Locks of Love

Last week my 17 year-old stepdaughter got her hair cut so she could donate it to Locks of Love, which will use it to make a wig for a child who suffers from medical hair loss. I'm so proud of her- she has had hair past her armpits since she was 3. I am so glad that she does not feel defined by her hair!

Here is her hair before the cut, at a prom a few months ago:

And here is her hair after the cut. Her friend made the comment on facebook that she still has longer hair than most black girls, lol!

This is a picture of her braid. It measured almost 10 inches. She was required to donate 8, but she went a little longer.

Product Review: Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra-Smoothing Conditioner

I posted a few days ago that I bought this conditioner. I'm working on increasing my hair's moisture level, and I believe I need to start with the conditioner I use. I was planning on buying the Honeysuckle Rose flavor, but Whole Foods didn't have any. I've read good things about the White Camellia, and it was on sale, so I bought it.

Product Description

Tame unruly hair and replenish much-needed moisture with this intensive, ultra-smoothing conditioner. Vitamin-rich formula nourishes as it protects against heat styling damage and breakage, restoring manageability for the look you want—whether it's silky, shiny lengths or soft, controlled curls.

* Deep-conditions & smooths; enhances shine
* Replenishes moisture
* Nourishes & protects

Directions:

Shake well before using. After shampooing, apply to damp hair and work through,

concentrating on the ends. Leave on for 1 or 2 minutes, then rinse.

For deep conditioning: Apply to dry hair and distribute from scalp to ends. Leave on for 15 minutes, then shampoo and condition as usual.

Ingredients:

Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, White Camellia Oil, Wheat Germ Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile and Yarrow; Organic Geranium Oil, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Sage Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

My Experience:

I pre-poo'd without heat for a few hours with Organix conditioner, shampoo'd with ORS Cream Aloe Shampoo, and did a protein treatment with Aphogee's 2 Minute Reconstructor. I then applied Clairol's Beautiful Collection semi-permanent hair color in Wine Brown. I haven't used a semi-permanent color in over 4 months since I've been trying to get the black out, and I really love how well it conditions my hair (plus my platinum hair along my edges were really out of control). I sat under the dryer with the color in for about 10 minutes, rinsed it out and applied the Aubrey Organics conditioner. I was a little worried before I put it on because I read that it was thick and hard to apply, but it was easy for me to work into my hair. As soon as I applied it to one section of my hair, I knew something good was happening. My hair instantly felt soft and smooth. After I applied the conditioner to my whole head, my shower comb slid through my hair so easily. My hair had more slip than with my usual ORS Replenishing, which is really saying a lot. I sat under the dryer with it for a little over 15 minutes, rinsed and rollerset my hair.

I know it's only the first time, but I kinda love this conditioner already! I didn't even have to apply any moisturizer! I'm 6 weeks post-relaxer with a good amount of new growth, and my roots feel great. I thought the smell was a little strong in the bottle, but I didn't even smell it once I rinsed it out. I've also read that this is best on fine hair, so maybe that's why my hair loves it so much.

Next time, I will keep it in a little longer to see if the results are better. I also want to try the GPB protein formula.

Less is More

Although my hair has been feeling dry lately, I've been experimenting with the amount of moisturizer I apply. For the past 3 nights, I have been putting on a few drops of moisturizer on my hair and ends, and then nothing in the morning. Well, last night I felt like my hair was the most moisturized it's been in months!

I remember an old stylist of mine telling me years ago not to use any moisturizer and that my hair gets its moisture from the inside of my body. At this point, I only half agree with that. I will rely on the majority of my hair moisture from conditioning and drinking water, but I do need some topical moisture, even if only to retain my length.

For me, moisturizing at night is key too!

New Conditioner

Today when I was at Whole Foods, I decided to buy some Aubrey Organics conditioner. I planned on getting the Honeysuckle Rose, but they didn't have any, so I bought the White Camellia. I really hope this works, because my hair has been really dry lately. My being on the beach all day yesterday with no hat on didn't help.

I'll write a review after I use it this week! Keeping my fingers crossed...

Holding Onto the Curl & Other Updates

My curls haven't been holding as well as I wish, which is partly due to my fine texture, but I think it's also from weighing my hair down with product. Yesterday after my wash and deep condition, I applied some diluted Giovanni leave in, a few squirts of my aloe vera juice mix, and less than a dime size of serum for my rollerset. My hair came out really curly and full of body. Now, I usually have lots of curls, but this time, the curls seemed a little "stronger." This was the first time I used the aloe vera mix for a rollerset, and I used Hask Serum instead of my usual diluted Paul Mitchell. Like most times, I did my rollerset in the evening. My hair usually looks great the night of the rollerset, but I'm not going anywhere until the next day! So, I need to figure out a way to have the same great hair the next day. I vaguely remembered my long-haired girlfriends talking a few years ago about how they keep their curls, so last night I put my hair in a very loose bun on top of my head, put my scarf on and went to bed. This morning, I still had curls and body! It's windy and rainy today, so I put my hair back into the loose bun for my commute to work. My hair is still very curly. I don't know how many days this will last, but I'm so glad I found something. I feel like I looked a little crazy with a loose bun on the subway, but I don't care- that's much better than having a frizzy mess in this weather.

I've realized some other things about my hair. My fine hair doesn't like a lot of product on it. I'm in the process of looking for a new moisturizer. I've been using KeraCare for about 2 years and it's just not cutting it anymore. I don't know if it's too heavy or what, but my hair only stays moist for about 1/2 a day when I put it in. I think I need to concentrate on better conditioning and night time moisturizing.

I really want to get my mane thick again. It's not thin, but it's thinner than it was this time last year. I was pregnant last year, but I'd like to get a little of that thickness back! I'm thinking about taking biotin, but I've heard of a lot of side effects that I don't want to deal with. I'm also still trying to get all the black rinse out of my hair. I have been putting rinses in my hair off and on for years, so I think my hair has just absorbed it in to become just about permanent. The ORS Creamy Aloe shampoo has helped a lot. I apply it once for a few seconds, rinse, then apply it again and leave it in for about 5 minutes. All of the suds become blue so I'm thinking it's doing its job by washing out some of the color. I read online that to wash out semi-permanent color quickly, you should use a harsh shampoo. I'm not willing to use a harsh shampoo because I don't want my hair to feel stripped and dry, so I thought the ORS was a healthy compromise. It contains sulfates, but it's also moisturizing, which I think is a good thing while I try to get this black out. My hair really loves this shampoo anyway. I really promise this time that I'm not putting any more black color in my hair!

July 2010 Relaxer

I got a relaxer this week. I had only gone 10 weeks instead of my usual 12 because my roots and edges were really hard to manage. My stylist was really pleased with my hair. I told her to just dust it, but I think she actually trimmed it. I was hoping to see more length, but my hair's health is more important, so I'd rather see my ends look healthy. She used Mizani to relax and deep conditioned with Joico. She roller set my hair with ORS moisturizer and KeraCare setting foam, then she wrapped it.

I'm hoping to be arm-pit length by my next relaxer in October.

An Apology to My Hair

Dear Hair,

I sincerely apologize for letting you down these past couple of months. I know you were dry, hard, tangly and really struggling. It took me some time to figure out what was wrong, but I finally did. I realized that only thing you wanted (and needed) was a chelating and neutralizing shampoo. I went as fast as I could to the store and bought some ORS Olive Oil Creamy Aloe Shampoo, and I can see you are so much happier because of it. Just applying it twice allowed you to get rid of all of the build-up you have held onto all of these months. After the shampoo, I fed you ORS Replenishing Conditioner, and immediately you were your moist, soft, de-tangled, shiny and healthy head of hair again. You hold onto moisture so much better. Your body is thick and shiny and you maintain curls like you did 6 months ago. You even let go some of that black rinse that we are trying so hard to wash out. I thought I had lost the happy, healthy you forever, but all I needed to do was listen to your cries and research your symptoms.

Thank you for being patient with me and not breaking before I could find the remedy to your pain. I wish I could use this shampoo on you weekly, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing. I don't want to cause you any more harm, so I will only use it once or twice a month.

Again, I apologize profusely, and I promise to not let you go this long in pain ever again.

Truly,
Tiffanita


Ingredients:
Water Aqua , Cocamidopropyldimethylamine Propionate , Trideceth-7 Carboxylic Acid , PPG-5-Ceteth-10 Phosphate , Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate , Ammonium Laureth Sulfate , Lauramide Glucoside , Lauryl Glucoside , Polyquaternium-10 , Cocoglucoside , Glyceryl Oleate , Disodiium EDTA , Olive Oil Olea Europaea , Cetrimonium Carboxydecyl , PEG-8 Dimethicone , Cetrimonium Chloride , Sulfated Castor Oil , Lecithin , Propylene Glycol , PEG-12 Oleate , Silicone Quaternium-2 , Panthenol Succinate , Fragrance Parfum , Aloe Barbadensis Gel , Glyceryl Polymethacrylate , Propylene Glycol , Polyquaternium-7 , Cocamide MEA , Glycol Distearate , Sodium Laureth Sulfate , Triethanolamine , DMDM Hydantoin , Methylparaben , Propylene Glycol , Propyl Paraben , Methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone , Green No. 3 Cl 42053 , Yellow No. 5 Cl 19140