African Beauty Secrets???

Hey Nonie the way urs used to be done(with the 4 rows) was the way I used to get my hair done too... brings back memory...
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okay... i asked my mommy and my cuz and was a bit disappointed that the only thing I could get from them was threading and black soap "Alata Samina" http://www.essexcounty.ca/african_black_soap.htm
but then i was reminded by them that shea butter, jojoba and aloe vera all come from Africa and have been used..alot of it is so mainstream I have forgotten...I will do some research to learn more on Palm nut oil though...there could be something there...I will report my findings
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[ QUOTE ]
OnceUponAtime said:
Is this an example of threaded hair?
hair_1.jpg

Image from a Ghanian hairstylist exhibition.

I don't ever recall seeing or hearing about this until you ladies posted.

[/ QUOTE ]when i was a child and went home to Ghana with my mother, they threaded my hair just like this!!! the thread was black and shiny...it was really pretty...wow, this picture brought back some memories!!
~T~
 
[ QUOTE ]
aikaa
Our mothers are similar, my weekly ritual was to have my hair washed and conditioned with Capirelax products, blowdried and hot combed (I used to scream), then she would grease my hair with TCB or La India, then put Paltas oil on my scalp then wrap my hair with black wool or cotton for school.

[/ QUOTE ] WHOA!!!! this brings back memories My mum did the same thing but without the wrapping - just plaits /images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I want to learn how to do silky dreads. That style is quickly growing on me. I like it, but I won't let too many people play in my hair so I'm going to learn how to do this on my own
 
My mom used to braid/plait my hair with thread too. The other day I was having a conversation with my cousin, she was thinking of weaving her own hair.:lol: She is no expert of course but she needs something for the week before payday. She doesn't know how to cornrow, so she is thinking of bonding the weave on to her own hair!!! (yes I have begged her to vsit this site, before she goes completely bald.) Anyway I suggested that she she uses the thread method instead of cornrows. Do you think that it would work? Just vertical lines with some hair left out in the front. I'm sure it wouldn't last as long, but it wouldn't be as tight as conrows. She thought I was crazy when I suggested this, but I really think it could work as a short-short term weave method. ( If it works I want the patent on this!!!)
 
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aikaa71 said:
When I was younger, my mum would also do the black thread wraps. She would wash and put la India hair grease (does anyone remember this grease??) on my damp hair and then do the thread wraps will my hair was still damp.
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YES The black thread!!!!! My mum used to do this style for me when i was little, i used to love it because of the silky feel. It's called something like cokhi (forgive me on that i really don't know what the spelling is, i'll have to ask my mum). She would also use a indian hear grease on my scalp.

I had very thick soft hair when i was younger, hardly had it out, and as kids we always had good food no Mcdonalds or junk.
 
I got my hair threaded as well:) It does work. My mother used to use butter when she was little. Uggh the Indian hair oils my mother used, use to Stink! I was so embaressed. I know she used Jasmine oil a lot. The other ones used to have pictures of Indian ladies they probably were Dabur or something. I was always in Cornrows as well. My hair wasn't very long, it was APL. For children if their hair isn't growing and they are under a year- shave it off, it will grow back uniform. Heck my cousins hair was shaved every summer till 5 and now her hair must be past BSL. Its weird going back and seeing all of these bald little girls running around in Niger:lol:
 
:lachen: I stopped using the black thread when i relaxed my hair in september 06. I almost mentioned it when i joined and didnt dare to say it, cause i thought that the ladies in here would think i was crazy.

As a matter of fact, I dont know how to braid at all, Im a horrible braider.I cant do plaits, I can only do my hair using thread. that is it.:perplexed


There is another technique that we use. For those of you who dont know, I have african lineage from ghana and zaire.


When doing plait braids( i hope i said this right...i mean the small braids that are close to the head like that woman who is editor of Essence Magazine). We sometime use a thread to start the braid, that way every single little iddy bitty hair is taken and braided. It does help to grow every singe hair at the temples. I will try to contact my cousins to get a detail explanation of how it is done.

Also we use alot of palm oil. At least in my family. We use palm oil and we do a similar recipe to the ojon products. Will ask my granny when she wakes up how its done. I plan to write it down for myself too.

We braided our hair alot, oiled the scalp and wrapped our hair at night. The women in my family have bra strap hair and beyond. All always told me to stay away from relaxers and remain natural or get braids with natural extensions.

From the age of 0 to 5 my hair has been natural. When mom wanted to straighten my hair a bit, she would do a roller set.

Then when i turned 6, my hair was briefly threaded( black thread) and then i had jherry curls for a while. After that, I started to get long braids( milli vanelli braids as my bros calls it :lachen: )

Do from the age of 6 to the age of 22, I had braids.I greased my scalp religiously, with either hair pouss plus or sulfur 8 hairgrease. My hair was thick and long!!! it was bit past my bra strap(when natural).

From age 22 to now (29): I have been natural, until sept 06.


I have to admit braids are some of the best protective styles out there I am not going to lie. Even when i was wearing wigs, i would use thread on my hair underneath and then wear a wig.
 
I am originally from Angola and in South Angola women put what we call olho de mumpeca in their hair and boy do they have pretty hair, this oil is the same one as the one in the Ojon brand, but of course in its pure form, you can buy it in African stores too. I know that the women in Namibia (Himba tribe) put red clay in their hair and it really grows, they have really long (dirty:( ) hair, but I take it you can wash it off just like henna. I'm sure there are plenty of other secrets but I only know of these two. And of course the black thread thing, it does work!! But only on natural hair, when you relax your hair it'll just break off.
 
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LOL my mom used to use the black thread on my hair but I stopped her when I was like 6! :D Come to think of it, My hair was natural, thick and not shorter than APL as a kid...hmmmm
 
ShaniKeys said:
I am originally from Angola and in South Angola women put what we call olho de mumpeca in their hair and boy do they have pretty hair, this oil is the same one as the one in the Ojon brand, but of course in its pure form, you can buy it in African stores too. I know that the women in Namibia (Himba tribe) put red clay in their hair and it really grows, they have really long (dirty:( ) hair, but I take it you can wash it off just like henna. I'm sure there are plenty of other secrets but I only know of these two. And of course the black thread thing, it does work!! But only on natural hair, when you relax your hair it'll just break off.
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I have used this oil before, I just didnt like the smell. I didnt know Ojon products had oleo de mumpeca in them.
 
aziza said:
I have used this oil before, I just didnt like the smell. I didnt know Ojon products had oleo de mumpeca in them.
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Yes they do, I recognized the smell, and if you ever smell the Ojon Reparative Treatment, you will too :-)
 
nadine1977canada said:
:lachen: Also we use alot of palm oil.

We braided our hair alot, oiled the scalp and wrapped our hair at night.

Do from the age of 6 to the age of 22, I had braids.I greased my scalp religiously, with either hair pouss plus or sulfur 8 hairgrease. My hair was thick and long!!! it was bit past my bra strap(when natural).


I have to admit braids are some of the best protective styles out there I am not going to lie. Even when i was wearing wigs, i would use thread on my hair underneath and then wear a wig.
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1. I love palm oil (to eat and to apply to the hair). I can't wait to end my fast so that I can cook a meal based in palm oil.

2. I have a tiny bit of Hair Pouss plus left!! I found some in a beauty supply store in Orange, NJ. I like the way it smells and it melts so easily. It's one of the things I experimented with on myhair line. When I'm in braids, I coat my vulnerable areas with it at night.

3. I agree. Braids, natural or with extensions, are a wonderful protective style as long as they're installed correctly and cared for properly.

Nice thread. Thanks to whomever bumped it up. :) I just read a book set in Nigeria called Half of a Yellow Sun and the food descriptions jollof rice, gharri, chicken in palm oil, pepper soup had me SALIVATING!!!

p1
 
ShaniKeys said:
I am originally from Angola and in South Angola women put what we call olho de mumpeca in their hair and boy do they have pretty hair, this oil is the same one as the one in the Ojon brand, but of course in its pure form, you can buy it in African stores too. I know that the women in Namibia (Himba tribe) put red clay in their hair and it really grows, they have really long (dirty:( ) hair, but I take it you can wash it off just like henna. I'm sure there are plenty of other secrets but I only know of these two. And of course the black thread thing, it does work!! But only on natural hair, when you relax your hair it'll just break off.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've heard of the red clay thing. As a matter of fact, one of my friends and I tried to figure out how we could do this to our hair and see what kind of benefit it would give. Well, since I can't see myself walking around with dirt in my hair all day this is what we came up with:

1/2 cup of Olive oil
3 tablespoons Shea Butter oil
4 tablespoons of kaolin clay
Put it on wet or dry hair before you wash it. I let it sit for 20min under the dryer with a shower cap on. Then I shampoo, deep condition, ect... as normal.

I tried it for a month and what I noticed is that my hair is a lot stronger and shinier, a really deep shine. Also my follicles are smoother and sturdier(if that makes since). Next time I want to replace the Olive oil with Shea Butter and the Shea Butter with Aloe Juice or palm oil and see how that works out.
 
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I remember doing those threaded hair styles on a few friends when I was younger. It's really weird, but your hair grows really fast doing that. It may have to do with the fact that is some form of protective styling. I agree with the ladies that mentioned something about people wearing their hair short, because they had to wear it that way till a certain point. My sister used to thread her hair back in the days, and it grew so fast. It was really thick for sure and about BSL when stretched.

I think a lot of the fast growth might be due to mostly diet. We eat a lot of stews, which has mostly tomatoes, onions, meat and so on. Lot's of soups like okra soup, vegetable soups and some soups with ingredients you don't find here easily:look: lot's and lot's of vegetables, and fish.

We eat lots of fruit like coconut, papaya, avocado, bananas and so many other African fruits you don't find here. I never really payed attention to the products, I moved here when I was younger. I will look into finding out more info's.

I really do believe that your hair grows from mostly what you put into your body, not really as much as to what you put on the outside. If vitamins works for you, just imagine if you were eating the actually food that those vitamins are suppose to supliment. When I was back home, I never ate processed food. I tried my first processed food when I came her, and I don't hardly eat like that anymore.
 
rinygirl6 said:
Yeah I've heard of the red clay thing. As a matter of fact, one of my friends and I tried to figure out how we could do this to our hair and see what kind of benefit it would give. Well, since I can't see myself walking around with dirt in my hair all day this is what we came up with:

1/2 cup of Olive oil
3 tablespoons Shea Butter oil
4 tablespoons of kaolin clay
Put it on wet or dry hair before you wash it. I let it sit for 20min under the dryer with a shower cap on. Then I shampoo, deep condition, ect... as normal.

I tried it for a month and what I noticed is that my hair is a lot stronger and shinier, a really deep shine. Also my follicles are smoother and sturdier(if that makes since). Next time I want to replace the Olive oil with Shea Butter and the Shea Butter with Aloe Juice or palm oil and see how that works out.
Click to expand...
Oh great, where did you find the kaolin clay?
 
Oh me me me!

I'm Fulani (North Nigerian) and we're known for our hair (still waiting on mine once i drop the damn scissors!) Anyways lele (henna) is old news we used it to decorate and wash our hair. Then there's Main Shanu (its sort of buttery cheese from well a cow), we use that the way you would hair mayonnaise. Wiwi (Indian hemp) we mix with some of the cheese for the scalp. Palm oil we mix with some herbs and milk for the complexion (and believe me you look good when you come out the smoke!), there's loads more let me get my sis...

I have tried or used most of these and they do work, my main problem with them is the smell, that cheese smells something fierce but makes my hair shiny. Well henna we all know, the palm oil mix thing is a long process so only do it when i go visiting...will come back with more.:look:

My mum's Southern Nigerian (efik) also can be known for their hair, the thread thing yep everytime I went to see my cousins i was 'roped' in (pun intended) ok this is getting long, will come back with more
 
Ok I'm back! Main Kadan (Shea butter) has been mentioned, it's really cool my mum-in law brought me some gorgeous unrefined butter i heat in the microwave for 10 secs and use on my wet coils (well before the braids) very nice also used it on my brand new nephew's skin (you know when they do the peeling thing?) worked like a charm.

She doesn't know what the English (or latin) equivalent is for most of the herbs. But there are these (reddish) sticks you boil and put in a bath filled with VERY hot water and my sister's-in-law law sit in it :bath2:after they've had a baby and their body gets rid of all the excess toxins and stuff after childbirth and they literally shrink back to size! I wish she would let me put up some before and after pics but.... :whip:

There's soooo much stuff and seeing that I've been away from home for long i find it all very fascinating :lol: my in-laws think i'm a bit:crazy: for wanting to use local stuff instead of labelled stuff where i can read ingredients...but the ladies that use these are so gorgeous and they have up to 11 kids with no problems and are fitter than me!
 
hothair said:
Ok I'm back! Main Kadan (Shea butter) has been mentioned, it's really cool my mum-in law brought me some gorgeous unrefined butter i heat in the microwave for 10 secs and use on my wet coils (well before the braids) very nice also used it on my brand new nephew's skin (you know when they do the peeling thing?) worked like a charm.

She doesn't know what the English (or latin) equivalent is for most of the herbs. But there are these (reddish) sticks you boil and put in a bath filled with VERY hot water and my sister's-in-law law sit in it :bath2:after they've had a baby and their body gets rid of all the excess toxins and stuff after childbirth and they literally shrink back to size! I wish she would let me put up some before and after pics but.... :whip:

There's soooo much stuff and seeing that I've been away from home for long i find it all very fascinating :lol: my in-laws think i'm a bit:crazy: for wanting to use local stuff instead of labelled stuff where i can read ingredients...but the ladies that use these are so gorgeous and they have up to 11 kids with no problems and are fitter than me!
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OMG, that sounds brilliant! I've only had two kids and I'm already :perplexed:bah:.:lol:

Where can I score some in the US?:sekret:
 
kaybeegee said:
OMG, that sounds brilliant! I've only had two kids and I'm already :perplexed:bah:.:lol:

Where can I score some in the US?:sekret:
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I wish I could say, but I don't even know what they are, she (mum in law) brings them with her along with a whole bunch of other herbs all I know is for at least the first 40 days after childbirth she has a fit if her daughters drink or eat anything colder than room temperature, she believes the heat, hot water etc encourages the toxins to be washed out of their system, they (her daughter's) hardly argue she has 9 kids from ages 10 to 30 and looks good! I don't have kids yet so haven't tried them, but when i go in about a month or so i'll try and find out even the local names for the sticks and herbs and share with you guys! :yep:
 
hothair said:
I wish I could say, but I don't even know what they are, she (mum in law) brings them with her along with a whole bunch of other herbs all I know is for at least the first 40 days after childbirth she has a fit if her daughters drink or eat anything colder than room temperature, she believes the heat, hot water etc encourages the toxins to be washed out of their system, they (her daughter's) hardly argue she has 9 kids from ages 10 to 30 and looks good! I don't have kids yet so haven't tried them, but when i go in about a month or so i'll try and find out even the local names for the sticks and herbs and share with you guys! :yep:
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I'd be thankful for any info you could pass on HH! :) It seems like it's an effort to eat well, exercise enough, de-stress etc. in Europe and the States. If I just sort of 'go along with the flow' here in the US, not being conscientious about self-care & diet, I end up feeling and looking a mess.
So, I love learning what ppl worldwide do to keep their health & beauty.:think::up:
 
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