Amla Wash day!

I took out my jumbo cornrows at about two and a half weeks post installation. They held on pretty well but were starting to look untidy so out they went. The plan was to wash my hair the following day and I even prepooed overnight with a leave in conditioner in readiness for this. But then things happened and my hair was never washed that weekend and before you know it, it was another week so I ended up bunning the entire week and washed the following Friday evening! Am I the only one who sometimes plans wash days but things just conspire to make it not happen lol anyway thankfully my hair was not too dirty just product build up from my leave in braid spray and amla oil mix, and hair gel during the bun week. I think this may be the longest I have gone without washing my hair since I started my healthy hair journey; it was 3 weeks and counting by the time I finally got round to wash it and my scalp was starting to let me know it.

Wash day, I shampooed, detangled with regular conditioner first then deep conditioned with this Amla Replenishing Hair Mask sachet from Dark and Lovely that I had picked up on a whim from my local beauty supply store. Loved it! It has a lovely scent that lingered all over the house and bathroom even after rinsing out and best of all it left my hair feeling very soft and conditioned this is a win so easy to comb through without any other product applied post rinsing! I left it on for just about two hours in which time I gave myself a much needed DIY facial and pedicure as my hair was conditioning. I will definitely repurchase it I hope they have a tub available because I reckon that would be more value for money in the long term. I only bought one sachet and it was just about enough, two would have been much better. I need to stop underestimating the current thickness of my hair; I guess it’s a hang up from always having had fine thin hair I thought one sachet would be enough but alas my newly thick texlaxed tresses think otherwise. Hair rinsed I t-shirt blotted my hair dry applied my leave in cream, sealed with coconut oil and then had it blow dried a little to stretch it. I applied my Amla oil mix on my scalp the following day and styled. This Dark and Lovely Amla Replenishing Hair Mask is a sure keeper definitely going to repurchase it.

DIY Crotchet Wig!

So,

I made a wig!

It all started with this post from one of my favourite lifestyle bloggers which led me to this other  post and a ton of YouTube video DIY crotchet wig tutorials. It took me all of four hours in which time I kept busy watching movies while crotcheting

What I used;

Dummy also called a bald mannequin head or alternatively a Styrofoam head; 

I really wanted an afrocentric one but couldn't find any:(

Weaving caps/nets; I used two, tip I got from a Youtuber who incidentally was using the same brand of weaving caps that I had purchased #great minds hehehe! Anyway I used two to make it sturdier and avoid any parts snapping while crocheting.

Hair; I used curly silky braiding hair which is what I had around just for practice. Rough hair read Afro kinky/Marley braids/hot water use kanekalon braids and co hold much better than silky hair for crocheting. This one was so slippery but I made it work all the same.

Crotchet; I used a regular crocheting needle with a big hook and it worked just as good as a crotchet latch hook. There is a technique to using a needle as opposed to a latch hook though. Once you pass the crotchet needle through and hook the hair, pass it back through with the hook facing down the latched hair holds on better to the needle with the hook facing down in my experience as opposed to up.

The hook is much bigger than it looks here

Not pictured

Needle and black weaving thread to secure the edges of the two weaving caps together

Hair Shears/Scissors for styling any other cutting activities

A styling mouse/moisturizer or leave in conditioner to run through the hair and make it easier to separate them pre crocheting. Pick whatever works for you even petroleum jelly would do just fine

I watched several videos on crocheting wigs and picked up different tips from all the videos I watched to aid in my first attempt at wig making. Here is one of the videos below for instructional purposes.

Like I mentioned earlier, I used two weaving caps for a secure hold; I stitched the ends together first using a needle and thread

halfway done!

 End result!

Ignore the thick band at the front I had a wig cap underneath the wig to see how much of the front still needed to be filled in

   

Not too bad for a first attempt. I plan on making another one this week using kinky hair or something along the same family. I think I may even delve into sew in wigs as well. It’s looking like wig making is my current obsession and I am not complaining. I showed it to a few friends and family and some have shown interest in having me make wigs for them at a fee so I guess we are in business:)