Protein Sensitive

As you may know, I've been experiencing some dryness and breakage. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, feeling defeated and frankly fed up. After reviewing my blog entries (I was giving it a bit of a facelift) I began to realize that I may be using too much protein. I haven't been using strong proteins, but I believe any amount of protein may be too much. In other words, I am protein sensitive. When I was relaxed this was harder for me to notice, be cause I have very fine hair and didn't couldn't really determine if the breakage I experienced back then was a result of the relaxer. Now, it's a lot easier to figure out.

To confirm my suspicions I avoided all protein based products for a few weeks. That meant shampoo, conditioner, leave in and moisturizer. Oh yes, I was using protein based shampoo. Smh. I guess I thought my curly hair could handle it. To boost my moisture level, I applied my old tested and true Banana/Coconut Milk Masque to see if I could revive my very dry tresses. It helped and I noticed the difference almost immediately. My hair felt soft and moisturized and I was able to maintain a decent amount of moisture until my next wash day. In the past, no matter how much product I put on my hair, it continued to feel quite dry. So it was confirmed. My fine locs can not handle too much protein.

I didn't want to swing too far into the opposite direction, so I completed a mild protein treatment today utilizing my Avocado Masque  (modified), which I think will keep me on the right path to healthy balanced hair. To recap, I blended the avocado and oils well in a blender until smooth then add the egg and the honey. In addition to modifying the recipe a bit, I applied freshly washed hair, from root to tip, applied 2 plastic caps and let it sit for 3 hours. My goal was only 1 hour, but I was a little distracted. I rinsed it out and lightly finger detangles and then applied AO Honeysuckle Rose and allowed that to sit while I cleansed my body. I then finger detangled again while doing my final rinse. Finally I applied homemade moisture balance spritz, sealed with my shea butter mix and air dried. That's it. Here is the modified recipe I used:

1 small hass avocado

1 egg

1 tsp each of EVCO, EVOO, JBCO

1 tsp honey

Overall, I am very pleased with the results. My hair feel soft, yet strong. I'm going to stick with moisturizing products and plan to do a protein treatment in 4-6 weeks. I will have to wait to see what my hair needs. As much as I would like to use certain products that seem to be loaded with protein, I simply can't. In this rare occassion, my hair calls the shots.

                                 

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.....

Reflections of Hair that Use to Be...

So I was very troubled by the fact that in essence I manage to only grow 3 inches of hair since January!!!!!!!! That only works to be approx 1/4 and inch per month ! What is worse is that in the process of growing this hair I didn't manage to hold on the the hair I already had, so my hair is the same length. Needless to say I am and trying to figure out what I am doing wrong? I decided to look over the old journal that I kept over the last year and here are some of the things that stood out to me:

November 2008

• I came up with a few goals
• I was very vague about my routines
• I was using a variety of products, jumping from one to another in an effort to finish them off even if they didn't quite work for me (mistake #1)
• I often ran out and grabbed products just because someone suggested it
• I liked my hair!

December 2008

• I'm still liking my hair, washing it more frequently because I was working out. (mistake #2)
• I was roller setting my hair even though it may have been causing my hair to break just to avoid using the flat iron (which I still ended up using by the way). (mistake #3)
• My hair was beginning to break and my ends were becoming trashed, not sure why.
• I wasn't very knowledgeable about protein vs moisturizing products so I think I was overdoing the protein without really knowing it. (mistake #4)
• I was quite heavy handed with products (hair looks greasy and stiff)
• Never fully eliminated my itchy scalp and I was trying to reach all my mini goals at once.
• I was documenting my progress less frequently.

January 2009

• My hair was still breaking
• Made plans to trim every touch up vs. every other touch up
• Plan on using mild protein once a week
• Came to the realization I was still jumping from product to product but didn't stop not sure why.

February 2009

• I didn't document any of my progress!

March 2009

• My hair in the back completely broke off!
• I was not tracking my progress very much (only two entries!)
• I discovered that pre-pooing one hour before was better for my hair/scalp than overnight
• I began alternating between protein and moisturizing conditioners
• I tried my hand at homemade leave in conditioner (glycerin/rose water)
• I began sealing ends with avocado oil
• I noticed less itchiness on the scalp and less breakage
• I was still using too much heat

April 2009

• I  didn't document my progress.

May 2009

• Debating if I should go natural because my hair was completely destroyed.

June to October 2009

• I decided to put extensions in my hair (twist)
• I completely neglected my hair in the process (mistake #5)
• I wasn't documenting progress
• Itchy dry scalp is back

Products that just didn't work for me:

• Mizani Relaxer
• Mizani Hydrafuse (irritated the hell out of my scalp, cause scabs and flaking, but really moisturized my hair)
• Avocado oil (refined/cosmetic grade) seems to dry out my scalp unless mixed with jojoba oil
• AO Island Naturals stripped my hair, but seemed tolerable when I added oil
• Nothing with petroleum (but that shouldn't be a surprise)
• Shea butter on my scalp (made it itch initially)
• Protectiv Healthy Ends (too heavy and greasy)

Products that were just okay for me:

• AO Honeysucke Rose (not as moisturizing as I hoped)
• Safflower oil (made a little stiff if use too much)

Products that did work for me:

• Henna followed by a deep moisturizing conditioner and oils made my hair feel soft and strong
• AOGPB
• Jojoba was a God send to my hair
• Protectiv Break Free
• CON (green bottle), but my hairdresser advised against this product
• Aveda Dry Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner

So there you have it...how I destroyed my hair. I think by reflecting on what I was and wasn't doing over the last year has help me understand a little bit more about my hair, and has helped me push that nagging idea out of my head that I just won't have long beautiful hair. It will also keep me focused and remind me of why I need to stick to my routine once I've figured that out. Also I need to make sure I am eating the right types of food, because seriously, even if I was racking a flat iron through it everyday that shouldn't have had an impact on how much hair was coming out of my head. I mean only a 1/4 inch of growth a month! That isn't right at all. I may need to complete another challenge.