5 Months Natural + Whipped Shea Butter + Castor Oil Challenge

Here we are!

I have been natural for 5 months now and this has been a great learning experience.

For starters my hair is definitely growing which is a plus because I know some people who went natural and their hair hit a wall so to speak.

I've learned that some products that my hair liked during my relaxed/transitioning days are no longer good on my hair. For example my hair used to love Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter, most Shea Moisture styling products, and the Olive Oil Gel.
The Elasta  QP product leaves my hair extremely dry after a day of use and gives my hair a dull look. Almost all of the Shea Moisture products now only coats my hair and leaves this filmy residue on the top of my hair. This left my hair hard and dry. The Olive Oil Gel flakes really bad so I only use it along my edges when I do my twist outs and puffs.

So what does my hair like? CONDITIONER! That's right. My hair flourishes when conditioner and water hit it. While I have not purchased any new conditioners the one's that I have used on a regular basis consist of Aussie Moist Conditioner, Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine, and Giovanni Tea Tree Conditioner. I have also used the Organix Biotin & Collagen Conditioner sparingly as I do not want extremely thick hair right now.
The only moisturizer that is working for my hair right now is my whipped shea butter recipe. It consists of 16oz raw shea butter, 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil, and castor oil. Very simple to make and it will last me a long time. It made my braidout last longer and acted like a gel for twists. It provides a great amount of shine and my curls look more elongated. So I will not be purchasing any store brought moisturizers for a long time.

While I haven't purchased any new hair products as of yet I plan to try new ones out once all of my current hair products are used up. (My attempt to tame the product junkie inside lol)

I am now able to wear puffs and even pull off a bang look with ease now. While I love seeing my curls I do plan to start wearing a protective styles for the months of October through March due to weather changes. I am currently looking for a wig to wear and of course I will be wearing braids as a long term protective style.

Hairlista's Castor Challenge Part 10 has not been a consistent part of my regimen since I started because I've been traveling a lot but I have picked back up on it and will be following the routine the remainder of the challenge.

So cheers to 5-months! Excited for what the next few months have to hold.

Kimmaytube Leave-In Recipe

Hey Guys!

Today was my wash day after a week of the Inversion Method.

As I have always said doing the inversion method during the week makes my hair feel like it is being constantly conditioned and it makes my wash day marvelous!

I did a cowash because I didn't want my hair to lose all of the moisture that I gained over the course of this week. I used Carol's Daughters Black Vanilla Conditioner.

I rinsed my hair in 2 sections, T-shirt dried my hair for 15 minutes, and proceeded to apply the Kimmaytube Leave-In Conditioner Mix.

I put my hair in 4 granny plats to dry overnight.

I can say just from the initial application of this mix to my hair that it will be very moisturizing.

I still have not used a heat pass so my hair and scalp feel great.

Below is the recipe for the mix. After this batch is used up I will change up the ingredients to see if the exact mixture makes a difference in the feeling of my hair. I want to swap Aloe Vera Juice for Aloe Vera Gel and Jojoba Oil for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Kimmaytube Leave-In Recipe

• 1oz Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-In Detangler
• 2 Tablespoons Aloe Vera Juice
• 2 teaspoons Castor Oil
• 2 teaspoons Jojoba Oil

*This recipe yields 2oz of mix. It is advised that if you plan to make more to not exceed 3 times the original amount due to the shelf life of some of the ingredients.

Week 17 of 26 Week Stretch...

I just finished week 17 of my 6-month stretch!


Lots of new growth! I took a few snapshots to show the growth…

About 1" of new growth in a month!

17 weeks post relaxer!

The regimen that I have been using with these braids has been very minimal. 

I cowash the braids every 7-10 days. I use a spray bottle to moisturize my new growth. It contains an oil, water, and conditioner. I still use castor oil along my edges.

I typically wear the braids in ponytail but the style offers little to no manipulation within itself.

The only con that I have run into with these braids is the nape of hair has grown so much that I have had to take down an entire row so the fake hair doesn't cause damage to my real hair.

Overall I am pleased with the growth and the upkeep.

Wash Day 3-27-13 + Castor Oil Challenge

Today I did a cowash using my ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I felt that my hair needed some protein in it and surely enough my hair feels LOVELY! I didn't follow up with a moisturizing conditioner like I usually do because I wanted my hair to take the protein in.

I detangled my hair in 4 sections and applied my castor oil mix to my scalp. Which brings me to my next personal challenge for the remaining 3 months of my stretch.

I am doing a personal Castor Oil Challenge from March 27-June 19th.

My mix is similar to my EVOO Mix

Castor Oil Mix

4oz Castor Oil

25 drops Lavender Oil (for scent)

25 drops Eucalyptus

I was unable to take starting photos but the closest length I had was from a photo I took the day before my box braids got installed and the day I last flat ironed my hair in December.

My regimen will only change slightly.

• Wash 1x/week (Deep Condition)
• Cowash 1x/week
• Air Dry
• Apply castor mix only on wash/cowash days.
• The only exception is during the week that I am doing the EVOO inversion method.

I am going to protective style 100% of the time now until my relaxer!

So excited for this challenge and if anyone wants to join me feel free to comment below so I can check in with you :)

Wash Day in Box Braids

Hello all!

I did my first wash in my braids on Saturday. Very successful might I add and I wanted to share my experience and hopefully be a help to someone reading this post about caring for the braids.

Once in the shower, I spent about 10 minutes just massaging my scalp with warm water to help remove some of the dirt before applying my conditioner. 

Then I applied a small amount of conditioner only to my fingertips and massaged it in small sections until my entire scalp was covered. I then took the length of the braids and coated them with conditioner and left it on for about 20 minutes. 

I rinsed it all out and towel dried as much of the water as I could.

Then I immediately coated the length of my braids with EVOO and oiled my scalp with my EVOO mix. This was to make sure my hair was moisturized and prevent any unnecessary dryness.

Once my hair was about 95% dry I spritzed my Silk Elements Silken Child Leave-In Conditioner over my entire head.

My braids feel moisturized and I count that as a plus considering how drying they can be without proper care.

Thanks for reading!

ASR

Product Review: Silk Elements Silken Child Leave-in Detangling Conditioner

Rating: 5 Stars

Pros: Smells REALLY good, inexpensive

Cons: The bottle is difficult to spray.

Will I repurchase: Definitely! Love the way my hair feels after a day!

I cowashed this morning using the V05 Moisturizing Conditioner. Today for my leave in I spritzed my hair with the Silk Elements Silken Child Leave-In Detangling Conditioner. It does smell really good and provided great slip for my detangling process. I air dried and monitored my hair throughout the day to see if it got hard. IT IS STILL SOFT!! I didn't even have to apply an oil at that point and was still in awe at how great my hair feels.

I am happy to say that I have FINALLY found my water based leave-in conditioner that is moisturizing! I would definitely recommend this product to anyone.

I paid $3.79 for a bottle at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Hot Summer Days Tips and Tricks

I live in Bloomington, Indiana and the weather here has been nothing short of unbearable! Highs in the 100s DAILY!


What does this mean for my hair? Gross! I have had to wash twice a week instead of the original once a week that I had planned for my wig challenge. And now I think I may need to save the wig challenge for colder months because with this heat I can't take anything extra covering my head lol.


I'm upping the amount of times I moisturize and seal daily to twice a day sometimes three times depending on how my hair feels.


When I air dry I spray my Tresemme heat protectant over my hair and moisturize to make sure the sun won't make my hair dry. (Works wonders!)


Also another tip that I learned from one of my fellow Listas for pool days is applying a good amount of a cheapie conditioner to your hair BEFORE going swimming. I tried this and to my surprise my hair didn't have that stripped dry feeling that it usually does when I get out of a pool. I guess I'm too cool to get a swim cap lol (Honestly I may just buy one)



SUMMARY:


- Co-washing adds moisture to your hair and removes sweat from your scalp without completely stripping your hair of natural oils.
- Moisturizing and sealing multiple times a day may be necessary to retain moisture throughout the day.
- Applying a heat protectant over your hair before you go out can prevent dryness from the sun.
- Before going swimming coat your hair with a conditioner to avoid the stripped feeling from the chlorine.

Hope this helps someone!!

HHJ!

Co-wash Day

Did an unexpected co-wash today.


This summer heat has my hair feeling dry and my scalp was itchy so a quick relief was a co-wash.


I deep conditioned on dry hair and then rinsed and applied my Eden's Body Works Jojoba Monoi Conditioner.


I have my hair in 6 bantu knots that I plan to just wear in a bun tomorrow and Tuesday.


I plan to do a heavy protein treatment on Tuesday evening with a moisturizing wash to prep my hair for box braids that I plan to get installed on Thursday.


I also have been exercising and drinking tons of water! :)


There is a challenge on Hairlista that begins June 1st so that's perfect timing for everything.


The only change I will be making is my growth aide. I will use Gro Aut Oil and Hair Trigger Growth Elixir. (HTGE)


The only vitamins I'm taking now are Biotin, MSM, GNS Hair Skin and Nails, and Garlic Supplements.


I am still using the summer heat to my advantage and praying for some great results over the next few months!!


UPDATES coming soon!

Co-Wash Day

I co-washed last night using the Tresemme Split Remedy and my Eden Body Works Peppermint  & Tea Tree Conditioner.

I air- dried with the Tresemme Split Remedy Leave-In Treatment and when my hair was 80-85% dry I applied coconut oil throughout my hair and  put it in a bun.

The Tresemme Split Remedy claims to reduce split ends up to 80% after 3 washes and since I do have split ends I want to do what I can to combat them and hopefully stop breakage. So I will be co-washing with this along with another conditioner of my choice once a week.

*Updated Regimen*

Monday

• Apply growth aid
• Moisturize and Seal

Tuesday

• Co-wash
• Tresemme Split Remedy 
• VO5 or Eden Body Works Peppermint and Tea Tree Conditioner
• Air Dry 85-90% 
• Tresemme Split Remedy Leave-In Treatment
• Apply Coconut oil to ends and hair shaft (*castor oil may be used on ends if needed)

Wednesday

• Apply growth aid

Thursday

• Apply growth aid
• Moisturize and seal

Friday

• Prepoo overnight with EVOO, PPO, CO

Saturday

• Wash with Eden Body Works Jojoba Monoi Shampoo
• Deep Condition for 30minutes-1hour
• Air dry 85-90%
• Tresemme Split Remedy Leave-In Treatment
• Apply growth aid
• Apply coconut oil to ends  (*castor oil may be used on ends as needed)

Sunday

• Apply growth aid

Daily

• Take vitamins
• Drink 1 liter of water
• Scalp massage

 

*Saturday will also be a protein treatment day. I will use the Organic Roots Stimulator Replenishing Conditioner or Roux Porosity Control 3 weeks out of the month as a light protein treatment and use Africa's Best Hair Mayonnaise, Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor, or MegaTek Conditioner as a hard protein treatment. 

Restarting My Hair Journey

Hello!!!

Today is April 8, 2012. I am restarting my hair journey because I am not afraid to say that I gave up on the first go around.

I am making some changes starting today and look forward to seeing my progress.

1. From now on I will be TEXLAXING only.
2. NO MORE TRIMS!
3. I will be drinking only water for the next 6 months.
4. Eat 1 fruit and a salad daily.
5. Take vitamins daily (Biotin, Nioxin, Garlic Supplements)
6. Stop purchasing hair products until I use the ones I have.
7. Focus on my ends and length retention.
8. ULTIMATE GOAL: BSL 


Along with these changes I am going to continue to wash, co-wash, deep condition, and do protein treatments as needed.

I will post starting pictures soon!

Please watch and support.

ASR