It's been long since I blogged here. Too, too long. Well, I'm getting back to it but with a few changes. I love blogging, however, I just cannot manage the few blogs I started with. Therefore, I'm merging all my blogs to one and moving all my blogs to my main one - Jac's Quests. In the next few months, what I'll do is blog about whatever it is I'm blogging about at Jac's Quests while I work out how to move all my posts over there. I know it can be done, just don't know how, but I'll try. So, here's hoping that you will visit Jac's Quest and enjoy my blogging about Gardening, Hair, Kenya and everything in between.
Blessings!
Jacquie
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Hair regimen..... Finally!
REGIMEN
Now, has that worked? Hope it has.... The definition or what a regimen is by www.dictionary.reference.com.
So, in all the 14 months since I started taking interest in my hair growth, I've lacked a precise regimen for many reasons... I tend to do to my hair what I feel my hair needs at the time I need to do whatever it is I feel it needs doing to it. Phew... what a mouthful, lol. Plus, all my good intentions at creating a regimen fail because I forget what I did when I do it. I don't take notes, devise a plan, follow it to a T and note failures and achievements. Well, I feel the time has come to get something down because I finally feel like I'm on to something I need to keep a record of.
So, I'm doing protective styles in cycles of 100 days. This may change in future to cycles of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or even 120 days - who knows.... it's not set in stone. Anyway, as I'm coming to the end of cycle 1, I'm noting that I remember more what I'm doing to my hair and what works well and what doesn't. Weekly and 2 weekly twists and braids are keeping my hair protected from too much manipulation*. And when I do do my hair, I strive for as little manipulation as I can get away with, hence NO COMBS AND BRUSHES. I'm loving this because in the past few months, I've used the comb less and less and now all I use is the rat tail bit of my rat tail (or is it rattail) comb to release braids and do some parts. I do as much as I can with my fingers, and I thank God for preserving all my fingers... I really do.
The protective styling keeps my hair from tangling as much as it did when I wore it loose. The strands are restricted in how much they can move around each other, so no tangles! This is why I'm in love with my current choice of PSs. Twists and braids - they rock!
So, while I'm in my PSs, I also wash and Deep Condition (DC) my hair 2-3 times a week. Now, I finally understand why DCing is important for my hair.... my hair not only feels strong, it also is and feels soft and moisturised. My ayurvedic powders, herbs, carefully chosen conditioners, oils and butters all work together to keep my hair in the best condition it can be in. I do a protein DC when I feel I need to - usually once every 2 weeks. This keeps the hair strong. ***I will discuss my products in another post and keep this for my regimen only, lest I get distracted and confused. The bulk of my DCs are moisturising DCs to keep my hair super hydrated, soft and elastic. This way the hair has room to move and not just break from being hard and brittle. I think I'm getting the balance right between protein and moisture but I'm assessing my hair's condition everytime I restyle it - usually every week to 2 weeks, or if I'm in extensions, every 4-6 weeks. It is a continuous thing and now comes as second nature to me. After all, I wouldn't want to go to the other extreme and overmoisturise now, would I? And yes, apparently, one can overcondition and overmoisturise hair - strange but true!
Along with my conditioners, I use ayurvedic oils, powders and herbs. These cleanse, strengthen and also condition hair and scalp. I'm keeping it simple so I don't get all overwhelmed. Will discuss these in detail when I post about my products.
Soooo, my regimen as it stands for now till I get it tweaked to perfection:
And that's it! I finally have a regimen in place. It's not set in stone but I think I'll stick to this for a while. Time will tell.
**Manipulation here is used in the context of handling hair less. Everytime my hand is in my hair, that is manipulation. Manipulation can cause damage if overdone. Hence, I'm choosing to wear protective styles that allow me to not have to do stuff to my hair everyday. They protect my hair from being manipulated often. They protect my hair from the elements. This, I feel is what will help me retain as much growth as I can and end up with longer hair. I'm sure every person have their own ideas to what manipulation and protective styling are but this is how I understand them for now.
Now, has that worked? Hope it has.... The definition or what a regimen is by www.dictionary.reference.com.
So, in all the 14 months since I started taking interest in my hair growth, I've lacked a precise regimen for many reasons... I tend to do to my hair what I feel my hair needs at the time I need to do whatever it is I feel it needs doing to it. Phew... what a mouthful, lol. Plus, all my good intentions at creating a regimen fail because I forget what I did when I do it. I don't take notes, devise a plan, follow it to a T and note failures and achievements. Well, I feel the time has come to get something down because I finally feel like I'm on to something I need to keep a record of.
So, I'm doing protective styles in cycles of 100 days. This may change in future to cycles of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or even 120 days - who knows.... it's not set in stone. Anyway, as I'm coming to the end of cycle 1, I'm noting that I remember more what I'm doing to my hair and what works well and what doesn't. Weekly and 2 weekly twists and braids are keeping my hair protected from too much manipulation*. And when I do do my hair, I strive for as little manipulation as I can get away with, hence NO COMBS AND BRUSHES. I'm loving this because in the past few months, I've used the comb less and less and now all I use is the rat tail bit of my rat tail (or is it rattail) comb to release braids and do some parts. I do as much as I can with my fingers, and I thank God for preserving all my fingers... I really do.
The protective styling keeps my hair from tangling as much as it did when I wore it loose. The strands are restricted in how much they can move around each other, so no tangles! This is why I'm in love with my current choice of PSs. Twists and braids - they rock!
So, while I'm in my PSs, I also wash and Deep Condition (DC) my hair 2-3 times a week. Now, I finally understand why DCing is important for my hair.... my hair not only feels strong, it also is and feels soft and moisturised. My ayurvedic powders, herbs, carefully chosen conditioners, oils and butters all work together to keep my hair in the best condition it can be in. I do a protein DC when I feel I need to - usually once every 2 weeks. This keeps the hair strong. ***I will discuss my products in another post and keep this for my regimen only, lest I get distracted and confused. The bulk of my DCs are moisturising DCs to keep my hair super hydrated, soft and elastic. This way the hair has room to move and not just break from being hard and brittle. I think I'm getting the balance right between protein and moisture but I'm assessing my hair's condition everytime I restyle it - usually every week to 2 weeks, or if I'm in extensions, every 4-6 weeks. It is a continuous thing and now comes as second nature to me. After all, I wouldn't want to go to the other extreme and overmoisturise now, would I? And yes, apparently, one can overcondition and overmoisturise hair - strange but true!
Along with my conditioners, I use ayurvedic oils, powders and herbs. These cleanse, strengthen and also condition hair and scalp. I'm keeping it simple so I don't get all overwhelmed. Will discuss these in detail when I post about my products.
Soooo, my regimen as it stands for now till I get it tweaked to perfection:
PS every 50-100 days. Between cycles, clarify with ABS, henna and deep condition. I plan to do this till I can find a way to henna and not have to comb through hair, in which case I will henna more frequently.
During cycles, pre-treat with homemade ayurvedic oils, cleanse with conditioners, ayurvedic teas and cleansing clays 1-5 times per week. Less frequent during colder months, more frequent during the warm months.
Moisture DC 1-3x/wk.
Protein DC once a fortnight or as required - could be less or more frequent depending on hair condition and style.
Apply scalp stimulants/growth aids daily or every other day and massage scalp for a minimum of 1 minute.
Moisturise hair once or twice a day - depending on how dry it feels. Once a day is minimum.
Seal moisture in with oils and butters - which one depends on season and mood. Light oils/butters during warm/hot seasons and heavier oils/butters when it's cold.
Protect hair with satin/silk scarves/bonnets whenever possible. Also baggy whenever I feel I need to.
I don't use heat but won't say never - I'm thinking of straightening to see my true length at some point. I'll trim as needed - perhaps when hair gets straightened. Once all knots and splits are banished (if it ever gets done), I'll straighten and trim every 12-18 months. And of course, use a heat protector whenever I use heat. I still need to find one....
And that's it! I finally have a regimen in place. It's not set in stone but I think I'll stick to this for a while. Time will tell.
**Manipulation here is used in the context of handling hair less. Everytime my hand is in my hair, that is manipulation. Manipulation can cause damage if overdone. Hence, I'm choosing to wear protective styles that allow me to not have to do stuff to my hair everyday. They protect my hair from being manipulated often. They protect my hair from the elements. This, I feel is what will help me retain as much growth as I can and end up with longer hair. I'm sure every person have their own ideas to what manipulation and protective styling are but this is how I understand them for now.
And back to twists again
Okay, I loved the braids. They gave me 2 weeks of not feeling I have to do my hair again now it's all fuzzy again, but as much as I liked them, and the fact they stay neater for a longer period, I'm now in the process of converting them to twists again. Firstly, I missed my hair. It's crazy, but yes, I did miss my hair! At the end of week one, I was so tempted to take one down just so I could see my loose hair - that's just madness! I resisted for a day or two then I did it and left them for another week but come Friday, I felt I had to start converting them back to twists - which is what I'm doing now. It'll take me a few days, or maybe the whole week.
Secondly, I realise I do not really carry braids on my own hair without extensions very well. Because the braids are tighter than twists and leave no room for the strands to thicken up and shrink away like twists do, I felt my hair looked so very thin! The braids look longer, yes, but they have that anorexic look about them. I could have left them longer and given my hair a chance to grow and fill up at the roots but that doesn't make them look any prettier. I just don't have hair dense enough to carry them off... Not yet. Maybe when I gain more length I can give them another try and do them bigger and a little looser - we'll see.
Thirdly, I worried about the takedown. These babies aren't the easiest to take down, hence I'm doing it gradually. I mean, it's not like I had loads of them, but taking down one, detangling and splitting it into two twists takes at least 10-15 minutes. Not fun at all! I'm just so glad I washed and deep conditioned in braids, so my hair is clean and I'm not having to worry about an impending wash, DC, detangle and restyle after they are out. Although, I feel that when I'm done with them, it'll be time to re-do the twists I got started on Friday. I don't mind, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying my hair, and I love seeing it grow longer and thicker. I just cannot wait till it's long enough for 2 braids - now that'll be an achievement!!! And my PS100? Going so well! It ends on the 26th of this month, and I plan to take a break, maybe wear my hair 'loose' in a twistout for a few days, clarify, do a henna treatment, deep condition and start another cycle of PS100 on the 1st of April. I really love leaving my hair alone, not having to use a comb every so often and not having to deal with major tangles at a time. I love the simplicity of protective styling. And I love the idea of doing it in 100 day cycles. I'll keep at it and see what I gain from it at the end of the year. Hoping for length, thickness, healthy through the length of the strands, i.e less splits, knots and breakage.
Till next time, Jac x
Secondly, I realise I do not really carry braids on my own hair without extensions very well. Because the braids are tighter than twists and leave no room for the strands to thicken up and shrink away like twists do, I felt my hair looked so very thin! The braids look longer, yes, but they have that anorexic look about them. I could have left them longer and given my hair a chance to grow and fill up at the roots but that doesn't make them look any prettier. I just don't have hair dense enough to carry them off... Not yet. Maybe when I gain more length I can give them another try and do them bigger and a little looser - we'll see.
Thirdly, I worried about the takedown. These babies aren't the easiest to take down, hence I'm doing it gradually. I mean, it's not like I had loads of them, but taking down one, detangling and splitting it into two twists takes at least 10-15 minutes. Not fun at all! I'm just so glad I washed and deep conditioned in braids, so my hair is clean and I'm not having to worry about an impending wash, DC, detangle and restyle after they are out. Although, I feel that when I'm done with them, it'll be time to re-do the twists I got started on Friday. I don't mind, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying my hair, and I love seeing it grow longer and thicker. I just cannot wait till it's long enough for 2 braids - now that'll be an achievement!!! And my PS100? Going so well! It ends on the 26th of this month, and I plan to take a break, maybe wear my hair 'loose' in a twistout for a few days, clarify, do a henna treatment, deep condition and start another cycle of PS100 on the 1st of April. I really love leaving my hair alone, not having to use a comb every so often and not having to deal with major tangles at a time. I love the simplicity of protective styling. And I love the idea of doing it in 100 day cycles. I'll keep at it and see what I gain from it at the end of the year. Hoping for length, thickness, healthy through the length of the strands, i.e less splits, knots and breakage.
Till next time, Jac x
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Braids for twists
So, it's been a while and the twists were re-done and those re-done and I've replaced the set after the last ones re-done with a set of braids. I'm tired of weekly re-twisting, as is probably evident by now, so I braided this past weekend. Did the usual and just replaced the existing twists with braids. I love this routine as it's way less manipulation as finger combing and detangling preserves my hair more. Still doing 2-3 times weekly deep conditioning and I notice my hair feels stronger. My fotki is updated with my new braids... check it out if interested.
Till next time, happy hair growing and bright blessings!
Jac x
Till next time, happy hair growing and bright blessings!
Jac x
Friday, 13 February 2009
Finally, my twists are done!
Yup, they are, they are! No extensions, just my own hair. And I did not use a comb either, just fingers. That is why it was such a lengthy process - yikes! I'm learning about my hair so much and I'm loving it. Anyway, today is day.... erm, lemme go count... yup, day 59 on the PSC100 and I'm so glad and relieved the twists are done, so now I can concentrate on moisturising, deep treating and of course, keeping it under wraps. And growing it.
I seem to have lost my camera USB cable, so have not even updated my fotki for January. Still, I'm taking pictures, so whenever I find it that will be done.
Noticed quite a few splits on my hair too. and knots. The knots do not bother me as much as the splits do, sigh. So, as I'm not into trimming just yet, not till March or April at least, I'm just searching and destroying. I'm concerned about them and I'm trying to work out what is causing them - could it have been the twists with extensions? My hair seems to split everytime I wear extensions. Or could it be that and the fact that perhaps I should deep condition more? I'm DC-ing at least 2x / week at the moment, but I only recently started doing that. Perhaps I need more protein? I hope Mega Tek (MT) and Silk Amino Acids (SAA) will sort that out for me, please God!. Or perhaps I need more moisture too? Or maybe the splits are the remains of all the combing I did before i gave it up in December? I shall keep trying to work it out and see if my new plan of NO COMBING and regular deep conditioning helps. I find I need to be very patient when I handle my hair as the strands tend to wrap into each other loads due to the kinks. It takes patience to separate them small section by small section so they are not being pulled apart roughly which causes breaking. I feel I'm onto something. Time only will tell if I'm right or wrong, but in the meantinme, protective styling sure is the way to go. I hope these twists last at least 4 weeks - we shall see!
Happy hair growing!
I seem to have lost my camera USB cable, so have not even updated my fotki for January. Still, I'm taking pictures, so whenever I find it that will be done.
Noticed quite a few splits on my hair too. and knots. The knots do not bother me as much as the splits do, sigh. So, as I'm not into trimming just yet, not till March or April at least, I'm just searching and destroying. I'm concerned about them and I'm trying to work out what is causing them - could it have been the twists with extensions? My hair seems to split everytime I wear extensions. Or could it be that and the fact that perhaps I should deep condition more? I'm DC-ing at least 2x / week at the moment, but I only recently started doing that. Perhaps I need more protein? I hope Mega Tek (MT) and Silk Amino Acids (SAA) will sort that out for me, please God!. Or perhaps I need more moisture too? Or maybe the splits are the remains of all the combing I did before i gave it up in December? I shall keep trying to work it out and see if my new plan of NO COMBING and regular deep conditioning helps. I find I need to be very patient when I handle my hair as the strands tend to wrap into each other loads due to the kinks. It takes patience to separate them small section by small section so they are not being pulled apart roughly which causes breaking. I feel I'm onto something. Time only will tell if I'm right or wrong, but in the meantinme, protective styling sure is the way to go. I hope these twists last at least 4 weeks - we shall see!
Happy hair growing!
Monday, 9 February 2009
PSC100 - Day 55
I've not updated for a long time. I have not replaced my twists. However, I'm happy to report that my hair's doing well and I'm happy. I'm still protecting my hair but mostly in scarves and wraps. It's still so cold and I'm just not comfortable having my hair out, so I just do my routine and wear a scarf/wrap and go out. What routine am I doing? Well, nothing too regimented as I just cannot do regimens. Can't stick to them as I cannot remember. I've given up trying so I just do whatever feels right for my hair at the time. I've not done a henna treatment for a while but that's okay, I got 'Mega Tek', and I'm doing alot of ayurvedic stuff which I believe are keeping my hair strong. I've even had a go at making an ayurvedic oil with coconut oil, castor oil and several herbs - shikakai, amla, aritha, neem, brahmi and henna. i made this for oil rinsing and have used it once and will use it again today. In fact shortly. This time I'll mix it with my mega tek, then I'll deep condition with avocado and coconut cream. I'll put up what I've learnt about oil rinsing so far - I think I love it! Leaves my hair soft and wonderfully conditioned. Only problem right now is that I'm not so sure how potent my alchemical trial worked - I think I might have overheated the oil and herbs. I made it in a slow cooker and put it on low but checked and hour later and the thing was bubbling - kinda like boiling. It smelt really nice and toasty and coconutty, almost edible, but that may have been the herbs frying in the coconut oil - I don't know. But I'll keep using it till it's finished. Too bad I made a big batch, sigh! I plan to make a body sugar srcub out of it too, so it finishes quick, so I can make a new batch whose potency I'm sure about. This time it'll cook on the 'warm' setting!
Anyhow, about the challenge... I may not be in proper twists or braids but I definitely am continuing with it. I hardly use a comb now, I'm virtually finger combing. Even when I took out my twist extensions on day 35, and 37 (couldn't deal with hair on day 36 so didn't touch it), I only used a comb when I had to. My hair has not had a proper combing for over 60 days, since I got it trimmed in December 13th I think it was. Since then I've combed only in small sections and mainly finger detangled. I decided my hair doesn't need and doesn't respond well to being combed the regular way - the kinks just stick to each other and to the comb and break as the comb pulls through - no more! Gentle handling is better. Plus I'm hoping there will be less splits and breaks this way - so far so good! Thank God for my fingers! So, I'm still sticking to ALL the rules of the challenge still, and I feel this is to continue for the long haul.
Right, off to deep condition now and get on with my day. Incidentally, I'm on day one of a healthy body challenge and I'm thinking of making this blog a hair and body one. More thoughts to get to this.......
Anyhow, about the challenge... I may not be in proper twists or braids but I definitely am continuing with it. I hardly use a comb now, I'm virtually finger combing. Even when I took out my twist extensions on day 35, and 37 (couldn't deal with hair on day 36 so didn't touch it), I only used a comb when I had to. My hair has not had a proper combing for over 60 days, since I got it trimmed in December 13th I think it was. Since then I've combed only in small sections and mainly finger detangled. I decided my hair doesn't need and doesn't respond well to being combed the regular way - the kinks just stick to each other and to the comb and break as the comb pulls through - no more! Gentle handling is better. Plus I'm hoping there will be less splits and breaks this way - so far so good! Thank God for my fingers! So, I'm still sticking to ALL the rules of the challenge still, and I feel this is to continue for the long haul.
Right, off to deep condition now and get on with my day. Incidentally, I'm on day one of a healthy body challenge and I'm thinking of making this blog a hair and body one. More thoughts to get to this.......
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Oh, What A Challenge!
**Update - 24/Jan/09 - Day 39
The aptly named Protective Style Challenge really is becoming a challenge now. I protein DC-ed, washed and moisture DC-ed my hair on Wednesday (Day 36), intending to re-do all the twists if possible, or at least re-do all those around my edges. Well, the matting and loc-ing of the hair got me removing the twists completely and after undoing the matting and tangles and removing as best as I can the shed and hopefully not too much broken hairs, I just could not envisage spending days getting it all re-done again. I need a break for a week or so. These extensions look good and all, and I enjoyed the ease at which I could treat them as I would my own hair BUT, they get too attatched to my hair (or vice versa), removing them after 30+ days was like war!
Wouldn't say the challenge is over yet - I've managed to remove all twists, detangle (mostly with fingers but used comb a few times) and retwist roughly without extensions and my hair is still protected under wraps.
So, the next week will be spent in head wraps and perhaps wigs (sigh, deep sigh), but the hair will surely be protectively styled. No complacency allowed! So, I still count today as day 39 and will carry on counting down. At least I'll get a chance for a proper wash and will try and DC a few times whilst in these rough twists - can't use a comb again till next week, so it'll have to be kept under wraps. I'll have to wait till Friday 30th for proper styling - or I may just re-twist and cover up again - we'll see. Pics to follow in the next few days, but not much of an update really - just one or two. I hope I can stick out the 100days - would have been perfect without having to use a comb but it's kinda not possible with my 4bz hair if I'm wanting to keep it loose. I'll keep going though - not giving up so easily! Watch this space, pics will be up in a few days HERE if anyone's following my progress!
HHG and Bright Blessings peeps!
The aptly named Protective Style Challenge really is becoming a challenge now. I protein DC-ed, washed and moisture DC-ed my hair on Wednesday (Day 36), intending to re-do all the twists if possible, or at least re-do all those around my edges. Well, the matting and loc-ing of the hair got me removing the twists completely and after undoing the matting and tangles and removing as best as I can the shed and hopefully not too much broken hairs, I just could not envisage spending days getting it all re-done again. I need a break for a week or so. These extensions look good and all, and I enjoyed the ease at which I could treat them as I would my own hair BUT, they get too attatched to my hair (or vice versa), removing them after 30+ days was like war!
Wouldn't say the challenge is over yet - I've managed to remove all twists, detangle (mostly with fingers but used comb a few times) and retwist roughly without extensions and my hair is still protected under wraps.
So, the next week will be spent in head wraps and perhaps wigs (sigh, deep sigh), but the hair will surely be protectively styled. No complacency allowed! So, I still count today as day 39 and will carry on counting down. At least I'll get a chance for a proper wash and will try and DC a few times whilst in these rough twists - can't use a comb again till next week, so it'll have to be kept under wraps. I'll have to wait till Friday 30th for proper styling - or I may just re-twist and cover up again - we'll see. Pics to follow in the next few days, but not much of an update really - just one or two. I hope I can stick out the 100days - would have been perfect without having to use a comb but it's kinda not possible with my 4bz hair if I'm wanting to keep it loose. I'll keep going though - not giving up so easily! Watch this space, pics will be up in a few days HERE if anyone's following my progress!
HHG and Bright Blessings peeps!
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