Oiling Your Hair

Hair oiling is so underrated and overlooked.  A complete oiling should be done twice a week.  For hair my length that means a good hour.

A Natural Hairstyle: Twists on 2b Hair

I would do my hair in twists again, I just won't be wearing them out like they're a hairstyle.  For me , this is strictly a hair setting technique.

Tutorial: How to Cover Grey with Henna and Indigo, Part 1 and 2

It is not easy to color grey hair with brown shades using natural hair dye - henna and indigo.  It's doable, certainly, but time consuming.  If using plant-based hair color is of the ultimate importance, regardless of time, then by all means check out the following videos.  These videos demonstrate how to touch up grey by using a mixture of henna and indigo to achieve a dark brown color.  Only Parts 1 and 2 are completed (this is a long process, remember?) and they include co-washing and Part 1 and mixing henna in Part 2.  These are my first videos and I have a lot of room for improvement but I hope they are understable.

The following video is how I mix my henna which I did BEFORE I co-washed my hair....

Hibiscus Flower - Part 4 - Hibiscus Hair Tonic

I typically cover my white with henna/indigo but I want to try something different.  Also, I am going to pick 20 to 30 hibiscus flowers as called for in the recipe and dry them myself.  This color treatment is suppose to be great for covering greys and providing a rich deep dark colour to your hair. I found this recipe for a hibiscus treatment for both color and conditioning:

"Suitable for those with dark red, brown and/or black hair.

Uses:
1. To strengthen the hair from the papila root to tip
2. To cover premature greys
3. To immediately seal the hair cuticles, stop hair breakage and repair split ends

Preparation time required:
10 to 15 minutes

Over low heat, warm 450-500 ml of water
Add 20-30 dried Organic Hibiscus flowers
Simmer, making sure NOT to let the mixture boil or evapourate - too much heat will destroy the goodness in the Hibiscus.
Remove from heat
The water would have turned a dark purply-pink.
Cool and store in a clean dry jar overnight
In the morning, wash your hair with our Babassu Shampoo Bar, rinse, and then instead of using your regular commercial conditioner use the Hibiscus infusion to condition your hair and scalp.

Do not rinse out.

Cover hair with a towel or cling film.
Leave the infusion on your hair for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Rinse until all of the colour is gone.
Your hair and scalp will look & feel soft & moisturised.
..and your greys will be naturally dyed & nourished..

Source: Anita Grant

The Best Hair Dryer Ever

This is the kind of "blow dryer" I remember my mother's haridresser using, only my mom faced away from and under the blower so that the heat blowed on her hair and not her face (duh!).  The heat wasn't real hot but it blowed it dry enough for my mother's hair to be pressed and curled.   Oh yeah, only one dryer per customer was needed.

 I am fifty-five years old and when I was a child there were no blow dryers or hood dryers for the home. My mother would wash my hair in the kitchen sink then make me go outside with a comb and dry it in the sun. The good old reliable sun -Nature's lamp and heater.  It's free, it's good for you in small doses and it's everywhere.  The only problem is supply - it can be very iffy in certain places and certain times of the year.  If it was cold or rainy she would open the oven door and  place a small stool in  front of it where I sat combing my hair.

Although air-drying is the least-damaging, hence the "best" method of drying hair, practically speaking it may not be the best if it means wet hair when you leave home.   Indirect heat like a hood dryer helps to speed up the drying process without causing damage.  Both methods are simplistic but when compared to the blow dryer which blasts intense heat up to 400 degrees a mere inch away from the hair, they almost seems like the common sense thing to do.  I put my blow dryer down in 2009 and have never used it once!

I often dry my hair in a warm room, next to a heater or a fireplace.  Once I set my waves I let my hair dry without touching or combing it.

Rosemary Rinse - Hair Growth Experiment - Week 4

Week Four of consistent application of the rosemary rinse. 

The research analyst in me says maybe I should have measured Lee's hair at the beginning of the experiment so that I could have numerical data but the photographer in me says let the pictures tell the story.

To recap, On May 7, 2011 Lee started using a brew of rosemary juice that I made from herb I bought from a Mexican market.  At the end of Week One her hair had a fuller appearance and she said that she applied it every day.  Read that post here "Rosemary.

So okay, here is Week Four's update and it is a doozy.  The comparison pictures below show four weeks growth which on average is usually about half an inch:


She was even able to use a lower temperature on her curling iron because she had natural waves which became very defined.

  Not only is there noticeable growth in length but the condition of the her hair has improved.  She has been using a rosemary rinse every day for four weeks.



Game Changer - "Wild Growth" Hair Oil





Have you ever tried something new, hoping that everything you've heard about it is true?  Well, that's exactly how I felt when I tried "Wild Growth" hair oil.  I had stumbled upon a forum thread asking about Wild Growth and there were so many positive responses I had to look into it.  



The research blew my mind - so many dang-near-unbelievable claims and promises not only from the company but from the users as well.  Also, the ingredients are completely natural (meaning unprocessed or changed).  To find out exactly what is in the oil click here.

One interesting thing about this oil is that it works on ALL types of hair - Black/African, African Mix, Asian, European, Indian, Middle Eastern, Native American, South American hair types.

So of course I had to try it for myself.  That's where the 'game changer" comes in because after using wild growth my hair became unrecognizable.  Like some magic potion offered from a mysterious elf this oil changed my hair into something otherworldly.  It turned my hair from the ugly duckling to the beautiful swan.  It was a joy to touch it, let it down, run my fingers through it, to just look at it.  I was in a store, speaking to a clerk when I turned around to look at something and the clerk gasped, seriously, she gasped and then she said "your hair is beautiful."  I was at an information booth asking directions and I felt a hand on my hair.  A seventy-ish lady was actually touching my hair!!  She used the words "beautiful" and "dahling."  Please don't think I am conceited or dramatic because my hair NEVER received so much attention and admiration.  Here is my hair after using Wild Growth oil for about a week:



Before Wild Growth my hair was as dry as straw, frizzy and easily tangled.  But not only does the oil conditions it actually makes hair thicker and last longer before falling out.  In other words, less hair comes out whne combed or brushed which makes combing less stressful.  My temples were thinning.  In fact they were practically bald.  I was so self-conscious of the bald spots I actually rubbed a lttle eyebrow pencil on them to make less noticeable (at least they seemed that way to me, someone probably thought "why is she penciling in her temples?").  Well, Wild Growth solved all that for me.  Not only has hair on temples grown back in but even better than before!  If only Naomi Campbell knew about Wild Growth.  Here are before and after pictures on my right temple:

I will be using Wild Growth for the rest of my life.  It won't be the only oil I used but it will be a staple.  It's sold at Sally Beauty stores for $7.99 (here in Los Angeles) for a 4 oz. bottle.  Those four ounces go a long long way, I probably buy  every four months or so.

Oh yes, one last thing.  Wild Growth comes in two types.  The heavier, original oil is in the white bottle and the lighter oil comes in the yellow bottle, both for the same price.  If you can, buy both, if you can only buy one get the white bottle.  I use the heavier oil on my scalp alone and the lighter oil on my hair.  Typically I run out of the yellow bottle faster than the white bottle so I try to buy two yellow bottles and one white bottle.  I especially rubbed the oil into my temple area but I did my ENTIRE scalp. 

My scalp itched - a lot - but this is a common occurance judging from the blogs and forums

I really believe in this product - I have not exaggerated anything - and I will be offering Wild Growth for sale on my site in the near future!