Ok I know it’s been a few weeks since my last post and to be honest I’ve been really busy. So let’s catch up a bit.
A few weeks ago I posted a recipe on homemade flaxseed gel. I know I said that I would post a full review with pictures but I didn’t get a chance to. To be honest, it really wasn’t worth writing home about. At first I wasn’t going to write a review right away because well it was a total disaster. It was like I had dried mucus in my hair (I know it’s a bit graphic but it’s the best way to describe it). My hair was hard and crunchy and dry. I started off with a co-wash of my hair with Suave Professional’s Almond and Shea Butter conditioner and followed up with a leave in. Added the flaxseed gel (made from the recipe I posted a while back) and allowed to air dry. My hair was pretty much like I said. It was dry, crunchy, and had chunks of white goo in it. So I ended up washing everything out and styling my hair with my tried and true trio. However, I wasn’t about to give up on this just yet. I tried the recipe again adding less flaxseed to the mixture. This time there wasn’t any white goo in my hair but my hair was STILL dry and crunchy afterwards. No bounce or anything. It was like something out of the movie “There’s Something about Mary.” So refusing to give up (and because I had so much flaxseed lying around), I tried a third time with even less flaxseed and the result was zero curl definition and once again crunchy and dryness. So my final conclusion was that my hair did not like the flaxseed gel and that my hair health would probably benefit more from me EATING the flaxseed rather than trying to make a homemade hair product from it. So no go on the homemade flaxseed gel.
Now that fall is upon us (although it doesn’t really feel like it in the south), I’ve decided to start thinking about rotating my conditioners and products. Although winters here in the south won’t be nearly as harsh on my kinks and curls as the winters in New England were, I still want to make sure my hair is well taken care of. So today I decided to visit two old friends of mine and combine it with a new product I’ve heard very good things about. Today I revisited Coconut Milk and combined it with Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner for a much-needed deep conditioning treatment. I’ve heard so many good things about this conditioner on Curlmart.com. It’s ingredients are all natural and vegan and it wasn’t very expensive. I found it at my local Vitamin Shop for about $7. The conditioner was very thick and smelled amazing. So I combined a couple of tablespoons of it with 1/2 can of coconut milk (solid portion only) until the mixture was nice and thick. I applied the mixture to my hair (after co-washing), applied my microheat cap and let it sit for about 45 minutes then rinse. I should point out that as I was rinsing I noticed that my hair was in near perfect little ringlets already just from having the conditioner in it. This has happened to me only once when I used Kinky-Curly Knot Today conditioner. I almost hated to brush my hair because I was loving the curls so much. After completely rinsing I added my second old friend Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hydrating and Calming Conditioner as a leave in while I detangled. The second thing I noticed was that my hair was super soft and very easy to detangle. After allowing my hair to air dry a bit I styled as usual with Eco Styler Olive Oil Gel. So far this combo has proved to work really well for my hair. My curls noticably popped into small little ringlets. Even The Hubbs commented on how great my curls were looking, even though they’re still wet. So depending on how this fall/ winter goes in the south I think I’ll be using the coconut milk, Honeysuckle Rose and 50/50 Balanced Hydrating and Calming conditioners along with my Almond and Shea Butter and Eco Styler for my wash and go styles.
One thing I’ve been noticing for a while now is that my hair is two colors. During the fall and winter last year I used a lot of henna and indigo on my hair for scalp and hair health. The last time I played with henna was back in February of this year and I used henna alone. When you combine henna with indigo your hair ends up being black (like a black cat or a raven’s wing), but with henna by itself I usually end up with a reddish tint to my hair. Back in December of last year I used henna and indigo and in February I used henna alone. So while some of my hair stayed jet black my new growth and roots had a red tint. Now that the hair has grown out it’s much more obvious in sunlight. So in the upcoming weeks I plan to dye my hair black naturally by using henna over night and following up with indigo and a deep conditioning the next morning. I’ll have a post up when this is done.
Other than preparing my hair for the fall and winter months that’s pretty much it for updates. I haven’t thought much about other styles for the fall/winter, but I think I will play it by ear. Many curlies like to go into protective styles for the winter but it just doesn’t work for me. I always end up styling my hair too tight and end up doing more damage than good and besides my hair seems happy out and about doing its own thing. I’ve been doing wash and go styling all summer long and have noticed a definite increase in thickness and new growth. There’s just a lot less tension and strain on my hair and scalp and my hair seems to like it. So I figure as long as my hair is happy with this, then there is no need to change it for the winter. I will just have to wear my silk lined hats on the windy days for protection. Other than that, that’s it. Until next time…
Kinks and Curls 