23 Days

 

I'm down to my last 30 days of my natural hair challenge. I'm 11 months natural and will be celebrating my natural hair anniversary in April.

For the most part, I wanted to see what my growth pattern and potential was like with no hair aids. No exercise, no pills, no nothing. Just a good regimen.  Now, I'm ready to add some things to my army of natural hair care tactics to maximize my potential.

For my second year of being natural, I'll try to following things.

1. Vitamins
2. A STRICT exercise regimen
3. Henna
4. More protective styles
5. Save up for a Huetiful Hair Steamer
6. Oil Arsenal Including:
1. Avocado Oil
2. Olive Oil
3. Tea Tree Oil
4. Jojoba  Oil
5. Rosemary Oil
6. Grapeseed Oil

7. Clarifying Treatments with Bentonite Clay

These are the products lines that I want to try:

1. Kinky Curly
2. Miss Jessie's (just because I'm curious)
3. Shea Moisture
4. Aubrey Organics
5. Alikay Naturals (coconut line)
6. Carol's Daughter
7. Giovanni

I'll have to do more research about the specifics of those steps to so that I can give you guys a final plan. If any of you guys have tried any of the above mentioned products/product lines, PLEASE leave a comment about your experience.

Thanks!! 

Option D) None of the above!

So yall remember when I was talking about changing my hair up a while back. Well…I did!  My choices were 2 sew-in hairstyles and one quickweave. I didn't get either actually. I got a full out wig! And it's super cute! I've flat twisted my hair to the back so my big ole 'fro won't interfere with the wig.

So, I'm technically still adhering to my Natural Hair Challenge. Yay for me! I should get like, maximum retention now.  I have 40 days left! 

Anyways, my online purchase came FINALLY. It took like a week to get here and I'm impatient. The ScalpMaster brushes I ordered seem really awesome. They're heavy and are nice to look at. Unfortunately , I already twisted my hair to the back so I can't use it yet for another 2 weeks.

The wig is made of human hair, was ordered from blackhairspray.com and costs $40 without tax. The shipping was a little over a week. I definitely recommend this product for anyone.

Condition Yo Hurr

Me with blown out hair

As the title states, this post will be about conditioning the hair. This applies to ALL hair, not just natural hair. I cowashed my hair with Vo5 conditioner (Cost $1 from Family Dollar) and deep conditioned with the same Vo5 PLUS coconut oil.

So what's the point in conditioning the hair in the first place?

From what I understand, DEEP conditioning gives nutrients directly to the hair shaft by entering the cuticle, the first layer of the hair and reaching the cortex, the second layer of the hair. Deep conditioning isn't the same as any other kind of conditioning technique because it actually gets INSIDE the hair shaft instead of sitting on top of it like a leave-in conditioner would.

This stuff won't 'fix' your hair, rather, it will reduce as much damage as it can. It will NOT fix 1)Split Ends, 2) Broken Hair, 3)Chemically Damaged Hair, and lastly 4) Heat Damaged Hair.  BUT, it will fix 1)Dry Hair, 2) Weak Hair, and 3) Overly Porous Hair (to an extent).

Here are my top 3 HOMEMADE conditioners.

1. 1 Banana and 1/2 cup olive oil
2. Olive oil, honey, and coconut oil
3. Mayo and olive oil.

I love making things so I usually use a homemade conditioner. The Vo5 that I mentioned above is half decent. The slip is amazing. Detangling has become a much happier experience now. Unfortunately I used about half the bottle in one sitting, so I'll have to get more.

The reason that I say that it's half decent is because I'm not feeling the ingredients in it. I can barely pronounce the majority of them. The quest for the awesome conditioner continues.

But seriously, PLEASE condition your hair at least once every 2 weeks. Once a week is best but if you're doing a protective style like me you can tailor that to your own needs. Try the Vo5 out and tell me whatcha think. 

I Think I'm Finna Henna

 

I've having a serious problem with dryness right now. I guess the combination of the winter and all of the gel I've been using in my protective styles has jacked me up. I've seen a couple of people do it on youtube and they had awesome results.

Problem is, they were 4as. I've never seen a 4b/4c do it. So, when I get some money, I'm going to order some Jamila Henna and try it out.

I've gotten most of my Henna info from curlynikki.com. She has a tutorial on her website that simplified the process. I'm willing to try anything at this point to cure this dryness.

I also noticed that her hair was tinted a red-ish color afterwards. I DO NOT want that to happen. I like my naturally dark hair. For me, red=ghetto and that ain't cute. But, if it does, I'll deal with it if I get the moisture that I'm seeking.

These are the links that give info about henna.

http://www.curlynikki.com/2008/10/im-henna-head.html

http://www.curlynikki.com/2008/12/henna-pictorial.html

Would you try henna out? 

Regimen Change and Online Shopping

 

I ran out of the majority of the products that I bought from the Jane Carter Solution. I've only got half a bottle of shampoo and a full bottle of holding spray left. Because I am a firm believer of deep conditioning, I need to find a CHEAP, effective conditioner that I can use until the JCS(Jane Carter Solution) shampoo runs out.  Then, I'll move on to another product line.

To be fair, the JCS was pretty darn good. Much better than anything else that I've used, BUT, I don’t think it's the perfect fit for my hair. I'm not in love with the products at all. Detangling is still a tedious chore. I absolutely HATE detangling my hair. It's ridiculously difficult to do. So, we must part ways.

My sister bought some Vo5 Conditioner from our local dollar store and it worked pretty well. It didn't leave me hair feeling super moisturized, but it wasn't dry at all. It will probably be my conditioner of choice for a while. I'll  add a shot of olive oil to it to give it a boost.

On another note, I wanted to talk about where I get my products from.

One word. Online.

Surprisingly, lots of people are afraid of buying things online. They're afraid of getting ripped off or getting a low quality product. And justifiably so. Ordering online is an at your own risk activity. Nonetheless, it's my source of hair products.

Recently, I bought 3 Scalpmaster denman style brushes and some Dr. Woods black soap from amazon.com. I've also bought some coconut oil from amazon.com. I'll be reviewing those products when they arrive.

Anyway, I've never been ripped off or have gotten anything unexpected from online stores. I usually get on YouTube and research a product extensively before I buy it just to make sure the product is legit.

So, try the online thang out. The internet won't bite.

Comments are ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS  welcome.

Thanks,

Lexi

New Protective Style

Sorry for the updates, or lack thereof. I've been swamped with schoolwork.

I'm still going strong with my Natural Hair Challenge.  I have the two strand twists, but this time I have flat twisted the sides to give it a faux-hawk look. I used Eco Styler Gel and Shea Butter. This combination of a holding product and a moisturizing products makes my hair look awesome. 

 I bought some Lustrasilk Shea Butter and Mango Cholesterol at the BSS and used it as a deep conditioning treatment. I actually had to condition twice because I was being hardheaded and left the cholesterol in for 30 minutes instead of the 3-5 minutes that were in the directions. Needless to say, I learned my lesson. 

Anyway, I'm considering getting some weave just so I can get a new look. I've got about 61 days left of my challenge and I really wanna finish, but I'm getting bored with my hair.

 My options are:

A) A huge afro with the front flat-twisted-sew in

B) a quick weave in the still of Rihanna's short hair

C) A bob quick weave.

I'm worried about how flat my big ole hair will lay underneath the weave and I have a problem with hair that looks 'wiggy'. Most weave hairstyles with no part look like wigs to me, so I'm worried about that. I would like to have no hair 'out' so I don't have to worry about blending it with the weave.

But most importantly, I'm worried about the GLUE. Back in my relaxed days, glue was the devil. It snatched out waaay too much hair and was extremely difficult to get out.

What should I do? Keep going with the hair challenge or get a new hairstyle?

Hair Crisis

I'm still sticking to my natural hair challenge. Last Saturday, I went through the usual regimen and two strand twisted my hair. While I was doing my hair, I knew that something was off. My hair just felt weird. It wasn't soaking up the moisture like it normally did.

Throughout the week, I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I moisturized my hair like normal, but my hair felt horrible! I added pure coconut oil to my moisturizing mix and it became crunchy and dry-looking. No shine at all.

 I completely forgot that coconut oil freezes on the hair in the winter, giving it a very hard feel. If you've been wondering about coconut oil and would like to try it, wait until spring. It's useless in the fall and winter.

So yesterday, while I was in Cosmetology class, I was examining my hair and looking through the textbook for some answers.

Then it dawned on me that I had not clarified my hair in forever. In fact, I couldn’t' remember when the last time I clarified was! So I had to violate my Natural Hair Challenge rule and wash my hair earlier than I planned.

I used Apple Cider Vinegar, or ACV for short, as a clarifying rinse. The point of clarifying is to remove all of the gunk from the hair that has built up over time. Regular shampoos are, or rather, should be moisturizing. They should not leave the hair feeling 'squeaky clean'. 

I mixed ACV with water in a 1:3 mix. 1 part ACV. 3 parts water. This should be mixed in a spray bottle for easy distribution.  Wet hair, spray mix on thoroughly, scrub hair vigorously, , wait 5-10 mins, and rinse off.  I have to do this twice because my hair is thick. Keep in mind that ACV is very drying. Skipping the conditioner step could result in a lot of unnecessary breakage.

I conditioned old school style with mayo. I mixed 1 cup of mayonnaise with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey. I put the mix on my hair and let it sit for 30 minutes. I usually condition for a lot longer, but I don't want to be smelling like a hamburger so 30 will do.

This time, I two strand twisted with Eco Styler Gel, which gave me the BEST HOLD EVER. I'm in love with it. My hair and scalp feel awesome.

Moral of this story: Listen to you hair!