EGG FOR HAIR TREATMENT

 I have heard that egg is good for the hair,so I did some research and tried it out today.
I used one egg ,2 tablespoon of olive oil, and 2 tablespoon of honey. I covered my hair with a shower cap and washed it off after 1hour.  My previous experiment with egg and mayonnaise, left my hair brittle. I decided to leave egg out of my hair equation for a very long time.
Today I got a different result, my hair felt soft that I could not help but come and share it with you.
I think I will include it in my regimen,once every month I will do the egg treatment but every other wash day will be onion and honey treatment.
Have you tried this, please let me know your experience

Natural Hair Style

Today I thought of something different to do and it occurred to me that many mothers will be thinking of hair styles for their kids this festive period. I took my camera to show you what I did to my daughters' hair, I hope you find them helpful

Tips to a healthy hair

At this period in Nigeria,we experience the Harmattan, dryness of the body,dusty environment leading to cough, catarrh, conjunctivitis and so many other air born diseases.  Many people experience excessive hair shedding due to dryness of the hair and also dryness of the scalp causing white flakes on the scalp.
A lot of effort should go into taking care of our hair during this time;

• Drinking plenty of water, the importance of water cannot be over emphasize, if you are living in a country like Nigeria, the weather is so hot that sometimes it might fry an egg. In other to stop the dryness of the skin and scalp, a lot of water should be taken.
• Regular washing of the hair at least weekly will go a long way to ensure your hair and scalp is clean.  Regular sweating and  dusty environment could cause itchiness of  the scalp.
• Use of moisturizers
• Wearing of scarves and caps ;This will go a long way to hide your hair from direct sunlight and dust.
• Low manipulation of the Hair; Type 4 hair is naturally coily/curly and dry, low manipulation is important to reduce breakage.  

I am sure with these tips we can rock a healthy hair this period and Merry Christmas to everyone as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Adanna

My daughter's wash day

How I stretch my hair.

Me and Recession

 Nigeria going into recession has bitten so hard into my pocket, most traders have turn to shylock, some liars and some are doing all they can to create scarcity of goods. The rate at which the price of goods increase by the day is alarming.
You could go to the market to buy lets say zobo(hibiscus) leaves and the woman in the market says #200( 200 Naira), in your mind you call her a thief because last week maybe you bought it at #150(150 Naira) .You went to the next shop still the same amount. You went back home but the thought of buying carton of caprisonne for  your kids  scares you(it is even more expensive). The next day you managed to get to the market and after greeting the market woman, you complained that they are being wicked to the masses and she said it is because of Buhari or change (as many prefer to say) and you offered her 200 Naira for the zobo and she said ;
"Ah! no i jus dey come back from market, things don cosooh! it is 300 Naira now, a bag of zobo I use to buy 2000 Naira is now 5000 Naira an e no dey full again". 
When you recover from the 50% increase in price of good you say;
"Madam but yesterday you were selling it for 200 and this looks like the yesterday leftover.
And she said; "Ah no! thins don cos i no feet sell 200 Naira, oya take am 280. You stood there confused not knowing if you turn your back the price will increase to 350 Naira.
This is now market rules, bag of rice is no more 50kg yet it is sold at 19,000 Naira, the locally produced ones are chasing the imported ones  in price as if they were shipped in too.
No matter how much I add to shopping list, I found out that these days I had to make so many calculations in the market.
The horrible one is that people are finding it difficult to pay for services rendered including the Government. 
I was thinking with the recession, Landlords will reduce their rent but it is the other way round.
I do not know how others are coping but I feel the government should relax some importation bans, and also plead with my fellow Nigerians to grow some conscience because some of these hardship are self inflicted.

Nigeria Prison

I was impressed to hear that in Nigerian prison, inmates can take courses from the Nigerian Open University. This is a welcome development for me because there is nothing so good as when you are giving someone a second chance in life.
As a result of this Year of mercy, some Catholics are making effort to reach out to people in need. It was from them I got to know that many people are in jail without there cases being charged to court, and their relations are not aware of there whereabouts. I also got to know that courses are made available to inmates who are interested in studying but with a fee.
I am using this medium to appeal to those in position to make changes, to put into consideration, people awaiting trial, also to make available toll free line in police stations and prisons so that they can contact their relations. And it should be enforced that relations should be intimated whenever there is an arrest, and people arrested should be treated as not guilty until they are found guilty in a competent court of law. There are a lot of lawyers looking for work, so the police should have a lawyer assigned to the station so that cases should be charge to court within 24- 48 hours of arrest.
I also wish that inmates should be encouraged to study at no cost at all, by so doing they will come out of jail thoroughly refined.

Just pondering

National Embarrassment

The Nigerian delegates to Cleveland on an international Visitor Leadership Program  has been accused of sexual misconduct. Despite the fact that the said persons denied the accusation, why will they be picked out and why will they be accused of sexual misconduct.
Mr Gbillah ( I quote from http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/205395-sex-scandal-u-s-accuses-nigerian-lawmakers-attempted-rape-soliciting-prostitutes.html) said  it is an attempt to rubbish our lawmakers that he is going to demand compensation. Please he should make this demand public for the sake of his integrity. Few peoples misconduct has put a dent on Nigerian law makers, the whole world is watching, so if this is not true please demand for evidence.
This accusation means that Nigerians have no self respect and discipline, it is also saying that we do not have respect for laws.  This is bad how can a Lawmaker have no respect for other peoples law( It is illegal to solicit for prostitutes in US), how can he make a law, let alone stand by it. I am concerned for my country, why must they be accused of sexual misconduct?

Please our Lawmakers when the head is bad, it will affect the whole body, please be careful when you represent this nation . If smiling will make a lady think you are asking for sex please don't smile, One should not cook a monkey's fingers in public before it turns out to be a human hand

Nija must survive

A lot of havoc have been going on in the Niger Delta region of  Nigeria. There is this saying that "those who plan revenge should dig more than one grave".  Whatever these militants are agitating for must be resolved peacefully; The Niger Delta areas have their sons and daughters in the legislature who should fight their course. Why destroy properties and cause terror in the same land you want to protect. Effort is being made to clean up oil spills in your rivers so that the water will be useful for the masses and everyday you spill more oil.
Looking at it, I think you are causing more harm to the people and community you are trying to avenge or protect. Please call your sons that are in position to speak your mind in the house and ask them what is going on, what are they doing? This is the time for them to be on the hot seat, they should speak your mind and make themselves heard in the house.
When we want to act, we should consider if the collateral damage is worth the action we are taken, so as not to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Trying my hand on a Tanka

This is a reflection on what happened one faithful Monday

Beneath the rumple,

The bell rang near the bed,

Ripping slumber off,

I stroll towards the door.

Ah! tripping down the stairs.

I got the prompt from this site ttps://ameenasmusings.com/2016/05/18/tanka-3/

 Enjoy!

Amazingly Beautiful

Who said your natural hair is ugly, how can anything about you be ugly when your maker is Omniscience. He knows the best hair for you, you know! If the whole world is saying you are ugly then they are all wrong because when you add a little smile to that face, everything about you radiates beauty and appreciation to God Almighty. You are amazingly beautiful!

Wearing a head scarf

As I was going out I remembered that I promise to research some ways to wear a scarf . I was able to find some beautiful ways to wear a head scarf on this site http://www.loveyourtresses.com/2013/09/d-i-y-15-ways-to-wear-a-headscarf-photo-heavy-video-tutorial/.     This is some of the styles I tried myself.

This second picture, I took on a rainy day, I hope you like them.

Shrinkage a Must

Shrinkage is one thing every one going natural has to deal with. Most times when you see pictures of some naturals on the internet looking gorgeous  and all beautiful, you wonder why your kinky hair does not look superb.
I have been natural for 2years and 2months now but I am yet to accept shrinkage as part of my hair properties.  I try using banding method to stretch it, but it does not really do much. The weather is very hot that you do not only sweat on your head but the sun roast the hair that it feels like straw.  I have been thinking, wearing out ones hair as wash and go, may not work unless you are willing to use lots of gel.
The only option I see for myself is wearing a covering on it. So I am going to do some research on beautiful ways to wear head covering for every occasion. So keep a date with me.

This is what my hair looks like after banding, I was hoping that with about 12 inches of hair, I would have something below my shoulder to show off after 10minutes of losing the thread but that wasn't the case.
I am beginning to think that showing off length is not for naturals like me but showing off volume.

Just pondering
Adanna

Terror at the hands of Fulani herdsmen

Since Monday the 25th day of April, I heard about the brutal killing of Igbo farmers in Enugu, I have this feeling of anger. Since I was a kid, this Fulani matter has been on ground but it wasn't the killing but their cows were destroying peoples crop in the farm.
The idea of slaughtering of people and burning of houses and churches, is an act of wickedness; And my question is, Is there more to this than what we are seeing? Why are they allowed to carry AK47 like our Nigerian police.
In other to protect innocent lives, I suggest that these herds men should return home and keep their cows in their villages, that way we know who is from Nigeria and who is not. A means of identifying them as Nigerians should be provided after this recent killing is resolved. The state government should have a say on weather they should enter his/her state or not, and they should provide evidence of being Nigerian citizens before they enter the state, If this is not working then the government should provide means of storing forage for the cows so that they do not have to move around. If the easterners and southerners are so hungry for meat, they should devise means of importing cows into their state and taking care of them.
The complain of Fulani herdsmen massacring innocent citizens has reached its peak,and drastic measures should be taken to preserve innocent lives. This morning I walked into a discussion on channels TV about this Fulani issue . The guest said the reason we pick our teeth when we eat cow in Nigeria is because the cows are subjected to long distant movement.  I am sure if the cows are kept in an area, the meat will be softer and we may not be needing tooth pick again.
For now the Fulani herdsmen should stay in their villages until Mr president finds a way out of this mess. Human lives are more important than cow meat. Before I forget, Mr president has some cows too and he does not move them around, that means he already has a solution to this problem.

Just pondering,
Adanna

The loss of common sense

With the numerous hardship that Nigerians are experiencing now, from fuel insufficiency to little or no power supply, I think our senators should have consider the people before making certain flamboyant decisions about themselves. After all, not quite long they said insufficient fund was hindering them from discharging their duties.
How is it possible that a country whose citizens are facing serious economic crises could go to the extent of  buying cars worth 35.1 million Naira each for senators. That they could think of buying a car at that amount with tax payers money shows how selfish, inconsiderate and inhumane they are.

If they care about the welfare of this nation, the first thing that will come to their mind, should be how best to grow this nation and not frustrate the efforts of the president. Then if they must have new cars, why not go for cars made in the country, by so doing, they will help this company to grow. I think this is an act of callousness and should be treated as such.
If our law makers has by their action decided that this country should burn to ashes while the sit on their chairs to sip champagne and watch, it is time that we look for ways to remove them from that seat and bring in people who will be more concerned about economy growth and too ashamed to flaunt their flamboyance in the face of hungry and struggling citizens.
I think by so doing, they will realize, that the senatorial sit is not their inheritance.
 The irony of it is that they will drive 35.1 million Naira worth of cars on our depleted roads, which to me is like parking your 2016 Land Rover Range Rover in front of your mud house.

Just pondering
Adanna

Love Conquers All

The news on BBC concerning Zara the freed bride has sent shivers down my spine. A child of seventeen was given a choice to marry or become a slave by the terrorist  group boko haram. She chose to be married and as God will have it, she was freed from this terrorist by the military, only for her to face stigmatization by her own people.
We should try to imagine ourselves  or our daughter in her shoes, the trauma she is going through is enough for us to show her that there is more to this life than what she has passed through. Let us encourage them and show them love because love can soften a hardened heart. There are lots of girls and women passing through this ordeal around the world, let us show them more love and help them regain their life back.

This picture is from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36041860

Tax Haven

The Mossack Fonseca Panamanian law firm is now on everyone's lips because of the leaked information concerning its Tax haven activities. This is not the first time such information was leaked to journalists, and the few names on the list that I have read on line suggested that these politicians, that open their mouth and say that they came to serve, are not serving but are turning the citizens into money making venture especially those in Nigeria. The case of rich growing richer and the poor getting poorer.
The truth is  Mossack Fonseca activity may have been exposed but others will step into their shoe and the circle continues.
Come to think of it, If kings and politicians hide their true asset in an offshore account, and I have to pay tax from my little salary, they will build the kind of roads my tax payment can afford; Then I can not afford a car to drive on the road that my money built and their big cars and lorries will end up cruising and destroying the road in the long run.  This image I painted is horrifying, don't you think so

Just pondering
Adanna

Caution

How can we  live in a society, where the law is not working? The rate at which people are burnt on the streets is becoming alarming. People say when a kidnapper or thief is burnt alive others will learn; Yet crime increases by the day.  If we continue like this, one day innocent people will be burnt alive because maybe their neighbors does not like their faces. The law enforcement agency should be alert to this kind of developments. According to the law, one is innocent until proven guilty. Please take the suspects to the police.
The Christians among them should borrow a leaf from the story of the woman caught in adultery and how our Lord Jesus handled the case. Please stop burning the suspects alive and hand them over to the police.

Hairstyle

I want to show you a hair style you can wear to work tomorrow.   Take a look at the pictures

Bantu knots on the section at the front

I braided the tip of the section at the back .

The Bantu knots and braids were done overnight.
Try it out, am sure you will have a beautiful hairstyle to rock during the week.

Banding Hair Style

My Journey With Coconut Oil

Recently I notice that my hair is becoming very very dry and since I am on water only washing, I was confused on what to use. I don't think I have achieve maximum hydration yet besides my scalp is very dry. I decided to condition my hair with natural oil but last week, I massaged my scalp with coconut oil and all hell was let loose. After two days my scalp became itchy, and when I attempt to scratch, It was as if I was bathing with flakes from my hair. I washed with baking soda and Apple Cider Vinegar, but it came back after few days. This weekend I am going back to my shampoo and conditioner.  The itchy and flake bath is enough embarrassment.
Has any one experience this kind of thing before?

Adanna

You could be a ghost worker

Some years back, I heard the local government where I lived, was recruiting and I went to submit my CV and see if I could be employed. Well after the usual writing test, we were told to fill a form to my surprise, this included a bank form and pension form. I was worried because they seem to be employing everyone, and they want to employ us as Secondary school graduates, on a second thought I felt, this means I have gotten an employment. In fact the amazing one is, we were told to snap pictures with the then Local Government Chairman.  I went home rejoicing that I had gotten a job. But the next day, a woman called me to ask how I got to know about the recruitment. I told her I heard it from my friend and she said, that they have more than the number that was needed. I was so shocked, do you mean after the wonderful photo we took with the Chairman, I will not get the job? I went home asking myself questions

• Will they call back the journalists and tell them that one person in the picture will not be employed
• So I must have a God father/ be recommended by someone before I get a job?
• So after studying in the university, I will be employed and paid as a Secondary School Certificate holder for a period of time.
• What happens to the account I opened with the bank, I hope they will let the bank know that I was not employed.

So today, I sat down to think about it. Could it be that I became a ghost worker? That someone is somewhere swallowing whatever little salary, that they were paying me?

Just pondering
Adanna

This is not monkey business

I came out to hang the mop I was using to mop the house. I looked up at the fence where I usually hang it and our eyes met. The brown small eyes stared at me as if asking a question. I was confused initially but I stood there deciding not to be intimidated by his looks. Then he started going back and stopped to look back at me. The fence has some sharp ends to it, so he could not climb them. I now understood why he was staring at me, He wants my permission, so I bent down pretending to wring the mop, and with the corner of my eyes, I saw him walk past me.
That was a monkey I have started sharing my fence with, since this year he passes through my fence as if that is his route to a place. I have asked questions on where the monkey comes from, some say the bushy area behind my estate is their habitat, if that is so, please the government should not allow them to sell more lands to people in that area, so that we don't chase them away from their home.
On a normal day, when I see a monkey on my fence, I would shout blood of Jesus; But I didn't. In my mind, I ask myself what if am the alien here, maybe I am the one in their community not the other way round.
Well I will continue to look out for my monkey friend to know if it is the same monkey or different ones, from there I will make my inquiry to find out if we are disturbing their community.
Since I have been looking for a way to help endangered animals(How are they endangered you may ask, with the recent display of bush meat on my way to the market, I am skeptical.  Well if I cannot protect them I can write about them until someone comes to their help.
Today I am into monkey, Tomorrow I might look into fish, it is high time someone start talking about the  unrepentant way we destroy our ecosystem here in Nigeria.
This not a monkey business!
Adanna

Stretching Natural Hair.

Growing up, we use to call the stretch method by banding (Mgbeke hair style) nobody likes the hair style especially when our parents always plait it their old fashion style.  In fact our parents are always creative at it, They plait it in such a way that it sits at the top of your head. We disliked it, so we opt for a weave. Little did we know that stretching the hair by banding it with wool or thread, helps oil travel from the root to the tip, hence keeping the hair moisturize and at the same time reduce tangle; So that one ends up retaining more length. For a long time, I have been trying to do this banding method in such a way that I can wear it out to wherever I wish to go.
I did this hairstyle today and it looks so good and am going to share with you.

It took me about  30minutes because I needed to de tangle and moisturize my hair. Hope you try it out

Patronizing Nigerian made products

 With the present global economy situation, many countries are looking for ways to strengthen their economy. The Federal Government is appealing to us to patronize Nigerian made goods. As a true Nigerian, who wants her country to move forward,  I agree with the Federal Government but the problem is we have little products to choose from, and there is no adequate infrastructure and financial support given to those who want to produce, so they end up cutting corners here and there.  If there is a way to encourage producers financially, and ensure basic infrastructures are provided, more products will be produced. Using my own field as an example, whenever I want to shoot a film, I will start looking for a noiseless location, which is very hard to get because every house has a generator. At the end of a shoot ,you spend more money working on the audio of your film. For others,  the materials for their work are not readily available? for example in my village, the number of palm oil press station is limited that villagers will decide to do it their own way. I do not want to dwell much on what we don't have but on what we have and how we can help our economy.

The question is what do we have? I am going to dwell on hair care products because a lot of women spend thousands on imported hair product as long as the label reads "HAIR GROW FAST". I  have decided to start using the raw Shea butter instead of foreign products that contain Shea butter. And the truth is this "Ori" as it is widely known here in Nigeria is very good for the skin and hair. also I decided to save money in purchase of coconut oil when I can prepare enough for me and my girls in my kitchen. For shampoo and conditioner, I don't think I have seen a shampoo labelled made in Nigeria, but we have the local soaps, I remember when my mum used to buy those local soaps for us to bath with and Stella pomade as body cream.  Those local soaps has the ability to eliminate ringworm and eczema from the body than this anti-fungal creams.
I know we still have more products just look around you.

My next question is how can we help our economy?
We need to improve on the quality products, for example, no matter how much I try, the smell of Damatol hair cream does not encourage me to use it. If the fragrance could be improved, am sure people will go for it more. Damatol is good for skin and hair care.
Many people say that Shea butter darkens the skin, well if we can find a way of adding lime to it, those of us who want to be lighter in color will see the awesome power of lime.
Marketing is another thing, If you are proud of your product make noise about it, please do not use mega phone and attach it to your car and contribute to the generator noise.
For people like my mum who are unknown Entrepreneurs, The Local Government should think of a way to help them.
Again we also need encouragement, when you want to buy a product in the market and you realize that it is made in Aba, do not expect them to sell below cost price, because at the long run they will cut corners to meet up.

How do you think we can strengthen our economy?
Keep pondering!
Adanna.

Having fun

When you have little kids in the house, the fun never cease. Yesterday  I decide to let them play until they are tired; Guess what they did, they came down stairs dressed up, I could not help laughing; see for yourself.

Well I added my own,they where to look funny on camera, please tell me who is the funniest among them.

cheers
Adanna

Water only washing and Onion hair treatment

A lot has been going on at the natural hair community. Water only washing of hair is now been talked about.
Since I started my natural hair journey, I usually treat my hair every two weeks with onion juice and honey before shampooing and conditioning; But in November 2015 I decided to try water only washing but I did not want to leave my onion juice and honey treatment.
I started using onion juice because I wanted to combat dandruff. And I can say that, now I do not experience dandruff anymore.
I wash my hair every week sometimes two times a week depending on my schedule and hair style.
Since I started washing with only water, I find detangling my hair easier to do. I noticed that when I use only raw Shea butter as hair product, I can get a defined twist out. I clarify my hair with baking soda and use apple cider vinegar as a conditioner.
This is about three months into this water only washing regimen, so I do not have adequate information on sebum coverage considering the fact that I have very dry hair; Also the weather condition in Nigeria is very harsh on the hair. I will keep you updated on my experiences as the months roll by.

This is how I stretch my hair after every wash

My stretched hair, (I used Shea butter and a little coconut oil)

Experiments with truth

An autobiography of MAHATMA K GANDHI is a motivational book. This book is divided into five parts and each part has a lot to teach.An autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, explain how anyone seeking for truth, should be determined to go against all odd to achieve it. Also he taught in this book, that ones fight could be won without violence.
In  page 338-342 he explained, how ones behaviour around youths can help them develop themselves. One can not impact what he/she does not have; And in other to be a good teacher or guardian, you must touch the hearts of your students, share their joys and sorrows and also help them solve the problems facing them.
 I bought this book with my money and I felt like given my honest opinion of this book and will also recommend it to anyone who is interested in developing themselves both spiritually, mentally and physically.

Fro hawk hairstyle

Frohawk hairstyle

I did a fro hawk hairstyle using raw Shea butter as the only hair product, on a freshly washed hair; And I love the look.