It has been long since I updated you on my current regimen which has since changed from what I used to do back in 2014. As I learn my hair more and more and as my lifestyle changes, I tweak things as I go along so that my regimen suits my lifestyle and I do not end up neglecting my hair. I have quite a heavy schedule right now and while I like the MHM, my lifestyle does not allow for such because of time constraints. So I have come up with a routine that is kind to my hair while being done in the shortest possible time. Picking some things from the MHM and making it work for me though I minimise the gel styling as this gives me more single strand knots than I can manage.
Apple cider vinegar
You know I have been on a Healthy, Thicker Longer hair challenge since the beginning of March 2014 and I have been posting weekly updates that became fortnightly and now I think once every month is more sustainable as I have other stuff to post on besides my hair escapades. So, I am going to round up April which is my second month on the #HTL hair challenge in this post and my next update will be towards the end of May 2014 with a length check as well. So far so good I can say although there are a number of frustrations and setback here and there. However, my hair is improving quite a lot and I have a lot of new growth which is much thicker and healthier. Am so excited already for how my hair will be like after 6 months or 12 months. For some background on this hair challenge, please read, #HTL Hair challenge. As I said my hair is improving and my edges are growing in as well. It kind of feels like transitioning because I am dealing with two different textures already, as in one which is massively thick and the other quite weak and fragile. Although this development brings joy to me, it has brought with it some challenges which I will discuss in a bit. I am not doing any length check this far. I will only do at the end of May which will mark my end of month 3 on this challenge. Not sure if it is some placebo thing going on, but I do feel my hair is indeed growing thicker and longer.
The twists only lived to see their second week and I was done. Removed them because they were looking so untidy I don’t believe in looking all untidy and ugly just because I wear my hair natural. No ma’am. So they had to go and I took them out.
Got a number of questions from a reader of this blog via email. I get quite a lot of them and I found it useful to address the issues here in case someone has the exact same question/s as the ones she asked. We are going to call her Gloria for now because I did not get permission to use her name.
So the mail starts like this:
Gloria: Hope you are keeping well, I was just watching your videos on the garlic treatment and on the TLH challenge – and I have a question for you- so right now I’m trying to keep as natural as I can because I’ve lost some hair before (around December 2013) and I just want my hair back! so my regimen looks like this. Every week (I try) to wash it Saturdays, usually if I can I use a mix of oil and water (olive oil, castor oil and coconut oil + glycerine) as a pre-poo, and wear a shower cap over and a woollen hat then I sleep and wash it out the next morning.
Hey folks. I hope I find you well. Who thought of using clay as a cleanser? Is it not supposed to make anything it gets in contact with dirty? This seems not to be the case with bentonite clay. I finally tried bentonite clay and I am really impressed. Why I waited this long to try it out, I am not sure. Maybe it’s because I had a regimen that seemed to be working so trying out new stuff was not really top priority. But now, I am glad I took time to try it. It is amazing.
My answer to this one will be YES, YES and YES. I also thought it was not that important to use a leave-in conditioner after washing my hair and little did I know that was the deal breaker to my quest for longer healthier hair. Need I say more?
I have been fighting fierce battles with dandruff lately, let’s say from about the first week of November thereabout until the third week of November. I tried all the remedies that used to work in the past but to no avail. I did the ACV rinse as usual but the situation seemed to be getting worse rinse after rinse. I then decided to do the lemon juice remedy and my scalp stung as if I had sores on it. (Maybe I did have sores from all the scratching.) I used the lemon remedy twice, and later decided to apply olive oil mixed with castor oil. There was relief only for a day and the next day, the itchy scalp was back again this time without the unsightly dandruff because my scalp was quite moist so the dandruff was not visible. I then happened to visit a friend this last Friday, 23rd of November and related my ordeal to her. She recommended using baby oil on the scalp saying she had the same problem and baby oil worked for her to rid the scalp of dandruff. I was quite taken back but since I already have baby oil in the house I decided to give it a try.
Do you have a problem with dandruff? Try the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse. I have had dandruff issues since I was a little girl. No matter what shampoo or hair food I used, the flakes used to always return in no less than a week. I have used most of the shampoos including medicated ones some after being prescribed by my doctor trying to get rid of this problem to no avail. Greasing my scalp with most of the hair foods which claim to help with dandruff only made my condition worse and got my scalp so itchy I would scratch all day until I hurt myself from all the scratching.