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.

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*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). :)

Mini Twist (wash, maintain....A-Z)

So, I've had mini twists for a week now and I'm keeping them in for 3 more weeks (a total of 4 weeks).
Okay! So here are the basics:

Deep Conditioning (DC):  This is most definitely possible with your twists in. I think it's easier and safer to DC with oils like coconut oil, however, I've only DCed with an avocado-mayo-honey DC with my mini twists in. had like 4 sections of my mini twists separated. I had a ball of yarn nearby. So, I got the DC mix onto my mini twists in semi scrunching motions moving down my twists and not rubbing, smoothing or whatever. When I was done with a section, I sorta African threaded it leaving a lot of space between rolls and then I rolled the remainder of the yarn, that was cut out for that section, round the root area of the minitwists so it was sorta like a bantu knot. I did that for each section to prevent my twists unravelling. Next, I put a plastic cap on then tied a scarf over it, I then rolled some yarn round the bottom of the scarf (the bit close to my forehead) and tied it then I tied a piece of scrap material like another scarf round those then I tied a bigger scarf round those to keep it secure, trap in body heat, get a better DC effect and so on.

Wash: I don't use shampoo (CG). However, I didn't co-wash today, because I had an inkling about my homemade conditioner/co-wash. I need to change a lot of things in it as some of them don't work well with my hair and some other things. So, I washed my hair with my homemade Herbal Hair Cleanser (you can request a copy of my recipe. I like this cleanser. I love it's smell, what it does, it's ingredients....). I used my overhead shower (fixed shower) for this. I first turned it on and took the yarn off one section then I slid my fingers under that section and let the water run through then I did the semi-scrunching motion thing and then I rinsed out that section carefully, but thoroughly (don't want my hair smelling like bad food). I did that for all sections then I rinsed my mini twists as a whole to make sure my whole hair was thoroughly rinsed out. Next, I got my homemade herbal hair cleanser (I'll call it HHHC now) onto my hair and scalp. Worked a lil magic (gently and carefully cleaning my scalp even though there was no buildup and also doing a bit of the scrunching thing to the twists. After that, I turned the water back on and rinsed out my hair well.
I'm going to try washing with a sock cap next time to see how it works out.

Drying: I don't use heat on my hair (air dry). So, I also don't use normal towels on my hair, I only use shirts on it for now (need to find a good microfibre towel). However, I didn't use a shirt on my twists, I just let them be, like totally dry by themselves.

Moisture: I got a towel round my shoulder (note that I did this right after washing my hair, my hair wasn't even a tad bit dry) then I got some olive oil, homemade rosemary oil and some shea butter onto the twists in a semi-scrunching motion moving downwards (from roots to ends). I used the EVOO first then the rosemary oil next and finally, the shea butter, to lock in the moisture.

Styling: I'm in a really weird school lol. It's a good school, I might add, but when it comes to hair, and some other things, really weird. I say this because unless you're a full white, you have to get your hair braided or twisted, 'out' styles aren't allowed, your hair must go backwards (*cough* *cough* receding hairline, traction alopecia cause-r), many styles aren't allowed and braided extensions are banned. So... yeah. All I do is section my hair unevenly in 2 ( in this --> direction) then I used banding hair bands to hold each section and tuck in the ends to prevent them from brushing on my shirts or neck. This style actually looks pretty cute on me :) though really simple.

Sleep: I sleep with a scarf tied round my twists (without taking out the style) and I sleep on a pillow wrapped with satin PJ bottoms (haven't found a satin pillow case yet).

Maintenance (frizz, fly-aways, set style...): Now, I use a product (that's not homemade, for now). I use my OLTG (I mentioned in my last post that I'll start calling it that instead of, "Organics Lock&Twist Gel"). If needed, though usually not, I take off the bands on my hair and scrunch some OLTG onto my twists in random sections, if I don't need to take out the band, I'll just get some OLTG on the front bit of my hair then tie a scarf over it. I do this once I get home from school and keep the scarf on till I leave for school the next day, Trust me, this works in making you hair frizz-free, fly-away free and keeping the style you choose to keep your hair in, in place. It just might help with giving a good "out" look too :)

Stretching: I don't really need to do this, but banding your mini twists work or you can wrap you mini twists round your head using bobby pins like you might have with relaxed hair and tie a scarf over it (sleep with the scarf on or with the bands in, take them out in the morning and..voila!)

What else do you need to know? Comment and let me know, okay? It's like 1:11AM here now so, I've got to catch some zzzs for now.

Hope everything above helps somebody (or people)
~Sam

Sick (don't let your hair be sick too)

Okay!
So, once I got a whiff of getting sick, I told my hair, "you're so not getting sick too!" Okay! so I came down with a cold and like I know that whenever I get sick, my hair is in bad shape so I chose to keep my hair healthy even though I'm sick. I got meds for the cold and I started taking my vitamins again. For my hair, once I took out my flat braids and African threadings, I deep conditioned my hair overnight then I co-washed this morning. After co-washing and detangling, I got some oils into my hair then I twisted my hair (in large bits). I had my hair in the twists for a couple of hours, but then my mum said it was starting to make me look crazy because well, it started like standing and it was hot here so, well, I took out the twists and my grandmother, who's over said she'll help work on my hair, just give me a manageable hair style she calls 'Calabar' (it's an African hair style). I'll look up a pic now:
It looks something like this (and this looks a bit like large box braids, right?):

So, that's what grandmother's doing for me. On Sunday, hopefully, I'll get my flat braids and African threading done again. Then I'll keep that in for another week.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't drink water unless I get this weird feeling which shows that I'm dehydrated or my body needs water. Since I got sick, I've been buying a bottle of water when I'm out and like I try to finish it even though most of the time, I don't. Anyways, I got a bottle that can hold up to 1.5litres of water in it. I then filled the bottle with water and I forced myself to drink it all at night, yesterday. A few hours ago, I filled that bottle with water again and I forced myself to down it all again.

Also, I'm not much of an "eater" which isn't helping and like my mum's like, "Sam, eat! you have to eat something! You know you're on meds!" but my reply is, "I'm not hungry." I'm actually, not hungry, but the thing is, I never get hungry actually, but one thing that's putting me off even trying to eat is that my mum made something I don't like to eat (and there are MANY things I don't like to eat). Anyways...

Apart from the last paragraph, that's how I'm trying to keep my hair healthy while I'm sick. My hair's not going to suffer.

I hope I get better soon!

~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! :)