Big Chop to Bra Strap

My Blonde Moment

Four years ago I had beautiful blonde hair that was so dry and brittle that I dreaded wash days. I loved the colour but the maintenance on blonde hair left my strands brittle and dry. I tried all sorts of expensive products to rehabilitate my dull dry hair. Constant tangles, split ends and lifeless hair eventually led me to a scissor. It was time to go back to the beginning. My colour experiment had failed. I thought that with great care I could stay ahead of the lifeless hair curve. I was wrong. Bleach takes no prisoners. Everything eventually drops dead. 

It was time to cut my losses and move on. So on I went and I realised that the reason I coloured int eh first place was the fact that I was unhappy with my natural hair. I did not know how to detangle it. How to keep it moisturised. How to style it. When it was short I made every hair mistake in the manual of what not to do with natural hair. This is what the blonde ended up looking like. 

Regret came too late

So, It was time of the Big chop again and I hated it. I did not want to cut my hair. But the state it was in was just awful. The strands were weak and thin. They were porous and full of frizz. I realised that even though i had been natural for almost five years I still knew very little about caring for my hair. I took a scissor and cut it into a pixie. The minute the hair was off I was sad but relieved. 

Regaining myself

                                                                     

And time to re-learn what I thought I knew about growing healthy hair. Lesson 107 on natural hair I did not have to learn is that when you know a thing is bad, the thing is bad. Lesson 108 is that when you know a thing is bad the things you may try and do to contain the bad may not work. 109 a risk is called a risk because it is a risk. 

Finally, sometimes the best thing to do to get out of a bad situation is to just walk away and make a new start. Just start again. This is true for many things in life. Some things are just not worth trying to fix. New start. 

Ignorance was bliss

My natural hair in full halo. I loved it but I still had no idea how to get it to do what I wanted. For those of you who see my hair now and think- she got that good hair- think again. She learnt how to get that good hair. And so can you. For the first time in my life my hair is predictable. I know how to manage it without ever to think about it. I never have a bad hair day because in just five minutes I can rock a style even from a failed hairdo. Taking better care of my hair helped it to grow so much. I can make it look short. I can make it look long. I can do just about anything with my hair. 

                 

My Crown 

Bra Strap Baby

Smiling from ear to ear

Whatever you decide to do with your hair. Do love it. Do love yourself. Do whatever the hell makes you happy. 

LOVE Naturally 

Silk Helmet Lady 

Are you considering the Big Chop?

If you are considering the Big Chop and have questions and concerns then this is the article for you. Do you want a real view of what it means to go natural? The emotions, the reality and next steps. 

Get the full 411 in the series of transitioning hair here: Introduction

http://silkhelmetlady.blogspot.co.za/2015/08/are-you-in-transit.html

Love Naturally

SHL

Phenomenal Women of South Africa: Sipokazi

        Who is Sipokazi? 

I am a clothing designer in Johannesburg

        What are your interests?

Clothing- has been my first love since I was six. Consciousness- I know that it may sound weird but I love learning and experiencing the spiritual side of life and human interactions. There are a lot of things that make us think and interact the way we do; things science never told us about. Above all, I love to study the soul of  every person I meet. Finally, I practice yoga. 

        What are your views on:  ‘beauty’

The first word that comes to mind when I hear the word ‘beauty’ is humility. To see someone treat workers with the same respect they give the boss, to me that is beauty. Someone who befriends everyone, who is kind to homeless people, that to me is a beautiful soul. Humility cannot be faked even when people try to fake it. Humility has its own aura that draws you and consumes you and you can’t help but smile or get emotional when it hits you. There are 2 quotes that I recently saw that sum up beauty. One is by Audrey Hepburn and the second is unknown to me. 

 "Make-up can only make you look pretty on the outside but it doesn’t help if you’re ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the make-up”- Audrey Hepburn

“Women with radiant auras are so beautiful to me. Its not what they wear, (or lack of), its their spirit. Unshakable;undeniable. When you’re around it, it lifts you. To me, that’s beauty”- Author unknown

What is your favourite beauty trick?

I’m a simple person, complex but simple. The only makeup I use is foundation and lipstick and I prefer my hair natural or braids in winter time. 

     Tell us about your hair?

• Natural or not and why

My hair is natural. I kept my hair natural most of my life and in 2010 I tried the weave and it was just not me. I remember how I’d take it off by myself at 2am in the morning because it was just not me. I felt like I was hiding.

• DIY or salon girl

DIY. I have a barber though who cuts my hair on the sides but maintaining the afro, I do it myself. Winter time when I do braids, I do them myself. 

• your regime

I normally get a haircut twice a month and every day I use MPL medicated oil for the afro and comb my hair. I normally wash it on Saturdays. 

• your favourite products

When I have an afro like now I use MPL medicated oil. When I have braids I use Jabu Stone Multi Purpose Spray and Olive Oil ORS oil sheen spray interchangeably. When I have afro dread I use Jabu

Stone moulding cream to lock my hair.

• your favourite hairstyle

The bob cut I have now. It paints a picture of where I am mentally as well. 

What makes you special? 

This is a question that I always struggle with. I guess I’d have to answer it referring to the times people have called me special. They normally say I’m special mentally, because I think different and my thought process is mostly crazy. I love to make people laugh and sometimes it’s not even intentional. Sometimes they laugh at how random I am or laugh at how transparent I am about my flaws. I guess, honesty makes me special lol. 

What would you like to share with our readers?

Be true to yourself. I know they probably have heard that a million times but it always hits home. To be authentically you is the most beautiful thing you could ever do for yourself. To stand in your own truth is refreshing. We meet a lot of people thriving to be like somebody else. That is an insult to the person you were meant to be, an insult to yourself. Just be true to yourself. Allow people to get to know the real you. You will attract people that were meant to be in your life by being yourself rather than attracting people that weren’t meant to be in your life and wondering why are you not happy. Be you. You owe yourself that much.

Where do we find you on social media?

Sipokazi Ncetani on all social media platforms

My email address is sncetani@gmail.com and my WhatsApp number is 0731886244

Love Naturally

SHL