Tell Your Hair Story is about sharing the greatest obstacle you think is stopping you from starting your hair braiding business. Leave your comment below and write your story for a chance to win a complete braiding training kit. This competition is open to only U.S residents. To be entered for the drawing, complete step two by clicking here or just subscribe below.

Note: Remember to leave your comment.

Step one: Leave your comment

Step two: Subscribe

Result: You will be entered in a drawing to win what you see in the picture above.

When I posted the advertisement about moving on from hair braiding to training, Roxann showed interest. I spoke to her various times about what it entails. Then I came up with a business proposal that entitled, Kickstart Your Business with Bukola Braiding.

After a while, she developed a cold feet and became skeptic. I did not push her but told her that I was available to answer all her questions. All of a sudden, I saw a missed call from Roxann. Before I could listen or respond to the message, she sent me a text message. She was ready to take a step to achieve a dream of running her own business.

We sat together and discussed what it entailed again and on December 1, 2014, she opened her shop – her dream became a reality.

I caught up with her yesterday to see how things were going. You can see for yourself by watching the video below. Leave your comment and questions. And, if you want to start your own business, I will be glad to help you make your dream a reality. Contact me today.

In the U.S. public school students do not wear uniform, let alone have a compulsory hair style for kids to wear to school. And, it is understandable that some parents can feel overwhelmed when they don’t know what to do or how to control their kid’s nappy hair. In this post, I will recommend to ways that you can help your kids and be happy at the same time.

Hire a hair braider’s service: To save you the headache and embarrassment, find a local hair braiding shop to take your daughter for nicely braided cornrows. Usually, they last for up to six weeks. Imagine not having to worry for six weeks. All you will need to do during this process is wrap her hair at night and oil it at least once a week.

Do it yourself: With this system, you have to take a conscious effort to braid or style your daughter’s hair every week. You can do it on Sundays or Saturdays. When I was growing up in Nigeria, my mother used to braid my hair every Sunday afternoon. When I got into junior secondary school and became a teenager, she would give me money to go to a hair braider. Shampoo and condition your daughter’s hair if you don’t know how to braid. Once it’s dry, section her hair into four. Divide each one into two sections, apply a hair cream or oil and twist. Use a rubber band to keep the twist in place at the tip. You can repeat the same style every week, especially when the child is ten years old or younger.

This is just my little tip for you.

By the way, you can read the teacher’s post on Bukola Braiding Facebook page

Leave a comment below if you have questions or additional ways to help our parent community with their children’s hair.

According to WebMD, some autoimmune and genetic conditions such as vitiligo and alopecia areata are sometimes responsible for premature grey hair. The author added that, “A vitamin B12 deficiency or problems with the pituitary or thyroid gland can cause premature greying that’s reversible if the problem is corrected.”

But how do you cover up your grey without using the chemicals? One of the ways to do so is what this article will be talking about. Tea is one of the common items in the kitchen. Some people drink tea daily, while others just keep it handy. Aside from filling you and treating your tongue to a nice taste, some natural hair care specialists have found that tea can be used to dye your hair.

Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman, authors of The Beauty Cookbook suggest that you choose tea for dying based on the color of your hair. For black hair, they recommended golden monkey, Fujian province, wild ginger, Ceylon, or Chinese Black Tea with ginger. For a dark brown shade, you can use Earl Grey, Ceylon black, or bergamot tea. For a brown shade of hair, you can use summer berry, black tea with elderberry, blackberry, or raspberry. For a red shade, you can use rooibos, or Washington state lavender. And for a blonde hair shade, you can use classic chamomile.

Brew your tea of choice and leave to cool to room temperature. Use the cool tea as a rinse after shampoo. Leave it in for up to 10 minutes; however, if you don’t want the color to be deep, you can leave in in for up to 10 minutes.

Beauty Tip from Kim and Cindy:

You’ve spent a good amount of time in the pool, you unnatural blond you, and suddenly your hair is looking sadly greenish from the chlorine. Take a deep breath and stay away from the deep end. Here’s a great tip from the Bellagio Spa in Las Vegas: Just get out a bottle of ketchup! Red and green are on the opposite ends of the color spectrum. If you take a teaspoon of ketchup and wash your hair with it, the green will be removed by the red coloring of the tomatoes. Finish by shampooing well with your regular favorite, and then condition. It might take a few treatments with the ketchup to work. But don’t blame us for any strange burger cravings after you get out of shower.

Culled from Beauty Cookbook.

References:

The Beauty Cook Book

Web MD Boots: http://www.webmd.boots.com/healthy-skin/guide/premature-greying-reasons-options

Live Science: http://www.livescience.com/3670-roots-gray-hair-cellular-stress.html

Resources:

DIY Natural: http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-herbal-hair-dye/

The Paleo Mama: http://thepaleomama.com/2013/11/henna-hair-dye-safe-nontoxic/

Wellness Mama: http://wellnessmama.com/5112/natural-hair-color-recipes/

Caramel treatment

The caramel treatment is one of the most common and effective methods of softening African-American hair naturally. Apart from softening, it also moisturizes the hair and stretches out the kinks. Your hair will be easy to detangle and will be easier to manage. This treatment has to be re-applied every four weeks because the effect starts wearing off at this time. You can easily make your own caramel treatment at home by following a simple recipe. The basic ingredients are:

1. 1/4 cup of honey
2. 3 jars of banana baby food (some people use ripe bananas but it may not wash out easily)
3. 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
4. 1/4 cup of Blackstrap molasses
5. 1/4 cup of olive oil

Blend the ingredients in a blender until the mixture is smooth then apply it to your hair just the way you apply relaxer. Cover your hair with a shower cap for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it on overnight if you want the full effect. Rinse your hair properly with water afterwards. Keep the remaining mixture, if you have leftovers in the freezer until next use.

Coconut milk treatment

The coconut milk treatment is the second method that you can use to make your hair soft naturally. It is also done with ingredients that are readily available in most homes. You will need such ingredients as:

1. 1 can of coconut milk
2. 2 tablespoons of honey
3. 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
4. 4 tablespoons of plain organic yoghurt
5. 1 lime juice
6. Cornstarch

Keep the cornstarch aside then mix the remaining ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Add cornstarch gradually (about half teaspoon per time) until you get the right thickness. Wash your hair, and then apply the mixture. Leave it in your hair for at least 30 minutes before washing it out.

General tips

The two methods mentioned above are very effective for softening your hair naturally. It is important to take good care of your hair after any of these treatments. Wash kinky hair regularly with moisturizing shampoos. This will keep your hair strands lubricated and soft. Don’t wash your hair with hot water. Hot water will make the hair dry and brittle. Use cool water when you wash or rinse your hair.

Avoid hair appliances as much as you can. Set blow dryer to the lowest setting when you need to use it. The heat from hair appliances can make your hair dry and rough. You may also experience occasional hair burn. Rub a tiny quantity of oil into your hair three to four times every week. This could be olive, almond or coconut oil.

Get additional information here  for only $2.99 today when you buy a copy of 6 Ways to Make Your Natural Hair Soft eBook.

Reference:

http://napturallycurly.com/transitioning-from-relaxed-to-natural-hair/what-to-expect-when-transitioning/

http://www.blackhairinformation.com/hair-treatments-and-recipes/the-coconut-and-lime-treatment-for-natural-black-hair/

Resources:

http://www.coilyembrace.com/features/beautiful-hair/beautiful-hair/going-natural

1. Give Your Business a Name: Just like you have a name, your business needs its own name for the purpose of identification. Also, your business will be able to get its own social security number called Tax ID for business. You have to think of a name that will be very easy to remember because it will help when you want to market your business. You can use your own birth name for your business. For example, I have my first name for my business, Bukola Braiding and Beauty Supply. As you can see the name is long, so I go mostly with Bukola Braiding. If you use your full legal name, you may not need to register with the secretary of state. We will get to that in a moment. When choosing a name, take a piece of paper, write down as many names as comes to you. There is no limit to how many names you can write down. After writing all these names, begin to strike out the ones that do not really appeal to you until you get to three or two. From that, you choose one that you really feel your business name should be.
2. Register Your Business Name: The second step is to register your business with the Secretary of State’s office. You can start with an Assumed Name to become a Sole Proprietor. If you are starting small, then you will be fine with registering just assumed name. Otherwise, you can register as a Limited Liability Company, LLC, meaning that, your company is standing by itself and if you get sued, only whatever the company has will be taken and your personal property will not be affected. The thing is that for a braiding business with small amount of money, you probably will not need to worry about lawsuit that will go after your property. Note that before you register your business, except you are using your full legal name, you will need to search to see if the name you have chosen is available. That is why I suggested writing out several names to start with. That way, if the name you want to register is not available, you can try the next one or tweak it a little bit.
3. Register Your Domain Name: The third step is to register your domain name. This means to register a name that you will use for your website. There are many options available for hosting your website, but I highly recommend self-hosting your website. The company I go with is Blue Host. For less than $5 a month, you can register your domain name. Usually, Blue Host will ask you to pay for about three years upfront which is less than $200 and you will be glad you did. This way, you don’t have to make monthly payment. You can have peace of mind for the next two years on your website. Domain name registration is kind of similar to your business name registration with the Secretary of State. You have to do a name search to make sure it is available. I will like to recommend that once you search the SOS’s website to see that your name is available, go ahead and do the same with Blue Host to make sure it is available so that your business name can match your website’s url. However, if the name you really like for your business is not available, you don’t have to panic or worry, you can also tweak it a little. For example, you can add a dash sign. I have a website for a nonprofit I founded last year and the legal name of the organization is The Enitan Story, but the website is enitan.org, and visitors can still find the organization.

   
   
   

4. Set Up Social Network Pages: Starting a business in 2014 is much more different than even 10 years ago. Setting up social network pages will help to leverage your business by promoting it to the world at no initial cost to you. I will recommend that you set up a fan page on Facebook. You will do this from your existing Facebook personal account, but this page will strictly be for business. You publish only your business and business related posts on the page. Your personal posts for your friends can remain on your personal page. To set up a fan page, you can check out this post. Next, you will set up a Twitter account. Don’t worry about already having a Twitter account. You can to set up your business Twitter account separately. You will do the same with Pinterest, YouTube and Google Plus. However, you can turn your Pinterest personal page to business. The most important thing to note is that when you start using your pages for business, you have to keep personal posts out of there. That way, you will look more professional and attract the customers you need for your business.
5. Get Your Business Tax ID: The fifth step is to get your business Tax ID. This is like the social security number for your business. You can call the IRS or go to their website, irs.gov to apply. You will receive the number immediately. Few days after, you will receive an official letter from IRS showing that your business is registered with the agency.
6. Open a Bank Account: The sixth step is to go to your local bank and open a business account. The reason is that you want to separate your personal account from your business account. When going to the bank, take the Secretary of State registration with you. By this time, it should be about two weeks or so, because the SOS will mail a certificate to you. You will present the certificate to the banker. In addition, if you don’t have the IRS letter yet, you can just give them the number you were assigned online or on the phone. The various banks minimum amount to peon an account, usually $25. However, don’t worry about the opening minimum, what you want to look into before you open an account is the fees they charge. Ask the banker what to do to wave the fees and if that bank does not have an option that sounds interesting to you, go to a different bank. For example, if you open with Wells Fargo, you will need to have an automatic transfer of $150 from your checking to savings every month to waive the fees.
7. Find a Location: This step is technically your number one step, however, I have made it the seventh step here because, you may be starting from your home. If you want to save on rent, the ideal thing to do is to start from home to save some cost. But, you have to make sure that your home has a conducive spot that you can convert for your business. You can do this for about one year. During that process, you can start shopping for a business location outside of your home. This will give you time to shop around to see what is available and how to get the best deal for an office space. While working at home, carry minimal inventory because you want to look good and well-kept when your customers come in for service. You don’t necessarily need a store front or an office location that is on a strip mall. To save money, you can rent an office space within a building which will be way less that renting the same amount of space on a strip mall. For example, a space that you can get in an office complex for less than $500 can cost you over a $1000 on a strip mall. Good service and conducive environment will keep your customers coming back with their friends and family.
8. Think and Take Notes: Set aside two hours a day when you think and write as ideas form in your head about your business. You can write on a notebook or you can open a word document for writing, just make sure that you have a folder named “Think and Take Notes.” That way, you will start forming a discipline attitude towards your business, which will in the long run help your productivity. Some of the things you will write will be things that you will act upon right away, others will be goals that you will set for a week, two weeks, a month, a year, and so on. Try to choose the same time, that way, you will become used to it.

I hope that I have been able to give you a clear road map to start your hair braiding business. You can use these steps to also start a craft or consulting business too.

Leave your comments below. If you want more, please, subscribe to Bukola Braiding updates. And, if you want me to help you start this business more comfortably, enroll now by clicking the Bukola Braiding Academy link and I will get you started today.

Want to learn more before you start, no problem, sign up for my upcoming workshop on how to become your own boss. Click the image below to register.



]]> https://www.bukolabraiding.com/'/2014/04/17/why-you-are-losing-your-hair/' Thu, 17 Apr 2014 22:45:01 +0000 http://www.bukolabraiding.com/?p=1261

Hair growth is a challenge that many do not want to deal with, especially women who like to keep their hair long. However, a professor at the Anoka Ramsey Community College, Prof. Mike Goldman has identified zinc deficiency as one of the reasons why people lose their hair. Aside from genetics and hereditary reasons, Goldman said, “Zinc is important for hair growth. If you are zinc deficient, you will start losing your hair.” According to the Dr. OZ. Show, “the recommended daily allowances for men and women are 11mg and 8mg respectively.”

Highlighting the benefits of zinc in the daily diet, the online source stated that Zinc:

• Accelerates the activity of approximately 100 different body enzymes
• Promotes immune function to fight illness
• Supports healthy cell growth and development
• Ensures proper sense of taste and smell

Oyster is one of the main source identified to provide more zinc than any other sources because you will get 76.7 mg in six medium oysters. Zinc has been identified in some protein foods such as meat and bean. And you can also get in from nuts, crab, lobster, whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products.

Goldman also noted that foods rich in protein and omega 3 promote hair growth. Or those losing patches of hair, he recommended Minoxidil, which he also said is available over the counter. Because genetics and sex are factors responsible for hair loss also, he said that men will start finding out they will lose their hair in their early 20s, while women will find out in their 30s. He also noted that having pattern baldness does not mean that the follicle is dead, but that it “sleep[s] and don’t produce hair anymore.”

Menopause is another factor responsible for women’s hair loss because of the hormonal changes which make testosterone to be more prominent in the woman’s body.

Goldman believes that solution is on its way to cure pattern hair loss. According to him, in the next 20 years hair loss will be reversed by genetically manipulating the body. He said, “It will help women [because] it is usually easier in women than men.”

In conclusion, biotin is another source of helping to retain your hair on your scalp. He advised that some shampoos now have biotin it them, which could help; although, he does not know how effective them shampoos will be.

]]> https://www.bukolabraiding.com/'/2014/04/04/coconut-milk-olive-oil-hair-soft-treatment/' Sat, 05 Apr 2014 01:50:17 +0000 http://www.bukolabraiding.com/?p=1257

The Coconut Milk & Olive Oil Hair Soft Treatment is one of the ways described in the e-book entitled Make Your Hair Soft in Six Ways. After doing this treatment, my hair was soft for three weeks. You can get a free copy of the book by subscribing to weekly updates from Bukola Braiding.

Ingredients for this treatment:

• Olive Oil (preferably cold pressed)
• Coconut Milk

Note: Cayenne pepper was mixed in the olive oil. It was not for softening purpose but hair growth. Also, this is optional.

]]> https://www.bukolabraiding.com/'/2014/03/24/how-to-create-box-braids/' Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:51:29 +0000 http://www.bukolabraiding.com/?p=1251 This video shows you how to create box braids and how to style it. Perhaps, you have been struggling with how to create your own braids with extensions, I have taken the time to show you how to add your extensions, in addition to how to use different sizes for braiding depending on your client’s hair. I have also mixed colors in the braids. I used colors 2 and 35 X-pression braids. I cut it into three parts for this style.

Kindly post your questions below.

Thanks

Bukola

]]> https://www.bukolabraiding.com/'/2014/03/20/how-to-make-your-hair-soft/' Fri, 21 Mar 2014 00:03:38 +0000 http://www.bukolabraiding.com/?p=1203 In this video on how to make your hair soft, Bukola talks about one of the ways she described in her new e-book entitled Make Your Hair Soft In Six Ways. She also reveals the secret to preventing hair loss, that is, what you need to do to put an end to your shedding hair.
]]>