Damp Detangling VS Dry Detangling natural hair| ELEANOR J'ADORE

After having worn my hair in wash and gos for 2 solid weeks, I was in need for a serious detangling session over the weekend. I usually detangle with coconut oil and conditioner, but for some reason I wanted to only use coconut oil and leave it in my hair overnight, as I know that coconut oil can really penetrate the strands deeply if left in the hair for a number of hours. Due to sheer laziness I ended up not doing it on Friday night, but found myself reaching for my jar of coconut oil on Saturday morning only, ready to tackle the mane with oil alone. I’d barely started when I stopped to ask myself why on earth I would think applying oil to my dry hair would be a good idea?

I know that there are many curly girls out there who detangle just with oil, and I thought that I wanted to get in on the action too, but alas, it was not for me. Here I summarised the reasons why damp detangling works so much better for me than dry detangling.

Damp Detangling

Conditioner / Water and Oil

• The added moisture makes the hair softer and more pliable.
• The softer hair allows for tangles to be worked through more easily.
• Conditioner coats the hair strand and smooths the cuticle, providing slip, which makes it even easier to remove tangles.
• I love how the combination of moisture (water and/or conditioner) and oil makes my hair feel.

Dry Detangling

Oil only

• It can become painful if there are too many tangles and knots present.
• It takes much longer to detangle the hair dry than damp.
• If the hair is already quite dried out and brittle, it can lead to breakage.
• I don’t like the feel of oil only on my hair.

Detangling is necessary for all naturals, whether you choose to do it with a comb, your fingers, a brush, or any of the nifty detangling tools on the market. And whether you choose to do it on dry, damp, or soaking wet hair is up to you, but I would definitely say that experimenting for yourself to see what you prefer is key. Ultimately the goal is to get get rid of as many tangles as possible without sacrificing length.

Do you detangle on damp or dry hair? If you detangle on dry hair please share some of your tips and tricks below.

By Eleanor J'adore

How To Maximise Growth With Braids! | BOLU NOELLE

So last week, I got the urge to re-join braids gang for the first time in over a year. One thing that stopped me from getting braids for such a long time is the fact that, although hey are known to be a protective style, heavy box braids are also infamous for ripping out edges.

I really wish to still have edges when I'm 50, so I had to figure out a way around this.

I wasn't really too keen on the idea of crotchet braids since it limits the styling options and can be more pricey than traditional braids.

Here, I'm going to show you a few of my tips for doing my braids:

1) LEAVE YOUR EDGES OUT.

I remember asking Indiana Ifill how her edges were still popping despite consistently wearing bum length braids and locs. This was her reply and it seemed so simple and obvious. But many times when we or our stylists do our hair, our desire for the freshly braided neat look leads us to snatch our edges into the braids. This is the key problem! I have baby hairs, so before braiding, I brushed them forward with a soft bristle brush so I didn't include them in the braids. They are softer and weaker than my main body of hair- plus, I like the look of braids with slicked baby hairs so its a win-win.

2) DEEP CONDITION AND MOISTURISE

This one, I'm sure you already knew. Before putting your hair into a long term style, ensure it's richly moisturised and sealed. This will minimise breakage whilst putting in and taking down the braids.

3) DO MINI TWISTS BEFOREHAND!

This is another key to success. Part your braid sections the day before, after moisturising and do mini twists. This further protects your hair as they are secure in twists within the braids. Also, this reduces breakage when installing the braids as your real hair wont be involved in any tangles and knotting. This is the same with the takedown of the braids. Do this while catching up of your favourite TV shows, Youtubers, sermons, podcasts etc. The time will fly and it is worth it.

4) OIL SCALP MASSAGE

Before installing, moisturise scalp. Whilst style is in I would only recommend spraying with water daily, as any product could lead to build up at the base of your braids which will cause breakage at takedown.

5) DONT PULL BACK TIGHT

The whole point of a protective style is that it is low manipulation and therefore allows your hair to flourish without being brushed and pulled at. However, I know that I personally used to do every style possible with braids. In fact, I loved their versatility. I'd do half up half down, top bun, French braids.. and now, I just leave my braids down. I'm much more cautious when styling my braids of how hard I'm pulling them back.

That's it! I'll be doing braids a lot more often now. Hope this helps.

Love,

Bolu Noelle

x

p.s: follow me on Instagram @bolunoelle to see more braid pics!

Body Care | NATALIE PURSUE:INSPIRE

So Christmas is long gone and we are well into 2017. I'm sure getting rid of the Christmas weight has been HIGH PRIORITY on our goal lists, but for some of us going to the gym is a chore and a burden on our finances.

Can I introduce a cheap, even free way, to stay in shape? 

YouTube. Yeah I said it. YouTube!

Most of us go onto YouTube for hair or make up tutorials but maybe not so much for exercises (if you do, share with a friend!) I, for one, have been making use of this gem more recently at home (just about every three days with a rest day and personal strength exercises in between) and I've really had to push myself to be consistent. Even though it's free, I find myself sitting down for 30 minutes saying "I don't want to exercise" and eventually convince myself it'll be worth it in the end to tone this food baby-fied figure.

GYM vs HOME

The beauty of signing up to the gym is (hopefully) you are more motivated to go. Why? Because you've paid and if you don't use the facilities essentially you're wasting money. The beauty of exercising with YouTube is that you can do work outs from home for free. Both require the motivation to get up and get going, which can be easy or hard depending on our mindset and your goals.

So since I've been speaking about YouTube workouts, let me share some of the videos I have been using/used.

Recently I've been starting off with Tiffany Rothe for a warm up and Kearia Lashae's dance videos like this African inspired one as the main workout, as well as her cool down via BeFit. They're energetic, fun, encouraging and very challenging. For me that's what exercise needs to be! I have also worked out with the guys at FitnessBlender, in addition to this home exercise video with DeStorm.

If you use the Tube of You to keep fit, who are you watching? Whose work out would you recommend? If you gym, what equipemnt are you using? Have you got a personal trainer? Does money increase your motivation to go o the gym? Let us know below in the comments.

Also to point out that having a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and a balanced diet helps with hair health just as much as it does your body as a whole. Let's take care of ourselves. After all if we don't have our health, how can we live life to it's fullest?

Stay blessed and don't forget to comment below!

Natalie | Pursue:Inspire