Harmattan Diaries

Hi there,
  So Harmattan is here again, our very own version of winter. It crept up on me suddenly. I woke up on Monday morning and the air just felt really dry. I had had  my wash day the day before and I deep conditioned with my organics olive oil conditioner after which I moisturised with my Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in-cream and sealed with Olive oil. In the morning I touched my hair and it was super crunchy!! I was surprised because I had been really heavy handed with my application of products. I didn't have a hard time figuring things out because my skin felt like sand paper and each breath I took seemed to dry out my nostrils...Harmattan had arrived! I don't really mind the weather in fact I love Harmattan. Your washed clothes get dry really fast, no puddles to dirty your car tires and no cloudy skies. But my hair begs to disagree. This weather dries out hair and then as expected breakage follows. I am determined not to allow the dry air truncate my healthy hair hustle. Here's what I plan to do:

MOISTURISE!!!
 This weather makes me thirsty and it also makes my hair thirsty. I need to keep my hair hydrated and I will do this in three ways:
 
Step One:
I will step up my conditioning and deep conditioning routine. Each week without fail I will cowash then deep condition. I will hold off on shampooing for a while.

I found a new conditioner (Review coming up soon ha ha):
 


My new conditioner for weekly Cowashing

 

My deep conditioner for this period will be:

I will do home made moisturising masks with olive oil and honey
added to the mayo

 

If I have to shampoo because of product build up or an itchy scalp I'll use this

A mixture of these two fellas here ought to wash without overly stripping my hair

 


 
 Step Two
Daily moisturising and sealing. I have been using my Cantu Shea butter leave in for a while now and I'm in love with it. It moisturises my hair for upwards of 3 days but this season I find that the Cantu Shea butter doesn't last for that long so I am back to daily spritzing and sealing. My spray bottle has a mixture of water, glycerine and olive oil and whenever my hair feels dry I will give it a little spritz. I will still use the Cantu shea butter but I will have to supplement it with my spray bottle solution. For sealing I usually use castor oil diluted with coconut oil or olive oil  but now I have to bring out the big guns! Raw Shea butter. Its a heavier sealant than the previously mentioned oils. I have never really liked it for my hair because its solid and I have to rub it on my palms briskly to get it to melt and it just seemed like a lot of work. I found a way to help me with that:

Place it in hot water

 
 

Melted and ready for use

I really love it now not just for my hair but for my skin. It really locks in moisture. It can lead to product build-up so I use it sparingly.


 
Step Three:
Another way intend to get moisture into my strands this period is the GHE method. I will do it once in a while if my hair still needs a bit of moisture after all is said and done. I will spray my hair with just a bit of water (I prefer warm water ) and then cover with a shower cap for upwards of 2 hours but mostly I prefer to do it overnight. The beauty of this method is that sometimes when I don't have a lot of time I do it and don a wig or a turban and I'm outta the house.



PROTECT AND SERVE!!!
Protective styling is needed now more than ever. My favourite protective style at the moment is wigging it out. No stress no fuss no nothing ;-) Underneath my wigs I usually have cornrows but for this weather I have on African threading :-D If you are wondering how I lay them flat to be invisible under the wig: I divide my hair into seven sections and I loosely thread the hair so its limp but still firmly tied. Then I pull a strand lightly and gently twist its tip around the next one and then I secure it with a rubber band. After which I wear my wig cap. I make sure its flat enough before I wear the wig. I use this method now because threading really protects the hair from manipulation and from rubbing against each other. You retain moisture, and length too, not to talk of giving your hair a break from single strand knots.


My African Threading



 

This season my hair will spend more time in African threading. I will take them down every Friday to cowash and deep condition before I moisturise and seal and lock them up again. If for any reason my hair will not be in this style then I will do the daily moisturising and sealing mentioned above. I am still figuring out how to spritz my hair whilst its in threads so I might just leave it and see how my hair feels when I take the threads off.




 You can incorporate all these into your own regimen. Just remember give your hair a lot of moisture and ensure you seal properly. Put your hair in a protective style so you don't have to touch it all the time. Ghana weaving, braids ,weaves, wigs, twist outs and braid outs are great ideas. Don't forget to have your spray bottle on hand at all times just in case your hair needs some water.
I really hope my hair  (and yours too) gets through this season in one piece ;-)

KimB