19.11.16

5 Natural Hair Journey Tips


Hey naturalista's! Hope everyone is blessed. Today I'm coming at you with a top 5 post about how to make it through your natural hair journey. 

I've been natural my whole life, never put heat to my hair, but still I suffered and unfortunately my hair fell out. I had to shave my hair completely bald and start again, I did this on April 8th 2016. That wasn't too big a deal for me, but a genuine issue I had was my hair did not grow, it was stuck at 5 inches. Not that it was breaking and not growing, my hair was so damaged it didn't grow for five years. 

I resulted to protective styling and left my hair alone after five years of trying and eventually as I said decided to shave it off. Best decision I've ever made, truly. I still have a problem area though, the back of my hair is VERY thin. I think maybe too tight braiding, breakage and just a sensitive area of my head and constant ripping out of hair got the best of it. It is definitely better than it was before, but as I said my hair is very thin in that area, and grows much much slower. I've started putting Jamaican black castor oil and on the strands in that area at night in hope to improve it. 

This is a journey and my hair is still very short, its too early to tell at this point with that area. I'm just happy it's better than it was before, and i'm just going to keep trying to restore more hair in that area, it's a process right! So that's a lil background to my hair, I'm 6 and a half months in and to be honest it feels like it's been much longer! I thought I'd give you some tips on how I've been managing.

1.

I know you don't want to hear it, but patience. YOU MUST BE PATIENT. Focus on the process rather than the end goal of a full head of hair. It will happen, growing afro textured hair is not easy, it takes a lot more effort and care, but if you are diligent it will grow. My hair grows very slowly compared to the rest of the natural hair guru's I've seen on youtube, I only retained 2 inches in 6 months, so that's my hair growth rate. My routine is perfect for my hair, I don't struggle with dry and brittle hair although I did in the beginning, avocado oil does my hair wonders, it keeps it soft and conditioned, so I'm doing everything right. I'm diligent, and my hair just grows slowly and I'm really OK with it :)

2.

Don't compare your hair to other peoples. Ever heard the saying comparison is the thief of joy? (Don't just apply this to your hair, apply it to your life!) Looking at other peoples hair growth will drive you insane, I was guilty of this in the beginning, I was totally happy with how my hair was growing until I started looking at other YouTubers, blogs and what not, I thought there was a problem with my hair because my hair didn't look like theirs at the 4 month stage etc. It's nonsense, I've been really lucky finding products that work for me so early, but I did have an additional 5 years prior experience of knowing what products just did not work for me. My point is if you look at other people's hair, you will psych yourself out. Focus on your own journey.

3.

Protective style. I gave protective styling a go on my six months, I did some really cool grey faux dreads, before I shaved my hair that was my go to protective style. It stops you from watching your hair like a hawk and just have some fun. However I must admit, I protective styled way too prematurely. My hair is still far too short and most of the locs fell out, some of them fell out when I was in lectures :/ They only made it for 3 weeks but I have seen a significant difference, my hair definitely seems thicker and the textures changed, it's actually really nice, I have 4z hair and if it's possible it made it even thicker and curlier!

4.

Do not be a product junkie. I cannot stress this enough. Firstly, you will waste a ton of money on products you will never use again. Secondly if you're using a ton of products at once, and you use something that's actually working for your hair, how are you going to know what's working? You also need to use some products for a while to see their benefits, you could have the magic ingredient and you will never know because you're using too many things!

5.

Document your journey. You don't have to be taking snapshots on a daily basis, but I take a photo monthly and this has really helped me, because my hair has the ultimate shrinkage. The shrinkage is REAL, my hair is so tightly coiled. When I see some naturalista's wash their hair in sections I am amazed because as soon as a bit of water touches my hair it recoils like BAM, if I washed my hair in sections they'd come out for sure. But because I get so much shrinkage, between my 4 months til now I thought my hair hadn't really grown but because I had my pictures I can see that it has! Like I said just focus on your own journey, pictures will snap you out of your delusion, your hair is growing!



Thanks Samia for your guest post! You can read more from her blog here, https://samiaghana.wordpress.com/blog/

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6.11.16

7 Books That Will Change Your Life!


The following books are just a few of the countless books I have read during this journey of self discovery that I am currently on! I promise you that at least 1 of the books below will spark something off to make a change in your life or reinforce what you already knew but haven't been practising. 

I usually share hair product gems with you guys but how about some life hacks! Check out the below,


The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
http://amzn.to/2fdtcRE

I found this book around 5 years ago whilst studying at Uni, I remember I was in my second year and was quite depressed at the time and wasn't even sure if the course I was studying was really what I wanted to do. This book came at the right time as it taught me the BASIC skills and manuscript to follow to make my dreams/ambitions come true. I followed the dream board advice in the book and made post it notes all over my room, lets just say they all came true and I swear to you this is no lie.

I wanted an internship with MTV (This came to me a year later.) I wanted to go to Miami for my birthday in 2015 with my best friend (I have now been for the past 2 years for my birthday and with the same friend), I wanted to start my own business (I now have my blog and hair accessories online store). I could go on and still to this day write down my goals and dreams to put into the universe and they always comes back around.

This is a great book to start with!


The Science Of Getting Rich - Wallace D. Wattles
http://amzn.to/2fdAHrY

If I could choose 1 book that has changed my life and mindset it would be this book and only this book! I don't remember how it came into my hands around 2 years ago but I am SO thankful that it did. This book isn't a scam that promises you riches, it is a really easy to read and understandable mindset you must have when it comes to attracting money into your life. I love so much that it teaches you to not be in competition with others or use the teachings to do bad in life.

It is great for entrepreneurs and those in general with negative mindsets. Positive thinking about money is so important and this book explains why. Certain points that changed my life were the fact that we shouldn't worry about money, there is enough for EVERYONE to be rich, also we should not concern our minds with war and poverty when we ourselves are not in the position to help. We must first attract riches into our own lives and then we can contribute (much like helping yourself first in an emergency.). It is such a thin book and after reading I forced and still try to force my loved ones to read it.


The 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss
http://amzn.to/2ezmGmG

One I am still currently reading but have wanted to read for a long time! This is the kind of lifestyle I aspire to have (working for myself at my own pace and at anywhere in the world). Financial freedom is my goal. This book shares Tim's own success story. I love the fact that it also includes worksheets and excel spreadsheets to help you plan your goals and finances.


Curly Girl Handbook - Lorraine Massey
http://amzn.to/2fhe5oO

For my curly girls! This book is a great introduction to the whole 'Curly girl method' also a great starter kit for your natural hair journey. This book explained the whole 'No Poo' method and techniques of styling curly hair. It caters to all types of curls and has a DVD with tutorials and step by steps.



The Alchemist - Paul Coelho
http://amzn.to/2fE1sZo

A great one if you are in a weird space in life! This book is fiction but the story has so many life gems you can read it again and again and it will remind you of why you should trust in what God has planned for you in life. This helped me to let go of my fears and anxiety (I should actually read it again lol). Took me a while too finish but it all makes sense when you really get in too the story. Often a favourite book of your favourite idols/entrepreneurs.


How To Get Out of Your Own Way - Tyrese Gibson
http://amzn.to/2fdxvg6

I finished this book over a weekend break I had away last year. I always have a clear memory of reading a certain chapter on the plane. Tyrese's story is so inspirational he actually does it all acts, sings, writes and is successful at everything he does!

You learn that Tyrese came from a bad situation and start in life but made it to the top by changing his mindset! He used his talent and 'got out of his own way'. I love the fact that their is also a chapter aimed at women on how to deal with relationships that we often set ourselves up for failure with. It is also a great introduction to his book with Rev Run 'Manology'. I recommend this if you need an extra push to get things in motion or are feeling down about your current situation in life.



Fabulosity 'What It Is and How To Get It' - Kimora Lee Simmons
http://amzn.to/2e1Gp2i

This book is for you if you have the urge to achieve so much in life and be the BOSS woman you often admire from a distance. This was me before reading this book and honestly Kimora's journey and advice gave me the confidence to go ahead and KILL it. As someone who is naturally quiet and sometimes shy in new social situations this book gave me great tips on how to 'fake it til you make it' and get what you want out of certain opportunities I would have missed out on due to fear. Definitely one for the budding female entrepreneurs.


I hope you try to read at least one book from the above as I found them life changing please let me know if their are any books you found life changing that I missed out!

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