It's officially been over a month that I've worn my hair in a protective style.
Can I just say easier to manage?
Don't get me wrong, I loooooove wearing my hair out (because my hair doesn't do "down") but everything has been going more smoothly since wearing two strand twists.
I'll be doing a length check next week just to see what's new :-)
Since the beginning of my hair journey I have come a long way, tried a lot of products and have shared with you what works for me.
This is why I've decided to create a website that helps others find the right products and share in more detail what has helped me get this far.
There is hope for your strands so don't give up and get frustrated with your hair. Just care for it.
I'm not even sure how many days I've been using the GHE method anymore. I suppose it's not really important though. I've been doing it for over a month now. Beyond that? I'm not so sure.
The results have always been softer, moisturized hair and I'm also pleased to announce I no longer have the "finger in hair" habit. I've got a long way to go before I reach my goal length but I know patience is key and that I'll get there eventually.
To be candid, I never really saw the point in keeping my hair in a protective style. I've always been a fan of wearing my hair loose with my ends exposed. I don't think NOT wearing my hair in a protective style for a long period of time will make or break my ends, but I am a fan of quick and easy styling.
I've been wearing my hair in 2 strand twists now for about a month and it has definitely made a difference in how fast I can detangle my hair when moisturizing and sealing on a daily basis. When cleansing my hair in sections after wearing my hair down for a few days, it takes me a lot longer to detangle than when I've been wearing my hair in a protective style.
I think it's important to use protective styling when you're short on time. I actually find protective styling beneficial when I'm feeling lazy as well because I know my hair has been moisturized and sealed so there is no hair emergency going on.
It's on my lazy days that I simply spritz my hair with my mixture and oil my scalp and give myself a quick massage before heading to bed or out the door. This allows me to not be late for work and it also allows me to not feel guilty of hair negligence. So it's a win-win situation.
It's 5:55am. Why am I awake? Because I fell asleep without oiling my scalp last night. Yesterday was a long day and I completely kept putting off the oiling process to do other things like laundry and steam cleaning the carpet.
I guess things always come up that can interfere with a healthy routine, but now that I'm up and back on track I can rest easy and hop back into bed!
Thought of the day: Many times we may forget something crucial that leads to succeeding in us reaching our goals, but it's important to realize that we should not discard that action entirely. Do it when it's remembered and don't call yourself a failure. Tell yourself "now I remember and with remembrance I will succeed".
I know it's a bit deep when concerning the topic of hair, but I guess I take my hair very seriously!
I finally styled my twists a way that I like so I don't feel the need to hide my hair under my hat!
I've been taking my vitamin supplements daily, in the mornings. My lashes are longer to the point that I don't even need to use mascara now.
Here's the list of vitamins I take that are supposed to aid in hair growth:
Silica 500 mg
Biotin 1000 mcg
One A Day Women's Vitamin
MSM 1000 mg (sometimes I take 2 of these in one day, making 2000 mg)
I drink a lot of water so the breakout horror stories I've read about haven't happened to me, but I did get a couple of tiny bumps that were barely visible. I can definitely see how the crazy breakouts can happen but I think it's a temporary thing until your body gets all of the impurities out.
I've had my hair in two strand twists for the past two weeks but tonight I'm going to be cowashing my hair because it's been too long and my hair is begging me :-)
Prior to that, I did flat iron my hair (I felt like doing something a bit different), so I've included that photo as well.
I have avoided the GHE for the past 5 days because I flat ironed my hair. I'm pleased to report it's shoulder length! Yes, I gave in and did a length check. I couldn't help myself. It rained yesterday so my hair is now an afro, so I'll be cowashing and doing two strand twists along with the GHE.
Last night I simply sprayed water on my hair and applied the original Wild Growth Oil to my scalp and applied my GHE gear. My hair definitely seems to have less shrinkage and more curl definition.
Tonight I'm going to be applying my castor oil to seal my ends after putting on the leave in. Then I'll apply my WGO to my scalp even though the instructions say use 3x per week. I haven't seen any flakes or thin film like some claim to have gotten.
I dropped by Sally Beauty Supply again and picked up the original Wild Growth oil so I have moisturized and sealed my hair with my new mixture (leave in, castor oil and both Wild Growth formulas after spraying with water) and I'm now wearing my GHE head gear.
I was expecting the original formula to smell way different, but other than the rose oil smell in the light formula they smell very similar. I'm liking the smell actually. Detangling was much faster and already I can feel my hair starting to tingle. Apparently I sweat very easily.
My twists are getting longer so I may have to start holding certain twists up with hair pins because I don't like my hair on my ears while I'm sleeping :-/
Well I'm calling it a night, just wanted to update the info on my search for the Wild Growth Oils.
Long story short... It was awesome. I love how my scalp felt after applying the scrub and washing it out. My only complaint is that it was sticky so I could have gone without the sugar. The smell was good because I mixed it with my conditioner.
Afterwards, I applied the wild growth light oil moisturizer and it made my hair so soft and manageable. Detangling was a breeze and I can't wait to mix it with the original formula. This morning after removing my GHE gear, my hair was shiny and even softer!
I think I've finally gained healthy hair!
I'm currently still wearing my GHE gear. I decided to do an all day deep condition/protein treatment (my deep conditioner contains protein and keratin) which I mixed with castor oil (of course). I've been wearing this since about 8 pm last night and my scalp is slightly burning but it's a pleasant feeling. No itching and a little tingling.
I've been terrible at keeping up with uploading my hair photos simply because I'm usually blogging from my phone and I use my Nikon to take photos of my hair for better quality images. Last night I was shocked at how much thicker and longer my twists have gotten, but I'm still fighting the urge to do a length check.
So far I've been successful keeping my fingers out of my hair and THAT is a huge plus for me. I'm not walking around constantly rubbing my hair. I imagine when I was doing that, I looked like a prude *lol*.
Tonight I'm going to do my cayenne/sugar scalp scrub just to ensure my deep conditioner doesn't leave build up and then I'm going to rinse thoroughly (and carefully) and moisturize and seal as usual. I'll reapply my GHE gear and then remove it in the morning. I think my hair is going to thank me for it.
Last night I was lazy, but I won't be skipping my GHE anymore and that is a promise I intend to keep.
I simply sprayed my hair with water and oiled my scalp with my wild growth light moisturizer, untwisted my hair, oiled the ends and retwisted, applied my shower cap and satin bonnet and called it a night. My hair is a bit tingly today and I left my hair in twists, covered it with my satin bonnet and put my favorite hat on.
Tonight I'm going to cowash and do my scalp scrub, and this weekend I'm going to do a protein treatment and deep condition.
My hair has gotten thicker, to the point that even finger parting my hair is a new challenge. However, I welcome it.
I've skipped 2 days of doing the GHE (shame on me) but I'm officially back at it. My hair has definitely gotten thicker. With everything I'm doing, it's hard to say exactly what's causing it, but I hope it continues and I don't plan to change much more about my routine.
I've decided to leave my hair in two strand twists unless I'm going out and have even thought about leaving them in then and just adding accessories. I'm not sure yet. I've also decided to purchase the JBCO and see how that works before trying the HBCO. I figure... why not?
It can't hurt.
Again, my hair is soft and fluffy and shiny as all get out, but I think my hair is also crying for some protein since I did a strand test and it snapped. SO!! I'll do doing that this week. I have to cowash my hair and do my weekly scalp scrub, this time I've added cayenne pepper. Hopefully this goes well and once I get my wild growth hair oil I'm probably going to start using my Cantu leave in as a spray (maybe add the cayenne to that as well) so... I'm going through quite a few changes until I've found an easier moisturize and seal method for me. I wish I'd known these things earlier, I'd probably already be at APL. Patience, however, is something I possess so I'm ready to wait this out while doing everything I can do reach my goal length (waist length)
So, I ended up going to Sally Beauty Supply and guess what? They were out of the original Wild Growth Oil!! On a good note, though, I was able to purchase the light formula and the associate told me they'll have more Wednesday. So I'll be back Wednesday. I used the light formula this morning to oil my scalp but I won't be using it again until I get the original formula.
Tonight I was going to do something new. I was going to do my weekly scalp scrub (sugar mixed with my conditioner) and I added cayenne pepper. I'm a little nervous to try it. I hope it doesn't burn, only tingles.
I guess I'll be mixing a little more of my detangling cocktail afterall :-)
I'm putting off the scalp scrub, cowashing and deep conditioning treatment until tomorrow night. Tonight I'm just going to moisturize and seal and do the GHE.
It's been a long day so I'm going to grab a bite to eat and relax.
I'm going to head to Sally Beauty Supply today and grab 3 things: Wild Growth Hair Oil, Wild Growth Light Moisturizing Oil and an applicator bottle. Why get an applicator bottle when the oils already come in an applicator bottle? Well, because I'm going to MIX the 2 together along with my cold pressed castor oil.
I don't expect wild growth, but I do expect this to make my hair more manageable and more bouncy over time. Maybe even more defined twist outs, if that's possible.
Many people have said their hair has grown faster when using this oil, so if I have similar results I'm totally going to welcome those results. Why wouldn't I? Most importantly, I want my new growth to be more manageable.
Hopefully this works! I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to continue to include my Cantu leave-in in my regimen. It's definitely staying, I'm just not sure if I want to mix with my water and spray from my bottle, or if I just want to dip in the jar and make this into a "spray-dip-seal" 3 step routine. Decisions decisions...
I'm excited to add the Wild Growth products to my regimen. I can hardly contain myself. Too many positive reviews to ignore it.
I decided to do some research on essential oils on a quest to create an all natural hair perfume. Along the way I ran into numerous sites and reviews that mentioned WGO (Wild Growth Oil). I'm sold. I want to get some. Not because I think it'll speed my hair growth, but because it's got oils that I have been wanting to try (and one I've tried and know works well for moisturizing). Now, this oil has nothing to do with my original search, but I thought I'd share it because I think it may become a staple product for me.
Olive oil, jojoba oil and coconut oil are the main ingredients that made me want to get this. It also has iron and vitamin E which is a huge plus for me. The original WGO is the one I'm referring to, in the white bottle with green writing. They also have one in a yellow bottle, which I also plan to try because it has castor oil and... Yep, essential oils that are meant to deodorize. Apparently the only complaint most people had, as far as I could see, was the smell. I'll survive, I can handle an herbal smell. I think it also has sulphur as well. Even better :-)
I'm going to mix both the WGO and WGO light moisturizer together with some of my own castor oil I've been using. So for a while I'm going to sit my detangling cocktail to the side to see how this stuff works. I'll just use the Cantu Shea Leave-In separately like I was before. Actually, I have so little of my cocktail left, I may use it tonight to finish it off so it's not sitting there looking so lonely :-) then just use the oil on my scalp.
A lot of people say the WGO is thick, but my hair seems to love thick, heavy oils because my hair doesn't feel weighed down, but still feels moisturized and soft. Hopefully this oil works well with the GHE.. I don't see why it wouldn't. I'll just have to find out.
Last night I skipped the GHE because I didn't feel my hair needed it. Tonight I'm going to do it though. I still think my hair has grown a little and I'm tempted to do a length check, but I'm going to hold off for a couple months. *fingers crossed* I'm excited to try the WGO and it's going to be even more exciting if it works like the company claims (and many others claim as well).
Yesterday I noticed my skin was VERY soft and moisturized. I have read online that silica increases the body's collagen retention and could indeed help with stretch marks (which I have) and also read that MSM does as well.
Now, I'm not sure which is doing it, the silica or the MSM at this point. I'm going to guess the MSM since that is the supplement I've been chewing and they say powder form doesn't need to be altered by the digestive system. I couldn't bring myself to chew the silica (horsetail extract) the taste of the tablet in my mouth without chewing is enough to make me realize I couldn't handle THAT *lol*. I have also noticed the area around my nose isn't dry as it usually is so I haven't needed to use my moisturizer daily. I just use it at my own leisure now.
Last night, I decided to detangle my hair a couple of hours before applying my shower cap for the greenhouse effect and this morning it was VERY slightly damp. I think I'm going to start doing it this way because my hair was dry in about 5 minutes after removing my head gear :-)
My hair continues to be soft every morning and, as I stated before in another post, I could almost SWEAR my hair has grown a little. My detangling cocktail makes the process a lot easier for me (fewer steps) and by the time I'm done I'm not stressed out at all.
I'm really considering doing a protein treatment, but not sure if I need it or not. I can add an egg to my deep conditioner, but I don't want to use the same cap I use for my nightly GHE since I just cleaned it.
I'll think it over... Maybe I'll do it just to be safe and ensure I get the protein I need, since it's been a while.
I'm officially going to get some haitian black castor oil once I'm done with my cold pressed castor oil. It's just too tempting to say no to. Maybe I'll even get better results with this oil. I may also try jamaican black castor oil after that just to see what the difference is (if there is a difference at all) and see what all the hype is about.
As you know, I'm taking a multivitamin, silica, biotin and MSM. I want to see how well this aids in hair growth. My main interest is in lengthening my hair's growth phase because the hair I do lose has white bulbs on the ends. So, with that said, I believe I have a great growth rate but am lacking in the growth phase department.
I've been chewing my MSM so it works faster (1000 mg) and hopefully I'll start to notice changes in the next month.
I've uploaded a photo of my ideal hair length at this point. Once I've reached that goal I'll upload a new hair inspiration .
Long hair, here I come!!
So I thought last night's post was published last night, but apparently it didn't but oh well, it's published now! :-)
Today my hair smells awesome. My scalp is still tingling and feels pleasantly tight. As I mentioned before, I didn't section my hair before co-washing so it took me longer to detangle (almost an hour!) but that won't be happening again. I think next time I'll use my spray bottle to wet my hair and then apply my conditioner before I get in the shower. That way I can section my hair and take my time doing it.
Maybe I'm crazy, but it does seem my hair has grown a bit since I started the GHE. I seem to have a bit of new growth, judging by my roots and how much farther my twists seem to stretch...but like I said, maybe I'm just crazy. I'm not ready to do another length check yet. I guess part of me wants it to be a surprise. I'm going to be ecstatic when my hair reaches APL (arm pit length).
I'm looking forward to even more positive changes with my hair.
I'm thinking of ditching the shower cap for some plastic caps because the shower cap crackles so much it sometimes wakes me up when I change sleeping positions. But, until I get some plastic caps I will hang on to the shower cap.
I finally co-washed my hair and did my sugar scalp scrub. My hair feels amazing! Super soft. I didn't co-wash in sections (which I regret because it took longer to detangle even with my detangling cocktail) but my scalp is tingly because of the tea tree conditioner I used tonight. I have my shower cap on and am laying in bed dozing, but wanted to blog because this has also become a habit.
I wore my favorite hat again today over my satin bonnet because the material my hat is made of is drying for my hair and left a few twists out for style.
The scalp scrub definitely does wonders for my scalp. I also looked at the ingredients of my conditioner and it contains BIOTIN! Go VO5!
Last night I did the GHE and this morning my hair thanked me for it big time. My hair said "how dare you skip a day of pampering me!"
My nails are growing a LOT faster and I just filed them because they were making opening a bottle a challenge. I'm not sure if my hair has gotten any longer yet but it has definitely gotten softer. I'm not sure which thing I'm doing or taking that's causing that, but as long as my hair is happy, I'm happy.
I still didn't co-wash my hair but I'm DEFINITELY going to be doing that tonight along with my sugar scrub.
So last night I didn't do the GHE. Why? Because I had other, more intimate plans *cheesy smile* but I did sleep in my satin bonnet, of course. I was in a hurry last night so I didn't do my co-wash or scalp scrub. I think there is a reason things happen because I actually found a VO5 conditioner I'd like to try tonight. It's the tea tree vanilla mint clarifying conditioner. It smells AMAZING and I can't wait to try it tonight.
I'll be doing the GHE tonight again.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention I got my MSM yesterday! I was starting to feel anxious without it because I know it lengthens the hair's growth phase. I couldn't find the capsules so I got the tablets but I just chew them and down the powder with a glass of water because I heard since the body doesn't have to digest powder, it's not altered and therefore powder works better. Of course, I also will continue to take my biotin, silica and multivitamin with the MSM.Sorry, just can't see buying Hairfinity.
I've also noticed (not sure if I mentioned this before) that my hair grows faster in the back and on the sides than the front. My bangs are at my nose now and already they are longer than they ever were when I got relaxers, but I'm going to be one happy camper when they reach my chin!
Today I've gone with two strand twists and my favorite hat. Tonight I'll be doing my weekly co-wash and sugar scrub. I may even throw some honey in for added moisture but that all depends on how I feel.
Of course, I'll also be doing my nightly GHE and moisturizing and sealing with my detangling cocktail.
I'm not sure if my hair is any longer this week than last week, but I do know I'm having to take more time to finger part my hair. This is one reason I've been keeping my hair in two strand twists: at night all I have to do is untwist, spritz with water and seal then retwist.
I can see that my hair care regimen has become a habit. On my way back home from the day, I'm thinking "I can't wait to get home and moisturize and seal my hair". If I don't, I can't sleep. I used to dread doing my hair but now it has become somewhat of an emotional therapy for me.
The itching isn't as extreme and my hair feels so soft and fluffy and light. My curl definition is awesome since I created my detangling cocktail and it feels so light and not weighed down by product. I feel it's because the GHE lets the products absorb into my hair completely and thank goodness for that!
I'm not even half done with my Home Health castor oil but I already know I'll be trying the haitian black castor oil because I want to try the orange and lemon ones they have.
I'm excited...so excited I'm almost considering buying a bottle now...but I can wait :-)
Last night I decided to mix my products together in a small bottle to see if it shortened my detangling time. I put my leave in conditioner, followed by castor oil and water. It came out as a very watery cream, which I liked, and I applied it to my hair and scalp while my hair was dry. Worked like a charm!! It was very greasy though (because of the castor oil) but not sticky at all. I only sprayed a little water on my scalp after to help with the GHE.
This morning my hair was slightly damp so my hair wasn't so greasy, but I had to wipe my ears because they were. So! That being said, I'm glad I didn't use my spray bottle to mix this cocktail because I would have had to buy another one. My hair loves water, so even though I mixed plenty of water to make my hair cocktail, I'm going to keep spraying my hair with plain water as well before applying my little creation.
My hair is super super SUPER soft and it feels great. Haven't touched my hair again since styling it even though it's been so tempting. I like my hair more damp in the mornings and I prefer the cream I created to spraying it.
So far, so natural :-)
I've finally created my natural hair regimen!
Daily Hair Habits:
Take vitamin supplements which include One A Day women's multivitamin, biotin, silica and MSM
Drink at least 8 glasses of water
Moisturize and seal with water, Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Repair Cream and Castor oil.
Greenhouse Effect using shower cap, satin bonnet and winter hat
Weekly Hair
Co-wash with VO5 Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Conditioner
Sugar scalp scrub
Monthly Hair Habits
Pre-poo with castor oil (mix with honey on occasion)
Clarify with Aveeno sulfate free Pure Renewal shampoo
Protein treatment with egg and VO5 Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Conditioner
No I'm not doing the wash and protein treatment on the same day! I don't think my hair would like that! I just make sure to do it within that month.
My hair feels amazing but unfortunately this fact has caused me to keep rubbing my strands. That's got to stop. So from now on I won't be touching my hair after I've styled it for the day.
The silica has also made me very thirsty so I'll be drinking more water and hopefully the thirst will be quenched.
I'm still doing the GHE nightly and I actually just co-washed my hair this morning because I was too exhausted last night to do it, but I did the GHE with a deep conditioner and castor oil instead of my regular leave in.
It's about time to get more conditioner because I'm almost out so I'm excited about that. I'll be trying a VO5 conditioner, not sure which yet. I do recall I used to love that stuff. Haven't used it in years though.
So, everything seems to be coming together just fine. My regimen seems to be coming together. My hair is happy but the fingers need to stop and get out of my hair! *lol*
This morning I decided that tonight I'm definitely going to co-wash my hair. The sebum is still flowing but I'm not liking the smell at all. Very moisturized hair though! Loving my curls especially since I did the search and destroy method.
Unfortunately I haven't gotten my MSM yet because yesterday I was crazy busy, but I'll be sure to get some soon!
I'm looking forward to my co-wash tonight!
This morning I got a whiff of my sebum (body's natural oil) and I was both pleased and put off by the smell. I know the Greenhouse Effect is working. I'm going to clean my shower cap before I wear it again.
The castor oil on my scalp isn't causing any buildup so I'm going to guess that means no clogging is occurring. Again, today my hair is only slightly damp and tingles. There is also a slight itch, but it's not the kind of itch I feel I need to scratch. Once my hair is dry, I am expecting moisture infused hair again. This is one of many things I look forward to on a daily basis.
This morning I took my vitamins which include a multivitamin, biotin (5,000 mcg) and silica (500 mg) which I got from VitaminShoppe last night. I bought two bottles of silica because they had a sale and they were buy one get one half price. I haven't gotten any MSM yet because I was so excited about the silica that I completely forgot to ask where the MSM was! I'll have to make another trip to pick some up because I definitely want to lengthen my hair's growth phase.
So, other than the stinky sebum (which is a good thing) I'm having no complaints about my routine. I keep my hair twisted during the day because it practically eliminates detangling time and makes the process go a LOT smoother for me.
Last night I did the search and destroy method to get rid of split ends that were trying to keep me from growing my hair longer. I sprayed my hair with less water last night even though it felt like I didn't spray enough.
This morning my hair wasn't soaking wet, instead it was very damp and in 10 minutes it was mostly dry. My hair is definitely moisturized and feeling a lot softer. Since starting this challenge I haven't styled my hair in anything other than two strand twists (saves time when doing the GHE method at night when I'm tired) so I'm not sure how my other styles will hold, but I'll see this coming week!
I'm also going to pick up some horsetail extract and MSM supplements today to add to my multivitamin and biotin. I know bamboo extract is better than horsetail extract but bamboo is harder to get. Last time I ordered some it took two weeks before it arrived!! I refuse to buy Hairfinity vitamins because of the price so I'm using the alternatives.
My scalp is tingling right now and itching just the slightest bit. It's soothing. Hopefully things continue to go well. My short term goal length is APL (armpit length)
I feel like I'm on my way!
I did get a shower cap for the GHE last night and my hair was WET this morning ... The shower cap definitely produced more heat than the plastic grocery bag. I did spray water on my hair before applying my staple products so maybe I should spray less. I also need to dust my ends, which I intend to do tonight.
On a good note, my hair is soft and moisturized and my scalp feels awesome!
Last night I started doing the Greenhouse Effect hair method, which is just using a plastic cap to create a steamed environment for your hair and scalp that is supposed to increase hair growth.
Last night I wanted to start fresh so I did a white sugar scalp scrub, followed by shampoo with Aveeno Sulfate free 2-n-1 shampoo and conditioner because it's been weeks since I've washed my hair and I had major buildup from the castor oil. I'd been applying too much castor oil to my scalp.
After rinsing my hair (I did all this with my hair in sections because it saves time) and blotting it, I continued with my nightly regimen which is applying Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioner repair cream to my hair then applying castor oil to the length of my hair to seal it all in. Before that I applied MUCH less castor oil to my scalp. I'd been applying castor oil to my scalp as I did each section, so this time I took my right index finger and dipped it into the castor oil, then spread it across the fingers on both hands and rubbed into my scalp. It seemed like too little but I resisted the urge to apply more.
Once I finished moisturizing and sealing, I tied a plastic grocery bag around my head and put a headband around the bag so it'd fit more snug. I used a grocery bag because I didn't feel like going to the store last night. I'm getting plastic caps tonight :-) ... After securing the bag I slipped my satin bonnet over it and put on my winter hat over that.
This morning when I took everything off my head, my scalp was tingling and my hair was soft and just a little damp.
It was a pleasant experience. I'll do this every night for the next 3 months to see if there is an increase in hair growth. I'll do a sugar scrub once a week, and only use shampoo if my hair tells me it needs a little clarification.
This photo is my current length in the front. I'll upload the after photo in 3 months! Wish me luck!
