Retaining Moisture with ACV

First off, I have to say ACV is the truth! I wanted to wait after a few more wash days before posting my thoughts on ACV as a final rinse treatment because I wanted to make sure the benefits I saw weren't a fluke. Let me say it was not. As I am writing this (approx 1 hour and 30 min after shampooing my hair) my hair is still damp and moist!

I use to read Sunshyne's blog and think, what does she mean it takes 2 hours to dry her hair--whoa, her hair must be mega thick! Little did I know hair density had absolutely nothing to do with moisture retention, which was what I was struggling with. After reading some of the entries on her blog and some of the things she does to retain moisture (she apparently struggled with dryness as well) I had to try some of her hair remedies out. I am glad I did. My hair feels strong, moist--OMG I love my hair right now! This is what I did (I added a few extra things to my treatment):

Boil 2 1/4 cups of filtered water. After boiling, remove the pot from the stove and add 1 tbsp of mix dried herbs (equal parts sage, rosemary, rose hip, horsetail and nettle). Cover pot and allow herbs to steep overnight. In the morning strain herbs from brew then add 1/4 cup of ACV. After rinsing your conditioner pour brew over hair and massage into scalp (be sure not to tangle hair--this brew has no slip). Allow to sit for 30 sec-1 min then rinse thoroughly. Proceed to style as usual. That's it! Magic in your own kitchen. Who would have thought?

Original recipe:
1/4 cup ACV
2 cups water

I am currently very  happy with the results from my regimen now that I have added this final rinse treatment. I need to streamline it a bit--I am doing a lot of stuff to my hair right now (pre-poo, dc, oils, ect...), but I want to continue with it for a while. It works, and if it ain't broke, why fix it?!

ETA: I have since modified this recipe to 3/4 tsp per 2 cups of water after reviewing Kimmay Tube's video on pH balance. I've also changed the herbal mix as well.  Since changing it I have had good results, but now I can use this recipe on a weekly basis vs. once every other week/month. See my updated regimen for details.

HHG!

EVCO Challenge: Week Five

Day 29 (Jan 31, 2010)

 So it's five weeks in and I can say my hair is coming along nicely. When I unraveled my twist there was absolutely no breakage. It felt strong, a little dry (I don't moisturize daily), but overall I am pleased. You can't begin to understand how happy I am right now. EVCO will definitely become a staple after this challenge. I think I may have been a little heavy handed with it though, my jar is almost empty! It is worth a return trip to the health food store. I am gonna pick some up tomorrow!!

After reviewing my mini hair goals I realize I am on my way

1. Eliminate (or at least seriously reduce) dry/itchy scalp (under control)
2. Increase moisture in hair  (new)
3. Reduce breakage
4. Increase strength/moisture balance  (almost there)
5. Reduce shedding  (under control)
6. Increase thickness 
   
7. Increase growth and retain hair length 
8. daily 1 min scalp massage   (almost there)

Day 30-35 (Feb 1-6, 2010)

I've been oiling my scalp daily up to this point and I've decided to give it a rest for today. My hair looks great (moist and strong).... itchy scalp has reduced significantly. No complaints. I will wait to scratch number one off my list once I have had consistent results for a period of two weeks.

Scalp Shock

I have been reading a few forums on various hair growth aids: natural (JBCO, nettle, horsetail, aloe, wild growth oil) and unnatural (e.g. mega tek, MN (aka vaginal cream), surge). For some, these aids have brought tremendous growth and thickness. However, what has been seen by all users has been an increase in shedding or hair fall. Now, shedding is a natural process of hair growth. In fact, a healthy head of hair can expect to shed 50-100 hairs a day. Yet, these products appear to produce more shedding than the expected amount. I wonder why that is....

When I was on the JBCO Challenge I experienced some shedding, even scalp sores, which is why I had to dilute my JBCO with another oils. Now JBCO, like the other hair aids I mentioned above is said to stimulate and detoxify/cleanse the scalp. This made me wonder if the reason we experience so much extra shedding with these products is because our scalp is going into shock. 

The process that led me to this theory was my recent body detox. I detoxify every year to help clean my body of impurities and foster a healthier body and mind. Now if you have never completed a detox, let me tell you that the first few days or week (depending on the level of toxins that are in the body) can be difficult. You experience fatigue, headaches, possible breakouts (acne) and irritability--basically your body goes into shock. As you purge more and more toxins from your body you begin stabilize. I believe the scalp does the same thing. To test this theory I applied JBCO on my scalp without any other oils. It seems to be doing much better than it did when I first used it. Now that I've seen this this doesn't mean I am going to just start using JBCO straight. However, what I will do is gradually build up my tolerance towards it. I also suggest that if find you are sensitive to products that you try this method as well. 

We often run out grabbing new products to put on our hair without really knowing how it will respond to our hair or scalp. Obviously the best way to tell if a product works for your hair is to try it, however the scalp is a different matter. The scalp needs to be protected. It is your breeding ground for beautiful and strong hair. If it is damaged beyond repair due to scaring, burning, excessive scratching (all reactions I've heard reported from the use of these products), it won't matter what you put on you scalp after that, nothing will grow. The scalp is resilient, but not invincible. Be mindful of that before you reach for the next best thing that someone is suggesting you use to increase hair growth.  Use these products with care. If nothing else, add a new product a little bit at a time to see how you'll respond and to help your hair become accustom to it. Particularly if it is a product is something you plan on using for a long period of time.

HHG!

EVCO Challenge: Week Four

Day 22 (Jan 24, 2010)

OMG! Can I say my hair feels so much better than it has in months. I made a few changes (yet again), which will definitely become staples. So as usual I applied my EVCO to (mistakenly) wet hair and slept with it in my hair overnight. In the morning my hair was (still) damp. I'm not quite sure how much my hair actually absorbed, so I will need to make sure my hair is actually damp and not wet next time. Aside from that, it was all good; hair felt a'ight. I proceeded to follow my regimen, but ended it with a ACV/hair tonic tea as my final rinse and can I say my hair was noticeably stronger. I was amazed! I was a little scared at first because as I poured it over my hair it felt very stiff. But once I rinsed it out (after massaging for about a minute) it softened up. Even better (well I'm not sure how much better you can get), I seem to be retaining moisture. If you remember from my previous post my hair would dry up really quickly (literally in minutes) and my ends were quite dry--this is not an indication of healthy hair.  Now? As I am writing this my hair still feels moist and damp! Huuuuge difference from just last week and that is despite deep conditioning with oils, heat, etc....I will be continuing this process for sure!

Ladies if you are having issues with moisture retention and dry ends try ACV just be sure to dilute it! I want to try it a few times before posting my recipe just to make sure this wasn't a fluke. 

Day 23 (Jan 25, 2010)

I oiled my scalp as usual. As you know I did my little experiment to see if my scalp was in fact getting over the shock of JBCO and I noticed that the area where I just used JBCO is fine. The back where I used my concotion seems to be have a few issues (very mild itching)...humf, imagine that...

Day 24 (Jan 26, 2010)

 My scalp was fine, but when I massaged it felt tight and had a few "sore" spots where I had the JBCO on it's own. So much for my theory LOL.

Day 25-28 (Jan 27-30, 2010) 
I will say that as the day progressed my hair has been retaining moisture quite well. Itching...ah well. If I am consistent it seems fine. My scalp seems to be really absorbing the oil. I may up the number of times I oil my scalp in these colder months.