Aloe & Coconut Milk Yummy Wash!!

I'm totally going to try this!! 

Some other alternatives...

Flax seed hair gel - Part 3

Now that my hair is totally transitioned, I think I'll retry this hair gel.  I'm guessing by adding my essential oil this time and playing with the consistency, I'll likely use and love it more.  The aloe vera gel does get quite costly after awhile when it's the only thing helping me define my curls.

This is from my first attempt at making Flax Seed Hair Gel:
Part one - Info and links
Part two - Cooking it up

And some tips...

Honey Aloe wash

I had just over a tablespoon left of honey and it was painfully slow moving to the point I just wanted to throw it away!!  But wait!!  Honey is a humectant... I can wash with it!!

So I brought the end of the honey in its squeeze bottle into the shower, added a but of very hot water and shook it to dissolve/liquify the honey.  Then I added equal parts aloe vera gel and gave it a good shake again.  I washed the lengths of my hair with it, washed my scalp only with my argan oil castille soap bar "lather", and washed it all out and then did a final conditioning rinse with my 50 /50% apple cider vinegar and water from another squeeze bottle with some essential oil for scent.

I added a bit more aloe vera throughout my wet hair and put it up in a T-shirt to dry.  An hour later, the T-shirt comes off and it was air dried in about 30 more minutes!!! It used to take all day to dry!!!!!!!

Then I spot added aloe Vera gel again on dry hair to spots to enhance curl definition and for extra moisture on the ends.

Voila!!

Here's a link to a recipe with aloe Vera for us curly girls. (Not page 2).

Poo poo to low poo - update...

Funny how the hair Goddesses work.

After the last journal post and a very busy day, my hair has waves in all the right places, has body, and a bit more volume.  Its like all the brushing is moving the sebum... Finally!!  And like my complaint was just a bit premature... Like I should have known day 10 would be my best hair day... Sigh... Lol

LOW poo... never again!

Okay, so in my last post, I was clear to say that I was okay with my hairdresser using low poo, I was. I'm now convinced I'll likely never do it again UNLESS I have human bodily fluids in my hair like the time I had yucky baby puke - that would seriously be the only exception!!

So I'm 9 days past my hairdresser visit and for the FIRST time, my hair is starting to look more luminous, and the fly-aways are taming themselves because sebum... GLOOOORIOUS SEBUM... has returned!  The low poo washed the sebum right out of my hair and reminded me of the dry hair I used to have before going no poo.

A WINDY curly haired day!

So, I love sebum and no poo because...

1. My hair looks fantastic!  It's pretty and healthy and soft and satiny.
2. I get light reflecting rainbows (not really) on my luminous, healthy hair.  I see red, blond, blue even purple highlights I never knew I had.  Imagine what others are seeing from the back!
3. My hair doesn't need styling products, at all.  I rarely add aloe vera for moisture or definition anymore, and only use jojoba oil on my ends closer to the two week wash mark.
4. I rarely have tangles, even when I wash it in the shower, it's now easy to detangle!
5. Oh yeah, I only wet my hair twice a month... unless I want to style it curly.
6. I can wash, wear it curly for 4-5 days, then I have to wear it straight so I can brush daily until my next cleansing wash, so, NO curly girls, I can't seem do what I'm doing without brushing my hair.  It simply isn't sustainable for me.

Straightened and still have volume :)

The drawbacks

1. I have to brush daily starting on day 4 or 5?  Hardly a problem ;)  If i don't, the pores on my dry scalp hurt a little, I guess being blocked?  I'm not sure but my scalp has never been healthier from daily brushing.
2. Swimming in chlorine freaks me out a bit, it messes with my washing cycle.
3. I don't get as much volume on the top of my head as I'd like, but that's okay, when straightened, it only ever lasted about 2 hours before no poo anyway!

All in all, LOW poo is not for me!  I will continue NO poo-ing my hair.

I currently use a nourishing argan oil shampoo bar (on my scalp only) and a 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water conditioning rinse, and I plop to dry curly.  Then I either brush it out gently while dry and use low heat to flat iron it, to ease brushing or else I have to brush it and style it in up-dos, so I can continue brushing daily.   In the summer, I'll use SoapNuts to cleanse, perhaps more often too, and the same conditioning rinse ratio.

I love no poo!!

Hairdresser, low poo & beer experiment

Today was my 2nd time going to the hairdresser since going no poo. 

In Sept, she was super supportive and gave me a trim.  This time she commented first on how fabulous my hair looked, how long its gotten and then... I guess 9am was too early for the "needs" of no poo lol... I showed her my bar of soap, listed the ingredients and how I use it to lather and scrub my scalp and she had that look of horror like I was going to go over my time since I was here for a trim too... So I whipped out the low poo (I'm ok with that) and she looked relieved.  But I had my acv ready with grapefruit EO and she had to live through the smell... That's my conditioner after all.

After, she happily commented on how the smell of acv totally disappeared after the blow dry lol lol... Yes, I had her blow dry it, I'm OK with that too.

Being a confident no poo chick has certainly helped make going for a trim less stressful.

Now let's see how the low poo'd all over hair behaves!

In future, I think I'll eventually wash my way before visiting and let her spritz wet  to trim. 

Bottom line: At least she thinks I'm clean!!!!! Isn't that always what we're afraid to be judged about?  I mean seriously, 16 days since my head last saw water, and she had no issues with it based on smell or how it looked or felt!!!  I'd say that's a win!

Updates..

Day 3: sebum and a good brushing and the lions mane of fuzzy new flyaway growth is lying down without product.  Now the back center is staticky and I can only wear a ponytail.  I'm sure looking forward to sebum infused hair again!  My scalp feels just fine.  My ends are a touch dry.  Tonight when I brush I'll add some jojoba oil to the ends of my otherwise naked hair ;)

Day 5: (Pic) Family dinner, looking great with my naked finger-styled hair on a very windy day!!  This pic sooo reminds me of the small fortune I'm saving lol lol, got three compliments too - a great bonus, and the great trim and shape up really makes a difference :)

Day 6: There's no way I can wash but I had a little sticky stuff get into my almost week-old hair, so I washed with a bottle of beer and an apple cider vinegar/water rinse.  We'll see if the curls like the brew ;)

100 Strokes, How I Brush

When I brush , I don't just brush, or brush to detangle or brush to style, I really brush. I have bra strap length hair, previously thick, dry and curly, currently, smooth, shiny, healthy and curly 

I start by detangling. Then I flip my hair upside down and I brush against my scalp the entire time, all over and over, then I flip upright again and watch the blood drain back into my body lol... Seriously... 

I start by finger parting my hair below my bootom of my ear and I brush down to my neck, and up to my crown consciously moving sebum. Then I finger part mid-ear and do the same, brush down, then up. And then top of the ear, down then up. Then I section my hair starting off from the right cause I'm right handed. I brush holding the section up on both sides in small enough sections where I know my brush is moving oil along the hair strand. This takes the longest because it ends up being about 6-7 sections.

Finally, my crown is the oiliest, I focus on just the crown and in 2-3 sections I brush about 10 strokes each section, then brush to a low ponytail with a cloth covered scrunchie for sleeping. 

I'm a curly but can only wear my hair curly for about 4 days before I need to brush like this.

So like my grandma used to say... Every night brush a hundred strokes

What's in my brush & hair update

I keep saying that despite having curly hair, brushing is so very important.  It moves the sebum away from the roots, spreading it down the length of the hair, filling in the pores, nourishing hair naturally leaving it soft, shiny and very healthy and strong.  I brush about 100 strokes or more at nighttime.  I just know when I've brushed enough.  In the morning I brush to style it, when I wear my hair straightened.  I usually brush really well before a wash, then the warm water helps move the sebum even more. That's very helpful when I wear my hair curly because I go about 4 days without brushing it at all when curly.  So on the topic of brushing to move sebum, do you think it would have been possible to get a feather in my brush if I was oily... not a chance!  BBB or boar bristle brushing works!!

On the hair front, once again I've proven two things to myself:

1) Sebum moves faster on straight/straightened hair!  I'm ready for a wash already, its only been a week, sheesh!

2) Hormones seriously affect oil production!

So... I'm going to try waiting two more days, since sometimes my hair rectifies itself without me doing anything and then I'm thinking I may try doing to do a water only hot water wash and 50% apple cider vinegar/water rinse and since I'm getting it wet, I  may as well try the Bantu knots while I'm drying it naturally anyway!  But we'll see...

Stay tuned...

Nourishing Conditioner Recipe

Nourishing Conditioner Recipe

1/3 cup coconut milk

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp coconut oil

essential oil

Chamallie recommends using Rosemary EO

Here are some benefits quoted directly from

 http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/rosemary-essential-oil.html

What are the Documented Uses for Rosemary? Hair loss, alopecia areta, infectious disease, impaired memory, Alzheimers, gout, skin conditions, throat and lung infections, liver conditions, hepatitis, muscle soreness, kidney (cleansing).

What is the Aromatic Affect on the Mind? Keeps the mind alert and focused. Strong aromatic scent of herbs and wood.

What is the Spiritual Influence? Walking in your truth by being faithful to your self and your own destiny or purpose.

Even the Greeks and Romans used it to understand loyalty. Loyalty to self before others. When we are more loving and loyal to others rather than to ourselves our energy becomes stagnant and cloudy (resulting in poor circulation and/or concentration). This is why this oil is connected to our heart energy.

What Chakra is Affected? Opens the heart chakras by promoting circulation of Qi energy and blood.

How do I use it?

Use diluted - 50:50 dilution. Then,

• Apply several drops (2-4) on location, ankles and wrists
• Apply to chakras/vitaflex points
• Directly inhale
• Diffuse, or
• May be used as a dietary supplement.

Good oil for the First Aid Kit? No

Can this Oil be used for Pets? Yes, stimulates hair growth and helps produce shiny coats.

NO HEAT Spiral Bantu Knot on Natural Hair !

CO Curly Hair Routine

Recovering...

So after yesterday's do's and don'ts of plopping to dry, I flat ironed my hair last night.  Boy does medium heat take one hundred years to get decent looking hair!!

I ironed very very small sections and left the ends until last so I could tell it which way to curl.  Sigh... It took forever! 

I also forgot about flyaways.. I call them my sunshine fan, all around the hairline - thanks to aloe vera gel, that's all taken care of.  It was most interesting to see the new growth around my hairline - wow!!

Finally, I mixed jojoba oil with tangerine essential oil and lightly coated my finger tips and then all around and between my fingers and then oiled my ends, then the thick of my hair then with whatever was left, I rubbed onto my palms and lightly oiled the front and then the surface of my hair.

Its all so light, feels very weird but soft of course, after yesterdays wash. I am looking forward to the healthy glow of sebum, and sine weight to control these flyaways, that should return in 3 days.

Yay!!!

Hair Plopping Problems

It recently occurred to me that some curly girls haven't had the experience of getting the best curls they possibly can...yet!  I learned how to have great hair from Jonathan Torch of the Curly Hair Institute at frizzoff.com but, now that I am product free, I thought I'd do an experiment and post some no poo tips and tricks for you.

Originally, I posted this about How I plop to dry.  click here.

Now I'm going to take it to the next level.  Not all plops are going to end up with a great curly style.

• If you plop your hair upside down and when very wet, you get more volume, and a good outcome. 
• If you brush your hair and plop after it starts drying, you get 80s hair (see right)
• If you finger form the curls, you get a pretty good outcome, but it tangles way more (see left) and this was plopped after it started drying, not the best option, I did it for this post, so please plop when saturated!
• If you form the ringlets and plop by compressing them, you get the BEST outcome, and they last longer because once dry you can separate the curls without losing the shape!

Start by viewing the video below, and by ignoring the product he's selling.

He is a true guru on curly hair - he has some really great styling tips!! (styling starts at 2:11), and that scrunching he's talking about, do that into your plop and ta daa!!!!

 I hope this helps someone .. comment below if you have more plopping tips or suggestions.

Gotta wash...

I can't continue to day 21... no matter how much I brush and brush and brush... I think that low poo shampoo I used 2 weeks ago had enough additives in it that there is a residue on my scalp.  Normally when I wash my scalp (only) with my castille soap bar, and rinse with a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water, my scalp is free of all debris and sebum and has a chance to breathe and stay refreshed and healthy.

This last wash with a sulfate free shampoo was out of desperation (baby puked milk in my hair), but left my scalp dry and itchy, hair with flyaways/frizzies and has had the slightest dirty smell these last few days.  So "poo!" to the low poo, my argan oil castille soap bar (or soapnuts) it will be for me!!!