Best oils for Natural hair.

Hello citizens,
 Its been a long while, i'm finally done with my exams and suddenly i remembered that i own a blog lol..not really true, i have been wanting to post for a while but i had other pressing matters that needed my attention..but hopefully, since i have a lot of free time on my hands now, i am going to be posting more often, at least once a week or even more yay :) Today, i decided to talk about about my hair oils, if there is one staple i have stuck to since the beginning of my natural hair journey it would definitely be oils. Oils are very good for natural hair, they provide nutrients and shine as well as locking in moisture thus helping our hair to stay moisturized longer than usual. I personally use quite a number of oils on my hair, my staples are Olive oil, coconut oil, grape seed oil, tea tree and castor oil and each of these oils have their various uses, here i'm going to list my top 5 favorite oils for natural hair, this is based on my opinion of course.

1. Olive oil
    This is one of my all time favorite and it has been a staple since i began my hair journey 4+ years ago and no day passes that i don't use olive oil on my hair either to add shine or seal in moisture. The great thing about it is, it has many health benefit for our hair, here are a few;
-Adds Shine. This is probably the main reason why i love this oil, Afro textured hair, most of the time, naturally has a very dull look because of the coily state of our hair which prevents sebum on our scalp from traveling down the length of our hair and so, making it necessary that we oil our hair ourselves to prevent it from breaking off.
-Locks in moisture. Olive oil also acts as a sealant after applying water based products or just plain old water to the hair, it helps to lock in the moisture and thus leaving our hair moisturized far longer than it normally would.
-As a deep conditioner. I personally love to add olive oil into my deep conditioner mix when ever i want to deep condition my hair. And this way, after i wash it off, my hair feels soft and moisturized.
-As a Prepoo. This is something i actually started to do recently, but using olive oil as a prepoo before actually shampooing is nothing new and a lot of naturals have been doing this for years. As i don't shampoo as often as i cowash, when ever i decide to shampoo, i try to make sure that i prepoo with olive oil for at least an hour before i hop into the shower.

2. Castor Oil
      This is another favorite of mine, This year i decided to make it a staple and i have seen a difference in the way my hair feels, i especially use it every weekend when i do the LOC method  (liquid, oil,cream) on my hair. The main benefit i would say that castor oil does for me is that since its a very vicious oil, it locks in moisture and helps to keep my hair moisturized for a very long time, up to a week! It also helps in hair growth and adds shine. Here are a few of its uses;
-Locks in moisture. One of its best properties in my opinion, better than any other oil i have used.
-Softens the hair and also acts as a humectant..
-Adds lustre and shine to hair
-Aids hair growth especially around the edges.

3. Coconut Oil.
      This is one of my favorites especially during the summer because it stays liquid at room temperature and so i don't have to melt it before using, coconut oil is one of the few oils that can actually be absorbed by the hair shaft and also has repair qualities for damaged hair. I use coconut oil as a daily moisturizer and sealant and also to add shine plus the added bonus of its nutty fragrance. Coconut oil can also be used as a deep conditioner and as a prepoo. Benefits include;
-Protect hair from breaking off.
-Acts as a sealant.
-Has antibacterial and antifungal properties.
-Improves blood circulation to the scalp especially after a scalp massage.

4. Grapeseed Oil.
        This is another oil that works wonders for natural hair, i use it mixed together with olive oil and it is a staple for me. One of the reasons why i love this oil is because it is very light and odourless. So, unlike the other oils where i have to worry about their scents, with grapeseed oil, it is not a problem, which is one of the reasons why i mix it with olive oil before i use. Some of the qualities of grapeseed oil are;
-It is a light oil and this can be an advantage when you don't want to weigh down your hair.
-It can be used as a light sealant.
-Can be used as a hot oil treatment.
-Used to alleviate dry scalp.
-Due to its ability to withstand high heat, can be used as a heat protectant. I only use as a heat protectant when i want to blow out my hair, now if i'm going to be flat ironing or using more heat, i use a store bought heat protectant.

5.Tea tree Oil.
       This is one Oil together with olive oil, i can say have been with me from the very beginning of my natural hair journey. Because of its antiseptic properties, this oil has a lot of uses outside of hair care, and even in hair care, it is used to treat dandruff, itchy scalp, lice, hair loss etc. It is an essential oil so a little goes a long way, i personally mix a few drops in all of my hair products that i make myself, i use it in in my Shea butter mix, my oil mix and even in my water spritz as a daily moisturizer. This is one oil you can never go wrong with.

6. Jojoba Oil.
      This is another great oil and is very much used by a lot of naturals, the only reason its number six on my list is because its not really a staple of mine because its not readily available where i live and when i do find it, it is really expensive, so i use it sparingly . Irrespective of my reasons i acknowledge that jojoba oil is still one of the best oils for natural hair, it is the only oil whose molecular structure is similar to sebum, the oil that our scalp naturally produces. Some of its uses are;
-It can penetrate the hair follicles and strengthens the hair fibers from inside.
-Acts as a conditioner to soften and moisturize the hair plus adds shine.
-Adds volume to thinning hair.
-Reputed to have antibacterial properties.
-Can be used as a hot oil treatment.

This is my list of best oils for natural hair that i have personally used and can swear by them. Of course there are many of other oils that work wonders for our hair texture, so its better to do your investigations and decide which works for you and which is readily available to you, and you really don't need to have all or a lot of oils for your hair to be well taken care of, i used olive and coconut oil for years before i included other oils to my regimen. Also, remember that for most oils to be beneficial to our hair, we must first moisturize our hair with water or any water-based product and then seal with any oil of your choice and this way we can be able to fully take advantage of the benefits of these various oil. Applying oil to dry hair, will give your hair shine but it won't moisturize your hair. Thanks for reading and comment below if you have any oil you swear by or love and why :)

Thinking of Going Natural? Natural hair basics 101.

Hello citizens :)
 The good thing about insomnia is that after laying in bed for hours trying to sleep and it's not working and I can't bring myself to study either, I remember I have a blog i have abandoned hehe. I have wanted to talk about this topic for ages because it seems to be one, if not, the most frequent question I get from people and it always goes like this, "where do I start?" Now, this is a very loaded question especially for someone who is new to natural hair and is seriously considering going natural. Going natural especially in these times can seem really daunting because of the loads of information out there, either by word of mouth or on the Internet.  But, if you commit to it and set up a plan on how to go about it, including making up a regimen which is subject to change and flexibility, it can be a breeze. In this post, I want us to discuss where to begin. I have 3 points that tries to summarise the very early but important stages or aspects of going natural. 

1. Changing your mindset.
     Another way I could say this is to "prepare your mind". It might not seem like much but believe me, you need this to even begin and not just begin, but to go further in your natural hair journey. This has to do with the simple acceptance of your hair as is, you might think 'hmmm, but I love my hair' but my question is, do you? Really? And if you are not sure, then answer these few questions honestly;
- how often do you wear your hair out?
- How often do you wear extensions, wigs, braids? etc,
- when do you feel most beautiful, with your natural hair or not?
- you're going on a date or a night out with friends choose between an 'amazing Brazilian/Peruvian/whatever hair' or your own natural hair?
- do you always feel like your hair is a burden..like we got the shorter end of the stick? (real words from someone)
- do you wish you had straight hair?
- do you think afro hair is attractive?
The list could go on and on but you get the picture, you need to ask yourself some tough questions and be brutally honest with yourself to know where you stand with yourself and your hair and decide how to tackle those issues if you want to move forward with your natural hair journey.

2. Be Realistic/Practical

     This is another really important point, it's very easy to get carried away and dream up this beautiful curly hair texture you want just by admiring someone on youtube/internet and then you get very disappointed when your hair doesn't look like theirs or move like theirs and then you get fraustrated because your hair isn't what you envisioned when you thought of going natural and then to feel better about your look you go back to relaxers and the cycle continues..which is why the first point is very important. Going natural is accepting your hair as it is, and this is not to say it's a burden or a situation we should just accept because we can't change it, but because afro hair is beautiful in it's own right, but we need to open ourselves up more to be able to see it and why is that? Because, after years of believing that our hair is a "problem" we need to also condition ourselves to see it for what it truly is..beautiful coily hair. I believe all types of afro hair are beautiful, it doesn't matter if you have a 4a, 4b or 4c type hair and I have to say this because I'm tired of hearing people say "but I don't have your type of hair" or "you haven't seen my hair" oh, and the worst of all "My hair is tough, i have the real African hair" as excuses (you see why i say this is a mentality that we need to change before even considering going natural). If you decide to go natural, remember you are making a decision to learn how to take care of YOUR OWN hair.

3. Decide on if you want to big chop or transition.

     When I decided to go natural, I didn't have the luxury of an option. I had to big chop because my hair was already damaged and so, I had to cut what was left of it off. If I have to do it again, I would still go the big chop route. But, I will truthfully admit that when I big chopped I really wasn't ready for it, I felt so self conscious and the little self esteem I thought I had, dropped to zero and sadly, I had to cover with wigs and extensions till it grew to a stage where I could wear it in a puff and even then, I would still wear my extensions. It took a while before I finally decided to get rid of the covers and just wear only my hair ..and let me tell you, it's easy to think you are one confident lady and that you are all that, with a full head of Brazilian/whatever hair, until you have to pull it off and work with what you have naturally and then you sadly realize that our sense of self worth/esteem are placed on the wrong things..All i'm saying is, wearing your natural hair takes a lot of courage (only because it is not the norm) and believe me, you build your self esteem in the process. My whole point of telling a bit of my experience is to show that we have to be careful in choosing what will work for us, if you want to just begin your hair journey without any issues of working with two textures and just get started, then you should probably consider the big chop but if you are not ready to loose your length, then, transitioning is the way to go. I wish I could say more about transitioning but, I don't really know much about it since I  didn't experience it first hand so I will include some links with more info so you can choose wisely ;)
 http://heygorjess.com/transistioning-101/
http://naturalhairfanatic.wordpress.com/transitioning-101/

   With these 3 points I hope I have tried to cover the very beginning of what deciding to go natural entails. If you would like to add to the above points, please feel free to do so in the comment section or if you just have questions, ask and I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge. Thanks for reading!