My healthy hair journey 2016 update!

January 13, 2017

Happy 2017!!! 
I had taken a break from blogging and now I am back with a detailed update of my healthy hair journey in 2016.


A hair journey can be a challenging task but just like any other journey in life, there is a fulfilment when goals are reached. However, most of us in healthy hair journeys focus so much on length retention that we actually forget to have fun with our hair and just enjoy it. So in 2016 I decided that I was still going to chase length but at the same time I was gong to have fun while at it. This was a good decision because in the process of trying out new things I ended up learning more about what my hair actually needs, what works for it and what doesn’t. Below are some of the hairstyles I tried out in 2016

My hair care routine for 2016 was also very simple and entailed:

  1. Pre shampoo treatment (tropical coconut oil brand Alison)  
  2. Shampoo once a week (herbal essences hello hydration shampoo I recently incorporated African black soap to my routine).
  3. Condition with a moisturizing conditioner once a week and a protein based (has hydrolyzed proteins) conditioner once a months (I am yet to settle on any particular brands). I do not use any deep conditioners.
  4. Stretch hair using twists and bantu knots(Check tutorial on my YouTube channel)
  5. Moisturize and seal with an oil or butter every other day.
  6. Wear one hairstyle per week to reduce manipulation.
  7. Always wear a scarf to bed.





  1. When it comes to retaining length and maintaining the ends of my hair, protective styling comes in handy. If you are reading this and you have always thought that hair had to be braided or in a weave to be protected I hope to convince you otherwise. A protective hairstyle is any hairstyle that keeps your ends off your clothes and ideally hidden to avoid damage. Buns are a great way to protect your hair and still have access to it at all times. To protect my hairline I create a loose pompadour or loose mini buns at the front to reduce the pressure applied on my hairline.




    braid out pompadour

     braids are the most common protective hairstyle in Kenya and in Africa as a whole. They are also one of the main causes for hair damage and more so hairline damage. The last time I had braids done was about a year ago and I loved the braids. But unfortunately I suffered so much damage that I promised myself that I wont ever braid my hair again.




    Mini twists are a life saver for those weeks when the last thing on my mind is my hair, they are not only versatile but also easy to wash and care for.





    All buns and no afro makes me a dull girl so 2016 was also full of afros and some variation of the afro, remember my goal was to have fun but not damage my hair at the same time. to achieve this I made sure that these kinds of hairstyles would only last upto three days to avoid knots and tangles. 












    I like to stretch my hair out because my curls are so tight which makes tangling and knotting very easy and my go to ways of stretching is either blow drying on cool to medium air using the tension method or using bantu knots. Please check for the link below for a tutorial on this method.






 Thank you for reading,
Joanne



YouTube tutorials I shared in 2016

Hair care routine: https://youtu.be/Uay8pPOqXu0
Stretching hair without heat: https://youtu.be/9IaryAJX_Xs
How to wash and care for braids: https://youtu.be/ZY3HXfHzfss
How to undo braids without breakage:  https://youtu.be/2DFKD4BYoKM

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10 comments

  1. Very beautiful lady I love all this hairstyles

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  2. I love your blog. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. Great Blog!! That was amazing. Your thought processing is wonderful. The way you tell the thing is awesome.
    Indian Human Hair

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  5. woow this is so beautiful nice job

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  8. Wow! I'm loving those styles already.
    I'm 10 months gone into transitioning to my natural hair.


    And my hair is still a mix of relaxed and natural.But I'm loving this journey,and looking at your amazing and healthy hair is an encouragement to stick it out to the end.

    Thanks Joanne

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