Natural Hair and Beauty Lessons I've learned During Quarantine

​2020 for me has been a year of continual growth and reflection of how I can become a better person...

As the world shifts into a new state of being, I hope that I will continue to grow and be part of the emerging change. The reason why I initially created my heybellissimo blog was to share my love of natural hair and clean beauty to help to uplift women, especially black women. Recently I have been thinking about what I have learnt during this time with regards to my natural hair and clean beauty routine. Such as new hair skills, taking the time to take care of myself more and that it is ok to rest and do absolutely nothing. As the world comes out of quarantine I hope that we are awakened to the love and joy that this world has always offered, but we have been closed off to. My purpose is to continue to help others in their natural and clean beauty experiences.
 
 
Lessons I’ve Learned During Quarantine
 
I can learn new skills
A major thing that I realised over the last few months is I can do anything I set my mind to.
For years I always thought that I could never braid my own hair and I don’t know where this belief came from, but I always relied on the hairdresser to braid my hair. After watching a YouTube video and three hours later I had pretty box braids. I actually surprised myself at how well they turned out. With this new skill I don’t need to spend hours in the hairdressers getting my hair braided. Now I am not saying I am done with the hairstylist, but there will definitely be more times when I will do my hair myself and use the time that I would have been in the hairdressers doing something productive.
 
Simple solutions
For many months I have been suffering from acne breakouts, especially during my moon cycle. I have tried all different types of natural remedies or clean beauty products, but no product made a significant difference until I tried using a hot muslin cloth on my face every night. No beauty product on the cloth, just simply running the muslin cloth under very warm water and then placing this on my face. This easy routine has been a game changer for my skin. My skin has been so much clearer and smoother. The spots still pop up now and again, but the hot cloth technique helps to get rid of the spots almost overnight.
 
Natural ingredients
With the world rushing around to buy every last piece of toilet paper to online orders taking ages to arrive it forced me to look at what products I already had in my own home and this included making my own hair products. I have been accustomed to DIY hair products since I returned natural, but I have not been doing it consistently. I have saved so much money by producing my own products with simple ingredients that I have in the kitchen. My whipped Shea butter recipe just consists of three ingredients, but it leaves my hair so soft and moisturised. Click here to view the recipe.                                                                                          As I have had all the time in the world to pamper my hair I have been able to see the actual timeline results that using purely natural products can achieve.

Mind, Body and Spirit
Over the last year I have immersed myself into the world of essential oils. Spending time at home has given me more time to explore the uses of essential oils. I use them not only for beauty purposes on my body and hair, but also to uplift myself mental and spiritually. Rosemary has been a key oil over the last few months to help to repair areas of thinning hair, whilst frankincense is part of my every day ritual of affirmations. Most importantly essential oils have helped me to relax at a time when the world appeared to be in chaos. Lavender helped me with my sleep rituals, whilst lemoncello refreshed me for the day ahead.
  
Be yourself
The final lesson is one of self-love. It’s ok to not put on make-up and be in your natural form. For your eyebrows and nails not to be done. To not conform to societies standards of what a black women should look like. Most importantly to realise that your power lies within.
A lot of people have talked about getting back to normal, but this is not an option for me. I want to learn and grow on a deeper level. To come out of this period as a new person. X
 
Let me know in the comments the lessons you have learnt over the last few months.