What is INCI?

When it comes to understanding what makes a product work, checking out its ingredients list is essential. To be able to read the ingredients list, you first need to understand the language it's written in: INCI.

  According to EC law, the ingredients list on every cosmetic product has to be written according to the INCI system. INCI, which stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, is a worldwide system of names for cosmetic ingredients, used to ensure consistency in the names of ingredients used in cosmetics, helping consumers and the authorities have a clear idea of what exactly each product contains. For example, water is known as aqua, cocoa butter is known as theobroma cacao, while olive oil is known as olea europaea.

  If you've heard for example, that mango is a great ingredient for the hair, or want a conditioner rich in shea butter or aloe, it's useful to know the names these ingredients go by on the back of a conditioner bottle...

Updos, one of the magnificent things about natural tightly curled hair is it's ability to stay put, undisturbed, up high or lowly placed in the uniqueness of our own design. On the down side, this often means that our hair has to be prepared, sometimes over night, to change from one style to another. So, check out this simple braided updo or side-do, a quick, easy, longlasting way to beautiful style, when nothing else will work.

(aFRO HAIR TIP #1)
(If hair feels too stiff to move freely, then moisturise first with water, by gently passing your wet hands through your hair, or/and a spritz leave-in like atrActiva's Detangling Mist, and then, a styler moisturiser like Brillantina).

                                                    CLICK THROUGH FOR VIDEO TUTORIAL

Shedding, breakage, split-ends, more shedding. When hair is in need of rescuing drastic conditioning needs to take place. Super conditioners, healthy eating, and good hair care practices are all needed to put your hair back to the glory it was intended. Yes, this battle to great healthy hair must take place on all fronts. 

  Outlined below are the steps to protective styling and hair care.

Your ends may well be split, in worse cases there are are not only a few split ends, but split strands and knots independently formed all the way up the strand. What causes this? Especially our natural strand to curl into itself,  tiny and tightly knotting up? - lack of moisture.

                                                    Want moisture? - then you want water!

Just a few years ago, two or three, the UK was not filled with the natural Afro hair wearers as it is today. As  recently as 2010,  our natural hair was hard to spot among people over 12. Nowadays, it seems if you are not natural, you're wigged or weaved - and probably natural under the hair extensions, too. And it's like that everywhere across Europe,  the USA and increasingly widespread in the Caribbean.

No longer are tight Afro curl wearers thought of as "brave". Now, it's accepted  amongst ourselves and increasingly normal. But NORMAL ISN'T ENOUGH!

                                                            It is time to get PROUD.

the blog roll ...... DHA diy points out the best blogs on Afro hair, fashion, and beauty. Not only are these UK blogs in the know, but have fresh, interesting takes on the world, and on haircare. They stay ahead of the trends and share their insight, with a relatable voice of sisterhood.

Here's what they had to say about last month's Afro Hair Show:

Thanks for the shout out guys!

          Your hair is cashmere; why wash it like it was cotton?

Somewhere along the line we picked the wrong metaphor to describe our hair. Our billowy, cloudlike curls may share the fluffiness of cotton but that's where most of the similarities. Cotton is a hardy, all-weather material, while our hair is delicate by design, more like cashmere, which also happens to share its fluffy natural texture. Cotton requires little care, standing up unscathed to harsh detergents and rough handling that we wouldn't dream of subjecting our cashmere items to. We know it takes a little extra care and investment to maintain top quality cashmere; so too for our fragile, highly-prized tresses. Here's how to keep them in pristine, cashmere condition with every wash:


Use the delicate cycle You see those commercials where women pile all their hair on top of their heads and roughly swirl it altogether? That's a recipe for tangles and breakage when it comes to your delicate curls. Instead, gently apply shampoo to the scalp, not directly to the hair, massage it in using the pads of your fingers and taking care not to disturb the natural direction of your hair. Then work the lather lightly and methodically down your tresses, squeezing it in to reach inner layers of your hair. Rinse thoroughly with warm not piping hot water and always follow with conditioner. For hair that is tangle prone, cut down on snarls and the resulting damage by washing your hair with your head upright (e.g. in the shower) and securing your hair in 2-4 sections, washing and rinsing each of them individually.

Handle with care Be attentive to the tools and amount of force you use when washing your hair.....

WHEN it comes to a choosing a good conditioner, the ingredients make all the difference. Knowing how to scan an ingredients list efficiently is your key to selecting the  products that are most likely to suit your hair type and avoid wasting money on products that are ill-equipped to deal with your hair's needs.

Over a series of blogs, we will be looking at what makes a conditioner shine and why Dominican conditioners in particular stand out. We'll start with the basics of how an ingredients label is structured and what characteristics of the formula you can glean from this information. Next we'll move on to the top ingredients for moisture, detangling, shine and strength; everything you need for  gleaming, lengthy, beautiful hair. We'll also cover ingredients to avoid for a range of different hair types and conditions.

Keep reading to unlock the secret hair magic of all the best conditioners...

Check out the amazing reviews online of DHA'S award winners! Halka's Chocolacio was runner up for Dominican Hair Alliance's Treatment Award for Natural Hair 2012, and bloggers have been raving about Chocolacio's luscious treatment-the chocolatey smell and texture, and how moisturised it leaves their hair!

One of the best things about Chocolacio, is that it is made with REAL CARIBBEAN RAW COCOA!!!

Yep, Chocolacio is filled with the natural ingredient of CHOCOLATE direct from the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic!!!

Click on the image to the left, to read blog "THINGS LATINOS LOVE OR HATE" raving review of Chocolacio.....