Deep treatments good for hair...and skin

Last night I was nursing my fiancé (he was running a 39°C fever) and I decided to do a deep treatment on my curly hair as I definitely wasn't going anywhere. So I mixed up a few of my favourite ingredients: 

coconut oil

argan oil

honey (you know what that looks like, right?)

shea butter

and then added something new...rosewater

All of these products (except the honey) were from Sheabutter Cottage. You'll find only pure goodness when you shop here. In my quest to be more natural I bought the rosewater to use as a face toner. Browsing through the site I learned that rosewater could be used to "lock in moisture to impart shine." So I thought I'd give it a try. 

Boy was my hair happy! That's not the point of this post though. What happened through the night is that my DT mixture leaked. Yes indeedy, it leaked all over my pillow. The mix was a bit runny because of the rosewater so I should have seen it coming. So when I woke up needless to say, my cheek was a little wet. But it was sooo smooth! Seriously smooth. Super moisturised kinda smooth. And so it was that one half of my face also got a DT.

What's the point you ask? Well had I been using products loaded with chemicals then potentially shock, horror, I'd wake up with half of my face suffering some sort of damage due to the leakage. But thankfully the ingredients I use in my haircare I use for my face-care too and so a little leakage turned out to be a benefit. :) 

p.s. the fever broke and he's feeling much better x

Life With A Mane of Curls

When I was growing up I felt ashamed of my curly hair. I always remember how my Dad would only tell me that my hair looked nice after I'd been to the hairdresser and she worked her magic to get it super straight. Rewind 24 years back when I was about 10 years old and he took me to the hair salon (my Mum was at work) and left me there for them to tame my mane. A couple of hours later, man the look on his face! He was livid. There I was, a shoo-in for a role in The Lion King! He took me to an aunt so that she could rectify their 'mess'. There are some memories that just stay with you, aren't there?

In my teens I found a hairdresser who could blow my hair out and it would remain straight even after a night out in a club! I remained loyal to her even after I moved to London. Yes, the only time I'd get my hair cut or coloured was when I went home to South Africa (which wasn't always every year). 


Fast forward to 2010 and my wonderful boyfriend proposes and becomes my fiancé. (go on let me hear some 'aaaahs') I'm thrown into a wedding planning frenzy: venue, reception, guest list, favours, dress, make-up and hair. Hair was a real downer for me. I couldn't understand why I'd use the same products on 2 different days and 2 completely different looks. So I started researching about hair, about curls. I needed to know more about curly hair because what I was doing wasn't working. With only months to go until the wedding date we'd set, I needed nothing short of a miracle to ensure that I had perfect curls. 


Well my prayers were answered and I found sites like Curly Nikki and British Curlies. I discovered the CG way and learned about co-washing, low-pooing, the dreaded cones and sulphates and other nasties. Henna became my friend - hair colour with benefits.


So now my hair is healthier than ever before and I love it. But there's always more that I can learn and so this is my place to record my learnings. I'm also looking at ways to live life more naturally. Be it skincare, eating, just general living. Thanks for coming on this journey with me.