Naked Hair (G-rated)

If you want to, please read this post by the Curl Whisperer----->  Naked Hair
If that doesn't open, try this ---------------------------------->  Naked Hair


Okay! so, about 2 weeks ago, something (which I won't talk about now, maybe later) happened and well, I was emotionally unstable. The last thing on my mind was caring for my hair. I quit moisturising and other things I normally would do to my hair on a daily basis. I actually slept without my satin bonnet thingy on for some time. Actually, I couldn't really sleep, but I had my head on a cotton pillow overnight without a satin bonnet thingy on my head.

Anyways, when I started getting better, I resumed putting on my satin bonnet thingy as I finally could remember and think of putting it on before sleeping, but I still didn't moisturise or anything like that, they were the last things on my mind. However, I did think, "you're hair must be dry and totally messed up right now." So, I had my hair in braids and when I finally took them down, my hair felt.... I cleansed my scalp and air dried and my hair felt....should I tell you?...yes?....no?....yes?....we're talking about naked hair here....it..it felt....it feltttttttt.....GREAT! So soft, manageable, so good, and most definitely not dry, brittle and frizzy.

I'm not saying you should go sleep on a cotton pillow without a sating scarf, bonnet, or satin bonnet thingy, or you should neglect your hair. I'm just saying that my hair felt so AWESOME!!!!!
Till the day before yesterday, I was rocking naked hair and yesterday, I just got a tad bit (less than a 1p coin) of 100% natural/ unrefined shea butter on my end after getting my hair braided in cornrows.

Can't wait to take my braids down on Friday and rock my totally awesome curly many. Oh! and I've finally been able to achieve a bun/puff thingy and even a second-day hair bun/puff thingy (didn't take it down, just put on 2 satin bonnet thingies and slept like that). Someone saw my hair at my last concet (on Saturday 16d/06m/12y) and told her daughter, who's transitioning, "look at how nice her hair is, you should learn how to do that." I must say, I did get a 'big head' from that comment. hehe

Anways, incase you want to try what I normally do and see if you get great naked hair (if you haven't been able to yet, that is), I:

1. SO do not use shampoo. In case you've never read any of my posts that mention that I'm CG, I'm CG :) and lovin' it!
2. I use only homemade products, and I make ALL my hair products (some of my recipes are on here). Every ingredient I use is 100% natural.
3. I noticed that bottled water makes my hair feel WAY better than tap does. So I rinse or moisturise with bottled water or I wash/rinse out with tap water (from the shower) then I do a final rinse with bottled water. It so makes a difference.
4. I give things a break from time to time. Like I can quit using shea butter for some weeks then continue using it or I can quit using oils for some weeks then continue. I'm not very consistent esp. with my hair regimen. I tweak it every now and then, but as long as my regimen is still very similar, I don't alter it online.
5. I deep condition my hair overnight on a weekly basis.
6. I don't remember the last time I used heat on my hair (it should be about a year, or so now)
7. I try not to touch my hair often, but honestly, my hand keeps going up in my hair often hehe

By the way, I still have relaxed ends (but I'm cutting them off just before I braid my hair with extensions which is in a couple of weeks).

Love you all,

Enjoy your naked hair!

~Sam

p.s I used to have this image that hair that's not naked had clothes on. Hmm.....

ACV vs BS (ProductsWAR Ep1)

Hey everyone!

So, what is this blog about? Incase you haven't already figured it out, it's about Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and Brown Sugar (BS(S)). The pros and cons, which is better, you know....

Please note that I'm going to be blogging from my experience during the post and please remember, what works for one person doesn't always work for another.

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According to Wikipedia and Livestrong, "apple cider vinegar, otherwise known as cider vinegar or ACV, is a type of vinegar made from cider or apple must and has a pale to medium amber color." "This substance is rich in vitamin and mineral content, as well as enzymes and amino acids. It is no surprise that apple-cider vinegar can naturally protect your hair from hair loss."






Apple Cider Vinegar:

• Helps remove buildup,
• Improves scalp health (and gets rid of bacteria that causes hair loss)
• Stimulates hair follicle growth

The acidity of apple cider vinegar helps to balance the pH level of your hair and remove buildup, destroy bacteria that cause scalp conditions like dandruff or severe itchiness, and it makes it a natural cleansing agent.

Unfortunately, apple cider vinegar:

• Has such a nasty smell (which lasts for quite a long time, BUT usually wears off about a half-hour after you hair's fully dry)
• Can make you hair hard (if not diluted properly)
• Can cause scalp irritations (also if not diluted properly)

How to make your own Apple Cider Vinegar (from scratch) 

Here's my recipe for an apple cider vinegar rinse (can be used as an after shampoo/conditioner rinse or as an alternative to shampoo). This works for me, but please remember, it just might or might not work for you, but if you want to try it, feel free to, you'll never know if it works for you if you don't try it. Please, use at your own risk.

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Bottled/Filtered Water
• Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (from a medium sized lemon)

Directions:

• Pour 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts water (the first part of water you add should be hot or near-hot). I used a calibrated cup for this.
• Mix the ACV and water together thoroughly (please excuse the smell of the mixture).
• Next, squeeze out the juice of a lemon into a cup or the bowl the ACV and water mix is in and if you get any seeds, take them out with a fork.
• Mix these together thoroughly.
• Either leave it for a few minutes before using or you could use it immediately.

How I used this:

I sectioned my hair in fours and held each section with a metal-free ponytail holder. I took down one section and then sectioned that section irregularly. I then worked the ACV mix into each smaller section focusing on my scalp and working on it like I would with shampoo. When I was done with all the smaller sections in that section, I held that section back together with a ponytail holder. When I was done with all sections, I let the mix sit for a few minutes then I rinsed it out thoroughly.

What I got from this:

Soft, manageable, tangle-free hair that looked SO GOOD...... but smelt SO BAD.
*By the way, I might add a little more vinegar next time.

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According to Wikipedia, "Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown colour due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar (so-called Molasses Sugar).

Brown sugar contains from 3.5% molasses (light brown sugar) to 6.5% molasses (dark brown sugar) based on total volume. Based on total weight, regular brown sugar contains up to 10% molasses."

Brown sugar:

• Helps remove buildup and hard/dead skin cells
• Exfoliate the scalp
• Improves blood circulation in the scalp (due to the "hands-on" method)

Apart from making you hair sticky (if not rinsed out properly), I haven't heard of any disadvantages of brown sugar to the scalp/hair.

How to make your own brown sugar


Here's my recipe for a brown sugar scrub. I use this as an alternative to shampoo. Please remember, this may or may not work for everyone.

Ingredients

• Brown Sugar
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice <- from half a medium sized lemon (optional)

*I don't always add the lemon juice to my scrub.

*Some people add olive/coconut oil to their scrub, but I prefer not to because I don't want to have an oily scalp or have to struggle with washing out the oil esp. because I'm CG. If you feel like adding some oil to your scrub, feel free to.

Directions

• Pour some brown sugar into a bowl or cup
• If you want to add the lemon juice (for it's fragrance or for extra cleansing), squeeze out the juice of half of a medium sized lemon, take out the seeds with a fork then pour the juice into the cup/bowl of brown sugar.
• Mix the brown sugar and lemon juice together thoroughly.

How I used this:

I sectioned my hair in 2 (sometimes, I section in 4) then I took down one section and divided it into smaller sections. I got the scrub onto my scalp and moved the pads of my fingers on my scalp, working in the scrub till I was done with every section then I got the remaining scrub (wasn't a lot left) onto my hand, took down both sections at the same time and did a final thorough scrub before I rinsed out the brown sugar scrub thoroughly.

What I got from this:

Soft, manageable, shiny, hair that looked AND SMELT good.

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1. Cleanliness: The brown sugar left my hair way more clean and with way less buildup when I was done. I am thinking this had to do with the concentration of the ACV in my ACV rinse because it did get rid of most of the buildup.

BS 1  :   0 ACV

2. Softness of hair: The ACV left my hair way softer than the brown sugar did. WAY softer.

BS 1  :   1 ACV

3. Manageability of hair: The ACV made my hair more manageable as it helped to get and keep my hair tangle-free. I'm not saying the brown sugar didn't make my hair quite manageable too, I'm just saying that the ACV made my hair more manageable than the brown sugar.

BS 1  :   2 ACV

4. Shine: I believe we've got a tie here

BS 2  :   3 ACV

5. Frizz: My hair looked equally or near-equally frizz free when I was done (did them exactly a week apart)

BS 3  :   4 ACV

6. Smell: The brown sugar wins hands down! The smell of the ACV was so HORRID!

BS 4  :   4 ACV

7. Itchy scalp: Both stopped that

BS 5  :   5 ACV

8. Dandruff: Both cured that.

BS 6  :   6 ACV

AND IT'S A TIE!!!!

Okay! yeah, it is a tie, but here are some things:

1. If I'm looking mainly for cleanliness (like if I have a lot of buildup or I'm going to be braiding with extentions), I'll go for the brown sugar scrub.

2. If I can push away the smell, my dad's at work and I'm sure I'm not going to have to leave my house for any reason, I'll go with the apple cider vinegar.

3. However, I most likely would use the brown sugar scrub more often as I'm scared of using something acidic on my hair often (even though I get great result with it). PLUS, the Curl Whisperer said, "you need to bear in mind that ACV is an acid--over 100 times more acidic than your hair--and it needs to be respected as such. Acids can and will start to degrade your hair shaft with overuse, so you must be cautious and pay strict attention to your hair's reaction to frequent ACV rinse use. I personally believe a monthly to bi-monthly ACV rinse provides more than sufficient benefit for almost everyone." I'm most likely going to use the ACV rinse once a month or once every month and a half (well, as needed, but never more than once a month)

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Hope you learned a lot and enjoyed reading this SUPER LONG post :)

Love you all!

~Sam

A Note From a Teen Mixtress

Hey everyone!


So, sometime last year, around November/December, I decided to quit using commercial products on my hair. It was sorta like a challenge for me. I was like, "won't all-natural thing be better for natural hair?"
Anyways, Since then, I've made my own hair cleansers, scalp scrubs, conditioners, deep conditioners, gels etc. I did, however, use an Organics Twist & Lock Gel at some point. Besides that (and I haven't used it in quite a while), I've been using all natural, homemade things on my hair and my hair feels SO GOOD!
Using all-natural things means that my hair gets no sulphates on it, no parabens, mineral oils, petrolatum, sodium chloride, formaldehyde, propylene glycol, paraffin, fragrance (parfum), pthalates etc. Therefore, it's in a very healthy state as it it deprived from harsh chemicals found in some commercial products.


So, I guess I'm just going to share with you my favourite recipes (feel free to try them any time):


1. My absolute fav: 
Avocado DC

1-2 Avocados (I usually use quite ripe to very ripe avocados)

Coconut cream

2 table spoons of honey (or more. I usually eyeball)

Rosemary oil, Canola oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Rapeseed Oil (I usually add a bit of all or just about 3 of them, but just in small quantities)

Directions

Mash the avocado(s) till it is smooth or close to smooth. Add all the other ingredients and mix it till it is still smooth, thoroughly mixed and of a good consistency. Get it on your hair and put on a plastic cap then a plastic bag (if needed) then tie a scarf over them to keep them in place, prevent annoying rustling sounds, prevent the DC from leaking, etc. Sometimes, I cover my hair with more than what I stated above, but that's just me. Also, I always deep condition overnight (so, the deep conditioner has about 8 hours or more to work).
*This is my favourite deep conditioner because it combats dryness, moisturises and conditions my hair, leaves my hair feeling soft and looking beautiful and well, it makes it so hard for me to get my hands out of my hair (hehe :) )


2. Hair and Scalp Cleanser (no-poo shampoo)

·         Rosemary

·         Sage

·         Water

·         Jojoba, canola, olive, or rapeseed oil (your choice)

·         Lemon juice

·         Aloe vera gel

Directions

Eyeball all the ingredients. Mix the herbs in a clear plastic bowl (or glass jar), which has a lid. Boil some distilled, filtered or bottled water. Add the mixed herbs into the boiling water. Pull the boiling water and herbs off the stove. Let the herb mixture sit for 30 – 40 minutes. Add the oil after the mix has been sitting for 30 minutes. After 40 minutes, add a bit of lemon juice as you want (make sure there is enough oil to prevent any possible drying effect of the lemon juice. Also, do not use a lot of lemon juice, just a little). Strain the herbal mixture into a bowl and mix in the aloe vera gel. Pour into a bottle and store in a cool, dry place.

3. Leave-in treatment (shine and moisture)

·         1 tsp honey

·         4 cups warm water

Warm up the honey a bit (to let it melt) so it’s easier to mix up (it's not a must you do this, I don't always do it). Combine the honey and water together and mix well. Add a preservative to it or leave it in the fridge preferably in a spray bottle. I usually use up all that I make (I just make as much as needed) so, my advice for you is to do that or well, you can try putting it in the fridge or adding vitamin E oil or somethhing to it as a preservative.

4. Conditioner

Olive Oil

Canola, Rapeseed or Coconut oil

Honey

Combine the ¼ cup olive oil,¼ cup oil, ½ cup water (or less, depends on the consistency you're looking for, 2 tbsp honey and. Mix thoroughly. Store conditioner in a cool place between uses. *I've never used this as a deep conditioner, just a normal conditioner*

5. Deep Conditioner 

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Rapeseed oil

Honey

Shea butter

Mix the honey and oils together thoroughly (note that you shouldn't use a lot of the oils) then add some shea butter to the mix (I used about 2 tablespoons-ish). Place the bowl your mixing this in in a bowl containing hot water (this will melt the shea butter). Mix everything together thoroughly then transfer the bowl with the mix to a cool place and let it sit for a while.

Something I do everyday (for moisture and hair health)

I get some bottled water on my hair (not too much) then I get about a 1p coin size (never more than a 50p coin size) of my oil mix (which is made up of rapeseed, coconut and extra virgin olive oil) onto my hair then I rub some shea butter between my hands and smooth it over my hair concentrating on the ends. My hair has benefited from this daily treatment.

..........

*Please note that not everything that works for one person will work for another person. It took me months to finally figure out what my hair loves and what it doesn't love.*

*I always deep condition my hair overnight*

*Also, I do not really recommend sleeping with a plastic bag on your head because of reasons like suffocation, etc. I do sleep with a plastic bag on sometimes, but well, if you do, sleep with it on at your own risk*

.............

Thanks for reading! :)

p.s here's a challenge: try going up to a month without using any commercial hair products (use homemade ones) and deep condition once every week (and overnight only if possible). Compare how your hair feels before you try this with how it feels after you try this (if you want to go longer, please feel free to). :)

Shrinkage & Stretching (REVIEW!!!! = various stretching methods)

Gaah! January's already almost over? Just 1 day to go till February? Wow!

Anyways, hey everyone!
Today (well, yesterday), I decided to talk to you guys about stretching, stretching your hair/curls (not the err...exercise stretching thingy). Okay! so,  so far, I've tried stretching my hair by doing two strand twists (and three-strand twists), African threading (aka Ghana Plaits), basic braids (box braids), bantu knots, scarf&ponytail holder and setting rollers (there's another name for those, but I can seem to remember it right now.

My hair shrinks like A LOT! There have been some days that I go out rocking a beautiful afro, but by the next few hours, my hair's a frizzy mess or should I just say a shrunken frizzy mess. Someone once asked me, "did you cut your hair?" and I was like, "no." The same person then asked, "then why does it look way shorter," and I was like, "because it shrunk." I then held part of my hair and pulled it downwards to show it's actual length and that I didn't cut it and the person I was talking to was like, "oh, wow!" Some people just kept staring at my hair for a while after that. The person I was talking to has natural curls too, but a different curl type/pattern, plus, she doesn't have to deal with so much shrinkage (it's hard to notice if she even gets shrinkage). Anyways, so this led me to start trying to stretch out my curls. Here's a brief review on the following methods I tried:

• Two-strand (and 3 strand) twists: I did this while my hair was damp (you can find vids on how to two-strand twist and three-strand twist on YouTube). When it was dry and I had to leave the house, I took the twists down. I have to say, I liked the twist-out look it gave, but like when it comes to stretching and shrinkage, after a couple of hours, my hair shrunk. On a different day, I was bored so I decided to two-strand twist my hair. I didn't wet my hair before doing this because I felt kind of lazy and well, I wasn't planning on combing my hair (it was already detangled). When I needed to take out the twists, I took them out (obviously) and like it gave me that twist out look too, and my hair did seem a bit more stretched than when I did the twists with damp hair. Unfortunately, after a few hours, my hair shrunk (but not so much). When it comes to stretching my hair, I don't think twists would be my go-to method. They are good, but it takes quite some time for me to two-strand twist my whole hair.
• African Threading (aka Ghana Plaits): I have tried African Threading my hair with both wool and weave thread (not at the same time!). You can find vids on how to African Thread hair on YouTube (I recommend checking out the one on youtube.com/GirlsLoveYourCurls). I have to say that this is one of my go-to styles when it comes to stretching my hair. I love the soft waves/look it gives my hair, I like how my hair feels when I take them out, there are various ways to African thread and like some times, people think I have extensions in or I have some sort of weave when I do certain forms of African threading (with weave thread). When I African Thread my hair, it stays stretched way longer than when I two-strand twist my hair. The last time I African threaded my hair, I had it like that for a week before I took it out and I did it on damp (almost dry though, but still damp) hair.
• Basic Braids (box braids): I love the braid out look when I take basic/box braids down :) I always braid my hair wet and then let it air dry/dry naturally. Basic braids have helped stretch my curls and kinks each time I've done them, but, well, after some time (hours), my hair shrinks. I must say, I think basic braiding stretches my hair to about the same length two-strand twists do or sometimes, it stretched my hair more than twists. You can find vids on how to basic braid on YouTube (check out the one on youtube.com/GirlsLoveYourCurls)
• Bantu Knots: I'm not a huge fan of bantu knots and bantu knot outs, but I can do them. Bantu knots do stretch my hair, but my hair still shrinks after some time. At some point, bantu knots gave me sort of a curled-relaxed hair look. I didn't really like it, but it wasn't so bad. I have tried a combination of two-strand twists and bantu knots (twisted my hair then bantu knotted that twisted hair). The -out look it gave looked kinda nice, but it's not a look that'll be like my go-to style. Also, bantu knots are not my go-to method for stretching my hair, but it works wonders for some people.
• Scarf&Ponytail Holder: First, I'll explain how this is done. You hold your hair up with a ponytail holder while still damp (or wet, it's your choice) and if you get worried about your frontal hair/frontal edges, you leave out a bit of the hair there and flat twist of flat braid it. Next, you tie a scarf over the hair that's held up my the ponytail holder (make sure you don't get the scarf over the flat twist/braid). Do whatever you need to do till you need to take this down (your hair has to be fully dry when taking it down, by the way). This method was my go-to style at some point last year. I don't do it anymore because right now, I'm not a fan of holding my hair up (edges...plus, I want to grow out my hair a bit more before I hold it up like that again.
• Setting Rollers: Tried this method out yesterday when my mum found her rollers from the 90s :) (oh! and I soaked, washed and so on, the rollers before I used them on my hair because they hadn't been used in about a decade). So, how I did it: I got random bits of my hair and got some of my moisturising conditioner mix (made up of John Frieda Friss-Ease: Curl Activating Daily Conditioner, some rosemary oil, some canola oil, a bit of my pH balanced leave in condition mix and a tad bit of water. I eyeballed all the ingredients. I love how this makes my hair feel! :) ). So, after I got the conditioner mix onto my hair, I finger combed a bit then slid a Denman Brush through (to make sure I had no tangles) then I hand stretched my hair (pulling) and wrapped the ends round the roller then I rolled it up holding my hair so it's stretched then pinned it up. I did this to every bit of hair on my head and I had my hair like that for...hours (I was moving house so, I just tied a scarf over it while shuffling between houses and moving). When I took the rollers down, my hair felt so good (from my mix :)), smelt so good (mix too!), it had that professional salon-set hair look that can be combed out into a bob or something, but what I was looking for was what I found - stretched hair! This is a go-to method for stretching my hair now! :)

Okay! so, I'm planning on trying out 'banding' as a new method for stretching my hair. I believe it might work, but well, let's wait and see! :)

Thanks for reading! :)

~Sam

My go-to stretching methods: African threading and, setting rollers.

Review!!!! (John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Around Style-Activating Daily Conditioner)

Hey everyone!

Okay! so, I decided to do another review and this time, of an actual product - the John Frieda Frizz-Ease: Curl Around Style-Activating Daily Conditioner!


Now, what do I use this conditioner as?
I use this conditioner as a co-washing conditioner, an after shampoo conditioner and a combing conditioner.


What is a combing conditioner?
A combing conditioner is a conditioner that provides good enough slip to detangle your hair well, moisturises your hair, prevents frizz and so on. Here's an exert from Teri LaFlesh's book, CurlyLikeMe:

"Leaving conditioner in your hair coats each strand with emollients and smoothing ingredients. By leaving conditioner in your hair, you no longer need hairdressings, frizz serums, or lotions. Leaving conditioner in will transform your curls into smooth-and-defined-nongreasy-able-towithstand-humidity-wind-rain-and-moves-when-you-move-your-head curls. Also, when whole curls are clumped together, the individual hairs within those curls are shielded from damage. Instead of each lone strand being exposed to the elements, the strands will all act as a unit, where no one strand is exposed. Many strands will be completely encased in hairs, like a cocoon, therefore totally protected. This means that at any one time, the majority of your hair strands are shielded from the elements. 

Remember, growing longer, manageable hair is like knowing the combination to a lock. These techniques work together to give you healthy hair that’s weatherproof and predictable. But the lock won’t open if you use only some of the numbers, or if you don’t spin the special number twice. These techniques work only when you use them together. For example, you can use all of the conditioner in the world and buy the exact brands I suggest, but if you rinse it out, or if you don’t release and smooth your curls in some way, your hair won’t be as manageable, and it sure won’t be weatherproof. After cleansing and conditioning, the following chapter covers combing, the step that gives you the perfect canvas to showcase your stunning coils.

Leaving in conditioner will:

● Keep your curls defined

● Help give your curls weight

● Help weatherproof your hair

● Moisturize your hair 

"

Do you just put the conditioner in, plain, like, alone? 
I used to put it in alone (but that was like June-ish last year). Right now, I make a mix with it. I get a bowl, eyeball an amount of the conditioner into  it, add some canola oil (eyeballing the quantity too), add some homemade rosemary oil too, a bit of my kinda pH balanced/diluted leave in conditioner (leave-in conditioner and water mixed together) and a tad bit of water. I mix everything up till it looks like one thing and not a throw-in of many things. I use this on my hair and like, I totally love how it makes my hair feels!


As a co-wash, how do you use it?
Err...normally? I use it like I'd use shampoo or well, just normally.


What do you think about it?
I think it's great as a combing conditioner. As a co-washer, it's okay (not great, but not bad). It leaves my hair feeling good, but as a co-washer, it doesn't do much (for my hair. It might work wonders for others though. We all know that what works for one hair doesn't always work for another and vice versa).
When it comes to slip, if your hair is damp or partially wet and you have enough conditioner in your hair (and your hair is in sections!) it provides good enough slip. Style setting: it acts kinda like a hair gel, to like help a twist or braid out. When it dries when used as a combing conditioner, it doesn't leave your hair dry or crunchy. It actually still leaves your hair feeling soft and moisturised.


Would I keep on using this product? 
As a combing conditioner? Yes (but not EVERY day)
As a co-washing/rinsing conditioner? I don't think so. I'm into creating my own hair products now so, if I can, I'll use my homemade natural things or I'll switch to the BeeMine Botanicals line if I can't make my conditioner yet.


Would I recommend this product?
Yeah, I guess I would! :)
Combing conditioner, rinsing conditioner, I'll recommend it.
I guess it doesn't do much as a co-washer for me because I'll have to use practically a whole half or more of the bottle to actually get it to do something on my hair if I'm co-washing. This is because of my hair's nature, by the way. It's size and so on.


Hope this review helps somebody! :)
~Sam

REVIEW!! (not of a store bought product)

Heyo!

Okay! so this is a review of a homemade hair...err...product (? should I use that word?). Anyways, it's the avocado hair mask. I don't know if you've heard about it. You might have once or twice or well, however times.

Okay! So, the avocado thingy is meant to be like a deep treatment for really dry hair. I have like dry, dry hair naturally. I had my hair feeling soft and moisturised using a conditioner mix thingy (that I didn't need to wash off), but it wore off after bout a day (could've lasted longer, who know? Well...it would've if I could've kept my hands out of my hair!). Also, for like a quickie moisturiser, I used to work some shea butter into my hair and put on a plastic cap. If I'm in a hurry, I tie a towel over it for extra...err...heat. By the time I take it off, my curls are feeling well moisturised, but my family hates the smell of shea butter (including me, but if my hair loves it, then I've gotta use it, if you know what I mean).

Anyways, I heard about the avocado DC and I was like, 'oooookeeey.' Wasn't sure about it, but like my hair felt like straw and was so dry. So, I bought two avocados (one was really ripe and the other...not quite) and with a knife, got out all the.... whatever you call what's on the inside. I tried blending the avocados, but that was a total waste of time because it didn't do much (or should I just say it plainly, it didn't work). So, I got the avocado into a bowl and mashed it up with the back of a spoon.( I used two avocados not because of my hair length, but because of how full/thick/voluminous my hair is.) Next, I got about 2 tablespoons of pure, natural (unrefined), honey (to be honest, I "eyeballed" it), mixed it up with the avocado and mashed it up some more (still had some lumps). Afterwards, I got some homemade rosemary (essential) oil (my hair loves that) and some canola oil and poured approximately a table spoon (or maybe a little less...I "eyeballed" this too) into the mixture, mixed it up some more then I got some unsweetened powdered coconut cream and poured in about a tablespoon too (I'm such a good "eyeball-er!" :) ) and a tad bit of my conditioner mix thingy I mentioned in my hair "regimen" post. Okay! so I mixed everything up aaaaaand....

....I went to the bathroom with a towel round my neck and I was wearing a shirt that was about to go in the wash. So, I started off by sectioning my hair, but we both know that'll take FOREVER and I just didn't have that kind of time. It takes me about 2-3 hours to work on my hair especially deep conditioning if I work on sectioning everything (plus, my hair just doesn't section in fours. Has to be bout, 8 or more...more). So, I stopped sectioning and just picked up random bits of my hair and got some green gunk (what I kept calling the avocado mix) into it. I twisted each random bit I picked lookely after getting the green gunk in it (oh! and I must say, MY HAIR WAS DETANGLED (kinda wet) before this). I loosely  twisted every two twists together just so I could keep them out of the way. When I was done, FINALLY! I took out all the twists and finger combed a little. I then made sure I had the the mix on my edges, under, over my hair and on my scalp. I made sure not to tangle up my hair and I did finger comb a little to make sure I didn't have any knots or tangles. Okay! So I got a plastic cap on, then because the plastic cap was too small to hold all my hair, I used two, one from the back towards the middle and the other from the front towards the middle too then I looked for a bigger plastic cap, but the only other one was my mum's (and she's like, "don't go getting all your hair stuff on my plastic cap!" So, you should understand the situation). I then cut a plastic bag, like the ASDA, Tesco, Sainsburys, Boots... type, put it over my hair and tied the ends behind my head. I then tied a scarf over that to make sure it's held in place and to prevent that annoying sound it makes when it moves, I also pushed some cotton pads/sheet/whatever you call 'em up the sides around the edges to prevent a...err...leakage. Then I slept with it in (for about 8 hours).
*DO NOT GO PUTTING A PLASTIC BAG OVER YOUR HAIR AND SLEEP WITH IT ON! I AM NOT ADVISING YOU TO AND IF YOU DO, IT'S AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DON'T WANT TO BE BLAMED FOR ANYONE SUFFOCATING THEMSELVES AT NIGHT!*


So, by the next morning, I got some warm-ish water and tried rinsing out all of the green gunk then I got some conditioner and worked it into my scalp letting a bit touch my hair and co-washed it all out then used an old shirt to try and scrunch out some excess or drippy water. I was going to air dry, but that just pissed my dad off (sorry, if that word offends you). So, I got a towel a towel (not microfibre, I might add :( ) and just threw it over my hair (didn't rub, scrunch or try towel drying thingies with it). I held the edges of the towel that were down my face and moved them to the back. That was the only towel manipulation because I didn't want any frizz.

A few minutes later, I'll say my hair absorbed the water (which it does easily) instead of saying the towel absorbed the water (since it wasn't really wet..the towel, I mean). I then finger combed and used the end of a err...what do they call it, you know, the comb that has like 3 of the the ends of a rat tail comb then it has like two combs on it, one wide toothed and the other not so wide. Anyways, I used the end/tail of the comb thingy and went through my hair to make sure there were not unseen tangles or knots (my hair was a tad bit damp!) then I put a headband on to hold down my edges only then I held all my hair behind my head and held it folded (with the ends of my hair under) with a ponytail holder/hair cloth elastic thingy.

I keep touching my hair from time to time because it feels so good! It's not dry anymore, it's soft, my curls look really good, BUT! HERE'S A CON TO THIS! : I have bits in my hair. Like bit of avocado in it that apparently didn't fully wash out. You know, it's like when you deep condition with bananas and try to wash it out then you have those annoying bits in your hair though this was less. I had 30 minutes to brush my teeth, wash out my hair and shower this morning and like, it takes me about almost 30 minutes to just brush my teeth, so you understand my dilemma, but I tried to co-wash my hair out thoroughly. Anyways, don't be afraid, cause Sam has something to say: if you can get the bits out of say, the are of your hair that shows when it's held back, do that and hold your hair back. Once your hair is fully dry, the bits'll fall out by themselves, once you run your hands through your hair or run a comb through your hair.

Okay! so, that's all! (*touches hair*) Gosh! my hair feels amazing! :)
I hope this helps somebody :)

~Sam

p.s *not all things that work for one person (or some people) may work for everybody so please, be warned. That's one reason why it took me so long before I tried it out and also, I had to do a bit of research on avocados and hair first (I've used all those other things on my hair before).


p.p.s *the avocados are the real deal in this. If you use a mixture of the other things without the avocado, they won't do much for you or give you quick lasting results. Also, your hair would most likely remain dry (maybe not as dry as before). So, if you want to try this, there has to be avocados. Use as many avocados as needed. The number of avocados you use depends on how thick/big your hair is and maybe also, how long your hair is, it all depends on you (and your hair). So...bye for now! :)