My Experience on: Onion Juice for Hair Growth

As I mentioned before, I am a You Tube Addict. And proud of it!
I came across xoDVF and fell instantly in love with her gorgeous hair, she is seriously my hair crush and inspiration. She is living proof to all non-believers that Africans, I repeat, AFRICANS can grow long hair. It just needs the proper love and care.

One of her secrets to healthy hair is Onion Juice! Now before you give me the blank stare like everyone else I've told, I've tried it twice. I massaged it into my scalp and left it in for about 4 hours each time, and yes, it did smell so I made sure to stay home. I've read that you can leave it in for about 30 min to 1 hr. But my hair is so greedy, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to leave it in longer. And let me tell you that it was like a magic potion: the re-birth of my hair. Seriously. My hair was soooooooooo Soft after my hair was rinsed with lukewarm water. I'm definitely going to include it in my weekly regiment.

Healthextremist writes a blog post about the nutritional benefits of onion juice on hair. Click here

And check out the video below!



Stay tuned for more!


Love Always,
Yaya

"Your hair looks weird..."

I work at a daycare with amazingly smart and sweet children, between the ages of 1 to 4 years old right outside of Stockholm. I haven't seen many black people in that area, I'm almost positive that I'm the first black person the kids encountered on a daily basis and formed a relationship with.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, I decided to rock my Afro to work. It's the complete opposite from long, straight hair, and, completely different from what the kids (and even some of my colleagues) have seen up close. I was definitely met with curious  stares that day and comments like "why is your hair like that?" and "it looks weird". (LOL)

Now I've already explained to kids why I have dark skin and that I'm from Africa but the hair was something they couldn't quite figure out. I tried to explain to them that just like people have different skin-, eye- and hair color, people also have different hair textures but, in essence, we are all the same. (Cliché maybe but it worked!)

Once they understood that it's just hair, they couldn't keep their little hands off of it. (Oh boy..) 

Stay tuned for more

Love Always,

Yaya

Better Late than Never

Sooo... I've been slacking. Really bad. I really have no excuse for it. I just need to do better and keep it up because I am really passionate about natural hair. I want to share my story and that was the purpose of this blog.

Since my last post, I've had my braids removed and I've been rocking wigs as my protective style. My natural hair is kept in cornrows underneath and it's a lot easier for me to manage.

I made an Afro wig back in June and it's my baaaaby! *pats self on the shoulder* 

I love it because it's full and diva hair. It's definitely an eye catcher. 

(Yes, it's a wig!!!!!!!!)

I did cut it recently and I love my divalicious hair even more!!  

It looks so natural this wig, of course I've said YES when asked if it's mine! (Sorry not sorry) 

I will be back with more posts, PROMISE!

Stay tuned for more

Love Always,

Yaya

How I styled: Box Braids

I did waist length box braids on myself in August and just loved them! Well, not so much in the beginning because they were super heavy and I got a tiny head. (Bad combo!) 

Oh well, here is a style I did when I went to naming ceremony. I braided it into one snake like braid. I loved it and it just became my go-to-style.

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

Hi, I'm Yaya and I'm a YouTube Fanatic

So, I can seriously spend hours on YouTube watching hair- and make-up tutorials, comedy sketches, vlogs, reviews, movies, DIYs....... etc.

Here's some of my favorite hair- and make-up Youtubers:

African Export

JustMeand4C

Fabolousityisme

Iknowlee

Peakmill

Destiny Godley

Jouelzy

Trust me when I say that these ladies are only a few of many inspirations on YouTube. Check them out and subscribe!

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

Protective styles

Whenever I change my hairstyle, I'm like "shoot, can't nobody tell me nothin'" and I walk like the world is my runway! *insert Usher- Bad Girl* I  believe a change of hairstyle can really revamp someone's style and boost confidence. Don't believe me? Just look at Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé for instance. One thing I have in common with these ladies is that I like to re-invent my look every now and then. Hair is really just an accessory to me. It's like getting a new winter coat or some nice boots and I think a lot ladies would agree. It's just something about a fresh weave, wig or braids that just gives you some that extra umph! 

Don't get me wrong though. I truly believe that natural hair is equally as diverse. 

I'm one of those naturalistas that wear braids, wigs and weaves on a regular basis. The reasons why I do that is, first off, to protect my own hair from manipulation. My hair likes to be nurtured with oils, leave-in conditioners and co-washes. It's so coily and breaks easily with too much combing, therefore it grows longer when it's braided. Second, the Swedish climate literally strips all the moisture in my hair so it's better for me to wear protective styles.

Here are some styles I've worn over the years

I wonder what my next hairstyle will be...

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

Coils and Kinks

Wavy. Curly. Kinky. Nappy. Coily. These attributes are used to describe the natural pattern of textured hair. Some attributes more controversial than others. Celebrity hair stylist Andre Walker created a hair typing system to better understand the behavior and needs of our hair.
My understanding is that there was controversy surrounding the idea creating a division within natural hair community. Wavy and Curly vs. Kinky, Nappy and Coily. The latter not being portrayed for its own beauty and diversity, while defined and bouncy curls were considered the ideal texture. Again, this is just my assumption. 

*Disclaimer: I haven't read much about the whole "controversy" therefore, I cannot really speak on it. My opinion is basically, there's no such thing as good versus bad hair.*

Personally, the hair typing system has been helpful because it identified the characteristics that were similar to my hair. According to Mr. Walker's system, my kinky coils can be identified as both Type 4b and c hair. However, you can't rely on the chart alone since there are other accountable factors, such as porosity, density and multiple textures. I felt that the classification system was a good starting point and it made my expectations more realistic. For instance, I know that I can't do a certain hairstyle and expect the same results as someone who has Type 3b. But that does not mean that my Coils and Kinks aren't just as Good.

www.NaturallyCurly.com gives this description for Type 4b hair:

Type 4b has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern. Instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z". Type 4 hair has a cotton-like feel. The hair is very wiry, very tightly coiled or bent and very, very fragile; you must take great care when working with it. Type 4 hair can range from fine/thin to wiry/coarse with lots and lots of strands densely packed together. Type 4b hair often shrinks up to 75% of the actual hair length.

   

This is my 4b hair slightly streched 

This is my hair soaked with a mixture of water and Herbal Essence Hello Hydration

Stay tuned for more!

Love Always,

Yaya

My Hair & I- Past, Present and Future

As I wrote in my first post, I pretty much stumbled upon this natural hair journey. It wasn't anything I planned but I don't regret a thing!

Here's a little backstory about my hair. 

My mom used the "Just For Me" relaxer on me from the age of 7 to 15 years. It was easier to manage and style because I was so tender headed. I used to get my hopes up Every. Single. Time. because I legit thought my hair would come out looking like the little girls' on the box. I was equally as disappointed every time to see that my hair was still defying gravity. However, my hair was always kept in protective styles, box braids and cornrows. In the later years, I started relaxing my own hair, every 4-6 weeks, and it just grew thinner and brittle. One day, I was literally too tired to relax my hair, weeks and months followed after that and I don't miss the creamy crack to this day. 

Today, I've been natural for 4 years now.
Despite the fact that my hair is a lot thicker, I'm still experiencing some breakage. My hair is softer and easy manage because I know what products and techniques works.

I didn't know my hair when I first started on the journey, I know better now and I'm still learning. I'm enjoying my natural hair journey because I've learned to love and appreciate my natural curl pattern, it's diversity and the patience I've gained. 

Hair hopes and dreams.

My problem has been that I don't have a daily and weekly hair regimen. I basically have periods when I'm really dedicated to a product or technique. I want to be more consistent. 

When I first started telling people that I stopped relaxing and wanted grow my hair healthy, thick and long, I got both positive and negative reactions. I was surprised at the negative reaction because it came from friends and family that shared the hair texture as myself. That only motivated me more because now I want to prove to them that black girls can grow long hair with the proper care. My goal is to be living proof to my peers, that Afro hair is Good hair and there is really no such thing as bad hair.

I hope that this blog will help me commit to my goal and that I can motivate other black girls out there.

                       Then & Now

Stay tuned for more :-)

Love Always,

Yaya

I'm finally doing it y'all!!

Hey world!

I've been procrastinating for way too long. So now I'm finally doing it.. I'm going write my own natural hair blog. And I'm excited to see where this new venture will take me!

The blog will basically be a hair journal. I will write about my regimen, protective styles, inspirations and future goals.

I kinda started on my natural hair journey by "mistake". I say that because I just stopped relaxing and I can't remember when! *shrugs* However, I was inspired to cut all of my relaxed ends in June of 2009 after watching (literally) hundreds of natural hair journeys on YouTube.

My aim is, first, to keep closer tabs on my hair journey (I've been slacking y'all). Second, hopefully connect with other natural hair enthusiasts out in World Wide Web and hopefully in my home base, Sweden. 

Stay tuned for more!!

Love always, 

Yaya