2010 New Hair Resolution

So, like many people out there I have made a new year resolution. Some of them are related to my personal growth journey--(I think one should always strive to become a better person), but of course some are related to my hair journey. So here is my New Hair Resolution:

1. Oil my scalp at least 3 times a week
2. Massage my scalp daily for a minimum of 5 mins.
3. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water a day
4. Streamline my hair care products to 5 core products, finally getting get rid of the mountains of product I currently have and kick the product junky habit for good (e.g. 1 moisturizing shampoo; 1 deep moisturizing and 1 protein conditioner; 1 moisturizing leave in/daily moisturizer; and nourishing scalp oil/sealant)
5. Use all (or as close as possible) natural hair products
6. Take hair beneficial supplements daily (e.g. Multivitamin (that contains Biotin and MSM), Vitamin B complex, Silica, Vitamin E and Iron)

Now by going completely natural (as far as hair care products go), I obviously will not be purchasing a few of the products I have listed in a previous post like I planned.

EVCO Challenge: Week Two

Day 8 (Jan 10, 2010)

So I just finished twisting my hair. I will say, my hair was still breaking when I did the EVCO treatment. I am not happy at all...I decided to stick to the challenge and applies EVCO to my hair and let it sit over night, but I did it on damp hair tis time. I will say I prefer this method because the application felt much better. In the morning I had a good amount of shedding and some breakage (little pieces). I applies a mild protein conditioner over the oil, sat for 20 min under the heated dryer. It felt moist, but the breakage was still there (nothing too dramatic). I proceeded to shampoo, conditioned once again with a moisturizing conditioner for another 20 min, air dried and styled. While it was damp I noticed that there was  still some breakage, minimal, but still there none the less. Once dried however, no breakage. My hair also felt soft and moist... so was my new growth--very soft. I don't know what is going on regarding my hair. I have a relaxer coming up, but I am concerned my hair isn't ready due to this breakage issue. I will see my progress in a few weeks. As far as the crispy, dry ends I had last week I will say I am on my way to resolving that. The breakage is another issue.

Day 9-13 (Jan 11-15, 2010)

Can I just say my roots feel like absolute "butter" (very cotton soft). I am pleasantly surprised by the soft, fluffy texture. So soft my twist won't stay put! The changes I made to my hair regime are definitely working out.

Day 14 (Jan 16, 2010)

Prepping my hair for my relaxer and I am pleasantly surprised. My hair feels stronger. The breakage I had has seemed to reduce, and my hair feels soft. A big difference from other relaxers days. I will say that I much prefer applying the coconut oil on damp hair. The process and application is just so much smoother. My hair seems to absorb it like crazy as well, where I found it just sat there when I applied it to dry hair. I will be using this method from now on. 

(Later that day) after my relaxer my feels so silky and the shine is amazing. I posted pic in my journal/album. I am happy with EVCO thus far.

Food and Plant Oil Explanations and Benefits (Updated)

Over the last few weeks I have been very impressed by the results of the various oils I've been using. They appear to helping me with my hair goals, and my hair doesn't appear as damaged as before. My skin also looks much healthier, which is a definite plus!

I have already posted a list of various herbs/oils that benefit the hair and scalp. I have since updated that list as I've come across more information. I have also included a video demonstration showing how a few of the herbs can be used to detangle and add sheen to the hair. I can't wait to try them on my own hair (I plan to add them to my conditioner). I'll let you know how it goes!

Palm Oil...

Hmm, well I wanted to make sure that the information I was posting about palm oil was accurate; does it have any benefits for the hair? I did some more research and I did come across a few sites--actually one, where one woman found it useful for her hair. Now from what I read, she uses the red palm oil, which is how palm oil looks when it is fresh pressed (a process that allows it to retain the nutrients). She also stated that it is the cheapest oil available and there is some issue with staining your clothes, so I wasn't wrong there.  Don't want to be accused of printing inaccurate information . There you have it!