My favourite beauty products for the month of May

I’ve decided to do a bit of a beauty product haul this month just to give you a littler further insight into the things that got me really excited over the last few weeks. It consists of make-up, hair and skin products. Some I’ve already been using for a couple of months and others are recent additions to my beauty collection.

LOOKME theLipstick

I absolutely adore bright coloured lipsticks and when I saw this bold orange one I knew I had to have it. The brand is called LOOKME and I’ve never heard of  it before. All I could find out online is that it is a Japanese brand. It wasn’t expensive at all so I’m sure I’ll pick up a few more colours in the coming months.

Betty-Lou Manizer aka The Bronzing Bandit

This must be one of my favourite beauty products ever – an all-in-one bronzer, shimmer and shadow. This is the first time I’ve ever used this type of bronzing product and I’ll be honest, it was the packaging along with the cute name that drew me to it. I’ve since checked out a few tutorials online on exactly how to use it and I am now in love with it. It gives such a lovely sun-kissed glow to the skin, so I’m sure it’s going to see me through the upcoming Summer.

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Maybelline Colour Show Nail Polish

What an amazing colour! Shade 230 in Downtown Red has such a glam feel to it that I wear it as often as I can. And I love the feminine look and feel it gives my hands when I’m wearing it. Such an elegant colour.

Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Moisturizing Smoothie

Finding a really good deep conditioner can be really tricky. Up until fairly recently, I’ve only been making my own deep conditioners, but since time isn’t always on my side I’ve been experimenting with actual product. Carol’s  Daughter Black Vanilla Moisturizing Hair Smoothie honestly lives up to its name. Along with having the most amazing vanilla scent, the smoothie goes on really easily and leaves my hair super moisturised and soft. You don’t have to use a lot of product to get great results either.

Giovanni Smooth  As Silk Deeper Moisture Conditioner

I’ve been trying to find an alternative all-natural conditioner that’s equivalent in feel and slip to Tres Emmé Naturals for ages, simply because the Tres-Emmé Naturals range isn’t available in Japan. After having heard about Giovanni products for a long time you can imagine my delight when I saw Giovanni products in Loft one day. I decided to buy a sample size deeper moisture conditioner and tried it on my hair for the first time about a week ago. Let’s just say that this product gives Tres Emmé some serious competition. Review to follow in the coming weeks…

Tsururi Pore Cleanser

I recently found an amazing Japanese facial scrub that works by absorbing into the pores and pulling out impurities. My facial skin-care routine can actually do with a lot of improvement, which is why I decided to get serious by trying out this scrub. Natural ingredients such as Morccan ghassoul clay, salt and charcoal attracted me to this scrub. It states that it rids the skin of the top dead layer that causes skin to be rough and dull and reveals skin as smooth and supple as a boiled egg!  I’m not so sure about the boiled egg part, but it does leave my skin incredibly smooth and moisturised.

Lip Balms

Currently I’m using 2 lip balms interchangeably: Vecua’s Honey Dew Lip Essence Cream and Rimmel’s Multi Balm in Lychee. Both have subtle aromatic scents and do a god job of keeping my lips soft and moisturised.

There you have it – my current high rotation beauty products. Let me know if you’d like more information on any of these and please share with me below if you think there’s a product I should try. Happy Weekend!

Share the love with The Natural Hair Blog Directory

 

As of today Eleanor J’adore is a happy member of the fabulous Natural Hair Blog Directory, a new resource that was made for YOU to help you find your favourite curly bloggers/vloggers with a similar hair texture to yours. If you’re a natural hair blogger/vlogger you can also submit your information and join the Natural Hair Blog Directory.

I love the fact that it’s a unique platform for natural hair bloggers/vloggers to connect with others, especially for someone like me who lives all the way out in Tokyo!

If you’re a natural hair  blogger/vlogger definitely go check them out over here and sign up. You can also check out my profile over here. Just scroll down the page until you hit  Eleanor J’adore.

Love your curls!

x

How to go natural

You’ve decided that you’re done with the relaxers. Congratulations! You’ve joined the worldwide community of naturalistas. So now that you’ve finally made the decision to ditch the chemicals you might be asking yourself, “How do I go from the left to the right picture?”

There are 2 ways:

The Big Chop (BC)

The BC can seem like the most daunting thing to do as it involves either chopping off all your relaxed hair so that you’re bald, or growing out your natural hair a few centimetres so that you when you do cut off the relaxed hair, you’re left with a teeny weeny afro, aka TWA. Understandably, this route may be filled with a level of anxiety as you need to be confident about exposing your ‘naked’ face and head to the world. Having said that, once you’ve done the BC you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment as you’ve just gone ahead and got the deed done. You are now fully natural.

Transitioning

This process involves growing your natural hair while gradually trimming away the relaxed hair bit by bit. It can take as long you want to reach the fully natural state, whether it be 3 months or 3 years – it will take as long as you see fit. It does however involve dealing with 2 hair textures, the relaxed ends and the natural new growth, at the same time. For some women this can be a somewhat challenging experience as the the 2 textures won’t necessarily react to product and styling methods in the same way, although with a little research and You-tubing there are plenty of styles that can assist with keeping the 2 textures healthy without driving you crazy.

Whichever method you choose is okay. The main thing to remember with both is to stop using chemicals immediately. That’s an instant way to ensure that the new hair growing from your scalp stands a fighting chance to be as healthy as it can be.

On the one hand I want to say, “Just do it. Go natural. What are you waiting for?” But I do understand that some women may not be ready for this, whether it be for fear of acceptance in your community, the workplace or perhaps fear of acceptance by yourself. Maybe you’re just not ready to face the natural you in the mirror quite yet. Again, that’s okay. If you’ve been wearing your hair in a relaxed state since a young age it’s completely understandable that you might become anxious at the thought of showing your natural tresses to the world. Women of colour with natural hair is still underrepresented in mainstream media so it stands to reason that you may feel uncomfortable with the notion as you don’t see it portrayed that often. Be that as it may, once you realise the potential your own hair has and what it can do for your own self-worth, it won’t matter  whether you see it in the media or not. You’ll just wonder why it’s taken you so long. So remember to do it your way. Your hair is unique to you, and your natural hair journey will be too.

Love your hair!

x

Side Ponytail with Textured Fringe

Summer is quickly approaching in Japan which means lots of swelteringly hot days on the horizon, and naturally I’d want to wear my hair up. I’m starting to get a bit bored with my usual buns so I’ve decided to start looking for alternative ways to wear my hair up and out of my face.

I really love this simple hairstyle and it seems relatively quick to achieve on any hair type. Follow the easy picture tutorial below.

The only thing I’d change is to leave the curling iron out. Since my focus is to maintain super healthy hair I don’t see any point in heat styling it to add curls when I already have my own natural curls! If you want to add a bit of length to the fringe without heat my suggestion would be to take small sections of hair and to create 2-strand twists, prepping it the night before so that you can just undo the twists the next morning.

I plan to try out this style this weekend, and will of course post my results here.

Love your curls, x

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How often should you cut your hair?

One aspect about my hair that I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with is cutting and trimming. In the days before knowing anything about growing healthy hair, I didn’t have any qualms about cutting off quite big portions to achieve a cute new style, whether it was straight or curly. However, the problem would emerge when I’d try to grow out the style and achieve some form of length below my shoulders. Unfortunately it never came. So I would get bored and chop it all off again. This is how the cycle continued for years.

In hindsight, if I had only just trimmed  the hair at some form of a regular interval, I’m sure I could have achieved much longer lengths as I am now. The main problem I used to have was when hairdressers would say to me that trimming would make the hair grow faster and longer. To me this always sounded like complete non-sense, which it is. What does the hair at my roots have to do with my ends? Nothing right?

It all comes down to your ends being the oldest part of your hair. Because they’ve been around the longest out of all the hair on your head, they often appear thinner than the roots as they’ve been subjected to more washing, styling, brushing, heat styling and generally more manipulation than the rest of the hair. This is due to the cuticle having been stripped away gradually.

Trimming does however help the hair to remain as healthy as possible while keeping the thinning ends in check. It also removes any damaged and split ends. Remember, split ends tend to travel up the shaft of the hair and can literally cause a split further up, which can actually damage a completely healthy area of the strand.

So always keep in mind that  trimming split ends will help to make the hair healthier, which means there are no damaged and breaking ends. This will in turn allow the strands to retain the length. With that said, how often should you cut your hair?  If you want to keep your hair at the same length, I’d say a trim every  6-8 weeks should do the trick. But if you’re aiming to grow your hair longer to let’s say bra-strap or mid-back length, I’d recommend only cutting it when it needs it. If it’s still healthy 6 months after your last trim, just leave it be. Otherwise you’ll only be cutting off perfectly healthy hair that you’ve been been putting so much effort into maintaining.

So how do you know when you need a trim/cut?

• If the ends are dry and split.
• If you are getting more single strand knots than you usually do.
• If your hair is heat damaged.
• If you increasingly have to apply more product than usual to achieve your desired look and feel.
• If no matter how much you moisturise your hair remains dry.

What ever you do, just don’t make the mistake of not ever getting a trim. Long term this can only lead to uneven, see-through, scraggly and yes, damaged ends, which can ultimately hamper any girl’s plans to achieve happy, healthy hair.

As always, love your curls.

xxx

How often do you trim your hair?

Hair Inspiration

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Plum lippy love

Just in case you don’t  know it yet, I’m a lipstick fanatic. Along with big bouncy curls, lipstick is the one thing that adds that glam factor to my girlie look and feel. For the first time since I’ve been living in Tokyo, I recently picked up a Japanese brand called Kanebo. I was more drawn to the mauvish/plummy colour before I actually noted which brand it was, but once I mulled the name over in my head I realised that I had indeed heard the name before at some point. This specific colour is from the Media range, and the colour is simply listed as code: 1823.

I’ll say one thing though, I do love the way the colour just glides onto my lips with only a slight hint of gloss. And guess what? It was only ¥‎900 /R93 /£5.20/ $8.84. Quite reasonable I’d say.

xxx

Natural Beauty – Nekisha Lewis

Nekisha Lewis is our natural beauty today and shares her hairy story with us.

What is your name and where are you from?

I’m Nekisha CD Lewis from the beautiful Caribbean isle of Antigua & Barbuda.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a 28 year old Administrative Assistant by day, natural hair blogger by night and poetry writer far and in-between. I have a passion for DIYs and sharing with others.

How long have you worn your hair natural and what made you decide to do it?

I have always had “sal’ head” (salt head) which is how we, in the Caribbean, describe kids whose hair was excessively short and “picky”. Growing up I relaxed my hair to literal death. In my late teens (19 +) I started wearing weaves on a constant basis. At one point I did not own a shampoo or conditioner for in excess of a year because as soon as one extension was removed, I was at the hairdresser the next day getting my hair washed, treated and a new set of extensions installed. I did not have any love nor a connection to my own hair. By age 24, my hair was so limp and lifeless that it truly could go no further and I did the most radical thing I had ever done – I big chopped! Since then I returned to the relaxer twice but my last relaxer was in March 2013 and I have no intention to go off track again. So, technically, I have been natural for 13 months.

When did you first realise that you love your natural hair texture and what exactly do you love about it? Describe your hair.

I love being natural but, honestly, I’m still learning to love my type of 4C textured hair. I’ve accepted it a long time ago and have found products that have made managing it a lot easier but I do have my moments where I wish there was a curl in there somewhere as oppose to all kink. My hair has a slow growth rate, shrinks to 1/4 of its actual length but all in all it is much healthier than my relaxed hair so I rock it like nobody’s business.

What is your hair regime? What do you do to keep it healthy?

I  like to KISS (Keep It Simple Sista)! My weekly regimen consists of a shampoo, deep treatment, condition and an oil rinse. I use the LOC Method when moisturising and never go without my leave-in conditioner and my favourite moisturiser, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie. I also try to co-wash once a week especially since I have been on a castor oil challenge. I have been using castor oil on my scalp 3 – 4 times a week for almost 3 months now and I never sleep without my satin scarf.

What have your experiences been as a natural, including reactions from friends, family and colleagues? Have you experienced any opposition from anyone in your life regarding how you wear your hair?

Because I big chopped, I did get ridiculed by some of my male co-workers during the initial stages but for the most part, I have had many compliments from males and females alike. I don’t let negative comments discourage me. In fact, it helps me embrace my natural hair even more because if I know someone doesn’t like to see me the way I am naturally then I know that they don’t like to see me – period.

What is your favourite go-to hair style for days when you don’t have a lot of time?

I do a lot of twist-outs in general. I am at that awkward stage where it’s too short to just go, but not long enough to achieve more advanced styles. I twist my hair at nights and untwist in the mornings, fluff and go.

What is your hair goal?

First and foremost, I want healthy hair. During the first few months after I returned natural I experimented a lot with colour and went through about 5 different bleach and dye jobs over a 2 – 3 month period. Every time I tried a colour and hated it, I would cover it up with black then a few weeks later try a different colour. I know I will never have long, flowing hair –  it’s just not in my gene. But a girl can try, right? I have just started my Hairfinity journey and hope to achieve a boost in growth in a few months.

What is your best hair advice to someone who is thinking of going natural, but who is apprehensive about doing it?

Returning natural can be one of the best decisions you can make for yourself. There is a feeling of empowerment that comes from looking at yourself ‘all natural’ and feeling content. Also, you should go natural for you and you alone. You will know when you are ready to take the journey. Research online, read blogs and when you’re ready to take the leap, you will love yourself for it.

 

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt during your natural hair journey?

I learnt to love myself. I grew up hating my colour because of two words my Grandmother used to call me, “Black Zulu”. Even as I type this I can still hear the disdain in her voice as she said it. It took a really long time for me to see myself as beautiful and that is due largely in part by my embracing my natural hair. My blog is called Black Zulu because I wanted to take that negative influence and let it stand for something positive going forward.

Where can we find you online?

I blog at blackzuluanu.wordpress.com where I document my hair journey and share tips, advice and DIYs.

How to determine your natural hair type

It seems impossible to read up on anything about curly hair without coming across information regarding hair typing. Honestly speaking, at first I couldn’t understand what the big deal was about naming each type of curl, I mean a curl is a curl right? But I realised the thinking behind this is based on the type of curl you have, it may help you to  create your hair regime to suit your type of curl best. And if you’re looking for inspiration or styling tips from someone with similar hair as yours you can use this classification system as a reference.

As handy as it may be, this system only looks at the hair’s curl pattern. It doesn’t take things like density or porosity into consideration. For the most part I’m still not sure where exactly I fit on this scale as I’ve definitely come across curls on my head that don’t really seem to fit in with this chart. And I don’t really see the need to try and box anyone else’s hair in a specific category either. A lot of naturally curly girls also have a few different curl patterns on their head (myself included) which further seems to confuse things.

Having said that, for the purposes of this piece, I’m going to try and see where my strands fit in on this chart.

• Most of my hair – 3C curly coily
• Hair in the nape of my head – 3B curly spirally
• Some of the hair on my crown – 4A coily springy

So it’s because of this multiple texture scenario that I don’t place too much stock in this kind of hair typing, but I suppose it’s good to be armed with all the knowledge out there. There are numerous other ways to figure out your hair besides just looking at a curl pattern. These things include  whether your individual hair strands are thick or thin, and how porous your hair is.  These factors all play  a part in how you care for your hair and I’ll touch on them in future posts. In the meantime though, you can read up more about the general characteristics of each of the curl patterns here.

As always, love your curls.

Do you consider hair typing  and curl pattern in the care and maintenance of your hair?

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