Shedding

I don't know about y'all, but shedding literally makes me cringe. Every time strands of my hair come out on my fingers, brushes or combs - whether I'm detangling, styling, washing, or prepping for sleep - I feel a little tinge of dread that I'm going bald. Haha...now I would like to assume that I'm just overreacting. I know a little shedding is natural. And for some reason it never really bothered me before when I had locks. But I find myself stressing over it sometimes now that I have a fro (probably because I wasn't worried about length before since it was all there!)

So I decided to put my shedding quantity to the test. I did a little experiment to figure out just how much hair I really lose on a daily basis. For a week straight, I did my normal routine and recorded, through pictures, the amount of detached hair there was at the end of each day. I kept the tufts so that I could have a look at just how much hair I'd loss by  the end of the week.

Here are the pictures:

Sunday

Monday

Wednesday

Thursday

Saturday

I washed my hair twice in the week and restyled about 4.5 times. I had zero shedding on two of the seven days; thus, no picture was taken for those days. Here is the accumulation of hair at the end of the week:

Looking at it from this full perspective helped me realize I wasn't losing quite as much hair as I thought. It also helped me be more conscious of how I washed it, how often I moisturized it (more moisture = less breakage), and how I styled it and what tools I used to style it with. I think it was a great experiment and learning experience and definitely recommend it to you guys. Always awesome to find new ways of learning your head of hair!

How much does your hair shed?
Is my hair shedding a lot or is this the normal amount?
How often do you wash your hair, and how does that affect your amount of shedding?

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

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iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just wanted to check in with you guys really quick before this day is over to wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I decided to rock some love knots and I think they turned out amazingly :) Yes, yes, I know...they're mini bantu knots..but I wanted to call them love knots in honor of the day lol. Anyhoo, I got lots of compliments on the look and I'm so happy with the result.

I think they make my head look a little small in comparison to my body, lol, but it's ok but the hair is so cool you get distracted from my tiny head.

I'm excited to take them out and see the resulting curl from the bantu knot out. That fro is going to be so bomb. I'll probably do an episode on Rahkua aHeadOfMyHair so be sure to tune in on Thursdays!

Well, that's it for now, see ya next week!

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

www.gofundme.com/ProjectAfrica

iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Checking In - 6 months!

Hey yall! It has officially been 6 whole months since I cut my hair and I still can't believe that I actually did it. Time has literally FLOWN by and it feels like just yesterday I was whippin my 40" hair...but those days are over. hahaha.

It's been so cool just playing in my hair and experimenting with different styles and maintenance methods and wash routines and all that. I've truly enjoyed this new journey.

Here are 6 of my favorite moments since the cut:

1. First bun
   
2. First wig
   
3. First ponytail
   
4. First straightening
   
5. First heat damage :(
   
6. My fro growth!
   

There is still so much more to experience and I'm so excited for another 6 months to hit my one year mark. I think I'll finally be ready to try my first length check by then. In the meantime, thank you guys for coming along the journey with me!

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

www.gofundme.com/ProjectAfrica

iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

Flexi-rod Fun!

I was browsing ebay for hair stuff and came across these flexible foam rods that I've been hearing people talk about. They were only like 78 cents for 10 of them so I decided to try them out.

After getting my hair straightened for the first time, I quickly realized that it would NOT last very long (a good 3 days). I decided to try the rods out on the last poofy days of my press. This is how it looked starting out:

Lol...kind of like a 1950s housewife right?

So after watching like 4 or 5 tutorials on how to correctly install the rods, I went ahead and put them in. *sings* "You know this hair is mine; I rolled the rod; I gave it time". 

Since the set only came with ten I had to use kind of big sections of hair in each. I think it would probably work out a little better with smaller sections. I put on my newly acquired bonnet to protect it through the night :)

Taking it down my hair was looking pretty crazy...

 But I finger picked the curls out and found a good side part that I brushed down for styling. Here's the look from all 4 sides:

I've tried it a couple more times afterwards (using just washed/wet hair instead of semi-damp unwashed hair) and I love the results more and more each time:

I still don't think that I have perfected the method, and I definitely need to buy about 3 or 4 more packs, but I think it's a good start.

Drop a pic of your favorite natural hair flexi-rod set!

What are some other methods you use to give your fro definition?

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

www.gofundme.com/ProjectAfrica

iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

STYLE ALERT: Twisted Back Double Puff

The back of my hair often frustrates me because of how short it is. And I know, I know, you're tired of hearing that. BUT, it's SO short lol. I now feel like I have conquered it though! I have found a trick to disguise the fact that it's so short and to make it actually make a high ponytail or puff. I'm so excited.

So I achieve my high double puffs by twisting the back into 4 horizontal rows that converged into each other. Then I vertically twist the horizontal twists upward into a puff that secure with a hairband. This is what the back looks like so you can get a visual image of what I mean:

Not only does it look kool, adding an extra little kick to a fairly simple hairstyle, but it also helps me to disguise the fact that my hair wouldn't be long enough to go up into those high puffs otherwise because of how short it is! I love this new discovery!

I actually first tested the little trick for my birthday weekend. I wanted a highbun for the Magic Castle excursion I was going on and I was determined to make it work. This is what I came up with: 

Since that was such a success, I decided to try it out on a double track and was even happier with the results. As my puffs got a little older, I decided to protect the ends from drying out while still keeping the twists up. It resulted in this cool Minnie Mouse look:

What little tricks do you use to make your short hair more manageable for styling?

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

www.gofundme.com/ProjectAfrica

iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com

STYLE ALERT: Braided Halo

I wrote this post a couple months ago and realized that I forgot to post it! Although I don't have my locs anymore, I thought I'd still share the style with you all in case you wanted to recreate it for yourself!

I like to keep myself busy with kool little side jobs, and among those is Magician Assistant. I assist the wonderful Mayseo the Magician in his magic act and we had a show for a festival in Long Beach. Here is my hair do:

So I chose a tamed updo not only because it looks great, lol, but also so that all my long inches wouldn't get in the way of making sure we pull off each spectacle flawlessly. And I absolutely love really simple hairdos that look like they are the most intricate thing in the world. It was quick, easy, and wearable for at least two weeks without having to redo my hair...the perfect combination.

So I started with a side part because, I love those. I braided downwards about 4 braids on one side and about 7 on the other side with my loose natural hair. Then I braided those group of braids to the side in a sort of braid bang. The pictures hopefully explain what I mean.

Then I got the locs and braided one side across the center of my head and down the side. I plaited the rest of the locs into about 3 free standing braids (not attached to scalp). Then I took all the pieces and wrapped them in a sort of halo using mostly tucking to hold it in place....maybe one bobby pin.

Then I got my hair toothbrush and made my edges neat :) Here's a back view:

And that was my really simple, but intricate style!

- "Mo hair"

 

Rahkua Ishakarah

rahkua.com

YouTube: A Head Of MY Hair

Instagram: @aHeadOfMyHair

Tumblr: http://rahkuanailshair.tumblr.com

DONATE TO MY PROJECT AFRICA CAMPAIGN:

www.gofundme.com/ProjectAfrica

iHEARTrahkua@gmail.com