New Regimen

After completing a few tests to help determine my hair's porosity I am now armed with the knowledge of how to manage my hair. I have made a lot of changes over the last six weeks or so and have already noticed a change in how my hair feels and responds to products. You'll also notice my products are now 100% natural, which you all know has been a goal of mine for a long time!


Basic regimen (low porosity):

• Scalp/ herbal hot oil treatment overnight 1x/week
• Shampoo w/ moisturizing shampoo (pH 6.0) 1x/week
• Moisturizing Conditioner (pH 5.0) 1x/month
• DC Moisturizing Conditioner (pH 5.0) 2x/month
• Real Protein Treatment (pH 5.0) 1x/month 
• Henna as needed (approx 1x/6 weeks)

Basic regimen (high porosity):

• Scalp/ herbal hot oil treatment overnight 1x/week
• Shampoo w/ moisturizing shampoo (pH 6.0) 1x/week
• DC Moisturizing Conditioner (pH 5.0) 2x/month
• Real Protein Treatment (pH 5.0) 2x/month 
• Henna as needed (approx 1x/6 weeks)

Additional things:

Oil scalp every other day with JBCO/Jojoba Herbal Mix
Massage scalp daily
Moisturizing spritz as needed
Gently warm up conditioner before applying to hair

Multivitamin, Vitamin B Complex, Iron, Vitamin E and Omega 3-6-9 daily (I take these daily because I am a vegetarian and lack some nutrients)

Products:

• Moisturizing Shampoo: SM Moisture Retention Shampoo (modified), SM Coconut and Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo (modified)
• Moisturizing Conditioner: AO Camellia Ultra-Smoothing and Argan oil
• Moisturizing DC: Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner (modified)  
•  Protein DC: Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner (modified)  
• Leave ins: Specialized Recipe  
• Moisturizer: Camilla Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter (modified), Oyim Handmade Honey Dew Lotion (modified), SM Organic Curl & Style Hair Milk and SM Hold & Shine Moisture Mist 
• Colorant: Henna 
• Conditioning Oils: Infused Herbal Oil Treatment 
• Sealants: Jojoba Oil (low porosity) and shea butter mix (high porosity)
• "Growth" Aid: JBCO/Jojoba herbal mix  

Infused Herbal Oil Treatment:

Nettle, Calendula, Chamomile and Horsetail
1/2 C each of EVCO and Avocado Oil
infuse for minimum of 8 weeks
*once infused add various EO with each use

Moisturizing DC (modified):

2 tbsp Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner
1/4 tsp herbal oil treatment, EVOO and Argan Oil
1 tsp aloe vera juice

Protein DC (modified):

High Porosity
3 tbsp Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner
1 1/4 tsp hydrolyzed wheat protein
1/4 tsp herbal oil treatment, EVOO and Argan Oil
1 1/2 tsp aloe vera juice

Low Porosity
2 tbsp Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner
3/8 tsp hydrolyzed wheat protein
1/4 tsp herbal oil treatment, EVOO and Argan Oil
1 tsp aloe vera juice

Leave in:

1 tbsp Knot Today

1/2 tbsp aloe vera juice

1/2 tsp jojoba oil

1/2 tsp castor oil

Moisturizer/Styler (modified):

1 tbsp Camilla Rosa Almond Jai Twisting Butter

1 tsp aloe vera juice

1/8 lemon juice (add to lower to 4.0 for high porosity areas)

Spritz:

high porosity

1/3 cup water

3 tbsp aloe vera juice

2 tbsp veg glycerine

low porosity

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water

1 tbsp veg glycerine 

Henna Treatment:

• (After prepping scalp with JBCO) apply henna on hair from root to tip on air dried hair, cover w/ saran wrap, plastic bag, old shirt and let sit for 8 hours/overnight (be sure to cover pillow with an old towel as well).
• Rinse out henna thoroughly and lightly shampoo scalp w/ moisturizing shampoo to remove traces of henna.
• Apply moisturizing conditioner mixed with conditioning oils. Cover w/ saran wrap and let sit for 30 minutes under dryer
• Rinse then apply leave in.
• When hair  is dry oil scalp with oil blend, add moisturizer, seal and twist or bun.

Henna recipe: 

4 tbsp art quality henna (lawsonia inermis)

Filtered water

1/2-1 tbsp of JBCO, EVOO and moisturizing conditioner of choice after colour release

Allow to sit overnight

** I apply oil to my scalp before applying any henna because it seems my scalp is VERY sensitive. Lightly shampooing after application seems to help my scalp as well. I continue to use henna because I really like how my hair feels and looks after I use it.

My Long Absence and Other News

 It's been a minute since I've posted a blog and there are several reasons for that. The two main reasons have been frustration and stress. I'll be honest. For some time now I have been seriously debating as to whether or not I want to continue relaxing my hair because I have just been so frustrated with it. As soon as I hit my stride I have a setback, and not a small one, a huge setback. I know everything takes time, but I am just so frustrated with feeling like I am starting from scratch whenever I hit a snag. I have had to cut--yes cut my hair at least three times in the last year due to breakage and uneven ends. Due to this issue I thought I made up my mind regarding my hair. I even went as far as to post my decision last month, but took that post down because I thought it might have been premature. Regardless of what I decided, at the present moment I am wearing my hair in braids to give it a break. If nothing else my hair will benefit from this very long stretch. In the meantime I am also reading the "Science of Black Hair", which I will be reviewing in a few weeks. So far it has taught me a lot about black hair, highlighting some of the issues I seeing with my hair. It is well worth the read if you have the time.

In other news...after several attempts I have finally made a hair moisturizer that I am happy with. I am happy because this has been a long time coming, almost a year! I tested it out on a twist last week and it felt a little heavy at first (I am heavy handed), but when I took my twist down my hair turned out pretty good: defined and well moisturized. It actually felt a little more moisturizing that the usual moisturizer I use (I did a side by side comparison).

So what does this mean for me now? Well basically that I can save my money while providing my hair with exactly what it needs. Not a bad thing at all. I think the final push I needed to get it done was the inspirational words of this natural sista on You Tube. Similar to her, I believe making your own products can be very rewarding. The best thing about it is you know exactly what is in it, and you can tailor your products to your own hair needs. And here's the best part: it cost a fraction of the price of so many all natural products on the market now--and mine IS all natural. Hearing all these points made by this young lady reminded me of the various reasons I attempted to make my own hair products in the first place. It was definitely the final push I needed to dust off my scale and go back to the drawing board. I'm glad I did because it was a big success. I have no plans to sell my moisturizer, I simply made it to meet my own needs.