Hi, naturalistas!
This is the longest I've ever been away.
I won't say life happened because y'all have a space in the schedule of things.
I'd just say I took a break to gather enough juicy information to share with y'all.
Most of the tips, products and stuff I blog about are stuff I've tried out on myself and people with different natural hair textures and different stages of transitioning, before letting you all in on the results.
I'd like to say a big thank you to all my readers and a special one to Paige Ellean of care4curls.com. I'd also like to appreciate readers from Google+,your feedback is encouraging! 

So, what did I do while I was MIA?

Well I newly baptized my friend Kay's natural hair with henna!

You remember Kay, right? She's almost a year old transitioner and I thought she was old enough to get her first henna treatment.... for some reason, this statement sounds odd...
We used "lalle" leaves a.k.a. henna leaves she bought in Abuja. I was scared at first that she got the wrong leaves because I didn't notice any dye release when I mixed it with lime juice....but finally, it was just my impatience seeing things!
I mixed in 3 standard cups of henna with juice from 3 limes... then diluted about 30 to 45 mins later with water until it was a consistency I could easily work with. Shikena!

I don't have pictures of the whole henna process because we did it late at night with lots of yawns....again!
I applied it in sections like I'd apply a relaxer.
I left the henna in overnight. I double bagged (with two caps ) and wrapped to prevent stained sheets.

NOTE 1: Use an old towel on your shoulders, old newspapers on the bathroom floor, old showers caps for baggying and gloves for henna application to prevent staining. (I still have orange fingers, nails and palms till this moment!)

I have to say, Kay does have a LOT of natural hair! Rinsing out the henna was really time consuming.
NOTE 2: Henna is best done on the weekend not weekday....lol!

I got out most of the henna by tension drying with my fingers and shaking out the henna leaves,twigs and all.
Kay commented that she felt like she was at a farm with the grassy smell and all!
NOTE 3: Henna leaves are easier to get rid off on dry hair than wet hair. Tension dry at medium heat setting to stretch and dry hair at the same time.
NOTE 4: Depending on your hair type, you may experience dryness after the henna process. The good news is that there'll be little or no breakage. A good leave in conditioner will restore your hair to it's default settings.

Kay was surprised at the almost zero hair loss she experienced when we passed a wide tooth comb through. Even her relaxed tips were strengthened. Henna bonds almost irreversibly with keratin.
If like me, you wondered why it faded when applied on skin and it doesn't on hair, it's because skin is living and constantly renewed while hair is dead and only undergoes renewal at the roots.
If you want to know more, please Google it!

I've heard of loosening of curl pattern after the henna process, I don't think I noticed it.
I do notice that as I get older, my "new growth" has looser coils.
I can say that when I was younger my coils were about fine, fuller 4c all round but in my twenties it's mostly  4b, 4c with some 4a up front.
Does anyone else who has been a life long natural have this experience?????

Next is my hair update.
I still have chunky kinky twist extensions in my hair.
The pictures are on my instagram @nappilynigeriangirl.

I've had it almost a month. I put them in on the 31st of March.
I haven't washed it per se but I've done my lazy baby wipes cleaning method...."all join"!
I've noticed some splitting on strands of hair poking out of the twists which I promptly destroyed. This is one reason why twists, braids and other extensions aren't the ultimate protective styles. They do a good job though, of keeping a comb out of your hair.

My stylist has begged me to keep the style in for 2 months or else she'll feel she did a bad job. I've obliged her so far because
- I'm too lazy to pamper my hair much.
-I've not seen any hairstyles I want to try out.
- I've not seen any hair products I'd love to try.
- The temptation to henna my hair wasn't so strong.
-My hairline isn't bothered... speaking of which...I have to keep turning the twists in the front because they keep twisting tighter at the roots... I think it's high time I retouched the front twists.... aside that, my hair is doing just fine.

Speaking of new products to try out, I recently purchased a new oil control primer by Iman in my constant battle to close up the oil refinery that is the skin on my face.
The African Black soap I use is doing a good job in zit prevention/control but not so much with oil control.
So, I got the Iman Oil Control Primer since my skincare/makeup artist pal had good things to say about it. It's a bit pricey like all foreign products sold in Nigeria are, so it had better work!
I also got a new lip gloss.

Another update, I celebrated my birthday on the 15th and my girlfriend Adrianna got married this weekend!
A big Congratulations to the new Missus! Whoop whoop! I'm sure some peeps are curious about Nigerian weddings... don't worry I'll give y'all the deets sometime starting with Igbo marriage traditions since I'm Igbo!

Also, my culinary gifted cousin came visiting and I'm learning new recipes and trying to see if I can add weight and be more like an "African woman "....lol!
.............ermmm..... nope!
I do feel a little tightness in my jeans though...... that's a good sign, right?

So, that's the edited low down of what happened during my absence!

Till I spill again,
Live Beautifully. Naturally.
Hadassah.
N.B. Pictures on instagram @nappilynigeriangirl