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African Beauty Secrets???

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I was all pumped up to get my hair threaded until I saw the post about only doing it on natural hair. I'm transitioning and most of my hair is still relaxed.

I had already started looking up instructions on how to teach myself to do this and anyone interested is welcome to the info:

http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Wraps-Klutz-Akers-Johnson/dp/1570541639
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Hair-Wraps
http://www.klutz.com/catalog/product/1133
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=29941&page=6

Also and interested in the clay and the herbs to soak in.

I'd hate for this thread to get lost. :nono:

***o.k. back to Google***
 
lejardinier said:
My sister-in-law is from Sudan. She has a huge tub of brown mud under her sink that she uses to clean her skin and hair. She also has three bags of dried mud/herb flakes in the freezer. What is it, you might ask? She can't explain it to me. She has given me some to use. You add a little water to a small amount in a bowl; rub it all over your body and then rinse it off. You don't need lotion or anything after you dry off. She also mixes some with henna and puts it on her waist length hair for a treatment a couple of times a month. It has a rose/amber smell.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking this clay might be rhassoul because it is brownish-grey when it's wet. If the clay isn't wet when you see it, it might be bentonite or multani mitti.
 
Have any of you naturals tried the black thread thing in recent years? My mom used to do it on my hair when I was little but I haven`t done it in ages, I`m thinking about doing it again...

Some more African beauty secrets:
-When I was relaxed, my mum used to put egg yolk on my hair, let it harden up and then rinse it with beer.
-Women in Luanda use avocado as a mask, tomato juice and garlic for their edges. (not all at the same time of course)
 
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Nigerian checking in

1. Used black soap to bathe, does not smell nice and fruity because it contains no perfumes, but leaves your skin moisturized, cleared up my blemishes

2. Shea butter on the hair (even though I hate the smell of unrefined shea butter)

3. Olive oil or Palm oil on your stomach daily the minute you find out that you are pregnant, prevents stretch marks

4. olive oil on the hair

5. All naturals must sleep in braids to prevent matting

6. I also grew up doing egg treatments to my hair, and beer rinses.

7. Lastly Henna on fingernails and hair
 
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yuriko said:
Nigerian checking in

1. Used black soap to bathe, does not smell nice and fruity because it contains no perfumes, but leaves your skin moisturized, cleared up my blemishes

2. Shea butter on the hair (even though I hate the smell of unrefined shea butter)

3. Olive oil or Palm oil on your stomach daily the minute you find out that you are pregnant, prevents stretch marks

4. Oil oil on the hair

5. All naturals must sleep in braids to prevent matting

6. I also grew up doing egg treatments to my hair, and beer rinses.

7. Lastly Henna on fingernails and hair
Click to expand...


how do you do Number 7?

what brand of black soap do you use?
 
gn1g said:
how do you do Number 7?

what brand of black soap do you use?
Click to expand...

I actually have not henna'd my hair or nails in years. I plan to start up with henna on my hair again in the summer

I actually normally use locally made liquid black soap from my village, made by my relatives. But if I run out, I buy "Dudu Osun", they carry it in most African stores, but you can google it and buy it from online vendors (it is a Nigerian Brand); it works fine but I hate paying for something that I can get for free, besides the local home type is the best
 
yuriko said:
I actually have not henna'd my hair or nails in years. I plan to start up with henna on my hair again in the summer

I actually normally use locally made liquid black soap from my village, made by my relatives. But if I run out, I buy "Dudu Osun", they carry it in most African stores, but you can google it and buy it from online vendors (it is a Nigerian Brand); it works fine but I hate paying for something that I can get for free, besides the local home type is the best
Click to expand...

Hm, how do you henna your nails? And what are the benefits?
 
Bri505 said:
Hm, how do you henna your nails? And what are the benefits?
Click to expand...

I googled this information about henna for nails; far as I know it makes your nails hard, prevents them from chipping, is permanent; but mostly because it was a tradition at festivals

Some of the oldest and most widespread henna applications are those for fingernails. Fingernails consist of keratin, the same protein material as skin and hair, so henna stains fingernails in the same way as it does skin or hair. Henna strengthens fingernails and cuticles by binding to the keratin strands. Henna also deters fungal infections of the nails. These qualities were important to women who did hard agricultural work in soggy irrigated fields, grinding grain and other household tasks, yet had to keep their fingertips smooth for weaving and sewing, or who simply wanted to look nice and not suffer from split nails and cuticles.

There was a painful way that they would use a leaf to apply hot hot henna to the nails, but you can avoid the pain and apply this way

HOW TO HENNA NAILS
henna_nails.jpg
Henna stains nails a brilliant orange and will last as long as the nail is there! When the nail grows, the base will not have color, but the rest of the nail will still be bright orange. The tips of the nails will lighten from wear but will never appear chipped. Henna can be re-applied to nails every 3-4 weeks to avoid the "half-moon" look. Henna is not only a healthy alternative to polish, but it looks unique and lasts a long time too!

  1. You can use the same paste you decorate your skin or hair with to color your nails.
  2. It’s easiest to use a Jacquard Bottle or a mylar cone to apply the henna to your nails.
  3. Be careful not to get henna on the skin around your nails for it will look messy and will be hard to correct later.
  4. Apply a thick coat of henna to nail and let dry (about 30-60 mins).
  5. Leave paste on for 3 hours to overnight. The longer the paste stays on, the deeper the color will be.
  6. Remove paste with lemon juice. Keep water off nails for at least 12 hours if you are able.
  7. Color will take a couple days to fully develop. Nails will appear bright orange at first, then darken and deepen a bit after a couple days.
TIP: Apply a coat of *liquid latex to the nail and skin around the nail after the paste dries. The paste will re-wet underneath the layer of latex to provide maximum staining. The latex will also prevent the paste from smooshing onto the skin. What we normally do at HennaMe is apply the henna before bed, apply the latex, then wrap fingers with toilet paper and go to sleep, removing the latex and henna in the morning.

 
yuriko said:
I googled this information about henna for nails; far as I know it makes your nails hard, prevents them from chipping, is permanent; but mostly because it was a tradition at festivals

Some of the oldest and most widespread henna applications are those for fingernails. Fingernails consist of keratin, the same protein material as skin and hair, so henna stains fingernails in the same way as it does skin or hair. Henna strengthens fingernails and cuticles by binding to the keratin strands. Henna also deters fungal infections of the nails. These qualities were important to women who did hard agricultural work in soggy irrigated fields, grinding grain and other household tasks, yet had to keep their fingertips smooth for weaving and sewing, or who simply wanted to look nice and not suffer from split nails and cuticles.

There was a painful way that they would use a leaf to apply hot hot henna to the nails, but you can avoid the pain and apply this way

HOW TO HENNA NAILS
henna_nails.jpg
Henna stains nails a brilliant orange and will last as long as the nail is there! When the nail grows, the base will not have color, but the rest of the nail will still be bright orange. The tips of the nails will lighten from wear but will never appear chipped. Henna can be re-applied to nails every 3-4 weeks to avoid the "half-moon" look. Henna is not only a healthy alternative to polish, but it looks unique and lasts a long time too!



  1. You can use the same paste you decorate your skin or hair with to color your nails.
  2. It’s easiest to use a Jacquard Bottle or a mylar cone to apply the henna to your nails.
  3. Be careful not to get henna on the skin around your nails for it will look messy and will be hard to correct later.
  4. Apply a thick coat of henna to nail and let dry (about 30-60 mins).
  5. Leave paste on for 3 hours to overnight. The longer the paste stays on, the deeper the color will be.
  6. Remove paste with lemon juice. Keep water off nails for at least 12 hours if you are able.
  7. Color will take a couple days to fully develop. Nails will appear bright orange at first, then darken and deepen a bit after a couple days.
TIP: Apply a coat of *liquid latex to the nail and skin around the nail after the paste dries. The paste will re-wet underneath the layer of latex to provide maximum staining. The latex will also prevent the paste from smooshing onto the skin. What we normally do at HennaMe is apply the henna before bed, apply the latex, then wrap fingers with toilet paper and go to sleep, removing the latex and henna in the morning.
Click to expand...


OMG!!! I remember as a kid applying this mashed up leaf/plant mixed with some type of oil and leaving it on my finger, after a couple hours, it would turn my nails bright orange and the color stayed until my nails grew out!!! It never occured to me until i read this post that it was henna!!!!:blush::)
 
Chichi said:
I know that when we were kids, our Mom used to wrap our hair in black thread. I think that they call them silky dreads now but back then the kids thought that we had snakes growing out of our scalps
lachen70.gif
.

Anyway, now that I think about it that was a protective style because our ends were totally wrapped in the thread --- and boy did our hair grow. Mom used to do that along with greasing our scalps regularly.
smile.gif


Chichi
bdance.gif
Click to expand...


Same here - Granny wrapped our braids in thread too. She would actually take apart a hair net. Man that takes me back.
 
i Love this thread. Keep them secrets coming. I am going to see if I can find some Palm oil or hemp oil...if that even exists to make a spray for my babies.
 
hothair said:
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
Click to expand...
Do you know what it is called in Ojon because they have palm oil, Serenoa Serrulata and Prunus africana. Do you know which one it is??
 
I am not African but my friend who is Ethipian told me about Baobab oil, which is high in vitamins A and C. The fruit is from Africa's baobab tree, dubbed the "Tree of Life", which grows throughout Central Africa providing sustenance and precious oil. You can check out this website I really love their products, even though majority of it is for you skin, you can use the oils on your hair. http://store.africansheabuttercompany.com/index.html
 
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Ah yes the threading. My mom used to do that to my hair when I was younger. I haven't seen women with threads recently because the weaves and wigs are considered more fashionable.(Go figure) It is the best in protective styles and when you take it out, It lengthens your hair and it is breakage free.

My mom used to make palm kernel oil (elu aki), which can be used for your hair, skin and cooking also. It does not have the best smell but it does its job very well.

I'm acne prone and black soap worked very well for me (not the commercial ones though). There used to be these Ghanian ladies who used sell this mixture of black soap, honey and another solid that was pink. And depending on what you wanted done, they would mix the appropriate amt and it works well. I used this mixture on my face and it was as smooth as a baby's you know what but I could never get that exact mixture again.

My mom never used to let us henna but it was very pretty on hausa and fulani friends (think Indian designs).
 
The thread thing is very popular in my country (South Africa) and school kids wear that hairstyle, together with cornrowing. I have not had that hairstyle on my head for yrs since I was in junior school however I can plait it on pple's head and used to when I was still back in SA.

And I agree with a poster who said having a twa in Africa does not mean the person cant grow their hair. It has to do with culture and short natural hair is also seen as beautiful as long hair. I myself was not allowed to keep longer hair til I was 16
 
I love this thread! There is so much to learn from each other. Thanks to everyone who shared. Does anyone have anymore info they want to share?
 
What a great thread! I am subscribing. I wish I had something to contribute to it :look:.
 
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yuriko said:
Nigerian checking in

1. Used black soap to bathe, does not smell nice and fruity because it contains no perfumes, but leaves your skin moisturized, cleared up my blemishes

2. Shea butter on the hair (even though I hate the smell of unrefined shea butter)

3. Olive oil or Palm oil on your stomach daily the minute you find out that you are pregnant, prevents stretch marks

4. olive oil on the hair

5. All naturals must sleep in braids to prevent matting

6. I also grew up doing egg treatments to my hair, and beer rinses.

7. Lastly Henna on fingernails and hair
Click to expand...

Everything you said except numbers 6 and 7 are so real for me! Lol, I was born in here but my parents were both born and raised in Ghana and I heard all this. Once I got old enough for my mom to accept that I will have kids at some point in my life she told me I better use olive oil on my belly. She's had 4 kids and doesnt have a single stretchy.

In Nigeria, do they use that black soap that isn't formed? My mom uses this blackish brownish soap that she adds things too, like that old school Roberts soap and things like that. My skin looks amazing when I use it at night followed by shea butter.

Oh yea, she threaded my hair for years cus she couldn't cornrow (mad random seeing as she has a cosmetology license) and the kids tortured me, lol. But your hair does come out sliky when you take them out.
 

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nadine1977canada said:
: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.
Click to expand...

ok I'm tempted to try this with my wig challenge.:grin: Sounds like this could be a cure for my single strand knots.
 
I know this is a nacropost but I love this thread, I have used Indian treatments and african and I feel that african is best for me, bring on the clay and the henna and slap on the oil !
 
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