African Hair Summit

The African Hair Summit 2017 will be holding on June 2nd and 3rd 2017 at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

You can register as a participant and find out more on their website www.africanhairsummit.org

AHS 2016

I attended one session of  the African Hair Summit Last Year-June 2016 and I had a lot of fun.

I got to take pics with one of my all-time fave Nollywood iconic actresses, Kate Henshaw (Check her out in the 'Candlelight' spinoff 'Do Good' on Africa Magic) and she even complimented me that i had a lovely smile *BLUSHHHH* lol.

She's their Ambassador.

It was a nice, well thought-out event, i spotted Igbo Curls (Chinwe Juliet), Natmane and the CEO Mina Stones at the event. Lumo Naturals had a stand where they gifted some guests free hairdos and had their products on display.

There was a short documentary played followed by a very insightful talk by Dr. Kemi on hair and skincare products, ingredients and harmful chemicals in them and more.

I also got to see Jessica Bongos perform, i'm a fan of her style of music.

I bought some Shea Moisture products at their stand with their 15% discount and got a free bag.
I got salon flyers for natural hair friendly salons and checked some out.

My friends came to join me there, we checked out other stands and they also bought some products before we took pics and left for lunch.

I'm glad i was able to step out of work and be at the event even though i couldn't stay till the end.
I plan to attend this year's own as well if my schedule permits *fingers crossed*

Toodles!XooX

Capital Naturals (Natural Hair Meetup!!) August

I made sure I set a reminder on my phone, just like the last time, as soon as the new date for the meetup got out. Saturday morning came and my alarm went off to remind me of the meetup.I was up early, dolled up, visited a friend (with hubby) that recently gave birth, and thereafter went to my friend's house which is close to the meetup venue. No excuse (i.e laziness) to miss this meetup. The last meetup i attended was in May so this was my 3rd Meetup, i'm becoming a regular at attending meetups and loving it.

I had washed my hair earlier in the week and wore it in 4 separate three-strand braids under a scarf to my friend's house. 

Hairstyle Inspirations from YouTube:

•  Chime-Fan Buns
• Tiffany Nichols Design-High Bun Top Knot

Easiest hairstyle ever! it took me literally 'bout 5-7 mins to create my version of the style with 7 bobby pins and 2 hairbands. I loved the result and wore it for one more day, i would have worn it for longer but it wasn't comfortable to sleep with *sad face*.

Bobby Pins (The Star of my Hairdo as usual)

Tied scarf to flatten ma coils (no gel)

Channelling Minnie Mouse 

Feel Maself wit Eju & Matching my tote bag

Full Outfit

I got there while Natmane gave a talk on Hair loss (as usual i'm always superlate, i'm sure a lot went down before my arrival, i'm working on being punctual) and it was very informative and there was an interactive Q& A session after that. The session covered a variety of topics, from Menopause, Maintaining the Hairline, Older women and preference for short hair, Nutrition & its effect on hair, hairstyles, etc.

She's a Certified Trichologist so if u have any hair issues book a consultation with her.

Natural Nigerian a.k.a NN gave a brief talk as usual with statistics on our monetary influence in the Hair industry/market and buying Nigerian and its benefits (promotes research, improvement on product output, packaging, etc.). I agree with her just as before and my caveat remains- Buy Nigerian from authentic people who use genuine materials like 'Natural Nigerian' and who have a true love and pride for their trade/craft and are not out to just extort us. Such business 100% deserve our support, motivation and patronage.
She enlightend us on the need to research products, mostly foreign ones we may want to purchase as we they may be available locally just that we call them by local names, she also talked on the need to appreciate our own local natural products instead of waiting for foreigners to promote them before embracing them, she mentioned quite a no. of locally produced plants and oils that we don't know are produced locally and go through the stress of importing e.g. Neem Oil is from Dongoyaro plant, Sesame oil is from the Sesame Seeds/Beniseed, Hibiscus is Zobo, etc.
Someone contributed that what we need to take care of ourselves (body, hair, etc.) will most likely be found in our geographic location if we will only take the time to do the needful research and i kinda agree.

Nikes' (a.k.a Screwy Haired Girl) Discussion Session-This was honestly my favorite session because it was very interactive. The discussion touched a wide range of topics-Tips for new naturals and transitioners, products-local vs foreign; experiences using different types of products for your hair, DIY vs Salon hair maintenance and the benefits, Perception of Natural hair by people especially men and at the workplace, reorienting our minds to embrace our natural hair and learning to care for it, different causes of product sensitivity (the product may not be 100% what it claims to be, it might be contaminated or improperly processed, etc.), developing the ideal hair regimen for your hair, General Hair Typing and its uses, Men and their natural hair, challenges of having and maintaining natural hair and after all these being able to keep in mind that 'Its just hair' so we don't get overwhelmed and consumed by it.

All in all it was a lovely crowd as always and I had a really good time, i was there till the very end.

Hubby also loved my hairdo which was motivated by the meetup.

Goofing around after a long day

As the flyer states, there was free hairstyling for those that were interested.
There was also Free Hair Consultation with NatMane (Certified Trichologist) for a select few earlybirds and there were different hair products by different vendors on sale as usual.

Check out posts on my last Capital Naturals meetup and being a Wig Newbie. My hair has been out for quite a while now (over a month) and i've been enjoying playing with it and styling it. I plan on doing a post on the different natural hairstyles i have rocked with pics and my current hair regimen so watch out for that.

As always i enjoyed a socializing, enlightening and rewarding time! The meetup had a mixed crowd of those with natural hair, relaxed hair, weaves, braids, and transitioners so please know that everyone is welcome, at the end of the day the aim is for us to learn the best way to approach our hair, skin, nutrition and ultimately live a better life.

Toodles!XooX

Capital Naturals (Natural Hair Meetup!!)

Get in here!! Guys and Gals. Natural or Nah. This event should be worth OUR time. There's always something to learn. Check out my post on the last meetup.

Save the Date and Be at this event. See you There!

Toodles!XooX

Capital Naturals (Natural Hair Meetup!!) May

I made sure I set a reminder on my phone as soon as the new date for the next meetup got out. Saturday morning came and my alarm went off to remind me of the meetup.I was up early, did all i had to, dolled up and went to my friend house which was close to the venue early enough so i wouldn't have any excuse (i.e laziness) to miss this meetup. Last meetup i attended was in 2013 (wayyy too long ago). This was my 2nd Meetup.

My hair in 4 separate braids (ignore my shininess)

I had washed my hair the previous day and wore it in 4 separate three-strand braids under a scarf to my friend's house. I found a style on YouTube (MariaAntoinetteTV) and decided to try it out. It took us forever ('bout 45mins to 1 hour) but we were eventually able to create our own version of the style with a pack of bobby pins. I loved the result and eventually wore the style from Sat till Tuesday.

Bobby Pins (The Star of my Hairdo)

I dragged my friend along with me for the meetup and we were latecomers *coversface* We had a food coma and it took us a few attempts before we could ginger ourselves to stroll down to the Venue.We got there at around 3:50pm after severalll selfies 'cos we were feeling ourselves.

Selfie Queens

Sadly we missed Kenneth Kolo's talk on Urban Agriculture & Nkechi (CEO of Keeks) talk on Stress and its effect on your Health & Hair and how to manage it.

We got there while the owner of Cocoterra Naturals was rounding up her talk, i got to catch the end part about nutrition and being a confident naturalista.
I bought a bottle of Tropic Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil (118ml=4oz) from the Lumo Naturals Stand at N3,500. It's been on my 'To Buy' list forever!

Natmane gave a talk on Hair loss and it was very informative and there was an interactive Q& A session after that. She's a Certified Trichologist so if u have any hair issues please book a consultation with her. It costs N5,000 for now, better hurry oo before she turn hot cake then we will be on 1 year waiting list to get an appointment with her. Don't say i didn't tell you.

Even me i dey go do consultation, i have some traction alopecia on my hairline plus i want to know if there's any supplements my body needs and only a certified professional can give you accurate answers after analysing your hair/scalp.

NatMane speaking (Hair strands magnified on the Projector)

I liked Natural Nigerian a.k.a NN's brief talk with statistics on our monetary influence in the Hair industry/market and buying Nigerian which will help promote research, improvement on product output, packaging and more. I agree with her although i have a caveat- Buy Nigerian from authentic people who use genuine materials like 'Natural Nigerian' and who have a true love and pride for their trade/craft and are not out to just extort us. Such business 100% deserve our support, motivation and patronage.

Looking forward to Natural Nigerian's new products! Hope it arrives in Abuja soonest. I currently use her hemp seed oil and love it so i have high hopes for her new products.

NN is CamShy

Igbo Curls (Chinwe Juliet) was up next,it was the 1st time i was hearing about her and she's got quite a chirpy/cheerful persona, it was infectious. She complemented my hairdo, u shoulda seen me just blushing anyhow.lol. I wasn't even sure the compliment was for me, i jejely codedly looked back to confirm i was the only one with coiffs.

I quickly went to stalk/follow her IG page and Blog and subscribed to her YouTube Channel. She is truly gifted at styling and she invented 'Volume Checks'. I got to see her style the hair of a participant as she gave us tips on how to avoid tangled ends, hair styling n tools, right was to use a bobby pin (shorter curved side slides into the hair facing downwards), etc.

Igbo Curls doing her thing. Don't u just love her big full hair (Its Waistlength!)

My friend was happy i brought her with me, she liked the interactive setting of the meetup and confessed she learnt some new things.

I asked NN why they don't have as many meetups in Abuja as they do in Lagos and she explained that getting a conducive and easily accessible venue at an affordable price was the major challenge. I totally understand, Abuja can get wahala sha. I hope they are able to get a good location eventually so meetups can be more constant and on a schedule. So biko if you have a nice, easily accessible place we can have meetups or good suggestions that won't break the bank, please drop a comment. Taink you.
All in all it was a lovely crowd and I had a good time. Enjoy the pics from the meetup.

isn't she adorable!

Here are a couple of the things I learnt:

• Better ways to care for your hair
• Protective styling can cause damage if/when abused
• Hormones and their effect on Hair growth
• Different types of Hair loss and their causes
• Different Treatments for Hairloss
• Castor Oil doesn't cure everything
• How to Style your hair
• How to avoid tangled ends (twirl ur ends together in one direction after twisting/braiding,etc. and tuck in)
• How to use bobby pins (the shorter end goes in the hair)
• Managing stress
• Scalp stimulation promotes blood circulation which in turn promotes hair growth (you can use peppermint or rosemary oil and massage for stimulation)
• Your hair can inform a professional of nutrients your body lacks and supplements it needs
• You should go to a Certified Trichologist to diagnose and treat your hair related problems

Hubby also loved my hairdo which was motivated by the meetup. With this economy of price hike for fuel/tomato/rice/exchange rate, i go just dey rock my hair dey go abeg. I cannot come and go and quench.lol. God knows how much i don save  as i neva go salon in a while. I wore my hair from Saturday till Tuesday (Monday & Tuesday was our 2nd year anniversary).

Tuesday (Wedding Anniversary)

Monday (Wedding Anniversary)

I also had fun with numerous Snapchat filters making me feel like some type of Greek goddess amongst other things!

Crown of Stars

Mask Twinning with my NACK tee

Garland of flowers 

In the Woods looking for Tarzan

Strawberry Makeup

100 years old, Goofy with Great Black hair! LOL

Island babe chilling in za shade

u alrdy know i love this filter

Bahddest Country Gyal

Check out my current hair regimen and Wig Newbie post. I'm DIY all the way! (for now sha...lol)

As always i enjoyed a socializing, enlightening and rewarding time! The meetup had a mixed crowd of those with natural hair, relaxed hair, weaves, braids, and transitioners so please know that everyone is welcome, at the end of the day the aim is to teach us the best way to approach our hair, skin, nutrition and ultimately live a better life.
UPDATE: Next Meetup is Saturday, August 6th 2016.

Toodles!XooX