OBI Natural Hair Care Update

As promised, I gave OBI Natural Hair Care's Curl Enhancing Custard a full week's try before issuing my final review. (drum roll, please!)

Big, big fail for me, but...

As I mentioned before, I knew I was in trouble as soon as I dipped my finger in the jar...the consistency was all wrong for my hair. Curl Enhancing Custard is like a thick version of Kinky Curly Knot Today which I've repeatedly tried, but could not like. Also, when my hair fully dried, it was hard, crunchy and extremely dry. I'm used to having soft, moisturized hair.

OBI Natural Hair Care's Curl Enhancing Custard is really designed for the style-conscious. If you only want a product to hold your locks in place or don't want someone's hands running through your hair, this is the product for you. I think this stuff could actually stand up in one of those wind test tunnels!

If you aren't style conscious and your foremost concern is having healthy hair, run from this product! Obviously, I'm of the latter ilk, putting health over style every single time so Curl Enhancing Custard is a no-go for me. Yes it held my curls all week without reapplication, but that's all it did. Perhaps the worst part was the thick white paste it left between my fingers when I began detangling. Way too much product build-up and it'd be super nasty if a devout cowasher used this product. GROSS! This gets one coil down!

So, today I skipped my weekly deep conditioning steam treatment and washed my hair loose...twice...with two different commercially-made shampoos to ensure I got all of this goop out of my hair. Now, back to the drawing board with my own Wash Day Bounce Butter for soft, shiny, weeklong curls!!!!!!

Itchy Scalp Problems

It's no secret that the very front patch of my scalp has always plagued me. No amount of ol' school scratchin' with a fine-tooth comb, dabbing at my head with a cotton ball soaked in tea tree and other essential oils, greasing my scalp or just plain washing my hair helped. In fact, this irritating problem didn't subside until I laid off the heat two years ago. But, it's back!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This time, however, my whole scalp was crawling with invisible ants and I attribute it to last week's 911 regimen. And if I'm going to be totally honest, my heart skipped a beat last week when I saw a few flakes in the front of my scalp as soon as I'd finished washing my hair. As the week progressed, the itching got so bad, I was patting my head like the wig-weave girls!

Last week, I put my hair in mini-twists with the intent of leaving them in for two weeks. I was planning to wash my hair on Sunday with the twists intact, but I was itching too bad to wait just two more days to wash my hair so I washed it tonight! You should have seen the look on my partner's face when I told him what I was going to do at 10:30 p.m., LOL!

Instead of using shampoo, I decided to co-wash with that amazing As I Am Naturally CoWash Conditoner. Almost immediately, my scalp felt soothed...I attribute that to the heavy coconut oil in the conditioning treatment as coconut oil happens to be a natural antibacterial. I then followed up with Herbal Essences' Honey, I'm Strong Strengthening Conditoner.

I'm ashamed of how many HE products I really like, so just add this to my growing list!

I've been drooling over the commercials for this, so I finally got some to try out and I like it! With honey and apricot extract, it allegedly gets hair 10x stronger in just one wash. More importantly, it's supposed to guard against "future" damage, reduce breakage up to "99 percent," yada yada yada...

Ignoring all the hype, the combination of As I Am's Coconut CoWash and HE's Honey, I'm Strong made my hair as soft and fine as a feather. And, no more itchy scalp! My hair had sheen, was muy pliable and had a very pleasant, but light after-scent. 

Would I buy this again? I don't know and I don't know because I still prefer HE's Hello Hydration over this particular conditioner. But, I definitely give this at least one coil up.

Ayurvedic Treatment and Co-Washing are a Go!

Forgive me if this is a little herky jerky, but I'm writing this while watching POTUS speak during the DNC.

Anyway, last week, I decided to try this co-washing thing again. I've always been a co-wash naysayer, but let me explain why, first. All of the co-washing methods I've seen and read about use cheap conditioner, sometimes diluted with water. Personally, I need and want to have a clean scalp, and I know conditioner can't do the trick. A lot of co-washers say they don't like shampoo because it's too harsh or strips the hair. While whatever shampoo you use might have a higher than desired pH balance, if you're of that ilk, water naturally reduces your hair's pH level as you rinse out the shampoo. Second, conditioner closes the cuticle so how can you get your hair clean if the cuticle is closed?! Last, ALL hair experts agree that if you co-wash regularly, you MUST wash your hair with shampoo at least once a month...but don't let me go off on that tangent 'cuz that's really gross when I think about it. All I have to say is if you wouldn't dare wash your clothes with just fabric softener or take a shower/bath with lotion, why would you wash your hair with conditioner?

With that being said, I had tried a sample of As I Am Naturally's Coconut CoWash a while ago and really enjoyed it, so last Sunday, I broke down and ran to my local Sally's to (gasp!) buy a full-size jar. HINT: Even the instructions on the jar advise co-washers to shampoo their hair periodically, LOL!

Just $7.99 at your local Sally's!!!

So, in keeping with my regimen, I spritzed my hair, gently detangled with my trusty old Mebco Detangling Shower Comb, applied the Coconut CoWash made 10 loose twists on each side, clipped them to the top of my head and slid under my Huetiful steamer! Honestly, my hair never felt better! I was tempted to do a WnG, but I don't have the right hair type to even attempt to pull it off, but still...

Trippin' off my good hair high, I decided to make a potentially new Wash Day product so I pulled out my stash of Ayurvedic herbs and one other special ingredient to create a moisturizing Ayurvedic hair mist! 

I'm not a daily mister, but I did mist my hair with my new concoction while twisting my hair with my Bounce Butter. It's too early to tell, but I think I'm on to something!!!!!!!!! Not only does my new concoction contain a wonderful and sweet smelling humectant, it's filled with multiple herbs to strengthen the hair's root and shaft, promote gloss and sheen, ward off the greys, cleanses and conditions the hair, stimulates hair growth, corrects scalp issues, thickens the hair, prevents hair loss...Need I say more? Are you as excited about this as I am?!

Rhassoul Clay and CoWash!

It's been more than a minute since I've been on here, but don't worry, this is not a rant about Gabby's hair (which I happen to find utterly ridiculous).

Normally, I faithfully wash my hair every weekend, but I just wasn't up to it this weekend so I decided to try something new...to me. Pura Body Naturals posted a blurb on Facebook about a hair treatment. I'd never seen it before, but decided to give it a go. According to their post, you mix together rhassoul clay, coconut milk, vegetable glycerin and honey, apply it to your hair, and let it sit for 20 minutes prior to rinsing out. I had some Anita Grant Deep Conditioning Rhassoul Bars I bought a year ago, and glycerin and honey, but no coconut milk. But, I did have an unopened jar of coconut cream concentrate left from last year. I mixed them all together and got this:

I made enough for two applications!

Application only took 15 minutes and there was no mess as the consistency was like fudge before it sets. And it smelled so delicious, I literally had to stop myself from tasting it! It spread super easy throughout my hair and there was no mess whatsoever.

I let it sit in my hair for an hour and noticed a definite difference when I rinsed it out. My hair was clean without feeling stripped, and slightly elongated. And, it was a cinch to rinse out, possibly due to the oil in the coconut cream concentrate (Note to self: Mix coconut cream concentrate with henna, clays or Ayurvedic treatments).

Rinsing this out was quick and easy, and it only took a few seconds until the water ran clear. Granted I loved the way my hair felt, I also decided to co-wash for the very first time so I applied my sample of As I Am  Coconut Co-Wash and fell in love with my hair even more! As a post-treatment, I used my As I Am sample of CocoShea Spray which made me love my hair even more!!!!!

My natural texture's kind of screwy, but gotta' love the sheen and shine!

Both As I Am products smell amazing. There's no lather with Coconut Co-Wash, but it is a thick cream that has a lot of slip. The CocoShea Spray caught me off guard since it looks like milk and has the consistency of water. Now that my hair's almost dry, it's left a super light oil sheen on my hair without any scent.

I am soooo in love with today's hair treatment and will most definitely do it again. I think the key for me was adding coconut cream concentrate to my rhassoul clay. My hair has been totally saturated in coconut oil today and it feels and looks pretty amazing. I think I'm going to do this once a month!!!!

Before and After

Three years ago on July 4, my hair was in pitiful shape. While it wasn't subjected to chemicals, it was brittle, dry and damaged due to ye' old blow dryer and hot comb. Heat protectant? What was that? Detangling? Moisturizing? I didn't know jack! And the proof is in the pudding! Just look at that thin, frizzy hair! It would grow, but as soon as it hit my shoulders, it'd either break off or I'd burn it off. Lots of trimming back then!

July 4, 2009

I struggled along for another year with my head lookin' a mess until I got sick of straightening my hair. I remember it was a hot, humid day. I was closed up in the house with the A/C on. I'd just finished straightening one side of my hair, but when I got ready to do the other side, the first half was already starting to frizz! Seeing that my efforts to get my hair bone straight were futile, I packed up my straightening equipment and decided to wear my hair in its natural state. Almost three years later, I have this!

May 20, 2012

Now, over the years, I had worn my hair natural, but I had no idea what I was doing and there were only two companies that made natural hair products. And, those products could only be obtained via the Internet or catalog. With my decision to go natural full-time, I did my share of YouTube and blog research, but only about 10 percent of what I found actually gave me the results I wanted which prompted me to go rogue!

Most of the year, I stick to twists. On occasion, I straighten my hair a couple times a year. I deep condition with my steamer before washing my hair with shampoo every week. I oil my scalp. I only comb/brush my hair once a week. Product is only applied to my hair once a week and it has to be 100 percent natural ingredients. When I sleep, I pineapple in a stocking cap.I only style my hair once a week.

I don't worry about eating healthy, unless it's for weight control. I don't take hair vitamins. I don't cowash or oil wash. I don't trim my hair, well, maybe once every couple years. I don't spritz my hair with water unless it's my wash day. I don't use fancy or expensive ingredients in my hair products. I'm not a product junkie. I don't switch up my hair styles-I wear two basic styles all the time.

Some people are shocked by the hours I spend on my hair on my wash day, but it balances out since I don't do anything to my hair throughout the week except to fluff it up in the mornings and go. Besides, my wash day is kind of like my zen moment and I love doing my hair. I can't wait until it's time to wash it again! While I'm very pleased that my hair is the healthiest, thickest and longest it's ever been in my life (even under the bi-weekly care of a hairdresser), I'm not done. I'm aiming to just let it grow solely so my twists are a few inches past shoulder length. Perhaps when I'm older, I'll forgo my regimen and hiding my grey, and just grow me some long silver dreadlocks. Being a former dread head, though, I do realize that they come with maintenance of their own kind. 

How's it going on your own hair journey?