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Introduction It’s  one of those things we ignore or dread.  But it’s an essential part of your healthy hair routine. It’s the only way to ensure your ends stay and look healthy at all times. A regular trim.... Why is trimming your hair necessary??? The ends of your hair strands are the oldest part of your hair. As old as 4 years old and more. With time they start to thin out, split, get riddled with tiny knots and look dull. These minor imperfections can have a major effect on the health and success of your hair growth. The only way to establish healthier ends is by getting a regular trim. Healthy ends also prevent your hair from tangling, absorb products easier and just look better. How often should I trim my hair??? There’s really no hard and fast rules about how often you need a trim. Your hair usually tells you when. It will start splitting, knotting, looking dull and fraying at the ends. This hair is usually unhealthy and damaged. It’s good practise to get a trim at least once every 3 months. If you visit a salon for regular treatments and styling, ask them to include a trim (not a cut). Can I use any type of scissors??? This is something that a lot of people don't know about. Trimming your hair is best done with Hair Shears or scissors designed for hair. Your stationery scissors actually can be quite damaging on your ends, especially if they are blunt. Hair scissors are sharper and will ensure you don’t get split ends.. How much should I trim off??? Any visibly damaged or split hair should ideally be trimmed off. Regular trims on healthy [...]

Introduction A rich, deep conditioning treatment is always an excellent idea. Especially when your hair can do with some TLC. If breakage and damage is what you are experiencing now, the simplest, quickest and cheapest way to sort this out is with just one ingredient. An avocado. Avocado, the simplest solution to dry, damaged hair Avocado is perhaps one of the most popular DIY haircare heroes sitting right in your fridge. It’s packed with amazing fatty alcohols (that’s just oils to you and me), vitamin e and nutrients that have been proven to be excellent for dry, damaged hair. If you simply cannot afford another haircare product, no need to sweat. Get an avocado, give it a good and thorough mash (good and thorough as smooth as possible) and blitz it in a blender for good measure. Trust us, you won't want to skip the extra step. Use this as a hair mask after your regular condition. The nourishing oils will soften and strengthen your hair strands. It's a simple, easy and cheap way to revive your dry and damaged hair.  

The other day I noticed a fine rash on my face that looked like I had a breakout just below the surface of my skin. None of the usual suspects present because I made sure to go through the checklist: Have I been drinking water? Introduced any new foods? Used a new face cloth (more about that another time)? I didn’t skip my weekly selfcare day? Could it be hormones? Slept less than usual?  …….. I asked myself so many questions and was not getting that lightbulb moment until my eye fell on an unlikely suspect after two weeks of wondering, my trusted makeup brush. Of course I had not included it in my cleaning routing in the last little while but I really should have with all the live recordings I was doing that have me wearing tons more makeup than what I am used to. Wayyyyyy more than usual. Also makes sense that these brushes would be filled with bacteria from all the expose to both the makeup and contact with my skin. So a little bit of gentle soap (like African black soap or other natural soap), a good rinse with some clean water and air drying and there was no rash or skin irritation after applying my makeup. Ready camera Zoom. Quick Poll How often do you wash your brushes? Never Once every week Every 2-4 weeks 1-2 months Whenever I feel they are dirty Oh, I had no idea I was supposed to wash them. Oops

September is heritage month in South Africa.  Not only is South Africa culturally rich but its heritage is what makes its people truly unique. Heritage not only constitutes the languages we speak, the foods we eat, what clans we belong to, or cultural group, but it’s the colours we wear, the way we dance and even how we beautify ourselves. On the African continent, women have found many ways to express their beauty. From the neck elongating Dzilla or Indzilla rings worn by Ndebele women, to the immaculate jewellery of the Ashanti tribe of Ghana, we have always tried to look for ways to look beautiful. With the increase of urbanisatiion and a tendency to use more convenience products, we have moved away from our traditional beauty roots, in favour of more conventional beauty products. If I think back to my upbringing in the rural Eastern Cape, it was not uncommon to see women wearing Umemezi (a white clay and ground tree bark mixture) or calamine lotion during the day protect their skin from the harshness of the sun. The same calamine lotion was also used by girls in my teen years at boarding school to treat blemishes.  Before beauty influencers and magazines told us of the wonders of all things natural and organic and Korean beauty (K-beauty) became a trend, one may think back to what we had before, and how the women in our lives taught us to take care of our skin and hair using simple compounds from nature. This heritage month, it’s these simple natural compounds we would like to celebrate. Let’s go back to our roots and rediscover A- Beauty (African beauty) and what our beauty heritage is.  Think about [...]

It's amazing that our idea of long, luscious locks is usually straight, flowy and blowing with the wind. But your hair is kinky. It grows out and up and not down.  Most of all it shrinks… Most naturals have  a love/hate relationship with shrinkage. It’s hard to notice progress in your length if your hair shrinks. But that’s the nature of Kinky Coily Hair and you need to embrace it. Your hair can shrink up to 90% depending on its curl pattern and porosity. Shrinkage is actually a sign of healthy hair. The more moisturised, plump and healthy your hair is, the more likely it will shrink. Your kinks and koils actually give your hair the structure and versatility to create the millions of styles that Africans are known for. The next time you get frustrated with your shrunken fro, think healthy hair shrinks. Embrace it.

In the first year of being natural, one of the biggest frustrations is keeping your hair tangle-free. Your natural instinct is to grab a comb and get to tugging and teasing those tangles out. This could be the biggest mistake you’re making, and why your hair doesn't seem to be growing. Kinky, coily hair is fragile. Combing dry, tangled hair is usually the big reason your hair doesn't seem to grow. It is growing.  It’s  just not retaining the length because of breakage and tangles. To avoid the pains of knots, setbacks and tangles you need to detangle your hair properly and regularly. Preferably once a week during washdays. Before you get that comb and start destroying your hair, THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW… Never detangle or comb matted, dry hair. Dry, matted hair is very fragile and will break if handled too roughly. Tangled, Matted hair is best detangled while damp with a product like conditioner on it to give it some slip. So before you get busy with a comb on your dry, matted hair, Dampen your hair with some water. Apply a generous amount of conditioner Gently detangle with your fingers. Finish off with a wide tooth comb Rinse out the conditioner.

Introduction So you have figured out this porosity thing but might need a little reassurance about whether your hair is High, Medium or Low Porosity Let's do a quick recap. What is Porosity? Hair Porosity is simply how easy it is for your hair to absorb moisture. Kinky Coily hair can be Low, Medium or High Porosity. Hair Porosity is determined by how tightly packed (low porosity) or loosely spaced (HIGH POROSITY) the outer layer of your hair strands or Cuticles are. The outer layer of your hair strands or Cuticles look like fish scales packed together. They let products, oils and water in and out of your hair strands. Kinky Coily hair tends to have slightly raised or open cuticles. Which allows moisture to either enter or leave the hair strands more freely. This is why kinky coily hair is naturally dry. But there’s more to it.. Dry hair is common in both high and low porosity hair types so how do you know where you fit in??? Low Porosity Hair means your Hair Cuticles are close together making it difficult to moisturize. Low Porosity hair needs lighter products, hot oil treatments and regular deep conditioning with heat. Medium Porosity hair means your Hair Cuticles are less closely packed. Your hair is as normal as it gets on the porosity scale. It absorbs moisture and retains it easily. May only occasionally need extra TLC and does well on a regular, haircare routine. High Porosity Hair means your Hair Cuticles are loose packed allowing water and some oils to freely penetrate the hair strands. This type of hair loves moisture but gets dry very quickly. Chemical treatment like dying and relaxing will increase the porosity [...]

Introduction You’ve done your homework. Done the strand tests and figured out that you just might have High Porosity Hair. What then??? If you might not know check our previous blog (link to Porosity 101 Blog) High Porosity hair like, low porosity hair needs a customized routine and products to achieve maximum health. Understanding what your High Porosity Hair needs goes a long way. Once you understand these needs, you are more likely to spend less time and money on products.. So what exactly should you know about your High Porosity Hair. 1. High Porosity Hair absorbs moisture, smells and products very easily... Have you ever spent a night out on the town and came back with your hair smelling strongly like a cocktail of Sweat, Smoke and Beer?? Or did a bomb blow dry only to have your hair frizz up in no time and without product?????? Your High porosity hair will tend to absorb water and basically any liquid or vapour around it. It loves all things water-based. It will also absorb sweat and dirt easily. So weekly cleansing is a must. High Porosity Hair does well with rich, hydrating conditioners and butters like Shea Butter... 2. High Porosity Hair Gets Dry much Quicker On a really good, summer, wash day your high porosity hair will air dry in no time. It can also get frizzy, tangled and prone to breakage. It needs thick, hydrating products to keep it in check. Raised cuticles allow moisture and oils in but also lose moisture very fast. High porosity Hair does well with the LOC method. Using a Liquid (water, rose water, Aloe Vera), Oil (Grapeseed Oil, Almond Oil, Olive Oil) then a Creme/Butter (moisturiser cream, [...]

Introduction Ever felt like your hair takes forever to dry. Most products just sit on it, making it dull, limp and greasy looking. If you’ve done your research and your can now conclude that your Hair is Low Porosity, this article is for you. If you still don't know, check out our previous articles on porosity here…. Low porosity hair can be tricky to maintain. It requires a little more TLC and the right products to get it in the best health… So what should you know about your Low Porosity Hair... 1.Low Porosity Hair takes forever to dry If the thought of Air Drying your hair makes you go crazy because it takes forever to get dry, it just might be low porosity. Using a blow dryer on a medium heat setting is perfectly fine. Don't forget to use a light, leave-in moisturizer too. 2.Low Porosity Hair does well with heat Your Low porosity Hair with it’s tightly packed cuticles needs heat for effective conditioning. Heat opens the cuticles and allows products to absorb into the inner layers of your hair strands. Products need to be absorbed into the inner layers to be effective. Always deep condition your low Porosity hair with heat. Using a Steamer to Hydrate your hair or Using a deep conditioning cap does wonders. 3.Low Porosity Hair needs effective humectants Humectants draw moisture to the hair and keep it hydrated. Popular humectants found in hair care products are Glycerine, Aloe Vera, Allantoin, Castor Oil and even Honey. Castor Oil and Glycerine may just be too heavy for Low Porosity hair. Be very careful when using these in your DIY hair products. Aloe Vera, Allantoin, Sorbitol, Honey Quat and Propyl Glycerol [...]