Grow African Hair Long GAHL

We have not met Sharon in person yet, but to us she radiates such beauty and happiness and do we even have to mention her smile? and the reason why GAHL is featuring her today is her georgeus natural hair.

Hi Sharon, we just love your hair! we are so honoured to feature you on our Gahlspiration corner. We are sure that this feature is going to be a blessing to someone

The pleasure is all mine :)

Have you always been natural? If not what made you go natural?
No I've not always been natural . I went fully natural in March 2016 but I stopped relaxing my hair in 2015 . I was inspired by the journey of other naturalistas such as CravingYellow and I was also intrigued by the science of natural hair . Furthermore , I've always admired afros . Whenever I'd get my relaxer touched up , I hated how flat my hair would look and did everything I could to have some volume .

My first twist out ever!
Your hair always looks so healthy, are you on a healthy hair journey? What inspired you to start one? I am definitely on a healthy hair journey . I've always understood that when it comes to dealing with anything , one needs to understand how the system works . Once you have that down ,you're good to go . Same goes for hair .Once I've got the health of my hair in check , the rest comes easy .

Do you have a hair routine? How easy was it getting into a regimen, knowing the right products etc? Yes I have a hair routine but I wouldn't say it's fixed . It was quite easy to find a regimen once I started off because I did a lot of research as I was transitioning to natural . My regimen however , is constantly evolving . I just go with what Fluffy ( my hair) needs at the moment .

Twist out from May 2016

How do you fit hair care into your busy lifestyle? Haircare for me is therapeutic . My fro is my Friday night date once every 2-3 weeks . The rest of the time , I rock low manipulation styles that can transition into cute wearable looks . My go to style is two strand twists . If I were in my hair every single day I'd not have time to do anything else .

Do you believe in such a thing as bad hair? Do you believe that African/ black women have good hair? The only "bad" hair is unhealthy hair . It's a blessing for us to have such unique hair growing out of our scalps . It doesn't matter if it's thick , fine , coarse , curly , wavy , coily or kinky . All hair is beautiful .

Current twist out

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? It's hard to reduce all I've learnt to one statement . "Good" hair like everything else in life , comes to those who work for it . You must be patient , willing to learn and always embrace your hair for what it is .

What goals do you have for your hair? My goal is to take my hair to the next level in all aspects : health, length , volume , thickness .. you name it . I just want to give it the love it deserves .

Do you do your own hair? What is your favourite natural hairstyle and why? I do my own hair except when it comes to braiding and blowing it out for trims ( which I want to be able to do for myself ). My go to style is twists . They are easy and fuss free plus they provide a base for a bomb twist out .

My blown out fro in May 2017

Do you have a hair idol? Who and why?
I have so many hair idols . Bubs Bee is one of my favorites . Her hair is soo thick and luscious . The likes of NappyFu , GreenBeauty , Ambrosia Malbrough, JourneyToWaistlength , WestAfricanBaby and CravingYellow are a few examples .

Did you always believe that you could grow a huge Afro? What changed your mind? I've always believed I can grow a huge afro but 20 inches of hair wasn't something I even thought about . Once I discovered natural hair forums , I realized that I can do anything with my hair .

Is there a product you can’t live without?Aloe Vera juice ! My hair drinks it up ! It'll forever be a staple in my regimen .

My shrunken fro
Do you think natural hair is expensive to keep? No I don't . I've had the pleasure of trying out different brands . We as Kenyans are privileged to have affordable quality locally made natural products . Natural hair doesn't have to be expensive unless that's one's preference .

Do you have hair goals? I'm a length and volume chaser right now . I just want to see how far my fro can grow . However , Fluffy's health will always remain paramount .

"Your hair is your crown . Embrace it , love it and take care of it ." MyKenyanPuff

instagram @mykenyanpuff
youtube channel Mykenyanpuff

I know that just from the title of this blog some of you are already frowning but please take a minute and hear me out. If you have been following my journey you know this already but if you are new to my blog trust me, you want to hear this.

May 2017 4years post relaxer (Natural)

I started my healthy hair journey in February of 2010 with relaxed shoulder length hair. My hair had been shoulder length pretty much my whole life and I honestly thought that shoulder length was the longest my hair could ever be. You have heard this before “my hair grows till shoulder length and then it stops” In reality it doesn’t stop,it just breaks faster than it is growing causing the stagnation.

The turning point came after watching ladies with long relaxed hair on YouTube and I decided I was going to take better care of my hair just to see if it could really grow longer.

Pre hair journey days. 2009 (Relaxed)

February 2010 start of my hair journey (Relaxed)

I made so many mistakes at the beginning and instead of seeing progress my hair was just breaking and I retained zero length for the first six months of the journey. My mistake at the time was using a strong protein treatment twice a week in the name of deep conditioning. Once I corrected this the progress was undeniable.

I went from shoulder length to mid back length hair in about two years (I was still relaxed/Texlaxed). I am now fully natural and my hair is a few centimetres shy of mid back length which is my current hair goal.

31.1 2013 Last relaxer

31.1.2013 last relaxer

So what is the moral of my story? Genes may play a big role in how long our hair can grow but unfortunately we might never see the real growth potential of our hair if we don’t care for it properly. I know you are probably thinking of that friend of yours who does absolutely nothing to her hair but it has grown down her back, believe me she is lucky because the majority of us need to actually care for our hair for it to reach its full potential.

May 2017 4 years post relaxer

On that note, hair doesn’t have to be long for it to be beautiful, it just needs to be healthy and regardless of its length it will look attractive. I prefer short healthy hair to long damaged hair any day.

If your aim is to retain length then all you have to do is reduce breakage and here are a few tips for you.

Protect your ends. The ends are the oldest part of your hair and they are your length. Keeping them on your head will ensure length retention. You can do this by making sure the ends of your hair are always moisturized and keep them off your shoulders to avoid friction with your clothing. Protective styles also play a big role in length retention as they keep the ends hidden.
Detangling. Always detangle your hair from the ends upwards this reduces unnecessary breakage.
Combing. Never comb your natural or transitioning hair while it is dry! This causes unnecessary breakage!
Manipulation. Find hairstyles that don’t need daily manipulation, I personally go for hairstyles that require me to touch my hair only once a week. Over manipulation causes breakage.
Stay positive. Growing hair takes time and you might meet people along the way who will not hesitate to ridicule your efforts. Don’t give up; if something isn’t working get help there are so many healthy hair enthusiasts willing to help.
Know your hair. African hair comes in different textures and your texture plays a big role in how it should be cared for. 4C hair for instance is not the strongest hairtype, it is the most fragile and most prone to breakage and needs the most care.
Track your growth. Find a way to track your progress and celebrate little accomplishments. i like to take pictures and today i am so glad that i have been doing this because now i get to share with you :) you can also use a tape measure.
Goals. Make realistic goals. My hair grows half an inch per month (very average). I set my hair goal lengths according to my hair growth rate and my trims.
Magic products. They Don’t exist!

Lastly, I am not saying that everyone’s hair can grow down their waist but one thing is for sure. You will never know how long your hair can grow unless you actually give it that chance.

Make a decision to start a healthy hair care journey today and comment below if you need help starting :)

Thanks for reading,

Joanne.

Exactly 4 years and four months ago, I decided to stop straightening my hair using chemical relaxers. This was the best decision I ever made concerning my hair because it has never been this healthy.

During these four years I have learnt a lot about my hair and I would like to share these lessons with you.

Accept your hair as it is

After ending my transition it dawned on me that my hair just didn’t look like any of the YouTube gurus I had been following all through my transition. The texture just wasn’t the same and my hair shrunk like crazy. If you have recently gone natural or are currently transitioning to natural, chances are that your hair will look different than what you expect and special in its own way.

Less is more

The less I do with my hair, the more it thrives. Most of the hairstyles I do usually last a week and need very little if any manipulation at all. If you are a length chaser please keep this in mind.

Health over length

In as much as I love long hair, I prefer healthy hair more. Healthy hair looks attractive regardless of its length. It helps to get regular trims to keep the hair looking healthy.

Braiding is not for everyone.

Braids are a beautiful protective style, but the reality is that if you have a sensitive hairline like me. Braids are not for you!

There is no one size fits all.

At the beginning of my natural journey I used to co-wash my hair because that is what most naturals were doing. The truth is my hair hated it after co-washing its was as if I had done absolutely nothing and even styling was a problem afterwards. I opted to shampoo my hair with every wash-day. Even though there are natural hair rules that you have to follow, take time to listen to your hair and give it exactly what it wants.

Scalp oiling is not for everyone

I came to the realization that my scalp produces enough sebum. Sebum is the oil produced by your skin, have you ever shampooed your hair and rinsed it off only to find that your scalp still had some whitish looking residue? That is sebum and it is actually healthy for your hair if it is not completely washed off. If your scalp produces enough sebum then you don’t need to oil your scalp but if your scalp is naturally dry then light oils for your scalp will come in handy.

Check out my natural hair update video and please subscribe!

Thank you for reading ,

Love Joanne.

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.