Hey there now Love Bugs!!!
(^_^)
MAN…
it has been soooooooo long since I have actually written in this blog. I know
some of you have totally lost interest !!! LOL. I do not blame you either. BUT…
I think I have some really awesome information that I can share now!!! (^_^)
And that is always good!!!
SO…
in the multiple weeks that I have been
missing in action, I have been really
taking this new hair care regiment to a whole new level!!! Since the second
week of June up until now, I have been co- washing my hair at a minimum of
twice a week. And I always completely wet my hair every time I take a shower or
a bath. Mind you, I have not set my hair in curlformers for some time now. So,
most of the hair styles that I have been wearing as of late have not even
required additional tools outside of
goody hair bands, a wide tooth comb, a soft bristle brush and silk hair
scarf. I still have not applied any form
of heat to my hair ( including a well positioned blow dryer ) since March and I
am proud to say that I believe my hair has really appreciated it!!!
I
mentioned co-washing hair during the summer. Well, the reason I said that is
because I believe it is important to know that your hair naturally goes through
periods in which growth time is diminished or enhanced based on the time of
year. Sometimes we believe that our hair is actually falling out , when in fact
that may not be the case. During the summer, we shed a certain amount of hair.
Just like animals do. Funny huh??? Well, not really when you look at it from
this perspective. During the winter, our hair grows. Sort of like how the fur
of any animal thickens in order to prepare for living in colder temperatures
during the season change. We too have the same thing working for us during the
winter that the bears rabbits and other outdoor animals have. So naturally we
shed hair in the summer , and grow our hair noticeably thicker during the
winter.
With
that being said, it is important to know what to look for to determine whether
you are shedding hair, or your hair is actually falling out. The hair that is
supposed to be shed comes from the scalp and does not break off at shorter
lengths typically. The shed hair has a white bulb at the end of it. If you see
that, then rest assured the hair that has “fallen” out of your head was
actually naturally shed. It was time for that hair to depart. (^_^) But, if you
find that really short pieces of hair are breaking off, then this may be a
result of not having enough moisture to bring elasticity to your hair. This imbalance can be corrected by using water
based hair products to restore moisture to your dry mane. If your hair is way
too elastic or mushy feeling it could mean that you do not have enough protein
in your hair.
You
can always do a wet assessment on your hair to determine whether your hair is
balanced, and if it is not… based on the results of the test you can correct
the issue. I found a remarkable site called The Science of Black Hair (www.blackhairscience.com) and it
gives very good instructions on how to determine the state your hair is in. Usually
in order to perform a wet assessment, it is best to take a shower and evaluate
your hair when your entire head has been rinsed in water. I will list the
information pertaining to the wet assessment below:
Wet
Assessment Hair Breakage Break Down
If your hair:
- (When Wet or Dry) Stretches slightly and returns to its original
length without breaking, you are balanced! Stick with maintaining!
- (When Wet or Dry) Stretches a little more than normal then breaks, you
need more protein in your regimen.
- (When Wet or Dry)Stretches, stretches, stretches with no significant
breakage yet, add a bit more protein to your regimen.
- (Wet)- Feels weak, gummy, mushy, or limp, you need to add more protein
to your regimen.
- (Wet or Dry) Experiences very little to no stretching, and simply
snaps or breaks, you need to increase the moisture in your regimen.
- (Dry) Feels rough, tough, hard, dry, tangly, brittle, or any
combination of those, you need more moisture in your regimen.
- Unsure? Err on the side of caution and give your hair more moisture.
So now that you have figured out what type of hair breakage you have, what
should you do?
I sort of do an assessment every
time I co- wash my hair because the conditioner that I use has a certain amount
of protein in it. Although some of my friends who have been co- washing their
hair for quite some time now have stated that it does not make sense to
purchase expensive conditioners just to co- wash, just buy some el cheapo’s. Well…
I admit that I have not adhered to their suggestions. For the most part I have
been solely using Abba Moisture conditioner (http://pureabba.com/products/moisture/moisture-conditioner)
to cleanse my hair. Although this is not a purely organic product, I really
appreciate the way it leaves my hair feeling clean and does invigorate my scalp
with the wild mint extract that is used in the product. Since I only wash my hair once a month now, I
have decided to go with another organic product by Giovanni’s (Invigorating Tea
Tree Triple Treat Shampoo) opposed to using Aubrey
Organics this time around. I was actually shocked with how this shampoo worked
on my hair after limiting the shampoo process. My hair was squeaky clean, and
was very soft and easy to manage. Also, the moment I run out of abba pure
moisture conditioner to co- wash my hair with, I am going to switch that
conditioner with Aubrey Organics - GPB Glycogen Protein Balancing Conditioner
Rosemary Peppermint and Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose
Moisturizing Conditioner For Dry, Brittle Hair. (http://www.aubrey-organics.com/ProductInfo/351.aspx)
I usually use Aubrey’s Honeysuckle Rose Shampoo when I am washing, but I have
decided to try switching up my products to give me a bit of variety. Although
for the most part my hair is no longer showing signs of being deplete of
moisture, I still like to use products that can easily target the issues that
for so long have plagued my hair.
Now when it comes to styling my hair, I
have started to include three items that seem to be working on maintaining my
naturally curly hair or rather shaping them closer to their natural texture. Mind
you, all of the products that I ma not using are not 100% organic. As a matter
of fact, there is actually only three things that I have been using on my hair
that are 100% organic. And that is Water, one of my leave in hair conditioners
and the shampoo that I am using for the time being. Immediately after I step
out of the shower, I make sure to apply tresemme Leave- in split end
conditioning treatment throughout my hair as well as Giovanni’s Vitapro Fusion Leave-In Hair Treatment. After I have applied these leave
in hair treatments and finger comb through my hair, I sparingly apply Kinky-Curtly
Curling custard to the edges of my hair and the ends. I do not use very much of
the kinky- curly because
1) it is like over $20 per 8oz container if
purchased at whole foods and
2) because I do not yet feel that it is 100% the
main reason my hair curls have been considerably more defined towards the back
portion of my head.
Since I have not noticed a
difference in the completeness of my curls towards the front of my head, I am
not going to rely on using more of this kinky- curly product. But, what I will
do is continue to use it to see if it takes the hair time to adjust to the
product positively in order to see a change in the curl definition.
Well , anywho, I have noticed
that my hair has been responding exceptionally well to being co- washed opposed
to using shampoo’s with each shower. My hair has been manageable and very
vibrant in terms of being soft and bouncy. And all of this has taken place
during the part of the year where my hair typically starts to not only shed,
but break off incessantly due to lack of moisture. I am super stoked because if
my hair has not been breaking off (which it hasn’t) I cannot wait to see what
type of weed like growth is going to take place during the fall and winter
seasons!!! (^_^)
I have taken some pictures of my
hair, but I have run into the problem again with being able to load the pictures
onto my laptop!!! But as soon as I am able to get them uploaded, I will post
them to this blog!!! I had a super amount of fun with this post!!! I hope you
guys enjoyed it as much as I did. Although I did not write a single blog post
in June, I am hopeful that my schedule will not prevent me from writing about
more information that I discover on this hair journey!!! Thank you once
again for tuning into my blog. I am hopeful that I will have another
interesting topic next time… until then have a fantastical summer and don’t do
anything I wouldn’t do… (like cut your hair off , set it in the twiggy style
and dye it blood red just for shyts and giggles)
Viso gero (^_^)
