Keep It Straight

Week two of Hair Sauna Treatment I think my hair is reaching a nice moisture level!! YEAH!! I've only had to moisture and seal every other day this week. I did the GHE Thursday, Friday and Saturday and left the bag on for aaaages. I didn't sweat as much this week. Probably a function of the lower temperatures here. I like the regression effect it's having on my relaxed hair. It's giving me waves which I think are kinda cute. On the Con side, It makes my ends look fuzzy and I'm not sure if they're splitting and thus dry or just fuzzy from all the moisture. I used the Neutrogena Triple Moisture (It's going really fast, I have to figure out an efficient way of using it coz at $8 a pop I can't be buying a bottle every month) and put the olive oil on my edges the first night. Then I bought Castor oil and used that on my edges the rest of the time. Funny Story: I went to CVS and asked for Castor Oil. The guy had no idea what I was talking about. So I ...

Lots of hair blogs/networks have hair care challenges. They usually last about 3 months and are a way to introduce a product or care method into your regimen. There's also lots and lots of progress to be seen. I'm currently considering two challenges. One is the castor oil challenge on this website  (registration is closed but that doesn't stop you from following along) and the other is the Green House Effect (GHE) challenge that was originally developed by a lady at RealQueens.net. The Castor Oil Challenge Involves using castor oil (any kind is permissible) on your roots and scalp as part of your weekly routine. The castor oil is supposed to stimulate growth and the antibacterial properties work to keep your scalp clean and infection free. The Good: Results have been pretty stunning across the interwebs. Strong healthy roots lead to strong healthy hair. The Bad: My itchy reaction to JBCO has me hesitating. If only there was some way to skin test this ...

I've tried GHE with Neutrogena leave-in moisturizer, seal with Hollywood beauty olive oil on tuesday and GHE with just the oil yesterday. I also didn't keep the shower cap on the entire night because it just felt so weird. I know the point of GHE is to use 'natural' products but I think my hair feels less dry doing it the first way. There was definitely more moisture on the shower cap on Wed morning than this morning. I had to moisturize and seal this morning because it dried up so fast. :( So back to the original method. Though....does it become bagging now? Maybe I should just called it the Hair Sauna Treatment. There. I've created a new method interwebs...have at it.

It's been a month since I decided I was going to get serious about growing my hair. It feels like years. I think if anything, this HHJ (Healthy Hair Journey) is going to teach me about patience and acceptance. Coz darn it! This hair should be grown already! lol. I have to accept it though. This first year is going to be hard. Yes I might see some growth but until I figure out what works well on my hair, until I learn how to take care of it properly...I'm not going to see the progress that I want. What Have I Learnt So Far? 1. My hair is really demanding and confused! (or maybe I'm confused) e.g. It really liked the Shea Moisture shampoo I was using, but hated the combination with the moisturizer. So I fixed the moisturizer...but then it didn't like the shampoo anymore. So I got a new moisturizing shampoo...but I think it hates the shampoo even more. Granted the new shampoo has sulphates in it. It's really funny how just weeks ago I was moaning about ...

This topic has been covered and covered and covered but I'm going to do it anyways because well you can never hear too much good information. The Breakdown (like my little pun there?): Hair Porosity is your hair's ability to absorb water and product and retain what is absorbed. There's three kinds (much like goldilocks and the three bears). 1. Normal Porosity - not too high and not too low...just right. This is what you aspire to if you're on the other side of the spectrum. 2. Low Porosity - Your hair has difficulty absorbing moisture. It is also difficult for moisture (once it gets in) to leave your hair. 3. High Porosity - Your hair absorbs water ; a lot of it and very fast. It's however difficult for it to maintain that level of moisture and it very quickly feels dry and rough to touch. There are several things that can affect your hairs porosity. Some are natural causes (i.e. it's not your fault) others are human applied (i.e. it's you...

The weekend of distressing news Saturday: After a progress picture (even though I told myself I would only do it every two months I couldn't resist) I came to the sad conclusion that my ends had to go. :( :( I went of to the salon for a wash, deep condition and trim. I am now at nape length hair. *sad violin music, wailing and teeth nashing* Looks Healthier...so that's good I guess Part of me knows this is for the best. Better to get rid of all those split ends now than wait for it to get worse buuuut.... all the competitive type-A part of me is thinking about is the major setback in my length journey. This is the shortest my hair has been in a long time!! I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out a game plan. Sunday:   I have come to the conclusion that I don't have a hair growth rate problem...I have a retention problem aka super fine ends. I did a porosity test (next post) and concluded that I have low porosity hair.  What does that mean? ...

I tried a braid out yesterday.....pretty big fail :( Method Analysis 1. I went heavy on the moisturiser yesterday because a) my hair has been feeling really dry this past two week and b) I hadn't moisturized for three days. 2. I sectioned my hair into 5 parts, did a pretty loose braid and tucked the ends into the braid. 3. I didn't braid all the way down to the tips because they've been fragile lately buuuut I also didn't have anything to curl the ends with. Will have to get on that. 4. I'm trying to protect my nape so did it up in a little cornrow. Since I was going to have my hair down nobody would see it. Result Analysis 1. The curls turned out really well (little did I know)! My ends were straight which was annoying but I tucked them away. 2. I did a little moisture and seal by just rubbing a little on my palms and kinda squishing the curls. 3. Two hours later the curls dropped. :( Verdict I was very disappointed because last time I ...

I've been using Shea Moisture Shampoo with Yucca and Baobab for three washes now. Here are my impressions so far The Good 1. Volume. My once thin hair is thick and luscious. I'm getting volume that I usually get from 3 weeks of undergrowth but all along the length so whoo whoo! And it seems to last for a long time.   Look So Pretty! 2. The texture. I'm getting used to the not obviously clean feeling ( which is actually caused by all the moisture being stripped from my hair...so that's a good thing) because it feels so soft!! The Bad 1. Shampoo seems to have ALOT of protein which is good coz I need to bulk up my strands  but my moisturising conditioner isn't strong enough to balance it out.  I might need a new conditioner. 2. Damn thing won't lather! I've read reviews about a nice soft lather but I'm just not seeing it. :( Its probably because the water here is so hard but still!! The Verdict I wanted to give this a month of was...