Sunday, January 29, 2012

•ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ• Henna Me Silk 1~21~2012 •ღƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღ•

Today I did a Nupur Henna treatment. I have decided to document on my blog every time I do a henna treatment to minize the places I have written things. This will also allow you to understand when and why I henna when I do.

Most of what I do with my hair is done PRN ( as  needed). There is very little of a routine that I  actually follow.  This henna was done because the ends of my hair are looking a bit frazzled.. I'm not sure why they are like this but it's also been a while since I've done a protein treatment. My hair does not like heavy protein, so I usually use phytoproteins or silk proteins which are less harsh. I also turn to henna which  binds to the protein in my hair , making the hair stronger and the ends 'look' better.

By no means am I trying to cover up split ends. the only  way to get rid of them is to cut them. Henna does make them look better. My ends may not be split per say, but they are uneven. This year I wanted tot do more henna and less cutting of my hair. The past 3 years I have cut cut cut to get rid of unhealthy hair.

Now back to my Henna treatment- I finally measured it!

Henna Recipe:
 1/3 cup nupuru henna
1/8 cup kalpi tone ( add this after dye release, I was absent minded and added it before, silly me 
1.5 cups of coconut milk that was frozen from the last henna I did- just thawed it out

after the dye release:
2 tbs coconut oil
1 tbs honey
~3tbs hairveda's 24/7 moist ( that I'm trying to get rid of)

*after the henna has sat for 4 hours, all of the coconut oil has been soaked up. to restore that pudding-like creamy consistency just add more warm coconut oil, or in my case I added the conditioner.

This treatment turned out awesome! My hair was so soft, moisturized and thick that I could not wait to style it the next day.















Necessary or Not: Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

Something really interesting happened to me last night. I co washed my hair and it was feeling really dry. I have been using a protein conditioner, plus I just did a henna, so maybe I need to cool it on the protein?.? Either way, I did NOT do my usual Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse. Once I finished co washing, my scalp was a bit itchy.

Needless to say, I probably should continue doing an acv after EVERY hair service...YES, I did say EVERY SERVICE!!!  Many have asked the question as to whether this would be too much, or how many times should an ACV rinse be done in a given period of time. Every one's head is different, so it's best go with with what works for you! I have hard water, so doing an avc rinse is best for me.


Reason's to do an ACV rinse are to:

  1. lock in protein and moisture—flat cuticles will not let out moisture and protein through evaporation.

  2. add shine to your hair—light reflects off of smooth surfaces. While you may not have as much shine as a person with bone straight hair, shine is an indicator that your cuticles are smooth and closed.

  3. flatten the hair for detangling—raised cuticles give the hair that jagged, rough feeling we often talk about with shampoos that “strip.” These raised cuticles are more likely to grab and snag on each other.

  4. add elasticity—remember that low pH substances have more hydrogen ions (as opposed to hydroxide ions). The more hydrogen bonds, the more manageable and elastic your hair will be over time.
ACV doesn't smell pleasant, but I can assure you that the smell dissipates quickly! You can try purchasing scented ACV like that from Hairveda, which smells of jolly rancher apples...yumm!!! But for the price and longevity, I'd rather go into my cupboard  and make the easy mix myself.  ***Update*** I could not find the rinse on Hairveda's site, which may mean that it's out of stock for the season OR has been discontinued.

I use 2  tbs of  organic apple cider vinegar to 6-7 oz of bottled or filtered water (Braggs brand or Trader Joe's brand which has a less intense smell).

Try different concentrations to figure out which works better for you and your type of water. 

Go out and get your AVC on!


    Saturday, January 21, 2012

    Natural Deodorant and Secret Scent Expresions Va Va Vanilla

    I have been on a quest to find a natural deodorant that actually works. Specifically, it's  not like your regular classic deodorant that you'd find on a shelf at  your local health and beauty store. Those are deodorants and antiperspirants all in one, working to dismiss bad odors and keeping you from sweating, the body's natural way of cooling down.

     The natural deodorant keeps you from doing just that- smelling of an odor! A common misconception is that it will keep you from sweating also....it doesn't!  Sweat is actually odorless, but when it starts to decompose and is attacked by bacteria, the smell can be unpleasant.

    I haven't found the perfect natural deodorant just yet, so I've been trying out different ones and racking up a huge bill in shipping charges. I am currently at the end of my last purchase, which was from rainwaterbotnials on etsy.com and can be found here.  I'ts just ok.  The scent is a combination of a feminine powdery tone with manly notes of vanilla musk. It tends get get really hard and dried out if you leave the cap off even for a few hours, so I always have to be sure to cap it tightly.


    SOOOO...I did NOT  want to smell like this particular scent for one more day. I immediately had to go down to Walmart and purchase my favorite go to UNnatural deodorant that I fell in love with about two years ago- Secret Scent Expressions' VaVaVanilla!


    This deodorant works so well with my body. It goes on smooth and smells lovely. I don't sweat often, but I often  smell this deodorant working hard when I THINK I may be sweating. The only reservation I have about it is that it is very hard to wash off. Many times I have gotten out of the shower only to find that my deodorant remains working strong as ever. It makes me wonder sometimes if my soap is even working to remove dirt I can't see.

    Needless to say, this deodorant is natural, but it gets the job don't. I will definitely be reaching for it until my next order of natural deodorant arrives.

    I post on why I use natural deodorant is coming soon......

    Reformulated: Garnier Fructis Leave- in Conditioning Cream

    The last post I wrote on the Garnier Fructis Leave in Conditioning Cream was with what looks like the older formulation. The picture was different and the product worked fine, but when I went back to repurchase it I found that it did not look the same.

    Well, what's the difference? It appears that the newer  bottle contains argan and apricot oils. Argan oil from Morocco has recently been a popular oil advertised in many products lines so it's only sensible for Garnier Fructis to follow the hype.

     I love both the older and newer formulas equally. I use this in my Kimmaytube leave in as the leave in portion.  As far as argan oil goes, it's nice but nothing to go crazy over. It is very pricey, but you can buy it cheaper in its natural and organic versions from Hennasooq.com I prefer their cocoveda oil which is much cheaper and my hair loves! Monoi oil is also another great alternative, but I can't understand why such a great oil would use filtered coconut oil- I have yet to find more research on which type of coconut oil is used, filtered or unfiltered.

    Here is a comparison picture of the bottles:

    Older Version


    Newer Version w/ Argan and Apricot oils


    All in all, they both impart great moisture and work the same exact way in my opinion.

    Tuesday, January 10, 2012

    Freezing your henna

    I always wondered what to do with the extra henna I end up with  after an application. I did a bit of research and discovered that freezing the henna will actually INCREASE  the dye release. I’ve tried  this a number of times, but I wanted to take a comparison pic to visually capture the difference in dye release.
    
    
    Smaller bowl on left is thawed henna. Darker = more dye release.
    Bowl on right was freshly prepeared and sat for 4 hours.
     

    Remember:
    You cannot re freeze thawed  henna.
    Freeze the henna only after it has been mixed and  the henna has sat out for the dye release window to take place. The dye release window for my  Nupur is about 3- 4 hours so I freeze it within a half hour after application. Letting it sit out too long will decrease the dye uptake of your hair.
    Indirectly defrost the  henna by allowing the bowl to sit in another bowl of really hot water. I had to reheat the water 3- 4x times before my henna was completely warmed. I added a bit more of warm oil and warm coconut milk to achieve that  melted chocolate consistency.
    Only add your oils in after the dye release has  taken place. You can add extra oils after it has been thawed, but not too much!
    This technique cannot be used on INDIGO, as indigo’s dye release is pretty much immediate. Reusing frozen indigo willl probably not change  your hair color or condition the hair.
    The one thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about henna is that it is all a big experiment. You may have read or may find that these techniques don’t work for all henna. I have tried yemeni, moroccan, jamila, and nupur , and this technique  ( done correctly) has produced favorable results for me every timeJ   Be sure to try what works for you, and don’t  be afraid to make a mistake because with henna, there’s no such thing!
     Find other henna dye release times here.
    *moroccan henna should not be froze as it has the shortest dye release and may not produce any color the second time around.