My hair notes – Baggy Method vs Greenhouse Effect

Tags

baggy method, GHE, greenhouse effect, hair care, moisturizing, natural, natural hair

The question about whether baggying is an effective means for moisturizing hair was posed on Curlynikki‘s hair forum. I responded on the thread stating that I baggy my hair. Since that post, I’ve received many questions about baggying. I realized that many people confuse it with the Greenhouse Effect, or they use the terms interchangeably when they actually are different processes.

The link below provides more information about the two methods and how they are different, as well as how to use them to moisturize your hair. Hope this helps anyone that is interested in these methods.

Baggy Method vs Greenhouse Effect
https://hairdiary.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/the-baggy-method-vs-the-greenhouse-effect/

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My hair today

Tags

baggy method, moisturizing, natural, natural hair

Baggying my hair yesterday definitely did my hair good. I unraveled my twists this morning and was happy to see shiny, well-defined curls. The grape seed oil that I used to seal my ends was absorbed well, leaving no greasy film. My curls, including my ends, are nice and smooth.  Operation Save My Ends is off to a good start! ☺

My self imposed “ends” challenge

Tags

baggy method, grape seed oil, Herbal Essences, moisturizing, natural, natural hair

So, I have challenged myself to take extra special care of my ends. It is a never ending battle trying to keep these bad boys moisturized. The issue with my ends is ultimately the reason why I BCed again last summer. I ain’t trying to go there again.

The past few days I’ve been using shea butter on my ends to see what effect it would have. My hair has been soft, but it has also been greasy. I hate touching my hair and getting that greasy film on my fingers. I also don’t want to leave grease stains behind on any place I might rest my head. Maybe I need to use less. I’m not giving up on it completely yet.

OK…so this evening I baggied my hair. I’d planned on doing the ends only but I had to do my whole head because my hair isn’t long enough for me to just cover the ends with the bag. But this time I made sure that my ends were slathered with conditioner. I left the baggy on for about 4 hours instead of overnight since I was doing a protein treatment because my ends have breaking really bad. If you’ve been following my blog from the beginning, you may recall the horrible experience I had the first time I used the baggy method – I did it overnight and woke up to mushy, soggy hair that started to shed a lot.

Well, this time I noticed a big difference. My ends were moisturized and my hair was soft, but not soggy as before. Lately, when I’ve applied my leave in, I’d have hair covering my hands as I raked through it. This time there was none! So I’m guessing the protein was definitely needed.

Tonight I’m trying Herbal Essences Naked Moisture Conditioner.

This line is paraben free. The consistency is the same as Hello Hydration and about the same amount of slip. I didn’t have a problem detangling my hair (something I rarely do). It has a light, citrusy, minty scent. I like that fact that it has rosemary and peppermint oils in it. I sealed my ends with grape seed oil and let my hair air dry slightly before twisting. My twists were plump and juicy like I like them and my ends were nicely sealed and smooth. The jury is still out on whether they will stay smooth and hydrated. I will update.

Ends moisturized, smooth, and nicely sealed

My product review – Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk

Tags

Carol's Daughter, hair milk, leave-in, moisturizing, natural, natural hair

The one year membership that I purchased with Carol’s Daughter is about to expire so I decided to try the Hair Milk. I’ve read that hair milks are good moisturizers and I had pretty good results with the Shea Moisture. I wanted to try this one so I could compare the two.

Carol's Daughter Hair Milk - 8 oz regular price $12; member price $10.80

Product Description
FOR CURLS, COILS, KINKS & WAVES.
Dry hair = frizzy curls! So, protect your hair from unwanted situations – breakage, thirst and unmanageability – with this fan-favorite leave-in moisturizer. It has all the goodies you know and love, like Shea Butter to intensely hydrate curls, coils, kinks, and waves, plus Soybean Oil to soften and strengthen it too. We’ve also added Agave Nectar to ensure that your hair keeps moisture locked in and is extra healthy. This rich cream quickly and easily absorbs into your hair, leaving it glossy, nourished, and frizz-free.

Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Polysorbate 60, Agave Tequilana Stem Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid, Beeswax, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-butly Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Polysorbate 80, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Xantham Gum, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol

Featured Ingredients
* Cocoa & Shea Butters intensely rehydrate your hair
* Soybean Oil leaves hair softer and stronger than before
* Agave Nectar keeps moisture locked in for better definition and frizz control.

How to use
After co-washing, apply a quarter-size amount into soaking-wet hair, working it in evenly with your fingers. Use your hands to gently squeeze out excess water or use a cotton T-shirt for best results. Add more as necessary and style as desired.

This hair milk is more liquidy than it is thick. I thought the consistency would make it perfect for summer. The smell, however, I don’t care for. I guess I expected it to have a sweet scent like the other products that I’ve purchased, but it smells more like a sunscreen lotion… and it lingers.

The directions say to apply a quarter sized amount to soaking, wet hair, distribute it through the hair, and add more if necessary. Just because I know my hair, I knew from the start that a quarter sized amount would not be sufficient, but I used this as a starting point. I ended up using about 4 quarter sized amounts and then sealed my ends.

My initial thoughts about this hair milk once I applied it to my hair – I’m not impressed. It has absolutely NO SLIP which is the first thing I look for in a moisturizer/leave in. The second thing I look for is how it coats the strands of my hair. This product is lacking in that area as well. My hair almost feels stripped – like it feels after a shampoo and the hair is squeaky clean. So basically, it feels like it has no product in it. One of the last things I look for is how well my curls are defined and how they clump together. Disappointingly, I didn’t notice clumpage, but my curls were somewhat defined. They just didn’t have that spring factor that I like.

I’m going to let it dry and I will update in the morning.

UPDATE 7/13/15
Soooo, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with how soft and moisturized my hair feels this morning. My curls are still defined to the extent they were last night. The oil I used to seal my ends absorbed well, which I like. I do notice that the smell is still prevalent now. It’s not overbearing, but I just don’t care for it.

Overall, I think this hair milk did what it was claimed to do. I do have a few frizzy areas though. I don’t think this product will work well enough alone when styling my hair. I think some type of gel will be needed. I’m going to use this product more to get a better feel for it and to decide whether I will buy it again. I will write an updated post afterwards.

My experience with Bentonite Clay

Tags

ACV, aloe vera gel, Aztec Secret, bentonite clay, clarifying, cleansing, coconut milk, conditioning, grapeseed oil, Indian Healing Clay, moisturizing, natural, natural hair, products, wash, wash day

I started this post before I did my most recent big chop. I’ve been lazy and didn’t feel like waiting for the pics to download. I finally got around to doing it tonight, so that’s why this post is late. Last Friday when I washed my hair, I decided to use bentonite clay instead of my new love – my shampoo bar. I’ve been researching and reading about the benefits of bentonite clay for hair and thought I’d give it a try. I made a trip to Whole Foods about two weeks ago and picked some up while I was there. (I won’t get into everything else that I acquired on this trip!) *side eye*

Benefits of bentonite clay for hair:

• Good for cleaning, clarifying, moisturizing, and conditioning hair
• Has been reported to facilitate hair growth and prevent hair loss
• Works well on all hair types – natural, relaxed, damaged, dry, etc.
• Relieves itchy scalp and treats dandruff
• Improves the texture and thickness of natural hair
• Contains calcium, potassium, and sodium which are all needed for healthy hair

The directions for using the clay are pretty simple. Basically you add ACV and/or water to the powder until it’s the consistency of paste. However, I added some oils to my mix to give it a bit more umph, as my hair is in need of extra nourishment. My mixture consisted of:

• 3 tablespoons of clay powder
• ACV
• coconut milk
• aloe vera gel
• grapeseed oil.

I can’t say exactly how much I used. I just added until I had the consistency that I wanted.

Once the mixture was smooth, I applied it to my hair from root to tip, using a downward motion. I’d pre-pooed my hair the night before. Before applying the clay, I wet it but I didn’t rinse the oil out. From my research, I found that some oil in the hair makes it easier to apply the clay. This seemed to be true because the application went seamlessly and was not messy as I expected.

I left the clay on my hair for about an hour or so. I really don’t recall how long because I got caught up in the TV. If it wasn’t for my face tightening up so much as the clay dried, I probably would’ve left it on longer. But from what I understand, it doesn’t need to stay on too long to do it’s job.

After rinsing, which was not difficult at all to do, my hair felt very clean, but not stripped. My curls were defined, my hair had a nice sheen, and was soft to the touch.

I had some leftover, so I applied it to my face since it’s great for skin as well.

This is what was left after hair application

Bentonite clay applied to my face

After the clay dried…I was actually smiling in this pic!

There was still a bit left so, I even gave my son a clay facial (although he wasn’t happy about it at all)! I just couldn’t let it go to waste…

Overall, I was pleased with the results of using bentonite clay. I will keep using this as a regular part of my regimen. Being that it continues to agree with my hair, I’m thinking I will use it to clarify my hair, rather than the clarifying shampoo.

My current regimen

Tags

co-wash, condition, deep conditioning, EASE, hair grease, hair regimen, LCO, LOC, moisturizing, petrolatum, protective styling, regimen, sealing, wash, wash day, washing

Over the course of the past few months, I’ve adapted a much simpler hair regimen. And boy, what a difference has it made in time, as well as my hair! In the beginning, as I was learning to care for my hair in it’s natural state, I was trying to adopt way too many products and techniques. Every time I would watch a video, I would try to incorporate techniques that I saw being used into my regimen, which soon became too taxing and time consuming. Experience is definitely a good teacher! Since I’ve learned more about my hair and what makes it thrive, I’ve been able to tweak my regimen.

As I thought about all of the many techniques I tried to incorporate into to maintaining my hair, it made me think about what my mom used to do to maintain my hair as a kid. She didn’t do all of the co-washing, leave ins, deep conditioning, protective styling, and so on and so forth. She would simply wash and condition my hair and then apply hair grease and brush into my pretty pony tails. And believe it or not, this worked!!! So, I once again decided to make a change to a simpler regimen and do what works for me and not what I’ve seen working for others that was not benefiting my hair in any way.

Here is how my regimen has changed:

* No longer am I washing weekly. I now wash my hair once a month.

* No longer am I deep conditioning weekly. I deep condition when I feel like my hair needs it, which tend to be once a month, on wash day.

* No longer do I stress over trying to avoid “cones” like a plague! My hair likes them, so I use products that contain them. If I start to notice build up, I simply co-wash as needed.

* My hair likes hot water! Yes, that’s right! Hot water isn’t taboo where my hair is concerned. I wet my hair with hot water to moisture. This makes absolute sense to me since heat open the cuticles. Afterwards, I apply my leave in and seal.

* I use hair grease as a sealant! And yes, it contains petrolatum! I don’t grease my scalp with it, so no my hair follicles aren’t clogged up. I simply apply to my ends as I would any other oil. And yes, my hair loves it! My coils are tight, springy, and well moisturized.

* I still moisturize twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I’ve noticed that my hair tends to dry out and I have more shedding when I don’t.

* I still DO NOT use protective styling. I do try to do low maintenance styling, however. I love my natural hair and I LOVE wearing it out. Protective styling doesn’t allow for this. So, I just make sure that I’m gentle when manipulating my hair and I keep my hands out of it. (A lesson learned the hard way!)

* I still use LOC, sometimes LCO, and EASE when moisturizing.

Now that I’ve made these changes to my regimen, I’m happier and so is my hair. It’s not breaking, falling out, dry, or unhealthy. My hair is thriving and growing. I think we sometimes get caught up in the ideals and theory that we neglect to experiment and see what works for us. What works for one may not work for another. But we won’t know without experimenting.