So, I posted last week that I had decided to try to wear my hair out curly and to also work to help grow out my hair better. As a recap, my hair in it's naturally curly state is shoulder length, but when stretched it reaches somewhere between just below my shoulder blades and my back bra strap. The goal for me is about increasing growth but also infusing moisture, stronger strands and thicker hair. Last week, I attempted a texlax (a mildly reduced relaxer) and the results weren't really all that great. I ended up with less tangling, but it did nothing to make the virgin portion of my hair mimic the curl pattern that was going on in the old relaxed ends of my hair...kind of a womp-womp. -_- I think the culprit was a too weak relaxer - I used Hawaiian Silky in mild and then cut it with olive oil as instructions dictated...clearly my hair needed something stronger than "mild"
I was tempted to retry the texlax after a couple of deep conditioning treatments, but thought better of it. Not that I'm against using relaxers, but I didn't want to burn my hair off! So, I went back to researching online and saw that a lot of people used henna as an alternative to chemical methods to loosen curls and infuse strength. Additionally, I noticed that a lot of people who were able to achieve strong, healthy and faster growing hair with vitamins. After even more research, I decided on the following:
Started taking Nioxin's "Intensive Therapy Recharging Complex" multi vitamins: online testimonials all stated that it takes at least a month of consistent use to see results, so I'm only a week in...I'll let you know how it goes in late April.
Twice weekly deep conditioning treatments using an olive oil hair cholesterol followed by Megatek (another follicle infuser and rebuilder). Megatek is actually a crossover product which was initially created to help horses grow stronger manes and tails, but also has been proven to work for humans as well. I'm actually a huge fan of Megatek - I've been using it for two years and a lot of the growth and strengthening of my edges is definitely because of Megatek.
And now, I'm doing a twice a week henna application. I use body art quality henna which is 100% pure Lawsome with no fillers or metallics included in it. Pure henna has been proven to strengthen hair, thicken the strands and soften hair - in addition to naturally dying the hair without damaging it. Typically those results take about 4 to 5 consecutive henna applications to see the results. What's awesome about it (based on the research and reviews I've done) is that it works cumulatively - so the more you henna, the better your hair will be. Henna's fairly cheap too..I bought 4 boxes at roughly $4 a box. But depending on where you are in the world, you can find 100% pure henna for as cheap as $2 a box. This also makes it a really affordable option for people interested in henna but afraid that it would be too expensive with the upkeep. Just note that depending on the length of your hair you might need more than one box. One box equals roughly 100g which is enough for short short hair. Considering that my hair is shoulder length in its natural state but below the shoulder blades when stretched (and that you're supposed to thickly coat your hair when applying the henna) I ended up needing to use 3 boxes.
Anyway the one thing I learned about henna is, results will vary based on your own hair's chemistry. For example, normally for African Americans who are using pure henna on non-chemically dyed hair, there are no noticeable color change results when indoors (in other words, you have to be outside to see the tint effects that are clearly visible on lighter hair). Soooo not true for me. My hair is definitely a lighter brown, and I had always thought that my hair was super close to being almost black - like a very dark off black...not so anymore. It's cool, I'm not upset, but color was the most unimportant aspect of henna for me. So, now I'm going to try to maintain this henna regimen of a twice a week application for at least two months and then begin to taper off to the point where I'm only henna'ing my hair once a month.
Now...for the BzzAgent Review:
I'm currently doing the SC Johnson Smart & Easy Spring Cleaning which is where I was given a bunch of cleaning products from Scrubbing Bubbles and Pledge in addition to fragrances from Glade. If you don't know BzzAgent is a company that offers consumers free products in exchange for spreading the word about how we felt the products actually worked. So, after doing my massive henna routine today, let's just say that the bathroom was a bit messy. Although I was able to contain a majority of the henna splash back when I rinsed it out, there was still a kind of gross ring in the tub and in the sink.
It was the perfect excuse for me to use the Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bath spray which is intended to keep the shower (or whatever surface you use it on) clean for up to 4 days. The concept is that as water washes over the surfaces, the "invisible barrier" is activated to keep the surface clean. And, I must admit, it was pretty easy to use. After trying to rinse as much of the henna off as I possibly could, I shook the can of Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bath Spray and then sprayed an even coating over the entire tub and on parts of the shower walls and the bathroom sink (which also took some battle damage from the henna). I waited the requested 3 minutes and then rinsed everything with water (thankfully we have a detachable shower head so a lot of this process became much easier). Now my tub and sink are spotless. So, would I buy Scrubbing Bubbles Foaming Bath Spray? Yes I would, I'm not the world's most amazing house keeper, so anything that keeps me from actually having to scrub the tub myself and/or give myself back pain in the process is a must have. ^_^
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