henna gloss & tea rinse (wash day)

I did quite a few things my last wash day.

1. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I suddenly decided to try bangs. 
2. It was protein wash day, so I continued my protein layering regimen.
3. And lastly, I did a tea rinse (with garlic) to decrease shedding.  

With my current schedule my wash days have been on Thursday, so this'll be a recap. It's been about three weeks since the start of my Protein Layering challenge, and accordingly, I did a protein treatment on the bottom half of my hair last wash. The protein layering method I've been doing is applying protein by gradually working up the hair length every protein wash day (visit here for an illustration).

Aside from protein layering, I've also been focusing on reducing shedding my last few wash days. I've been having an increase in hair loss lately (nothing big, but noticeable) and from analyzing the loss strands I see the majority is shedding. Not sure if it's a seasonal thing or change in my diet, but I've been doing tea rinses to try and combat it (that and trying to remember to take garlic supplements).


Here is what I used on my wash day

• Tea Rinse/ Prepoo - Created a tea rinse made of fennel tea, hibiscus tea, nettle tea, peppermint tea, and juiced garlic and poured it over my head, focusing on my scalp. That sat for about an hour. 
• Cleanse - Shampooed with Creme of Nature's Argan oil Shampoo
• Oil Rinse - Poured some grape seed oil over my hair while still in the shower, wanting it to be damp and a little oily before applying my henna gloss. 
• Protein - Did a henna gloss and allowed it to sit for about an hour
• Condition - Deep conditioned with Aubrey Organic's Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner for about two hours
• Moist - Finished of with my diluted Kimmaytube leave-in and Vatika Frosting

BLACK HENNA GLOSS

If you follow the henna gloss link above, you'll see I use Aveda's Black Malva Conditioner in it in attempt to get darker undertones. I have never updated how this idea worked for me because, well, I still don't know if it works. I've been having a dilemma of trying to take before and after pictures of my hair's undertones. From what I can tell from the before and after pictures I attempted to take this wash, there isn't much of a difference. Maybe next time I attempt it I'll do it more like a two step henna treatment, using the black malva instead of indigo. 

TEA RINSE

The hair care knowledgeable might have noticed I didn't use black tea in my mix, when it's the most known tea to help combat shedding. Black tea rinses have helped me in the past when I noticed an increase in shedding, but recently, not so much. When I first started doing tea rinses to combat this period of increase shedding, I was only using black tea. I wasn't noticing any improvement this time, not sure why. With the fennel, nettle, and garlic juice mixture I have now, however, I have noticed slight improvement. I plan on continuing to change it up though, until I find the tea rinse recipe that works best for me.  

protein layering challenge

Hey guys, I started a Protein Layering challenge on Hairlista. If you're interested in trying out the method, or already doing it, please join us! The group will be active until the end of November. The only real rules is to create a starting posts explaining your protein layering strategy and to keep your protein and moisture balance stable. To help show examples of different ways protein layering can be done, I made the below animated gifs.

• This one is my main method. It involves working up the hair every protein wash day. You start with solely protein deep conditioning your the first wash, then working up to two-fouths the hair length the next scheduled protein wash day, then three-fourths the next one, and then your whole head the final one. Then the cycle repeats.

• This one is inspired by Nadege's method, and unlike the one above, one cycle is done on the same day. The protein treatment is first applied solely to your ends, then a diluted version is applied to the 'lower class' level of the hair. As you work your way up the diluting and letting it sit in your hair steps just repeat for the 'middle class' and 'protein rich' levels of the hair like shown.

protein layering (for even strength)

HAIR HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Like my first legit infographic? Protein layering is a method, or rather a concept, still stapled to my hair regimen. It has helped my suffering ends with the transitioning from lye relaxers to Japanese straightening. Since sharing this idea, the method has been coined 'protein layering', but technically you don't have to layer protein product in your hair to do it. As shown in the illustration in the link above, I have mostly been doing it by protein deep conditioning my ends one week, then half my hair the next protein wash day, then my whole head the next protein wash day.  

Because all heads of hair has this natural protein hierarchy, protein layering is something everyone can benefit from. Relaxed and fighting a line of demarcation. Natural and afraid of doing full on protein treatments too often. Lye relaxed transitioning to Japanese straightening. Or just wanting even strength throughout your hair length. Protein Layering is also beneficial to individuals that have dry ends who find methods like baggying doesn't work. Such a case would mean that even with the added moisture, the ends have nothing to retain it because of the protein loss.

Below are links to other bloggers that do protein layering. Visit their posts to see examples of the different ways protein layering can be done.

HOW IT'S DONE

Lesley from Fresh Lengths incorporates protein layering into her regimen by doing a protein deep conditioning solely to the bottom half of her hair between normal washes.

KLP from Saving Our Strands uses the concept of protein layering in her protein conditioning by applying a moisture conditioner only to her roots and then using a protein conditioner from the line of demarcation down.

Nadege from Relaxed Hair Health really follows the concept, applying a heavy protein conditioning mix to her ends and then leaving it in for about 15 mins. She then proceeds to dilute her mix and apply it to the rest of her hair.

Petra from Black Hair Information suggests a number of ways to incorporate protein layering into your regimen depending on what your hair needs.

liquefied (ayurvedic) shampoo bars

SHAMPOOING & MOISTURIZING

I haven't talked much about what shampoo and hair cleansing products I use, and it's because I've never been satisfied with any. It's always either too stripping and alkaline or too moisturizing and like a 2 in 1 shampoo-conditioner. Many hair care journey girls use moisturizing shampoos to wash their hair, Creme of Nature Argan Oil Moisture & Shine Shampoo being a popular one. I've tried it, and personally felt it was a little too moisturizing -not for my hair, but for my scalp. When I wash, I want my scalp to be thoroughly cleaned and my hair to be subtly cleaned. The key to healthy hair is a cleaned scalp and moisturized tresses. Naturally kinky hair is usually paired with natural dryness, so the focus is in increasing moisture. But sometimes, I think that many of us forget about the clean scalp part -cowashing and oiling our scalps too much for example. I mentioned this in my How to start a hair care journey post. Nadege from Relaxed Hair Health also recently made a post about being weary of using cleansing conditioners and the like.

I've tried various ways of shampooing my hair without finding that winner. Many moisturizing shampoos does not clean my scalp as thoroughly as I want it. Indian cleansing powers are very drying, can be time consuming, and the amount of usage needs to be monitored as they strengthen the hair like protein. A heavily diluted castile soap shampoo recipe is still rather alkaline. Cowashing does not properly clean your scalp and is not meant to completely substitute shampooing. Then there are shampoo bars. 

AYURVEDIC SHAMPOO BARS

Shampoo bars seem to be the only things I've tried that gently cleanses my hair the way I want. I use ayurvedic shampoo bars from Hairveda, right now I have their Cocasta Shikakai Bar and Red Tea Shampoo Bar in my possession. In my experience, Hairveda is the best hair product line for girls with naturally kinky textured hair, it doesn't matter if you're natural or relaxed. The only downside for me is that I have to buy online and they're products are a little expensive, so I usually wait for their sales because they have quite a few of them. I've been using Cocasta Shikakai since the first time I bought from them and it's been a keeper.

Shampoo bars are what have been working for me so far, the only problem is that they're a bit of a nuisance to use since they're in bar form instead of familiar liquid form. So I googled whether there's a way to liquefy them, and the process is extremely simple.

HOW TO LIQUEFY SHAMPOO BARS

RECIPE
1 CUP water
1 TSP glycerin
1 TSP oil of choice
And your shampoo bar.

DIRECTIONS: Grate the shampoo bar with a cheese grater until your soap flakes measure 1 cup. Bring the 1 cup of water to a boil and then pour the shampoo bar flakes into the water. Add the glycerin and your oil of choice into the mixture, I usually use jojoba oil. Stir the mixture and adjust the heat until blended. And lastly, pour your now liquid shampoo into a shampoo bottle. It's that simple.

This round has been my third time doing this, but my first time using Hairveda's newer Red Tea Shampoo bar to do it. I used an old Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera container, it's the appropriate size and I find the nuzzle easier to use than the usual shampoo nuzzle.

how to start a healthy hair care journey

I've been working on this post little by little for months, I'm so glad to finally be able to put it up! The point of me creating this blog was my desire to help girls with my hair conditions take better care of their hair. But I realized most of the stuff I talk about is more for those that already have an idea of what they're doing. Every now and then I'd get messages from girls that wanted to start a hair care journey but had no idea where to start. Instead of rewriting the basics to them again and again, I decided to just publicly write it all here. I probably should have done this a long time ago. 

The basic components of a hair care regimen.

BASIC PRODUCTS

gentle shampoo or cleanser 

oil

moisture conditioner

protein conditioner

leave-in

wide tooth comb

✂

BASIC REGIMEN

prepoo (optional, but highly recommended)

Short for pre-shampoo. This is where you coat your hair in heated oil, like a hot oil treatment, for at least a half hour before washing. Sometimes people use conditioner or an oil-conditioner mix instead. This protects your hair from sulfates and the harsh effects of shampooing. It also helps hinder the tangling that occurs during washing and gives the hair more shine after the wash. 

✂

wash 

Shampoo should be done no more than once a week for us afro textured and relaxed girls, because using shampoo or any other cleansing product more than that could dry out our hair. A proper wash should start with thoroughly rinsing your hair and scalp. Then when shampooing, it's important to focus on the scalp and only let the suds rinse throughout the length of the hair, not applying the shampoo directly on the ends of the hair. Again, that would cause unnecessary dryness. The key to healthy hair is a clean scalp and a moisturized mane, not the other way around. For this reason, I would also recommend going no longer than two weeks between washes, because you don't want build up on your scalp either. The only time shampoo should be applied on the entire hair is when clarifying (deep cleansing) or when washing something (like chlorine) out.

Many healthy hair journey girls try to find shampoo without sulfates, sometimes completely discontinuing the use of shampoo for healthier alternatives. This is because shampoo often contains sulfates, a synthetic cleaning ingredient that is too harsh on the hair. It washes out not only dirt and excess oil, but also strips away our natural oils and moisture. Prepooing can combat this to a degree, but it's better to try to avoid sulfates or use them to a minimal degree. Also, when using other types of hair cleansing alternatives, the proper 'shampooing' techniques explained before should still be kept in mind.

cowash (optional between washes)

Between normal washes, you can try cowashing. Cowashing is short for conditioner washing, and like the name says, it’s where you use conditioner to clean your hair instead of shampoo. Rinsing your hair with water alone cleans it to a degree, and on top of that, conditioner has a gentle cleansing effect. Don't believe me? A while back JC from The Natural Haven conducted a little experiment to see how well cowashing really cleansed hair. Her findings showed that about 90 percent of excess oil is removed.

Cowashing, however, should not be used as a total substitute for shampoo or alternative hair cleansing products. Though it gently cleans the hair, whether it cleans the scalp is questionable. When cowashing, some girls will massage the conditioner into their scalp like shampoo. I would think that would not work on the scalp as it does the hair and would instead create buildup. Even Gina Rivera from Hairs Talent had cautioned me when I first told her I cowashed. She told me she had to do scalp only cleansing treatments to many of her natural clients, because many of them cowashed, going a month between normal washing. Though their hair was fine, these clients had scalp buildup. Click here to view a video where she talks a little on this subject. In conclusion, cowashing gently cleanses your hair, moisturizes it, and makes wash days easier, but it should not be overused.

✂

protein conditioner 

Protein treatments strengthen and bring structure back into the hair strand. They are more optional for natural girls, but are important for relaxed girls, or girls who do any kind of chemical treatment or heat styling. Hair is made up of about 90 percent protein. Doing a protein treatment ‘patches up’ the damage from chemical processes to daily wear and tear. One should be cautious, however, with the amount of protein they use in their regimen. Protein has gotten a bad rep because girls sometimes use too much and end up getting protein overload. I was one of them. One of the most important keys to healthy hair, if not the most important, is the hair’s moisture and protein balance. A MizzSlick from BHM shared an extensive explanation on this balance and other essential information on the forum. (I think she mistakenly said "Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature" when she meant 90 percent. And rather then wet assessment, I recommend an elasticity test for more accuracy.)  How often you should do protein treatments and the strength of it depend on this balance. Lastly, when doing protein treatments, it’s also important to know that you have to follow up with a moisturizing conditioner that matches its strength. If it’s a heavy protein deep conditioner you have to follow with a heavy moisture deep conditioner, or your hair can become hard.

moisture deep conditioner 

For us girls with hair on the dry side, moisture conditioning is your best friend. Unless you’re cowashing, moisture deep conditioning should be done every time you wash. Something to watch out for, moisture conditioners will often contain a little protein ingredient or two in them. It’s kind of hard to find a conditioner that is completely protein free. This is fine, but it is something you shouldn't forget to calculate in when considering the amount of protein in your regimen and keeping your hair’s moisture-protein balance stable.

✂

moisturize & seal

A good leave-in is one that moisturizes your hair without making it greasy or too weighed down. After washing, rinsing out your deep conditioner, and drying your hair a little, a leave-in is best applied while your hair is still on the damp side. This is the best time because the still damp strands creates a more even application. At the same time, the strands are not still too wet for the leave-in to penetrate. Moisturizing should light-handedly be followed by an oil to ‘seal’ in the moisture. Oils do not moisturize, they seal the moisture already in the hair. I like to think of it like a cup with water and oil on top. Sealing makes it harder for moisture to leave the hair. One should re-moisturize & seal throughout the week, whenever your hair starts feeling dry again.

✂

drying 

The best way to dry your hair after washing is to first, dry it with a giant t-shirt instead of a towel. A towel if rigid and rough and was really made for our body, not our hair. When towel-shirt drying you also shouldn’t ruffle up your hair in the towel, simply squeeze and pat. Second, when drying it is healthiest to air dry your hair with oil, or to blow dry it with cool air. Air drying is the option most healthy hair journey girls go for, it creates little to no damage and the hair strands do not lose as much water. Plus it’s the lazier option. If your hair is wet for too long, however, it can cause your hair strands to swell, disturbing its structure. So if you know your hair takes a long time to dry, you should either use oil on wash day or blow dry on cool when your hair is about 70 percent dry. Using oil is something you should already be doing on wash day, when you prepoo and seal. Coconut oil in specific is known to be good at preventing hygral fatigue (swelling and contracting of the hair strand).

Direct heat like normal blow-drying and flat ironing isn’t something you want to keep in your routine when you start a healthy hair journey. Direct heat usage should be a maximum of at least two weeks apart, and a minimum of never. Too much blow drying on a hot setting can cause the water in wet hair strands to boil, which is worse for your strands’ structure than swelling. Flat-ironing can burn your hair, and takes away moisture and protein. If you can’t see yourself living without heat, opt for healthier options like roller setting and going under a hooded dryer.

combing

Combing should start from the ends on your hair to the root. Starting from the roots you're trying to pull through tangles which causes breakage. Hair is its easiest to comb in the shower, but at the time hair is weakest when wet. So if you're relaxed, combing in the shower is something you might want to avoid. If you're natural, combing in the shower is something you should probably practice. Opt for a seamless wide tooth comb, as both technique and the tools involved are important. 

Another thing that it good to practice is finger detangling instead of taking out the comb every time. And that goes with more emphasis to girls stretching their touch-ups and have blooming new growth. Your line of demarcation will thank you.  

trader joe's (nourish spa) new & old formula

Hello everyone! It feels like it's been forever since I've posted, my life has been quite busy. That will hopefully change now that I'm finally on summer break. I've gotten very lazy with my hair, too. Not so much neglectful, but I've really been doing 24/7 protective styling and been doing a lot of short wash days. I know I have a lot of things I have to update on, but today I wanted to talk about my favorite conditioner: trader joe's nourish spa!

NEW FORMULA

(or rather, 'changed' formula)



The company has changed the conditioner's formula. I'm probably late on this subject, I think they changed the formula two months ago. When I first saw they changed it I was a little worried, I was thinking 'first herbal essence's hello hydration, now this'. Researching the topic online, I saw a lot of girls were also worried, so worried that they were protesting to have the conditioner changed back without even trying the new one. I was worried, but I wasn't that upset, and picked up a bottle of the new conditioner last week. Here's a comparison of the old and new ingredients:

old formula - purified water, rosemary oil, orange citrus, mango, lemongrass, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea, willow bark, sea kelp, chamomile flower, textured soy protein, lavender, grapefruit citrus, vitamin e, acetamide mea, cetyl alcohol, cirtic acid, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance

new formula - purified water, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, citric acid, vitamin e, dimethicone, argan oil, rosemary leaf extract, orange citrus, mango, lemongrass, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea Angustifolia, willow bark, sea kelp, chamomile flower, soybean seed, lavender, grapefruit citrus, acetamide mea, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, fragrance

Now here are some things to note...

• Not too much has changed, the ingredients in italicized are the same and in the same order. There are also same ingredients that have just changed position in the ingredients list, for example, cetyl alcohol, vitamin e, and cirtic acid.
• I think the main reason the company decided to change the formula was to add argan oil, which has been very popular lately. They even changed the front label to mention argan oil is an ingredient.
• Some of the new first ingredients, like behentrimonium chloride, might not look too attractive to some. But despite it's scientific, chemical-looking name, it's plant-based. according to the blog honesty, it "conditions, detangles, fights static, softens, restores, and rebuilds damaged hair. since it’s plant-based and not petrochemical-based, it doesn’t coat but penetrates the hair shaft for potent conditioning effects. (In some applications, it also acts as a preservative)." The site also mentions that there is misinformation about behentrimonium chloride, people mistaking it as unnatural.  

MY EXPERIENCE

So really, there hasn't been much of a change to the product. I've only tried the formula once, and so far my hair hasn't been able to tell the difference. I worry a little bit about the dimethicone, (which some healthy hair girls have a problem with because it can accumulate on the hair is not washed out properly) but it isn't that big a deal to me. I understand what some girls went crazy and got worried but the conditioner's sudden change, but I would advice at least trying it first before complaining to the company to change. It might even be better then the old formula.

my top 5 cheapie conditioners

The title might be a little misleading because not all the conditioners I'm listing are exactly "cheap" per say. The price range going from $1 to around $10. When healthy hair journey girls say cheapie conditioners, we're usually talking about non-expensive moisture conditioners we mix with other things (like homemade deep conditioners or leave-ins) or for cowashing. The following conditioners are ranked by price, quality, and accessibility. They're not exactly ranked from my least to most favorite, but by how significant they are to my regimen.

5. AUBREY ORGANICS WHITE CAMELLIA

• price : $10
• quality : 3 out of these 5
• accessibility : Only available during my odd visits to Vitamin Shoppe
• review : I bought White Camellia after finishing and being wowed by Aubrey Organic's Honeysuckle Rose conditioner. It was good, did what it promised, but didn't quite meet my expectations. It's a great conditioner, left my hair with a great fragrance, but I feel that Trader Joe's Nourish Spa is slightly better and with a much cheaper price. It's a conditioner I only used once, but might buy again on a whim.

4. V05 CONDITIONERS 

SUAVE ALMOND AND SHEA BUTTER

• price : $1-4
• quality : 1 out of these 5
• accessibility : V05 is available at just about any dollar store and beauty supply; Suave at any pharmacy or department store
• review : V05 and Suave's conditioners are like the representatives of cheapie conditioners. you really get your bang for your buck. Suave might seem not that cheap, but it is when you consider the size of the bottle. I hardly ever use them alone, but use them in recipes in association with one of the other conditioners in this list. They're like helpers.

3. AUBREY ORGANICS HONEYSUCKLE ROSE

• price : $10
• quality : 5 out of these 5
• accessibility : only available during my odd visits to Vitamin Shoppe
• review : The greatest conditioner in the world. No, I'm not exaggerating. the only reason it's lower in the list is because it's on the expensive side compared to the others. When I use it I feel like I have to use it sparingly, and I don't like that feeling. I don't keep this conditioner on hand, But it's my go to when I feel like my hair is leaning into protein overload or needs some kind of saving.

2. TRADER JOE'S NOURISH SPA

• price : $2
• quality : 4 out of these 5
• accessibility : only available at Trader Joe's, but I go to the grocery at least once a month.
• review : Not the greatest, but my favorite, does that make sense? It's just so cheap and great quality at the same time! And it's easy to get my hands on. The only problem that makes it imperfect is one ingredient: organic textured soy protein. It's not like I'm one of those girls that's so afraid of protein that I won't use anything with protein in it. It's not like the ingredient is high in the list. And it's not like the protein is hydrolyzed, so it can't properly stick to the hair after being rinsed. But that one ingredient just restricts me sometimes. For example, I'm afraid to use it in my kimmaytube leave-in because the protein isn't being rinsed and can accumulate on my hair. Another example, I'm afraid to use it the week after a medium or heavy protein deep conditioning.

1. HERBAL ESSENCE HELLO HYDRATION

• price : $5 (update: price increased to $9 around my local stores)
• quality : 2 out of these 5
• accessibility : available at just about any pharmacy, department store, and beauty supply store
• review : My third favorite, after Nourish Spa and Honeysuckle Rose. just like Nourish Spa, it's easy to get my hands on and so cheap for it's great quality. The quality might not by as good as Nourish Spa, but it only has moisture ingredients. Well, coconut can kind of be considered protein. It's also a big bottle for it's price like Suave, But last time I went to Walgreens I didn't see the normal 23.7 fl ounce bottle again, but a smaller one the same price. Did herbal essence increase the prices for each bottle size, or was it just that walgreens? I sure hope not. This conditioner was my most recent addition to my regimen, we were just becoming good friends. 

clear rinse review

WHAT'S A CLEAR RINSE?

A clear rinse is used to prolong and give back life to color treated hair. Think of it like the clear coat you paint your nails with after the colored coat. It's like a color rinse or semi-permanent dye, but clear. It coats the hair and is completely safe to use, having no unhealthy chemicals. It works best with any type of chemically treated hair as it was designed to work with dyed hair and acts like a porosity corrector. 

BENEFITS

In a way, you can say a clear rinse it like the ultimate oil. 

It does everything a hair oil can do, but ten times better.

• acts like a mild protein treatment and porosity corrector because it coats the hair strand.
• really silks your hair, giving it a healthy shine.
• helps reduce frizz and really smooths your hair stands, which leads to easier detangling. 
• helps keep your hair's health in the condition it had before the rinse; this is why it's good to do a clear rinse when your hair health is stable, as it'll help keep it in stable condition, locking in your current moisture/ protein balance. 
• it's literally like a coat for your hair, protecting it from the weather.  

REVIEW

Trying out clear rinses is something I've been planning to do for a while. I finally got to doing it my last wash, and boy do I wish I had tried it sooner! Usually I don't do reviews on things so quickly, but I loved it so much. it made my new growth and relaxed hair so smooth. My relaxed hair looks like it was flat ironed without the volume loss, and it camouflages better with my Japanese straightened areas. It really gave my hair a natural looking shine and smoother feel, this is definitely something I'll be keeping. 

The cons is that it kinda tangled my new growth during the process. My new growth wasn't properly detangled when I applied the clear rinse, and after it sat on my hair for about 15 minutes my hair felt more 'structured'. Because of this there was more tangles I got more breakage. On the positive it did help reduce my growth's frizz and the tangles only occurred during the rinsing process. Next time, I'm probably only going to apply it on my chemically straightened hair.

Since this review is so early, I'll make a part two that will probably includes before & after pictures and how long the clear rinse lasts. I also used aveda's black malva conditioner before the rinse to see if it makes the color last. I'll also be writing about this in part two.

( I completely forgot to take pictures, 

but had luckily took one for a different reason. )

( FIRST CLEAR RINSE ) WASH DAY

• I waited to use it after my hair was in the most stable health. And that's what really happened as during the wash I only last a couple strands of hair, that's the smallest amount of breakage I ever got while so long in my stretch. 
• I moisture deep conditioned on dry hair with a random mix. Can't remember what I put in it, but I did use a little Hesh Rose Petal Powder. Something new I just bought at the Indian market as I was restocking on Vatika Coconut Oil. I then steamed for 30 min, but it stayed on my head for another 2 hours out of laziness. 
• I shampooed with my last bit of Hairveda Shikakai Swirl. 
• I then used my Aveda Black Malva conditioner alone for the first time, and that had ended up sitting on my head for 3 hour mostly due to laziness, too. 
• After rinsing it out and toweling drying, I used Jazzing's Clear Rinse for 15-20 minutes. 

healthy vs. damaged hair

"Relaxed hair is just damaged hair."

This is the message the media has been sending nowadays, so having healthy relaxed hair might seem like an oxymoron. In reality, all hair is damaged to a certain degree, so just saying "healthy hair" is an oxymoron. Damaged literally means 'harmed' and 'impaired value of normal function'. Hair products work by fixing the damages in our hair -if our hair was in perfect condition, hair products would not work on it. Ever notice how soft and nice a new born baby's hair is? They're the only ones how can really claim to have healthy hair, as their hair has not been exposed to the damaging conditions of the sun, wind, clothing, etc. So truthfully everyone has damaged hair, and damage can be fixed by treating it with products (not to perfect condition though.)

What healthy and damaged really means in hair language is how it looks cosmetically. Healthy hair is hair that does not break easily, has a good amount of elasticity, has a proper balance of moisture and protein, and has a low or medium porosity. The more things you do not have from this list, the more damaged your hair is. Processes like perming, dying, relaxing, and bleaching damage the hair to a bigger degree than that of outside elements (sun, wind...), but that does not mean the hair will forever be damaged. That's like saying dry natural hair can never by soft and moisturized.

Understanding this, you will understand why saying, "I don't care how healthy your hair looks, it's unhealthy," to a relaxed head doesn't make sense.



conquering protein overload

when trying to conquer protein overload the best battle strategy is to only use moisturizing products with no trace of protein. It took me a while to realize many of my moisturizing products, and even shampoos, had traces of protein. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I tried getting the most effective and cheapest products I could. below I've listed how I changed my regimen to combat protein overload, listed from the most helpful.

PRODUCTS

• Hairveda Whipped Ends 
• very good leave-in, a little expensive with shipping, especially if you're buying it alone. the shipping for american residents is about 7 dollars.
• Hairveda Sitrinillah
• also very good, but can be expensive with shipping like the whipped ends.
• Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose 
• also kinda expensive, but it was the most effective in reversing my protein overload. I used it as a deep conditioner and diluted it to use as a leave-in to stretch the dollar. this is also easier to get, usually found at your local vitamin shoppe. 
• Queen Helene Cholesterol 
• has mineral oil, but was very helpful. breakage is associated with protein overload because the hair is stiff and has little elasticity, but cholesterol helps restore elasticity. one thing that people may not like though, is that it has a distinct smell. to me, it smelled like the ferret shampoo I use to bath my ferret with. so I actually liked it because it brought back memories! 
• Honey & Molasses 
• cheap ingredients to add to conditioners to give them a moisture boost.
• Mane n Tail Detangler 
• helped detangling, because protein overloaded hair tends to stick together, making it knot easily. I only used it a couple days before washing because it has cones, which will not mix good with protein overload if there is a build up. 
• Suave Almond & Shea Butter 
• simple cheapie conditioner with no protein

REGIMEN

• deep condition or co-wash once a week with steam 
• helps the conditioner to penetrate the barriers of protein. I used the steam from my college's steam room and sauna.
• clarify (with castile soap and jojoba oil) every two weeks 
• clarifying dries the hair, but it also gets rid of the traces of protein product coating your hair. product build up is also not a good combination with protein overload. the castile soap also opens your hair's cuticles to take in moisture better. just make sure to close them back afterwards. 
• final apple cider vinegar rinse 
• to keep the hair's ph balance stable since I could no longer us roux ph corrector, which has protein in it. this also helps to keep the scalp clean when co washing and seals in the moisture after deep conditioning and using castile soap.
• baggying & wet bunning
• baggying excessively is one of the top things that really helped me. if I didn't do excessive baggying and wet bunning I'd still have protein overload ( wet bunning is when you bun your hair after washing and conditioning it, so that the hair stays wet and moist longer ). what finally got rid of my last traces of protein overload was when I left a bag on for 3 days in a row! with a good leave-in 
• protective styling 
• I kept my hair in braids (at least 8 total), and later twists. I found the twists worked better from keeping my hair from tangling. I also kept them in the shower because that's when my hair would really tangle. the only times I took them out was to detangle and moisturize my hair. 

THINGS I LEARNED

• not to pile your hair with moisturizer or conditioner, because that just creates build up. being light handed and not heavy handed is more effective. 
• stay far away from all protein ingredients, even if it's a little bit. especially from any hydrolyzed protein, which means the protein is small and molecular so it can penetrate the hair better. 
• stay away from coconut, avocado, and banana ingredients, especially as a leave-in. coconut helps keep the protein in you hair, and all of them have little traces of protein. 
• don't use any ayurvedic powders like amla, shikakai, and henna, because they all have strengthening properties like protein. 
• extra virgin olive oil and grapeseed oil are the best oils to seal with. especially with relaxed hair because they're light, but penetrating.

apple cider rinse

MY RECIPE:
2 CUPS water
1 CUPS rose water
4 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP any oil
1 TBSP honey

DIRECTIONS: Rinse out regular or deep conditioner out 50-70% then pour apple cider rinse throughout hair, making sure all of it gets saturated. Also be sure to get the scalp as it gently cleanses and restores the ph of the scalp. Leave in for a couple minutes, then half rinse out. Dry hair as usual.

REVIEW: This has had great results on my hair, the main benefit has been shine. Apple cider has a low ph, so it seals the cuticle and traps moisture in the hair strands. But remember, it's not good to do it too often. Apple cider has clarifying-like affects, so it can cause dryness when used too frequently. I started experiencing this when I was doing this every time I washed. My hair was not necessarily becoming dry, but I was no longer getting the same effects I once was. I've also read that using a ACV rinse as a final rinse leave-in will have a better effect on your hair. I've yet to really try that, the most I have done is rinse it out un-thoroughly so that some of it remains in my hair. I would think that using an apple cider rinse as a leave-in would also lead to dryness, and that an aloe vera juice leave-in would be a better substitute since it also has a low ph of 4 and with moisturizing properties. but I can't say because I have not tried it yet.

homemade castile shampoo

RECIPE:
2 TBSP dr. bronner's castile soap
1 TBSP jojoba oil ( or olive oil )
3/4 CUP water
4 TBSP rose water

 DIRECTIONS: pour over hair like a rinse, letting it soak down and throughout the hair. follow up with a conditioner. castile opens the hair's pores for better deep conditioning, so it's best to finish off with an apple cider rinse, which also has slight clarifying properties, or roux ph corrector so that the pores close back.

REVIEW: the kind that I've used is the liquid peppermint one. they also have one already mixed with rose water, which I might try in the future. I add rose water to my mix as a light moisturizing ingredient. but the peppermint one is nice with a tingling feeling. castile soap is the only natural and sulfate-free shampoo that deeply clarifies hair. usually to really clarify hair sulfate ingredients are needed. even with the peppermint, high ph, and clarifying properties, when mixed properly castile soap isn't drying at all. my hair would feel very good after shampooing with this.

according to the label, the Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap is made of... water, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide ( none remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin ), olive oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil , peppermint oil , mentha arvensis extract, citric acid, tocopherol

even if it makes your hair feel nice, castile shampoo should not be used too frequently, at least a month gap. this is not only because castile shampoo is a clarifier, which can dry hair, but because it has a very high ph of 9. this is the reason people with natural curly textures notice their curls lay down more. when using castile shampoo, it's best to take advantage of the open cuticles with a great protein deep conditioning before using a ph corrector, like Roux Porosity Control. if your hair is normal or high porosity, it would help for you to know that protein treatments are more effective when the cuticles are lifted because the molecular protein can enter the hair strand easier. castile shampoo is even better for hair that naturally has a low porosity since it opens the cuticles so moisture can enter easier, and does not sit on top of the hair strands.

black henna gloss ( without indigo )

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-4 TBSP henna 
• 4 TBSP cheapie conditioner 
• 1-2 TBSP aveda black malva 
• 2 TBSP vatika coconut oil 
• 3 TBSP honey or molasses 
• rose water (optional) 

DIRECTIONS:

• Detangle, dampen, then oil hair. 
• Mix 2 tbsp of henna with cold (rose) water in plastic container until the consistency turns pudding like. ( Do not use metal utensils ) 
• Add conditioners, oils, molasses and honey. 
• Put on old t-shirt and gloves; and apply to hair immediately. 
• Pile hair on head and put on plastic cap. 
• Sit under dryer for 30 minutes on moderate setting, or let it sit on hair for 1-2 hours. 
• Rinse out and condition, rinse out and condition. Gloves still on. 
• Follow with deep conditioning. 
• Clarify hair following week or wash. 

STORAGE:
Henna paste can freeze, but for better color deposit.

PRE-REVIEW:
After doing ALOT of research I finally found a way to darken my hair with a gloss and without having to do a two step with indigo. Thanks to LadyChe, a member that of LHCF who shared the idea. Aveda black malva is a natural conditioner that darkens hair. It's on the expensive side if used alone, but it's life gets extended when using as an ingredient in a glass. I can finally stop looking for hendigo glosses that go darker than dark brown, which doesn't seem to exist. Plus the conditioner diminishes red tones, making it a good match with henna. 

I have yet to try this, so stay tuned.

hair porosity

I know this has been explained before, but I thought I'd explain it in detail since it seems some people are confused about it. first of all, I see some people saying their hair is unhealthy because it has low porosity. that is incorrect. hair that has low and normal porosity are healthy. hair that is high in porosity is unhealthy. another thing that I find girls teaching, which isn't exactly true, is that low porosity hair and protein overload go hand in hand. they are two different things because hair can have protein overload and a high porosity at the same time. just doing protein treatments can help smooth the cuticle, but it won't bring high porosity hair to low porosity hair by itself. so just remember: protein helps porosity, porosity doesn't help protein. also, not all proteins help porosity, you have to look for specific kinds of proteins. I was confused about this once, too.

low porosity - hair that isn't very porous has smooth cuticles that water doesn't enter in easily. but when moisture does gets into the cuticle, it will be shut in resulting in long lasting moisture. this kind of hair is usually shiny, but it is resistant to chemical treatments like dye and relaxers. low porosity hair does not need cones or much protein either, you can get protein overload easily. low porosity hair will benefit from natural high ph products, like Castile Soap, Baking Soda, and Bentonite Clay. many low porosity haired girls have also have had success with Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Moisturizer.

normal porosity - this kind of hair can be thought of as being balanced. it can absorb a fraction of water, but is not overly porous. moisture can get in the hair strands and last. unlike low porosity hair, it can take chemical treatments okay, but you should keep it mind that over time the hair will become more porous by doing so.

high porosity - think of chemically processed hair that isn't being properly taken care of. this hair is damaged and has lots of holes in the hair shaft. these holes are like a sponge and absorb water easily, but this does NOT mean it's better for moisturizing. just as quick as the moisture comes the moisture goes. think of the hair strand as a house made of doors. with high porosity hair all the doors are open, making it unsafe for the cortex and insides of the cuticle. this type of hair does take in chemicals better, but it's not suggested because you'll just end up with even more damaged hair.

relaxed and chemically treated hair has a natural high porosity, but regular use of products such as Roux Ph Control, Aloe Vera Juice, and Apple Cider Vinegar will combat this and restore hair to normal porosity. proteins that coat the cuticle and oils will also help. note that oils help smooth the cuticle, but this is not due to ph. oils are not water soluble so they do not have a ph.

now that we understand the levels of porosity lets talk about the test. many of us hair fanatics know about this test. you divide your hair in four sections and take a shed strand of hair from each. this is because one section of hair might be healthier then another section. then you put the strands of hair in a tall cup or bowl and see if it floats. if it floats for a while it's healthy. here's what you should do for more clear results. see if your hair floats for at least 15 minutes. if it does then your hair is alright. if it doesn't it has high porosity and you have to up on your ph correctors. if you come back in an hour (with occasional checks in between the hour) and it's still floating, congratulations! your hair is in very good condition. now push down the strands and if they float back up (be patient!) your hair has low porosity.
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here is an article that further discusses the science of hair porosity:
The "Other Path" to Moisture, by Joe Parker
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here are some of the tips for low porosity hair that's explained in the article:

• If a product will hydrate your fingers then it will moisturize low porosity hair. 
• Adding a tiny amount of castile soap to your deep conditioner will boost it because it will lower the overall surface energy of the water system. 
• To boost your leave-in or rinsable conditioner, heat it up and apply it to your hair at an elevated temperature: 30 to 40 C. 
• Hydrolyzed rice, silk and wheat proteins have a molecular weight, making them better for low porosity hair.

ph higher than water equals higher porosity, and ph lower than hair equals low porosity. so to finish it all off, here are some recorded ph levels of hair related things:

• 14 sodium hydroxide (lye) 
• 13 bleach
• 9-11 calcium hydroxide & guanidine hydroxide (no lye)  
• 9-11 permanent dye 
• 8.9 castile soap
• 8-9 bentonite clay
• 8-9 ammonium thioglycolate (chemical used in perms)
• 8-9 semi permanent dye                       
• 8-9 baking soda 
• 8 sea water
• 7 pure tap water
• 6 milk
• 5-6 tea
• 5 soft drinking water
• 5 hair 
• 4-5 coffee
• 4.25-5 apple cider vinegar 
• 4.5 roux porosity control
• 3-5 aloe vera juice 
• 2 lemon juice

kimmaytube leave-in

INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP hairveda's whipped ends (or any conditioner)
2 TBSP trader joe's spa conditioner (or any conditioner)
4 TBSP aloe vera gel
2 TBSP shikakai cocasta oil
1-2 TBSP jojoba oil
water until desired consistency.

REVIEW: deciding I wanted to stretch my products and use a more liquidy conditioner, I decided to try the kimmaytube homemade leave-in. it's usually used on naturals and used as a leave-in. I use it as a a leave-in and moisturizer. for relaxed heads, it's best to cut the recommended amount of oils in half, like I've done in my recipe above. due to the low ph of the aloe vera juice, or gel, it has good porosity correcting properties. I've been using this a couple months now, and it's been great! my hair feels softer and looks shinier. since it's liquidy, it also doesn't give my hair that greasy, laid down look at the end of the week due eo product builds up.

For those of you who don't know, Kim Love, the inventor of this recipe, is a very popular natural hair guru. Click here to go to her youtube channel called Kimmaytube.

hair symptons

Conquering protein overload has provided me with more understanding and hair experience... but it also left me with a lot of broken strands. When I first began experiencing protein overload, I could not properly evaluate my hair, resulting in me worsening my overload. On hair care forums, I now see that other people also getting confused when trying to figure out what was wrong with their hair. So now I'm going to list a clear description of the symptoms that associate protein overload, moisture overload, low porosity, and high porosity. Everyone's symptoms can be a little different since everyone's hair is different, or their problems can be slightly different. I can only describe from my experience and knowledge, but at the same time the characteristics of each problem would still be relatively the same, just might not hit the bull's eye.
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you might also want to read about
hair porosity
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PROTEIN OVERLOAD is characterized by dry and hard hair. When moisturizing and conditioning, your hair will feel very soft and moist. It will take a while for your hair to dry, but once it dries it becomes very hard. In my experience, the outer cuticle layer is what felt dry and hard, but the inner layer still felt somewhat moisturized. With breakage, the hair snaps rather then stretches out, due to the small amounts of elasticity in the hair. A good way to tell the amount of elasticity in your hair is by doing the elasticity test. This is when you wet a broken hair strand, tie each end around your index fingers, and slowly stretch the strand and observe how it snaps. ( Does it stretch 50 percent and snap? Or does it just snap right away? ) The hair also gets harder to detangle because the strands tend to stick to each other. It's caused when too much protein in their hair. Once your hair health is stable, completely avoiding protein products forever isn't the answer. Just remember protein treatments are something you only really have to do when you notice you hair is getting too soft or when you notice extra breakage.

 MOISTURE OVERLOAD is characterized by very moist hair that stretches too much, resulting in breakage. The hair will feel too soft and mushy. Evaluating this is the easiest because it's symptoms is not like the other hair issues. Also, moisture overload is suppose to be very easy to fix, needing only one or two protein treatments to correct. It's caused when someone is doing too much conditioning to their hair without using protein to balance it.

LOW POROSITY is associated with smooth cuticles that shine, but where water can not enter easily. Depending how much water the strands absorbed determines how long it'll take for the hair to dry. When water is absorbed properly the hair will take a long time to dry. If water isn't absorbed properly the hair will dry fast. And when moisturizing the hair, product has a hard time entering, usually resulting in cream laying on the strands. Hair can naturally be low porosity or low porosity can be obtained from using ph correcting products too often. This one doesn't mean your hair is un-healthy, it means you have to adjust your practices to accommodate for your hair condition.

 HIGH POROSITY acts like a sponge. moisture can easily enter, but easily exits. When the hair dries it dries, and quickly. Hair cuticles will feel dry and also feel rigid, not smooth. A good way to figure out porosity is to do the porosity test ( see how long a strand of your hair floats in water, see link above for details). Hair that is very high porosity is usually malnourished. High porosity hair is the natural structure of her that has been chemically treated. How much the cuticle's 'scales' have lifted depends on how high on the ph scale the chemical used is. Relaxers are probably the highest, being made from a chemical with a ph of 14. Regular use of ph correcting products must be used to combat this.

MY EXPERIENCE

When I first began experiencing protein overload, I thought I was suffering from low porosity symptoms from using Roux Porosity too often, so I stopped using it. I also did the porosity test, which told me my hair's porosity was low. I began changing my regimen in order to combat this. I was clarifying with baking soda to lift my hair cuticles, over moisturizing my hair with baggying and steaming to try to force the moisture in, and avoiding my protein products. For a while my hair felt like it was slowly getting better, but then that stopped and it was getting worse again! I did another porosity test and my hair had gone from low porosity to high porosity! But why was my hair still suffering and acting strange? That's when I realized I had protein overload. That explained why my hair had little elasticity. ^ ^'

The reason my changed regimen was kinda working for me was because I was doing more clarifying, deep conditioning, and avoiding protein ingredients. Things that combat protein overload. From this I also realized that many moisturizing products have some protein ingredients in them. When you have protein overload you want products with no protein at all. This was probably why my hair was still started getting worse.