After sharing my experience with relaxing my nappy hair it's natural that I share with you guys the product I used to relax my hair.

Related: The Experience Of Relaxing My One-Year-Old Nappy Hair

When I made up my mind to relax my hair, I had in mind Dr Miracle's relaxer and also Dark and Lovely. I had used Dr Miracle before and I liked it. As for Dark and Lovely my previous experience wasn't good as I bought a fake product which didn't even relax my hair. So I can say that I have never used a Dark and Lovely relaxer until now. But I have friends who used it and had good results. 

This time I decided to try the suggestion of the salesperson in the shop and he recommended Vitale Olive No-Lye Hair Relaxer. I bought the super relaxer.

Products I Used To Relax My Hair | Featuring Vitale Olive No-Lye Relaxer

The product

The pack of Vitale Olive Relaxer is made up of :

- The relaxer

- The activator

- The shampoo

- The leave-in conditioner

- Gloves and a spatula for mixing.

The highs and lows

I relaxed my hair at the hair salon and my hairstylist did a good job with that. 

The one thing that I am most grateful for is that it didn't burn my scalp. It also got my hair very well relaxed.

I noticed that the products don't have any nice smell, especially the shampoo. So if you love nice smelling products then think again about buying this one. 

Also, the leave-in conditioner is watery and not oily. This makes it hard to use most times because I can't use it when my hair is dry.

The verdict

The relaxer is good and I recommend it for relaxing pure virgin hair. It relaxes your hair evenly and doesn't discolour hair. I love products with a nice scent but because this one is good I don't have a problem using it again.

The Price

In Cameroon Vitale Olive relaxer costs between 3800frs - 5000frs. I actually bought mine for 3800frs but it was priced 4500frs. Prices may vary from shop to shop that's why I gave that price range. 

It's been almost a month since I relaxed my virgin hair. I'm happy I did because I got what I wanted out of it.

The Experience Of Relaxing My One-Year-Old Nappy Hair

Why I relaxed my One-year-old nappy hair

I cut my hair in December 2019. It was almost bald. Then I coloured it gold. I cut my hair because I needed a break from long hair. I also had issues with my edges. They were breaking a lot and it made my hair difficult to style. So I decided to cut everything.

While growing my hair again I wanted to keep it natural though from time to time I wanted to relax it. I have kept natural hair in the past and it wasn't that easy to comb and plait it because it hurt so much. But then I received natural hair products from GLB which helped me to soften my hair and make my edges grow again. Their products convinced me to settle for nappy hair.

Also Read: GLB - The hair products that make me comb my natural hair easily

Then later the desire to relax my hair came back because I couldn't leave my hair freely as I desired. I couldn't style my natural hair myself and I didn't have many options. I could learn from other nappy bloggers or Youtubers but I didn't have the patience to do that. I just wanted to be able to have my hair styled by myself sometimes. To comb and style it into a bun or anything easy on days I don't feel like going to the saloon.

The process

The process to me was liberating, to be honest. I thought of all the things I would be able to do with my hair and also the fact that I'll stress less about getting my hair done when I have unexpected activities.

I loved my nappy hair. It broke my heart to not be able to keep up with maintaining it. But I am enjoying my relaxed hair as well and I am glad I did it.

Also read: Am I disconnected from my roots because my hair is no longer nappy?

The relaxing process didn't make me anxious or afraid as I expected. I just looked forward to the results and I was proud of it. I didn't get burnt and my air was perfectly relaxed.

Also, read. Products I used to relax my one-year-old nappy hair

I did this at the perfect time because it was the Christmas period and I had to go out sometimes. So I was less stressed about my hair. 

Also read: How we spent New Year's Day 2021

                   My New Year's Day hairstyle

Last time I saw my nappy hair

Relaxing my hair at the hair salon

My relaxed hair

The evening after relaxing my hair

Waking up with my relaxed hair

Christmas hairdo

New Year's Day hairdo

That's my experience with relaxing my hair. 

I recently relaxed my one-year-old nappy hair and I felt a conflict within myself because being nappy is not just a choice or a lifestyle. It is an identity. It represents a race and a community. So I must say relaxing my hair after growing it naturally for a year felt like a betrayal. 

That's a heavy word but what I felt was close to that. 

Disconnected From My African Roots Because My Hair Is Relaxed

Nappy hair gives you a sense of belonging

Many of us like to belong somewhere or in some community. We belong to our family when growing up and later we belong to other groups which construct our personality and identity. Being nappy gives that feeling of belonging, identity, pride and personality to those who have it. 

He who is not with us is against us

Since it is a community there are definitely people who feel attacked when you don't align with that lifestyle. And this is not good at all because even though it represents an identity of a community, having relaxed hair doesn't mean renouncing your African roots or identity. It's a matter of intention. 

Though it does make you look different, it all depends on why you do it. As long as the intention is not to change who you are there is no problem with it. 

My journey to relaxed hair

I relaxed my hair recently after keeping it nappy for a year. I love my relaxed hair. It's still my hair whether relaxed or not and I love wearing it simple most of the time. 

Related: My experience with relaxing my one-year-old nappy hair.

                Products I used to relax my hair

While with nappy hair, I knew that at some point I was going to relax. And when the time came I did. 

Read all about my experience of relaxing my hair here.

My take on this

Whether relaxed or nappy it doesn't matter. Do whatever feels convenient for you. Nappy hair is not for everyone; No matter how much some bloggers and YouTubers make it easy to maintain, it's not easy for everyone. It requires more products, time and dedication to care for it.

It's not to discourage you from keeping nappy hair but just to tell you the truth. I enjoyed my nappy journey because it was different and there are hairstyles I could make with it that I can no longer do with my relaxed hair. 

But right now, nappy hair is not for me. I may go back to it in the future or sometime when I feel like keeping it again. there's time for everything and now is the time for relaxed hair. I can always do a big chop and start all over again. I'm happy I am that courageous when it comes to my hair.

My New Year's Day Hairstyle

By New Year's Eve, the hairstyle I did for Christmas was already so itchy and also quite painful in the middle where the bun was tied. 

Also read: How We Spent Christmas 2020

It made me want to go for a change of hairstyle. I wanted my hair washed so bad. I love washing my hair because it makes me feel relaxed - especially when I do it in a hair salon.

 Happy happy new year 🎉🎉🎈 everyone!

I feel so uplifted and lighter this 2021. I hope you do too. 2020 has been a tough year no doubt. In fact, it has been my worse year yet even though it has taught me another side of life.

That's why I'm so grateful to God that the year 2020 is done, dusted and gone! 

How We Spent New Year's Day 2021

On New Year's Eve, I was gifted a cake by my landlady. It was so delicious. We ate it until the morning of New year's day.

To celebrate 🥂 the day, we cooked Achu for New year's day. I already shared the recipe here on the blog.

To be honest with you guys this is my first time cooking Achu. I have only assisted and helped my mom and grandma to cook it but I've never cooked it alone.

I'm so glad the meal came out very delicious 😋🤤 and everyone loved it.

I made njama njama (contry-style) and njakatu (garden eggs) to accompany the Achu. It was fantastic.

In preparation to celebrate the day, I went to the market on New Year's Eve and bought the food items. Then I got most of them ready before the next day because I knew the pounding of the Achu will take most of my time. I cleaned and packed the cocoyam' in the pot, I also cooked the meat, canda and fish. Then I went and did my hair. I fixed the vegetable (njama njama) in the night while waiting for midnight to come. I finally finished it after midnight. I then wrote a blog post for you guys to wish you a happy new year then I went to bed. 

Also Read: Happy New Year 2021

                   How I Did My Hair on New Year's Day 2021

In the morning we pounded the Achu then sat down together in the evening and had a great time with family. 

Achu cocoyam and achu banana

Njama njama

Njakatu (Garden eggs)

Doing my hair

Fixing the vegetable while waiting for midnight

My drink to welcome the new year at midnight

Cheers!

I hope that the day was great for you guys too. 

Keep staying positive this new year.

I am sharing with you today my recent fashion purchases. It's been such a long time since I bought anything for myself and it feels good to shop for myself again. 

I needed some new clothes and other stuff which I talked about in other posts and I'm glad I was able to get them. So here are my recent outfits and fashion accessories I purchased.

My Recent Purchases | Outfits & Accessories

Clothes

I went for comfortable and stylish outfits. My tops and leggings are from okirika (thrift) and the others were sewn for me.

- Tops

I got cotton tops because of their stretch and softness. Also because they are comfortable and the colours are mature. Mostly black, navy blue and brown were the colours I went for.

These tops were super cheap so I got many of them at once. I try to avoid shopping too much at the same time because I usually regret some of my purchases when I get home. But this time I got up to ten tops at the same time and I like my choices. 

- Leggings

I got a pair of leggings in cotton as well and I love the comfort it gives me. I discovered that pairing a cotton top and bottom is not the best option because it doesn't look bright. But mixing colours and textures and also accessories makes it better. 

That's how I have been wearing my leggings with my cotton outfits.

- Dresses

A few dresses got into my wardrobe too though I wish there were more. I bought three from okirika and one boutique. 

One of the gowns I got is transparent and needed a gown to wear inside. So the two other gowns I got were meant to be worn beneath the transparent one. I was looking forward to buying black but the type I wanted was hard to find so I got blue and also a black one.

The boutique gown I got is from the guys who sell in trucks outside the market. It s more expensive and I bought it because I couldn't find what I needed in okirika. But after buying it I saw the black gown from okirika which was way cheaper. 

All the same, I'm glad I got both because I can still wear them with or without the transparent dress on top.

- Tailored wears

I added some sewn clothes to my wardrobe as well. They are made from Ankara and dyed materials. These clothes were supposed to be ready a long time ago but the tailor couldn't deliver on time. One of them I wore for Christmas and the other I plan to wear on New Year's Day. 

It's actually a family asoebi (matching outfits) made for me, my daughter and her father. I really like the outfits because they were well sewn and I chose good styles too.

I initially planned to wear the dresses I bought from okirika but when these ones came, I changed my mind as it was more beautiful to dress up in our family asoebi.

Accessories

I got myself one accessory which I love greatly. A handbag.

- Handbag

I feel so festive this year and I'm so grateful to God that I can celebrate Christmas well with my family and friends.

How Are Cameroonians Preparing To Celebrate Christmas 2020?

Christmas 🎄 represents the birth of Christ Jesus and it's celebrated in different ways around the world - according to our various cultures.

In Cameroon, preparations for Christmas involve getting clothes and food to celebrate 🥂 with family and friends. There's also a lot of drinking 🍷and sharing of presents in the form of foodstuff, personal and household items. Christmas is considered an occasion for kids.

Christmas this year is different because most Cameroonians are in great financial difficulty than usual. The year 2020 has been difficult for all of us, but in Cameroon where the standard of living is generally low, things can get really bad.

Nonetheless, the markets were full even though traders complained that clients don't seem to have money. Those who could do something did the best for their families to make them happy.

On my way to the market on the 24th, I saw a home 🏠 that killed a cow. It was an amazing sight as it's not something we see often. 

At the market, there were people lined up to buy Eru, meat and fish 🐟. I got some Eru to cook for my family on Christmas day and they are all looking forward to eating it. 

Cooking for Christmas requires waking up early on Christmas day to start or finish cooking. 

Christmas eve is for last shopping 🛒 and travelling to meet family and friends but it's the beginning of gatherings and 🥳🎉 partying with loved ones either indoors or outdoors.

As I write this, it's Christmas Eve and I am spending the evening with family. We just had Ndolé for dinner and now we are digesting with some wine (El Vino 😉).

Some of the kids and people are catching up with doing their hair to look good tomorrow. I'm glad I did mine yesterday. I wanted to avoid the pressure of last-minute hairdo. I also got my nails done 💗 and I love the switched up look as I really look put together 😉👌🏾. 

That's a description of how Christmas is going on in this part of the world called Cameroon, especially from my angle. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. 

Have a very merry Christmas and let the love of Christ our saviour be with you all.

So we wash our okirika for two reasons:

How To Remove Okirika Smell From Clothes

This detergent (Ozil) washes well and smells good as well.

There are two flavours of Soupline but I like this one most.

I was brainstorming on my content the other day and in the course of that my mind wandered off for a while. I was actually thinking about what value or plus I want to bring to the women who read my posts. Then this topic came to my mind and I started talking to myself (I do that a lot). I actually enjoyed the conversation and felt I should share it with you.

Why Women Don't Support Women

This problem started way back when women had no voice or right to do the things they wanted to do. Women got used to thinking low of not just themselves as individuals but also their fellow women.

This went on for years and years and women just got used to not seeing themselves going places or becoming better. Women rather got used to talking more about their problems, their struggles their difficulties and less about their dreams, successes or power. 

That is why when a woman's life changes for the better her fellow women around her could feel jealous and may want to pull her down. that's why women are constantly competing against each other in life and achievements like marriage, jobs, kids and social status.

One woman's success makes another woman feel more inferior and left behind. For ages, women have not been able to see and believe in their own abilities. They have gotten used to misery. They have gotten used to adapting to difficulty and have continuously measured their strength by their ability to endure their problems and not by overcoming them completely.

Even though there is a new generation of women who were born when the world has improved on the respect for women's rights, this mindset hasn't been eliminated. When are still used to misery, pain and suffering as well as limiting ourselves in other ways? 

This mindset has put us in a place where we feel jealousy and envy and don't want to support each other for fear that one woman's success will expose or highlight our inferiority or failure. 

We need to stop this and realize that one woman being successful doesn't take anything from another. 

We need to support and learn from each other to grow. We all have different paths in life and one woman may want a flourishing career while the other wants a thriving home. It doesn't make the homemaker a failure or the career woman a difficult person.

Let's start to support each other and let go of our limiting beliefs about ourselves.