Hello there love bugs!!! This is going to be a pretty brief topic
today. Or at least I am going to go about this topic in that manner, but if it
ends up blossoming into a full blown novel, please forgive me. That just means
that I have been inspired somewhere along the way. (^_^) I had been worried
about whether or not I should have started my new hair growth routine by first
having a big chop. Typically “The Big Chop” is a phase that people who have
been in the process of transitioning from relaxed hair to natural hair come to.
Meaning after the new and unprocessed natural hair grows out, the remaining
relaxed or chemically treated hair is “Chopped Off” leaving only the natural
hair to flourish. Sometimes if the person is brave, they cut their chemically
treated hair off when only a few inches of new growth has grown in. In my case,
I have not had chemicals in my hair for close to 10 years. So chemically there
is nothing to chop. But, I did not cut off what I considered all of my split
ends to give me a clean slate prior to starting my goal.
Well, a couple of blogs ago I told you
all that my best friend (My sister) Kalee who is a professional hair stylist,
has never enjoyed cutting my hair. And although I am always quick to chop it
off an inch or 3, she prefers to see if there is anything salvageable and takes
her time in deciding how much hair to cut. She had advised me to put a protein
treatment in my hair first before resorting to chopping it off at the drop of a
hat. My impulsive side said “A treatment ain’t gonna do nothing. I should just
hack off a couple of inches and get this growth thing on the road!” But, my
mature side said “Actually, since I am not a legitimate hair stylist, it
wouldn’t hurt to see if a treatment can determine if my ends can actually seal.
Worst thing that will happen is my hair will need to be cut the amount I am
assuming needs to be cut anyway. And that’s not bad at all!!!”
I said all of that to get to this part.
The Protein Hair Treatment!!! I am not sure if you have heard of a protein hair
treatment. It is sort of like a Mayonnaise treatment (which I did once about 10
years ago…not only did I ruin my favorite pajama top, but I could not eat that
stuff for several years after that…). Basically the juicy oily fats and amino
acids saturate your hair, feeding it while mending split ends and moisturizing
the hair shaft. The treatment that I did was pretty much a basic protein
treatment. I used some extra virgin olive oil, one egg (I probably should have
used 2, but my main focus was on coating the ends and not my entire head) and
some lemon oil extract. My hair literally smelled like a lemon cake!!! LOL!!!
Anywho, I mixed everything together and applied the ointment on my ends.
Actually I saturated my ends in it, and then poured the rest of it all over my
hair. To make sure the treatment would penetrate since I do not use heat in my
hair, I wrapped my hair in a plastic bag, and then wraped my silk scarf on top
of that, just to make sure the plastic bag would not come off.
The following morning, I removed the
scarf and then the bag. My hair however no longer smelled like lemon cake. It
just straight up smelled like food. Eck… disgusture!!! So I took my hair down
and looked at it. My head holds a great deal of heat, and I think because of
that some of the egg sort of started to cook!!! LOL!!! I am sure that is not
normal, but it made me laugh anyway. So, instead of washing the concoction out
of my hair… I sat under the shower and rinsed it off with cooler than warm
water (to prevent further cooking of the egg). I then put some conditioner in
my hair and used the conditioner as a washing agent instead (this is called a
conditioner wash or co-wash. I will explain this process in another blog) and
also combed and detangled my hair. It was very easy for me to comb through my
hair with the conditioner in it. After I finished detangling my hair, I braided
various sections, then put my hair up with a clip to let the conditioner continue
to moisturize my hair while I showered, washed my face and all of that other
good stuff!!! I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair and twisted my hair down
(to stretch my hair out). My hair was pretty much dried in 4 hours or so. I
released it from the twists and finger combed through it. I could see right off
the bat that my hair was a great deal shinier than it was the day before. I also noticed far less split ends after the process was completed. So
the next step was determining how much of my hair had split ends that could not be tamed.
I let Kalee look my virgin locks over
briefly, and she gave me the news. It looked like most of my hair was sealed, and the protein treatment made my hair very silky and shiney. But, it did not eliminate some of the more advanced stage split ends. We would need to chop off between an inch to
two inches of hair in order to keep my tresses healthy. Especially since I have not had a decent trim since I chopped my hair off in June of 2010. My response was… Chop away sis!!! (^_^) It’s funny. I
always love the way my hair looks after it has been cut. The ends are nice and easy to comb through and my tresses are always smooth. I never worry about how much needs
to be cut because it grows back fairly fast. I did notice however, in drier
cities my hair does not grow as fast (California, Arizona, Nevada and on the
West coast where the air is not so humid), But in the South and Midwest
(Chicago, Atlanta, Louisiana etc where humidity is a big part of everyday
climate) my hair grows a considerable amount faster. As a matter of fact, I remember
when I used to live in Michigan. My hair was really long… past bra strap long
when I was little, and I know that has to do with the level of humidity that I
experienced living there. And for African Americans with natural textured hair…
moisture can mean the difference between having your hair grow, and having your
hair break off.
Well, anywho… after getting my hair
trimmed and everything, I rinsed it again and set my hair in curlformers. My
hair didn’t snag or get tangled at all making the process very easy compared to
the last time I did it. I know that has everything to do with having my ends trimmed,
and I am thankful for that. Now, I am looking forward to seeing the results. I am certain my hair will grow like wildfire in no time!!!
Just
for Fun:
I saw this chart to identify types of
split ends. I had NO IDEA there was more than one type of split ends!!! Isn’t
that crazy??? Yes I saw lot’s of different remixes happening in my hair, but I didn’t
actually think there was a name to all of them!!! Super crazy huh???
Well, I think that is all I have to
share with you all for today’s blog. I will make sure to post pictures from the
curlformers results in the next blog. I will also try to have that information
I promised you about Co- Washing (Conditioner washing) because I have decided
that I am going to start doing this treatment more often for my hair, and it is
a great subject to share with you all!!! As always, I hope you guys enjoyed
today’s segment on protein treatments and mending split ends. Hope you tune in
next time. Until then…
Lời Tạm Biệt (^_^)
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