Thinning edges? Give these a try

Many thanks to Nia Phoenix for helping me with my thinning edges.  Here are some recipes she shared with me which I now share with you:

Rosemary Oil

Rosemary herb in olive oil massaged into scalp. Use olive oil based on head size. Approx 2 tbsp and a piece of rosemary herb. Allow it to mix well before applying.

This is what I'm using at the moment.  I used rosemary essential oil since I already had some.

Bayberry Tea

Make a strong bayberry tea and rub it in well at night. Wash off in the morning thoroughly and apply again, possibly add a few drops of lavender oil.

I haven't been about to find this in stores and online it's about $15 so this recipe is on hold for now.

Pre-Wash

1 tbsp jojoba oil, 3 drops rosemary oil,3 drops lavender oil, 1 drop lemon balm and 1 drop atlas cedar wood oil. Mix with wooden or plastic utensil not aluminum. Massage mix into scalp, leave on for 30 minutes. Wash hair, adding 1 drop of rosemary oil to each shampoo application. As a final rinse, add 1 drop each of lavender oil and rosemary oil to a quart of cool water and pour over your head.

I don't have any lemon balm at the moment, but this will get a try eventually.  Hopefully.

If you try one, let me know how it worked for you.

Recovery - Moisturizing Pre-poo

So after yesterday's hair lightening fail, my hair felt dry.  I decided to try a pre-poo in hopes that my hair would forgive me:

5 oz Aloe vera gel ( food grade )
3 tbls of coconut oil
1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
2 teaspoons honey

I mixed the ingredients, but since the aloe vera gel was cold, the coconut oil didn't melt.  I wet my hair with hot water in an effort to aid the oil melting. 

That didn't work so I went under the dryer for 15 minutes. Then I washed it out using a basic natural shampoo.  Running my hands through my hair, it felt great.  My scalp felt lubricated, but not greasy. Yay!

I followed up with a retwist using my latest batch of loc butter.

Loc Butter Take 3

I think I did it this time:

2 tbsp shea butter
2 tbsp mango butter
3-4 tbsp coconut oil
glycerin
aloe vera gel

After melting the butters, I added the aloe vera gel and glycerin and whipped for 1-2 minutes and placed the bowl in the refrigerator.  When the mixture looked like lotion, mixed a little more before placing it in the jar. 

I used it today to retwist and it was soft.  The aloe vera gel didn't separate either.  I was quite pleased.

Hair Lightening Fail?

As I already said, my hair doesn't usually take color well without first being lightened.  Sitting on the couch this evening, I started getting restless and decided to start on my 2012 goals.  I pulled out the ingredients for the hair lightening recipe I found on http://www.nappturality.com and got to work. 

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Raw uncooked honey
• 2 Cups Distilled water
• 1 Tablespoon Ground cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
• some Plastic Wrap
• a Bathing Cap

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients in a cup at room temperature and let it sit for at least an hour. This allows the peroxide levels to be released and it becomes more effective.
• Use a long nose root applicator bottle, a spray bottle or a tint brush to apply it to the hair. 

Right here is where things start to go wrong.  I didn't have a big enough cup and made the mixture in a Cool Whip container.  The container is pretty flimsy and when I tried to bend it to pour the mixture into the spray bottle, it spilled out.

I had some more honey left over and started again.  This time, it I just put enough water to fill the 22 oz bottle the honey was in.  I figured I'd just add the rest of the water directly into the spray bottle.

• You can also try applying it only to those areas you want lightened, and wrap the other parts of your hair in plastic wrap to prevent seepage.

I tried spraying the mixture all over my hair, but the cinnamon and olive oil were sticking to the sides of the bottle and clogging the sprayer.  I eventually just poured in onto my head.

• Wrap your entire head up in plastic wrap and put on the bathing cap over the top. You may need to put a towel around your neck to catch any drips.

I'm not pleased.

• It can be left for as long as you want - from an hour to the entire night. 

As I type, I'm about 30 minutes into the process and ready to wash it out.  I'm getting a headache from the swim cap and think it's starting to burn.  It has the burn of relaxer.  That "hmm, can I really manage this?  I want to because it's going to be so worth it."  The thing is, I'm not sold that it will be worth it.

• To wash it out, rinse gently with warm, running water several times.  If you feel any grit, you haven't washed it out thoroughly. Follow up with your normal shampoo and wash and condition as usual.

Since, the site says, "If at any stage you experience itching or a rash or any reaction, discontinue using the treatment." I don't feel bad washing it out now.  I do feel bad for $16 on the honey.

Guess I'll see how badly this turned out tomorrow.  For now, I'm just rinsing it out.

Thanks to the hubby most of the cinnamon is out.

Daily Moisturizer

I originally selected this recipe because it is for hair growth. When I actually got around to making it though, I was interested in using it as a daily moisturizer so I didn't bother buying carrot or argan oil.

3/4 cup of coconut oil
2 tbsp jojoba oil
1/4 cup of olive oil

The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of carrot or argan oil.

When the ingredients were combined, I had enough for three 2 ounce bottles.  The coconut oil causes the mixture to solidify, but if the room is warm or your rub it your hands first, it spreads easily.

As part of my test of how long I can go without washing my hair, I've been applying the oil at least once daily.  It's been 12 days since I washed it, but you couldn't tell by looking at my scalp. : )

Natural Shampoo Recipe I

When I first decide to loc I looked up how to wash my hair.  Dr. Bonner's Liquid Castille Soap came up quite a few times.  I knew I had to dilute it, but couldn't figure out the right measurement.  Every trial left my hair cloudy.  So, I just stuck to my Garnier Nutrisse and added tea tree oil to the bottle.  Then I came across a concentrate recipe:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup liquid castille soap
1/2 tsp of olive oil

My hair reacts well to tea tree oil so I added it along with rosemary oil.

I put all the ingredients in a plastic bottle in a twist tip bottle.  All this was done last week.  This week, I applied the concentrate directly to my scalp and massaged it in.  I got a pretty good lather.  Lather, rinse, repeat, and I was done. Miracle of all miracles my hair looked black rather than the grey it looks when it's still dirty.

I'm so excited.  I have one more shampoo recipe to try, but for now I'm glad that I finally found one that works.

Loc Butter Take 2

So the first run at making the loc butter didn't go so well.  I decided to make some tweeks to the recipe:

2 tbsp shea butter
1 tbsp mango butter
1/2 tbsp coconut oil

I melted those in the double boiler on medium.  Then I added:

1 tsp sweet almond oil
1 tsp jojoba oil
1 tsp avocado oil

I poured the mixture into a glass bowl and mixed it on low for a few minutes before adding:

5 drops lavender
10 drops of tea tree oil

I alternated between mixing and freezing the mixture until it whipped up like a thick lotion.  On the last run in the freezer, it ended up solid so I think I should have quite while I was ahead. I whipped it one more time before putting it into the old shea butter container.

Tomorrow, I'll do my hair and see how it works out.

Follow up: I left the ACV rinse in my hair for 3 hours then rinsed it out with warm water. After washing with a shampoo concentrate, I retwisted my hair. I was being lazy so some of it dried before I got to it. I palm rolled the locs this time. Then I sat under the dryer for an hour.  I'm pretty sure I was under there for too long, but I wanted to make sure that it was fully dry.  I didn't get the same shine I got from the shealoe recipe, but I'll try tweeking the recipe later.

Loc Butter Take 1

The shealoe was okay, but I think I'll pass on further use until I find or come up with a different recipe.  I found a loc butter recipe and I'm trying it out today.  Using my newly purchased double boiler, I melted:

2 tbsp shea butter
2 tbsp mango butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp liquid lanolin
1 tsp sweet almond oil
1 tsp jojoba oil
1 tsp avocado oil
10 drops ylang-ylang oil
10 drops lavender essential oil (my personal touch)

I poured the mix into a cleaned out hair grease jar and let it cool.  It did not solidify so this "butter" is more of an oil.

This is a 4 oz jar.  It was filled, but I poured some out into two other jars.

I washed my hair this morning and rubbed a mixture of  liquid lanolin, avocado oil, and tea tree oil onto my scalp. To add some moisture back, I applied aloe vera gel to my hair section by section before starting in on the "butter."  I put the "butter" to my finger tips and retwisted my roots.  After clipping them down, I finger (instead of palm) rolled the rest of the loc.

The plan is to spread this batch over three uses before tweeking it:
1. Use aloe vera gel to "wet" hair
2. Retwist right after washing
3. Retwist dry

Initial reaction:  Not sure that my hair is at the point where finger rolling works.  At least not when done dry with an oil.  The roots look good, but the rest of the loc is a bit puffy and dull looking.  My scalp does feel good.  If all else fails, this may be the moisturizing product I've been looking for. Based on how this came out, there is no need to do #3.

5 days in: My scalp is not happy.  It looks moisturized, but it is flaking.  Actually peeling is more like it.  I've been adding avocado oil, but it doesn't seem to be making it through.  I think the lanolin was a bad move.

Verdict: Take 1 was a fail.

Tweeks to come:  More shea butter, some tea tree oil, no lanolin

Shealoe Recipe

I found a recipe for shealoe (combination of shea butter and aloe vera gel) and decided to try it out.

 Ingredients

1/2 cup. Check out the Hair Affair link for shea butter descriptions.

2 tablespoons

1/4 cup

Plus some tea tree oil and peppermint oil

Directions
1. Microwave shea butter.  This wasn't in the original recipe, but since the butter is hard I seemed like the best way to get a nice consistency.  I made this twice.  The first time the butter was room temperature.  Mix with hand mixer until fluffy.
2. Mix in olive oil and aloe vera gel.
3. Mix in essential oils.

Final product using the warmed shea butter.

I stored it in an old hair grease container.

Once the mixture cools, it becomes firm again.  Rubbing it between my fingers before applying made it easy to use.  Also, when I went to use it the next week, I needed to add some olive oil to loosen it up.

Overall, shealoe was easy to make.  The only equipment I used was a bowl, hand mixer (with one blade), and tongue depressor (to mix by hand - I'm sure a spoon would have done the job too).  My hair was shiny, but almost greasy to the touch so I'm pretty sure I used to much.  I didn't need to use any spray or other moisturizer all week though.

Verdict: After 4 uses, I've decided that this isn't for me. I love all the ingredients, but the final firmness of the product is a turn off.  I'll keep searching for my perfect loc butter.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse

Basic ACV Rinse

Mix ACV and water in a spray bottle using a 1:1 ratio.  Spray onto hair and scalp and massage in.  Leave on for 15 minutes to 3 hours.  Rinse out with warm water.

Different ratios work for different people - or so they say.  I've decided to try this one for 4 weeks, to determine what changes should be made for me.  I've hoping for shiny hair and less dandruff.

Verdict: After 7 weeks of weekly usage before shampooing, this is a yes.  I have less dandruff and that's huge.  I'm going to see what happens if I space out the frequency.