Taking a Short Break

As the title says, I am going on a mini break. Ladies, I am absolutely exhausted both mentally and physically. I have been trying to do too much, and putting waaaay too much time and energy on my hair and physical appearance. Now I know that sounds odd, because how can taking care of one's appearance be a bad thing? Well in moderation it isn't a bad thing, but I think I have been going overboard.  Don't get me wrong, I am--and will still be committed to my hair. I will still be diligent with my regimen, I just need a mini break. I have been literally driving myself crazy focusing on my hair: oiling and massaging my scalp, reading blog post, forums, chats, washing, conditioning, buying products to remedy my hair issues, dealing with breakage, protein overload, blogging about my pitfalls, blogging about my successes....it's a little much simply because I am also trying to lose weight, dealing with home renos, managing work, trying to have a social life, maintaining a connection with my family--whew really?! It's a little much.

So while I take my mini stay-cation I will continue to take care of my hair, but my post will be limited to updates on the JBCO Challenge and the odd post on articles I come across, but that's it for now. I am also available to answer any questions you may have, so no worries there. My break won't be too long, just for a few weeks....Can I last that long? I'll keep you posted LOL!

Burt's Bee Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment

Burt's Bee Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment ($11.69 CDN)
As you know I picked this product up about three weeks ago mainly because I have been experiencing some serious breakage and had a big issue with dry, brittle hair. So I was--well still have been on a mission to up the moisture levels of my hair, really reducing the protein I am currently applying protein once a month (or as needed). Having my hair out of the twist I am coming to really see how moisture deprived my hair. It seems to be drinking up whatever I put on it like water.

Anyway, the first time around I added it to my conditioner mix (AO HR and RM) and left it on my usual time with heat and it was just okay. This time around I decided to do an overnight treatment. My hair was a little dry and I haven't had the opportunity to M & S everyday as planned. There was absolutely no difference in the condition in my hair. Now when I say this, I don't mean my hair was bad at all, but it just felt "okay". There was okay slip, and my hair was a little softer. I am just use to getting "buttery" (oh yeah I said "buttery") soft hair when I rinse out my conditioner, and this is no longer the case. Now either these products have changed in some way, or it is my hair that is changing. Now I believe the latter may be the culprit, because as we all know, that is the nature of hair. Since I first began using all natural products I have changed the relaxer I use (Affirm Fiberguard) and my diet. Age may also play a factor as well. As we age the moisture and protein levels in our hair changes, which affects sheen, texture, feel and moisture/protein retention. With these things considered, my hair appears to no longer responding to some natural products the way that it did before. Does that mean I will stop using natural products--hell no! I just need to figure out what else will work. Anyway, I digress.

The BB Avocado Butter Treatment just doesn't do it for me. I have yet to use it on it's own, so I will do that next, but I figure if I have used it with so called moisturizing conditioners and it hasn't had an impact with those additives, then why would it be more effective on its own? I may be totally wrong, but from my experience most things are only enhanced when you add it to something else. I think to be fair I will complete a final experiment though. I will split my hair into four sections (which I do anyway), but I will apply different concoctions to each section to see what happens. One section will definitely have just the BB Avocado Butter on it's own to give it a fair chance, and I will play around with the other sections (honey, oils, conditioners--don't know yet). As it stands now, I will have to give this product a because it is too expensive for the limited results I've received. Some women have had good results with this product, so you may also want to check out their reviews (use google). I've only had okay results, so I just don't think it's worth it. Maybe I should lower my expectations...

ETA: I completed my final review after experimenting with a few things. Here are my thoughts of this product after it was all said and done

- = not worth the money, don't waste your time.

- = neither hit or miss; just okay

- = good product; really worth trying.

= amazing product!

JBCO Challenge: Week One

Today was wash day and I must say I am surprise to feel a little bit of new growth. Nothing major mind you, but considering I typically only grow about 1/4 an inch a month, I should not feel anything this soon (approx 2 weeks post). I used the Burt's Bee Pre-poo once again, and let's say, not too impressed, even after using if overnight. I will be writing a review shortly after I complete this post.

Of course I will be applying my oil blend mix to my scalp after I style my hair. I will say my scalp was a bit itchy last week. Nothing major, but enough for me to say--"hey what's going on, I thought I dealt with this". I have made a few changes to the EOs I am adding to the blend, so hopefully that should address my scalp issues. I have also decided to reduce the amount of jojoba oil I am using and increase the amount of JBCO I am using. Nothing major, just a tsp for each to see if i can tolerate the JBCO bit better. I have been using it long enough that my scalp should have adapted to its "power" by now. One step at a time.

New JBCO Challenge

So I've joined yet another JBCO Challenge on HI. I know, I know, the last time I did the challenge I didn't see very much difference in terms of thickness and growth, so why do it again? Well, there are a few reasons: One, since the challenge ended I have continued to use JBCO in my scalp oil mix, because I found it was helpful in alleviating my itchy scalp and made my new growth really soft, so I figure why not continue, but just increase the application/quantity?

Secondly, as you know, I tried a "scalp growth aid" last month, which had disastrous results on my hair (shedding, dryness and breakage---OH MY!), so I've decided to go back to the basics. Regular all natural hair care remedies and daily massages to improve (because nothing can truly increase) my hair growth. When I was doing this at the beginning of my hair journey this seemed to  be helping me out just fine and my hair was doing well. I guess I was a little (or very) impatient, and truthfully I did more damage than I care to acknowledge. I should have just left well enough alone. Alas, I digress. 

So there you have it. I figure since I am using JBCO anyway I will continue, but be more conscious about how and when I am using it. I will also modify my mix a little, adding a bit more JBCO, and try to apply it to clean scalp to see if I garner any more benefits. We'll see. I won't post daily progress reports like I did before, but I will post weekly updates just to see if I have a different experience. I will also post a "before" and "after" pic to see if there is truly any difference...

I'll keep you posted!