Yeah. I heart MegaTek: More Results.

hey people. hope everything is good out there in hair land.
i just wanted to give you the updates on the hair and product results ive been getting.
also, its time to choose new hair products. always a hard decision. but well get into it. first, lets talk about the MegaTek.

well, a few days ago, i took out the braids for rebraiding and washing. i was worried the whole time… concerned about shedding and breakage that was happening earlier this year (due to monistat usage on hair). i bought in MegaTek leave in conditioner (Mane, Hoof, and Tail for horses) which i had been using on a daily basis, along with their rinse out conditioner (coat and pad rebuilder for cats and dogs.) id use the leave in on a daily basis, and use the rinse out whenever it was time to wash out my braids or hair. now while i love what the megatek did for the over all thickness and health of my hair, i have to admit, i think it was the rinse out conditioner that did the most for me when it came to stopping the breakage. which it did wonderfully.

i have to tell you, when i took out the braids and thoroughly washed my hair and started to blowdry…. i saw a complete drop in the amount of hair that was breaking off. a LOT. REALLY happy about that. were back down to the  normal 100 to 150 strands. even when blow drying, i noticed that NO hair was breaking off during the process. its great. so im really happy with the results im getting from megatek. great growth and thickness from the leave in, and GREAT results with stopping breakage from the rinse out conditioner… which is what i wanted.
i officially suggest this for anyone trying to do ANYTHING regarding length with their hair. youll definitely get results.

now the hard thing is… making the decision as to what the next product is. ovation is obviously first in line, but darcy’s botanicals got a strong recommendation from a hair blogging pro. id like to keep megatek somewhere in the rotation, but again, there are options like devacurl and kinky curly out there. then you have to figure out what has sulfates in them… because its best if we avoid them, is the word.

i got a few days before i need to get on the interwebs and search out things for purchase, so ive got some time. but its so hard to pick one for sure. im usually stuck with it for another 3 to 4 months… unless it absolutely sucks. i guess im going to look out for the products with the sulfates and avoid those… and narrow it down from there.

if you have ANY suggestions… feel free to let me know. im up for anything.

thanks.

-E

Back at it again. Lets talk about Avocado and Egg conditioner, Sulfates and YOUR hair.

hey peoples. hope all is good out there in hair land. so sorry for the delay… had some family business we had to wrap up and handle.

so in my last blog, i talked alot about monistat and shedding, and how i got the shedding and breakage to stop for me. one of the best things for me to use on my own hair is a made at home conditioner thats easy for anyone to make. its really simple… half an avocado… and an egg.

i know, i know.  wtf is up with all this weird stuff you put in your hair sometimes? lol. i know. but let me explain the logic behind it for you really fast. avocado is REALLY high in natural vitamin e oils… one of the best oils you can use for your hair. especially for african american hair. as for the egg… it is high in natural proteins and biotin which are both great for strengthening weak hair, or hair prone to breakage. i only like to use it once in a while… when i feel like my hair is kinda weak, and whatever products im using at the time just arent cutting it.
so let me know break down how you want to use this and how to do this, if youre interested. its not that hard, really. all you want to do is break out your blender, get an avocado, half it, and drop it into the blender. follow suit with ONE egg… crack and drop into the blender. blend together slowly until well mixed together. pour it into a cup and let it sit while you go get your hair wash on. some people like to add something extra to it… i like to add a bit of Doo Gro or Palmers olive oil to it for extra moisturizing… or like a friend i know, who likes to add a bit of beer to hers, for extra strenthening (and yes ladies, the beer thing is true for your hair, and really good as well.) from there, apply the mix to your hair, and let it sit for no less than 15 to 30 minutes. i like to go for 45 sometimes. now heres the IMPORTANT part… when you rinse your hair, RINSE WITH COLD WATER ONLY. not warm, not hot. COLD WATER. why? well first of all, it closes the hair shaft, sealing in all the good nutrients that your hair just absorbed… and most important… if you rinse with warm water… the egg in your hair will LITERALLY COOK and leave little bits of scrambled egg in your hair that youll be rinsing and picking out for DAYS. COLD WATER, hear me?

now, on to the next topic…
sulfates and your hair.
well, a lot of what im hearing lately in the hair blogosphere is that sulfates are horrid for hair. especially african american hair. something in the sulfates that make our hair weaker everytime we use it. and a LOT of sulfates can be found in our daily shampoos and conditioners. i checked a few bottles of old shampoo ive used in the past, and sure enough… sulfates all over the place.
so i was talking to a friend over at http://productjunkiediva.blogspot.com/, and she, being the queen of all hair products, suggested that i look into a natural hair care line called http://darcysbotanicals.com/. seems as if she has a wonderfun leave in hair conditioner that i should be trying… and i definitely will be getting to it. all her products are sulfate free… and use nothing but natural products for hair strengthening. thats what *IM* looking for.

so ill definitely keep you updated… im going to start using megatek on my little sisters hair… see what her results are, since we both have the same type of hair (4B! i found out! lol). ill be looking into making purchases from ovation and darcys botanicals… and seeing how that goes.

thanks for waiting… and reading. stay cool.

-E

Ladies: Monistat Antifungal Creme and Your Hair.

Yup.  Its time to go there. Get comfortable ladies… Im going in.
so this is what most of you have been waiting for… the use of Monistat Creme on your scalp for Hair Growth.
now i ALREADY know what youre thinking…. “monistat? ewww. omgwtfbbq are you doing?” and “omg! it doesnt go there!” lol. i know ladies, i know. and everything youre thinking right now is exactly what went through my mind when i first started to hear about it. but as i started to research it more, and found that women were getting real results with it… i figured that it was time to consider it. maybe give it a try.

before i did that, i decided to do some basic research, figure out what was going on, and what was making Monistat Antifungal creme so hot in the streets for hair growth. well, from everything ive pulled and researched on hair and Monistat, it goes a little something like this. all women of all colors EVERYWHERE seem to have a natural bacteria which inhibits hair growth. men seem to have very little if NONE of this bacteria on them… which explains how a LOT of men are able to grow long tresses without even trying at times.  what exactly this bacteria is, iont know. but i am googling as youre reading this, be aware. lol.

so it seems as if Monistat’s main ingredient, Miconazole Nitrate  (pronounced as mye-KON-a-zole, an Antifungal creme), seems to neutralize this natural bacteria on our scalps, allowing for hair to grow at normal to above normal speed. this seems to be incredibly true when it comes to African American ladies and our hair. they say normally that your hair grows about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch every month. but some of us out there know that it doesnt always go like that. for me, my problem was that when my hair tends to hit a certain length, growth seems to stall out, making it harder for me to get the length that i want.

so how did i run into this weird method, and what made me try it? well, in january 2009, about 2 and 1/2 years after cutting off all my hair and starting it from scratch in june of 2006, i noticed that my hair (while thick and healthy) was beginning to reach that point where growth stalls out hard for me… around about (upper) shoulder length. that was about the time i decided to hop on the interwebs and start searching for new products and methods out there. this was about the time i found out about MegaTek, Surge, Shapleys… and Monistat. now at the time, out of all the brands mentioned, Monistat seemed to be getting the most… and best feedback. i was intrigued and weirded out all at once. lol. but i decided once i got all my new hair products in, i would give this a legitimate try.

so now we get into the method i used, and the results that ive gotten thus far.
back in february, i decided to start slow and easy. i didnt want to spend too much money, so i went and purchased some store brand antifungal creme. i also didnt want to overwhelm my hair with anything it wasnt used to, so i purchased the 7 day creme… the one with the smallest amount of Miconazole Nitrate in it.

store brands FTW.

ill run you through the first two times i used the creme.
i was being extra careful (paranoid) with it, so i decided to try out the creme a day or two before i took out my braids… so that i could wash the creme out if i felt like there were any problems or issues with my scalp or hair. so heres what i did. i took small amounts of creme, put it on the tips of my fingers, and applied it directly to my SCALP. not my hair or hair shaft. from what i read at that point, i understood that its best that you avoid your hair as much as possible and focus on your scalp… where the bacteria lives. i started off on the back of my scalp, and let it sit for a day before applying to my entire head. now, the feeling i got from the monistat on my scalp was admittedly nice. a warm, intense tingle, followed by a little bit of itching (clean scalp that itches = hair growth, according to old wives/gramma tales). once the first day passed and i was sure that there were no adverse effects, i went ahead and applied it to my whole head, and let it sit for another 2 or 3 days before taking out my braids and thoroughly washing my hair.

not exaggerating…. the results were instantaneous and obvious for me. i literally had immediate growth from application within a week. and it was noticeable growth… enough that even the boyfriend made a comment on the growth. i kid you not… it was no less than an inch of growth within 2 to 3 weeks. unheard of… and not really seen again until i started using Shapleys. i figured the results were connected to the fact that i had never used it before… so i decided to braid up the hair again, and do the same thing towards the end of my braid cycle again. this time, i decided to up it from the 7 day creme to the 3 day… just to see if the results would be any different. did the same thing… applied the creme to the scalp, waited about 2 days, took out the braids, gave it a thorough wash.

this time was a biiiit different. while the growth continued… and it was ridiculous… i also began to notice that the breaking/shedding of my hair was slightly more pronounced. nothing really serious… but enough to make me take notice. a little more than usual, and looking like the breakage was taking place closer to the scalp rather than towards the ends of my hair. i was a little bothered by this… but incredibly impressed by the results. at this point, i had gotten no less than 3 inches of growth in 2 and a half months. i decided that i wouldnt be greedy and give my scalp a break… focus on stopping the shedding and breakage, and maintaining the amazing new growth i was getting. i immediately broke out the old school natural conditioners that are great for breakage… the avocado and egg conditioner. it took a while, but the breakage slowed down greatly. and yes. one day, i will blog about the egg and avocado hair conditioner and how to make it for you. :D

now i have to admit, while the growth has been amazing… the shedding that i get from using the creme can be a deterent from using it even more. from the additional research ive done, it seems as if the shedding increases after using it for a while and stopping. but i never really used it like that… on a daily basis. more like a once every 4 weeks treatment. as of the last time i used it (about 2 weeks ago, before rebraiding again), the growth was continuing in LARGE amounts. but now,  im only using the creme probably about once every 3 to 4 months, just as an extra growth boost. they also suggest that you dont use the product too much on the packaging, so ill follow their lead. i also dropped back to the 7 day creme just to be sure i wasnt doing too much with the Miconazole.  another step i took is to wash the creme out within 24 hours of putting it on my head… no more than that. literally, ill put it on my scalp at night, wake up the next morning, take out my braids and wash out my hair thoroughly. and ill be honest… the results that ive been getting from Shapley’s is comparable to what i was getting to the monistat… without the breakage. so ill be switching the product in and out from time to time.

so in the end, im a bit torn on monistat. but im still giving it two afropicks up (LoL). i definitely will continue to use it once in a while, but the added shedding of hair will always be on the back on my mind. however, the growth and results are so amazing, frankly… im willing to take that chance. ive finally passed that hair growth threshold i felt like i couldnt get past,  and am finally getting close to the length that i want. and i really have to credit that to my usage of Miconazole from a few months back. hopefully, with the help of good old fashioned rosemary and Shapleys… we can keep this growth alive while cutting out the shedding.

would i suggest this? well, if you are just not getting any growth, or if youre at a point where you feel like growth has stalled out, i would say yes. all the way around. it can be a good start point if youre just NOT getting the growth you want. but PLEASE. go into this knowing that your hair WILL SHED a bit more than usual. if you dont have any extra hair to spare (lol), i would suggest that you fall back and try Shapley’s MTG FIRST. if that doesnt work for you… THEN step your game up to the monistat.

now heads up… if youre weirded out or just NOT comfortable using Monistat on your scalp, there are TONS of other options with the same key ingredient in it. they are ALL antifungal tho, so either way, its gonna be some non typical stuff being put in your hair. lol. but here are some other options for you…
Neosporin AF, Lotrimin AF, Micatin and Monistat Derm.

now i THINK i covered basically everything… but as usual, if youre reading this, and you have questions… please reach out, leave a comment or a question. id love to get back to you and share my personal experiences with this, or cover any detail that i missed.

you know i dont blog about it unless it WORKS. :)

hope this helps you ladies out out there.

-E

Shapley’s is the Real Deal | Rosemary and Infusium for Strengthening and Growth | Okay. So Ill try Ovation Therapy | Other Hair and Skin Care Nerdery.

hey people. long time no blog. sorry about that, as i have been birthday partying with friends, sending family back to college, and just generally getting my house in order for the last week and a half.
but lets get back to it. lol.

first and foremost… Shapley’s MTG. wow. what an unexpected win this product has been. i honestly went into using this product with NO ideal how it was going to turn out… and its been nothing but WONDERFUL. the fact that it smells like a barbeque sulfur party in your hair (and everyones invited!!!) is almost negated by the results that ive gotten in the last month alone. ill give you a background on what it is and how ive been using it on my hair.

surprisingly enough, this is (once again) an equine product mainly for use on animals like horses, cats, dogs when they have patchy spots in their fur and need help growing it out. it was brought to my attention by a close friend of mine who has a nerdery for horses AND hair; a great combination. lol. after convincing me of the product, its results, being reassured that this is tested safe for humans (it is),  and being forewarned about the smell, i decided to give it a try. figured i had nothing to lose.
once it got here, i discovered that this was an oil-based product, with a bit of yellow grit (the active ingredients) built in.  i was thinking it would be some kind of creme,  and usually i keep a good oil moisturizer on me, so it was on me to  figure out a way to use it effectively. most of the time, i take whatever oil im using and add it to my daily Rosemary Spray for extra moisturizing. so instead of using my usual palmers organic olive oil for hair as the oil in my Rosemary Spray, i switched it out for the Shapley’s… also hoping it would negate the smell a bit.
well i gotta be honest… the rosemary didnt help the smell ANY. as a matter of fact, the shapley’s just made the rosemary smell worse. hilarious. but i started using it every other day for the last 4 weeks. i try to use MegaTek Conditioner and the Olive Oil spray as a cover for the smell of the Shapley’s, but the smell usually disappears over the span of a day or so. i also gave my braids a weekly rinse, which also helped out alot.
as for my results… ridiculous, frankly. and a little overwhelming.
along the edges of my scalp where there was  no hair (it usually gets braided up)… i have new growth of hair all around. some people like to call this baby hair. iont care what you call it, its GREAT to see it come in so thick and full for once. mainly the results can be seen in the new growth of my hair; the points between my scalp, and the spot where my braids were started. and this is amazing. usually, i can get an half inch out of my hair every 5 to 7 weeks, which is when i usually take out and rebraid my hair. we just passed the official 4 week mark as of LAST monday… and i already have reached the half inch of normal growth… along with extra growth thats just… not normal for me. lol. its to the point where i have to go get my hair rebraided two weeks earlier than normal… because the new growth is out of control (and making my braids look kinda raggedy. lol).

i will go through a few more braiding cycles using this product, then post some pictures of the results. i took photos of where my hair was after getting it trimmed up in late may. hopefully these results are real, and ill see a difference in the photos. but if this is really is my hair… then the results are really, really amazing. i would STRONGLY recommend this product to anyone whos looking to grow out hair… but doesnt mind a product that doesnt smell exactly like peaches and roses. lol. i will definitely keep you updated on this.

next up by special request…
what is and how to make the Rosemary and Infusium 23 moisturizing spray (for Raina).
now rosemary is something i love and adore for my hair. ive harped on about it in several previous blogs. high in natural biotin (wonderful for hair) and supposedly really great for cell stimulation and circulation, this has been nothing but hair nerd win for the last 3 years of this whole hair growth process (thanks for the tip, gramma!). as time goes on, i find leave in conditioners and hair oils that i like to team up with the rosemary for an extra kick. but what i found to be the best so far is Infusium 23. now this was a product that i hadnt used in my hair at all since cutting it all off and starting over… which means it was like brand new to my hair follicles. and the hair LOVES it. especially teamed up with the rosemary.
making it is really easy. follow my previous log on rosemary for pointers. go get some rosemary, boil it down for about 15-25 minutes, run it thru a coffee strainer to remove any dirt or unnecessary grit.  then go ahead and pour that into a spray bottle. from there, i use this formula for mixing the two together… 3 parts (3/4ths) rosemary tea and 1 part (1/4th) of infusium. oil is optional. from there, shake the two up, and get to spritzing on your scalp.
so whats the point of mixing them? well, its basically like a double team for your hair. the rosemary promotes health and normal growth, while the Infusium ensures that my hair stays healthy and strong. while optional, you can throw in an oil like Shapley’s or Palmers Olive Oil… and youve got an all around daily moisturizer that just… cant be beat.
try it out. you can do the rosemary by itself or mix in the infusim and/or whatever oil you like… but its definitely worth a try.

now i didnt forget about the MegaTek in all of this. lol. ive been using MT more as a sidenote to moisturize the braid and hair shaft, while using the shapley’s/rosemary mix  directly on my scalp for conditioning/growth. once i take out the braids in a few days, we’ll get into MegaTek, her cousin MicroTek the Shampoo, and its nephew MegaTek Coat Rebuilder (which is COMPLETELY different than the regular leave in MT conditioner… the Coat Rebuilder MUST be rinsed out according to directions). excited about that too.

okay. ovation cell therapy. wow.
since blogging about it a few days ago, ive noticed that ive received a LOT of hits to the blog from women who are looking for news and results on how Ovation works. which means a LOT of you out there are looking into it and are just as interested in it as i am. i really am intrigued by the product… just not the price. lol. it is okay however… since they do have a 6 ounce starter system for their product… which would be perfect for me. enough to figure out if it works or not, and not too much to be wasted if i absolutely hate it. its still going to be at least $60 for the entire treatment; shampoo, deep conditioner and a leave in creme for daily use. it comes together, and you cant split them apart… making it so pricey. but its better than the $120 that they want for the full starter kit. honestly ladies, its going to be a while before i even get to use it… ive got a full bottle of MicroTek shampoo that still needs to be used in its entirety before i purchase anything else. but yeah. it looks like Ovation is next in line. then Surge.
but again, im jumping ahead of myself. lol. again, ill keep you updated on when i buy and start to use it, of course.

bringing me to other random nerdery… the overWHELMING amount of hair products i keep running into that id love to try. man, i cant keep track… surge, ovation, kinky/curly, pantene, aussie…. so many products, and LITERALLY… so little time. its hard to pick which comes next. but as i find them, i will blog about them… just so i can remember everything i need to get back to.

also, on the skin care tip… Bio Oil has been great for my face, but like i said earlier… is causing some breakouts because of its naturally dense oil texture. great for evening  out the skin tone and helping lil mini wrinkles… not so much for blemishes. so i bought some proactiv to help balance that out. now proactiv has always worked for me when it comes to breakouts. but again, like the hair, there are so many products out there that im ready to test and see what works for me. especially when it comes to my pores. my normal neutrogena pore refining cleanser isnt kickin it anymore. :( after asking my girls, i found some great products from several different brands and techniques im looking into. oil cleansing, mud masks (always effective), aveeno, clinque and the winner so far… murad. everything is offering something different… but im just keeping an eye out for anything that helps with pores and stops these wrinkles from coming in. again, ill keep an eye out and keep you updated.

well, thats basically everything ive got for now (which is still to much, lol). ill be back in no more than 2 days to tell you how the MircoTek goes with my hair. looking forward to it.

-E

Infusium 23 is still Chocked full of Win.

just putting you on to some old school awesomeness, infusium 23. a water based leave in conditioner, its a great product if youre looking to stop hair breakage, split ends, and promote stronger hair.

now as a kid, my mother would always use this product (along with the TCB, lol) when doing a leave in treatment. i would get a lot of hot oil treatments as a youngster, as i was on tetracycline as a kid for ear infections… and tetracycline is a total over loss when it come to hair growth (once again, this will probably be a blog of its own one day).
even then, i noticed that it stopped my from breaking off in large amounts… and really great as a weekly hair conditioner.

now i had stopped using this product for a good 7 years. mostly because i had forgot about it while using a ton of other products, and mostly because the shops around me weren’t selling it for whatever reason. i finally ran into it a few months ago while purchasing hair for my braids.

now, while it is a great standalone water conditioner for after shower usage, its also great as a styling aid as well (if you wet set your hair… this stuff is a dream). what i really like to do, for an extra growth kick, is add in a little bit of rosemary tea to it. from there, i put it in a spray bottle, and mist down my hair (or braids) every other day with it. its a great daily treatment if you want to strengthen your hair, while promoting its growth with the rosemary.

i know it might SOUND weird to some of you, but for me, its been nothing but hair growth win. the combo of that rosemary along with the infusium has done wonders.

if youre not into doing all of that, i still suggest you use the infusium as a standalone leave in if you have breakage or split end issues. its bound to get you some results in that category.

-E

why rosemary is a win.

so yeah. rosemary is great all around. especially for your hair. and everyone should know about it.

it was one of those hair treatments that gramma used to tell me about all the time. always told me that it would make my hair grow thicker, keep the grey hairs from settling in. after getting over the ‘old wives tale’ stigma of it all, i started using it a few years back, just to see what my grandmother was yelling about. and sure enough, it works little mini hair miracles for me. when applied to the scalp and my hair, the result is thicker strands and better, more consistent growth than without the rosemary. also great for strengthening.

so whats behind it? well, rosemary is supposedly good for cell rebuilding, circulation, and hair follicle stimulation (according to all the research ive looked up over the years). its also supposedly contains high amounts of natural biotin, which is basically hair gold (in my experience).

so whats the deal? how do you use it? simple.
you can go buy fresh or dried rosemary (cheaper if its dried) from any grocery. or, you can luck out like me, and know someone who grows it fresh, and take what they dont use. loool.

jack move!

from there, all you do is put a pot of (preferably filtered) water on to a slow boil. drop your rosemary in, and let it do its thing for about 15-25 minutes. after boiling,  i like to let the rosemary sit and stew for a minute. get all the extra goodness out. lol.

boil it down.

from there, i take the rosemary, get a cup and a coffee filter, and run it through really fast, to catch any dirt or left over residue. i take the rosemary tea and put it in a spray bottle ( you can buy em for cheap at your local hair supply store, or, just use a old mane and tail one like i do). you can use it straight as a daily spray, or you can do a rinse after deep conditioning your hair for extra strength and shine. either way is great.

what i like to do is add a key oil to it, as well as squeeze in some infusium 23 for an extra strengthening kick. infusiums been good to me ever since bringing it back into hair rotation a few months ago.

now normally, i add a vitamin e oil or a doo grow oil (great for stopping split ends) to the rosemary tea, shake it up up to combine the two, and spritz down my braids/hair with it once every few days. this time, im taking out the traditional oil to use the Shapley’s MTG. like i mentioned before, shapleys is a oil for the hair. great results so far, but strong, barbeque-ish/sulfur smell. im hoping the strong aroma of the rosemary tea will negate that. and im pretty sure it will. well see how it goes.

so yeah. go out and get you some rosemary. seriously. its pretty great, and ive had nothing but positive results from it. better yet, have you ever used rosemary? you got any questions about it? holler at me.

-E

Testing out the Shapley’s MTG.

great for the hair. not for the olfactory.

so Shapley’s is truly one of those products that ive been geeked to use.  ive heard of it in years past, but never really had the time, resources or energy to trace it down and pick up a bottle.  plus, the fact that it was mainly for hair use on horses had me thrown a bit. i had a solid range of products i was using, and at the time, there was no room for shapley’s. until now.

with the recent end of an era of my Virgin Hair Oil, i found myself needing a good back up oil that i could use with my daily rosemary  moisturizer (again, this deserves its own blog. well get to that).  the regular vitamin e oil/doo gro oil i was using wasnt as effective anymore, and it was time for a change up. while hair nerding it up on the interwebs, another good friend of mine (hey @inaccurate map!) suggested and reminded me of SMTG (shortened acronym).  which lead to the purchase of the large bottle off amazon.com.

imagine the level of geekiness when the bottle got to the house. i was all excited and ready to go. but then… i was reminded of one of the downfalls to this great product; the smell. while it isnt the worst thing on the planet, i was a little hesitant to throw oil in the braids that smells basically of bacon and liquid smoke. lol.

on the upside… i do have the MegaTek (we’ll get to that later) and a new virgin olive oil/vitamin e infused product from palmers, and both of the products smell WONDERFUL. im hoping i can use them to mask the smell of barnyard barbeque going on over here. lol.

so im going for it. shaking up the product (theres a lot of grit at the bottom of the bottom that seems to be important), and testing it out around the edges and back of the scalp… my choice testing areas should something fail and my hair falls out. lol. so far, so good. nice warm, tingly feeling at application areas… much like leaving an anti dandruff conditioner in your hair for a while. but warmer. always a good sign when you get that tingle. for the most part. the smell seems to be waning as i apply it directly to the scalp. again, a little noticeable, but not majorly, stop traffic with the smell overpowering.

well let this set for a little while before i put in the MegaTek for the first time. :D

YAAAY!
HAIR STUFF!

*geeks out*

The last of a legend.

the good stuff.

this hair oil is hard to find. mostly for braided or dry hair, its also really effective scalp oil and anti dandruff treatment. promotes hair growth (especially around the edges). its also the last bit of whats left. and it makes me sad. the smell of it (earthy eucalyptus scent) brings back memories of yesteryear. back when i got all my hair supplies at a spot right off pico and la brea.  back when my ethopian gramma would give me good hair tips. it also reminds me of the fact that they dont carry it anymore.

its not a huge loss. im sure i can find it again. also, its an old product that ive been using for a while.  im getting ready to break in the Megatek, so its a new rotation of products coming in anyways.
but still.
always sucks when you lose a good product.

*sigh*

note to self: find virgin hair fertilizer online. somewhere. soon.
p.s. if you know where to find this… let me know. :D

well then. might as well explain what im doing.

WTF, yo.
well, after 3 years of what i like to call ‘absolute hair nerdery,’
it became noticeably clear to myself and my friends how much time and energy i was putting into my hair… and the results i was finally getting. i had been going fairly hard… researching different hair types, and all of the best hair products available to me. over time, a lot of people have seen the length and the growth i can get out of it, and ask questions. and to be honest, a lot of people are just curious as to how my hair works, and what its like to work with. which i totally understand. im nosey too.
i just never thought tracking it all. until now.
a great friend (hey raina) asked me if i was blogging all of this great info i was sharing with her via twitter one day.
never thought about it, but despite the drawbacks of having to constantly keep up with any kinda log, it is a fairly kickass ideal.
and so, with the poking and prodding of several good friends… here we are.

Basics?
Me: Black and Awesome. Fuck You if you dont like it.
Age: 26
Hair Type: Somewhere between curly and nappy. Also, different textures all over my head (thick in the middle, loose and curly on the back left, no curl at ALL in back right… spirals in the front… its wild). Thin hair that looks thick out the shower, but then presses out to nothing. Its all fairly tameable tho.

Story?
aaah, my hair. i love it. always have, always will.
as curly and wild and ‘non wash-and-go’ as its always been, ive always adored it.
could be my mother installing an amazing sense of self worth and love of self
or maybe its just my egotistical leo ways.
regardless, some afro-curly girls grow up not liking their hair. i was not one of those girls.
ive always love the texture of it
(except for when it was combed through as a child)
the open range of options i have style-wise with my hair
(afro puffed, braids, curly, wet set, straightened… you name it, i can prolly do it)
how it made me unique… stand out in the crowd…
what it represents
and what it is to me.

somewhere, in the midst of my overtly tomboy-ish life, i noticed that this was, and still is,
the most girlie trait within me.
blatantly girlie.
maybe a bit to ‘western-colonialization’ girlie.

nevertheless, just like a precious CD and music fetish of mine, i indulge it.
and as ive gotten older, i notice that i spend much more time on it.
at this point, the game plan is:

• keep a strict hair regime
  (and i mean STRICT, people… its braided 70% of the time, this might change as the length grows… only 2 people are allowed in my hair; my hair dresser and hair braider… ect)
• invest a significant amount of time and money into its health and upkeep
• research and use all the best products (and home remedies) i could find. that were reasonably priced. however, the older i get, the more price isnt an option (thank you jebus).
• No Perming, No Coloring, NO CHEMICALS. (I keeps it Boho. lol.)

it can be consuming, but it helps when you have no children, no major credit cards, no debt, and nothing but school and work to worry about.

over the years, ive had a lot of fun with it.
worn it blown out, cut it to a cute, ‘catherine-zeta-jones-in-chicago’ bob, henna’ed it out, put a baby perm in it once at 18 (i wasnt using that full strength crap, f*ck that), grown it out, wacked it all off, and grown it out again.
which brings me to where we are now.

What are you doing with it|Whats your routine right now?
welp, i just reached the third year of a new hair growth cycle
and its going remarkably well. surprisingly enough. (no jinx-o.)
how it all started?
well, back in june of 2006, after cutting my hair into its shortest point,
then letting it break off somehow,
i decided to cut it all off within an inch of my scalp
and start an intense braiding cycle
which goes a little something like this:

• 4 to 6 weeks of braids, 3 days out of braids for blowdrying/light press, then back into braids.
• after 3 to 5 months, take it down, go to the hairdresser for a hard press|flat iron and trimmed for training
• wear it out for 1 to 3 weeks
• back into braids.

basically, i try to leave my hair alone as much as possible.
lolz.

now when my hair is in braids… thats when i make the magic happen.
i use an everchanging array of products to keep it clean, strong and healthy.
as for the braiding, some chicks wont go for it. either because its hard to find a good one who isnt pulling out your edges, its too expensive, its ugly (when done wrong), or you dont have the texture to have your hair braided.
(thats okay. i cant go swimming and never have my hair poof up. sacrifies and compromises must be made.)

honestly, i adore the braids, and the woman who does them. can finish individuals in 4 hours or less. been going to her consistently for 4 years now.
i also love my hairdresser. had her for at least 12 years now. our birthdays are a day apart. never have to tell her what i want. she just knows.
both are winners, and a blog post within themselves.

as for the products, theres been certain products in my hair for a while, but used at different times just for variation. the main products in and out of my hair for a while were:

• Mane and Tail Products
• Doo Gro Oils and Shampoos
• Profectiv Hair Cremes
• Pantene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural Breakage defense
• Infusium 23 (brought that back after a 7 year absense in my hair care, working WONDERS right now)
• a cataclysm of other herbs and oils, home made things, and secret ingrediants. lmao.

As seen below…

(the old school stuff. primarily sold in black hair cair stores, but great for ANYONE)

and while all of these products have been good to me, and will always be in my rotation… its about time to change the game completely. step it up a little. so now… we’ll be moving onto the slightly pricier, seriously professional products.

• MegaTek
• Shapley’s MTG
• Ovation Cell Therapy
• DevaCurl
• Kinky Curly (for EVERYONE with curly hair)
• More to come as I find them.

So whats the point of all this?
well, mainly… i really wanna start tracking the length and growth of my hair, for personal nerd reasons. im getting to a length now where my hair will traditionally stall out in growth, or all start to break off without warning. this is a great way of keeping tabs on it, showing my friends the progress that i’ve made… and making sure my hair dresser doesnt wack all my hair off when i go in for a trim. lmao.

i also plan to buy and use alot of different hair products over time… everything to shampoos and conditioners to hair iron and hair ionizers (the instyler, anyone?). and the best thing anyone can do for anyone trying out anything new is give you in depth insight and review on how the products work for them… and share all the good stuff i find with you. the overall goal is to just find the best stuff out there and post about it, basically. maybe youll share some of your secrets with me along the way.

i wont be blogging about personal stuff here. mostly about things i find on the interwebz regarding hair care products, what products im using in my hair, new hair trends or random brainfarts that might interest me. but for the most part, this will be all hair, all the time.
also, this is a blog for everyone. black, white, yellow, green, kinky, curly, straight, thin, thick… iont care. if youre interested on the best hair products out there, this is a blog for you.

-E

p.s.
thanks for reading this long ass shit.

Next Post? Bye Virgin Hair Oil, On to MegaTek.