Life & Hair Update + Freeforming?

Toodles! The past week has been intense. The semester is ending so everyone has finals and projects. Only a day of school left for me and I am then taking off to North Carolina! I'm moving ya'll, and it feels so good to get out of the dirty south. I've been packing and eliminating so many things that I have surprisingly accumulated over the few months I've been in my current place. I have 2 big, black bags of clothes to donate and I am planning to only take two pieces of luggage with me so I have a lot more work to do!

  The other day I washed my hair with a new shampoo from Neutrogena called Daily Control. It's a gentle dandruff shampoo made for daily use. I only purchased it because the Nizoral was all sold out and I didn't trust anything else in the dandruff shampoo selection to use on my hair. Anyway, I decided not to retwist because I didn't have time so I let it air dry and when I came home, it looked so full and healthy! The puffiness of the roots doesn't bother me as much as the shrinkage does. I was actually considering not retwisting for a while and just separating every other day but I think I am going ot wait until my hair gets past my shoulders to do that, this was it has some wieght to it and the shrinkage won't bother me as much :-). I've been eating healthier and drinking more water to get back on track so my hair has not been breaking/shedding much lately.



The move doesn't happen until the weekend after this so until then I will be posting a lot more often since school will be out. I don't know how soon I will be able to get internet there so we'll see! Keep checking back here for updates :-). I plan to update my Fotki this week and/or add some subpages to the blog.

Product Review: Tresemmé Fresh Start (ooh la la :-)

I picked up some goodies the other day from the department store beauty aisle and I think I'm in love, ya'll :-). When I did my last retwist, I had decided that I want to wait AT LEAST 3-4 weeks before the next one so that I can avoid over twisting. My hair was starting to smell "unclean" so I went looking for a dry shampoo when I stumbled across the Tresemmé Fresh Start line.

I was a little reluctant at first but it was pretty much the only dry shampoo they had so I brought it along with the Refreshing Mist and I am so glad I did! I am more than satisfied with the way these products work with my hair. The scent is absolutely DIVINE, slightly citrus-y but very fresh and clean. Two of the best smelling products I've tried in a looong time.  I would buy this product line just for the scent alone! It gives the hair that "just washed" smell. I purchased the Waterless Foam Shampoo, which is the one for curly hair as well as the Refreshing Mist (odor neutralizing spritz A.K.A heaven in a bottle). The Refreshing Mist is used after the Waterless Shampoo.  My hair didn't feel dried out or weighed down and there is no white residue that you normally get from some dry shampoos, it just simply absorbs into the hair upon contact and both of them cool the scalp and are extremely light. It's been about 3-4 days and my hair still smells and feels clean, I give the product 5 out of 5 stars. Has anyone tried this? Let me know what you think!

It feels good to know that I can go without shampooing and not feel self conscious about the way my hair smells. My hair has grown almost a half inch since the last retwist and I am pushing for another week and a half! :-)

Hair Regimen

     After recently switching up my hair routine, I've decided to share my current hair regimen. I'm discovering that it is more effective to care for my locs by listening to my specific hair needs rather than going by general information and when my locs respond poorly to a product I've tried, I know to go a different route. When my hair is dry, rather than using a moisturizer in the form of oil or creams, I spritz it with water or a water/essential oil mixture.  I used to be so afraid to get my locs wet in the shower or to go out in the rain, but I've noticed that my hair really likes water!

My hair when wet  2/08/11

   Locs don't necessarily have to shine in order to prove that they are healthy, but they are supposed to feel flexible and supple to the touch. If your hair feels dry and brittle then you may need to switch up your  regimen. I am a firm believer that good hair starts with a healthy scalp. The health of the scalp is essential to healthy and strong hair so I make it a point to pay extra attention to the condition of my scalp and my roots. Here is what I am currently doing for my hair and it seems to be working well so far:

• AVC Rinses- I do them weekly. I dilute one part apple cider vinegar with 10 parts water and I like to use a spray bottle (It's less messy) containing the solution to spritz my hair after I shampoo. I leave on a shower cap for 30 mins and I rinse away. Apple cider vinegar removes build-up from the hair, kills bacteria and it also smooths the hair shaft. I've done this twice so far and it really works well for my SD.
• Nizoral (As my shampoo)
• Distilled water + Essential oil- Right now I use Rosemary oil because it's supposedly great for dandruff; However, I have not seen any change in my SD while using this, BUT it works great as a moisturizer believe it or not. I put 20 drops of the oil into about 5-6 cups of distilled water.
• Fish oil supplements + Drinking lots of water- Fish oil is excellent for your general health but it also benefits the nails and hair. I've seen a HUGE difference in the softness of my hair while taking these supplements. Also drinking lots of water as we all know, is the BEST thing for your hair. If you had to pick only one thing for the health of your hair, it should be drinking lots of water. I've heard this time and time again and it is so true!
  
  

Right now, these are all of the products I use on my hair consistently. I have not been using conditioner since my last salon retwist which was nearly 2 months ago and my hair feels fine. I am not recommending any of these products listed above because every one's hair is different but this is what works for my hair. I DO; However, recommend listening to your hair. It may sound crazy but it will tell you what it needs by showing you. :-)

Product Review: Nizoral Shampoo + JML Locking Gel!

I suffer from Sebhorreic Dermatitis, that's no secret. I am very honest about it and am consistently trying to find ways to battle the condition on my scalp without harming my hair. A few days ago, I began using Nizoral Non-Prescription Strength Shampoo which is specifically made to treat Psoriasis and Sebhorreic Dermatitis. It contains 1% Ketoconazole which is supposed to kill the fungus that causes dandruff as opposed to Salicylic acid which acts as a peeling agent to encourage the growth of new skin cells on the scalp. I have used Head & Shoulders, Selsun Blue and Neutrogena T-Gel shampoos. They did not work for me and the Head & Shoulders actually irritated my scalp. I decided it was time to give Nizoral a turn!

It has a very pleasant odor and it's actually blue in color just like the bottle. Although the instructions did not read that it should be left on the scalp for a certain period of time before being rinsed away like many other dandruff shampoos, I decided to do it anyway. I left it on for about 2 minutes until I felt a mild burning sensation on my scalp. I rinsed it out and was surprised to see that most of my dandruff was eliminated from my scalp as well as my locs which could have been partially due to the AVC rinse. My scalp felt very clean and it did not dry out my hair at all, However, over the next few days I could literally see and feel the dandruff coming back. I give this product 2 out of 5 stars. With that, I must add that the instructions read to use every 3-4 days for 8 weeks so I will continue to use it for at least a month and report back with the results.

On to the next one....

I wanted to try a new gel on my hair so I chose the Jamaican Mango & Lime Locking Gel, not only because everyone and  their entire family seems to use this product line :) but because I've heard so many great things about it. I came across a picture of a woman with the most gorgeous set of locs and she told me that she uses this and that it doesn't cause build up. I had to try it.

I can honestly say that I like this gel. The only thing I was turned off by was the color. From what I've heard, the darker the gel, the more build up it leaves behind but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. One of the ingredients that caught my eye was the Lime Extract. I've done research on essential oils and lime has bactericidal properties which is known to tame dandruff. The gel has a very pleasant tropical odor and a little goes a long way. Once dried, my hair felt soft and healthy. It didn't leave that hard, crusty feel that I am used to with salon retwists. The hold is not the best but it made my hair look, move and feel very natural. I give this product 3.5 out of 5 stars. I would HIGHLY recommend this if you are looking for a more natural look rather than a perfect, every-hair-in-it's-place, salon retwist.