Healthy Hair Tips with SupaNaturalTammy

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, Mon Mini Moi had the pleasure of interviewing one of our high school classmates Tammy McKnight. Tammy McKnight is popular for her healthy hair tips and protective styles that she posts on Instagram and YouTube. She does not provide tips or styles for profit. She only wants to share her useful tips on growing healthy hair.

 She begun her research on how to grow healthy hair when she started to stretch her relaxers out to once every six months by visiting a website called KeepItSimpleSista. We are happy that she shared these tips with us. The tips that she provided are not only for children, but can also be used by adults. Get your paper and pen ready, because we are about to deliver an overload of information.


 How often do you believe that heat should be applied to a child's hair?
 -As little as possible, but if you need to, use a heat protector. If you use a blow dryer use the lowest setting. It will take longer to dry the hair, but will reduce the risk of causing heat damage on the hair.

Product of using the flat irons daily and getting a relaxer every 6-8 wks

  Are clipping a child's ends necessary?

  -For young natural children its not necessary because their hair is not exposed to as many things as adults. If a lot of heat is applied or the hair isn't properly moisturized then a trim maybe needed. If you twist the hair and the ends aren't the same size from root to tip, the thin ends of the twist may be damaged or split ends and should be trimmed. As for natural adults with healthy hair, I recommend every six months or as needed so you can see your length. If the hair is relaxed or has heat damaged, trimming may be required more frequently.

 What is your opinion on the age a child should get a relaxer?

 -I think you should let a child decide when they want a relaxer. If they want one they'll ask. Of course it's your decision to say yes or no. Getting a relaxer is thought of as an easier way to be able to manage hair, but getting a relaxer can be more harmful than helpful.

 

 Which hairstyle do you believe is the healthiest, braids or ponytails?

 -Both can be healthy, all depends on what you are trying to achieve. For braids, never braid hair in the same direction all the time. Dont put too much tension on ur hair, if the ponytail/braids feels too tight take them out (many people get retracting alopecia from this). This also goes for sew ins.... For example.... Don't always braid your hair straight back, change the direction. As for ponytails don't wear it in the same spot, change the position on the ponytail.

Five Month Fro Comparison

 How do you wash your hair?

 -I co wash my hair, then use a deep conditioner. You should always deep condition your hair when you wash it. A co wash is using a conditioner to wash your hair instead of shampoo. Most shampoos actually dries out the hair of African Americans, conditioner has enough cleansing ingredients to get your hair clean. I use VO5 moisturizing conditioner (is a dollar at Dollar Tree) to co wash. I put the VO5 in an applicator bottle to help get the product to my roots. I add castor oil and a few drops of Rosemary oil and Peppermint Oil to my deep conditioner. These oils act as a stimulator for hair growth, and also thickens the hair. My hair is protein sensitive, but I recommend Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Pak (its a light protein treatment). If your hair has problems retaining moisture, using a sit under dryer is essential to your hair as it helps to open your hair shaft to absorb moisture. If you are unsure how fast your hair absorbs moisture, do a Porosity Test. I did my test by washing and conditioning my hair, then placed a strand of my hair in a cup of water and waited to see how long it took for the strand of hair to fall to the bottom of the cup. (There several tutorials on youtube for porosity test).

 What are your thoughts on doing the Big Chop (BC)?

-You should take as long as you want before you do the big chop. I noticed when I did the BC, my hair was a lot dryer than normal. I would find myself with my spray mist bottle of water and oils to moisture and seal every two hours. A lot of naturals went through that dry phase in the beginning.

8 months into her natural hair journey.

 We notice that on your post you talk about Sealants...what is a sealant and what can be used for a sealant?

 -A sealant is using an oil to seal in moisture by putting a little bit of oil on top of it.

 Moisturizers that I have used: Carols Daughter Healthy Hair Butter, water mixed with a leave in conditioner, Herbal Essence, Long Term Relations.
Oils: Castor oil, Virgin Olive oil (can be bought at a grocery store), Avocado oil, Grapeseed oil, Murray's Pomade (use the light formula for kids hair), Long term Relations
 

 What could be used for dry scalp/dandruff?

-Castor oil mixed with a few drops of Peppermint Oil

Here are some additional tips that Tammy provided...
 

 Do not use hair bows or burettes with metal clips or cloth burettes, use Ouchless ponytail holders.

Use silk or satin hair scarfs. If possible use a satin pillowcase, they are sold at Sally's

Hair growth from July 2010- December 2011 before BC in Jan 2012.

Normally, hair grows 6' per year. If you are trying to achieve length do not color your hair if you haven't figured out how to retain moisture, this will dry your hair out. If you do want to add color, I'd suggest coloring your tips just enough where if you needed to cut the color out you would feel comfortable cutting off that much hair if your hair doesn't react well to the color treatment or experimenting with color hairspray.

 

The "Nettie" Bun

          

Twistout Perfected

   If you are interested in Tammy's creative and classy Protective Hair Styles subscribe to SupaNaturalTammy on YouTube.

 We hope you have enjoyed this post and we look forward to bringing our readers more information on different topics. Until next time....

  XOXO ~Mon Mini Moi

When Emergency Strikes

Stomach and body aches are some of the many things children complain about. We as parents try not to run to the doctor for every little thing and may use over the counter medicines to cure the illness/aliment. A few days ago  Kynedi complained about her finger and said it was hurting. Ice was applied to the finger and then she went to bed. When she woke up the next morning, her hand was swollen. 

She was rushed to the doctor and got checked out. He prescribed her an antibiotic, a steroid creme, and a medication for her allergic reaction to her ant bite. By the time we left the doctor's office her hand had actually gotten bigger, luckily there is a pharmacy inside of the office so it only took a few minutes to get the prescription filled. After we got home I gave her something to eat, then her medicine, and she took a nap. Her hand didn't go all the way down until two days later. It was a scare, but it also made me wonder what other things to look out for. When Kynedi went back for her check up I asked the doctor about other allergies with symptoms that I should look for. The doctor stressed the importance of going to a doctor if there is an allergic reaction to peanuts. He also stated that it was the most dangerous known allergy, that is why they are so big on company's letting consumers know if their products  may contain peanut particles.

This was a scary event that we wanted to share with other parents just to bring awareness to the small things that we may overlook or try to fix with an over the counter medicine.

Turkeys for Teachers :)

The Gift of Crafts

Something that never grows old and will keep a child busy... ARTS AND CRAFTS! For Thanksgiving we made Turkeys for Teachers. Kynedi was certainly excited and ended up making more turkeys than teachers that she had. It kept her busy for hours and I definitely reaped the benefits from it. The materials that were used are cheap and some of the materials can be found in your yard at home.


Materials: Pine cone, Sticks, Glue Gun, Paper, and "Googly" eyes.

Estimated time per turkey: 7-10 minutes

Please do not judge me, but I did not know that pine cones got as big as the ones that we found. We don't have any pine cones in our yard, so we had to ask a neighbor if it was okay to get some of theirs.

Step 1: Choose the size of the pine cone that you would like to use.

 Step 2: Use the glue gun to arrange the feathers On the back of the pine cone

 Step 3: Cut out a circle for the face and add the eyes. Gluing the face on the pine cone can be a little tricky. You have to find the right spot in order for the face to stand in the correct position. Once you have found the right spot glue it on.















Step 4: Cut out a triangle for the nose and glue it on and the mouth can be easily drawn on. Try to break the sticks so that they are even. Glue the sticks onto the scales.

Step 5: Glue One feather on each side of the pine cone.

 There you have it, a finished Turkey.

Of course Kynedi made one for her principal Mrs. Dixon and she was excited to put it on her desk next to the pumpkin Kynedi made for her a few weeks ago. Teachers are special and even though we can't always afford to buy them things allowing your child make them something shows them that they are appreciated. These are also wonderful gifts for grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc to give to them.

Free Entertainment

As a parent, paying for fun entertainment to enjoy with your child can be hard when you also have to pay bills. While everything usually is expensive, looking for ways to save a few dollars is always an option. We were able to get free tickets to Disney On Ice by donating 10 can goods for two tickets. As we gave the can goods we made sure that the children understood the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate and not expect anything in return.

Whelp we saved on paying for the tickets, however in the aisles were vendors. Popcorn, Candy, Nachos, Toys and all of the above to attract the attention of a child to get their parent to spend money was unavoidable.  

Tips On Saving Money at a Show:

-Have children eat before they get there to avoid having to pay ridiculous prices.

-Bring some type of entertainment to keep them occupied while waiting for the show to begin.

Here are some photos that were captured from Disney On Ice!

*Also have them use the restroom before getting to your seat. This while minimize having to get up in the middle of the show to take them to the restroom.