Keep calm, put down that flexirod and carry on

How often does this happen to you? It’s a normal Sunday evening. You’ve decided to relax and go to bed on time. You look in the mirror and just feel like changing your look, cutting your hair, dying your hair, just something different. You pick up the scissors, contemplating cutting, when suddenly you decide, a new style is probably just what you need. Your eyes scan your hair styling tools and suddenly before you know it, you’re on YouTube searching for “flexirod set on natural stretched hair”. Naptural85’s video pops up in your results as the number 1 video and you love her videos, so somehow feel it’s meant to be. You watch the video and are motivated at how simple it all seems, gel, brush, set, sleep and voila hair commercial results. So that’s where I am now, getting ready for a night of uncomfortable “pretty” sleep and wake up and wonder, WHY???

I guess I was blinded by Naptural’s awesome results.

 

 

Operation Save My Edges

My edges suffered so much after my pregnancy. I’m finally starting to see the light, as they’ve started to grow back, granted slowly. I still have to use my comb-over technique from time to time. Pulling my hair back completely, is not an option, as I don’t want to put too much pressure on my edges and I don’t want expose my barely-there edges. So, I wear my hair down a lot and if I do pull my hair back, it’s always in a very loose low pony or bun.

Yesterday, I did a braid out and I loved the look, but my edges killed it and made my hair look flat and lifeless. I used a headband to hide my thinning hair and give the illusion of volume by fluffing. This is a nice quick fix that’s gentle on my edges. In addition, to being gentle with my edges, I’ve tried massaging them lightly with a light oil (e.g. jojoba) and mixing in some essential oils like lavender and tea tree. I’ll have to pick up some rosemary essential oil as I’ve heard this is really good for hair growth.

Are you team thin edges? What are some tricks that have worked for you? Even if your edges are normal to thick, what are some tricks you use to keep them that way??

Happy Sunday!

Regimen Experimentation

So, if you’ve read my previous post, you know I’m experimenting with skipping my leave-in conditioner after my wash session. This recent attempt at tweaking and changing my regimen has made me curious about some things:

Could it be possible that sealing with oils never worked for me, because I’ve been suffocating my strands with leave-in? Are oils and butters really my frenemies??

Does my hair respond better to leave in when it’s completely dry?
Is a good deep conditioning session really all that I need?

Honestly, my hair has never had this dimension of shine when I’ve used leave-in conditioners. It’s never been this bouncy either. I can’t believe that it’s possible that I’ve been smothering my hair in product. This would explain why it took so long to dry. I want to play around with lots of natural products now, to see if they leave me with similar results. This weekend I’ll try treat myself to a deep conditioning rhassoul clay mask and this time apply a whipped Shea butter mixture to my hair. You know butter and my hair are like oil and water, they don’t mix. We’ll see, I’d love for if to work, as I’ve got tons of Shea butter.

This morning when I unwrapped my hair, I applied a little moisturizer to my ends. And it absorbed it easily. This is a huge detour from my normal routine. I’ll add updates to my regimens as I figure out what works best.

Day 2 HAIR:

Leave-Out: Naked Hair

Lately, my hair has been in such a bad state guys. It has been dry, lifeless and dull. No matter what I do. My wash and go experiment last week– total failure. My day two hair was helmet-y, lackluster and undefined. I tried revisiting Curlformers to try something different, but I ended up with a horrible set. Not even worth blogging about. And not just that… a total waste of time. I did get a good twist out, from my stretched, curl-former style. So, I liken them to curl stretchers more than formers.

As many of you know I often praise my all-star hair care product, rhassoul clay on this blog. Each time I use it, I’m left with amazingly hydrated, plump coils and curls. Sometimes, I’m almost afraid to use a leave-in, for fear of reversing all the goodness that comes from using the rhassoul. Most times, I just forego this idea and add my leave-in. My hair does change slightly. I notice slight frizz, weighed down curls and a little less clumping. Well, last night after washing my hair at an ungratefully late hour, I decided to skip the leave-in.

I’d just followed my shampoo and protein treatment, with a rhassoul mask and my hair was on fleek (I’ve been dying to use this expression). Any way, I took a plunge after some hesitation and lightly coated my hair with coconut oil, concentrating mostly mid-shaft down to my ends. Then, I twisted my hair, sat under a bonnet dryer for a short time, wrapped and went to sleep. What I woke up to?

Extremely soft, moisturized hair that held the curls nicely. I was absolutely thrilled. It’s the end of the day and my hair is still soft and moisturized. I’ll probably add some leave-in to my hair, when it feels dry, but for now, I’m very content with its current state.

Some things I noticed about my hair sans leave-in:

1. drying time was much faster
2. it was bouncier than usual
3. it feels softer and more hydrated than it ever did

If I’m on to something here, this means major savings for my wallet and a faster routine. Stay tuned. Maybe my fine, but dense low porosity hair, just does not like heavy cream based products.

Have you every skipped the leave-in conditioner?

Speaking of rhassoul clay. I’ll be giving away a bag of organic rhassoul clay to a reader based in Europe, US or Canada. To enter, subscribe to the blog, comment on at least two posts on this blog. Entries close the 25th of February.

Good luck!

Hypothetical Question

It’s a low porosity apocalyptic nightmare. You have to choose one product and only one to use forever!! What would you choose?

For me, that’s an easy one. Rhassoul clay. This is the one products that gives me consistently good results with every use. Juicy, moisturized, clumped curls. I used some last night before my wash and go.

Low Porosity Friend V2: Slippery Elm

It’s been a while since I’ve added some new lo-po friends to my list of products. That’s mainly because, when I find a good thing, I stick with it. However, I do like to experiment from time to time. Recently, I’ve found a couple of ingredients that do that my hair loves. I’ll discuss one today.

If you’ve followed my blog from the beginning, you know that I absolutely love Kinky Curly Knot Today. Recently, I started to think to myself, what is it about this leave-in that makes my hair so soft, my curls so defined and detangling a breeze. Light bulb: check the ingredient list. That’s when I became curious about experimenting with some of the ingredients on the list to see if I could use them on my hair in their pure form. One of the ingredients, high on the list is slippery elm and man am I happy I did. 

Let me set the scene. My hair has been in a slump lately. It looked dry and rough and all kinds of bad. I decided to have a spa night. I pre-conditioned my dry hair with Shea Moisture Deep Conditioning Mask, let it marinate, while I chased the little one around. Note: this stuff works horribly on my hair wet and it’s no wonder, shea butter, while it’s a wonderful sealer for my skin, it does nothing for my hair. Why do I keep trying to convince myself to use it!! Any way, I used it as a pre-poo hoping for better results. It was ok, I guess. I shampooed my hair with the conditioner on my ends. Then followed up by detangling with slippery elm and adding in conditioner to moisturize my hair, letting it sit a few minutes then rinsing. Um, can I just say, my curls were clumped and so juicy. I did a twist out and my hair felt so good the next day. I actually did a happy dance!!

Pre-Poo on Dry Hair w/ SM

After rinsing SE and conditioner

Twist out

 

So here are the deets on the process and the benefits of slippery elm.

Slippery elm is found in Central and Eastern US and Eastern Canada. The inner bark of this tree has medicinal properties and it’s used to treat many superficial and internal problems.

Slippery Elm Detangler Recipe

-2 TBSP slippery elm bark + -1.5 – 2 cups hot water

Pour water into a container, mix in slippery elm bark until dissolved. Let sit until water cools.

The slippery elm will form mucilage, voila your detangler.

I imagine if you  could use a tea cloth to strain the particle, but I didn’t and it wasn’t a problem.

Add your favorite conditioner while the slippery elm is in your hair.

Why slippery elm for lo-po hair?

• I don’t know what the PH of slippery elm is, but research shows that it has an alkalizing effect and is often used to help with acid reflex. Remember for lo-po hair alkaline products are typically beneficial in helping open up the cuticle and moisturize the hair.
• The mucilage that the elm releases makes detangling a breeze. The strands clump and are weighed down, which helps the fingers and comb glide through your curls. My hair shrinks up easily and is typically really light weight. This tends to result in lots of tangling and long detangling sessions. Not with slippery elm, it takes me 5 – 10 minutes.
• It promotes growth (bra strap length, here we come)
• Makes your hair soft and smooth (lord knows I need it with all this new hair growth returning after postpartum shedding, I literally hair a halo.)
• Heals damaged hair

Need I say more. Have you ever tried slippery elm?

 

Happy New Year

Hi Everyone,

So I’m back from Boston. I had a lovely stay and enjoyed every moment that I spent with family and friends. Now it’s back to the daily grind (i.e. running too and fro with a toddler and working). Oh it really does take a village to raise a child. I’m so grateful for every moment I had back home with my family and friends. Hubs and I got a lot of quality time on this trip and everyone was ever so happy to “take Peanut off our hands”.

Per usual, I did a little shopping on this trip for hair products.

I bought:

• Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Treatment. My verdict is still out. I only used it once and it wasn’t at home, so I couldn’t do my usual deep treatment. So I’ll do a review at a later time.
• I can’t remember the name of one conditioner that I bought, but it was a very inexpensive Suave Conditioner.
• Pantene Pro-V Damage Detox. Again, I only used this once. However, I did really like how my hair felt after one use, so am really excited to give it another go.
• Aveda Be Brilliant Conditioner and Styling Creme. I used to love this stuff during my relaxed days. It’s on the pricey side, but I plan on doctoring it up and adding my own ingredients to it sometimes, to stretch it out. I wasn’t crazy about their Be Curly Line, it did wonders for my relaxed hair, when I wore a wash-n-go, but absolutely nothing for my curly hair. The sales clerk at the store had beautifully, tightly coiled hair and praised this product. I’m hoping it won’t disappoint.
• Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In. I didn’t like this after using once, but I bought so am going to make it work. I might try using it as a conditioner instead of a leave-in and of course adding some moisturizing ingredients to it. I just feel it sits on my head. Maybe diluting it in water would help… I’ll of course, give it another try, before reviewing it.

At the moment, my hair is straight. I went to my old stylist to get my hair blown out and get a much-needed trim. I’m going on week two *hides in shame* of straight hair at this point. I’ll probably wash it this weekend. I do miss my curls, but pin curling or wrapping at night and heading to bead without any additional work has been so heavenly.

Winter Regimen and Fashion Blues

So, this thing happens to me every year where I just kind of let myself go in the winter. I don’t know what it is about the winter, but suddenly my hair gets pulled back into a bun and hibernates until spring (and it’s not intentional protective styling). My clothes get a little drab and shabby (and not shabby-chic). Make-up, accessories, what are those things? Oh you mean those little items that I pull out when I can feel the sun on my skin. Gotcha. So you get my point, winter and I are not really BFFs.

This winter I don’t want to go into hibernation. Maybe it’s due to motherhood that I want to suddenly revamp my winter look (sidenote: peanut turned one last week). Whatever the reason, I’d like to give more attention to myself in the winter and update my winter look. Again, being a mom, I’d like to be realistic and make small changes as those are the easiest to stick. So here are my winter regimen goals.

Hair

This is not a bun-a-thon

I have not seen my hair down in over a month, so this weekend decided to do a twist-out. I realized all the bunning, again, done purely out of a lack of time, was putting too much strain on my already weak postpartum edged. Additionally, the polyester blend scarf that laid down my edges so nicely– no bueno, it was actually drying out my edges and preventing growth. I returned to my satin/silk loose-fitting scarf. I’d rather have halo-like edges than none at all. At least then I know they’re on a journey to growing back.

Twist and wear it out

So, for my hair this winter I’d like to wear it out at least every other week. I realized braid outs require too much time. So I’m going to opt for twists, which are faster. I may not have as much curl tightness and definition as I do with a braid-out, but I’m okay with that. Twists take me 20 minutes, 30 minutes tops to install and are super fast to let down.

Getting oily with it

I don’t usually seal in summer, but in winter sealing my ends and my edges is a must. I simply can’t skip this when the weather is dry and cold. My ends get a little drab on day 3 of wearing a twist out. Now, I make sure I oil my ends with coconut, jojoba or grape seed oil every other night before wrapping my hair. This helps reduce friction and protect my ends. I don’t use water on twist outs after I style my hair, as  this creates frizz.

Accessories 

I think winter is difficult for head fashion for many naturals. When my hair was relaxed, I could throw any beanie cap over my hair. Now, I want to make sure it doesn’t crush my curls, dry them out or wreck my style. However, staying warm is also very important. I usually just end up wearing a jacket with a warm hood. I’d like to look cute and all every now and again. So I’m on the hunt (most likely will try Etsy) for cute warm winter head-gear that won’t wreck the curls. Here are some ideas I found.

Clothes

So, I love fall. I can layer and wear fun blazers and boots. However, when the snow falls and the wind starts blowing like crazy– all I want to do is throw on a chunky sweater, jeans and winter boots and call it a day. There’s nothing wrong with this. However, I’d like to have just as much fun with winter fashion as I do with the other seasons. So, I’ll be trying to add a little sparkle and small hints of color, here and there. I want to wear more skirts and just layer, layer, layer to stay warm. I don’t think I’ll ever wear heels in winter, but I’ll at least try to find a boot that’s both warm and stylish. A lot of ideas I search for online show people dressed in climates with LA winters. Let’s face it, I would freeze heading out in a blazer and a chunky scarf. So I’m still on the look out for ideas. Open to any suggestions? I’ll of course adapt what I find to fit my aesthetic and lifestyle.

Make-up

I’m a minimalist when it comes to make-up and I’m okay with that. I still will try to do the minimum – eyeliner, blush and maybe a lipstick to dress things up a bit. Something dramatic would be nice, since my routine is pretty basic. I guess I have my winter shopping list done now.

 

What’s your winter fashion look? If you live in a warm environment and your temperatures never reach freezing. I envy you!

 

Kitchen Chemist: Deep Conditioning Mud Mask

So, my hair hasn’t looked this good in a long time. It’s shiny, soft, moisturized; Curls are popping and even my ends feel good. I’m not sure if it’s a fluke, so I’ll have to test it out again over the next few few weeks.

 

At the moment, I’m trying to develop my own rhassoul clay deep conditioning mask and a detangler with my new favorite ingredient, slippery elm (if you’re a fan of KCKT, you might recognize this ingredient) . I want to give it a few more tries before posting on the process. However, I’m liking the results thus far.

Side note: am I the only one who is team 2nd day hair? I really don’t like how perfect and uniform my hair looks on day 1. I actually pull my hair up into a pony tail on day 1, as I’m all about that slightly messy, more stretched 2nd day look.

Oh and good news, my postpartum shedding has finally calmed the heck down! My edges are starting to grow back in, although the texture of my edges changed somewhat. Did anyone else experience texture changes as a result of pregnancy?

Repost: An Introduction to Low Porosity Hair

Hi Lovelies,

I’m still here and haven’t forgotten you. I miss my blog family!

Things have just been so busy lately. I’m working, raising the little peanut and embarking on a new venture, all at the same time. Some days I’m just floating on the surface, but I’m not drowning, so my glass is half full.

Baby boy keeps me motivated and on my toes.  Little man is trying to walk and getting down right mad (almost throwing a tantrum– toddler world here we come) if I so much as suggest helping him walk while holding both of his hands. He will only allow me one hand so he can waddle to and fro at the park. Call me emotional, but why do I already feel like he’s walking out the door and going off to college. I think I’ll be an emotional wreck on his 1st birthday– at least he’s not old enough to be embarrassed by me just yet.

I’m reposting my blog’s first post. Many of you might recognize this post.  I get a lot of questions from new readers on low porosity hair. I’m thinking about putting up low porosity 101 page that way the quintessential information is available to everyone, without them having to search the blog for it. So without further ado:

An Introduction to Low Porosity Hair

Hair porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture (i.e. water). Retaining moisture is the key to healthy hair. In order to properly care for your hair, understanding your hair’s porosity is a pre-requisite.

There are three types of porosity: low, high and normal. Porosity is determined by the position of the cuticle, which is the outermost part of our hair made up of a layer of overlapping dead cells. It provides the hair with strength by protecting it from harsh elements and by protecting the inner structures of the hair. It also controls the water content.

Normal porosity

If you have normal porosity, consider yourself lucky. Normal porosity hair requires the least amount of maintenance. It easily draws in water, however does not allow too much water to enter the cortex. This type of hair tends to be shiny, hold styles well and is easy to process (e.g. color, highlight, perm). A occassional deep conditioner and light protein benefits this type of hair.

High porosity

Think of your hair as a sponge. It can absorb its weight in water and easily allow all the water to escape. Cuticles of high porosity hair are too open and allow too much water to enter the cortex. However, just as easily as the water enters, it also escapes rapidly, making it a challenge to keep moisture. This type of hair may be damaged, because of chemical processing. High porosity hair benefits from heavy creams, thick oils or emollients and butters, to seal in moisture. It also benefits from routine protein treatments, which may help to fill in some of the gaps in the cuticle. Additionally, cold water rinses, low PH products such as diluted vinegar or aloe vera, help to seal the cuticle.

Low porosity (lo-po)

The focus of this blog will be on low porosity. Despite the plethora of information on the web about porosity, there are not enough sites that thoroughly discuss caring for low porous hair. This type of hair has flat, shingled cuticles. Picture the shingles on the roof of a house, when it rains the water simply glides off the structure. As you can imagine, it’s challenging for water  to enter the hair shaft. This type of hair often takes a while to wet in the shower and it takes forever to dry. Product buildup is a common complaint, as products just seem to sit on top of the hair. Chemical processing is long and difficult.

The trick with low porosity hair is getting the moisture in the hair shaft. Once it’s in, the hair retains moisture quite well and is lustrous and shiny. One of the most helpful methods is deep conditioning with heat or steam to open up the cuticle and help the hair absorb moisture. Additionally, washing and rinsing the hair with warm water helps loosen up debris and open up the cuticles.

If you’re low porosity and looking for some useful tips and advice, well, you’ve come to the right place. This blog will be dedicated to lo-po hair and more methods for caring for lo-po hair will be discussed in detail on this blog. I’ll also include my experimentation with my lo-po hair and what works and does not work for me.

In the meantime, to find out your hair’s porosity. You could take a clean, freshly washed (without products) strand of hair and place it in a cup of water:

If the hair stays afloat for a long time (more than 1 hour), without ever sinking, you’re likely lo-po

If the hair immediately sinks to the bottom of the glass,  you’re likely high porosity

Keep in mind, this is not a glass half empty or half full matter. Whether high, low or normal, the important is figuring out how to properly care for your hair. What’s your hair porosity?