Winter 2011 Hair Plan

The end of this month will mark my 3 year hair journey anniversary. I have learned so much about my hair and have achieved great progress, but in some ways I feel like I am where I was 3 years ago. I wrote in my last post that I need a good trim, which I will get in a few weeks at my next salon visit. However, I need to work on incorporating products and techniques that will prevent me from getting to this point again. I have developed a plan that I think I can stick to:

Use conditioners from the Mane 'n Tail line. The products are protein based, which my hair desperately needs. I will try the original conditioner, deep moisturizing conditioner and de-tangler initially.

Apply castor oil to my scalp at least once a week. Although is a little heavy to me, I think it will be good for my strands, especially during these winter months.

Drink more water! I can't believe how much I have slacked on my water drinking over the past couple of months. I recently got a couple of new water bottles, so I'm committed to drinking at least 4 bottles of water (I think the bottles hold 18 oz of water) during the work day, and 3 at home. NO SODA.

Eat a hard boiled egg for breakfast every morning for added protein. I eat oatmeal and Greek yogurt, both of which have a good amount of protein, but the egg can't hurt. Plus it will fill me up in the morning. I will also be better at adding flaxseed to my oatmeal, pancake batter, and other breakfast foods for the Omega 3.

Baggy 2-3 times a week for 2 hours. I tried baggying at the beginning of my hair journey, and it made my hair mushy and week. I think I used too much product, and I also baggied for too long. I'm going to use a little moisturizer, and put a plastic cap over my head for just 2 hours each time to see if I can retain more moisture.

Add more to my conditioners. I've never really wanted to "doctor" up my conditioners, but it's not very time consuming, and it can't hurt, right? I'm going to experiment with adding oils (coconut, avocado, jojoba, grapeseed), aloe vera juice, glycerin and honey to my conditioners to help them help me.

Give my hair protein treatments. I've always been afraid to do hardcore protein treatments. I think my old stylist scared me out of them. I'm going to start with an egg this weekend. If that goes well, I'll consider buying Duotex or Aphogee.

Baby my ends. I moisturize and seal my ends nightly, but I could and should be putting a lot more effort and time into them.


I'm hoping some of these actions will help my skin and overall health as well. There are also some other moisturizers I want to try, since I still haven't found a great one.