Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Hair Porosity: Should you be concerned?


 ***written ~2 month ago***
I never had much of an issue with my hair's porosity, so I never paid too much attention to it. I thought as long as my moisture and protein were in balance,who needs to care about porosity, right? .... WRONG! This week has proven to me   that there is much need to  pay attention to my hair's porosity, especially when it's  feeling and doing something strange while maintaining my normal regimen.

Here are some informational tips that I plucked from a few different sites  that I feel are most important and capture the essence of hair porosity and how deal with it.

Porosity = how much water your hair can (or can't)  hold and absorb  into the cortex
Highly  porous hair = no good
         


  More porous= greater water absorbed when wet= more water loss as it dries

More Water absorbed = more stretched hair = weaker hair

  Porous Hair = Lifted Cuticle Layer ( think lifted shingles on  a roof)


There is no way to truly 'fix' hair that has been damaged. There are some treatments and tips that can be done to temporarily solve the problem.

Protein treatment will patch up the missing spots on the hair shaft 
ACV  rinse as the final rinse will help close and tighten the cuticle layer
Using acidic deep conditioners or 'for color treated hair type' conditioners will also help close the cuticle
I examined my hair and could visually identify the scaly- like shingles that were raised on my strands. I'm not sure if the dc I mixed up with another caused my hair to react in this manner or what. I did the protein once, the acv after every service and moisturized and sealed 2x daily for a week until my hair returned to normal.


Here are a few places you can refer to if you want more information

http://blackhairscience.com/fix_porous.html

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=566887   *CherryPie* 's entry on how to tell if you have porous hair

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Pre Pooing and Hot Oil Treatments


 


In the past I  did  hot oil treatments regularly but I don't see any use for them at this point in my regimen. My hair is stronger and softer than it's every been. I do, however, pre-poo with warm coconut oil before every service just about, especially an ayurvedic service. I rotate in other  heavy oils such as castor oil, olive oil,  and avocado oil, as well as honey and agave nectar.

I did some much research on Auyervic hair care and there was a commonality in prepooing with oil, coconut oil to be exact. This is a great article that sums it up. I don't follow this exactly, but I've modified it accordingly.

I lightly spritz my hair with a leave-in or anything wet of the sort and part my hair into four sections. I take each section, split it into two, and apply the coconut oil from end to root, making sure to smooth and  separate the hair with my fingers- I will also use a wide toothed comb and or my tangle teezer to disperse the oil through the hair. After my hair is coated with the oil, I cover it with a plastic cap or saran wrap and leave it  in for no less than a half hour, and no more than overnight. When I'm ready to use an ayurvedic powder, I may lightly spritz the hair again and apply the ayurvedic mixture. my hair is left so clean afterwards, noticeably cleaner than if I did not use coconut oil. The oil also helps somewhat with rinsing out the paste. It did sound weird to me at first that my treatment could penetrate oil, but It does!


Hot oil treatments are usually done as a last step and then rinsed out while  some oil remains in the hair, or you can keep the oil in completely.  Pre-pooing usually  refers to washing out the oil/ doing a service after the oil has been applied. Some people us the terms  hot oil treatment and pre-pooing synonymously.  My hair is not in need of any extra oil other that what I give it during the moisturizing and sealing process, so hot oil treatments aren't necessary for me. But if your hair is really dry, even after a deep condition with added oils, you might want to consider doing a hot oil treatment.

So let's Recap

When do I oil my hair ?

*Before Shampooing ( always)
*Before Cowashing ( sometimes)
*Before Deep Conditioning ( sometimes)
*Before Ayurvedic Treatment ( always)

How to do it?

* Lightly spritz hair
*Detangle w/wide toothed comb
*Saturate hair with oil from tip to root
* Leave in no less than a half hour

Sunshyne from Hairlista.com Pre-poos with her 3POs..Check out her post here on Hairliciousinc.com

Monday, July 23, 2012

Herbally Divine Hair Pack

After returning from my trip I found it hard to decide what my hair needed because it was in such great condition. I opted to do the herbal conditioning treatment and not the herbal hair pack. This post deciphers the difference between the two.

The treatment was nice but I wanted to do a treatment that wasn't so gritty. So yesterday I decided to do the treatment that left my hair in such great condition in the first place- The herbal hair pack.This treatment was truly spectacular! It gives my hair strength and softness, body and shine, and cleanses the hair too! What more can a gal ask for in a hair treatment?  The current staple treatments I have today are listed below. Once I have the chance to figure out how, I will create a link to their recipes.  In the mean time just roll over each treatment and the post contains the recipe.

*Rhassoul Mocha Coco Double Loco- Strength I can feel-  DC needed afterwards

*Sukesh Time Baby! - Moisture I can feel


 AND NOW ...INTRODUCING THE NEW.. ( drum roll please).....

"Herbally Divine! Hair Pack- delivering a delicate balance of both strength and moisture !

Yes, this will serve as my maintenance treatment! I doesn't disturb my hair whatsoever and if I my measurements are a  tad off, this treatment is very forgiving.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Trader Joe's Haul



I really love me some Trader Joe's. No, it's not as big and variety-stocked as Whole Foods, but I always come across some great finds! 

In the picture:
2 jars organic coconut oil
shea butter hand cream
lavender mist oil
Trader Joe's tea tree conditioner and body wash
Nourish and Spa conditioner
Natural Sun Block
2 bottles of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
2 bars of oatmeal and honey soap
2 bottles of hand soap in kitchen lemon and Lavender
Tea tree oil
Trader Joe's antiplaque toothpaste
tooth brush made from recycled
organic apple fruit candy
trader joes yogurt - not pictured


All of my items came to about $70. this seems like a lot, but highest item was the
sun block, and rightfully so. at $6, it was still less that what I would have paid for it any where else. The coconut oil came in at $5 and change which is excellent for a 16 oz jar of organic CO--WHAT!

Well, that's the long and short of it. I'll be doing mini reviews of the items as I use them. Thanks for joining me!

Texture Shot



Many people have a hard time believing me when I say that I am almost all natural. when they glance at my roots, they don't see the wave that usually indicates a naturalista. Well I'd like the exclaim that not every day my hair looks this way, and when I wash my hair, yes, you will see the wave!

How do I get the curl pattern out of my hair?
I don't intentionally try to remove the curl pattern  from my hair. After many henna and herbal treatments ( some are said to loosen the curl pattern), and my cocoveda oil which I discovered early on smooths my hair out, my current hair pattern is what it is. The very last 2'' of my hair is still texlaxed and this area of the hair easily straightens.  I suspect that once the entire strand is completely  natural it will curl much more.

I have not  used heat on any of my hair to straighten it, or at all in the past few weeks for that matter. After putting in my leave-ins and my cocoveda oil, I use a smoothing motion to straighten out the hair.  I moisturize and seal after it has air dried and let that dry as well. The finished product is smoother, straighter hair.

      






 These pics were taken after moisturizing and sealing, waiting for my hair to dry

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Herbal Conditioning Treatment vs Herbal Hair Pack

I did the herbal hair pack a few weeks back and before that an herbal conditioning treatment- confusing right? well let me differentiate the two for you!

the herbal hair pack consisted of the amla, brahmi, tulsi, shikakai, marshmallow root, arithra, and some more ingredients that I selected and couldn't figure out whether it was a keeper or not. The herbal conditioning treatment was a mixture of herbs already bought this way, and was very gritty but my hair like it.

I did the gritty herbal conditioning treatment just two days ago. I tried everything to get the grit out of this mixture, but the truth is it's a terrible sift when compared against hennsooq's fine powders that I'm use to. I plan to use this up in a tea form instead. just so you know how I used it this past time, here is what I did with a few pics:
 

 I sifted the gritty mix in hopes to smooth it out- without success :-(



 

Here is a closer look at the beige specs of root and twigs in the powder which I suspect is the gritty culprit!




I brewed some black tea and added an egg to the mix- be sure the mixture isn't too hot when you add the egg or else it will scramble- :-0 I was NOT  in need of any protein, but the egg does make the mixture better...interesting! After letting it sit I added my usual honey and cocoveda oil.


All in all I wont be repurchasing this again. I will be remixing my herbal hair pack which gave these results, and soon realized I love. I hope to mix up some and apply it today. Once I've found a mix I love, I try to capture a great name for it, along with an unwavering recipe. So check back later for the naming of my lovely herbal hair pack!


TO SIMPLIFY:

Herbal Conditioning Treatment   or Herbal Hair Pack ✓

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

July Hair Pics & Product Updates

I'm finally back from my  birthday week extravaganza! My twin and I turned the big -----! I won't say just yet, as I love to keep people guessing :-P

I haven't shown many pictures of my hair because I have had so many set backs.  I became so determined to achieve my hair goal that I felt like all the pics I took were a constant reminder of where  I was not! Well, I think I'm over that now, and as you all may know, it's always wise to take pictures so that you have a reference point of progress. I took these pictures shortly after my herbal hair pack. I spent the week at my place in NY, and the water there is very hard. My hair always suffers because I fail to treat it with the respect it deserves, dashing to catch up with family and friends in the little time allotted before I headed back home out of state each time.

This time was different though. The water was still hard of course, but I took with my just the bare necessities, each hair style never requiring heat. I also stayed stylish the entire week, leaving my favorite sweats at home to bud temptation. This visit was truly a test for  my regimen and products- EVERYTHING  I brought with me served a purpose and actually worked. I did bring the flat iron along, but I didn't need it! So which products did I bring with me?


Moisturize


seal

style







     cowash
 I also brought a watery leave-in concoction of infusium 23, rose water, tea tree oil, talia waajid leave in, and glycerin.  I sprayed this on my hair from time to time to 30 seconds to a minutes before any manipulation. Besides these  four products, I used my stocking leg to tie down my edges, a hair bonnet to wrap up the hair at night, and of course some brushes, combs, and clips. These products really proved to be the perfect combination for many quick and easy hair styles. I didn't take any pictures, but I look forward posting many pictures in the months to come. 

At the moment, my hair is in such great conditioner I have no idea what I will do to my hair next. That's another aspect of my hair care regimen that I need to figure out- what treatments do I use to maintain perfect hair? In the meantime here are the pictures of my hair after styling using purple flexirods.











The macadamia conditioner left my hair moisturized and silky each time. The cantu was not too heavy and packed just enough moisture where I didn't need to moisturize too often. The amla oil was used in moderation, deeply penetrating each strand and making my hair extremely soft!




Until next time, That's all folks!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Pictures Gone, OH NO!

Hello everyone! It seems that when I got my new phone and deleted pictures from the old one, some of the pictures I deleted actually deleted from my BLOG!! YES, I knew something was up..I asked myself how come a folder in my phone contained all the same exact photos from the blog..well when I went to delete them I suspected it could affect my blog pics..and it DID! 

So everyone please bare with me! It will be about a week before I get the chance to review all the blogs and replace the missing pics. Sorry for the inconvenience!