Finally I had the chance to watch Chris Rock's Good Hair. I actually learned a lot. Although I lived in a predominantly African American neighbourhood most of my life, there was much I didn't know about weaves, wigs, pieces, etc. This is probably due to my family being advocates for natural and healthy hair. Not all of my family members have long hair. However, most of them maintained a natural or what I like to call "back to basics" regimen for their hair care.
I had fallen victim to many hair care advertisements. I would see women, some looked like me, who had long flowing and very shiny hair. I like to call this "commercial hair" because it was not realistic unless it was false to me. My hair has length to it, but did not have the shine and fullness I saw advertised everywhere. Like many other women, I bought the products that contained the "good stuff" like plant extracts and oils of all sorts not realizing I already had that stuff in my cabinet. I met a nice Indian lady that works at the Dunkin' Donuts by my fhbf's job. I asked her what she uses on her hair to see if she would mention any home remedies. She said she washes her hair with Shikaki and Amla shampoo bar (which I just purchased) and then conditions it with yogurt (let it sit for about 30 mins) and rinse with water. This confirmed that the women who have healthy looking hair do not use all the fancy stuff we fall for. I for one am done with it all. Especially all the sulfates and silicone. After 31 years of mistreatment, I think it's time for my hair to get a break.
I did a little research and came across a site for Ayurvedic hair care. After reading about the various plants and oils used by Indian and Middle Eastern women, I decided to purchase a few products to give it a try. Ayur Natural Beauty site offers all sorts of goodies for hair and skin care. I had to stop myself from over doing it. Not sure if I did a good job according to the picture to the =) From left to right: Hibiscus Petal Powder, Nyle Herbal Hair Oil (has a porous tube in the middle of the bottle that houses herbs like amla, sesame, vetiver, henna and fenugreek), Naajo Henna, Heenara hair wash, Amla Powder (to mix into my conditioner mixture mentioned above), and Amla Gold Hair Oil. In a week, I will use the henna and hibiscus powder to color my hair. It's great as a conditioner too. These products contain ingredients that do not have names that only a chemists or rocket scientists have heard of.
The ends of my hair have shown a great improvement since I've been adding EVOO and honey to my deep conditioning process. I'm keeping an eye on it to see how healthy and shiny it will look now that I've added new oils to my regimen. Speaking of which, here is what I've been doing every week and a half:
- Alternate shampoo and conditioner process with co-washes
- Pre-poo before each shampoo & co and co-wash
- Deep condition with Fructis Sleek & Shine mixed with honey and EVOO or yogurt mixed with honey and EVOO
- Mix a dab of Suave's Orchid Petal Conditioner (I LOVE the smell and it's ridiculously cheap) with a 1-2 drops of my concoction of oils (Amla Gold, raw shea butter & EVOO) and apply to hair midway down hair shaft every other day or as needed. Sometimes I do it just to give my hair a floral scent.
It's been a short journey so far and the results are already great. I truly enjoy sharing this info with all my friends and family that assume there is little to no hope for them to attain healthy hair. Even people I know with long hair do not know how to take proper care of it. You too can have "growing hands" as they say in the Caribbean. You just have to know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Do your homework and be patient. It's worth it in the end. Check out this Ayurvedic Hair Care info site to get started.
Here's to happy and healthy hair in 2010 and beyond!
I had fallen victim to many hair care advertisements. I would see women, some looked like me, who had long flowing and very shiny hair. I like to call this "commercial hair" because it was not realistic unless it was false to me. My hair has length to it, but did not have the shine and fullness I saw advertised everywhere. Like many other women, I bought the products that contained the "good stuff" like plant extracts and oils of all sorts not realizing I already had that stuff in my cabinet. I met a nice Indian lady that works at the Dunkin' Donuts by my fhbf's job. I asked her what she uses on her hair to see if she would mention any home remedies. She said she washes her hair with Shikaki and Amla shampoo bar (which I just purchased) and then conditions it with yogurt (let it sit for about 30 mins) and rinse with water. This confirmed that the women who have healthy looking hair do not use all the fancy stuff we fall for. I for one am done with it all. Especially all the sulfates and silicone. After 31 years of mistreatment, I think it's time for my hair to get a break.
I did a little research and came across a site for Ayurvedic hair care. After reading about the various plants and oils used by Indian and Middle Eastern women, I decided to purchase a few products to give it a try. Ayur Natural Beauty site offers all sorts of goodies for hair and skin care. I had to stop myself from over doing it. Not sure if I did a good job according to the picture to the =) From left to right: Hibiscus Petal Powder, Nyle Herbal Hair Oil (has a porous tube in the middle of the bottle that houses herbs like amla, sesame, vetiver, henna and fenugreek), Naajo Henna, Heenara hair wash, Amla Powder (to mix into my conditioner mixture mentioned above), and Amla Gold Hair Oil. In a week, I will use the henna and hibiscus powder to color my hair. It's great as a conditioner too. These products contain ingredients that do not have names that only a chemists or rocket scientists have heard of.The ends of my hair have shown a great improvement since I've been adding EVOO and honey to my deep conditioning process. I'm keeping an eye on it to see how healthy and shiny it will look now that I've added new oils to my regimen. Speaking of which, here is what I've been doing every week and a half:
- Alternate shampoo and conditioner process with co-washes
- Pre-poo before each shampoo & co and co-wash
- Deep condition with Fructis Sleek & Shine mixed with honey and EVOO or yogurt mixed with honey and EVOO
- Mix a dab of Suave's Orchid Petal Conditioner (I LOVE the smell and it's ridiculously cheap) with a 1-2 drops of my concoction of oils (Amla Gold, raw shea butter & EVOO) and apply to hair midway down hair shaft every other day or as needed. Sometimes I do it just to give my hair a floral scent.
It's been a short journey so far and the results are already great. I truly enjoy sharing this info with all my friends and family that assume there is little to no hope for them to attain healthy hair. Even people I know with long hair do not know how to take proper care of it. You too can have "growing hands" as they say in the Caribbean. You just have to know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Do your homework and be patient. It's worth it in the end. Check out this Ayurvedic Hair Care info site to get started.
Here's to happy and healthy hair in 2010 and beyond!
I've heard great things about that Nyle Herbal Hair Oil. If you try it, please blog about your experience. :-}
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I've started using it already and my hair feels great.
ReplyDeleteI'm living here in the Middle East and I've started using the hair oils that the indian ladies use. It was recommended by my hair dresser (he's Lebbonese) and it works great. My hair is really dry and coarse - similar to an Indian or Chinese woman's and the Ayurvedic hair care products work wonders for my hair. It's actually shiny now instead of looking like straw.
ReplyDelete