Cocoa Butter vs Shea Butter

About three months ago I decided to try out Cocoa butter as a hair daily moisturiser.  I read about the benefits of cocoa butter. I was curious to find out whether this butter could work well for my fine hair, as I many people claimed that it does not weigh the hair down due to being lighter than Shea butter.

Cocoa butter benefits and hair uses

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Cocoa butter is obtained from whole cacoa beans, which are fermented, roasted, and then separated from their hulls. About 54–58% of the residue is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter contains a variety of nutrients including vitamins, potassium, calcium and magnesium. It is a good moisturiser and works effectively against dry and itchy scalp. Cocoa butter stimulates the growth of hair follicles and increases hair flexibility. It also protects the hair from chemical and chlorine damage.   

Cocoa butter can be applied to hair overnight as a pre wash deep conditioner treatment to make even the driest hair feel softer. It can be used in shampoos, conditioners and in conjunction with other hair butters as a moisturising treatment. It can also be used directly on scalp and massaged into the hair.

I liked what I read about Cocoa butter so I did a whipped Cocoa butter mix using the following:  

50g Cocoa Butter

2 table spoons of almond oil

2 table spoons of jojoba oil

1 table spoon of olive oil

1 tea spoon of vegetable glycerine

3 drops of lavender essential oil  

I whipped all the ingredients together and used it for my hair.

Shea Butter

Shea Tree

I fell in love with Shea butter when I went natural in 2011! I love everything about this natural ingredient including its smell and texture. I have written a post on the goodness of Shea butter which includes the whipped Shea recipe I use, so check it out here.

So which butter was better for my hair?

I was disappointed in the Cocoa butter! It just did not moisturise my hair enough. It was as though it did not give it the nourishment that Shea butter does. Yes it is true what I read about Cocoa butter being light on the hair and therefore not weighing it down, but to be honest, this has not been a problem for me in relation to Shea butter.

I used the Cocoa butter mix for six or seven weeks to give it a good try, but my hair just did not like it! It became drier and brittle even though all other aspects of my hair care regimen stayed the same. So for me Shea butter is the winner. This also reminded me that it’s OK to stick to the products that work for you.  So if it isn't broken don’t fix it is the moral of the Shea versus Cocoa butter story for me. I have returned to using my whipped Shea mix and my hair is now recovered from the experiment.

Which hair butter works best for you? 

Marisa. 

Luxurious Deep Conditioning & Detangling Treat for Hair

Yesterday I did a deep conditioning treatment that also doubled up as a great way to detangle my strands. I often use oil during the process of detangling to add sleep to the hair and preventing breakage . This is a variation from using conditioner during the  detangling process. As my hair gets longer it seems to need more moisture at the ends. In order to help my hair to retain moisture I decided to use honey as the base for the deep conditioning treatment. I came up with the following concoction:

Ø  3 tbs of runny honey

Ø  2 tbs of coconut oil

Ø  1 tbs of olive oil

Ø  2 tbs of avocado oil

Ø  1 egg yoke

Info on  the conditioning cap

Mix all the ingredients together.  The honey and egg makes the consistency of the oils thicker allowing for the mix to be applied to the hair with my fingers. I used this mix for adding sleep to the hair during the finger detangling process.  Once this process was complete, I covered my hair with a shower cap and used my Aphrodite hair conditioning cap for 90 minutes.

The Aphrodite conditioning cap heats the hair allowing the oils to penetrate the hair shaft enhancing the conditioning process. I used the time to relax and watch a film fit for a Saturday afternoon in rainy England!

I then washed my hair as usual. The result was amazingly soft, moisturised and shiny hair. I will certainly use this recipe again. My Afro is now ready for Christmas. 

 Enjoy your festive season and keep nurturing your hair.

Marisa X 

Protective Style Update

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This my forth week of the protective style learning curve. So far so good, I found some nice styles to try out and each week I look forward to wearing something different.

Week 2 - Vintage Roll, Tuck & Pin

I opted for the roll, tuck and pin style. This style is so easy that I did it on Monday morning. I usually do my hair for the week on Sunday eve just in case it takes me longer than expected. This prevents me from getting flustered before work should the intended style not work out...  My ability to roll & tuck is improving as it took about 3 minutes! I kept the style for 5 days. One of my friends described this style as vintage and told me she loves the way it looks on me, hence the title of the paragraph. Here is one I have done earlier.

Week 3 – Retro Updo

I returned to flat twisting and did a variation of the  Retro Updo.  Instead of two flat twists I did three. My pompadour was made with two strand twists. This allowed me to keep the style for 5 days. By Friday I missed seeing my hair out, so in the morning I decided to free the Afro and enjoy my curls by wearing a Puff.

Week 4 - Yet Another Flat Twist Updo
This style took me about one hour to achieve but it was worth it. I prefer it to my strait up flat twist updo as this looks much nicer. So I will definitely do it again. Interestingly I had come across this style a few months ago but was put off trying it because it looked difficult to achieve. Actually it turned out to be easy to make. I am pleased that my hair is long enough to do it too. Check out the tutorial here.

Marisa. X    

Weekend Hair

I went to two parties this weekend. I wanted to move out of my Twist Out comfort zone and do something different with my hair for both parties. On Friday night I opted for the Afro Puff as it is a quick and easy style. My Hair had great curl definition due to being in flat twists all week. 

On Saturday I was more adventurous. After looking at a few tutorials I decided to try out the Twisted Side Fro Hawk. Although my hair is shorter and has less volume than the one on the video, the style worked equally well for me. I liked it and will certainly do it again. Here is a tutorial on how to achieve it. 



Marisa X

Protective Style Learning Curve

Simphiwe Dona

Autumn is beautiful season. It is a time to enjoy long country walks and observe wonderful changes in nature. But it also means that winter is on its way. As the weather gets progressively cooler I feel as though my hair could do with a rest. I noticed that I am less enthusiastic about styling my hair in the morning, as it is dark, raining and cold outside. Therefore I decided to challenge myself to learn a variety of style that will protect may hair during autumn and winter. I will be aiming for protective styles that can last between 5 to 7 days.

Hopefully this protective style learning curve will help me expand my repertoire of hair styles. The challenge will be to find and or adapt styles to suit my hair characteristics (fine and lacking in volume).

So I started the challenge with a 6 flat twists updo. I did not manage to get a good enough picture for the blog L. Basically the six flat twists met at the grown of my head. I then used an elastic band to keep them together and folded the ends of the hair around the elastic band and held it together with cute hair pins. I decided on this style for the week because I will attend two parties over the weekend, Friday & Saturday, so the multiple flat twists will then make a nice twist out as a base for styling my hair for the parties. 

Marisa x

Avocado & Banana Deep Conditioning

I love to nurture my hair with natural ingredients. There is no better way of doing so than by using ingredients readily available in the kitchen. Today I made a deep conditioner for my hair with a banana and an avocado that needed using.

DIY Recipe

      One ripe avocado

      One ripe banana

      3 table spoons of coconut cream

      Two table spoons of honey 

      Two tea spoons of a avocado oil (or any other oil of your choice)

Blend the ingredients for 3 minutes or so until all ingredients are well mixed together. This mix has a thick consistency which means that it does not run down my face or neck.  Apply it to dry hair and leave it for 45 minutes. Then wash as usual.

I love this deep conditioning recipe. It leaves my hair soft and shiny for a few days. There was no need to detangle it further after the wash.  There you have it, a healthy 100% natural treatment that is easy to make and inexpensive. 

Keep loving your Afro.

Marisa. 

Bobby Pins

Hair pins are useful tools for the natural hair girl. I rarely used them prior to going natural.  However, since I discovered the roll and tuck hair styles, bobby pins became my best friends.  This increased use of hair pins has lead me to notice that my bobby pins do not last very long. I am disappointed by how quickly they become ineffective and need to be replaced. The top problems I encountered include:

1. How frequently and quickly the tips come off. This then leads to the metal ripping through the hair. 
2. They get stretched out of shape after a few uses.
3. Too much or not enough grip.

A couple of weeks ago I run out of bobby pins. I remembered this whilst shopping and bought some at Sainsbury's. They turned out to be too small and did not hold my hair in place. Yesterday, I bought Goody Colour Collection pack at Boots. Although I wanted that particular size they did not have a pack with black pins only. So I ended up with a combination of black and brown bobby pins. Goody's pins are advertised as having great grip. I used it today and indeed the pins have good grip. However, they already started to lose their shape. I wonder how long their tips will last...

Is it just me having this problem?

A quick search lead me to MetaGrip apparently a great brand of Bobby pins. Unfortunately it does not look like they are available in the UK...

Can anyone recommend a good brand of Bobby pins that will last and can be found in the UK?

Marisa. X