. So no more browsers crashing or slow loading issues to deal with!

Today's Meetup

2011-11-19T08:25:00.000Z

Good morning everyone!

It is a beautiful saturday morning here in Lagos, Nigeria (that could change at any moment as it's still the rainy season). Today is Natural Nigerian's meetup and barring any unforeseen issues, I will be there, camera in hand and eager to meet you all. It's promising to be a fun and educational experience :)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

The "I Don't Love My Hair" Moment

2011-11-18T22:52:00.000Z

"Fizz when will you DO something with your hair?"

It was one of those days when the world was getting on top of me. I hadn't had time to twist my hair so it was in an updo of sorts and I wasn't too happy with it. I'd been getting looks and comments but the commenter above was sort of the last straw. I gamely defended my hair as usual but I was so tired.

Tired of constantly defending, instructing, ignoring.... Just tired. In that moment I weakened. I ran to the ladies and stood for a moment staring at my hair, wishing it was smoother and flatter. Wishing it wasn't the cause of daily battles with the world... For the first time ever, I disliked what I saw. It was a frightening moment. My crowning glory. A source of pride and joy. I looked at it and all I felt was despair. In that moment, that weak moment, I thought about hacking it off. For some reason my mind rejected the idea of a relaxer even then.

But the moment passed. I'm not a weak person and nobody dictates any aspect of my life to me. If I think it's right, if it works for me, who are you to tell me otherwise? I walked out of that bathroom with my head held high and love for my hair burning brighter than ever.

I love my hair. I LOVE MY HAIR. Always.

How do you deal with moments like these?

Lagos Natural Hair Meet-Up

2011-11-15T16:03:00.001Z

There's a natural hair meet-up this Saturday in Lagos, I really wish I was there to attend! However, Miss Fizz will be attending, so drop by and say hello. The venue looks absolutely divine, you can read more about the meet-up and see photos of the venue HERE. Regular updates on the meet-up can be found HERE.

Let me know if any of y'all will be heading out to that! It promises to be a blast.

Kinky Apothecary 1st Birthday Celebration/Shop Launch/LITK Lagos Meetup in December!!!

2011-11-15T07:41:00.000Z

Yes y'all,

LITK and the Kinky Apothecary are teaming up to bring you a fantastic event next month here in Lagos. We've set the date for December 18th when hopefully a lot of you will be home for Christmas and it will be so so wonderful to meet you all. There will be giveaways, seminars, presentations, demonstrations, food, drink, goody bags and more. This event is open to everyone: Naturals, transitioners, people thinking of going natural, people simply fascinated by natural hair, people with natural kids in need of advice etc.

I will be back with more details very soon so watch this space.

If you're interested in being a vendor at this event, send an email to me at missfizz87@gmail.com or missfizz87@leaveinthekinks.com or to Nibi at kinky.apothecary@gmail.com. Also, hurry as vendor spaces are limited!

For more details, check out the info on Kinky Apothecary's site HERE.

The Best Detangler... Ever!

2011-11-01T08:23:00.000Z

Now some of you already know this one but I just discovered it.

I found a way to easily, quickly and painlessly detangle my very tangled twist outs without using any product! Now I didn't use a special comb or a tangle teaser. Nope. All I used was water. Plain water.

I was on day 10 of a very tangled mini twist out when I decided to wash. I would normally detangle in sections pre wash by spraying with a mix of water and conditioner and oil but this time I was feeling too lazy and decided to take my chance in the conditioning stage and prepared myself to lose lots of hair.

So I shampooed with Shea Moisture Moisture Retention shampoo and then placed my head under a high pressure stream of water. I happened to look at the hair that fell in my face and noticed that the tangles appeared to be melting under the force of the water so I decided to try something. I picked up my wide tooth comb and ran it gently through a section. It slid through easily! It was too easy even. I did my whole head that way and then applied conditioner. It was remarkable. Easiest detangling session ever.

I've always heard people talking bout detangling under the shower but I never tried it cos I felt it would wash all the product away and make things hard.... But I didn't need product.

Now I'm not sure if it was the force of the water or the water itself, but I definitely don't dread detangling anymore :)

Natural Dandruff Hair Mask

2011-10-19T16:24:00.002+01:00

So I was over on Hey Fran Hey's Tumblr page, and I came across this recipe that had been submitted by The Written Nerd. I'm definitely going to try it, I've been looking for natural dandruff treatments for ages and ages. So it would be wonderful if this works.

Plain all Natural yogurt- 2 cups
Tea Tree Oil- 3 to 5 drops
Castor Oil- 1 Tablespoon
Honey- 1 Tablespoon
Apply to hair in sections, saturating from scalp to ends of hair. Pay special attention to areas where lots of flakiness occurs. Cover hair with plastic cap or plastic bag for 30mins to 1 hour then rinse out while rubbing scalp. Condition hair and style as usual. I don’t suggest shampooing out the mask.

If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes! I'll update this post when I've tried it myself =)

Dangerous Hair Practices

2011-10-16T12:57:00.000+01:00

Because my job doesn't leave much room for me to do anything other than work and sleep during the week, I have no time to do my hair. This is why on thursday morning, I found myself driving one handed while the other hand was furiously creating a twistout. Crazy right? There were no mishaps fortunately (with me or my hair) but I realise what I did was super dangerous and will not be attempting it again *embarassed face*.

So what dangerous hair habits have you been practising? Share in the comments :)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Curled Twists

2011-10-09T11:03:00.000+01:00

My twists were looking a bit dull so to spice them up, I dampened them then set them in large flexi rods overnight.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Hair Like Me

2011-10-08T12:21:00.000+01:00

My people,

Una doooooo oh! (Nigerian greeting)

How una dey sef? I hope say una body dey kampe. How weekend? Family nko? Good? Great! (Z please provide translations)

Now remember that lil tumblr I started not too long ago? Hair like me? Well, I found out recently that I can Tumblr from my phone so I've been posting my lil heart out. So feel free to check it out, and as always submissions are always welcome. You're all beautiful, so share and inspire the rest of the world! Muah!

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Stef's Day Out

2011-10-03T19:56:00.000+01:00

Hey peeps,

This is just a fluff piece to get me back in the habit of blogging regularly. I wore my hair out for the first time in ages yesterday. Oh I missed that feeling of freedom! I put it in long braid extensions for the past month for convenience and to shut up my colleagues, but on Nigeria's independence day, I let her loose! The style was actually a failed twist out that I pinned up at the back and let the front hang down. Got lots of stares, but sheeet, I'm fiercer.

Pictured with me is my egbon and fellow natural rocking some bad twists (which I did... well, I did half of them). We were at Ikoyi Club in Lagos watching 9ice perform. Good times :)

No Excuses

2011-10-01T13:32:00.000+01:00

This blog used to be one of my loves. I spent a lot of time and energy on it, trying out new products and finding hairstyles just to share with you guys. Then I moved back to Nigeria and got caught up in the intense rat race. I stopped having fun and everything outside work became an unnecessary waste of the precious little energy I had left over after my hectic work and social schedules.

I am always tired. All my spare time is spent sleeping and I never have spare energy.

But one day it occurred to me that the energy won't come if I just sit or sleep and wait. I have to make the time for the things I love, including this blog. I've missed doing this. I miss playing in my hair and all the hair styles my conservative job won't allow me do. So I've started formulating a plan that will free me in the next few years. As I type this, I'm doing my first deep treatment in about a year... Pitiful I know.

I can't let things get as bad as this ever again. I love this blog and I am making it a priority once again.

Thanks to all my friends that pushed me to return to what I love. Your please, threats and actual physical violence gave me the push I needed. I love you guys. And I love bloggie!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Good/Bad Energy + Locs

2011-09-12T16:05:00.000+01:00

I had the pleasure of having brunch with some lovely women over the weekend, several of whom had locs. The conversation turned to cutting them- one of the women had cut her locs after having them for six years. Others had had theirs for time spans ranging from 1-9 years, and the conversation turned to cutting locs off, the reasons for doing so, and if we were open to doing so in the future. The reasons for cutting locs tend to be along the lines of they get really hot and heavy in the summer, and they can hold bad energy. It seems people reach a point in their lives where cutting their locs becomes a physical manifestation of the changes they're going through.

Picture from here

For some people, cutting locs isn't a gut-wrenching decision to make. One of my friends who was at the brunch has been locking her hair for 7-8 months, and is at peace with the thought of cutting them in the future because her hair always goes through several changes and she's okay with that versatility. I, on the other hand, am not okay with the idea of cutting my locs off at any point in the future. I've only had them for a little over a year, but I want to have them for many more years to come. Of course, it's easy to say that now, but when they get heavy and I'm dying from the heat in the summers, I might be singing a different tune. Also, it seems that when that time comes for the locs to be cut off, most people don't miss them, you know? It feels right, they do it, end of locs.

Another friend has kept her locs for nine years, and she was talking about how she would never chop off her hair after a break-up, for example. In her view, she's invested so much time and energy into her hair, why on earth would she chop it off in a fit of angst? I see her point of view- she's had a longer relationship with her hair than with whoever she might have broken up with, so it makes poor sense to lose her hair just because of someone who wasn't even in her life as long as her locs have been. Someone else then brought up the point of how locs are capable of holding bad energy, and since this is a recurrent theme among people who've done the loc chop, I'm inclined to take it quite seriously.

Now, since I'm invested in growing out my locs, I started thinking- perhaps I should invest in sowing good energy into my hair. I want it to grow up to be a positive thing in my life, not something that holds on to the negative shit that happens to me. Now, I'm not sure how exactly to do this. Sage it? Rinse it with Florida water and honey? Play awesome music and send positive energy to it every time I wash it? I might end up doing that last one, for real, though. I want my locs to keep inspiring me, to stay with me, to be a haven of awesome and epic energy.

Any tips on how to make this happen? Did you cut your locs because of the energy they held onto? Do you know someone who did?

Freeform Stylin'

2011-08-30T17:35:00.000+01:00

Pinned the babies up on one side yesterday and immediately wondered why I hadn't done this before. Today, it's back to the ponytail and everything out of my face, though. Lol. I think this will look dope when I dress it up for a night out or something.

Phi Nappa Kappa- The Natural Hair Sorority/Fraternity

2011-08-29T20:50:00.001+01:00

I wish I was kidding.

I, sadly, am not. They've got a whole mission and hand signals and whatnot.

I'm honestly more invested in following the Twitter reaction to all of this, because so far it has been utterly hilarious.

But on the real though, @purplepeace79 made a lot of good points about how there's already this divide between women based on just hair, and this does nothing to help bridging that divide.

Personally, I'm on the fact that (as Luvvie pointed out), they invented the letter 'Nappa' and really stuck it in there. People introducing themselves by their numbers...which I believe correlate to them liking the page on Facebook. I can't even scroll down that wall without getting tired.

What do y'all think? Is this a cute idea? Is it annoying and silly? Would you pledge Phi Nappa Kappa?

Update: Luvvie just blogged about it, too. Check out her ribcracking post here.

Brief Lagos Update + Hilarious Names

2011-08-25T22:47:00.002+01:00

Miss Fizz sent me this picture of her at work with a twistout that her coworkers loved and thought looked great on her. It does. However, some also decided to think was a weave o_O. I think she looks fabulous as always.

She also threw in, on a completely unrelated note, a list of mindboggling names that some Nigerians decided to name their children.

Salvation
Rejoice
Hippolitus
Confidence
Queenest
Queenderline
Godgiveth
Myredeemerlivethcletus (not made up, she assures me, but someone's actually single name)
Finecountry

o___________O

LOOK HERE. Someone go get their parents.

And rock a twistout. That is the moral of this post.

Pinned Up

2011-08-20T18:58:00.001+01:00

Gratuitous Gorgeous Men

2011-08-19T18:55:00.001+01:00

With natural hair.

You're welcome.

Oh, Nivea. Y'all Done Messed Up.

2011-08-18T18:47:00.002+01:00

I'm sure y'all have heard about this by now.

I've been trying to find the other two images that were the rest of this ad, not having much luck. Basically, it shows this black man hanging out with clean-shaven white men with short hair. Then this image comes third in the series.

Wow.

So, according to Nivea, to be civilized is to reshape your aesthetic to where you fit in with white men better. None of that pesky natural hair to remind them that you're black, your skin's doing an aggravating enough job of that on its own. Having a fro is apparently uncivilized. Oh, and shows you don't give a damn about your appearance. What the.

Imagine if this was a relaxer ad, implying that to re-civilize yourself, you need straight hair. I'm just shaking my head here. If this was me a few years back, I would have gone into a full out rant. But I'm tired, y'all. Things like this make me so tired.

Talk amongst yourselves, and to me. What do you think of this? Would you excuse it? How racist is it? Are you complaining to Nivea? Boycotting them? Nada?

Summer = Hair Up

2011-07-30T23:00:00.000+01:00

Because really, it's too hot to do anything else. I've been pinning the front into a poof, and turned the ponytail region into a bun by tying it into a ponytail, then turning it inside out and tying the ends back to the first elastic band.

All I want is my hair off my neck.

Ask me how I'm going to survive when my hair gets longer. I have no idea.

Laziness + Locs + Versatility + Dermatologist Visit

2011-07-13T23:49:00.000+01:00

By now, all of you should know how lazy I am when it comes to styling my hair. It's not an accident that Miss Fizz does most of the style posts here on LITK. There's no shame in my game!

I'm finding that when my hair is tied back, most people don't even know I have locs. Since the roots of my locs aren't clearly defined, it just looks like I have natural hair that's been pulled back. And make no mistake, I love pulling my hair back. First of all, it is so incredibly hot in NYC that having hair on my neck makes me want to skin myself. I don't know how I'm going to cope when my locs get longer and heavier...and hotter. #dearheavens

Secondly, I'm lazy at styling. I think I mentioned this before. My entire goal for growing out my hair was to be able to tie it back, period. I'm not interested in exploring a number of styles, etc, I just want it long and out of my face. So when I was able to pull the locs back with a hairband, I was ecstatic. Now, my hair is long enough to be tied back with one of these:

You may not understand my excitement. I've started wearing it with those, but poofing up a few locks in the front because I don't want to be bothered stretching them to fit in with the other locs. End result looks like so:

I'm loving how versatile my hair is right now, because if it was loose, pulling it back would be harder and I would have to worry about detangling it afterwards. With freeform locs, I feel like I'm getting the same style options I had when my hair was loose, but without any of the trouble of detangling and all that other upkeep. So yay me!

In other news, I saw a dermatologist and he prescribed me a shampoo to help with my dandruff. Don't know if other people have been looking for dandruff solutions, but apparently, a dermatologist can help! I went in to see him for eczema and it just segued into a conversation about my scalp. Oh! The dude then asked me- "How often do you wash your hair? Once a week?"

And I couldn't help thinking, is that a black girl specific question? Was he trying to show that he was in the loop about how black women wash their hair? He was white, btw. See, I've lived with white people, and they wash their hair far more often than once a week, so I don't know if he was assuming something about the frequency of my hair washing based on my skin color. I wash my hair every other day at least, otherwise, my dandruff and dry scalp attack me with a vengeance.

Have you had problems with dry scalp/dandruff?

What assumptions do people make about you washing your hair?

How versatile do you feel your hair is?

Ladene Toh Bad

2011-06-28T21:19:00.000+01:00

This woman made me stop being afraid of how thick my locs could turn out. You hear people saying that a certain thickness ends up looking bad, but she rocks her hair with pizzazz and has chewy locs to boot! In these shots from guerreisms.com, Ladene Clark works her magic and stays slaying.

Whoa....

2011-06-27T19:20:00.000+01:00

So life is crazy, but life in Lagos, Nigeria is on a completely different level of crazy. Everyday at least ten things happen that make me go "whoa!". Whether I exclaim in excitement, anger or fear... Ah well.

So my life is like this, up at 4.30, on the road an hour later, then at work till about 7pm, sometimes later then home at 10pm... On a good day. I've been much later. And sometimes I have to work on weekends too... The same hours!! On weekends I have to choose between having a social life or sleeping. Can't do both. When I use the internet, it is beyond slow. Omg! It is so damn slow... it's not even worth it. This is why I send most of my posts from my BB. And the fact that you pay for BB service doesn't mean you'll get it. Nope. Paying for stuff here doesn't necessarily mean you'll get it. You're deluded if you think you will...

The last time I wrote I spoke about the issues I face at work where my hair is concerned. Well that week, I wore my hair in mini twists and got lots of compliments and questions: how did you get your hair like that? Is it real? Etc... So it would appear that twists are acceptable. A couple of weeks after that, I fell ill and didn't have the energy to style my hair so just wore it in a puff. I'd barely settled in when my desk phone rang. It was a co worker informing me that someone had asked her to tell me to do something with my hair. I told her to tell this someone to come tell me what the problem was... The someone was not forthcoming. Unsurprising.

So I went to the bathroom and put my hair into a french braided updo thinking that would at least keep them off my back. But no.

I almost got into it with a co worker. I had to make it very clear that he is not to mention my hair. Ever.

Now my hair is twisted and I set it in rollers last night so I've got these really cute curly twists which I love. I've included pics of the puff, the updo and what I'm wearing right now. Tell me, do you find any of these too "wild" or "unprofessional"?

And my hair is growing like a weed. I'm using Shea Moisture products at the mo. It's the rainy season right now and the humidity seems to be working for my hair... :)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

Shameful Hello + A Painting

2011-06-27T15:50:00.000+01:00

I know. It's been almost a month. I don't know what to say for myself.

#shame

It's just so hard raising this blog baby when its other parent is stuck in no-Internet land! I'm a single blog parent! I mean, Fizz makes occasional visits, but I was left in custody. I don't even like children!

I miss her. I miss her posts. I know y'all do, too.

I'll try my best to be better. Hold my hand, y'all.

In the meantime, here's a painting I did. She has a twistout, ergo, it is relevant to this blog, haha.

www.akwaeke.tumblr.com

Lagos + Loc Extensions

2011-06-01T19:53:00.000+01:00

Image from here.

Yes, the picture above is of loc extensions. According to the source.

When I got to Lagos, Miss Fizz was telling me that loc extensions, or as we more bluntly called them- fake locs, were all the rage in the city. I was skeptical at first because locs are generally frowned upon in Nigerian society. Some children are allowed to grow up with organic locs forming, and these are referred to as 'dada', which eventually became synonymous with locks in Nigerian society.

A few days later, Fizz complimented a girl in the bathroom of a club who had pretty locs twisted up, only to be told that they weren't real. Every time I saw someone with locs on the street, I started playing the identification game, wondering if they were real or not.

Compared to other cities in Nigeria, Lagos can be said to be more liberal and accepting than most. Hence, seeing locs isn't that shocking as it would be in a smaller town or in a village. My hair drew a lot of attention because it's obviously not manicured locks, and having large messy locks is still...well...controversial.

Now, the mystery is- why are loc extensions perfectly acceptable while real locs are still an issue? I feel as though the opposite is the case in the US- having loc extensions is seen as a cop-out.

While I was there, Fizz's dad would compliment my hair every so often while commenting on how wild it was, haha. The day before I left, he suddenly put his hand in it and exclaimed- "Wait! That's your real hair?!" I cracked up laughing, and was all "Um, what did you think it was this whole time?" He went on to say that people were spending money to get their hair like mine, and I was lucky enough to have it just chilling on my head. Basically.

So. Yes.

What are your thoughts on loc extensions? Can you explain the Lagosian double standard on locs?

It Started On My Very First Day...

2011-05-30T19:49:00.000+01:00

I hadn't even been assigned a work station before the questions started. "So when are you going to do your hair? When will you relax it or get a weave? Why are you natural" etc.

For the first few weeks of work I defiantly wore my hair in chunky twists which were worn back in a bun. It was actually very conservative, nothing wild or crazy. But when I asked some co workers why they had a problem with my hair, they said it looked wild and unprofessional... Yup.

They asked if I had dreads. No they're twists I said. They asked if I was born again or a Jehovah's Witness. No I said. When Zara came they asked why her hair was like that. "She's such a pretty girl... But her hair..." I practically bit off the head of the person that made that comment. She likes it that way. Where does your opinion come in?

Nigerians are so damn helpful. Full of good intentions. They don't think of it as not minding their business. No. They think they're helping you out.

Now in my office, there was a woman who had on the loc extensions Zara wrote about. Hers were not particularly well done, and they were unkempt looking, yet I got picked on cos my twists were real.

Another "helpful" lady came and pointed out that my hair was not acceptable in Nigeria and if I want to fit in I have to get a weave. I calmly told her that my hair is down to my bra strap in less than three years without a relaxer, and that in 15 years of relaxing, my hair never got past my shoulders. It went right over her head. She was like so when will you relax it? I walked away holding my tongue. My hair has been in braids for the past few weeks and I just took them out. I've washed and twisted and as far as I'm concerned I'm all set.

Nigerians have a habit of offering unsolicited advice without actually looking at themselves first. For instance, the woman who asked when I was gonna relax wears ill fitting clothes and wears a weave that looks like a birds nest. Seriously. It always looks like she just rolled out of bed and I badly wanna attack the nest with some water, a brush and some oil. But have I said anything? No. Because she likes it that way. However, if she should say anything about my hair again, I won't hesitate to go there. Haba! Even my male colleagues are at it. Eventually I said to them: "does my hair affect the quality of my work?" No. "Has the boss complained?" No. "Is it distracting?" No. "In that case bloody leave me alone!"

And there was this one guy who always has an opinion on my outfit, my hair, etc. I don't usually wear makeup, but one day I decided to wear lipstick. He came up to me and was like "you look good with that. You should always wear lipstick". I wiped it off right there. Over the weekend I sat him down and had a proper convo with him about his assholery.

Stop commenting on my appearance and on what you like or don't like about it. You complimenting me does not make me feel happy and you disliking something won't make me stop doing it. The fact is that I chose it, and I like it and I do not need your validation or affirmation. I like it and my opinion is what counts. You do not get a say.

He stuttered for a bit but I think he got it.
Tomorrow is my first day back with my natural hair. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes down ;)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.

One Year Loc Anniversary! Happy Memorial Day :)

2011-05-30T17:19:00.000+01:00

That was back in May last year, I had comb coils in and was trying to start my locs with that. They kinda looked like this and I hated them with a deep passion. I needed to wash my hair more often, and the coils were hating on that.

Memorial Day weekend came around and I gave up, washed them out, and haven't run a comb through my hair since then. It's taken a lot of patience to get here, and I did the whole 'omg why isn't my hair growing my hair isn't locking this is taking forever'. Now it's a year later, and I look at my hair, and I'm all like- Oh.

Yeah, that shit grew.

Love it.

Freeforming --> Semi-Freeforming

2011-05-28T22:35:00.000+01:00

So, I've officially switched over from free-forming to semi-freeforming. Why? It had been around ten months and the front of my hair was still not locking. It wasn't even on its way to locking. It was actually just chilling, fro-style, giving me the equivalent of a natural hair mullet. No bueno.

From the picture, you can see the organic ones that formed in the back, and the twisted ones in the front. I still can't keep twists in for more than two days, so every time I twist my hair, it gets washed out in a short period of time. I've been twisting it about once a week, braiding it up as a twist, washing it out after a day or two, and letting it chill out with undefined roots until I feel like twisting it again. The back doesn't actually need to be twisted at all, but I braid them so that all the locs end up crinkly when I take the twists out.

I've been using my shea butter mix to twist them up, but had to use less and less of it because I realized it was leaving butter residue in my hair.

Randomly, I've heard people refer to my hair as 'natural locs'. I'm so excited for it to grow and let long and whippable!

Curlicious Diva- Michelle (NowIAmNappy)

2011-05-27T10:10:00.000+01:00

1. Where are you from and what do you do?

Right now I currently live in Philly I just relocated here from New York and I work in fundraising at the University of Pennsylvania.

2. Why did you decide to go natural?

I decided to go natural because I was tired of the chemicals burns and scabs that the relaxers caused. My last relaxer I remember very distinctly, I just had a bad eczema outbreak and apparently I had a "bad" relaxer, well the experience left me with severe dermatitis. My scalp developed a odor so bad and I had to go to the dermatologist. From that point forward I knew I was never going to get another relaxer and decided to go natural.

3. What was the experience like? Did you transition? Was there any opposition? Support?

My experience was fairly easy, I did transition and found the support of a natural website which really help transition my mind as well as my hair. My exboyfriend (boyfriend at the time) was very supportive, he actually said I could see you with a curly fro and would always compliment me right after my BC. Now I did have some opposition with my friends because most were use to seeing me with my long hair and didn't think I would look good going natural. But eventually everyone came around when they realized how serious I was.

4. How long have you been natural?

I BC'ed June 2008 so this June I will be coming up on 3 years natural.

5. How has being natural changed your outlook on life?

Being natural has definitely made me more confident, it was like freeing myself from something I didnt even know was holding me down. I felt like this was the way God created me and I really started to appreciate myself and my own natural beauty.

6. What’s a typical hair day like for you? What are your go to styles?

Typically my hair is in twists, or some sort of protective style so I'm not fussing to much with my hair everyday. I'm really big on funky updos, and making sure my natural hair always looks good. In the summertime I do a lot of wash n gos or simple twistouts that keep my look fresh.

7. What are 3 products you can’t live without?

Well, since I mostly use all natural products I will definitely say pure unrefined Shea Butter, Aloe vera gel, and Shea Moisture products.

8. Do you have a goal length that you’re aspiring to?

I'm trying to get to hip length, it may be unrealistic but I dont want to put any restrictions on how long my hair can grow. Last year my hair made it to BSL in just 2 years, though I did have a brief setback my hair has grown back and I would love to see its full potential.

9. What treatments have you tried, colours etc.?

The only treatments I currently do is use henna, I've been a henna head for almost 3 years and I really feel that for my hair I need protein and henna gives me just the right amount.

10. Have you got any advice for prospective naturals?

I would definitely say do your research so you know what to expect. The same way we have been taught how to relax our hair we need to relearn how to take care of our natural hair. Its definitely an enjoyable experience and I think everyone should definitely give it a try, there are so many resources out there to help you and most importantly enjoy being you, natural and free.

11. Do you have a website or space where people can find you?

You can check out my fotki http://members.fotki.com/soontobenappy/about/
and my youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/NowIAmNappy?feature=mhum

12. Anything else you'd like to add?

To me going natural was the best thing I could have done for myself and I'm so thankful everyday that I'm natural and really got to experience what its like to be natural and free.

Henna-head :)

Back From Lasgidi

2011-05-26T22:56:00.000+01:00

That's me and Miss Fizz out at karaoke in Lagos, with a fool of a friend en route into the frame #tsktsk. I just got back from spending about two weeks with her, and the amount of fun I poked at weaves while there was most likely inappropriate.

So, there's updates on the way and all that, I'm in Houston now and I'm thoroughly sick of airplanes and canned air and my hair's sick of it too.

How have ya'll been doing? What's been new on the blogosphere?

Zara is Hereeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-05-14T13:15:00.001+01:00

Can you tell how excited I am? We've been making videos and having adventures already so expect a lot of gossip when the dreadlocked one returns :)

Hair 911- Kid Routine

2011-05-13T10:00:00.001+01:00

My lil one has a beautiful 'fro but it's a little hard for me to figure out how to care for it since everybody has different ideas... I usually wash it every 2-4 weeks with shampoo for kids and sometimes apply some sheabutter and olive oil or coconut oil... I already read that you use your own mix of oil to care for it... what exactly do you use and where do you get it from (afroshops over here in Germany are ...meh..) and what's the daily routine? .. the problem I have is that I usually have to make cornrows or afropuffs because otherwise it would be a mess when she comes home from kindergarden and she hates it when I comb it (but which kid doesn't)... I would love to leave it open from time to time though... any ideas would be much appreciated :)
love from overseas

The first thing I always say about hair care is- find what works for you. I don't recommend following what other people do because it might not apply to your hair, or in this case, your child's hair. Become a hair whisperer, if you must. Listen to the hair. Everyone's hair is different and needs different things. Shea butter, for example, works magic for some people but it's too greasy for other people. Some people can use leave-in conditioners and others, like me, can't. It honestly just depends on what your hair needs.

For my hair, I mix whatever oils I have at hand, such as extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin avocado oil, carrot oil, coconut oil, peppermint oil, etc. How does your child's hair react to shea butter and the oils you use? When I use shea butter, I melt it down with coconut oil and let it solidify again, maybe that could be a good mixture for you to try.

It seems like you're having trouble figuring out how to let her wear her hair out? First thing I'd say is to make sure you condition her hair after shampooing in, I don't know if you do that already, but it wasn't mentioned in your routine, so just in case. It's best to detangle/comb her hair when it's wet with conditioner in it so that it doesn't hurt or break off or get damaged. I'd suggest putting it two-strand twists after rinsing out the conditioner, and letting it dry like that. She can wear the twists out, and when you want her to wear it out, just take out the twists and let her rock a twist-out!

I hope that helps, and I'm turning it over to the readers. Chime in, everyone!

LITK in Lagos!!

2011-05-10T23:59:00.000+01:00

This is Miss Fizz and myself back in 2008 when we first met. Due to her being busy being awesome and getting her Master's way before me, I haven't seen her since the fall of 2008 #heartbreak. Skype and emails and texts and Gchat, we've spoken several times every week since then. That's almost three years of a long-distance friendship, the only LDR that ever worked/will work for me lol.

This is all pertinent! Why? Because this week, the co-founders of out bloggie baby (LITK, that is), will be REUNITED in Lagos!! Oh jes! Oh indeed! Oh rejoice!

I am bubbling and shuffling, and so should y'all be.

Because this means, joint pictures! Joint video blogs! More hair talk! Oh, it's exciting stuff, very much so, yes o!

Anyone in Lagos want to meet the dynamic duo? Let us know, jo! We go make am happen!

I'm flying out tomorrow via Turkey, and will be landing in Lagos on Thursday evening. I haven't been back in Naija in seven years, so this trip is long awaited.

What would you like to see from our joint time in Lagos?

My Freeforming Updo

2011-05-07T18:40:00.001+01:00

Oh, the magic an elastic Goody band can create. Not sure if you can actually see the hair too well, I might put up more pictures of it later. But yes, elastic band and bobby pins can make a world of difference.

It's also been almost a year since I started locking. #damn

Dead Prez- The Beauty Within

2011-04-26T15:12:00.002+01:00

I've been seeing photos from this video before it was release (I think?) but here it is! What do y'all think? Is it a win?

Loc Update!!

2011-04-24T20:53:00.000+01:00

At the end of May, it's going to be a year since I've been locking my hair! I've moved over to semi-freeforming because the front was taking to long too lock. I have sixty-three locks :) Thick, nommy, locks. #win

Been A While

2011-04-16T10:42:00.000+01:00

Hello all,

I've had such adventures since I've been here both hair relate and otherwise and I will be writing about them here or on my other blog as soon as I can. It has been such a busy few weeks for me since military camp ended. I've been getting used to driving on Nigerian roads and developing some serious road rage. Also making new friends and generally adapting. It has been swelteringly hot and the downpours here are truly formidable. The traffic is ridiculous. I spent 8 hours on the road yesterday getting to and from a place that is thirty minutes away from my home.

Camp itself was an experience which I hated initially but ended up quite enjoying. I also got majorly ripped and developed abs you could crack walnuts on! I intended to do a daily rundown of what happened each day but any free time I got was dedicated to sleep. We had to get up between 3am and 4.30am each day, then we had drills and physical training till about 8.30 when we had breakfast. At 9.30 we had "lectures" till about 2.00. After that, we were given free time till about 4pm. That free time I used for napping or doing laundry or staying in one position to avoid the heat. At 4pm it was time for drills or sports or something till about 7 or 8. Then we had free time which was usually spent chilling at the marketplace or fetching water or whatever. Lights out was at 10pm. I met lots of interesting people and got into such trouble with them. For instance, in the middle of the night one day, we were woken up by soldiers who ordered us outside and made us sit on the parade ground. The reason why is a long story but all in due time.

My newest adventure now is this. I start work on monday. I'm going to be a banker! Yup. My workday starts at 7.30 and will end at 6.30. Because of traffic each way, I'll be leaving my house at 5 and getting home at about 9 if I'm lucky. Oh the good times... My current problem is what to do with my hair. I've been rocking twists since camp ended and wanna change my hair this weekend. Any ideas for work friendly styles?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

Ty Bello- The Future (We are Nigeria)

2011-04-04T23:26:00.000+01:00

I heard once that Ty Bello reads LITK. Well, if na so, thank you for this video, Ty. It's awesome. As is your hair!

LITK In Naija

2011-03-31T15:39:00.000+01:00

Miss Fizz sends her regards to everyone ;) She got her hair braided as soon as she got to Lagos (I'm guessing it's easier for boot camp) but she's taking them out to let the fro breathe #youcare #wait #youprobablydo

Just wanted to share the picture!

Apologies For The Tumbleweed

2011-03-26T16:20:00.000Z

I know, I know, it's been a bit sparse around here. I'm so sorry! You see, Miss Fizz is currently in boot camp for NYSC in Nigeria, which makes it almost impossible for her to post anything. So while I would love to hear about how she's been taking care of her hair in Nigeria, or how her colleagues are responding to her hair, or what the natural hair scene is like where she is, I'm afraid all that is going to have to wait. I know, it's a well of interesting information, but it is untapped until she can return to posting.

Which means that for now, I am a single parent of Bloggie (which is the creative name we refer to LITK as) and whoo, is it hard being a single parent! If I don't feed this child (i.e. post), I have to realize that no one else is going to #snif

Basically, posting will continue, but at a slowed rate. To compensate, please send us a note if you'd like to be featured, or if you'd like to do a guest post, rant or whatever! Send in videos, pictures, hair gossip, and whatnot!

The email address is litk@leaveinthekinks.com <3

Oh, and Miss Fizz told me to post this video and dedicate it to all our loving readers:

Curlicious Diva- WestNDNBeauty

2011-03-24T20:07:00.001Z

1. Where are you from and what do you do?
I am from the British Virgin Islands (hence the name westNDNbeauty) and I currently live in Atlanta, GA where I am a licensed therapist.

2. Why did you decided to go natural?
I had no choice. My momma made me do it! Lol. All jokes aside, my mom made a mistake by perming my hair when I was in middle school and made me grow it out the very next year when she realized my hair wasn’t thriving as it did when I was previously natural.

3. What was the experience like? Did you transition? Was there any opposition? Support?
I was completely oblivious to my transition back to natural. I was in middle school at that time and mom made me wear extension braids for a time period to help with my hair breaking as it grew out. A year later, I had a hair full of kinky hair. The kinky hair really made me stand out in crowds. I was always referred to as ‘The tall girl with the afro puff’ lol. Kids can be cruel, but I never had a negative experience while in middle or high school. I remember the first time something was said to me about my hair that was super ignorant, while in undergrad, by a guy that was rocking a ‘fro as big as mine. He said “Since they make perms, you should use one.” That was a smh-moment. I looked at his own ‘fro and had no words.

4. How has being natural changed your outlook on life?
Being natural for this long has helped me to develop my own sense of style and self. I realized I don’t have to follow the crowd. I pretty much do what I want when it comes to fashion and style. This mind set has trickled over to all aspects of my life.

5. What’s a typical hair day like for you? What are your go to styles?
I prefer wake up and go styles. I usually wash and condition my hair on the weekends and wear it in a braid-out or twist-out during the week that is in a protective style. I moisturize at night and tie it down with a satin bonnet. My go to style for fly fab hair is a Braid n’ Curl.

6. What are 3 products you can’t live without?
Silk Elements Megasilk Moisturizing Treatment, Jojoba Oil, Castor Oil

7. Do you have a length that you’re aspiring to?
I would be happy with full bra strap.

8. What treatments have you tried, colours etc.
The most recent treatment I have done is the Homemade Caramel treatment. I definitely over did it. I’m going to stick to my regular deep conditioning and moisturizing.

9. Have you got any advice or questions for naturals and transitioners?
Stick with it. Just like anything else, there will be trials and tribulations. It took many many years before I was able to accept my own hair completely and fully. I hope it would not take that long for others, but it is possibility.

10. Do you have a website or space where people can find out more about you?
YouTube: wwestNDNbeautyy
Blog: www.ConfessionsofaBlogVixen.com

Will + Willow

2011-03-22T01:06:00.000Z

Just had to share this picture with you all, I found it adorable!

What do you think of it?

I Decided To Twist

2011-03-20T22:28:00.001Z

So the other night, I did one two-strand twist at the back of my head, washed my hair the next day and the twist was still in. I got mad tired of having the afro in the front and the locks in the back, so I just twisted the loose parts into thick twists and that's how I plan to start locking it like this from now on.

I'll still be washing it as often as I do, and I don't plan on retwisting them as long as they stay in, you know. I used my shea butter mix, which included extra virgin avocado oil, coconut oil and peppermint oil.

Anyhoo, what do you think of the new look? #semifreeforming

Natural Hair + Street Harassment

2011-03-17T20:29:00.000Z

I wear headphones so that I don't hear dudes hollering at me on the street when I walk to the train. I'm used to street harassment, tired of it, annoyed by it. I wanted to make flyers about it and hand it out to the guys who catcall and try to stop me as I walk down my innocent sidewalk, just trying to get to my building.

But I want to ask other people this question- how do you respond to men on the street complimenting your natural hair or mentioning it as they hit on you?

I've had a dude ask me "Are you growing dreads?" on the street, and I smiled and said yes because he was polite and hey, not many people compliment freeform locks. Except that after he complimented them, he tried to hit on me. Le sigh. I thought we were good, son.

I've had a random Ethiopian man follow me off the train, give me a vial of Egyptian musk and kiss my cheek (!!) all in the name of how awesome my hair is. He then offered to buy me a Coke from a food cart. Sir. Step off.

Yesterday, I was walking with a friend and this dude behind us just starts yelling. Like, YELLING. "NATURAL HAIR!! YEAH, THAT NATURAL HAIR!! NO PERM!!" I walked faster.

What are your experiences with men trying to holler based on your hair? How do you handle it?

{Akwaeke} Is Back!!

2011-03-14T17:14:00.000Z

So shiny!

I've started making my fascinators again after a bit of an intermission. The above one is called {scalloped pink} and is available for $15 at the online store.

I also do custom designs, like the one below {spray paint me pink} that was done for fly of myloveisaverb.

Frohawk friendly :)

Check out more images of the fascinators at the {Akwaeke} gallery, and shop online at the {Akwaeke} store =)

Luna @ AutoStraddle

2011-03-09T21:28:00.000Z

Some of y'all might remember Luna from Nappy Like Yo Pappy and her awesome Tumblr (www.ancestryinprogress.tumblr.com).

I had to share this amazing video of her because the fro was on ten levels of just plain gahtdamb FABULOUS!!

Enjoy! <3 <3

Chrisette Michelle Inspired Look - NYE Big Chop

2011-02-23T17:58:00.000Z

Sent in by Veronica, My Natural Me Blogger

http://mynaturalme.blogspot.com

Wanna Follow My Journey?

2011-02-23T15:42:00.001Z

If you wanna see what I get up to while I'm in Nigeria visit my other blog (fizzychaoticorder.blogspot.com). I'll keep the posts here hair related. :)
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

Loc Starter 911

2011-02-23T01:52:00.000Z

This came in from a reader who's looking into starting locs:

I haven't had a relaxer in about five months and I keep my hair really short and weaved up using glue. This past weekend I decided to get comb-twists to give my hair a break and to avoid relaxing it. In just these few days I have fallen in love with my twists and am even more seriously considering dreads. I've played with the idea for years but never committed until now. However, I'm confused about when and how to wash my hair given the style it's in now? I keep reading about unraveling so I'm a little nervous. Also, what bonding should i use to re-twist because i started these with beeswax? Please help!!!
Excitedly nervous,
F.

Readers, you know what to do. I'll be chiming in in the comments section with y'all.

I'm home!

2011-02-21T21:44:00.001Z

I landed in Nigeria a couple of hours ago and the first thing that hit me was the heat... Literally. It was like walking smack bang into a solid wall of heat.
It is so humid that at first it was like trying to inhale steam. It's good to be home :)

Here's to many adventures in the future!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

Hair Scans :)

2011-02-21T14:19:00.000Z

So, there I was on Tumblr, searching for pictures tagged #locs, when I came across Chescalocs' Tumblr. Which in turn led me to the Hair Scans blog she created, which is awesome!

Basically, you flop your hair on a scanner, scan it and send in the picture! It's such an amazing idea, and the submissions are simply gorgeous <3 All textures are welcome, so find yourself a scanner and send in your picture, too.

I shall be coming into work early one of these days, just to pull this off #lol I'd love to see someone with a loose fro do this.

Eclectically Feminine

Haley

madambfly

Fizzy's Goodbye Video

2011-02-20T19:48:00.002Z

LITK is moving to the Motherland... and a lotta rambling...

2011-02-20T15:12:00.002Z

Curlicious Diva- Tinuke

2011-02-19T23:11:00.000Z

1. Where are you from and what do you do?

I am originally from Nigeria, West Africa but I reside in New Jersey, USA. I work with young adults with various social issues

2. Why/when did you decide to go natural/grow your hair out?

I went natural about four years ago. Initially, I did not have the intention of going natural. I accidentally transitioned for about a year, wearing braids due to being pregnant and not wanting any chemicals in my hair. When I got tired of the braids, I was encouraged by my hubby to go natural as he had never seen me wearing my own hair out.

3. What was the experience like? Did you transition? Was there any opposition? Support?

Like I said, I accidentally transitioned . I did not recieve any oppositions but I was looked at in funny ways. I lost a few friends after going natural. Poeple were so used to seeing me wearing weaves for a long time. However, my hubby has been very supportive through this journey.

4. How has being natural changed your outlook on life?

Wow!!! This journey has helped me to gain a lot of confidence in myself especially gaining the strength to not care about what people think: that was a major weakness for me. I have also been practicing better healthier lifestyles such as healthy eating and exercising.

5. What’s a typical hair day like for you? What are your go to styles?

My hair is always in some type of protective style such as flat twists, twists or cornrows, as my hair gets longer, I may start to wear my hair out a little bit more.

6. What are 3 products you can’t live without?

Aloe Vera Juice helps to correct the pH of my products

Shea Butter helps seal the moisture in and also stretches my hair preventing tangles

Coconut Oil is a staple for me as I use this to prepoo my hair before any wash to prevent grooming damages

7. Do you have a goal length that you’re aspiring to?

Oh Yes!!!! Shoulder Length is perfect for me.

8. What treatments have you tried? (Colours, etc.)

I colored my hair three times in one year and regret doing that to my fine porous hair. My hair got so dry that it was consistently breaking. I have trimmed off most of the colored ends and will continue to dust off the end still all the colors are gone.

9. Have you got any advice or questions for naturals and transitioners?

It is not an easy journey. Try to educate yourself about natural hair care. Know that what works for one coily may not work for the next one.

10. Do you have a website or space where people can find out more about you?

I have a blog: Coilybella's Haven

and a Youtube Channel

11. Anything else you'd like to add?

My goal is to encourage women who want to wear their hair in its natural state. My hair is naturally fine and I know that there are a lot of women out there with fine hair but discouraged as their hair has no volume and it is hard to style. My journey is about learning how to manage fine natural hair by giving it the utmost care and rocking any styles.

Hair 911- Fuzzy Sides

2011-02-19T17:14:00.000Z

A textured conundrum to solve:

Hey guys, love the blog, love the visuals also....I made the big chop back in November 2010, and I am in love with my hair. After years of chemicals & shame, I never took the time appriciate the texture. But on another note.... my dilemma is my hair. You see, it tends to curl up nicely at the top my head (no problem there), but on the sides, it tends to look so fuzzy like it is unable to maintain a curl. (I guess from me sleeping on my sides is the culprit) I do moisturize everyday or try to with two products only because of the smell and the feel, but that doesn't change the texture and curl definition on the sides. I have grown accustomed to the look of it, although it still irks me from time to time. Help.... any suggestions would be truly appreciated:) Thanks...

Readers! To the rescue!

#iloveyou #andyourhair

Brooklyn Meet-Up TODAY!!

2011-02-18T14:26:00.001Z

My hair's going to be looking like this if you need to identify me at the event, haha. I did a simple updo with an elastic hairband, but I need to pick up some bobby pins because I've got a few renegade locs falling out at the back. My earrings are pretty recognizable, too :)

So, today is the day of the meet-up! LITK is going to be at Karen's Body Beautiful this evening for the event, which is hosted by Karen and user SumKindaWndrful from Youtube.

Address: Karen's Body Beautiful Spa, 436 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn

Time: 5-8pm

How To Get There: It's a 7 minute walk from the Clinton-Washington stop on the G and a 15 minute walk from the Clinton-Washington stop on the A/C. You can also take the 3, transfer to the B54 bus and get off at Myrtle/Clinton. Or just use Hopstop and MTA's Trip Planner to figure it out. Even Google Maps gives train directions.

Karen's going to be doing product giveaways and letting attendees sample stuff that she's creating. I will have I Love Your Hair! cards on me and available for purchase! I'll be selling them in packs of 10 and 20, for $5 and $8 respectively.

Head count!! Holla if you're going to be there! <3

Eight+ Months Of Freeforming

2011-02-15T18:16:00.000Z

And, that's eighteen months of growth in general, since I shaved my head bald in July 2009 =)

"You Look Like A Boy" Comments After BC

2011-02-14T19:09:00.000Z

Reader J sent this question in, and I thought to turn it over to the readers-

I've been natural after a brief transition from June 2010 until my BC in October 2010. However, my mom was the last one of everyone I knew to actually see me after my BC because I hadn't seen her in a few months. I've been wearing weaves for a little while trying to adjust to it but now I've decided to just wear my bush and be proud of all the hard work I've done so far. My question is, how do you deal with someone who CONSTANTLY says you look like a boy? When blown out, my hair is about 2-3 inches max at the top. I've done flat twists in the front, blow outs, little hats but when I just wear my bush out, no blow out, my mom is quick to say I look like a boy, boyish, tomboy, she even said she's waiting for me to come out of the closet. How do you suggest overcoming this? I'm proud of my hair and my hard work but she's even 'joked' about perming my hair in my sleep because I've "set her back"into slavery times again.

What say y'all? I'll be back to comment more on this.

How Does TSA Treat Your Hair?

2011-02-13T17:50:00.001Z

So, my brother was at the airport recently, and TSA scanned and searched his locks. Context, he's black, 6'1, and really muscly. I don't know if that's a real word, but his biceps are probably the size of my thigh. Ok, lower thigh. The part by the knee. He's large and ripped, essentially. He also has neat locs that fall to the small of his back and are always pulled back from his face.

But here's the kicker. When he asked them why, TSA replied

"It didn't look right."

The first thing that came to my mind was:

Please share your thoughts and comments! Has anyone else run into issues at airport security with their hair?

Video Fix

2011-02-08T18:17:00.001Z

Tamar Kali: Pearl (Remix)

Love Tamar's updo with the bandana, love the girl with the feather earrings- her hair is dopeness, love the natural hair that pops up in the party scene at the end.

What do y'all think?

Updated Fizzy's Must Have Hair Accessories and Tools

2011-02-06T21:06:00.001Z

Now every girl- natural or not- needs to have their stand-by hair saving tools. These tools can take a flop to fab, jazz up a boring hairstyle or turn an old style into a new one. This is my list of must haves so feel free to add yours in the comments.

Bobby Pins

Need I say more? These lil babies have saved my hair so many times. From tucking in stray hairs, to holding an updo in place... is there anything these lil guys can't do? See how they turn this ordinary puff into a mega bun!

Banana Clips

I love these. They can be used for anything from frohawks, to ponytails, to updos.

A high ponytail done using a banana clip

Updo with banana clip

Here's a tutorial on how to do an updo with a banana clip.

Hair Donuts

At least I think that's what they're called. These are great for making sleek polished chignons, that can be worn to work or glammed up for a night out. It makes a quick and easy protective style. You can also make your own by using a sock. Simply cut out the toes and roll it up. Voila! Donut! They're available in various sizes and colours for different lengths and colours of hair.

Twist sock bun

For a tutorial on how to use this click on one of the following links: my tutorial for mid to short hair, long hair.

Hair Bands

Hair bands are great for jazzing up a plain hairstyle or accessorizing an outfit. They come in many different colours and styles and have additions such as flowers, bows, etc...

Ouchless Elastics

These are invaluable to me. Not only do they not snag the hair, they can also be used to band the hair and large ones can be used to make puffs and updos.

Hair Combs

I use these for my fro-hawks and pompadours (humps)

Flexi Rods

These are more comfortable than traditional rollers and they are great for stretching and curling the hair. They are available in many different sizes. There are numerous tutorials on how to use these on YouTube.

Soft Bonnet Hair Dryer

This is great when you don't have time to airdry or want sleek twist outs and curl sets. They're also not very expensive. I got mine for £20 on Ebay.

So that's my list... if there's anything you wanna add go for it in the comments. :)

So Pretty Kay left a comment talking bout scarves and hair flowers and I was like D'OH! How could I forget those?

Scarves

From turbans to impromptu hair bands scarves are deliciously versatile. Search YouTube for tutorials on turban tying, NaturalBelle's channel has some of my favourite tutorials.

Hair Flowers

These are so easy to make or buy. You can literally pick a fresh flower and stick it in your hair and be done with it. I "borrow" flowers from the plastic arrangement in my kitchen all the time.

"I Love Your Hair!" Cards Are Now Available!

2011-01-29T20:24:00.001Z

Ignore my one rampaging eyebrow.

The "I Love Your Hair!" cards came in today, which means they are available for you to snag and pass on! This is the first important step in this campaign, many of you expressed an interest in the cards and well, here you go. LITK has opened a store that just carries the cards for now- hopefully, more merchandise will join them in the future.

You can buy a 10-pack of the cards for just $4.25, and a 20-pack is only $7.50. The colors and fonts are bright and varied, while the back of the card has blank lines in which you can fill in whatever message you'd like to write in. Perhaps a simple "pass this card on" so that the positivity spreads. Perhaps a phone number if you're trying to hit on the hottie with the locs. The cards are thick, with a matte laminate, satin feel, and excellent color quality.

So head over to the I Love Your Hair Store, cop your pack of cards and start spreading the good news!

Use the hashtag #iloveyourhair on Twitter and hit us up (@leaveinthekinks)- we'll be waiting to hear back from you =D

Organization Tips

2011-01-25T16:12:00.002Z

My bedroom is the size of a small walk-in closet. I don't even have a closet. However, it also doubles as my workshop. In order to ensure that I can walk from one end of the room to the other, I've had to take some drastic organisational measures and I have on hand a supply of clear plastic boxes for clothes, shoes, supplies etc that I cram into every available space. I'm in the process of doing a clean out because I can't even use my desk as it is littered with supplies, a sewing machine, tools, fabric etc. Sometimes it makes me wanna go nuts.

I decided to start with the small stuff... my jewellery. I love my collection and like to be able to see them when I'm picking stuff to go with an outfit. They're usually all cluttered in a drawer somewhere so I decided to try something very simple. I got a plain black scarf that is perfectly square, hung it up on my wall and stuck most of my dangly earrings on it as well as some necklaces. It kinda made the jewellery hunting experience more fun as it's like going shopping everyday. It's the first thing people notice when they walk into my room and they're usually quite impressed by it.

I put my rings and studs in a small wicker bowl and that definitely made my life easier.

I definitely need more jewellery... Shoes used to be my thing, now it's jewellery... I think it has something to do with the way a funky pair of earrings complements a 'fro... go figure.

So how do you keep your stuff organized?

Interview With Valerie June!

2011-01-24T13:48:00.000Z

1. For those unfamiliar with you and your work, where are you from and what do you do?

I am a roots musician and singer from West Tennessee.

2. You refer to your work as Organic Moonshine Roots Music. Where did this come from/how did you come up with this term?

West Tennessee born and raised, I became enchanted by a blend and balance between East Tennessee’s country music and Memphis, Tennessee’s delta blues. In addition, I value and honor the virtues of my childhood by embracing southern gospel and traditional folk songs. I call this fusion of musical genres Organic Moonshine Roots Music.

3. How long have you been creating music? When do you feel you settled into your voice and style?

I have been playing and performing as a solo artist for the past five years. My voice is ever changing, and I try to be gentle with it as it changes with the seasons. I hope I never settle into it.

4. You're also easily recognizable by your gorgeous hair, which has had quite the positive impact on the online natural hair community- tell us a bit about the history of your hair. I am very grateful to have locs. Mostly because they save me time! I have had my locs for ten years. I have had pressed and permed hair. My hair has always been thick and hard to tame. I suppose that's why approach to locs was to allow them to be as freely formed as possible without looking to shabby. Every crop is different, so I never try to mold them to look like someone else's. What looks great on one person might not be best on another. I would describe my hair as LOVELY!

5. Do you feel that your hair contributes significantly to your image- if so, how? Does having locs like yours affect how people perceive or treat you in the music community?Image is certainly very important in my career. I always say it never hurts to be mindful of your image when earning your bread and butter from a form of entertainment. I don't feel like my locs effect how I am treated in the music community in any way that is different from how I am treated for being a sweet spirit and a gorgeous face! Why not look our best and feel fabulous? Life is short! One of my mottos for this new year is that a woman should never need an excuse to look good! If you want to put on a full load of make-up and heels to go to the grocery store and a jogging suit for the bank, then do it!

6. What are the best and worst things you ever did for/to your hair?The best thing I did for my hair was to invest in a satin pillowcase! The worst is to let others touch it.

7. What is your favorite part about creating and performing music?My favorite part of creating and performing is songwriting! I find myself sometimes writing a song at a live show. The audience doesn't know. I channel songs from the ether. I can't really control when they are coming!

8. What would you like people to take away from Organic Moonshine Roots Music?I would like for my listeners to make my music their own! Embrace the sings that tell a tale that true for them and not try to figure out what I am trying to say. Ultimately, once the song is released, it's yours!

9. What do you envision in the future for you and your work?I am envisioning my work touching the lives of many! I am thinking big! Why not? Only the best and infinite success!!!

10. Where can we find you and your work- online and in real life?
You can explore more about Organic Moonshine Roots Music at my website, www.valeriejune.com!

Out of Reach...

2011-01-23T16:30:00.001Z

Source

So in the course of perusing natural hair sites and blogs, I hear about all kinds of products that I would love to try. However, they all seem to be based in the US. Pretty much every decent sounding one is there. I've tried to bite the bullet a few times and brave the cost of shipping, import taxes and custom charges to order items, but paying $50 or more for a single item kinda loses its allure when you're a broke student. Now while there are lots of budget friendly ways to manage our hair, I would love to have access to more glamorous products. Here are a few products I would like to see have a base in Europe and in Africa:

Shea Moisture: This is probably the line I'm coveting the most as I've heard nothing but good things and they're also very reasonably priced.
Oyin Handmade

Those are my top two.

Non-US readers speak on it. What brands would you like to see where you live?

And the winner is...

2011-01-23T01:36:00.001Z

*Drumroll please....*

Lita!!!

She's won a €20 gift certificate for Osté Accessories! Yay!

As a thank you for your support, I'm giving a discount to all LITK readers. Enter LITK at checkout to get 10% off your next purchase :)

Lita please send me your email address at missfizz87@leaveinthekinks.com so I can send the gift certificate over to you.

Thanks everyone!

February Meetup In Brooklyn!

2011-01-20T18:53:00.002Z

The Facebook Event

When: February 18, 2011

5:00- 8:00pm

Where: Karen's Body Beautiful Spa

436 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn

The original video invite:

Oste Accessories- Jump On It! Final Day!

2011-01-20T14:33:00.000Z

Look at that piece of deliciousness right there. You know you want something made in that fabric, whether it's a headband, a ring, earrings, bangles. Chile! Oste has it all.

I mean, if I wore headbands, I'd rock that. Except Poofy doesn't approve and flings them off. But it's not too late for you!

The products range from headbands, earrings and necklaces to brooches, scarves and so on. There's a LOT to pick from, handmade with crafty love and all. Fizz put a lot of love and work into this line, so I'm calling on y'all to step up and show some support.

All you gotta do is head on over to the Facebook page and like it.

Leave a comment here, or on the page itself announcing that you have completed this deed, and you could win a 20 euro gift card to the store!

Also, if you feel like just buying some ish anyways, you'll get a free pair of earrings with any purchase. I mean, I don't even know why you're still on this page and not over there. You can also send in custom orders.

Check out the store.

The giveaway ends TODAY! So jump on it. There's 89 people that like the page so far. Can we push that number up for Fizz? I believe we can.

Jump on it!

The MixedChicks PR Debacle

2011-01-18T14:55:00.000Z

Yeah, son. That tweet was not a good idea.

I first saw it on Tumblr, where brokeymcpoverty left the hilarious comment- "i was just about to order some. lemme run and get my brown paper bag to make sure i can, though." Then I saw commentary that MixedChicks had addressed other 'teams' as well, so I went over to their Twitter page to see exactly what the hoopla was about.

What I saw were some of the weakest apology tweets...ever.

Look, I'll give you some free advice. Putting those phrases in quotation marks come off as very condescending to your readers/followers/customers. You didn't "press a hot button", you pressed a hot button. Claiming ignorance as to the issues that surround dark and light skin in this country is just unbelievable. Yes, unbelievable. You are a company called "Mixed Chicks" that sells products for natural hair in the USA, and you're expecting us to believe that you're not aware of the tension around skin color and hair types? Really. I'm sorry, I'm not buying that for one second, no ma'am. I believe they're claiming ignorance to cover up their mistake, instead of owning up to it. I am not amused.

Also, the apology they gave was, again, weak. "My bad"? Really. Tweeting "go jets"? Really. I'll be honest, I don't know what kind of team the Jets are, I'm not even kidding. But you know what relevance they have to the matter at hand? None. That's what.

MixedChicks needs to understand why that tweet was a mistake, and fully acknowledge what they did, instead of hiding behind excuses of ignorance and 'inclusiveness'.

Insinuating that the response to that tweet is trivial compared to other issues such as world politics is again, condescending and insulting. You're clearly not taking this matter seriously, if your first reaction other than poor apologies is to try and minimize the impact of what you tweeted, as if the people that reacted to it are being small-minded. Skin color is still an issue, honey, no matter how much you want to slip out of the mess you got yourself into. It still matters, it still affects people, it is still an issue.

"I have every shade possible in my family". Really. You know what that reminds me of? When white people say racist things, then follow it up with "I have black friends" o_O.

My Tumblr people went off and reduced me to fits of laughter.

myloveisaverb: #icosign @thefeeloffree’s post. i’m mixed with 2 different Nigerian ethnicities but somehow i don’t think @mixedchicks was made for someone as earth brown as me with hair as gravity-defying as me. #unityfail #teamreadabook

adwoadontstop: wait, i have a sincere #nottobehonestoranything question..every shade of what? stoopid? *now that’s a lot of hard work-here have a cookie. (#everyshadeofstoopid, coming to a tweet near you: proudly sponsored by @mixedchicks)

Why is your company called MixedChicks in the first place? I'm actually curious. Only because it comes off as very 'exclusive', you know. Perhaps they meant to target it to a particular hair texture, but honestly, I don't even know what mixed chicks means. I don't understand how it relates to hair texture and thusly, to hair products.

For those who justify that tweet by pointing out that MixedChicks also directed tweets to other 'teams', the point is that there shouldn't be any 'teams' in the first place. Or at least, as a company, you should not endorse said 'teams'. To quote Bassey Ikpi's tweet on the subject- Divisiveness even if it's "balanced" is still counterproductive.

MixedChicks has remained silent since this all came to a head about two days ago. Not sure if that's the best move, you seem to be losing customers left and right.

Enough of my rantings on the subject. What do you all think? How could they have handled this better?

Styling My Twists

2011-01-16T18:55:00.000Z

Curlicious Diva- Ima

2011-01-16T16:20:00.001Z

Just borrowed this picture from our Facebook page. Gorgeous isn't it?

Poofy: Freeforming + Updates + Hairbands

2011-01-16T02:49:00.000Z

Poofy is long. It's been almost a year and a half since I shaved my head, and it's been a little over seven months since I started freeforming. I had to start separating the locs at the root, because they were having a little too much fun merging. Since Poofy's gotten longer and longer, I start disliking wearing her out. For readers who go way back, this shouldn't be a surprise. I really don't like wearing long hair out in a fro- although, last time it was because it was too difficult to maintain a cute shape. This time around, the cut I got about a year ago still holds and gives Poofy a respectable shape, given her length. We can also thank shrinkage for that.

Speaking of shrinkage, I was pretty upset when I found out that locks form with shrunk hair, not stretched. I've probably complained about this before, but whatever. It still rankles. I thought my locks would be representative of the actual length of my hair, but no. No. They form with shrinkage, so everyone you see with locks? Their hair is MUCH longer than that, once you account for the darn shrinkage. What is my life.

I also can't play with my hair to see the length, can't put it in twists, blow it out, or do anything because I don't want to interfere with the locking process.

There are about thirteen locks in the back now, most of them are tapered, they're all longer than my shrunk afro and pretty fuzzy. I'm excited that there are that many, hopefully the front will lock up in the next few months. Pray for it.

However, the upside to all of this is that Poofy is finally long enough to get tied back!! From the length check above, I'm guessing that she's about 12 inches long now. Do you know how long I have awaited this day? You probably do, because I talk about it a lot. I love tying my hair back. It makes me so happy!

I got plain black Goody hairbands from Walmart, doubled one up and put it around my neck, then pushed it back over my hair until the puff was formed.

Voila!

I'm looking into getting copper wire to put on some of the locs.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy entering the New Year with pulled back hair. I just got back to Brooklyn after a few days in New Mexico, after a very very long trip back from Malaysia where we had to stop in Korea, Japan and LA. I'm so tired of planes.

I'll be doing a post about having natural hair in Malaysia soon! Also, the cards for the I Love Your Hair Project will be available in February for sale, we're working on a logo for the project, and there might be a New York meet-up in March! Also, remember the Akwaeke line that I totally slacked off last year on? Ah, maybe you don't. Well! It'll be back, new pieces are in the making and the store is going to be relaunched soon. Big tings a gwan.

How has the year been treating you and your hair so far? What would you like to see from LITK this year? Let us know!! And congratulations to Dolceheart for being our 700th follower on Blogger!

Mini Twists Comparison Update

2011-01-12T01:06:00.002Z

October '09

January '11

Looks like I retained some length :)

I got caught in the rain and the twists shrunk. I like this look better :) I'll be posting a vid on how I style the twists in the next day or so (I know I look sad but I'm really just tired).

Sumaya's Big Chop

2011-01-06T14:10:00.002Z

Looking good girl!

New Year Giveaway

2011-01-04T16:02:00.003Z

Hey y'all!

To celebrate the new year and to apologise for not blogging consistently lately, I am hosting my very first Osté Accessories sponsored giveaway. In order to be eligible to win, all you have to do is like Osté Accessories on Facebook and then leave a comment below stating that you have liked us. The winner will be chosen randomly on the 20th of January. The prize is a €20 gift certificate to my store.

You can visit the store here or click the image in the sidebar. New items are added daily so keep checking back :)

This contest is only open to residents in the EU, the US and Canada.

I straightened my hair again...

2010-12-28T14:51:00.001Z

I decided to give straight hair another go after I realised what I did wrong last time. I used castor oil during the process which, it turns out, is a humectant. As soon as I stepped out into the humid mid summer air, my hair was a gonner. This time I didn't use too many products.

I clarified my hair with a clarifying shampoo and then did a deep treatment with an egg-banana-honey mixture. Afterward I used a regular conditioner and then blowdried my hair. Speaking of conditioners, I just started using L'Oreal's coloured hair conditioner and it provides amazing slip. Detangling was a breeze. The reason I kept my weave in as long as I did is because I didn't want to deal with the detangling process. However, it was surprisingly easy. I'd recommend it. I'll write the name as soon as I find it.

I dry detangled before washing my hair and I didn't have to comb it again during the wash process. The way I detangle is simple. After taking out the weave, I divided my hair into six sections, then sprayed a mixture of water and the conditioner on each section before combing with a wide tooth comb. It was totally pain free and the comb slid easily through my hair.

After washing, I applied a leave in and some shea butter then I blow dried each section using a paddle brush and the tension method. The tension method involves stretching your hair out with your hand and holding it there and running the dryer down the strands, rather than combing or brushing excessively. It's very effective at stretching out the hair. I dried my hair on medium heat and high speed. Paddle bushes are also way better for blow drying than Denman brushes. Those things just rip your hair out.

Half Blowdried

First stage completed

After blow drying, I applied a heat protectant (the name's rubbed off so I don't remember what it is called) and then ironed with a ceramic iron. And then I was done. The entire process took about four hours from wash to iron. The last time took about 6 hours and I didn't even wash beforehand so this is a definite improvement. I don't plan to do this often as my attention span is limited and the sound of the dryer won't let me watch movies as I work :( I'm not very good at wrapping hair so it won't stay straight for long. My mum didn't like the straight hair. Said it made me look ill... o...k.

All done!

Back view

My hair turned out to be longer than I expected it would be. It's probably at armpit-length now or maybe a bit longer. Didn't hold it out to measure it... it's longer than it's been in years though. It was so weird feeling my own hair on my back again. I do need a trim but I feel like I'm constantly trimming. The split ends come anyway regardless of protective styling, moisturizing etc... ah well...

I don't know how long I'll wear my hair straight for, but when I wash it out it's back to protective styling. Oh by the way the name of the conditioner is L'Oreal Elvive colour protect conditioner. I definitely recommend it for people with hair like mine. It's cheap (I got it for about €4) and you can get it at most drugstores. I was gonna get Organix shampoo and conditioner but it is nearly €10 a bottle and is half the volume of the L'Oreal. It also doesn't provide as much slip as I need. I'm making a move back to drugstore brands because the organic stuff is not only expensive, it's not easily accessible where I am and it also doesn't do as much for my hair as one would expect given the cost. Now if I can find a good drugstore leave-in, I can happily visit Nigeria knowing I'll be able to take care of my hair there.

Happy Holidays... and other news

2010-12-28T13:50:00.001Z

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and I wish you an amazing 2011. Anybody making resolutions for next year? What's on your list (for your hair and otherwise)? Zara's jetted off to Malaysia so I'm sure she'll be back with exciting tales for us in a couple of weeks.

I just found out that Teena Marie passed and I'm still in shock. It's really sad news :( Why are all the good musicians being snatched away from us so early? In this era of shitty bubblegum music, we could really use good musicians. There's only a few of them left...

This is one of my favourite songs by her. May her soul rest in perfect peace :(

Accidental Freeform Style

2010-12-18T20:18:00.000Z

What happens when you wake up with bedhead and decide to go with it.

Fro in the front, locks in the back.

The Mohawk Has Landed (Excerpt)

2010-12-16T21:38:00.001Z

"Of course, I had my apprehensions: from "holy SHIT, now I'm REALLY gonna look just like my daaammmnnn daddy!" to "dammit, there goes my originality...my signature...my uniqueness" (pun OF COURSE intended). I'd gotten a little full of myself, knowing I still have yet to see any person of color with a mohawk as high as mine. My mama even relished in that, and lived vicariously through my hair, since I mirrored her weird kid/fuschia hair rockin/new wave boppin antics in the '80s. All I know is it's gonna be one helluva Christmas visit home this year."

- UniQ

Check out the rest of the post at the bklyn boihood blog!!

Tribute to Virgin Hair

2010-12-16T13:57:00.000Z

My cousin Rena painted this portrait and I really wanted to share it with you guys.

"Its a painting i tittled" VIRGIN HAIR "and i dedicate it to all my natural sisters and friends all around the world."- Rena Diana Umoru.