Happy new year you guys!!!!
Hopefully y'all are staying hydrated and keeping your hair moisturized😅.
so some of you asked me on facebook how i prep my hair for protective styling so i figured i should just do a post about it n so here it is😃.
To prepare my natural hair for protective styling, i follow the following steps;

PREPOOING
Depending on the state of my hair, i might prepoo or i might not. And if i decided to prepoo,my product of choice is almost always coconut oil as its composition allows it to penetrate the hair strands and moisturize it which in turn prevents breakage and split ends. It also helps promote scalp health and prevent dandruff.


CLEANSING
I always try to do a thorough cleanse before protective-styling or else i end up unplaiting due to the itching that comes with product buildup.so i usually shampoo with a cleansing shampoo or i will do a clay wash with bentonite clay.

DEEP CONDITIONING
Never skip this step as it is responsible for keeping hair healthy by preventing dryness and damage. Prior to protective styling, my deep conditioner of choice is usually a protein one unless otherwise. I tend to use a protein product because it helps with strengthening the hair so that it does not break when braiding or doing cornrows.

DETANGLING
This is the most important step and it needs to be extremely thorough or you will be involved in a serious game of tug of war with your stylist lol. I usually finger detangle then follow it up with a wide toothed comb from ends to root in small sections.

BLOW DRYING
yes you heard right lol.
i do use heat here n there nowadays.
But if you are on a heat free journey, u can simply do African threading to stretch it.
so to blow dry,i unravel a single twist,apply leave in conditioner then apply a pea size amount of grapeseed oil as a heat protectant. Then i proceed to blow dry that section on low heat using the tension method and twist it away. I do the same for the rest of my hair.
when the entire head is done,i proceed to getting a protective style done.
When the styling is done, i apply oil to my scalp.

TIPS
1. when it comes to protective styling, i usually get a stylist to come do it from my house.That way, i can easily give instructions without intimidation.
2. Always instruct your stylist to leave out your edges. Trust me the last thing you want is a self inflicted receding hairline lol, it ain't cute.
3. Do not do your hair style too tight least you lose your beautiful strands to traction alopecia.
4. Heavy hair styles are a no no. again, traction alopecia guys👆.

So thats it guys😊.
If you found this post helpful kindly let me know in the comments below.
😘😘😘

Hey curlies🙋!!!
Its been forever since i last posted here🙈🙈🙈,well am back now lol.
Hope you guys are doing great and your hair is thriving.
Now onto the update!!!
If you all did not notice,for the past 2 year i wore my hair out almost everyday.
2017 i literally wore my hair out eveeeeery day.
2018 i think i did maybe 2 or 3 protective styles and that was it.that took a tore on my hair😭😭😭.
Volume has drastically reduced and i have not retained as much length as i should have."again insert crying emoji here"🤣🤣🤣.

 I have been contemplating doing another big chop😟😟😟 but am not sure yet.
In the meantime,i have decided to do more protective styles for length retention and trim off damaged ends slowly throughout the year.
My regimen will have to change too as i will have my hair in a PS most of the time,will let you guys know once i figure out that part.

I intend to do more protein treatments than usual and see if that helps with breakage and shedding.
If the worst comes to the worst then i will just do a big chop.
I will keep you guys posted throughout the year.
Feel free to let me know how your hair journey is going in the comments section below or on any of my social media platforms.It surely cant be as bad as mine🤣🤣🤣
😘😘😘

This post has been long overdue.So for all of you who have been asking me what my washdays look like nowadays,here goes.I currently wash my hair every two to three weeks as opposed to previously when i washed on a weekly basis.This is because i hardly have time nowadays.
PrePoo
 Whenever i can,i prepoo with either soyabean oil(vegetable cooking oil) or lily of the dessert aloe vera gel topped with castor oil.I cover hair with plastic and leave it on for about an 30 minutes to an hour.I proceed with detangling and proceed with the next step.
I just got some coconut oil and i think i will going back to prepooing with that.
Cleanse
Depending on how dirty my hair is,i will either wash with the liscious creamiliscious cleanser or co-wash with aussie moist 3 minutes deep conditioner or shampoo with the cantu shampoo or african black soap.
Note;I always wash my hair in sections.

Deep Condition
I always find myself reaching for the liscious deep conditioners.Guys these DCs(deep conditioner) are soooo good.there super moisturising.if am looking to do a thorough detangling session,i will reach for the butterlicious.For a deep conditioning session with a detox benefit i will use the chocolicious,and if my hair is feeling limp i always use the nourishlious which is a light protein DC.
I also recently started using the creme of nature strengthening milk masque and so far so good,it has really good slip and leaves my hair feeling soft.
I do a little more detangling when applying the deep conditioner and also when rinsing it off.I dry off excess water with an old Tshirt.

Moisturise
I always start this step by spritzing my hair with a mixture of aloe vera gel and rose water.Rose water helps stabilise hair's PH balance and can aid in repairing hair's damaged porosity.Aloe helps with prevention of dandruff,promotes hair growth,conditions hair and leaves hair all smooth and shiny.
I let the spritz do its job for afew minutes then apply the liscious leave in and seal in moisture with  my whipped shea butter mix or the butterlicious butter balm by liscious.

Scalp
I oil scalp with castor oil.

Daily Routine
Bacause i have been wearing my hair out everyday since january,daily moisturising starts two days after washday.I spritz my hair with the aloe vera gel and rose water mix and apply grapeseed oil(i find butters too thick for daily use).Midweek i oil my scalp with castor oil,
I still do clay washes once in a while when i can.
Hopefully this answers most of the questions you guys have been asking me.
what does your wash day look like?any similarities?comment below.

Hey curlies!
A number of you asked how i got this hair style so here is a detailed description of how i did it.
Hope it helps.

Items Used
Lottabody style me texturising setting lotion
orange,purple and white perm rods
hair clumps
spray bottle(used this for spritzing setting lotion on hair)

Method
I did this on freshly clarified,deep conditioned and moisturised hair.I put my hair in twist(medium size) and let it air dry to about 90% so as to cut down on drying time.I approximately had about 16 twists.oh i did the side part before installing the twists.

I unravelled each twist,parted hair in about 2 to 3 sections on each twist.
I picked a section of hair and spritz the length of my hair with the setting lotion and smoothed the lotion along the hair length.
I proceeded to curling the ends of my hair on the rod and slowly twirled the hair around the rod towards the scalp then closed the rod(does that make sense? lol).
I installed rods starting from the front towards the back.
Left them in for 24hours.
The Following day i removed rods and separated each curl once and fluffed using my fingers.

before separating curls day2curls

I preserved the curls by putting them in a pineapple and wearing a satin scarf  topped with a satin bonnet when going to bed.For those who don't know what to pineapple hair is,its basically gathering your hair on top of your head like you want to do a ponytail,then you take a satin scarf and wrap it around your pineappled hair.

day2curls day3curls

Hope this was helpful.If you have any further question feel free to ask by commenting below.

Hey curlies!!I know its been a looooong time since we spoke,please accept my heartfelt apology!life happened. For starters,am back in school(woot woot lol)and am still learning how to balance my life as a wife,working mother and a student.so if any of you are/have been in the same boat,please kindly advice a sister.
 Anyway!!back to the main aim of this post. So last december i was sent samples of asili naturals products by sompwe whose the country director(Zambia) for the brand to try out the products.The line includes;rose water,first press castor oil,infused castor oil(with either peppermint oil or rose oil),hair and body butter and plain shea butter.
 I asked sompwe to give a brief history of Asili and here is what she had to say;
 "Asili is a brain child of a very good friend of mine jolly mokorosi whose based in South Africa.I would say shes the founder of Asili because she had the courage to actually start Asili while the rest of us were busy buying chemical ladened products.like most women,jolly was tired of chemical heavy,expensive products that did't cater for kinky coily hair and she actually did something about it.I partnered with her a little later down the line".
 So here goes the review;

Rose Water Mist 100ml@K55
The rose water comes in a clear 100ml spritz bottle and is made from real rose flower petals.No other ingredient is added.
This was easily my favorite product in the line because finally i had found good quality rose water.I could tell it was good quality because of the intensity of the rose flower scent and the clear with no sediment appearance.I use this as a toner for my acne prone,blemished oily skin.Now i wont say it healed my skin,but it definitely helped hydrate my skin.
I predominantly used it on my hair after rinsing out the deep conditioner and it helped my hair absorb the leave in conditioner better and further softened my hair.I also used it in my daily spritz in place of water and the difference was noticeable.
It also helped calm my scalp when the itch came calling.all i did when scalp felt itchy was spritz,massage,oil scalp and i was good for days.


Hair and skin butter 125g @K95 and 250g@K165.
Ingredients coconut oil,shea butter,African beeswax,tea tree oil,lavender oil,rose oil,lemongrass oil.
This comes in a 125g and 250g plastic jars.Don't really know how i can describe the scent but it kinda smells lemony.On first glance,i noticed these little white particles in the butter which i was abit worried about but to my surprise disppear on contact(ask sompwe about the particles she said its because they don't add emulsifiers to the butter).This butter melts on touch of a finger and turns into oil which made it very easy to apply on skin.I applied it immediately after shower and it locked in moisture and left my skin moisturised all day.Did't really like the scent for a body butter but as a hair product the scent is perfect.Would appreciate a vanilla or cocoa scent for the skin.Tried removing makeup with this product and i was amazed,everything came right off.Apply sizeable amount on skin and wipe face with tissue or makeup wipes.just be careful not to get it in your eyes.

Hair and body butter melting off the back of my hand.

First press castor oil 150ml(plain @K50,peppermint infused@K60 and rose infused@K60).
This comes in 150ml dark bottles.The oil isnt any different from the Now Foods castor oil that i have used before but the scents are a bonus.If like me you not really a fun of the castor oil scent then you will appreciate this product.The benefits of the essentials oils are also amazing.My favorite is the peppermint one because it invigorates my scalp and aids in hair growth.keeps the dandruff away too.

Shea butter 125g@K70
In the few years that i have been a natural,i have used quite a number of shea butter brands and this one is right at the top with the best of them.it works great as a sealant.

Overall i think this is an excellent all natural brand with good quality products.Despite being a little on the pricey side,the products are well worth the price.Asili gets my stamp of approval.

Jolly and sompwe would like to give an oppotunity to women out there who run salons or just want to earn an extra buck to join Team Asili as distributors.For further details,contact sompwe on +260968464720 for further details.

Hey!
my name is asimenye nyondo,I am a zambian based in Namibia.I love jesus and everything about natural hair and thats why i created my blog:boldconfidentnaturalista
Describe your hair.
I have 4b/4c hair.its low porosity and has high density

Why did you go natural?
I have always been natural due to religious upbringing but somewhere along the line it was hard to manage so i began to blow it out a lot.When  i installed a weave with leave out,i decided to perm my hair so it can blend and that further damaged my hair.I decided to transition from all that craziness and i have been fully natural since january 2014.

What is your washday routine and how often do you do it?
Washday happens when ever i feel my hair needs a wash.Mostly once a week or after two weeks depending on how busy i am.So i prepoo with coconut oil and tresemme conditioner and that helps me detangle my hair.After that i deep condition with cantu deep treatment masque then seal using the LCO method using water,shea butter and castor oil.

What are your staple products?
Shea butter,castor oil,coconut oil and tresemme conditioner.For deep conditioner i try out anything.Am a junkie for good deep conditioners lol.
What do you love about your hair?
I love the diversity that comes with natural hair.I am like a different person with each hairstyle.
Any hair tips that have helped you during your journey?
I prayed for my hair to grow,i know that sounds cheesy but i did.
Staying consistent with my routine has also helped.My products might change but the routine is always the same.I have also come to learn that if a product works,use it even if it has all the bad ingredients the natural world hates.
What are your hair goals and how are you planning on achieving them?
My long term hair goal is to reach tailbone(lol)but short term is to reach bra strap length.I hope i can do a lot of protective styles and keep my ends tucked away.I have a blog as well and am hoping it will keep me on track with my goals coz girl can get lazy lol.
Where can we find you on social media?
instalgram;missnyondo
twitter;missNyondo
blog;www.boldconfidentnaturalista.blogspot.com

Hi,my name is mwaka sipangule.I live in lusaka and am currently in my second year of medical school.Medicine has always been my dream career but my true passion lies in art.I love to draw and paint portraits of strangers in my spare time.if i'm not doing that i'm probably reading a fantasy novel.

How would you describe your hair?
Bipolar lol.I have a mixture of textures,the back of my head is 3c silky loose curls,the front 4a tight coils and the rest is very kinky!but i love every inch of hair on my head.

Why did you go natural?
I've always loved my natural hair and only relaxed it because i was curious to see how long it would be.I returned to natural 3 years ago because i realised that i didt like my hair relaxed,it looked too flat and lifeless.For about a year before i big chopped,i wore it in bantu knot outs and curled it with flexirods.I was stretching relaxer and only retouching every 4 months.When it was time to buy a new relaxer,i decided to save my money and took a pair of scissors and chopped off my relaxed hair.Honestly it was one of the best decisions i've ever made.
.

What is your washday routine and how often do you do it?
I try to deep condition/co-wash/detangle every 4days with whatever conditioner i have at hand.I try to stick to the ones that promise to moisturize and repair dry damaged hair such as aquarium conditioner by revlon.I always part my hair in sections to ensure even distribution of product.Then i cover my hair with a shower cap and deep condition for as long as possible before detangling in sections.Next i wash in sections and immediately twist it to prevent shrinkage.once my hair has air dried,i apply either olive oil or coconut oil followed by shea butter.I then twist it into smaller sections in preparation for a twistout.Once a month i wash my hair with dudu ossun soap to remove product buildup
.


What are your staple products?
My hair loves simplicity so my holy grail is any moisturizing conditioner,coconut oil and shea butter.

What are your favourite hair styles?
Definitely updos.they are so graceful and give instant elegance.second best is a comb out afro,that always turns heads.Buns are my go to lazy student hairstyle.


What do you love about your hair?
My favourite thing about my hair is that its my own.I grew it and it is very versatile.Also,sometimes its as soft as a cloud and fun to play with lol.
What are your favourite protective styles?
Mini twists.they are easy to maintain,style and moisturize.I also sometimes wear a wig over them to further protect my hair from the sun and cold.

Any hair tips that have helped you during your journey?
The best tip i ever got is to focus on health over length.This helped me have realistic expectations of my hair and while doing this,my hair has grown too.Also not focusing on length allowed me to trim my hair when necessary to prevent damaged ends.
Where can people find you on social media?
Find me on instalgram @stillmwaka_ and facebook @mwaka sipangule.