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?

Hair Crush!

Meet Eve my seven year old hair crush! She is my good friend from high school Sophie’s daughter. This cutie pie and her gorgeous locks is from Kenya and is an addition to the African hair collection that I previously blogged about. Enjoy the photos!

Gorgeous!

I can't get over how big her hair is!

And she gives us a side view!

And another side view!

The African Hair Collection

No I have not started a hair line unfortunately:) These are just a few photos showcasing African ladies from different countries with long hair some have always had long hair all their life some got there through hair journeys. I grew up with the knowledge that black women can have long hair (APL and beyond) but I also grew up with the knowledge that only certain black women had this kind of length due to their genes perhaps, because for every APL and beyond hair I saw around me there were 10 others with barely grazing shoulder length and below hair. Ok enough talk let the photos speak for themselves.

To start us off here is my good friend from high school Lucresia. She is from Tanzania and this is how I have always known her hair to be, long big and bushy. She is also the one I spoke about who uses Vaseline on her hair in the comment section of this post. Her hair is natural.

 

Love how bushy her hair looks here!

Left: all "Vaselined" up and right photo all straightened up

Joanne is from Kenya and got to this length thanks to a hair journey. Her length was actually much longer she recently chopped off a few inches off her ends. She blogs with her sister Eva over at growafricanhairlong.blogspot.com. Do check out their blog. Her hair is texlaxed.

 

Photo Credit: Joanne of growafricanhairlong.blogspot.com. Hair air dried

Photo credit: Joanne. Hair straightened

I stumbled upon Bassey Akan and her gorgeous locks on the internet can’t remember how though and immediately rushed over to her blog to read more about her hair. She got to this length thanks to a hair journey. She is Nigerian, her hair is relaxed and she blogs over at lushstrands.blogspot.com please check her out for more photos.

 

Photo Credit: Bassey Akan of lushstrands.blogspot.com

Fridah is my bestie Joy from high school’s older sister and my friend too by extension of course. As teenagers we were always in awe of her hair and I still admire it to this day. She is natural and has always been. She is Kenyan.

 

Look at that shine!

Last but not least is my very good friend Sagal from university. Now this is one girl whose hair I always admired all through Uni and still do. Her hair is HUGE! I have never known anyone to love their hair like Sagalina does she calls it her trademark and it is indeed. She is from Somalia and her hair has always been natural. While most of the ladies from her country and the Horn of Africa have this texture of hair there are also those with the kinky type and also a mixture of kinky and silky don’t quite know how to describe it.

She wears her hair in its natural curls most of the times but occasionally straightens it

The different hairstyles of Miss Sagal

APL: Armpit Length

Do it yourself...

Lumley Beach, Freetown, Sierra Leone

This post is a dedication to all the hair DIYers out there and especially my two friends Banke and Blanka. No, they are neither twins nor sisters, they don’t even know each other. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they have the letters B, A, N, K in their names wait! Did I just spell Bank? Cool stuff! Like I was saying the only other things they have in common is that they just happened to be my housemates at different stages in my life in two different countries on two different continents. 

The other thing they have in common which still amazes me is the fact that they can both self weave or self install a sew in weave if you may yep these girls sit in front of a mirror with a comb, scissors, needle, thread and weave and proceed to sew the weave into their hairs with perfect precision. They even cornrow the hair themselves in readiness for sewing. The first time I asked Blanka who did her hair and she said she did it herself, I was like no way and she was like seriously I did it myself. So the next time she was due for a weave I made sure I was home to see it with “these my two very eyes” too bad I didn’t film it people don’t believe me when I tell them I have friends who self weave. Banke’s skills go extra this one can even weave by candle light. They can self braid with extensions too and also do other peoples hair. Lord knows they saved me a lot of money by doing my hair! The only self I can do is self relax and self trim as well, been self relaxing on and off for the last six years quite of an expert by now I must say:) oh and cornrows too without extensions but not neatly.

Some of these skills are quite necessary you may end up in Mongolia with no Afro hair dresser around or a hair dresser proficient in Afro hair. Speaking of Mongolia my other friend Easterlina lived and worked in Mongolia for 18months and had to chop her hair off at one point because there was no one who knew what to do with it good thing short hair suits her, happy to report that the hair has now grown back to its pre -Mongolian state.  Hats off to all the ladies who can self relax, self braid, self trim and an extra special shout out to those who can self weave that takes some skill right there. Blanka and Banke I hail una!