Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Breakage :(

This is not something that I have just noticed in the past few mths, but its a problem I have faced for awhile now. I have just decided to post about it now, being that Im looking for some additional input. I dont use small-toothed combs, nor do I brush my hair. I dont do alot of manipulation to my hair, yet I still have breakage. I comb from the ends to roots, and I even take my time detangling during washing, so what gives?
Is it possible that some form of breakage is inevidentable for me? I have suspected for awhile now that my hair maybe protein sensitive, so I have made all efforts to use no products that contain proteins. Yet, with the new J/A/S/O/N poo and cons Im using (which is a moisturizing) has plant protein in it, but in small amounts.
Its a bit of a struggle to find a moisturizing poo and con that is moisturing, yet sulfate and parabens free, but doesnt have any form of protein in it.
Ive noticed at my last wash this past sunday, that 85-90% of the hairs I see coming out is shedded hair with the bulbs attached, but I do still find a fair amount of small broken hairs. Whats a girl to do? I have really really fine strands, so I wonder if no matter how careful I am or the products I do or dont use, I will still have "some" breakage.

Your thoughts? IM FRUSTRATED!!!!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Hard vs Soft Water (Hair & Skin Health)

Getting to the bottom of why some products I use (not just hair products) doesnt seem to be quite affective have lead me on the fact finding mission about water properties and how good quality water benefits us in MANY ways. I have read about HARD water and how it can cause build-up on your hair, and cause some of your products not to work as effectively, so in searching for a good shower filter here is some info I came across that can be beneficial to us all on the hair journey, AND save us some money in the process.

For this blog purpose I have highlighted the statements that are hair related

HARD vs SOFT WATER

What is Hard water?
“Hard” water contains large amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium. On the other hand, “Soft” water is water that contains small amounts of calcium and magnesium. One of the primary disadvantages to hard water and the reason it is described as, “hard,“ is more soap, detergent, shampoo, and/or cleanser, is required to get whatever you are washing clean. It is literally, harder to get anything clean with hard water. Hard water builds up scale on the inside of water pipes eventually reducing the flow. Hard water coats your water heater element greatly increasing the cost of heating water. 

Hardness is measured in parts per million (p.p.m.) or grains per gallon (g.p.m.). 21 parts per million or 3 grains per gallon, is considered “hard” water and with each increasing grain, hard water challenges are increased 10 fold.


My water is “Hard.” Why should I care?
For watering your lawn, cleaning our streets, irrigating crops, and many other uses, hard water rarely a challenge. However, for bathing, washing dishes and clothes, shaving, washing your car and many other uses “soft” water is far more efficient, effective and convenient than “hard” water.

Soft water:
Saves you money in several ways;
·       By improving cleaning efficiency up to 250%.
·       It saves on shampoo, cleansers, soaps, and detergents.
·       Your clothes colors stay brighter and last much longer.
  1. Soft water and your favorite soap create gentle suds that help give your skin and complexion the smooth, fresh look of health and beauty. When you shower in soft water that temporary “oily” feeling is caused by your natural body oils. This is how your body feels when it is truly clean. The “squeaky clean” feeling we get from showering in hard water is caused by a layer of calcium and magnesium that remains on your skin, even after rinsing. In reality, we are “squeaky dirty.” Hard water minerals clog your pores and coat every hair on your body. This “crud” can serve as a home for bacteria, cause diaper rash, minor skin irritation and itchy skin. Does your scalp itch. . .
  2.  Soft water leaves your skin (your largest organ) free to breathe and your hair bright, soft and easier to manage. Razor blades cut closer and stay sharper without the hardness to dull them.
  3. When hard water is heated, the minerals create a scale that can eventually plug your hot water pipes and water heater, causing premature failure, necessitating costly replacement. With soft water your water heaters will use 21 to 29% less energy to heat the water. Tip: Draining/flushing your water heater once a year helps reduce the build up of hard water minerals.
  4. For many commercial and industrial uses, the hard water minerals interfere with various processes, causing inferior product production.

You can read this link: Natural Health Techniques for more infomation on what can be done to check if you have hard water and what can remedy it. Which brings me to this next pic. Check it to see where your state falls on regions prone to hard water.

 My state of Ohio and my home state of Michigan are two states that are prone to hard water. UGH!! No wonder I;s a recovering product junkie(PJ). Nothing has been working to its full potential, PLUS the added calcium and magnesium deposits has been causing hard, brittle feeling hair. Not to ention, we spend a TON on detergent for clothes washing. Im not happy until I see some major sud action going on....SMH what a waste. Damn hard water......
Anywho, I mention in one of my original postig that I had my fingers crossed for a shower filter for Christmas, but I didnt get it!! BOOOO!!!! Nah, Im not complaining tho, I got a nice lil laptop that made for forget all about that shower filter, but I DO NEED IT, ASAP!!!
Here's two I had me eye on:

Im going to continue to price shop, these things are expensive. I had one before I moved here to OH, but forget to take it with me before I moved. These healthy hair business can get expensive if your not careful. So in the meantime I'm still boiling water once a week on hair wash day***pouting*** I know this is pretty much done in vain being that boiling water can NOT remove all the impurities. From what Ive researched, calcium is the only likely substance to be removed during boiling.
I'll take what I can get for now**shoulder hunch**

Once again, I hope this information will be helpful on your natural hair journey, and thanks for reading!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1st Twistout Pics and KT Leave-in Review

Well, I finally got around to taking my crochet braids down. Im not sure if or when I will be doing any of those again. Im concerned that the lacthhook tool used could be doing some damage. I dont have any proof of that, but its a concern of mine. So, I mixed up the Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner (no problems there) and applied if to y freshly washed hair. I wasnt too impressed on how it felt going on, and while I was twisting my hair. It just didnt feel like anything special.....BUT, after my hair was dry. OMG!! I could really feel a different in my hair. It felt really moisturized, and wasnt stiff like it usually feels. This is my first take at it, but so far so good. Im HAPPY!! No complaints here!!!
Here a pic:




So, I decided after I twisted my hair up, I would rock my 1st twist-out. I was surprised t the outcome. My hair felt soft and wasnt crunchy. I added a little castor oil to my fingertips as I took the twist down.
Here are some pics:



Sooooo, how do I look?

Saturday, January 8, 2011

My 1st YouTube Vid

I have alot of learning to do with this vlogging, but I will get the hang of it soon! Check it out!



Leave feed back if you feel so inclined.

Thanks!!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Protective Styling and LEAVE-IN Cons

So, I"ve put off doing this post long enough. I want to share with you all just a few protective stylings that I use to keep me out of my head for any period of time. Im BIG on touching my hair which Im sure has some adverse effects on my hair goals, so a while back while doing some YT surfing I ran across a poster (toysvoice) or something like that who did a tutorial on doing crochet braids. I was really liking the after look so I decided to give it a try. Take a look:


It was a bit time consuming being that Im not very good at french braiding my own hair, THEN add on top of that I added some hair to add extra strength to the braids. I had never done this before on myself or anyone else for that matter so that extended the process a bit. After my first successful PS w/ crochet braids I decided to give it a try again about 6mths later (which was the day before new year eve this yr). But, this time I decided to use a tighter curl that I did before. Here's some pics:



I wasnt too happy with the outcome, AND it took me forever this time!! UGGHH I was so mad at all the fuss this curl pattern gave me, PLUS it was so hard keeping the knots tied in tight, so I had to add a step due to the softness of the hair and put so glue on the ends to keep it from slipping. Can you say VEXED!! That was me, so currently I have this style in. Its been almost 10 days I think and I canta wait to take it down. Not so much cause I dont like it but I'm ANXIOUS to get in my hair. Why you ask? Well...Ive been a subscriber to kimmaytube channel for a few mths, and it has taken me some time to get through her pleathra of videos, but it was worth. She seems pretty cool and knowledgable about hair. Im not new to her name, Ive heard her before on the hair forum I frequent, but never really looked into her techniques until a few mths ago. Ive heard the rants and raves about her leave-in con concotion, but being a recovering PJ I just blew it off.....Well, take a look


Im going to give it a try. If it can work wonders on my dry hair, then I must give credit where its due. I havent try it yet, but as soon as this style comes down in the next few days I will be giving KIMMAYTUBE LEAVE-IN conditioner a try. So stay tuned for me thoughts on it. Oh, if your interested in giving it a try and need the measurements here it is:
            KIMMAYTUBE LEAVE-IN Conditioner
                                   
             1oz/2Tbs- Kinky Curly Knot Today
                  2Ts- Castor Oil
                  2Ts- Jojoba Oil
             2Tb- Aloe Vera Juice (Lily of the Desert-whole leaf)
Kim prefers to use the Lily of the Desert brand, but stresses you can use a brand of your choice. Also remember after mixing you need to refrigerate. Here's is her link to herYT vid on how to make if you need visual aid  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXi2k4cFFhI




Also, as I said in my Developing of Regimen post, Im looking for products that will become my staples so I'm in trail and error stage. So while I was at Whole Foods getting the items I need for the Kimmay conditinioner they had a great deal on JASON products I couldnt pass up, So Im going to be giving these a try:
I havent heard anything bad about these products, to be honest I havent heard much. I did search the forums for some reviews and a few ladies had good things to say, so Im going to give them a try. PLUS the price waas doable for me AND they dont contain the No-No's (Parabens and Sulfates) so I cant go too wrong right? Well, my hair is a bit sensitive to protein poos and cond so (which these contain) but I decided to give it a try being that it seems to be in small amount since its one of the last 3 ingredients listed. Im hoping to have a good experience with these. I still have the Alikay products in my sights, but we will see.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The "Essentials"




Oils that is.....In all my reading on what is good to promote the growth and  improve the health of natural hair some oils Ive read time and time again about and continue to be praised or promoted. So I decided to list them all here with infomation on how or why they help. EDUCATION is the KEY!!! You know sometimes you here enough products views on a topic you might just buy just because and not know the why and how behind it (Im guilty of this at times myself) so:

 Here are some tips of how essential oils can help! (I highlighted in purple the ones Ive read about the most)

Basil: Oily hair. Promotes growth
Chamomile: Fine to normal hair. Gives golden highlights
Clary Sage: All types of hair. Dandruff treatment
Lavender: Normal hair. Scalp treatment for itchiness, dandruff, and even lice!
Lemon: Oily hair. Gives golden highlights; treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice, and underactive sebaceous glands
Myrrh: Dry hair. Treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice, and underactive sebaceous glands
Patchouli: Oily hair. Dandruff treatment
Peppermint: Dry hair. Promotes hair growth
Rose: Fine hair. Soothes scalp
Rosemary: Oily hair. Dandruff treatment; promotes hair growth
Tea Tree: Oily hair. Treatment for dry scalp, dandruff, lice, and underactive sebaceous glands
Ylang-ylang: Oily hair. Dandruff treatment

I hope this one stop shop of info proves helpful for someone. I will use if for my future reference as well.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2011 Hair Aspirations

Hey yall,

Im back with a few of my 2011 hair aspiration for this new year. This list entails things I would like to try or accomplish in this new year. 2010 and prior I believe has been all a looong drawn out trial and error stage that Im looking to get away from (so to speak), and get some concrete things established about me and this hair journey Im on.

This biggest thing I need to work on in having CONFIDENCE to rock my hair out and about. This part has been abit tricky being that I havent found any styling options that I feel confident enough to attempt at styling that wont comprimise my goals at retaining length. Right now with my hair being in the MAA(Medium Amazing Afro) stage my only styling options (that I know about) are either afros (accessorized), twistouts, or twist.
Also my concern with these styles it that it will require daily maintnance, and manipulation that could cause breakage. Also, I read that wearing afros out alot isnt good top the tangles and knots that are prone to this hair style. I'M OPEN TO ANY FEED BACK ON MY CONCERNS. On the sites that I frequent I havent ran across to many that are in the length stage Im in so, I havent saw any inspiring hair styles (other than sisterlocks). BUT I'M ON THE LOOKOUT!!!!
NOTE: SISTERLOCKS IS MY FINAL DESTINATION THIS YEAR!!!!

2nd- PRODUCTS
I have been eyeing a product line by a popular Youtuber(BlackOnyx77) Alikay Products that I think I want to give a try in this new year to help me establish a regimen, and put a stop to this guessing game for products. I havent made the leap before now because I have been looking for product reviews on this line outside of youtube. If ANYONE READING has any info/knowledge they wish to share I would really appreciate it.  Alikay products seems to have all the properties a natural girl should be looking for.
Your thoughts?

3rd-Internal Health (COLONIC)
Its been said that your hair, skin, and nail health only reflects the inner health of your body. Before I used to think that extra water and supplements was all I needed. But after of yrs of having a on again off again seesaw ride with supplements like MSM, Biotin, Vit E, B12, Prenatals, Hair, Skin, and Nail Vitamins (jus to name a few) I figured this year I will do things differently. Starting with and internal cleanse. I have been looking into doing a colonic for the past 6mths or so, but have failed to follow through. This year, my husband and I will be scheduling colonic appointments to make an internal "fresh start".
Ive read alot of positive reviews on them, and think I will have a better outcome as far as absorption with my vitamins, and have clearer skin to boot. I will keep you guys updated on how that turns out.

4th-BALANCE
This whole hair health journey can be a bit overwhelming at times, so I plan to remain mindful of doing everything in balance by keep my regimen in check. Moderation is the key!!!! Too much of anything is never good, so I dont plan to add any far-fetched ideas I may come across to my developing regimen. I will keep my vitamins at a minimum (Prenatals,and B12) thinking about adding Biotin, but I will see. Will make sure I start back working out like I used to before I became a mother and wife. Thats something that I really miss doing for ME, and  will give me a chance to release the daily tension, and stresses of everyday life. I was never a 5 day a week workout person and I dont plan to be. My goal is at minimum 2x a wk.  3 at the most. Nothing outrageous, but attainable.

5th-ENJOY
I can be very critical of myself at times especially hairwise, but this year Im planning to relax and just enjoy this process as I get comfortable with my natural hair journey and all that entails. Im looking forward to my number of followers increasing and learning and sharing with one another, but most of all providing the SUPPORT we all need in this journey. Im aware we all are at different levels, so our struggles will differ as well. But what we do share is the commonality of making this natural hair journey we are on a way of life and adjusting our perceptions of beauty. Its easy to say just do you and everything else will follow. for those who are there is was a process for them as well.

Thats my topic 5 things Im inspiring to accomplish the year. I love blogging so I have these pages to look back on and keep my butt on track. I told your yesterday Im IMPATIENT!! Lol....

                         HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY GROWING TOO!!!