One year old! - an update

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Hello all!

From the lack of blog posts, you could be forgiven for thinking The Kinky Apothecary had shut up shop. As those living in Lagos (and actually, in other cities in Nigeria) know, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We are busy as ever with deliveries (more so, in fact, so a huge thank you to our customers for keeping us so busy recently) as well as a few developments that are taking place behind the scenes, that blogging really has had to take a back seat.

The first anniversary of our official launch was last month. Yes, it has been a whole year since I gave in to the constant nagging of a couple of friends and my sis-in-law to start a natural hair business (you know who you are, thank you so much!), posted the first ramble on here, invited guests to the first Champagne, Cupcakes & Curltalk and racked my brains for answers to the questions for that infamous BGLH interview. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, and how much it has grown! I am so grateful to you all for your support!

We are in the process of planning a belated birthday bash, and as well as our first year of trading, we will also be celebrating the following:

1/ KINKY APOTHECARY IN SHOPS!

Yes, the Kinky Apothecary will finally be moving into its new home on the island at the end of the month, with a stockist on the mainland following in the coming months. That means by the end of the year, you will be able to purchase all your favourite products in not one, but 2 shops in Lagos! Watch this space for details!

2/ NEW PRODUCTS

Our customers ask, and we listen! The Kinky Apothecary has been in constant talks with a few hair product manufacturers since the beginning of the year, and we are very excited to be introducing 2 new lines at our birthday party. You'll just have to pop along to find out what they are!

In addition to that, we will be rolling out additional new product lines over the next few months. So if there is anything that you may have read about and always wanted to try, or might have been your staple when you lived in the States but you have been unable to get your hands on since you moved back, drop us a line and you never know, you might see it gracing the Kinky Apothecary shelves in the not-too-distant future.

3/ THE KINKY APOTHECARY LINE

Most of our customers are already huge fans of the Whipped Shea Batter- it is our best selling product. Along with a name change and new packaging, we are working on 2 accompanying products. To say we are very excited would be an understatement!

So yes, the blog may have been dormant, but we have been very VERY busy.

Make sure you check back in the next week for details of our birthday bash, and I look forward to seeing all you Lagos-based naturalistas soon!

Have a good one...

YaYa Da Costa/Esperanza Spalding reprise

Happy Sunday, peeps!

I came across this Raphael Saadiq video yesterday, and despite the fact that it is quite disturbing in parts, the only thing I could pay attention to when I first watched it was YaYa's hair (which looks like a rollerset to me):



I love the shape. I'm getting a hair cut next week (more on that later), and I think that's what I'm going to go for.

Also a quick shout out to another member of the Kinkspiration Hall of Fame, Esperanza for her Grammy win last week. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a huge fan, so was really pleased she won, but of course it was her updo that caught my attention:



I'll be trawling youtube later in the week for tutorials on how to copy her style.

Have a great week...

Kinkspiration! - YaYa Da Costa

I’ve got my mojo back!

Yes, I know I’ve already faltered in my promise to post more this year, but life really has taken over so much in the past few months (work, the Apothecary and everything in between) that I’ve been lacking in both time and inspiration.

But then this morning in the shower, I suddenly came up with the next few posts, and rushed to write them down so I don’t forget.

I need to take some pictures, so while I’m sorting that out, here’s some Kinkspiration to tide you over!

The second ANTM alum to make it into the Kinkspiration archives, YaYa Da Costa was someone I loved to, well… not like so much (I was definitely Team Eva!). But she has since grown on me.

One thing that I cannot deny, though, is that I have always loved her hair! I loved how she rocked up unapologetically to a modeling competition in her kinky twists at a time that natural hair was still not so prevalent (I was also natural then, and my hair obsession had already begun).

From twists to braids to twistouts to a full-on ‘fro, YaYa’s done it all… and years later, she’s still keeping it real.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe how quickly last year went. It certainly was a busy one, especially with the birth of The Kinky Apothecary in April. The speed with which it went from an idea to reality is actually still pretty overwhelming, but we've pretty much conquered all the teething problems, and hopefully everything will run a lot more smoothly this year. We've also got a lot of exciting new developments planned, so keep watching this space.

One thing is that I am planning to actually use this blog and post more often! I've even made it one of my new year's resolutions. I had hoped to start off on the right foot by posting something on 1/1/11, but of course old habits die hard. Well, at least I've still managed to get one in before the end of the first week of the year. Baby steps...

Inspired by this naturallycurly.com article, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a few with a few "New Hair" resolutions. Here are a few to start you off (really just reiterating what I've said in the past):

1/ Deep condition weekly with heat. You'll see a huge difference in no time
2/ Stop combing dry hair!!!
3/ Healthy lifestyle = healthy hair, so start eating right, drinking more water and exercising!
4/ I know a lot of people are still quite reliant on the hairdresser. Stop, and start learning how to do your hair yourself
5/ Seal your ends!!!

Mine is to learn how to actually style my hair. My current inability to perfect an updo is just lame. I'll let you know how I get on!

Catch you soon, people!

Kinky Apothecary @ Bogobiri's Sunday Souk

Calling all Kinky fans in Lagos this Sunday! Pop over to the Sunday Souk at Bogobiri, SW Ikoyi from 12-6pm, where will be selling all your favourite hair products! Of course I will be on hand to answer any questions you may have, and the first 20 sales get a free gift!



Look forward to seeing you there!