Grow African Hair Long GAHL: african hair

Our Inspiration for this week is the lovely Justmargie, we at GAHL just love your hair and we are so honored to be able to share your journey with our readers. Thank you :)

Have you always been natural? If not what made you go natural?

I had natural hair since I was a kid but relaxed it when I joined high school because relaxed hair was then easier to maintain in school. However, my fear was always going to the salon for the process of relaxing and I used to cry a lot because it felt like my hair was on fire!! After high school, I continued relaxing my hair twice a year and when I joined campus, I kept starting the transitioning journey but would always relapse. Finally, in 2013, I decided to chop of my hair completely and start a fresh. I didn’t like how my relaxed hair looked and I also saw it as a mark of a new beginning since around the same time, I had made very critical resolutions for myself. And that is how my natural hair journey began.

Your hair always looks so healthy, are you on a healthy hair journey? What inspired you to start one?

One of the main reasons I cut my hair was because it was unhealthy. So healthy hair has always been my goal. Health over length anytime.

Do you have a hair routine? How easy was it getting into a regimen, knowing the right products etc?

When I did the BC, I stuck to a very easy routine where I only washed my hair with conditioner, then a deep conditioned every week and I would apply a mixture of coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil every day. I kept it very simple and it worked. As my hair grew, I became open to adding more products into my regimen. The longer your hair grows, the more you must care for it. So, my washdays reduced to once a fortnight and I fell in love with Tres Semme products so I used them as shampoo and conditioner and they worked. Till today, they are the constant products (plus the three oils) in my regimen though I experiment occasionally with other products as well.

How do you fit hair care into your busy lifestyle?

I have one free day in a week and that day has become my self-care day. On this day, I make time for my hair and prep it for the week.

Do you believe in such a thing as bad hair? Do you believe that African/ black women have good hair?

There is no such thing as bad hair. I believe that when women understand their hair type they will understand their hair needs and that will lead to flourishing hair. All-natural hair, no matter the type, is beautiful.

What have you learnt about healthy hair care that you would love to share with African women, especially those who want to start a natural hair journey?

The most important thing I would tell a new natural is that they should start by understanding their hair type. This will enable them find simple products that work for their hair. They should also keep it simple.

What goals do you have for your hair?

I didn’t know how versatile natural hair is until I began this journey. So, I want to challenge myself to experiment new hairstyles every day with my natural hair.

Do you do your own hair? What is your favourite natural hairstyle and why?

Yes, I do my own hair most of the times and my favourite style is twist outs because they are just simple to do.

Do you have a hair idol? Who and why?

Hair idol? Not quite ;-)

Did you always believe that you could grow a huge Afro? What changed your mind?

I didn’t know I would grow a huge afro. In fact, when I did the big chop, I was absolutely clueless on what the natural hair journey entailed and I did a lot of box braids instead. However, I have learnt something new every day and my boyfriend, who has been my big support system throughout, has always encouraged me to leave my natural hair open and flaunt it.

Is there a product you can’t live without?

Water and Coconut oil

Do you think natural hair is expensive to keep?

No; if you understand what your hair needs, then you will not be swayed to be a product junkie. You will only buy what you need.

Do you have hair goals?

Yes, to have a head with big healthy afro (like we see on magazine covers).

Follow just margie on Instagram @justmargie
Blog Justmargie.com

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:

Pre shampoo treatment (tropical coconut oil brand Alison)
Shampoo once a week (herbal essences hello hydration shampoo I recently incorporated African black soap to my routine).
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.
Stretch hair using twists and bantu knots(Check tutorial on my YouTube channel)
Moisturize and seal with an oil or butter every other day.
Wear one hairstyle per week to reduce manipulation.
Always wear a scarf to bed.

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

Wash day: https://youtu.be/bqQdBgq4za0

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

Follow us on instagram @growafricahairlong

I ended my long-term transition to natural at 17 months post relaxer; this was back in June 2014. I would be lying if I said that it was a challenge to deal with my natural hair immediately because it was not. My biggest challenge was Knots and tangles! I had these bad guys literally everywhere! There were hundreds of them all over my hair and it was just frustrating. Seeing that this was an issue for me I shared a post explaining my ordeal with knots and you ladies were so awesome in giving me tips which really helped me to reduce those knots. With the tips I got as well as my own research and experiences I managed to reduce the knots by 90%.

1. Wash and go´s

Before going natural I always dreamt of wearing a wash and go and of course after going natural this was the first hairstyle I tried out and truly loved, however I came to realise that with this hairstyle my hair also developed countless knots. Due to the serious shrinkage that occurs as the hair dries up, kinky hair tends to curl up in itself and loop around itself causing knots.

I decided to avoid this hairstyle until recently when I discovered that a wash and go could be kept knot and tangle free by doing conditioner washes every other day and properly detangling the hair. The only problem with this is that the process is time consuming and because of this I will continue to avoid wash and go´s.

2. Split ends.

Stubborn knots should be cut with a pair of scissors and not pulled out or snapped at simply because this will lead to split ends. I had to learn this the hard way.

3. Detangling, moisturizing and sealing

Moisturized hair keeps the hair soft and manageable which makes it easier to detangle. Detangled hair is less like to knot.

4. Stretching natural hair.

Keeping natural hair stretched will keep knots away and will definitely help with length retention because you will not need to trim your hair often. There are several ways to get stretched hair which include, twisting, African threading, braid outs, all sorts of rod sets and blow drying. My technique of choice is twisting. After washing and conditioning my hair I keep my hair in twists and eventually moisturize, seal in the moisture with an oil then I proceed to finger detangle my hair carefully smoothing it out and stretching out the curls with my finger. If you would like a video tutorial on this technique please leave a comment below.

5. Sectioning hair.

I don’t always section my hair but I know that working in smaller sections make detangling much easier than working with a huge section at once.

6. Combing

Combing or finger detangling your hair from the roots towards the ends is a sure way of creating tangles and knots. Avoid this at all costs.

7. Protective styling and low manipulation

Protective styles that keep your hair stretched are a great way to avoid knots and tangles. Braids and cornrows are great for this but you need to make sure that they are done correctly and not too tight.

If you watched enough YouTube videos about natural hair journeys, you probably know how psyched you get right after seeing the natural hair beautys looking good with curly hair and perfect twist outs.
That being said, I have to admit that I have been having some issues with my hair ever since I reached the "in between, in between stage". The what?? - Yes, the in between in between.
This is a stage where your hair is not short enough to be a TWA* anymore , not medium enough to be in the real "in between stage" and far from being "hairbandable"*

The thing with stage is that, a lot of times, it costs patience and nerves, so if you aren't there yet, let me alert you on some of the problems I have been having recently and probably some solutions too.

Minimal style alternatives: Because with this kind of length there is just not much that can be done. Wash an Go's are perfect if you live in areas with the kind of humidity that favors you hair. Solution,Twist outs are also great if you have the time for it. If you don't have the above mentioned time and climate like I, protective styles like cornrows and braids can come in handy.
Desperate moments: I'm learning the hard way that it is actually wise to always have a nice quality wig somewhere nicely stored because now that it's obvious that this stage needs time and commitment, which maybe most people like me don't really have, there will be moments where desperation will then kick in. This will be pushed up a notch if braids and cornrows are your saviors but then you hair stylists cancels on you and you only have one day of the week off! (True story). Solution, Hair accessories could come in handy here in the absence of a wig.
Regrets: Remember how I mentioned that excitement and psyche you get after watching natural hair inspiration videos and pictures, so then you get all motivated and do the BC. Yeah, chances are, you just might actually have some moments of regrets here and there, especially if you have pictures of your previous hair around or cannot do that style you loved so much. Solution, Just remember the main reason why you BC, it might have been symbolic for something important in your life, new beginnings, fresh start e.t.c Take yourself back to that place and remember that it's hair and it will grow.
Impatience: Hair has it's natural way of growth and in this stage, that might be too slow for you. Remember, it will grow at it's own pace. Solution, do is your part, eat right, get some sleep, work out, drink plenty of water because the inner body regime is just as important for hair growth.
Revelation: After all is said done, it is at this stage that I feel most people really get to know just how ready they are to commit to a hair journey. As much as it is annoying, it can be a learning process to experiment on what works for you and what fits your personal lifestyle and character. Whatever decision made at this stage should be sorely personal because now you have had the revelation that everyones hair is different even if the texture matches. What you watch, read and see on social medias and blogs are mere ideas and guidelines but every journey is different and you should make yours one that works for just you and only you.

It's always a Pleasure,
Zipporah.

*TWA= teeny weeny Afro
*Hairbandable= a word Joanne and I came up with for hair long enough to be tied with a hairband.

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