MY NEW BFF

Remember my issues that I was having with my hair.

Well, the solution has been found!

Whether she knows it or not, one of my family members reminded me of the number one moisturizer - water. Thanks Pam! The summer weather was wreaking havoc on my hair before I began incorporating more of it into my regimen, . Now, I’ve upped my application of it to daily.

• Water: One-fourth of the weight, of a strand of hair, is made up of water. Water makes your hair supple and soft therefore you should have enough water. Water keeps your hair silky and shiny as well. *from iloveindia.com

Well, on top of having a wonderful shower filter, I’ve upped my application of water to my hair. I believe that’s all I needed to do. So every day, I put my head under the showerhead if but for a few seconds. When I do this, I make sure that the water is cool/cooler to ensure that my hair cuticles lay down. Sometimes I wet my hair a little. Sometimes I go ahead and give it a good rinse. And sometimes I full out co-wash it. It all depends on how active I’ve been and how I’m wearing my hair.

I can definitely tell you that my tresses are lovin’ it. After it’s been wetted, I apply a conditioner and/or butter. For my buns, I’ve been topping my hair with the Hairveda Whipped Gelly. Forget hair gels, I’m so lovin’ this stuff! And of course, I end by sealing my hair with an oil or pomade. Btw, if I use a leave-in conditioner I top it with the gelly and seal with an oil. If I use a butter (Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream), I top that with a pomade like Qhemet's Amla Oil Nourishing pomade. And yes, if I’m wearing my hair in a bun or smoothed down, I cover it with a scarf for a few minutes to allow it to set.


I’ve also brought back Apple Cider Vinegar Herbal Tea rinse to my regimen. I posted more about it here and here. The ACV helps to seal your cuticles, normalize your hair’s ph and make it shiny. Gotta love it!


So glad my hair is back to normal.
Hope this helps anyone out there. My hair certainly appreciates it!

Post Title → MY NEW BFF

BACK TO HENNA

Hi Gorgeous,

On last Friday, I finally hennaed my hair after it seemed like ages. In reality is was only a month or so. Henna is another type of ayurvedic herb. Henna, also known as Lawsonia inermis, which comes from a plant is a green powder that have a red-orange dye molecule. It stains the hair red-orange but it is a translucent stain that combines with your natural hair color. Body art quality henna , which I use, has a much higher dye content than the henna sold for hair. I personally prefer Yemen henna as it is touted as having the highest concentration of natural dye in it. Aside from the fact that henna is a natural colorant, it's also an awesome conditioner. For more information on the henna dying process, click here.

So let me get back to what I did.


I pre-pooed overnight with that fabulous Hairveda Vatika Frosting. I'm so gonna have to dedicate a post to "the Frosting". Loves this stuff. Anyhoo, I cleaned my hair with some of a sample of Mixed Chicks Shampoo that I had. It was a little harsh on my hair so I only used a drop w/a lot of water on each quadrant of hair. Note: I do wash/condition my hair using the quadrant sectioning method. It's simply dividing your hair into the four quadrants on your head. Front right, back right, back left and front left. It makes handling my hair so much easier.

After the cleaning, I applied the henna to my hair. CurlyNikki has a great and simple pictorial on henna. I used a mix of Chamomile tea and Green tea to make mine w/a lot of honey. Similiar to how a relaxer is applied to the hair, my application started from the back and moved to the front. I basically smooshed/stroked it into sections of hair from the root to the ends. After all sections were done, I put a plastic cap on to cover my hair. Actually, I used two caps cause it definitely can be messy. Then I used my heatcap for about an hour and a half. After that, I was out and about with chores and errands. What?! But of course, I broke out the tam to cover up all that. Lol. Btw, I've generally purchased my henna from Mehandi.com or Mehndiskinart.com. If I'm in a pinch then I'll hit up the local Indian grocery or an Indian salon.

After about 5 hours or so, I washed the henna out. First, I literally dunked my head into a water-filled bucket. Yes, I did. Then I continued washing the rest out with my fave henna rinse-out condish, V05 Moisture Milks. I may have used close to a full bottle to get all of the henna which is okay because it's very cheap. They typically run around a dollar a bottle. After all the henna was rinsed out, I did a 30 minute deep steam treatment with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing condish topped with Laquita's Bobeam Oil that she sent me to try. Woo Hoo!!

The next step was to cool rinse the conditioner out. I finished with a final cool tea rinse. Another something I hadn't done in ages. My tea du jour consisted of equal parts of rosemary leaf, horsetail, burdock root, chamomile, lavender and half of Tablespoon of ACV. You can check out the goodness of ACV or Apple Cider Vinegar at Zainab1's blog Au Naturale. Zainab1 has a really straight-forward informative blog. You should check it out. You can also find some info on ACV over at another fav blog of mine, Mane and Chic. Oh, back to my hair tea. I used about 20 oz of distilled water with maybe a T of each herb. A very small amount of ACV and 5 drops each of lavender essential oil & lemongrass essential oil.

My leave-in of choice was MOP leave-in conditioner. I then twisted my hair with Jane Carter Solutions Twist and Lock while sealing my ends with her Nourish and Shine. I know it sounds like a lot but keep in mind that I still enjoy playing with my hair. And yes, it was a hair day. I guess I did a hair spa day, like Fleurtzy over at Texture Playground.

I'm quite pleased with how my hair feels and looks. As I stated in a previous post, my shed hairs are down to small numbers and I haven't had much of an issue, if any, with tangles. I'm still contemplating getting my hair blown straight before spring just for a check-up trim. Not sure on that one yet.

Any of you had a "hair day" lately? Do share...

Post Title → BACK TO HENNA

IT'S TEA TIME!

Hola Beautifuls!

Remember my post on herbs. I ended up trying an herbal rinse out on last week. Too impatient to wait on my Mountain Rose order I went ahead and worked w/what I had on hand and picked up some loose herbs from a health store. It went pretty well. I just wished that I had had all of the herbs that I intended to use. What I used in this particular tea was Marshmallow Root, Burdock Root and Horsetail. I basically followed the method in that Trenellm used in her video that I included in my previous post.

FIRST HAIR TEA RECIPE

1 T of Marshmallow Root – gives awesome slip; detangler. It provides excellent relief from skin and scalp irritation while leaving hair soft and shining.

1 T Burdock Root – manageability, conditioning, improve hair strength, shine, body, and to help reverse scalp conditions, such as dandruff and to combat hair loss. It contains nutrients required to maintain a healthy scalp and promote natural hair growth.

1 T horsetail - Heavy in silica; strengthens fingernails and hair, especially good for split ends. It contributes flexibility and strength to the bones, hair, and nails.

I steeped the herbs in about 20 oz of distilled water. I let them steep for about 2 hours. I’ve read that the longer you allow the tea to steep, the better the herbs will infuse. With that in mind, I’ll allow a longer amount of steeping the next time I do an herbal rinse. I poured a small amount of Apple Cider Vinegar into a 16 oz plastic bottle.

**side note**
Hair is on the mildly acidic side of the pH scale and has an ideal pH of 4.5 to 5.5, which is close to that of an apple cider vinegar rinse (pH 2.9).

On the other hand, many of the hair care products we use, such as soap-based shampoos, bleaches, hair colors, and permanents are strongly alkaline.

Rinsing with apple cider vinegar will help balance the pH of your hair and remove the buildup that can result from the use of these styling products and inexpensive shampoos.

Rinsing will also close the numerous cuticle scales which cover and protect the surface of each hair shaft. This imparts a smoother surface which reflects more light and as a result leaves your hair shinier, smoother and easier to manage.

After reading a little more on this, I believe that I can up that amount to 1/3 of the mixture. Based on that, I’ll also increase this for my next batch. (I doubt it will be 1/3 but it'll definitely be more than I used last time. I'm always concerned about drying my hair out so I'll gradually increase the ACV amount and be watchful of how my hair responds.) I poured my tea mixture on top of the ACV. Then I added a few drops of my favorite essential oils- Lemongrass and Lavender. Oh, that was a heavenly scent that actually lingered longer than I expected. I also added a few drops of Vitamin E oil.

Shook all these ingredients up and used it as a final rinse. Final rinse meaning I did not rinse it out. I liked the way my hair felt and can’t wait to do this with my other herbs. This can be done on all types of hair, including chemically treated.

This was really easy to do so it is definitely a permanent part of my regimen. I hope that after some repeated uses, I’ll be able to share with you more info about my hair and it’s health.

I so still love to play in & with my hair.

By the way, I used the perfect tea maker by Teavana to steep my tea. Loves this product. It makes the process so easy...and fun.

Product Description
The Teavana Perfect Teamaker creates the perfect cup of tea for tea lovers on the go. Just add loose tea, 32oz of hot water and steep. Drain the tea by placing it onto your favorite mug. Prepares four 8oz cups of tea. Dishwasher safe.

I cannot fathom why I didn’t take photos, but will be sure to take some next time.

Also, be sure to check out BreaKINK New Ground. She has some really great to the point information. I'm a little jealous of her herbal hair oil that she's infusing. Lol. Can't wait to give that a try, also. She's also doing a really nice giveaway so check her out.

Peace out, Lovelies...

Post Title → IT'S TEA TIME!

HERBS, HERBS & MORE HERBS

Hi Beautifuls!

Over the past couple of months, my interest in using herbs (common and ayurvedic), not just for health but for my hair, has grown exponentially. I've read a few posts and articles about people using them successfully in hair tea rinses. Tea rinses meaning, brewing herbs as a tea and then rinsing your hair with that very same tea.

Below is a video of an easy-to-do tea rinse done by Trenellm on Youtube. She's really funny.


You can subscribe to Trenellm on Youtube here.

Here's a short list of some herbs and their benefits to your hair.

burdock root - helps prevent hair loss, nourishing
coltsfoot - encourages hair growth
fenugreek - conditioning, medicating, rich in protein, treatment for falling/split hair, growth, silky
nettle - conditions/stimulates scalp
peppermint - stimulates scalp, cooling
rosehips - conditioning, moisturizing
rosemary - encourages hair growth, adds shine

You can also find a list of some herbs, their benefits and ways to use them from hair mixtress, Anita Grant.

I've tried a tea rinse with Marshmallow Root (has great slip to it) and Hisbiscus together. It made for a wonderful detangler.


Aside from using herbs as hair rinses, you can also drink herbs in a tea for many health benefits but do note that if pregnant, use caution and consult with a specialist before doing so to insure you and your unborn childs safety. Ingrid from RawEpicurean has some great posts/recipes for some common herbs that we use for our hair. Click on the names of these herbs to read her informative posts (and recipes) for hisbiscus, nettle and aloe.

Do you use herbs and if so, which ones and how have they worked for you?....

Post Title → HERBS, HERBS & MORE HERBS