By Brandi of http://www.hairinsights.wordpress.com

So my fro and I safely arrived in China (Baoding).

It’s been an interesting few weeks too, trying to get accustomed to life here and meeting many different people. Before leaving Botswana I of course put my hair in braids again so that I didn’t have to worry about hair during my settling period. However 3 weeks later I was itching to remove them and I finally gave in last week.

To prepare my hair for braiding I did my usual wash routine and used the tension method to straighten it somewhat to avoid having the hairstylist do it at the salon and probably yank my hair out in the process. Though I think I did a decent job, she still insisted on doing it again. Thankfully it wasn’t really painful because it wasn’t as tangled as it would have been had I not straightened it.

The braids took 2 hours to do which was great! The hairstylist was very fast! I was very happy with the size and how she braided them too so next time I’m in Francistown and need my hurr did, I’ll definitely use her again.

I put together a little hair product package for myself when coming to China though I was very limited quantity wise given that I had to watch my overall baggage weight. I will use them while I look for possible replacements from the supermarkets and online. Black hair products are not available locally here in my city (Baoding) because the expatriate population is very small but I’m sure in Beijing (which is 45 minutes away by train) they may available.

The weather is hair friendly too, more humid than Botswana which means my hair won’t dry out in summer (though it will shrink a lot) and moisture hair is my napp’s holy grail. So far my oils (coconut and castor) are working very well. My hair hasn’t been acting up either, so far so good. Winter is approaching though and luckily extensions are sold online and there is a student that braids on my campus so I can get it braided for winter.

I was really worried about my hair care routine being messed up while I live here but now I’m not panicking as much. I think everything will be fine.

How’s your hair journey going?