Catch Matlhodi and I (Nangamso) on ONE Gospel, DStv 331, tomorrow evening (31 July) at 9pm!! FroChic will be featured in the first episode of the ONE Gospel show called “Angles: Am I Fake?”
If you are not able to watch it tomorrow, you can catch the repeat on Wednesday (1 August) at 1pm and on Saturday (4 August ) at 5pm.
Please be sure to tune in 
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“I have a 3year old daughter and her hair is so rich and when I plait her it hurts so will it work? I don’t want 2 use harsh chemicals n relaxers. What can I use to make it softer???”
Hey Lucy, I also have a 3 year old girl and maintaining her hair can be quiet a nightmare. The most important thing you need to keep in mind when it comes to natural hair is that combing it daily is pure torture and can cause breakage as it’s fragile.
Now the products I use on my hair:
Saturdays: Wash with Tressemme Naturals Aloe Vera shampoo. This actually came highly recommended by our lovely readers a while ago…the best thing about this shampoo is that it has less sulphates and therefore doesn’t leave your hair all dry. I then condition with Tressemme naturals Aloe vera Conditioner…awesome stuff right there.
I now keep her hair in either twists as I’m trying to shy away from hairstyles that put tension on her scalp. Every 2nd day I apply Organic Root Stimulator’s Smooth-’n-Hold pudding. It surprisingly keeps both her hair and mine soft. I only comb her hair when it wet and has conditioner on…the rest of the week she wears twists.
Oh and the Sof’nFree Olive oil spray comes in hand at times.
Hope that helps.
Love,
Matlhodi
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What made you decide to relax that beautiful Afro?
I did not relax my hair; I had permed it. Lol. I thought I might look nice with cascading curls…hee heee!
While seating on that chair at the salon, after being natural for such a long time, what went through your mind during the whole process?
I had run out of ideas with my afro and needed a change. I have never really been able to stay with one hairstyle for long; I was very scared…
Your hair, I must admit looked beautiful and still suited you afterwards. How did you feel when you saw “the new you” on the mirror?
I was not sure at first, but liked the way it felt; it was soft and manageable.
Were there any slight regrets?
Not at first, until I decided to colour it myself at home and it started breaking…lol (bad move on my part)
How easy or challenging was it maintaining your hair when it was relaxed, as compared to when you wore it natural.
It took a while for me to get the right product, so in the beginning it was not easy at all (I also realised that my afro was less maintenance). What was lovely about it though was that if I wanted to straighten my hair it did not take me 2 hours like it would with my afro; it literally took me 1 hour…which for me was heaven!!lol
Please take us through your relaxed hair regimen.
Once I found the right product- I would have to wash it every 2 days to make sure it kept the bounce and the curl and also apply lots of mouse; which by the way is waaayyyy more expensive than regular hair food that I used to apply on my afro. Then I would have to scrunch my hair and make sure the curls stayed in place (all of this I learnt from other coloured people with the same hair, which by the way for them is natural. lol). When my hair was straightened it was easier; all I applied was silicone, and use the hair straightener to make sure that the hair did not frizz.
Why did you decide to BC and go back to natural?
My hair was in a very bad condition and it was breaking in all the most obvious places, and I could not handle all of those hair products on my hair (they were greasy and my skin was not reacting to them very well). I guess it also does not help that I do not sleep with something on my head.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Did the pregnancy have anything to do with the decision?
I really look forward to being a mom… A lot of people say that me cutting my hair is due to pregnancy hormones but I disagree. I just needed a change and not to mention healthier hair; plus I am guessing short hair will be easier to maintain with baby coming…doubt I will have time to maintain it.
How did you deal with negative reactions to your “new-new” look?
To tell you the truth I have not gotten any negative reactions as yet; either that or people are just lying to me or not telling me what they honestly think. lol
But whichever way I do not really care what people think out there, as long as myself and my hubby (because let’s face it he has to look at me everyday. lol) are comfortable with the look and I feel it suits me…then I am good.
What will you do differently this time around?
I feel that now that I know what it is like to have “other” hair, I will appreciate my afro better because at the end of the day you can do anything with the afro ( straighten, colour etc). I am also on the lookout for a better product to apply to my afro… (Something non-greasy but will still add some sheen to it). I will however keep the colour though. I love the whole sun kissed blonde look.
Origins and current location?
Born and bred in Jhb
What are you currently up to?
I’m a marketing assistant.
How long have you been natural? Briefly take us through your natural hair journey.
I’ve always been natural. My mom is a hairdresser and she’s always taken good care of my hair until I was 16 and decided to take charge of my hair and relaxed it. She just let me be and I struggled with it since I wasn’t clued up about relaxed hair and it started to break . It was so lovely and super long and I regreted what I had done to it,so in the year 2006 I decided to BC and always had it in braids or just a funky fro,in the year 2010 I cut it short again but its grown now.
Why did you decide to go natural? Did you transition or you simply did the big-chop from the get-go?
I’ve always been natural; it’s all I know. I was raised to embrace it, the relaxer was just an experiment out of curiousity and I just had it for 2 years and promised my head to NEVER EVER do it again.lol!
What do you love about your hair since you’ve gone natural?
I can do WHATEVER i want with it; I can rock it in different styles and still look beautiful and unique.
What are some of the challenges and advantages you’ve experienced?
I used to struggle with breakage and I realised that I was quite rough with my hair. I would just comb it with no care at all and would be left with a huge ball of hair in my hands to throw away. I didn’t moisturise it much and it was always dry but I understand it better now and its thriving. I would say the advantages are just being able to wear it in all the different styles that I love. I can wear braids or a weave and still be able to take them off and look great in my God-given crown. People stare or even stick their fingers in it just to check if its all mine and some always ask “how did u do that” whenever I wear it in a way that they never thought its possible with natural hair.
What does your hair care regimen look like?
Once a month I deep condition with my home-made deep conditioner mix. I mix 1 avocado,1 banana, 2 spoons of 2 of my favourite oils each; Almond oil and Extra virgin Olive oil; add a cup of coconut milk and a spoon of honey and whip it. I have it on for about 20 to 25 min and then rinse it out. It leaves my hair soft and glossy. After that I put on some coconut oil and avocado oil while its still damp and do my protective style, usually in flat twists and leave it to air dry. There are times when I wash it once a week with conditioner only and detangle with it as well and then have it twists.
What hair products do you use and where do you buy them?
I use natural oils such as Almond oil, Coconut oil (i buy both at Checkers Hyper), Avocado oil and olive oil at Pick n Pay. I also use the Tresemme moisture rich conditioner and shampoo. I also love the one with the sweet orange extract; it smells fresh and yummy (I buy these at Clicks). I also love and use the Clicks Hair Rescue products, I use the restoring hair mask and their water based detangling leave in conditioner. I also love Soft ‘n free moisture reviving cream and the Soft ‘n free mixed oils; they both smell fresh. I usually add some almond oil to all my creams and hair butters for extra moisture.
Do you struggle finding products that work for your hair or are you happy with the ones you’re currently using?
I’m happy with the ones im currently using.
Do you have a favourite natural hair salon where you treat your hair?
Nope, I prefer to do it myself.
Which type of natural hairstyle (s) do you like to rock?
Oh there’s plenty but my go to styles are a bantu knot-out when i want to rock a ‘fro, small styled twists and flat twists on the sides and back with a flat twist out on the front.
Planning on locking in the future?
Nope
Any tips you’d like to share with our readers?
Don’t fuss over length; just focus on keeping your hair healthy and strong; growth will follow when that’s done and LEAVE IT ALONE!! I realised that my hair thrives when its left to do its own thing so I always keep it in protective styles.
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A while ago I had just taken off my braids and posted a picture of my hair length on our twitter page (@frochicblog) only to be hit in the face with an unexpected tweet from one of our followers that went something like “Oh dear! what happened to your hairline? What are you going to do?!”hahahaaaa. Eish and mind you this follower had a head full of beautiful, thick black natural hair as her Twitter Avatar. I just laughed it off.
But then it really hit me, my hairline seriously needs to get rescued before I become a natural version on Naomi Campbell!! I took another look at the picture (I can’t seem to find it on my phone though; I must have deleted it after the humiliating comment.lol) and saw how badly beaten it’s become lately. Remember my “Year of Protective Styling” resolution…looks like it’s come back to bite me in the butt.
So, after seeing quite a number of ladies tweet about their receding hairlines I though, why not start a “Hlasel’injubaba” challenge where we can help each other out with this problem
Here’s my action plan….for now:
- As much as I love braids. I will keep away from hair extensions for the next 5 month (Oh gosh, I need hypnosis for this one).
- I’ll play around with natural oils BUT CASTOR oil will be definitely be a staple.
- Keep my scalp clean by washing more often than I normally do.
- I’ve gone back to taking Centrum A-Zinc multivites and have upped my water intake as well.
- I plan on going back to running (Ah well, that’s something I love doing despite hair and beauty benefits)
- I’ll try not to tie my doek (head scarf) too tightly and will keep it more towards the forehead than on the hairline, (My one friend insists a tigh doek also contributes to the problem as it slows down bloodflow…makes sense)
I can’t promise though to quit cornrows as it gets really hectic at work I sometimes don’t get time for all those marathon twists, twist-outs, Bantu knots and “what nots” in the evenings and mornings. BUT I do promise not to use hairpiece (hair extensions) for cornrows.
I’ll make sure I keep posting pictures every few weeks to show some progress.
If you have won this battle before, please feel free to share your secret. If you’d like to join me on this marathon, please share…products, regimes…anything. You can also send pictures so we can share with other FroChics.
Love,
Matlhodi
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Yes folks, its the one-and-only Aussie brand which I’ve been hearing and reading about on most overseas blogs and vlogs for as long as I’ve been natural. When I started my natural hair journey a lot of (overseas) naturals were using hair products that I was unable to find at my local Clicks, Checkers or Pick n Pay – much to my frustration! One of the products which I saw creep up every now and then in most natural’s ‘must-have‘ list of staple hair products was the Aussie brand. So you can understand my excitement when I found out we now have this brand here in Mzansi *big grin*
I actually found out about it by accident, after I saw a tweet from one of my friends raving about this new hair product called Aussie – and how lovely her hair smells after using it. And I was like “Whoa, hold on! Aussie??!” Initially I thought she perhaps might have shipped it over from overseas but you can imagine my excitement when she told me she got it at good ol’ Clicks!
The product junkie in couldnt wait to make my way to Clicks and try it out & thats what I did!
While I was at Clicks I quickly popped opened the bottle, and yip, it really smells soooo good & I’m someone who really appreciates hair products that have a good smell; that’s a big plus for me.
I then decided to buy the Miracle Moist Shampoo because firstly, I have too many conditioners, and secondly since i’m growing my dreads I prefer to use less conditioner than before (I used to co-wash my afro three times a week!). I find that my dreads seem to be more prone to product build up (if I don’t clarify regularly) and conditioners do not really help to get rid of that build up – instead it creates even more build up. Ugh.
But at the same time I wanted a shampoo which will also give my hair added moisture without drying it out….and this product does just that!
Its has a very thick consistency – another plus – and it lathers on very thick. Once I worked it into my hair, there was a lot of foam and I could feel it stripping away any residue and build up I had accumulated, while keeping my hair soft. After I rinsed off my hair it felt squicky clean and smelled oh-so-good!
Unfortunately it is more on the expensive side, around R65 a bottle BUT I didnt have to use a lot when I was washing my hair…so I think a little does go a long way
Try it out guys and let me know what you think!
Love,
Nangamso
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I have to confess: I’m not really a fan of etv’s 3rd Degree but after five “Girl please check out 3rd Degree now!!” BBMs and Whatsapps last night, I had to put The Wild (#PVR) on pause and switch to etv and they were exploring the topic natural hair vs weaves(or at least that’s the idea I got).
I was met by the beautiful Lebo Mashile reliving her days of Step One. lol…remember Step One. “I still have tatoos on my scalp from all those 13 years of Step One”…*sigh* I can soooo relate, Lebo. “My white friends wear afro weaves to parties so they can look silly…my black friends on the other hand wear weaves to work, to get married…to look good.”
E-news channel’s, Nikiwe Bikitsha who took masses by surprise and got people talking when she did the big chop said she got tired of portraying what was considered “normal and presentable” in the media industry (weaves) until she one day decided to tell her superiors she wanted to go natural and never looked back since.
“Your Girl B! on the other hand (That’s TV personality and Radio Jock, Ms Bonang Matheba), the self-proclaimed “Weave queen” justified the weave a re “I know where the Indian weaves come from and know what goes on at those temples. I don’t have a problem with that; as long as those women are happy with giving away their hair and that this hair is not taken away from them forcefully” (well, something along those lines). We love us some Bonang regardless.
Kuthiwa these temples made about R2 billion in the last financial year from selling hair. Tjo…anyone looking to buy a chunk of kinks? *BBM can’t watch*
There were some other irrelevant peeps yadayading about weaves and Debra did her own version of “Good hair, Bad hair” *yawn*
Oh no wait! I also caught a glimpse of blogger Tendayi from Africanhairblog representing *High-five girl!*.
I’m pretty much tired of discussing the weave…to me the biggest enemy is the creamy crack (Just my opinion)… now back to taking care of our beautiful naps.
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And talking about winter… Winter and I have what I like to call a “love-hate relationship” because it not only gives me a few extra kilos, but I also enjoy the warm lovely food that one gets to tuck in. Is it just me or does anyone else think that winter clothes are ridiculously expensive considering that you only need them for like 3 months?!
Anyhu, it is cold and it is going to get colder until we hit spring time, so until then we need to keep our gorgeous selves warm and we need to look fab while we at it. A lot of people have that “as long as I am warm” attitude during winter, if I see any of you guys looking like that I will just scream.
So, here are a few winter must haves…
I will start with my firm favourite this winter, all because I managed to find myself a pair that zips all the way up to the end. It is…wait for it… The Riding Boots. For the past three years I’ve been trying to find the perfect pair. You get them in genuine leather; they are nice and comfy, and will last you a lifetime.
Another item that’s been keeping us warm for a couple of years now and I must say, they still look gorgeous… The beloved Trench Coat. Long or short they just do a really great job in keeping the chills away and the best part about them is that you can dress them up or down.
HEAD FOR THE CAPE
Behold, I think this is the seasons most glam item: the Cape. This 60s inspired baby really works well when layering different items or textures underneath because it gives you that space and allowance. I personally like the cropped version with a bit military detailing.
THE SCARF
And what is winter without our beloved scarves. If you are like me and love scarves, and even wear them in summer, you’ll be glad that you can rock your scarf the whole day without breaking in a sweat. They also come in different fabrics too. You can choose between a scarf or a snood (those scarves with no beginning or end).
THE GOOD OLD JERSEY
Yes, these little knitted babies are back with a bang and they are getting chunkier and chunkier with beautiful graphics and designs too. They also look good dressed down in jeans.
MAKING A STATEMENT
If you like to be bold and be noticed, this one is for you. The fur coats are for you. They are very glam and elegant. They work well with jeans and killer stilettos or glam it up with formal dresses, for a formal evening out.
THE CASUAL/SPORTY CHICS
There is nothing I love more than dressing down in sweats and sneakers or flat pumps. Another item that is making a big hit are baseball sweaters.
OTHER ITEMS TO KEEP US WARM
The opague tights, they come in beautiful colours to add life to any outfit. They work well with anything short or long and even jeans. They actually add life to any outfit.
So ladies, keep your beautiful selves gorgeous and drink loads of warm water.
XOXO
Nipha.
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Origins and current location?
I am from Louis Trichardt, Limpopo. I’ve spent all of my life in Joburg and I am currently living around these perks.
What are you currently up to?
I am an SEO Specialist at an Internet marketing company, blogger, musician..oh I’m busy.
How long have you been natural? Briefly take us through your natural hairjourney.
I have been natural for 6 months now and I’m enjoying every jaw dropping, judgemental stare, condescending statements, fist pumping, “love what you did with your hair”, “you go girl” moments! haha. Along this very unfamiliar road I have learnt a lot. I thank Youtube, blogs such as yours on budgeted education that I feel most women need to get a taste of.
Why did you decide to go natural?
Well, believe it or not, until a couple of years back, yes wait for it…I thought my relaxed hair was my “natural hair” !! blame my mom..I take no part in any of this. But the transition really began when all I could see in most black women was a weave! Nothing wrong with it, but I feel as though here is so much pressure on women, let alone black women, to look a certain way based on the media’s perception. The way beauty is defined today brainwashes the very core of ones identity. I chopped off all my hair and ya! I felt liberated, call it social suicide but my statement was loud and clear. Free!
What do you love about your hair since you’ve gone natural?
Health! Freedom! Declaration!
What are some of the challenges and advantages you’ve experienced?
I think that the one thing that stands out the most is: no pressure. I don’t need to live up to anyone’s standards; its been great. I am coming from a place where all I see is girls wasting every dime they have on a decent “hair style”. I am free to do whatever I want, no more 15 hours at the mirror doing who knows what…lol. The challenge was getting the information and proper products. I dont use heat at all on my hair and I try to stick to strictly organic products, needless to say…that has been a little bit of a problem.
What does your hair care regimen look like?
Still trying to get one that works well for me but at the moment, I co wash once a week, deep condition every after 2 weeks & keep my hair moisturized at all costs! Coconut oil everyday and spritz with water day and night.
What hair products do you use and where do you buy them?
Coconut oil Root Stimulator, Amla oil, Avon deep conditioner, Hair Mayonnaise ( Organic Root Stimulator), Avon shampoo and conditioner, African Pride Oil Miracle
Do you struggle finding products that work for your hair or are you happy with the ones you’re currently using?
Yes, I am trying to use all organic products and its hard to find them on the market.
Do you have a favourite natural hair salon where you treat your hair?
No, I haven’t been there in years.
Which type of natural hairstyle(s) do you like to rock?
Wash and go, twist outs and hopefully when longer, bantu knot outs.
Planning on locking in the future?
No
Any tips you’d like to share with our readers?
Let go, let loose and be free. Rocking your natural hair is like singing the national anthem with your hand on your heart in a stadium full of anticipating soccer fans…its liberating, its who you are.
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I know rocking leather might seem a bit extreme for most of us but here are a few tips on how to rock it without looking trampy or like “cat woman” or even like a biker chick.
To pull of a clean classic look with leather, try and wear limited leather items.My personal preference, one leather item at a time is the way to go. Remember less is more. And I know most of you might be saying but leather is expensive, but fear not cos there is also faux leather which looks like the real deal or else just raid yo moms’; aunts’ or even grans’ closet. You might find a master piece there. Or just visit some second hand shops.
1. LEATHER IN THE OFFICE
You can never go wrong with black skinny leather pants and a pair of gorgeous heels ala Blake Lively below or a leather pencil skirt. Leather goes lovely with neutral tones.
2. LEATHER ON A LUNCH/NIGHT OUT WITH THE GALS
Find a modern version of a biker jacket; it must be ferminine and fitted.
3. GO FUNKY CASUAL LEATHER BIKER JACKET
Jay Jays shops has got ” Leather look” jeans at really reasonable prices.
I also found lovely leather gloves at Woolies for just R160, for genuine leather I say this its a bargain.
xoxo
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