Category: black hair care tips
How to Wash Your Cornrows or Ghana Braids (Especially After Working Out)
Right now, I’m positively obsessed with cornrows and it seems the natural hair world is too.
Long, short… it doesn’t matter- I just adore them!
In fact, I’ve created an entire hair calendar around cornrow styles that I want to rock in 2017 (the obsession is real!)
However, one of the down-sides to cornrows is that they can be a pain to wash especially if you’re like me and you love keeping your hair clean.
There’s nothing more annoying to me than having an itchy scalp that’s covered in icky dirt and build-up; ewww!
I personally have found that build-up and itching is much worse after a workout, especially after any form of cardio.
So, how do you keep your hair clean when it’s in a cornrowed or braided style?
Here is the simple yet effective routine that I recently used and it worked a treat.
- Dilute sulphate-free shampoo and water. Ideally poor this mix into a spray bottle and make sure you have twice the amount of water as you do shampoo. A little shampoo goes a long way. Then shake the bottle like there’s no tomorrow.
- Spray the mixture onto the parted sections of your cornrows (e.g. your scalp). Don’t apply it to the braided parts of your hair.
- Rinse your scalp and then repeat the process but with a conditioner/water combo.
- Rinse your scalp again, let it dry a little and then apply a light natural carrier oil like jojoba to your scalp.
If you really want to soothe your scalp and keep it clean, try adding a drop of peppermint or tea tree oil to the carrier oil as both ingredients have anti-bacterial properties and will keep your scalp moisturised and clean.
They’ll also make your scalp feel COOL and tingly, getting rid of any itchiness in the process.
So there you have it, my quick yet super effective method for getting rid of build-up when your hair is braided or cornrowed.
If you liked this post, put a smile on my face by sharing it on social and use the hashtag #mycurlsuk so we can find you and retweet you too!
With love,
Vicky x
Founder, MyCurls.co.uk
We’re celebrating in the biggest way ever!
This year has been incredibly busy and the fact that it’s drawing to a close has forced me to reflect on some of the things I could have done better.
Clearly, the new year has the ability to give most of us the push that we need to make changes and it’s certainly done that for me.
One thing that I was yearning to do, but never found the time, was change the website and make it more up-to-date and pretty (because who doesn’t love pretty things, right?)
So, I finally did it and am pleased to say that My Curls now has a gorgeous, newly developed site that’s far easier to use but still contains all of our signature products.
I’ve now vowed to make a few more changes in 2017. For instance, updating the blog way more often and answering your burning hair questions at least once a month.
I’m also going to be more active on social media. We have well over 40,000 engaged Twitter and Instagram followers and they’re yearning for more hair inspiration so I’m making a commitment to post more frequently and share some of the great things that we’re doing at My Curls.
Finally, to celebrate all of these new goals and achievements, I’m holding our biggest ever sale and it’s open to all customers no matter where in the world you live. Yes, we now ship internationally which means that our American and Canadian sisters can try out our products with ease.
Click here to view our new website and grab the 30% discount (no coupon code needed!).
Now, it’s over to you.
What changes are you making in 2017?
What do you think you could have done better?
What would you like to see change in the year to come?
Share your thoughts and ideas below. IÂ can’t wait to read what you have to say.
With love,
Victoria.
Founder, MyCurls.co.uk.
Nigerian Hairstyles Through The Years
As a young Nigerian girl, hair care and hairstyling were a fundamental part of my childhood.
There wasn’t a day that passed where hair care wasn’t mentioned.
Whether it was “your hair needs fixing” or “it’s time to re-do your hair,” hair was always a topic of conversation and once my aunts started talking about hair, they couldn’t stop.
Memories of having my hair plaited, relaxed and comb flooded through my body as I watched this brilliant video on Nigerian hairstyles through the years.
Some of the styles might seem a bit crazy looking to a non-West African person but they are a part of our culture and history.
One of the styles that I cherish most (but haven’t managed to muster up the bravery to rock it) is threading.
Threading simply involves a piece of wiry thready being wrapped around a small section of hair.
It might not look like the most stylish of hairdos but it sure does make your hair grow!
I swear threading was like the old-school equivalent of the inversion method. It worked a treat.
Take a look at the video below and if you’ve tried one of these hairstyles, leave a comment below.
Here’s to your hair’s happiness,
Victoria xo
6 Drop Dead Gorgeous Curly Hairstyles For Spring
With the sun shining and the weather heating up, it’s the perfect time to throw away some of the not-so-fun winter protective styles and opt for far more fun natural hairstyles!
I’ve been wearing my hair in braids all winter and now I’m ready to throw them out and rock my curls!
Can I get an Amen in the comments if you’re feeling the same?
The problem with wearing braids, weaves or other protective styles that don’t involve your real hair is that you get so used to them that it becomes difficult to remember how to style and care for your real hair.
I’ve gone through this so many times which is why I’ve been resistant to wearing my hair in braids for long periods.
In fact, this is the first year in a very long time where I’ve worn braids the whole of winter. I never want to be one of those people who is so obsessed with fake hair that I have no idea how to handle my real curls.
So what do you do when you’ve had your hair in braids, weaves etc and can’t remember how to style your natural hair?
You head over to THIS blog and read a blog post like this 🙂
To give you a sprinkle of hairspiration, we’re sharing 6 of the most drop dead gorgeous curly hairstyles for spring.
Take a look at the pictures below and leave a comment sharing which style you love the most.
Wishing you a wonderful Easter,
Victoria x
Jourdan Dunn Slays The Cover of Vogue Brasil
A few years ago it was a rarity to see women of colour gracing the covers of international fashion magazines and when they did, they sported straight hair that ran down their backs.
It’s great to see that things have changed so much and it’s now becoming increasingly common for black actresses, supermodels and musicians to rock their natural kinks, coils and curls on the front pages of acclaimed publications.
Recently, the beautiful Jourdan Dunn graced the February 2016 cover of Vogue Brasil and looked stunning with her short TWA (teeny weeny afro).
Although I love a big ‘fro just as much as the next girl, it’s refreshing to see Jourdan wear a short, soft afro. It suits her well and just goes to show that natural hair is as classy and beautiful as you make it.
I also love the fact that her afro is perfectly shaped which gives her a halo-like appearance.
What do you think of Jourdan’s look? Do you think it’s a good thing that more celebrities are going natural? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Victoria xo
3 Stunning Natural Beauty Queens Who Are Rocking The Professional World
Here at mycurls.co.uk, we pride ourselves on being open-minded and tolerant. We like to look at arguments from both sides of the fence; we think compassion is an all-too-rarefied commodity in today’s cut-throat environment.
There are limits, however – and nothing gets our goat quite like that being told that our natural hair is “unprofessional” or “unsuitable for the workplace”.
Excuse me, what?
It’s true: it happens, it’s damaging (and plays no small part in the growing number of women with natural hair who suffer from self-esteem issues), and it needs to stop.
What better way to end this onslaught of bigotry than by starting a conversation about the wildly successful women who refuse to abandon their curls for the sake of “professionalism”? Read on to discover the three queens we’ve chosen to profile for this piece.
1.
Julee Wilson‘s first steps in the professional world were as humble as they could be. After being told numerous times that her preference for wearing her Afro hair naturally was “unprofessional”, she finally landed a position an assistant to the Editor-In-Chief of Real Simple Magazine.
Needless to say, her natural hair didn’t hinder her journalistic talent to any degree – a fact made evident by her meteoric rise to the Staff Fashion Editor in two years, becoming the first African-American woman to do so.
Where is she now?
Queen Wilson now plies her trade as the Style & Beauty Editor for the Huffington Post’s Black Voices project, making frequent reference to her roots (pun intended!) through articles and series such as Curly Hair Chronicles, in which she discusses the very problem she had to overcome to get to where she is today.
2.
Denise Young Smith: a name you should get used to because you’re going to be hearing it a lot over the next few years. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Communications and a master’s degree in Organisational Management from Grambling State University, she made her first corporate inroads when contributed HR and management consulting to companies such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers portfolio companies.
It wasn’t until 1997, when she joined Apple (then still a fledgling, albeit rapidly-expanding, company) that she really started making waves, though. She has since served the company in several key HR roles, not least among them sitting on the team that crafted Apple’s retail organisation – which today welcomes more than one million people every day, and has re-defined what the word retail means to the corporate world.
Where is she now?
Ms. Smith was recently chosen as Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Human Resources – a position whose responsibilities include attracting and retaining talent at Apple, and reports to none other than Tim Cook, the CEO, himself.
3.
Kay Wilson Stallings earned her master’s degree at the University of Illinois, and ever since has been charting an astonishing rise through the ranks of corporate television.
Starting out as a manager at Nickelodeon, within ten years she’d become the Vice President of Production and Development – the first African-American woman to hold the title. She was primarily responsible for the development of such adored television programs as “Yo Gabba Gabba!”, “Lazytown” and “Wonder Pets”, and shows no sign of slowing either her creative juices or her impressive ambition.
Where is she now?
Ms. Stallings currently works her naturally-curled head off as Senior Vice President for Sesame Street, where she has an enormous amount of influence over what our children are exposed to on television’s most-loved children’s program.
There they are: three gloriously natural women sticking it to the Man one curl at a time.
Do YOU have any similar success stories you’d like to share?
Let us know in the comments below!
How Can I Find Out The Texture Of My Hair?
How do I figure out my hair type?
I have no clue what my hair type or texture is, help!
Is my hair 4b, 4c or 4a? I have no idea!
These are just a few questions that many naturalistas ask when it comes to the whole hair type debacle.
We recently came across a brilliant chart by the folks at BuzzFeed that makes finding out your hair type super quick and easy!
Take a look at it below and in the comments tell us what your hair type is based on the chart!
Hair Type Chart by @BuzzFeed
PS. It’s perfectly normal to have several hair types! Mine varies from 3b to 4b which means I have a lot of textures to deal with, understand and manage. It’s not always easy dealing with multiple hair textures but it is a lot of fun 🙂
Here’s to knowing more about your hair and loving every inch of it!
As always, if you have a burning hair care question tweet it to us @mycurlsuk and we’ll answer it in an upcoming blog post.
Victoria xo
Hair Overwhelm: Has The Natural Hair Movement Has Caused More Harm Than Good?
As much as I love being a naturalista and I’m incredibly proud of how far the natural hair scene has progressed over the past decade or so, I can’t help but sometimes feel very overwhelmed by the amount of information, advice and trends that constantly crop up. The hardest thing is the fact that much of the advice is contradictory.
Some naturals claim that it’s great to detangle with a wide-toothed comb whilst others say that we should abandon combs all together!
Some say that brushes are best whilst others say that our fingers are the only combs we need. Which is it? What do you do?
To comb or not to comb? That is the question!
Then there are the claims about naturals who’ve achieved rapid hair growth through regimens like the LOC and inversion methods.
If you’ve tried either, you might have found a hair growth panacea that works for you or you might have discovered that too much of any regime simply drives you and your hair nuts!
I’ve been natural for several years now and I’ve been following the natural hair movement for probably around 8 years (yes, it’s been that long). Back in the day there were simply a few forums that catered to women who wanted healthier, longer hair but nowadays, there are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of blogs, websites, forums, Instagram accounts and Facebook pages that share a plethora of advice on natural hair care.
Whilst it’s great that we have so much more information available, it also has a downside.
Namely, the fact that when there’s too much information, you don’t know where to look or where to start.
It can be difficult.
So this begs the question, how do naturalistas find both balance and clarity in a wold that’s filled with contradictory advice and too many options?
How do we avoid becoming the victims of a choice paradox?
How do we find our own unique path to healthier hair?Â
What’s the solution?
Now, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the overload in hair care information?
How do you deal with it?
Leave a comment below sharing how you feel.
PS. This might have been my most honest and open blog post yet but I’ve come to realise that honesty and vulnerability are catalysts for personal growth. I hope that in sharing how I feel, I’ll open up discourse for other women who might be feeling the same way.
Here’s to hair happiness,
Victoria xo.
4 Simple Steps To Longer Natural Hair
On top of that, throughout my childhood and early teens I’d constantly been told that “afro hair doesn’t grow,” OR “black girls can’t grow long hair” which led me to believe that growing long hair was simply impossible for a girl like me.
Opt for hair accessories like ribbons, scarves and flowers rather than applying heat to your hair.
How Often Should Curly Hair Be Washed?
Do you sometimes wonder whether you’re washing your hair too rarely or too often?
As a curly or afro haired girl, it’s important to have a regular hair regimen which will make your hair easier to manage.
Keeping a good, healthy hair regimen will also enable you to look after your hair even when you’re super busy and pressed for time.
How often should you wash curly and afro hair?
So, how often should you wash your tresses?
Firstly, it’s important to remember that there are two types of hair washing.
Shampoo washing (simply washing your hair with shampoo and then conditioning it)
AND
Co-washing (washing your hair with conditioner only e.g. no shampoo required)
If your hair is out (not in braids, weave or plaits), you should co-wash it once a week using a silicone-free conditioner.
Typically, you should shampoo curly hair once a month and co-wash in between shampooing.
However, the looser your hair texture is, the more often you need to shampoo it. For example, if you have wavy textured hair, you’ll need to shampoo either once a week or once every 3-4 days.
If however, you have afro textured hair, you’ll only need to shampoo once a month. If your hair is mixed (e.g. contains a mixture of hair textures that vary from wavy to tightly curled or afro) then you’ll need to do a bit of testing to see how your hair responds to being shampooed less often.
You can then adjust your hair regimen to meet your mixed hair’s needs.
As a rule of thumb, you should shampoo once a month and condition once  a week.
Now you might be wondering why shampooing too often is bad. For curly and afro textures, our hair has a tendency to be more dry and vulnerable to breakage. It’s therefore essential that we are cautious with it and handle our hair with care.
When you over-shampoo curly, mixed or afro hair, the hair’s natural oils are depleted which causes dryness, knots, split ends, frizz and tangles! In essence, it’s not good!
In contrast, if you condition your hair regularly, you’ll restore lost moisture whilst also keeping your hair tangle and frizz-free. Conditioning is quite simply one of the best things that you can do to your hair which is why it’s recommended that you condition once per week.
If your hair is in braids, a weave or any other ‘covered’ style then you’ll only need to wash it when it’s out. However, your hair is likely to be dirtier than usual because the dirt in your hair will have built up over time.
How often do you usually wash your hair?
Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Victoria x
My Curls 