Hello Ladies and Gents,
I’m taking a break from my vacation series to bring you a highly-requested update. Guess who made it to the TWO YEAR NATURAL mark last Saturday! *whoop whoop*!!! I always planned to straighten my hair on my 2 year anniversary but I was so surprised at how nervous I was about doing it the closer it got. My biggest concern was heat damage and not knowing any reputable stylists in Lagos that I felt comfortable with. Which led to…
My Attempt to Straighten My Hair Myself #FAIL
I turned to Instagram for #straightnatural hair inspiration and Youtube-d a few video tutorials. After a few days I convinced myself that I could straighten my hair MYSELF – so I proceeded to prep my hair.
Step #1 – Hot Oil Treatment/ Pre-poo: I mixed coconut oil, jojoba, tea tree and vitamin E oil in a ceramic bowl. Heated it in a microwave for 30 seconds and used it to saturate my hair (concentrating on my ends). I wrapped my hair up in cling film and let it sit overnight.
Step # 2 – Wash and Deep Condition: The next morning I washed my hair with a clarifying ORS Aloe Shampoo and deep-conditioned with Amika Olive Oil Replenishing Masque and Shea Moisture Raw Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque under my steamer for 30 minutes.
Step # 3 – Moisturise and Blow Dry: After towel-drying my hair I moisturized my hair with my Cantu leave –in, sealed with some of my oil blend and used a little of the Fantasia IC Hair Polisher Heat Protectant Straightening Serum (got this from Casa Bella). Then using the Tension Method I blow dried my hair in 4 sections.
 |
| Not the smoothese blow out lol |
Step #4 – Flat Iron: So I heated up my GHDs and started sectioning my
hair. I used a rat-tail comb and did a few sections using the Chase Method. I
was FREAKED out by the amount of smoke and hissing sound. This is as far as I
got before I stopped and decided to go see a professional.
 |
| EEKKK – Split ends! |
My Professional Salon Experience with Wondrous
My lovely friends on my Instagram recommended a few great natural hair stylists in Lagos but I decided to go see Wondrous at Posh Salon. I had met her at a previous natural hair meetup and she seemed to really know her stuff. And it didn’t hurt that everyone I knew that went to see her only had good things to say. So I called in and made a 2pm appointment last Saturday. I intended to take pictures of her salon to share with you but it was way too busy. It’s been such a long time since I visited a salon that I forgot
how busy they can get.
how busy they can get.
When I got there, Wondorus explained to me that her assistant would wash, condition and detangle my hair and she would blow dry and straighten it. Her assistant saw me about 10 minutes after that. She detangled my hair from ends to roots with a wide-tooth comb in sections – needless to say, I was impressed. After that I had to wait for about an hour for Wondrous. She blowdried my hair with a
comb attachment and used a Jane Carter Creamy Leave-in that acted as a heat protectant and smelled gorgeous. Then she straightened my hair with a flat-iron I didn’t notice any smoke or hissing sounds and she was extremely gentle with handling my hair. This process took about an hour and a half. Here’s my hair immediately after she was done:
comb attachment and used a Jane Carter Creamy Leave-in that acted as a heat protectant and smelled gorgeous. Then she straightened my hair with a flat-iron I didn’t notice any smoke or hissing sounds and she was extremely gentle with handling my hair. This process took about an hour and a half. Here’s my hair immediately after she was done:
I decided to get a trim after that because I couldn’t even remember the last time I got one and Wondrous recommended one too. In the end she curled my hair and I left the salon looking like a 2011 version of myself in my relaxed days lol.
I paid N7,000 total for the service (N5,000 for straightening and N2,000 for the trim). All in all I think it was a fair price, I saw Wondrous work on a few people’s hair while I waited for her and she’s an excellent stylist. A few criticisms though – my hair smelled like it was almost burned afterwards – OK that sounds scary, more like it smelled like heated hair lol. It freaked me out a little and I didn’t help my heat damage fears but I think its to be expected. I also felt like there could have been a better consultation. I pretty much just said what I wanted to get done and that was it. I noticed my hair was breaking around my edges and asked her about it and she just said it could be the way I style my hair but she didn’t really recommend anything. Also when she was done there was no advice on how to style my hair or maintain it at night. This might feel like I’m nitpicking but I would have liked to learn something or pick up some tips – that’s part of the whole professional salon experience after all. I also would’ve preferred to be told what products were being used instead of having to ask every time. But these are all very minimal issues and I guess I should have been more vocal and asked questions. All in all I think the price was fair for the experience and (depending on how well my hair reverts when I wash it out) I’d recommend Wondrous to anyone.
Length Check and More Hair Pictures
After my trim (Wondrous took off about 1 – 1 ½ inches) I measured
my hair:
my hair:
Back – 8 inches
Front – 7 ½ inches
Side – 7 ½ inches
Here are some pictures of my hair 3 days after I got it straightened as you can see its starting to revert a little but I actually prefer this texture to it being bone straight:
I honestly am really excited by the growth. I’d say this is about as long as my hair ever was during my relaxed days so getting here in just 2 years is amazing. Anything from here on is progress to me! I definitely slacked with my hair care in the past 7-8 months so I’m excited to get back on it. I’m hoping to reach armpit length by year 3 so let’s go!
If you’d like to see Wondrous you can make an appointment by calling 08176467780. Her salon’s at 8B Fabac Close off Ligali Ayorinde VI and tell her I sent you! Have you ever straightened your natural hair? How was your experience? And do you have any hair goals? Or good salon recommendations in Lagos? I hope you enjoyed this really long post – it took ages to write so well done and thank you if you managed to read it to the end lol. I’ll speak to you soon.
*This post is not sponsored
Love your hair cuz. Looks super cute. A tip regarding flat ironing. Before blow dry put a little leave in conditioner and argon oil which will both act as heat protectant and moisturiser. Section hair then blow dry on medium heat trying to get the hair as straight as u can. The more thorough the blow dry the less heat you'll need with the straightner. Once dry you can staighten. No need to reapply more product. The burning was either bcos you had too much product in your hair or your irons were too hot. I did mine myself and I followed these steps and still had movement and body
Awww thanks cuz, I appreciate the tips I definitely will try your way next time because I failed terribly lol
Your hair is gorgeous….
Thanks hun x
Your hair is lovely. Bet i'm gonna straighten my hair too when i'm two years natural. Nice blog u have got here. Would be popping in once in a while.
http://www.leeznijis.blogspot.com
Thanks Elizabeth 🙂
I also prefer you hair when its reverting, it has more body and volume. But overall your hair deserves a big round of applause. Lovely hair colour and great growth result. I don't feel bad again about my less than 7 inch hair in 1.5 years.
Aww thanks. But you shouldn't feel bad regardless.. Everyone's hair grows at different rates, as long as you're taking care of it and doing your part.
Happy Anniversary, your hair looks lovely!! I've been thinking about straightening too, but the fear of heat damage is holding me tight! But your experience is very encouraging so thank you for sharing!
K.L's Natural Beauty Bar in Dolphin is quite nice (my hair was treated with great care). I haven't been to the Savvy Chic Hair & Beauty Hub yet, but I intend to. I feel confident about trusting my hair to Dabs!
Thank you so much for your comment. My hair reverted fine and I have no heat damage (I'll post pictures in a few weeks) so if you're thinking about it go for it! And thanks for the recommendations. Will definitely try Dabs out, she's lovely x
I think your hair has grown so well and it looks good straightened. It would be great to see my hair in its actual length tho. But… Naa x_x
Lol! Thanks hun, Bite the bullet, I was really nervous but it reverted perfectly, no heat damage:)
Very nice! I got my hair blow-dried at KL's Naturals early this year and I've been recommending her to people who live on the island. For the mainland, I would have gone to O'Naturals. Isn't it great how many natural hair salons are popping up in Lagos?!
P.S. Are you participating in any pop-up market thingies any time soon?
Hi Berry, tthanks for your comment. KL's Naturals is in Dolphin right? I'd like to give them a try. And I'll be at the Naija Hair Can Grow event next Sunday at The White Space, you? x
Happy Anniversay!! You retained so much length in 2 years? Amazing! Nothing is better than a nice trim after straightening the hair. It just looks absolutely beautiful. You should wear your hair out more often too…this is too beautiful not to be flaunted!
Aww thank you so much, I really enjoyed having my hair out. I think I will wear it out more 🙂
Your hair has grownnnnn! It looks amazing. I'm about to reach my one year mark next month so I'm pretty excited! Neks x
Thanks hun and congratulations in advance on hitting the one year mark 🙂
Hey! Can you pls recommend a place to get a hair steamer in Lagos? Thanks!