When it comes to Accelerated Hair Growth… its Monistat vs. Shapley’s. So lets get into it.

hey people. thanks for sticking around.
welp, it’s about time i got into a in-depth post about the benefits and downsides to both shapleys and monistat on your hair for faster hair growth. i used both for exactly 6 months last year, so i have a good ideal of whats going on. it’s about time i went over the pros and cons of each. so let’s get started.

so lets start with monistat. so i know there are still alotta women out there reading this that are like… “holy sh*t, what are you putting in your hair?” lol. i totally understand, because i had the same reaction. so lemme explain the logistics. there is a growth inhibiting bacteria that exists at the scalp of every woman on the planet. the more of this bacteria grows on the scalp, the harder it is for you to grow hair. the monistat is important in the fact that it has an antibacterial property that neutralizes said bacteria at the scalp, leaving your scalp extra tingly and allowing your hair to grow faster than it prolly has in a while. and i can definitely speak on that. you do get instantaneous results when using monistat on a every-other-week basis (which is what i did… i didnt wanna do too much, too fast). within 2 weeks, i saw growth like never before… resulting in about 2 inches of hair within 3 months. it was pretty amazing.

the downside to this? welp, after i stopped my use of monistat after about 4 months in… i started to get a LOT of shedding/breakage of my hair. a LOT. a little more than i was comfortable with. my hair was pretty thick to begin with, but the goal of keeping my hair braided for the last 3 years was to thicken it up a bit… my hair is really thin and fine, so even at its best, it still could be thicker. now, it wasnt a HORRIBLE amount of hair lost, but it was more than i was willing to part with at the time. so while i had AMAZING growth while using it… i didnt really like the shedding/breaking result at the end. with a little help from megatek conditioner, i was able to stop and save a lot of  my hair.

from there, i moved on to shapley’s mtg. i was introduced to it by a good friend of mine (hey @inaccuratemap) who is into vetrinarian care,  and had heard through the grapevine that people had started getting their hands on Shapley’s… an oil based equinarian product used on horses to help them regrow hair lost from various horse reasons. lol. the principle for shapleys is the same for monistat… it contains an antibacterial that kills hair growth-inhibiting bacteria, along with other things. it just happens that someone, somewhere along the way, someone got the nerve to try it on their hair, and had amazing results. at that point, shapley’s had a little rabble around the internet, so i decided to give it a try.
lord, im glad i did. lol. just like monistat… i had amazing results with shapley’s. now it wasnt instant in the way that monistat was… i had to use it for at least 2 to 3 weeks to really start seeing results. and when results came, it was simply fantastic. not only did i get new growth around the edges of my scalp… i started seeing large amounts of new growth all over my scalp. it was pretty amazing. now here the key thing… i had absolutely no breakage or shedding of hair when i stopped using it for a while. so anything you grow actually STAYS with you after growing it out.
the downside to this product… yeah. it smells. like backyard sulfur barbeque going on in your head. and when first applying it, the smell is pretty strong. as the day goes on, it wanes a bit, but youll still be left with a little bit of it left on you. i usually like to put some megatek conditioner or herbal essence in my hair for cover, which usually works.  i wouldnt suggest this product if you cannot wash your hair often (at least weekly)  to get rid of the smell. for me, i have braids, so it makes the situation a bit easier to work with.

really, after weighing the pros and cons of everything, im going to have to default with Shapley’s MTG as the product to use for accelerated hair growth, hands down. you get the growth that you want without losing any thickness in the process.
while monistat was amazing, i wouldnt suggest it if you have thin/thinning hair, fine hair, or your just working on thickness. now if you have a head FULL of hair… this might be the thing for you, as you prolly wont even see the shedding that will happen. but for the fine haired people out there… id think twice and test it out before you go all in.

once again, i hope all this info helps you out in someway. this is the result of all the work i put in last year for my hair. lol. funny thing is that i started this post waaaay back in november of last year, and im just now finishing…. so i wanna apologize for being held up. once again, ill do my best to give you all the good hair info as i get it. :D

take care.

Top 5 Hair Products of 2009:

1. Shapley’s MTG. (Accelerated Hair Growth)
2. MegaTek Pet Rebuilder. (Rinse Out Version)
3. MegaTek Hoof, Mane and Tail Rebuilder. (Leave In Version)
4. Infusium 23. (Anti Breakage)
5. Darcy’s Botanicals Peach Kernal Nectar Oil. (For Skin and Hair Nourishment)

Why? Well, Shapley’s wins for the simple fact that when consistently used, i can get at least 2 to 3 inches of hair growth within 3 months. yes, i will break out the picture to prove that shortly. its everything that Monistat wants to be, without the hair shedding when you stop using it.

I ranked MegaTek Pet rebuilder over the Mane and Tail just because of what the Pet Rebuilder did for me in terms of stopping breakage, which is my main problem. It singlehandedly solved the issue of breakage Monistat kinda triggered… and reversed any other breakage as result. i use it as the Shower Rinse Conditioner anytime I can. For people who wear their hair OUT tho… I would say the Mane and Tail Conditioner is best for you… it keeps your hair healthy and thick, without having to rinse it out within 30 minutes of putting it in. lol.

Infusium also wins for its anti breakage properties. I like to add this to a little bit of rosemary spray (ladies who follow know whats up) for added strengthening properties. especially love to use this out the shower right before blowdrying.

Finally, Im loving what Darcy’s Peach Oil is doing for both my hair AND skin. in a winter where for the first time… i had dry skin as a result of dry, cold weather (WEIRD)… this oil helped my hair AND my skin in a real way, while leaving me smelling like a fresh peach. :D

honorable mention to Palmers Organic Olive Oil Spray. that was #5.2. lol.
and ladies who have been following, dont think that this is a negative reflection on Ovation whatsoever.  i just havent had enough time with it as of yet. well see where that goes…. along with all the new products i hope to try out soon. Dr. Bonner’s hair line, Surge, and still.. Kinky/Curly.

getting back into the groove of things slowly. thought this might help you ladies with any questions you have or tips you need for new products, and what youre looking for. if you have any questions, feel free to shoot them at me.  ill be back soon to get into Monistat vs. Shapley’s, as planned.

thanks for reading.

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