Travel Hair

I have never really stopped to think about how I would like to wear my hair during a trip however I do think about how to wear it at the destination. This is determined by several factors; the weather at the destination, how long I am going to be there for, what I am going for (work, wedding, vacation etc) and possible amenities that I may or may not have access to. It has never really crossed my mind to consider how to wear my hair during the journey that gets me to my destination.

Source

About two years ago I came across a lady at the airport while checking in for a long haul night flight whose beautiful head of curls caught my attention, she disappeared after checking in only for me to see her again at the boarding gate since we were on the same flight, only this time she had a scarf on her head! I honestly found it strange and all I could think of was how brave she was to wear what was obviously a night scarf in public am assuming she probably pin curled her hair or something under that scarf, she had tied it very stylishly though, the next time I saw her again was at the destination airport while waiting for our bags in the morning, the scarf was gone and her hair looked just as beautiful as it did when I first saw her at check in. Another time I was on a road trip with a colleague who tied a scarf as soon as we got into the car I asked her why she was tying a scarf and she said it was to prevent her hair from getting dusty mind you we were only going to be on a dusty road for about 15 minutes on the last leg of the 3 hour journey with the windows rolled up of course for this section. So I guess this taking care of your hair during a trip regimen is taken very seriously by some women. I need to get with the programme!

Departure lounge at Kotoka International Airport Accra, Ghana; I am not much of an airport photographing person I liked the artwork on the walls at this airport and ended up taking photos of the chairs as well:)

Speaking of flights my bestie Joy who happens to be a flight attendant/air hostess who had never worn a weave or wig her entire life was all of a sudden shopping around for wigs and weaves when she first started her current job. When I asked she mentioned something about cabin air not being good for her hair, drying it out or something to that effect. Cabin air is very dry and dehydrating for one’s entire body and even hair so if you are a frequent flyer (I consider 2-3 times or more a month frequent for purposes of this post ) or cabin crew it is a good idea to moisturise your hair before and also after a flight if possible. Deep condition at least once a week if you are able to, we all know that dry hair equals breakage in most situations. Another good idea would be to wear covered protective styles like wigs and weaves/braids in flight to minimise the drying effects of cabin air on your hair – ok this one mostly applies to cabin crew for the rest of us moisturising and wearing a scarf especially on long haul flights if you are brave enough should do just fine (do not go shopping for a special in flight wig even though you don’t wear them hahaha) unless you were already wearing a protective style with extensions pre flight but don't forget to moisturise your hair underneath the style all the same. While taking care of your hair in-flight is important our bodies are more important so remember to hydrate your body drink plenty of water and juices and walk around very important for long haul flights (I cannot stress this enough) to help with blood circulation. For more tips on how to take care of your body when flying please see this article.

What do you think about travelling hair regimens like tying a scarf or others in general?

Spot the difference?

Source: Dark and LovelySA Facebook page

Source: Soft Sheen Carson

Both product ranges belong to the same company Soft Sheen Carson.

One is branded “Optimum” the other “Dark and Lovely”. The Optimum brand came out a couple of months ago and was launched in the US the Dark and Lovely brand was launched about two months ago into the African market. I believe the reason for this is Dark and Lovely is more popular in Africa than Optimum (both are widely available) so the good folks at Soft Sheen Carson probably thought it fitting to re-launch the product under the very popular “Dark and Lovely” brand into the African market. This is not unusual in my travels I have many a time encountered familiar items (and even stores) in other countries with totally new names it is only upon further research that I found out that the products were from the same company. I haven’t tried either so I don’t know anything about the ingredients or how it makes your hair feel but if you have please do chip in.

Checking in...

I need to touch up

But thinking about extending this stretch

Almost out of shampoo

Haven’t got round to buying another one yet

And a leave in conditioner too

Thinking of getting a weave

Haven’t worn one in almost two years

Maybe I will touch up first

Then decide what to do with this hair

Protective styling

Low maintenance

Is the way to go for me

Only way I will retain length

Need some bobby pins

And other accessories

Yes definitely got to go shopping soon.

How is everyone and their hair doing?

Hair Thieves!

Just saw this disturbing article on women in Venezuela getting their hair chopped off and sold by hair thieves! I read about a similar report earlier in the year from South Africa that involved locs being cut and stolen from people’s heads. This is taking the demand for “human hair” extensions to a whole new and disturbing level.

Regular tea rinses; good or bad?

It is said that we shed between 50-100 strands of hair a day and this is perfectly normal and necessary since the shed hairs have reached the end of their growth cycle. If you read hair blogs or are on a hair journey you have probably heard about tea, coffee, garlic rinses etc that help combat excessive shedding. Thankfully I do not currently suffer from excessive shedding, I tried a black tea rinse out of curiosity but did not like the stiffness that came as a result and so I decided to leave any shedding related rinses for when I actually needed them due to excessive shedding. Excessive shedding can be attributed to many causes stress, medication and postpartum shedding among others. If your shed hairs are more than what you are used to seeing in the bathroom drain or comb and goes on for a long period then you probably have excessive shedding which is where natural remedies like tea and garlic rinses come in handy; if your hair is coming out in clumps however you may want to see a dermatologist or doctor that is not normal.

Does doing constant black tea or coffee rinses defeat the purpose of natural shedding; I mean if you are not suffering from excessive shedding why try to combat normal shedding which is a natural part of hair growth? By constant I mean that you have normal shedding and are tea rinsing after every wash so assuming you wash once a week that is four tea rinses in a month. I am not sure if there are any studies or research done out there on the negative effects of tea rinses to combat normal shedding so if anyone knows of any please add a link in the comment section if available.

What do you ladies think can doing constant tea rinses in the absence of excessive shedding cause more harm than good?