Hair Update And a Touch Up Finally!

Late November 2017…starts blog post…

I finally touched up my hair after God knows how long. This was my longest stretch yet, I believe, I went a year and some months. My last touch up was sometime in 2016 This was a totally unplanned stretch to be honest I have been feeling uninspired to do anything with my hair this year. My side business is partly to blame for that; I crotchet scarves and beanies on the side and I ended up making myself some beanies which would end up on my head almost all the time if I didn’t feel like doing anything to my hair. But on the other hand it ended up actually being a good thing coz my hair was always in a protective style under those beanies so that worked perfectly ok for me. Low manipulation, reduced breakage and all. That was very much needed and good for my hair and length retention.

I used Dark and Lovely Beautiful Beginnings no lye relaxer kit as always.  I touched up like I always do starting at the back coz I long figured out my back hair takes longer to process so it only makes sense to start with the back in order to avoid over processing the front bit. Touch up, shampoo and very thorough rinsing done I deep conditioned with Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Grow Treatment Masque with Shea butter, Peppermint and Keratin wow that is a mouthful! This was a free sample (two sachets) I received at a hair event I recently attended, and my hair loved it so much I think I will be purchasing the full-size tub. It made my hair feel so soft I was tempted to do nothing else to it after rinsing until the next day. Which I did save for applying a leave in conditioner and let it air dry and left everything else until the next morning.

image source: Amazon

The next morning I oiled my scalp with this blend of amla oil, see the ingredient list below. It’s called Bio Amla by a company called Vedova. I quite like the way it smells and how lightweight it is. This is my first time using this particular brand of amla I bought a 50ml bottle and I can already see myself repurchasing a bigger size bottle when this one runs out. I had this insane need to use amla or anything along those lines these last few weeks so I went out and got myself a bottle. Scalp done I applied my leave in conditioner and did two jumbo braids. The plan is to do a henna treatment three days later.

Continues typing blog post…February 2018

Day three well more like two thousand years later in February 2018 I finally did the henna treatment! Well what had happened was...lol I don’t even know why I stayed this long well a lot happened the Christmas holidays included but the bottom line is I finally did my henna treatment.

I added a bit of food colour to my henna mix, it gives my hair red highlights which i like. it is temporary so a little bit washes off with every wash

Henna treatment done I had my hair rinsed and applied this leave in conditioner from mega growth and then my cousin blow dried my hair for me at her salon and we were done at least for now. 

I KNOW I need a trim that will be done some time soon if not the next two thousand years hahaha soon I promise those ends look terrible I am currently in buns 90% of the time so they don’t bother me as much but I know the importance of trimming ends etc so I will get it done asap.

Concoction Wash Day!

I cannot remember the last time I deep conditioned with a homemade food based concoction it must be over a year at least! There was a time I would use homemade DCs at least once a month. So last wash day I had a really really overripe avocado that I decided to mix with other ingredients and use as a deep conditioner; so it was one medium sized overripe avocado, about a tablespoon of pure honey, a teaspoon of white vinegar (mainly to stop the avocado from discolouring since I made the mixture about an hour before I was due to use it) and also for the benefits of vinegar to hair, I added about a tablespoon of whole milk just because I had just made my breakfast cereal and the milk carton was still on the counter.

File Photo: not exactly the avocado I used but you get the picture:)

My hair absolutely loved this concoction I cannot even begin to describe how soft it was I was even able to detangle without conditioner in shower on rinsing that was how soft it made my hair. I think I will add some coconut cream next time as well. I let it sit for about 45 minutes covered with cling film/wrap first then a headscarf to generate some heat before rinsing out. Oh and I used some of the deep conditioner as a face mask – two birds, one stone:)

 

All the fibres  get blown away on blow drying with cool air

The only downside to food based homemade deep conditioners especially fruits is the fibres left behind in the hair after rinsing. But thankfully they fly away on blow drying with cool air so it is not too bad. The benefits for me far outweigh the fibres left behind. Rinsing done I t-shirt dried turban style until damp and then applied my leave in conditioner made two jumbo braids and left all other product use for the next day since it was already late. Well all other product use (scalp oiling etc) ended being done a day later seeing as I never left the house the next day and I could not be bothered to touch my hair.

Henna With A Splash of Red!

It has been a couple of months since my last full head henna application.  I have been meaning to henna my hair from the beginning of this year, but the procrastinator in me would not let me do it for the last month. So last Sunday I said to myself it was now or never and actually got round to finally doing it.

I mixed my henna with cold water and about a spoonful of white vinegar and added a heaped spoonful of powdered red food colour that had been sitting idle in my cupboard since my last red velvet cake attempt. I think it was called raspberry or something but comes out red when mixed with water. Anyway I added the food colour into the henna mixed well adding water as needed, covered the mixture with cling film and let it sit overnight for the henna dye to release.

Next morning I wet my hair in the shower towel blotted damp and proceeded to apply the henna I have become much better at henna applications; less messy and quick. Application done I wrapped cling film around my hair, secured everything with a scarf and let the mixture sit in my hair for about three hours. I even took a nap in between but made sure to cover my pillow with an old t-shirt just in case of any leakage – thankfully there was hardly any.

 

The reddish brown hue can best be seen in sunlight/natural light

I never set out to sit with henna in my hair for three hours it just happened house chores and all. Once I was ready to rinse I hopped into the shower and rinsed out well. Henna takes several rinses to come out properly I take about 30 - 45 minutes in the shower on henna wash days. Hair rinsed I shampooed with African Black Soap twice and then conditioned with regular conditioner and let that sit for about five minutes as I cleaned the shower walls -  it was red all over. Bathroom clean I slightly detangled in shower and then rinsed out my hair and t-shirt blotted dry. I applied a little bit of coconut oil and let it air dry for the rest of the night. The next day I oiled my scalp with my amla/castor oil mix, moisturized with my leave in conditioner and then did four joining braids in readiness for a braid out. And then it rained the next day so I ended up with a bun instead of a braid out:( 

I always tuck in the tails to prevent them from unravelling

Something new - It’s a Family Affair!

My something new is my new Organics shampoo from the same brand that makes my favourite Organics Conditioner.

 

Keeping it in the family - brand wise:) The shampoo is okay a bit too thick and creamy for my liking but it does a good job. Would I repurchase it? Yes I would.

This was my first official wash day of the year. I had planned to pre poo with an oil mix but somehow did not get round to doing that, so I just ended up directly shampooing twice instead. It was a quick in shower wash I had no time to deep condition but let the regular conditioner sit on my hair for about three minutes give or take before rinsing. I slightly detangled with conditioner in shower using a wide toothed comb and then rinsed out the conditioner. I t-shirt dried turban style as usual for about an hour then applied my leave in conditioner and left the oils for the next morning. I did one big jumbo braid and that was it for the night. The next morning I oiled my scalp with my castor/amla oil mix, applied some more leave in conditioner which I tend to use as a moisturizer these days and then sealed with a little coconut oil and then tied my hair into a bun.

Random question who do you ladies prefer male or female hairdressers and why? I have no preference to be honest since I have had the best and worst of both; as long as they do a good job on my hair I am good.