NEWEST YOUTUBE VIDEO

Wednesday 30 December 2015

Updated Bantu Knot Twist-Out Tutorial

Bonsoir tout le monde!

I'm a day late I know but I spent the whole of Tuesday recording a new Youtube video (currently in the editing phase) and taking photos for you guys!

Today is an updated Bantu Knot tutorial as many of you will know that a have a prior post describing my method. However from then to now, the products I use have changed so I thought I'd do an updated post.





Here are my essential three products that are a must in my opinion when doing a Bantu Knot Twist-Out. The first is Aunt Jackie's Girls Curling and Twisting Custard. The struggle I've had with other puddings I've used before such are the ORS Olive Oil Smooth n Hold Pudding is that they're water based. Instead of leaving my hair with a defined curl, I end up achieving extreme shrinkage and don't get the look I want. However this product does quite the opposite and is perfect for Bantu Knots. It is a pudding thick enough to give a good curl definition but doesn't weigh down your hair. I picked this product up from my local hair shop for £3.85 which was a bargain for such a big tub. 

The second product is Dr Miracle's Edge Holding Gel. My search is ongoing for the perfect edge control for 4C hair but I'd heard good things about this edge control and decided to give it a try. This edge control has a very good hold and doesn't have any heavy build up either. It's easy to slick using a styling brush and doesn't leave you having white edges like other edge controls do. I picked this edge control up for £2.49 at my local hair shop and I'd say this edge control has its best hold on straightened hair.



The final product is an Afro comb which I deem to be a black girl's essential. I use this to tease the curls out from my Bantu Knots and give it its final look!

So to begin with, I sectioned my hair into three and further sectioned it to apply the curling custard for the Bantu Knots. I applied I pea-sized amount of curling custard to my hard and worked it through to get the best effect. I then twisted my hair before wrapping it around itself pretty tightly finally securing it with a rubber band. I repeated this over my whole head and gelled the front of my hair using the Dr Miracle Edge Control and held it down with a bandana. Here is the final result:



I let this stay overnight and took it out in the morning. I took out the rubber bands and gently teased my hair using my Afro comb, the before and other pictures below:

Unlike other twist n hold gels or puddings, the curling custard didn't leave my hair feeling crusty nor did it shrink my hair since I did this look on my straightened hair. It left my hair looking healthy, glossy and shiny with a good curl definition. 




 And that's it! I'll have a full tutorial video up on Youtube very soon so stay tuned.
Until then, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or any other hair tutorials you want me to do. See you guys,

Au revoir x



Friday 25 December 2015

Product Review - Coconut Water Shampoo and Conditioner

Bonsoir tout le monde!

So I thought today I'd give you guys a review on the brand new shampoo and conditioner by Xpel Hair Care. I bought the set which included their 'Revitalising Coconut Water Shampoo and Conditioner'. This was bought from a homeware shop called Home Bargains in East London for 99p each (bargain!). The products say that they 'immerse your dry or damaged locks of your hair with our specially formulated coconut water rehydrating shampoo, revitalise dehydrated hair back to its sleek, shimmering best.' The product comes in such as amazing looking bottle that anyone would think you'd spent a fortune on the products!



I've been attempting to find a product that can keep my hair hydrated during the winter months and combat the harsh weather and so I decided to give these products a try. Both products went onto my hair and felt so lovely. The shampoo lathers very much so allowing you to get a deep wash of your hair and leaves it feeling very much moisturised when you rinse out the shampoo. In addition, I had also bought a paddle brush to be used in conjunction with my shampoo and conditioner. I had read up about paddle brushes and had seen that it was suitable for all hair types. Having 4C hair, I didn't believe that it was suitable for my hair type at all one bit however I was pleasantly surprised. The paddle brush glided through my hair, wet or dry, detangling with minimal breakage. This is become my new go-to tool alongside my wide tooth comb when doing my hair. This reduces the amount of breakage that comes about as a result of excessive styling. 


I'd recommend this brush for everyone due to how gentle it is on coarse natural black hair. It's also very cheap as I also bought this brush from Home Bargains for £1.99 which was a brilliant deal and one of the best products I've ever purchased! My hair feels so lush and weightless thanks to these products!

Merry Christmas guys! I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this post and is having the most amazing day surround by great food and those that they love dearly. We're only one more post away from 2016, see you guys soon!

Au revoir x

Tuesday 22 December 2015

My First Ever Hair Straightening Experience

Bonjour tout le monde!

Guys I know it's been ages since I lasted posted but I'm still here, you can't get rid of me that easily! I've been overloaded with college work and Christmas that I've put everything else on the back burner but I'm here don't you worry.


So today I thought I'd share with you an experience that happened about two weeks ago, my first ever straightening experience. Now perhaps some of you may find it weird that this is my FIRST EVER time using intense heat on my hair but you better believe it baby!


So I must admit, this really wasn't something I'd planned for. Initially, I went round to my friend Amy's house just to visit and chat with her and her mum. I had showed them both a hair treatment that I wanted to get done for my birthday, one that my friend Tomiwa did a review on, a silk press treatment. They both fell in love with the results I had shown them and Amy's mum wanted to have a go at straightening my hair. Now I'm not a big fan of someone who isn't an expert with handling natural black hair doing anything on my hair but I thought I would let my guard down for a minute. The agreement was for her to ONLY straighten a section of the back, just so she could see how it would come out:




This was how my hair came out. I was pretty impressed as I had never seen my hair so straight before so it was definitely a new sensation for me I must admit. Heat protection is a must when applying such hair levels of heat directly onto your hair so we used the 'TRESemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection Shine Spray' which gave my hair a lovely finish.

So after that I thought I was finished, but boy was I wrong. My friend's mum insisted on carrying on as 'the back row has come out so lovely, why not continue!' and so I begrudgingly allowed her to continue.







Here are some more pictures:




So as you can see, my hair continued to get straightened and we continued to see the results. It took all in all around two hours because my hair is so thick it had to be straightened in really small sections. Here is the final result with my hair tied back:


Now one thing I must say is that my hair didn't come out bone straight. Now I don't know whether that was because of the straightener used, my hair or the products that were in my hair but it instead came out like a super blow-dry in my opinion. Nonetheless, the final outcome was very nice and I really liked how it looked on me!

I did take me some time to adjust seeing how different my hair looked in the mirror but overall it was fabulous.








After my straightening experience I have two pieces of information to share with everyone:

1. HEAT IS NOT THE DEVIL - many people paint heat use to be the 'be all and end all' and that you must 'stay away from it at all costs' however I'd beg to differ. When used in moderation with the appropriate hair products, heat can be your friend. If you aim to use heat only once a month with the necessary heat protection then there is no problem with heat at all. On the other hand, if you prefer to only apply heat twice a year then there's no problem with that either. However regularly you choose to apply heat to your hair is completely fine once the necessary precautions are taken.

2. DO NOT FORGET TO MOISTURIZE - I noticed that my hair was more susceptible to dryness and becoming brittle from the harsh weather conditions of London whilst my hair was straightened. So I decided to up the moisture in my hair regime and moisturize my hair nightly before bed and then tying a silk scarf around it. This allowed the moisture to penetrate the hair and keep it hydrated in its straightened form. I also took extra care to reduce the manipulation as it's very easy to comb your hair excessively whilst your hair is straightened but this can aggravate breakage which wouldn't have otherwise taken place.


I hope you guys all found that useful, feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Au revoir x

Monday 21 December 2015

20,000 Views - Woohoo!

Bonjour tout le monde!

This is just a quick post to say that Divinus Ater has reached 20,000+ views!

I am over the moon and would like to thank everyone who has and is continuing to support my blog whether you're a first time viewer or a regular visiter, your support and interaction with me has been much appreciated and doesn't go unnoticed! 

To celebrate and thank everyone I'm sending the first 3 lucky naturalistas their own personalized Divinus Ater phone case! 


All you have to do is send the title of your favourite Divinus Ater post and a few sentences as to why, your name, address and phone model to:

inquiries.divinusater@yahoo.co.uk

The first 3 will receive confirmation emails letting them know that they'll be receiving their own personalized case! There are a few conditions so please make sure you fit the criteria before entering:

- Must be UK based
- Must have one of the phones below:

iPhone 4, 4S, 5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6 Plus (includes 6S and 6S Plus)
Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5 mini
Samsung Galaxy Note 2, 3 and 4
Google Nexus 6
Sony Xperia Z1, Z2, Z3

If you meet the criteria then please go ahead and enter your names!
I'm looking to do draws and prizes for my overseas naturalistas so don't worry, stay tuned!

Another huge thank you to everyone, you're all special my naturalista sistas,

Au revoir x

Friday 4 December 2015

My Current Hair Length - 8 Month Check-in

Bonjour tout le monde!


So it's been 8 months since I've last done a check-in on my natural hair length. Here's a quick low-down on how these past 8 months have been for me hair wise:

  • I've spent months trying to find the perfect deep conditioner for my hair and I'm afraid to say my search still continues. My hair gets very dry very quickly and thus requires a lot of moisture and I still can't find a deep conditioner which achieves this
  • I recently had my very first (ever in my life) trim in August. Now I'm convinced my hairdresser went a tad crazy and gave me a cut instead of a trim. Almost all naturalistas can share my pain when I say my hair isn't as long as it used to be! However I must admit it feels a lot healthier after having had this trim
  • As many of you will know, I've tried a number of hair supplement pills to see whether they aid hair growth and I haven't yet found one that I've deemed to be useful. Don't worry, I'm still on the lookout though!
Now I won't act like these 8 months have been plain sailing as they really haven't. Wash day is still a day I dread as, because my hair is 4C, the amount of shrinkage I experience is immense. However, I've been able to learn more about my hair such as the best protective hairstyles, products and hair care regimes to use. So I urge all of you who are perhaps transitioning or are already natural to be patient or persistent. As the old saying goes, 'Good things come to those who wait' so the more time you take and invest into your hair care, the more rewards you'll reap at the end of it. Here are a few pictures of my current hair length:




Nothing special has been done to my hair here, it had just been cornrowed and this is the result of my hair having been taken out of the cornrows. I merely massaged half a teaspoon of Jamaican Black Castor Oil mixed with Amla Oil onto my scalp for added moisture. Compared with some of my previous photos, you can see that my hair is shorter due to the trim/cut however it is healthier than ever believe you me. I'm setting myself the ultimate goal of getting my hair to bra strap length (BSL) by the end of 2016. Want to join me? Then feel free to join the mini challenges I'll be setting myself along the way and lets see if we can get there! It's not impossible to grow black hair, it just depends on whether you want to put in the care and time required to grow it.

Feel free to ask me any questions on my AskFM:

www.ask.fm/DivinusAter

or drop me an email or a comment below.


Au revoir x 

Friday 27 November 2015

Headscarf Fun #2

Bonjour tout le monde!

Here is another post on how to wrap headscarves. As I said in my previous post, headscarves are perfect to change up your look or to act as your saviour when you're having a bad hair day. Now I won't act like I'm an expert at headscarf wrapping but it's really not hard to do, anyone can do it! I have done two styles with this scarf and I hope you like them!


Now this first style consists of creating a bun-like shape on the top of your head. Firstly, I start by wrapping my hair initially with another scarf, this can be anything and I personally choose to use a bandana. This evens out your hair and provides more grip for the scarf to go on to. Then I took the scarf and wrapped it from the back of my head to the front. This meant that the two ends of the scarf were at the front of my head. I then wrapped the ends around each other to form the bun-like shape and secured it by tucking the ends under the scarf. Really easy and simple! Here are some pictures below on how the final look came out:







Now the second look is similar as we're still creating the bun look but this time at the back of the head. I started off by wrapping the scarf from the front of the head to the back. The ends of the scarf are now at the back of the head. Now to create the bun, some people use the round black bun and wrap the scarf ends around it. However, like I did, I twisted the scarf ends around each other and tucked the ends under the scarf. Here is a look at this:




I hope you liked that! I know it might be a bit difficult trying to follow those steps just by reading them so feel free to contact me or leave a comment below if you'd like me to do a YouTube tutorial as I'd be more than happy to!


Au revoir x

Monday 23 November 2015

Winter Protective Hairstyle #1

Bonjour tout le monde!


So as it's winter time, it's time that all black women take extra care and attention when looking after their hair. This means deep conditioning every 1-2 weeks, incorporating more moisture into your hair care regime and, most importantly, protective hairstyling. I decided to do a different kind of hairstyle compared to what I usually do and this week I tried Ghana braids, otherwise known as Banana braids. 

My brilliant friend Jacee did my hair for me and this just consisted of cornrowing extensions into my hair. This is done slightly different to regular cornrowing as a strand of extensions is added to each row of the cornrow to give it that gradual built-up look. I chose this hairstyle as I do enjoy sporting the cornrow look but wanted that added length given to me by the extensions. I have seven cornrows which have been plaited and I tie the ends of the extensions into a mini bun. I finish the look off by gelling down my edges using either Argan Oil Edge Control or Gorilla Snot, whichever one takes my fancy. Here are some pictures below:



This hairstyle is fab as the ends of your hair are protected (the parts of your hair which are most susceptible to the harsh weather). Extreme weather conditions can cause the drying of hair as well as entice split ends. 

I hope you found this useful, there are more YouTube videos to come so stay posted and if you have any other questions, feel free to comment or ask on my AskFM which is:

www.ask.fm/DivinusAter


Au revoir x




Tuesday 17 November 2015

Divinus Ater - Youtube Channel!

Bonsoir tout le monde!

So I have some exciting news for everyone, Divinus Ater is now on Youtube!
My first video called 'Divinus Ater - Welcome!' is now available for all to see!


This was just a quick video welcoming you guys to my channel and telling you what to expect from my upcoming videos. I'm looking to do product reviews, hair tutorials and general natural hair tips so if you have anything that you would like to see on my channel, please feel free to contact me and I'll try my very best to do a video on it. 

I hope you guys enjoy,

Au revoir x

Tuesday 10 November 2015

7 Little Known Secrets to Maintain and Protect Your Hair During Winter

Bonsoir tout le monde!


I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful event at the Afrotherapy Salon in Edmonton all about how to care for natural black hair during winter months on the 4th November. They claimed to have 7 secrets to success with regards to looking after natural black hair. I must admit it was very useful and interesting to learn about. Before I give you a lowdown on the secrets I thought it best to explain the layout of the night. We spent a decent amount of time being let in on the 7 secrets before being given a presentation by one of the representatives and hair experts for a French company Phytospecific. This company produces hair products which are completely plant based and their Phytospecific range is made just for kinky/coily hair. They have some amazing products and I'll be trying some of their range pretty soon so keep an eye out for that! There was also a Q&A section and some of the stylists were able to demonstrate a few useful protective hairstyles perfect for the winter for all different hair lengths and hair types. 


Now onto the 7 secrets!

1) Science of Hair - our hair texture is influenced by each strand of hair. The thicker each strand of hair is, the thicker your overall hair is. Most people who believe that they're suffering from hair may in fact be experiencing thin strands of hair. In order to rectify that problem, it's recommended that you use a thickening or strengthening product to bring back the original texture of your hair. Porosity is also a key feature to understand about your hair. If the porosity of your hair has increased, this means that the cuticles of your hair (like snake scales that protect the cortex of your hair) become raised and damaged. This could be due to either relaxing or over-styling so moisturizing products are great to reinstall moisture back into your hair. 

2) Effects of Weather on Hair - cold hair can cause the cuticle layer of you hair to lift up. Dry/hot air can also draw all of the moisture out of your hair due to the change in temperature from cold to hot. Strong winds can cause tangling and increase the rate at which hair moisture evaporates. 

3) Effects of Water on the Hair - hard water found in many countries such as England, can cause your hair to dry out and become itchy. This is because this water is rich in calcium and magnesium ions which cause it to dry up. You can buy special wipes to pass through your hair to remove the calcium and magnesium build up. 

4) Best Treatments for Winter Hair - during the winter time, natural hair is prone to moisture loss so the best products to use and those rich in moisture (eg. Shea butter, coconut oil etc). Shampooing too frequently can also dry hair as it is bracing stripped of its essential oils. 

5) Best Products for Winter Hair - moisture-rich products are the way to go. The Phytospecific range has a lot of very good hair products which allow the re-installation of moisture. Some other good products are Shea butter or Jamaican Black Castor Oil. 

6) Protective Styling - this is especially important during the winter months as the extreme wind and cold can cause damage to the hair and create splint ends. So it is recommended that during this period, you shampoo your hair every 7 - 10 days. If your hair is very dry and brittle then make sure you incorporate treatments into your hair regime every 2-3 weeks. 

I've only just realised there were only 6 secrets but still very good to know! Each attendee was given a goodie bag with a few samples from the Phytospecific range which I shall be trying very soon. 


All in all it was a great night and I enjoyed myself. Hope to go to more natural black hair events like this in the future,

Au revoir x

Sunday 1 November 2015

Black Empowerment

Bonjour tout le monde!

As many of you may already know, as well as blogging about natural black hair, I also find it important to raise topics that are very potent and poignant within the black community. Today is Black Empowerment.

The first thing that came up when I searched the term 'Black Empowerment' was a quote which said, 'Black girls/women are my first priority because we are everyone's LAST priority'. To me this was a very powerful quote. Black girls/women are everyone's LAST priority. Now this isn't exclusive to black women only. It's fair to say that the entire black community feels the same. There isn't a single black person who feels accepted for who they are, the colour of their skin or their deep-rooted ancestry.

It's hard to embrace the colour of your skin when in some parts of America, that's the very reason people are being shot down. It's difficult to love the natural kinks and coils of your hair when you are constantly being asked, 'why is your hair so short?' or 'you're hair is so cool! Can I touch it?' as if you're a show pony. It is impossible to celebrate and remember our extensive and deep-rooted heritage during Black History Month when we're being told 'slavery is over get over it' or 'Black History Month is so racist, what about White History Month?'

These are the things we as black people have to experience day in and day out purely because we are black. Racism has become so normalized that we are being constantly reminded that we are different without people even realizing what they are saying or doing. If you're Jamaican then you don't know your dad. I'm Jamaican and I've always had my dad in my life. Black people are underachievers, they're not capable of academic success. In my school, of the top 20 academic performers, 15 were black including myself. Black girls wear weave because they want to copy and have European hair. I can tell you that my friends and I wear weave to change up our hairstyles. We are so lucky at how versatile our hair is. If you want straight hair you can either wear weave or straighten your own. Curly well you can simply wet your hair and watch the curls come through. Plaits you can either do yourself or add extensions. We have such a world of options, most of which white people cannot fathom, that we are so lucky to be black. Oppression is all around us and for decades black people have succumb to this and allowed themselves to be forsaken the same rights as white people. It's time for change. 

Black Empowerment is a revolt. An uprising. A protest. It comes straight from the black community saying, 'I can have whatever the white man has. I can do whatever the white man does. I can achieve whatever the white man can achieve and in fact I am entitled to the very same rights as the white man'. Black people have been oppressed for so long that we've become conditioned to think that we are the lesser race. To think that success is way beyond our means. This is merely a mindset. In reality we are the same if not better than the white man. Why? Because we've experienced struggle. We know the true meaning of hardship. For many young people in this current generation, you may be the first generation to go to University. The number of young black people going to University is on the up and up every year. This enables them to become lawyers, bankers, accountants and doctors AND have the same opportunities as the white man. However this is not an easy task. I believe that this generation is the generation to begin bringing about this change. Things will not change overnight nor will it be a result of one persons' voice or determination. We must work together to achieve. Motivate each other and support each other as we are the ones who can live and embody Black Empowerment in today's world. Our ancestors laid the foundations for change, now its time for us to bring about this change.

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Winter Hairstyle - Chunky Braids

Bonjour tout le monde! 

I'm going to keep reminding everyone about the Divinus Ater giveaway! Look for my previous post on how to enter but it's open to everyone of all ages so enter! The deadline is October 31st so don't miss out!

Winter is round the corner so I've been preparing like any other girl by buying huge jumpers, knee high boots and thick leggings. As well as protecting my body, my hair also needs protecting. When exposed to harsh weather conditions such as the cold, hair can lose a lot of its moisture causing immense breakage. The solution is protective hairstyling! I decided to change it up from my usual and get chunky braids. Braids are a fab protective hairstyle when used in moderation. Although excellent at protecting hair and keeping it moisturised, braids can sometimes lay too heavy on your hairline if done too tight. This can cause the thinning/lose of edges so if you want to get braids, I'd say get them every three months to allow your natural hair to rest. 

Large or small, braids are the perfect winter hairstyle for all. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and make sure you enter the giveaway!

Au revoir x





Sunday 11 October 2015

DIVINUS ATER GIVEAWAY

Bonjour tout le monde!


I'm back and with a giveaway for all my fellow naturalistas! I'm giving away a hamper full of natural black hair products, treats and goodies for you and a fellow naturalista to share! Find details below on how to enter - get searching for your favourite Divinus Ater blogpost! The deadline for this giveaway is October 31st and the winner will be announced November 1st. Happy entering! x


Tuesday 29 September 2015

Afrotherapy Natural Black Hair Salon Review

Bonjour tout le monde!


I know it's been too long and it's pityful I'm aware but a lot has happened, I had my first ever trim! Yes, you read correctly. It kinda seems a bit embarrassing as I'm aiming to be a natural hair abassador yet have never had my hair trimmed before. So I sat down and thought 'enough is enough!' and decided to do something about it. A friend of mine told me about this really amazing natural black hair salon called Afrotherapy in Edmonton, London. This was a little travel from where I live but I managed to get there on time for the appointment. 

Once you first get there, as a new client you have to fill out a hair questionnaire. This enables the stylists to learn more about your hair and tailor treatments best suited to your hair. After a lot of chatter, I decided to have a wash, treatment, blow dry and trim. The treatment I had was the Moroccan Oil treatment as this was aimed to reinvigorate my hair with moisture as it had been feeling somewhat dry of late. After having my hair washed and my head throughly massaged, the Moroccan oil was added to my hair and a plastic cap was placed on my head. I sat under the dryer for 30 minutes before being removed. My hair was then blow dried out and my hair had never felt so moisturised! It was blown out straight enough so my stylist could accurately trim my hair. We agreed to trim off 1 inch from my hair (doesn't seem like much but it's a lot) and aim to go for a trim every 2/3 months. At the time I thought my hair was extremely short (drama queen) but now I can see how healthy my hair is and how damaged my ends were! If you were like me and are a hair trim virgin I'd advise you to get it done but only at a salon that specialises in natural black hair as they know how best to handle your hair. 

As much as I loved the treatments I received, it was by no means cheap. The entire experience cost me an excess of £65 which is something I know most students like myself don't have on tap. However there is a student discount from Monday - Wednesday where students receive 20% all treatments with a valid NUS or student card. Afrotherapy is definitely a hair salon I shall become a regular client of.

If you know of any other natural black hair dressers in and around London, feel free to drop me a quick email or a message on AskFM and I'll definitely do my due diligence and check it out. Until the next time!


Email: inquiries.divinusater@yahoo.co.uk
AskFM: ask.fm/divinusater
Instagram: @ikeeyah

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Headscarf Fun

Bonsoir tout le monde!


Ever wake up, look in the mirror and think 'gosh, my hair looks terrible today'? Ever feel lost for hairstyle choices that you end up doing the same hairstyles over and over? Well I have the perfect solution for you, headscarves!

If you're like me then amongst other things, working out a different hairstyle to do with your hair everyday can be very annoying and labourious. Now I just tend to stick to my regular hairstyles which is really boring so I decided to branch out and try headscarves. Now I won't claim to be an expert at tying headscarves but be rest assured, it's not rocket science. First of all you need a very long and wide scarf.

I chose a very colourful one as it makes things more interesting and looks very nice. You don't have to look for a scarf that is explicitly advertised as a headscarf. I find most scarves sold in places like black hair shops aren't large enough to achieve this look. The scarf I'm using is an ordinary, around your neck scarf but works perfectly as a head wrap. I then placed the scarf around the front of my head towards the back. Then crossed over the ends and brought it back to the front again. Once there, I wrapped the ends around itself to form a spherical shape and secured it in place by just tying a hair band around once. 



That's how the finished product came out. I just slicked my edges down using a combination of Jireh edge control and Gorilla Snot (they provide the best hold for me). 


Personally, I think this style is fab when you need to run out the house quickly but don't have time to style your hair, looks elegant and beautiful! Since I simply adored this look, I'm on the hunt for more headscarves to style so you'll be seeing more of this in the near future!

Au revoir x



Tuesday 8 September 2015

Crème de la Bride - Bridal Photoshoot

Bonjour tout le monde!

I know it's been a little while since I last posted but I'm still here!
It's been a bit hectic for me going back to sixth form and balancing work but that's no excuse so I'm back every Tuesday and Friday don't you worry. Two MAJOR things have happened over this past week:

1. Divinus Ater has reached 10,000 views! We're on the up and up and it's all thanks to you guys, my fellow naturalistas. Whether you read one post or read ten posts, every view is important so thank you. At the end of this month I'll be holding a giveaway open for all as my way to say thank you so stay tuned!

2. On Sunday, I had the amazing opportunity to take part in a bridal photoshoot co-ordinated by Dionne Smith Hair. It was for the Crème de la Bride bridal issue which will be out next year April so be sure to look out for it! My make-up was done by the fab make-up artist Nicole (be sure to check her out on instagram @obanbeauty). It was my first time having anything like this done let alone doing a photoshoot but it was amazing. I got to wear the most glamourous wedding dress and have my hair styled by Dionne Smith who is an expert on styling natural black hair (check out her instagram too @dionnesmithhair). Here are a few behind the scenes pictures from the shoot for you guys to see:


I must say after having done my first every photoshoot, I'd love to do another! I had a fab Sunday and I hope you guys did too.

Don't forget the Divinus Ater giveaway will be at the end of the month! More details will be posted here and on instagram in the next couple of weeks, if you want to be in for a chance to win, don't forget!

Au revoir x

Sunday 23 August 2015

Malta - Day 4 & 5

Bonjour tout le monde!

I've had quite an eventful two days so I thought I'd wait and combine them both.

DAY 4
So on Friday, I went deep sea diving. I'm not a huge fan of swimming but I'm up for giving everything a try! We had about a 30min briefing on how to use the equipment and then we went into the sea. The mouth piece that you put in your mouth to breathe is very weird and takes some time getting used to breathing through your mouth only! Anyway we started out into the sea and then down towards the sea floor. Every 1M or so your ears become blocked as if you're on a train and become slightly painful so that needs to be unblocked as soon as. I swam all the way to the sea floor and saw some absolutely amazing fish (touched a few too), had a brilliant time! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, just one of me and my brother before we went!


My hair got absolutely soaked so when I got back to the hotel I washed my hair, blow dried it and got it back to normal in no time!

DAY 5
Today was a rather relaxed day considering we used up the majority of our energy deep sea diving so me and my father went to the shopping mall and picked up some cool items! We mainly spent that day taking loads of pictures so here you are! 




Email: inquiries.divinusater@yahoo.co.uk
AskFM: ask.fm/divinusater
Instagram: @ikeeyah


Friday 21 August 2015

Hair Growth Supplements - Do They Actually Work?

Hey guys!

So I thought today I'd tackle a topic which I know is very much a topic of controversy in the natural hair world which is, 'do hair supplements actually work?' I know this is something that had me wondering so don't worry, you're not alone with this thought. 

All naturalistas will join me when I say that we've all had a point during our natural hair journey where we've become fed up with the rate of our hair growth. It's too slow, no noticeable changes yet you're investing so much time and energy into your hair, it can become frustrating. So many of us, myself included, look to alternatives which claim to speed up hair growth rate. Notice I put claim in italics? This is because results vary from person to person. I'm going to give you the lowdown of two hair growth supplements I've tried, Biotin and Manetabolism, and what I think of both. 

MANETABOLISM 
So this was the very first hair growth supplement I tried. If you're like me and follow a ton of natural hair pages on Instagram then you'll know that this was all the rage. As it was such a big hit in America, it was hard to source in the UK but I managed to find a seller on eBay who sold it for £35. Now this is very expensive in my opinion for how growth supplements and this was also the going rate for these tablets in the USA but I bought them purely on the results I wanted to see. 
• These pills are very big, much larger than I was expecting which made it a bit awkward to swallow at times. 
• They were made of natural herbs and ingredients designed to naturally stimulate hair growth. 

So I stuck to taking these pills twice daily for a month. It was hard to remember to always take them as I'm a busy (and forgetful) person but I managed to somehow. I personally didn't experience any noticeable hair growth but I did experience clearer skin and felt a lot better on the inside. Although not the primary use of these pills, I did experience some positives from using these pills which is never a downside.  In terms of hair growth though, that was very minimal. HOWEVER, that's not to say if I didn't continue my prolonged use of the pills I wouldn't see any hair growth. But on this occasion I'm going to have to say that these pills DO NOT work.



BIOTIN
So this is my latest and most recent hair growth supplement that I've taken. I did an abundance of research before purchasing these pills as I didn't want to be as ill informed as I was before. Après avoir regardé ten billion YouTube videos, I came to the conclusion that Biotin was a safe bet. Many YouTubers said they saw hair growth when using these pills so I decided to give it a try myself. 
• These pills are small and bite-sized making it super easy to swallow. 
• There were not any explicit instructions on how often to take these pills so I opted to take them twice daily, one in the morning and on in the night. 

So I initially decided to take these pills for a month like I did Manetabolism but then I decided considering I didn't see any drastic hair growth after a months usage, I would continue on for another month. So I ended up completing a two month course of Biotin. I have a post from a little while ago talking about Biotin and if you've read it then you'll know that I did in fact see hair growth, quite a bit actually. However I do have quite a few negatives about Biotin. The hair growth I did experience was a completely different texture to the rest of my hair. If you look at pictures of my hair you'll see that it's thick but not too bad to manage. The growth I experienced was a lot more coarse and had a much more defined curl pattern compared to the rest of my hair. This made it very hard to wash my hair and do daily styling. My second negative is breakouts. I'm very lucky in the sense that I don't really get spots. My skin is very near clear however whilst using Biotin, I experienced a number of spots on my face which obviously isn't a great look. Putting that aside however, I would conclude that Biotin DOES work.



I've only tried two hair supplements so far but I'm looking to give Manetabolism another go, perhaps over a three month  period, and try Hairfinity as that's the latest rage right now. So that's it from me! If you have any other products you want me to try and review, feel free to get in touch with me via email at: inquiries.divinusater@yahoo.com

Toodles x