My Mini Twists so far. Take-down in a few days.

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Hola!

So, my mini twists are still in, but they're coming down on Saturday. This means that I'll have had them in for about two and a half weeks. Not bad, not bad, longest I've kept mini twists with just my hair in. I guess if they were a bit smaller, I'll have kept them in longer.

Okay! So, I've been spraying my hair with lavender water and lavender oil (in a spray bottle) daily. I hand picked the lavender leaves from the garden. After that, I seal in the moisture with my lovely new product (did I mention that it's pH balanced?). I dusted all my twists some days ago, can't remember when exactly. The ends of my twists are like popping with defined curls and I didn't twirl them neither where they twirled when they were done. They're just popping and looking gorg'.

Okay! So, my plans are.....I'm going to wash my hair with the twists in on Friday, stretch out the twists overnight and take them down on Saturday. I actually just wash my scalp and condition my hair, not wash my hair. I never work shampoo into the hair strands. I don't even work amla into my hair strands. I focus on my scalp and the hair's cleansed when I rinse out what I washed my scalp with. So, I guess I'm going to braid the twists in sections or just hold them off with ouchless bands and work section by section washing my scalp and working conditioner in my hair then I'm going to seal in the moisture (after rinsing the conditioner, of course, with my new product) then hold my hair up to stretch as it dries. On Saturday, after a nice, warm shower, I'll take down the twists quickly and.....I'm not sure about a twist out so, I guess I'm going to fake a blow out and then curl my ends a bit with my flexi rods or fake a blow out and do a braid 'n' curl on it. Whatever works.

After that, I need to figure out what I'll do with my hair daily till October and then till December. I guess I'll switch it up with a tuck 'n' pin, puff and some other simple style (I might make two flat braids some time) and then in October, I might get mini twists done again. I'm not sure about mini-braids 'cause I'm more likely to loose hair at my ends with that and I'm trying to avoid that, plus, it'll take longer to take down. If I could get some Marley or Havana hair, don't know where to get those in England, I'll install big twists in my hair and keep them in till January when I'm getting my first weave in the past almost 6 years (Heat-Free Hair Movement).

Anyways, that's all for now.

Interview with the beautiful, Daniele Watts (from Django) coming up soon, look out for it! :)

~Sammy

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*

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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). :)

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! :)