19 Aug
Uncategorized

WHY AM I NOT SEEING FAST RESULTS WITH MY HAIRCARE PRODUCTS.

“Hi Jo, the front part of my hair is breaking. I need a product to fix it sharp sharp”
“Jo my edges are not growing oo what do I do”
Haha you people will not “kee” me.
Welcome to today’s blog post, this is a major concern for so many people embarking on their hair care journey. You know the front part of your hair is called “edges”… all round to the back of your hair. Guys, please and please again, this area of your hair is so so delicate. It’s not naturally robust. This means it can easily break or your hairline can “move back” as some of you say.
I guess you want to know what actually causes that ehn… let’s get into it.

1 over manipulation and tension
Like I said earlier, your edges are delicate and so all these tight braids need to stop! I had to put exclamation there because of how serious I am about this. On a more serious note…I mean, your braids are always tight, your wigs are always tight, even your ponytails are as tight as your tummy trainers. Why? You want your frontals glued so badly just to make it look “snatched” yet you won’t go to a professional. A lot of you are on this table I’m shaking. Your local hairdressers will also convince you that “oh let me braid it tight, it will last long and look neat” ei Adwoa Mansa, you also allowed her to do that to you. Hey, hey, hey my dear ladies, this is a big NO. It’s high time you tell your hair stylist to treat your hair the way you want it. You are the one going to face challenges fixing it in the end. Those tight ponytails are not an exception. You thought I wasn’t going to mention it? There’s this one they even call Cardi b. Even Cardi b herself didn’t do it that tight. That was just by the way. Over manipulation also includes excessive combing, styling too frequent etc.
All I’m trying to say is, stop over manipulating your hair (stop stressing your hair. Allow it to breathe)

Well some of you may also argue that “oh I don’t over manipulate” This is what you need to hear.
a. Chemical damage (your relaxers or dyes)

b. Heat damage (from hot styling tools). Oh yea, you know about this paa but you want that hairstyle so bad that you allowed your hairdresser to pass her flat iron and blow dryer through your hair without heat protectant. Try as much as possible to avoid heat in the first place. I always tell my clients to stick to African threading if they can.

c. Some medications. Yes, you probably never heard of this but today you know.
Some medications actually cause your edges to thin. I remember a client complained of loosing her edges. I was quite confused because the picture she sent was quite serious. It looked abnormal. So per my knowledge in cosmetic science, I asked her if she was using any medications. Unpon further investigations her doctor revealed that it was a side effect from the medications she was taking for her diagnosis. I then advised her to complete her treatment before trying to fix her edges.

d. Hormones also affect your hair growth in general. I’ll leave you to do your research on that hahaha.

e. Laying your edges too much. Edges on fleek… edges on sleek or whatever it’s called. Baby hairs here and there. It’s too much sis. You won’t realize the harm it’s causing in the long run. You should know the types of gels and hair glues to be using.

f. Friction from your pillow cases and hair nets. Kindly get a satin bonnet or satin pillow cases.

Fixing your edges
The first step to fixing your edges is identifying the cause of the problem. With that, you are half way through.
Secondly, put a stop to whatever was thinning your edges. If you don’t do this, whatever solution you try to find is COS 90. Don’t even waste your time and money.
Now when you stop it, get yourself our growmax hair oil at a very affordable price. Use it twice daily, just a few drops will do. Ensure to massage it well onto your scalp (read on the benefits and ingredients from our Instagram page). Try to also moisturize frequently with our luxe 3 in 1 leave in conditioner.
Note that treatment can take up to 6-8 weeks for you to notice some improvements. For some people, it can take a month or more, or as much as one year. You need to embrace the entire process.

I hope this was educative and fun enough.
See you in our next blog post.

14 Jul
Uncategorized

HAIR SHEDDING VS HAIR BREAKAGE

Hi, it’s Josephine!

I’d like to start this off by saying, if you’re dealing with excessive hair shedding and hair loss, you are not alone. We’re all either going through it or have gone through it at different parts of our hair journey — and to varying degrees. So this is definitely a safe space where you can learn about how to combat hair loss and excessive hair shedding if you’re experiencing it all over your head, not just only at your hairline , edges or nape.

What is the difference between hair breakage and hair shedding?

Before we talk about how to deal with a problem, we have to make sure we have a clear and precise definition of it. Here are a few terms it’ll be helpful to know:

Hair Shedding
Hair shedding occurs when strands of hair fall off with the bulbous root still attached. So if you notice hair in your brush that still has the white, bulb-like root attached, then it is shed hair.


Hair Breakage
This looks like little pieces of hair of varying lengths, without its root. This happens when the hair breaks off from a weak point along the shaft of the hair, during the course of its growth.

What is EXCESSIVE Hair Shedding?

Human hair sheds every day and this is completely normal. Your hair is supposed to shed anaverage of 50-100 strands A DAY. I know.  To put this in perspective, if you detangle your hair with a comb or brush once a week, you should expect about 350-750 strands of shed hair. This may sound and look like a lot, trust me I know, but it would not be considered excessive. 

However, if your hair appears to shed a lot more than this and you may be experiencing excessive hair shedding, medically referred to as telogen effluvium.

It is also important to know that everyone’s rate of hair shedding is different. So pay close attention to how much hair you usually lose on a wash day, so you will notice when it becomes excessive.


What Causes Excess Hair Shedding?

The most common causes of excessive shedding in natural hair include:

  • Stress. Stress is dangerous to the human body!

  • Pregnancy and giving birth (postpartum shedding)

  • Drastic and rapid weight loss

  • Experiencing fever

  • Undergoing surgery

  • Illness and recovering from illness

  • Starting or stopping certain medications like birth control

What Causes Hair Breakage and How to Fix It

There are many, many causes for hair breakage, and often your hair could say, it’s not me, it’s you. Of course, there are some causes for hair breakage which are out of our control, i.e. genetics and medical conditions. But, too often we are breaking our hair (and hearts) under the guise of #livingourbestlives. From hot styling to too many bad (yummy) food, the list of reasons your hair might be breaking is very long.

To make things a little easier for you, I’ve done the research. Check out these common causes for hair breakage and how to fix it.

Causes for Hair Breakage 

1. Too Hot To Handle

Literally put the straightener down and back away. Heat styling is one of the leading causes for hair breakage, especially if you’re not using your heat protection spray!

Although a heat protection spray is not entirely preventative. In fact, the only way to avoid heat damage is to avoid heat styling, altogether. But you may want to consider cutting back your heat styling to maybe once a week? If cutting back sounds too hard, then stick to tools with temperature gauges. Temperature gauges let you, well gauge the temperature and keep it low. This means you can cut down on heat without actually ditching your curler. Especially as, heat styling, according to professional stylist Melanie Pellegrini, is one of the main reasons your hair is breaking.

So, why is heat styling so bad for your hair?

One of the significant reasons heat styling causes hair breakage is, heat weakens and dries out the cuticles of your hair. This causes your strands to become brittle and break. Another reason heat causes hair breakage is, hot tools break down your hair’s Keratin proteins and hydrogen bonds. As their name suggests, hydrogen bonds, “bond” your hair. Literally, they hold your hair fibers together. Keratin, which you may know from your stylist trying to sell it to you after every appointment, is a protective protein which makes up about 90% of your hair’s composition. So basically, these are two pretty important things when it comes to your hair’s health. And heat kills them both. Again, you don’t need to cut out heat styling all together just try to cut back. Skip the daily blow-dry and maybe take your hairdresser up on the Keratin treatment after all.

2. H2O

And by that, I mean yes H2O because your hair needs hydration. Dehydration is another major cause for hair breakage. Our bodies are 78% water, yet, because humans are poorly built machines, we still need to consume additional water to keep everything functioning properly. This is especially important for healthy cell growth, which in turn is especially vital for healthy hair growth. Now mild dehydration will only cause your strands to look and feel slightly less luscious, so forgetting to drink your water now and again is fine. But constant or severe dehydration? Now, this is a problem. When your hair is continuously deprived of moisture, it dries out, becoming weak and brittle.

And can you guess what that causes?

BREAKAGE!

This is also because of your hair’s composition. A hair shaft is made up of 1/3 water, which needs to be replenished regularly to grow new hair cells. So when you don’t drink enough, your cells don’t regenerate, which means your strands become weaker and weaker the longer they’re deprived of water.

You might be thinking, “But I drink enough water, so I’m fine.” Right?

Wrong.

Sorry to flood you with bad news but, even if you are drinking your two liters or more of water a day, you’re still at risk of dehydration. Chemical hair products, the sun and even air conditioners and heaters contribute to fluid loss.

Coffee, alcohol, fruit juices, carbonated drinks and other high sugar liquids can also cause dehydration. So if you’re a caffeine fiend, or blast the heater all day you may want to up your water intake to compensate.

But, again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, you can drink too much water. You should aim for three, but no more than five liters of water per day.  You should also hydrate your hair externally using hair masks, treatments and specialized shampoos and conditioners. You can get these amazing ones that help to infuse moisture into your hair.

These products help greatly in alleviating dryness putting breakage at bay.

3. No Worries

Stress is known to cause hair breakage. But do you know why?

Have you heard of a condition called telogen effluvium?  Well, telogen effluvium is a condition which causes temporary hair loss due to stress. Ok, a few different things can cause this condition, but physical and emotional stress is definitely the most common. And trauma, which is in essence extreme stress. Sudden, severe or prolonged stress can cause your system to go all kinds of crazy. Stress affects everything from our weight to our skin and ALL of our cycles. Menstrual, sleep and, and yes, our hair growth cycle. Stress can cause your hair growth cycle to prematurely enter its resting phase, and stay there for longer than it should. Because your hair cycle is stuck resting, it does not grow new healthy hair cells. This causes your strands to weaken and break. It also means the breakage is not being regrown. As I mentioned before, hair breakage due to stress is more often than not temporary.

4. Medical cause

Some other medical causes for hair breakage are;

  • Lupus
  • Alopecia
  • Eating Disorders
  • Burning Scalp Syndrome
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
  • Trichotillomania

5. Feed Your Hair

You are what you eat strongly applies to your hair. In fact, diet is one of the single most significant causes for hair breakage – along with genetics. If you are not feeding your hair what it needs to thrive, it will not grow up to be big and strong. Or in hair’s case, thick and long. In fact, if your diet is not hair-friendly, your hair will become weak, brittle, and dull and die. You can as well opt for supplements.

Literally. Just like the rest of our body, our hair needs fuel. But, did you know if you are not eating enough or enough good stuff, your body will allocate the nutrients to the most critical areas? So a properly balanced diet is essential for healthy, strong and shiny hair.

So, what foods are good for your hair?

The best foods for healthy hair and hair growth are:

  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • Eggs (although can cause other issues, e.g. hormone imbalance, etc.)
  • Berries
  • Spinach
  • Fatty fish, Oysters and Shrimp (eat in moderation as seafood contains high levels of mercury).
  • Sweet Potato
  • Avocado
  • Nuts and Seeds
  • Peppers
  • Legumes
  • Soybeans (eat in moderation)
  • Lean meat or high protein vegan alternatives such as Tofu or Tempeh

6. Towel drying hair

One of the more surprising causes for hair breakage is the humble towel. Now I know nothing feels better than getting out of the steamy shower with freshly washed hair and giving it a good old rub down with a trusty towel.

They play way too rough with our fragile strands, and it’s time for towels to G-O. Towel drying hair leads to excessive hair breakage. This is because the rough surface of the towel pulls the hair downwards, causing it to break. It also creates friction on the cuticles, weakening them and causes them to open. Hair is also more elastic when it’s wet, and therefore more prone to breakage, so this is just a recipe for disaster. And by that I mean let them air dry. This is the safest way to dry your hair, but if you’re short on time, you can still use your blow dryer.

Just leave it until last, let your hair dry about 70-80% so that it is less elastic when you’re blow-drying.  If you’re in no rush, but don’t want to drip everywhere, wrap your hair in an old cotton t-shirt or microfiber cloth. These materials are much gentler on your strands and won’t cause breakage, or frizz, bonus!

7. Let Your Hair Down

Seriously, that hair elastic is wrecking your hair. If you’re anything like me, you spend 80% of your life with your hair in a weird bun. Correct? I assume so. But did you know hair ties are a common cause for hair breakage? Unfortunately, it is true. A lot of hair ties place extra pressure on your scalp and hair cuticles. You probably notice that some strands fall out whenever you take your hair out of a ponytail, this is because the hair tie is literally, pulling on your strands.

26 May
skin

HYPERPIGMENTATION; CAUSES, TYPES AND TREATMENT.

What is Hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation refers to a skin condition where there is an overproduction of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color causing a darkened area. Although it is medically harmless, it is unwelcome to those who suffer from it on cosmetic grounds. It either occurs when there is an abnormally high concentration of melanocytes for melanin production or when melanocytes are hyperactive.

What are Signs and Symptoms of Hyperpigmentation?

The most common signs of hyperpigmentation include age or liver spots. In some cases it may be present as birthmarks if present from the nativity. Darkening of the skin on a specific or a wider area is the most prevalent sign of hyperpigmentation. During hot seasons, you will probably notice that your birthmarks become darker when exposed to sunlight.

What are The Causes of Hyperpigmentation?

Causes of Hyperpigmentation
  • Sun Exposure: This is the most common cause of hyperpigmentation. The sun triggers the production of melanin which acts as natural sunscreen for protecting harmful rays of the sun from reaching your body. This is the reason why your skin becomes darker when exposed to sun. However, excessive exposure of your skin to the sun can cause hyperpigmentation.
  • Hormonal Changes: These are responsible for specific types of hyperpigmentation such as Melasma and choalasma. The two conditions occur in women when estrogen and progesterone triggers overproduction of melanin following your skin’s exposure to sun light. Certain birth control pills which affect hormonal production also cause melasma.
  • Heredity: You are at an increased risk of suffering from hyperpigmentation if any member in your family including your parents, grandparents or great grandparents suffered from the same. According to health experts, certain genes are responsible for passing on traits from one generation to the next.
  • Botched Skin Treatments: Use of some cosmetic products or undergoing skin surgeries can at times lead to hyperpigmentation. Hyperpigmentation can also be worsened if treated with intense pulsed light emissions if administered improperly. This calls for extra caution when selecting your physician.
  • Celiac Disease: This refers to an immune reaction towards consumption of certain food types that contain gluten, rye, or barley. With celiac disease, your small intestines are incapacitated and thus can’t absorb some important nutrients. This often impairs a number of your organs including your skin leading to hyperpigmentation among other serious complications.

Types of Hyperpigmentation

Types of Hyperpigmentation
  • Melasma: It is characterized by brown to grey patches that mostly occur on your forehead, chin, nose, cheeks, or on the upper lip. You can also get them on your neck or forearms. The most common cause of melasma is prolonged exposure of your skin to sunlight. Stay away from sun or use a sunscreen to fight melasma.
  • Chloasma: Also referred to as the “mask” of pregnancy, chloasma is also caused by exposure of the skin to the sun although it only occurs in pregnant mothers. It is believed that hormones progesterone and estrogen triggers overproduction of melanin when a pregnant mother exposes herself to the sun.
  • Solar Lentigens (Sun Damage): Also known as Sun Damage, solar lentigens refer to dark (hyper pigmented) spots caused by exposure to the sun’s UV light. They can occur as a group or individually. They appear as brown to black flat spots and can affect anyone regardless of age.
  • Freckles (Aka Ephelides): These consist of flat brown or red patches that disappear with a reduction of exposure to the sun light. Freckles darkens or increases in number the more you expose your skin to the sun.
  • PIH (Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation): These refer to a variety of spots with a range of colors usually left behind following pimples infections or wounds. They are mostly caused by acne and scrubbing an inflamed area increases their occurrence. They are best treated with OTC products containing alpha hydroxyl acids.

Hyperpigmentation Treatments

  • Wearing sunscreens is the preliminary step towards preventing hyperpigmentation. Sometimes though, it can catch with you unawares. Luckily, there are several treatment options available including home remedies, anti-aging eye creams, or prescribed medications. Some home remedies can react with your skin and worsen your skin condition especially if you are not aware of your skin type.
  • The most convenient treatment approach is the use of skin brightening products, skin soothing products and skin repair products which are specially formulated for different type of skins. They contain naturally extracted ingredients that will tone the color of your skin eliminating all those dark spots, wrinkles, freckles and offer protection against harmful rays of the sun. They are also convenient to order and easy to use without possibilities of any side effects.

At Jo Naturalis (www.jonaturalis.com) ,the discoloration face set, and the hydrasoothing toner are clinically proven products for hyperpigmentation. https://jonaturalis.com/product/hyperpigmentation-sunburn-collection/