*UPDATED* Grow Your Hair! MAG Starter Pack

*UPDATE: I've added 3 more hair tools (items with "*" next to them) to this Starter Pack list. Check it out.*

Hi, ladies. I want to say a big "Welcome!" to all my new readers. And a warm "Hey, darlings!" to my veteran readers. 

                          

You're frustrated with your hair! I've been there too. 

At a time in my life, my hair was the same length for over 10 years! I've had that devastating salon setback. I've been so incredibly stressed out my hair has fallen out in clumps at some point. I've lost my edges more than once! I've broken combs, omo, plenty combs. I've had hair so rough and difficult to comb that hairstylists in the past have refused to attend to me in their salons.

But guess what? My hair is flourishing now! 

So you're not alone; I'm right here to help!

Let's grow your hair too, shall we?

Here's What You Need:

- Deep conditioner
- Shampoo

- An oil

- Hair moisturizer

- Apple cider vinegar

- Clean, filtered water

- A wide tooth comb

That's it. I'm keeping this list simple, because you'll find that the more simple your hair routine is, the easier it is to keep up.

Ngwa, megharịa ahụ (Get moving!) Gather your hair tools, questions, and comments, and let's get you started. 

Until next time, cheers to healthier hair and a happier you!

Mane Show: Ninja bun

Happy Thursday, beautiful people! I hope all of you are having a fabulous week.

Some weeks ago I had a chance to celebrate one of my girlies as she had a birthday bash + launch of her new store HOUSE OF OBAJI (HOO) in Lagos.

The House of Obaji Madam herself (rocking a HOO green dress & HOO powder pink patterned two piece)

Photos Courtesy of: House of Obaji

My boo arrived in style, of course, and we turned up!

Here's a peek of my look. It's a mega ninja bun I've been rocking for the past two weeks.

            

I achieved this hairstyle using aloe vera gel and shea butter and it took about 7 minutes to put together.

           

                                                

           

 What do you ladies think?

Drink Your Way to Healthier Hair

It's important that I mention this: you cannot have healthy hair if you don't have a healthy diet.

Photo credit: Photo Pin

No matter how many times you moisturize, deep condition, or wash your hair, you won't see much progress unless you also clean up your diet (i.e. watch what you eat on a daily basis) 

It's like when you're trying to lose weight; you can do all the sit-ups and jumping jacks you want, but you won't shed much weight until you change your eating habits.

Here's the first step to a healthier you: mind what you drink. 

Mane DOs: 

- Water
- 100% fruit juice from concentrate (Be careful, though; if the product is true to its word it'll have only 2 ingredients on its ingredients list: [insert your favorite fruit here] concentrate & water. No additives, no artificial sweeteners. Heck, no sweeteners at all. 

- Fresh fruit juices (these don't come in a box; buy fruits from the market & put your blender to use!)

- Blended vegetable juice (these also don't come in a box; grab that blender!)

Mane DON'Ts:

- Fruit drinks (yes, there's a difference; fruit drinks are like Kool-Aid, bitter lemon, Snapple, 5-Alive, etc.) 

- Soda/Pop/Mineral (different parts of the world call them different things; but these are basically Coke, Sprite, etc.)

- Malt drink 

Mane Tip: Add slices of fruit to your water. I like to use lemon. It's cheap, easy to find, flavors the water, and speeds up digestion (which is awesome for weight loss or weight maintenance!) 

Before I started my healthy hair journey, I used to drink orange juice ALL the time. My cousins used to tease me about this, by the way; they never understood how someone could drink o.j. 'round the clock. "O.j. is for breakfast! Try something new!" they'd always say. I only drank water occasionally, when I was really, really thirsty (usually after dance rehearsals or workout sessions). 

But when I started drinking 3-4 bottles each day, I noticed that my hair was able to retain more length in a shorter amount of time (in short, it seemed like my hair was growing "faster").

So try it out. Next time you sit to eat, go for water instead of soda. And when you're working at your computer, take a 5-minute water break and grab a glass to drink. Gradually increase your water intake each week, and in 3 months time you'll see that you'll even crave water before it's time for you to drink!