Henna Treatment

Today I decided to do a henna treatment. My hair has been feeling blah, looks a little thin and it was time for a "protein" treatment. Although henna is not truly a protein, it appears to have the same properties as one in terms of adding strength and structure  to the hair shaft. Well as I was pleased with the results as I usually am. What I found even more interesting was the state of my ends. Usually when my hair air dries it looks frizzy and over processed, which is why I twist my hair and let it dry that way. However, today my ends dried pretty well. It was straighter (in some places) than it usually is and looked fuller. Overall, I am happy.

ETA: Well something weird is going on with my scalp. All this time I thought it was the Hydrafuse irritating my scalp, largely because of the ingredients, but over the last few weeks I have been using the last little bit I have left to moisturize my hair, and truthfully there hasn't been an issue. However, this week my scalp is driving me crazy! The more and more I think about it I am realizing that it is probably the henna that may be doing something to my scalp. My hair was so dry and flaking over the last 2 days , and it is itching me like crazy. There are also parts of my scalp that feel irritated/inflamed. This is disappointing because my hair feels so incredibly soft and silky right now, but what can I do? Back to the drawing board.....

JBCO Challenge: Week Three

It is funny how one week my hair seems to be struggling and all of a sudden I have a new growth spurt, my itchy scalp has been soothed and my dry crispy hair feels moisturized and strong. I have since increased the JBCO ratio to my scalp blend concoction without incident. I guess my scalp has now gotten use to it because I no longer have scabs or itching like I did the last round of this challenge in which I made reference to the issues that can occur when you begin putting just anything and everything on the scalp in an effort to make your hair grow. As it stands now I can actually put 100% JBCO on my scalp without having to dilute it. I will see if that garners greater results.

Wash Day

 I am feeling a bit better since I decided to cut down the amount of time I am focusing on my hair and hair care. I think truthfully, it was just a lot of other things as well that were contributing to my stress level. The last thing I want is my hair to begin shedding like crazy. Excessive shedding has never been a problem for me and I'd really like to keep it that way. I'm still going to take it easy, but I wanted to at least keep my blog updated with any significant changes going on with my hair.

So it's wash day, and as promised I am going to give BB Avocado Pre-poo Treatment another shot in an effort to be as fair as I can before my final review. This is the third time around, so at this point I have pretty much used it in every way possible. Before I get into my results with my little experiment I will mention that overall my hair feels and looks a bit better. The breakage has minimized and it seems to be holding moisture a lot better. Overall, I think I am pleased with how it is coming along. I've notice a tiny tiny bit of new growth in certain sections, which is great. Not sure, but I think it may be due to my JBCO blend. Traditionally, I don't see anything in terms of growth until about 5 or 6 weeks post. I was itching to do a henna treatment today, but stopped myself. I really want to let my hair tell me when to add protein to prevent another overload. No henna isn't truly a protein, but it acts like a protein in terms of its ability to strengthen and add structure and volume to the hair. It also dries the hell out of my hair like a protein, and given my issue with dry hair right now, I just want to increase my moisture levels first.

Anywhoo, back to my experiment. As you know I really wanted to give BB Avocado Treatment a fair chance, so I played around with some concoctions and applied it to my hair in four sections. Here's what I did:

Section 1. BB Avocado Butter Pre-poo Treatment with 1 each tsp of my special oil mix and JBCO

Section 2. 1 tsp each of BB Avocado Pre-poo Treatment, JBCO, special oil blend mix, honey, AORM and AOHR

Section 3. 2 tsp of Hydrafuse  and 1 tsp each of BB Avocado Pre-poo Treatment, JBCO, special oil blend mix, honey

Section 4. 2 tsp of Hydrafuse  and 1 tsp each of BB Avocado Pre-poo Treatment, JBCO, special oil blend mix, honey and Aveda DR

I placed a plastic cap on and allowed treatment(s) to sit for 1 hour (45 w/ heat; 15 w/ out). My results were as followed:

Section 1: washed out okay, but nothing special in terms of moisture or slip. A tiny bit of tangling.

Section 2: Soft and moist, good slip, which was a pleasant surprise.

Section 3: Okay. Felt dense (if that makes any sense), some slip

Section 4: Really nice, soft, moist and had slip.

So section 2 and 4 were the clear winners. I will have to admit the best one was section 4, but 2 was very close in comparison. What I like the most is the fact that section 2 was an all natural concoction, actually the treatment blend I've been using over the last two weeks with no success. The only change was adding a tsp of JBCO. This mix is definitely a keeper, but I will need to find an alternative to the BB Pre-Poo Treatment because it is just too expensive for what you are getting. Today I got the buttery soft feel I have been longing for over the last two weeks, but I had to add JBCO and various conditioners. Now, as for the BB Avocado Pre-poo Treatment, I have decided to change my rating to a . I really just don't think it's worth the money, esp since I had to add other things to it to get any kind of slip or moisture. Good ingredients, but that is about it. Applying it to the hair was fine, but it honestly felt similar to spreading a tub of Vaseline on my hair, and truthfully conditioned just as well! Not sure what all the hype is all about......

JBCO Challenge: Week Two

So it is week two of the JBCO Challenge. I've noticed that on days I don't oil my scalp I have some itching. So far so good. It concerns me of course because I am looking to stop my itching not do anything to increase it, but it's not horrible. I have noticed a little (and I do mean a little) bit of new growth in certain sections of my hair, which feels soft. Pretty good sign if you ask me, because I never see new growth this early (I am currently 3 weeks post). Can I attribute this to the JBCO, yeah perhaps. I mean I have also used some EOs as well, which are also known for enhancing hair growth and I also have other oils added to my mix (e.g. jojoba and EVCO).  I am also trying (not doing too great) to eat better and I am exercising at least 4-5 times a week. All factors that contribute to achieving maximum hair growth. You notice I didn't say increase hair growth I still believe nothing can help you go beyond your maximum growth rate. Some may disagree, but whenever someone reports they got 1/2-1 of growth from a product, it is more likely that the product help create a situation that allowed them to reach their full potential, whether it was keeping their scalp clean (e.g. JBCO, MN), helping with circulation, adding additional nutrients to the hair follicles (e.g. EO); It was not the product in itself. I mean we all know a clean scalp, circulation, moisture and nutrients are key to hair growth (or any cell for that matter), which can all be achieved by eating a balanced diet high in certain nutrients, regular exercise, scalp massages and regular shampoo (or co-washes).  While JBCO may have something to do with my mini spurt of growth I can't really tell. Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that I can't use JBCO on its own, but I may try to use more of it in my mix to see what happens. We'll see....