Category Archives: Hairpourri

Apr28

how i retained length - year one

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how i retained length - year one

Reblogged from mightyfinenatural:

Click to visit the original post

hi guys,

so i just wanted to share a few consistent things that allowed me to retain length. even though I would venture to try new things these are the things that i did constantly since I BC’D.

1. Finger Detangling

The only time that I have ever used a comb was when I picked out my hair to find relaxed ends (this wasnt the smartest move because I ended up cutting off a bit of my natural hair =/).Besides that , I have always finger detangled.

Read more… 487 more words

Check out #3. Very interesting! I never heard of diluting conditioner prior to application, but since detangling with conditioner under the shower stream seems to work well (added water adds slip), I wonder if diluting conditioner with water first has a similar effect! Just thought I'd share:).
Apr19

40 Down, 7 to Go

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40 Down, 7 to Go

Okay, I crashed and burned yesterday. I was so tired at work that I didn’t think I was going to make it through the day and contemplated taking a couple hours off to leave early. I didn’t and then ended up being at the office an hour after my work day was over, because I got caught up talking about hair!!

When I got home, I decided to take down my bun as I knew my hair needed to be moisturized (I definitely think I need to use a leave-in … Terressentials is NOT enough). It was quite tangled, so it took a little time to get through it and, after making four twists, I decided to snip about 2 inches off of the back twists, which were tapering to a fine point. I have an appointment for a free trim tomorrow (won a giveaway:), but was advised that a trim is an inch or less. Although I’m still testing Chicoro’s Lead Hair Theory, I know my longest strands are more than 2-3″ longer than the bulk of my hair. So, I know that I need more than an inch off of the back and decided to take 2″ to help keep the “cut” a “trim.”

As you can see, those tips are really pointy! I also took about an inch off of the front twists, which are fuller to the ends. You know, that crown area is a b@#$! LOL!! But, I do think (hope) that I have it under control now!

Anywho, once I finished that, I sat on the couch, fudged around on FB for a little bit and decided to take a”nap” on the couch. … And that’s all she wrote! Yup, woke up on the couch this morning. So, yeah, didn’t get to putting the rest of the GOC posts together. But, don’t worry, I’ll finish them up tonight for posting tomorrow! And then, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week!

Lata Gatas!!

Jan30

Hairscapades Grow Out Challenge: Part Deux

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Hairscapades Grow Out Challenge: Part Deux

Hairscapades GOC – First Round (Final Updates Due):
It’s coming to an end ladies!! Can you believe it? Six months already! I’ll be looking for updates from you guys over the next couple of weeks! Regardless of whether you achieved your goal(s) or not, we’d love to hear from you! It’s not always about the end game. Most often, it’s about the journey. What have you learned about your hair and yourself over the course of the last six months? What have been your struggles? Your triumphs? This is a great time to help inspire others. So, if you’re still out there, even if you haven’t updated since your original submission, we’d love to read your story!

In regard to my goals, I’m still on a mission to achieve full thickness waist length (WL) hair. I didn’t do too great a job of maintaining my weight loss … I did some backsliding, as has been par for the course for years! But, I’ve been getting back on track with this 28 Day Work-Out Challenge. So, although this GOC is coming to an end, the work will continue! I expect that it will with many of you as well. So, that being said …

Hairscapades GOC – Second Round:
Do you have hair length, thickness or health goals? How about weight, fitness or diet goals? Stress reduction? Faith? Do you need something to hold you accountable and keep you motivated to achieve them? Did you participate in the first round of the Hairscapades Grow Out Challenge (GOC) that ends January 31st and want to keep going? Then join the Hairscapades GOC that will run for 6 months, from April 1, 2012 to September 30, 2012! Yeah, I know, April?!? But, I don’t have time to get submissions and post them to start in February given that I’ll be posting updates from Janaury. And … for real though? I need a little break! LOL! So, I figure I’ll do updates in February and then we’ll have March for you guys to get your submissions in to me and it’ll allow me time to post the participants prior to our start on April 1st.

If you are in the first round GOC and planning on participating in the second, please feel free to send in “unofficial” updates or guest posts over the next couple of months as I’d LOVE to know how you are all doing!

Check out the GOC home page for details on submissions and the general structure of the challenge.

H A P P Y    G R O W I N G ! ! ! !

Jan1

Best of Hairscapades 2011

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Best of Hairscapades 2011

Well, this was an amazing year for me in regard to starting this whole hair blogging thing. It’s a lot of work, but I love every minute of it and I hope to be able to continue and build for years to come. With that being said, I’m jumping on the bandwagon with my first ever, “Best of the Year” post!! These were the posts (I didn’t include pages) that received the most page views since the inception of Hairscapades in June 2011!!

1: My Current Regimen

July 29, 2011

 2: Henna and Me – Shelli’s HairStory

3: Senegalese Twists/Twist Out (Two in One)

4: Twist and Curl (TnC) – A Picture Tutorial

5: Banana Clip Bun Tutorial (My Very First Video)

6: Dabur Vatika Hair Fall Control Cream Review

7: The Banana Clip: Who Knew?

8: Deep Conditioning Tricks … Cool and Seal

9: My Staples: Virgin Coconut Oil/Vatika Oil

10: Exercise and Natural Hair

Did your favorite make the list? If not, what was one of your favorite posts on Hairscapades?

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 What did you learn in 2011 about your natural hair that changed the game? I learned that protein is not a four letter word! LOL!! So yeah, the need for protein and how to use it properly was definitely my takeaway this year!!

Dec23

The WORST Thing Ever!

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The WORST Thing Ever!

So, about a year ago, my parents moved from their old house to their new one and my mom found some old pics of me and my sisters that she turned over to us. I’m about to reveal to y’all what was probably the worst hair of my life. The year was 1988. After having had a relaxer for about 3 years, I decided I wanted to wear my hair wavy as I could never get/keep it straight anyway. I wasn’t feeling the Jheri Curl, but the Wave Nouveau had just been introduced! YES! That’s the look I wanted! I dreamed of looking like this!!

Instead, I looked like this.

(I’ve come a loooooong way baby!!)

LMBO!! Told you. See a salon stylist, a so-called “professional,” thought  it was fine to apply this curly chemical process over a relaxer. And … my hair proceeded to break horribly. Eventually, in my senior year of HS, I got my first totally short haircut ever to eliminate the remnants of the damage.

That was my worst hair year ever and was probably the worst thing that I ever did to my hair. So, the question of the day is:

What is the worst thing that you’ve ever done to your hair?


Dec8

Lead Hair Experiment: Jackie

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Lead Hair Experiment: Jackie

Meet Jackie, the other volunteer for our Chicoro lead hair experiment! This is her starting point submission of 9/18! She’ll update us with her progress in January 2012. But for now, let’s learn a little about her, her regimen, her current state and her goals!

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Hi, my name is Jackie. I am a graduate student and I’ve been natural(no relaxer) since 14, however I would blow dry and flat iron my hair to within an inch of its life. As of January 2011, I have been a healthy natural, no blow dryers or flatirons since then. Today was the first time in nine months that I’ve used a flat iron. My goal is to have bra strap length hair. I have recently started to do protective styles to help retain length. If any ladies have any helpful tips to maintain length, I would love to hear them!

I have attached he intial pics of my hair that I took today (9/18/11). I got a trim to even out my hair and get rid of some split ends. You can see the thinning edges of my hair on the t-shirt.

My Regimen:

Daily:

  • Usually re-twist  my hair each night with water and EVCO.
  • Detangle every other night with my fingers.
  • Wear updos as a form of protective styling.
  • Cover head each night in my silk bonnet or use my satin pillowcase.

Weekly:

  • Co-wash approximately 4 time a week with either Suave Tropical Coconut or Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition (I go to the gym very frequently, so I use conditioner to wash my hair afterwards).
  • Deep condition twice a week. I alternate between a regular conditioner and a protein rich conditioner (Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition or Queen Helene Cholesterol with Ginsing DC both with EVOO, honey, and EVAO.) I don’t use a heat source I usually put a hat over the plastic cap and wear it for an hour or more depending on my mood/schedule.
  • Apply leave-in (I have yet to find an amazing leave-in, so I sometime use my conditioner as a leave in if my hair is feeling dry).
  • Seal with EVCO, shea butter and/or EVOO

Monthly:

  • Pre-poo with a mix of equal parts honey, EVCO and EVOO for about 30-60 min.
  • Shampoo once every 4-6 weeks with Burt’s Bee’s Baby Shampoo.
  • Detangle using Denman D3 Brush.
  • Henna

Supplements (daily):

  • Women’s multi-vitamin
  • Biotin-5000 mcg

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Check out Jackie on her blog, Engineering Natural Beauty, to see how she is progressing and learn about modifications that she’s made to her regimen since September!

Dec2

African vs. African-American Hair Practices

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African vs. African-American Hair Practices

That’s me with the bandana in our senior year of high school.

by Chy’s Curlz

I’ve been thinking of developing this story for a while now. It is the story of how girls were/are made to wear their hair shaved from grade to high school, both in Ghana and in Nigeria.

A little back story, I was born Nigerian and grew up in Nigeria until I was 10 years old when we moved to start a new life in Ghana. Since I spent most of my formative years in Ghana, that became more home to me than Nigeria was. There are many similarities between the two countries and one is the rule to have young girls wear a TWA until they graduate from high school. I think the reasoning behind it is the same as there is for wearing uniforms. It ensures homogeneity, also, the girls who could not afford to get their hair braided did not have the pressure to spend the money and thirdly, everyone looked “neat” and “presentable.” Now, that is not to say it was right or wrong, just giving the possible reasons.

As far as I can tell, this practice was mostly the case in public schools. I noticed that many (not all) private schools permitted their female students to wear their hair at whatever length they wanted, as long as it was braided up neatly. The only girls who were exempt from this rule (public and private school) were those who were biracial. There weren’t many girls who were biracial, but those who were, got to wear their hair long. Again, as a little girl, you don’t think anything of it. You just knew that their hair was “prettier” and more “manageable” than yours and it wasn’t a big deal. You didn’t read meaning into it (at least not consciously), you just accepted it.

I remember our final year of high school, many girls (me included) will grow their hair out, but will tie it down with a scarf overnight to encourage the maximum shrinkage to avoid being punished (spanked) by a teacher. We did this because we knew that once school was out, we were going to get our first relaxers … good times :) .

This practice did not seem like such a big deal to me when I was growing up, but as I get older and upon going natural, I’ve been thinking about how it affected my love, or lack thereof, of my natural hair. You see, most of my friends are Nigerian or Ghanaian and most of them – if not all – sport relaxers and will not let go for anything (although I’ve convinced 7, including my mama, to BC. Yea! #teamnatural). But why is this the case though? Why is it that, after growing up without relaxers, we hold onto it so strongly? Many of the experiences I read on blogs pertaining to natural hair are those of African-American women. They relate how they got their first perm at 4, 5, 6 or thereabouts. The stories go on to say that since relaxers were the norm for them, they just kept getting them until their decision to either BC or transition.

My question is this, why, after having two very different and distinct experiences, do African-American and African woman have this reluctance to let go of the relaxer?

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I love this post! Thanks for sharing your experiences Chy’s and providing many of us with insight into this custom. Hmmm … you know, when it comes down to it, I sometimes think it is still as simple as many of us want what we don’t have. Those with curly hair want straight hair, those with straight hair want curly hair, those with thick hair wish it was thinner, those with super curly hair wish it was looser, those with loose curls wish it was tighter, those with thin hair wish it was thicker, those who are short want to be taller, those who are tall want to be shorter, those who are thin want to be curvier, those who are curvy want to be slimmer … and the list goes on and on and on. Also, I think there is something to be said for personal aesthetic and some just prefer straight, flat, “swingy” hair whereas others prefer curly, full, gravity defying hair! Finally, I also think that we share a common challenge and that is not knowing what our natural hair can really do and not knowing how to care for it in its natural state outside of braids, ponytails and TWAs. When it comes down to it, it seems to me that it might be the “manageability” factor that feeds the reluctance to go natural. For African-American women, it often comes from having relaxers from a young age and not knowing how to care for their hair in any other state. For Nigerian and Ghanaian women, keeping the hair short effectively does the same thing as it’s pretty much wash and go. One is never able to learn how to care for natural hair allowed to grow long, which requires a certain level of knowledge and skill. So, ultimately, for both groups of women, relaxed hair may just seem easier. Just my two … ummm, twenty-five? … cents! Chime in guys! What are your thoughts on this intriguing question??

Sep23

Now and Then!!

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Now and Then!!

I’ve been wanting to do this ever since the beginning of our GOC in August. It seems many talk about wanting to get their hair back to the state it was when they were little and their hair was long, thick and luxurious. Some had curls, some had braids, some had puffs, but most remember their hair as healthy, prior to the relaxers, dye jobs, flat irons, blow fryers (stole that from somewhere), etc. So, I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a post with pictures from our youth showing that hair?? Now, mind you, my hair was baby fine back then, as you can see above. I never had super long hair, though I never had a problem with growth or length retention (I was always able to reach about APL, I guess). However, my hair was always big, due to frizz and the inability to hold a curl … which is why it often ended up in a ponytail or French braid from the first time I got a relaxer at 13 until I graduated from high school (except for a brief stint with the Wave Nouveau. The stylist put it over a relaxer, which resulted in my hair breaking and a short cut eventually … yeah, some of you remember the Wave … admit it. *lol ;) ) . I remember my mom saying, “You have to set it every night to train it to hold the curl.” Yeah … ummm … no mommy … that’s not working. My hair was untrainable:/. LOL! I know now that this is just a trait of fine hair and also related to porosity.

Anywho, before I go off on a further tangent, back to the point of this post. What do you think guys? Fun idea? Will you share your childhood pic(s) with us? Send your “now and then” pics to me at hairscapades@gmail.com and we’ll see our hair in all its glory, past and present!! Depending on how many I receive and when I receive them, I’ll do a single posts or multiple with batches of photos. Feel free to tell us a little something about you and your hair too!!

Sep20

Zizyphus – Greek Myth or Curl Savior?

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Zizyphus – Greek Myth or Curl Savior?

And the preliminary results are in … Zizyphus may be a keeper! As many of you know, I ordered some zizyphus ($7.50 for 100g) a couple of weeks ago after Michelle of Radiant Brown Beauty did this post about her experience with it. When she contacted Mehandi.com to inquire about amla for curl restoration, they recommended this ayuverdic powder as a better alternative, with fewer incidents of irritation. In the past, I had used amla alone and mixed with henna in an effort to preserve my curls. However, my scalp was NOT having it and I discontinued using it. That is, I stopped until I decided to do a little experiment on my ends a few weeks ago, which I discussed here and here. As I kept the amla far from my scalp, I didn’t have any problems with irritation. However, I also couldn’t see much of a difference. After Michelle’s post, I was interested in seeing if zizyphus would perform better.

Mixing
Okay, first let’s discuss the mixing and application process. I mixed about 50g of the 100g bag in a plastic bowl with about a cup of filtered water to a yogurt consistency. Zizyphus is green and grassy smelling and was like melted marshmallow in texture when water was added. The water also increased the volume of the powder drastically. It really absorbed and swelled, almost “bubbling” as mixed (I probably could have used less than half of the bag). Now, this is where I had to make a decision. The online directions indicated that the mix should sit for 2 hours, whereas the directions taped to the bag implied the mix could be applied to hair immediately. Go figure! Anywho, I decided to go with the online instructions. So, I left the zizyphus to “marinate” while I ran to pick up a pair of fierce, peep-toe wedge booties that I had put on hold the prior day.

Applying
After returning home, I got around to applying the zizyphus to my hair, which was saturated with a Vatika oil and EVOO pre-poo and was thoroughly detangled. I had done some research on the powder and one recurring complaint was that it resulted in extremely dry hair. I always read reviews that indicate this with a critical eye. It often seems to me that many with this complaint often do not regularly apply moisturizing deep conditioners after drying ayuverdic hair treatments. Because I wanted to pre-poo anyway, I thought the oils would provide a buffer for the potentially drying effects of the treatment as would a post treatment moisturizing DC. The mix was gushy and almost slime-like, but in that is was viscous and not muddy or drippy in texture. It kind of “glooped” as I squished it  into my hair. My hair was in six twists and I untwisted each section one by one, squished the zizyphus through, ensuring that my hair was thoroughly coated and then loosely re-twisted each section. I applied the zizyphus to the entire length of my hair except for the first 2 inches or so of roots. Then, I donned a plastic baggie and waited.

Rinsing
About an hour or so later, I hit the bathroom to rinse the stuff out. Yeah … what the frick?!?! Michelle was NOT joking when she said this gook is a mother to get out of your hair. I have little to no problems rinsing henna. With this, I used hot water (as instructed) via the faucet in the bathtub. And I rinsed. And I rinsed. And I added some Aussie Moist and rinsed and rinsed some more. I will say this, as I rinsed the treatment, my hair felt very heavy and thick in a good way. It didn’t feel dry at all. After a while, I gave up on getting it all out and applied my DC as I had found this old blog post that indicated that the last of the treatment seemed to be removed by the conditioner. Michelle also indicated that she was able to work the residual mix from her hair when she applied a styling cream to do twists.

Styling
So, after DCing for an hour, I rinsed using my normal technique, blotted dry, applied some DevaCare One Conditioner and twisted my hair into six twists. I could still see little flakes of the zizyphus all throughout my hair. But, it was past midnight and I was … put a fork in her … done. So, I hit the sack with my satin sock bonnet, twigs, grit and all.

I wore the twists to work on Monday so that my hair could continue to dry, eyeing the flakes and hoping no one would be all up in my grill close enough to see them ;) . I secured the twists with a couple of Goody Comfort Flex barrettes as pictured above. At lunch time, I applied some JBCO to the bottom couple of inches of the twists to seal (yeah, I carry a little repurposed container of JBCO in my purse … don’t judge! *lol*). I noticed then that my twists were very plump and springy. Hmmm, the prior night, I was thinking that zizyphus might be a wrap simply for the hassle it presented when rinsing. However, now that my hair was mostly dry, I was seeing some of the shrinkage that I have so desperately sought since henna began loosening my curls last year! And, the little flakes seemed to be easily dislodged with a few flicks of the finger. My hair also felt very soft, fluffy and moisturized (I will say that when I use DevaCare One instead of the Kimmaytube leave-in, I get a fluffier, more voluminous set … pH balance and all that jazz ;) ).

As I type this, my hair is still in twists and I suspect that I’ll just be pinning them up for work on Wednesday. I’ll take pics of the twist release later this week since, yup … you guessed it, I got my new camera!!

Well that’s it for this loooooong, detailed review. What do you think? Do my twists look more plump and “shrinky” than normal? I think they do. The shine in these pics also seems ridic! But, I think that is just the new camera as I didn’t notice that much of a difference in the mirror;).

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Have you experienced a loss of curl due to henna, heat or something else and want your curls back? Have you ever tried Zizyphus? Would you try it? Would love to see what type of results others are having with this ayuverdic treatment!

Okay, if you didn’t get my title for this post;) , if was referencing Sisyphus who was the king in Greek mythology who was condemned to perpetually push a massive rock up a mountain every day only for it to roll back down, forcing him to push it up again.

Sep15

Chicoro’s “Lead Hair” Theory?

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Chicoro’s “Lead Hair” Theory?

This is not lead hair. It's a long layer and varying shrinkage. It just worked to illustrate this post:).

Things that make you go, “hmmmmmm … .”

A few weeks ago, I came across a post from Sweet Afro Hair referring to Chicoro’s theory of “lead hair” with a link to this thread on Long Hair Care Forums (LHCG) illustrating the phenomena. The thread on LHCF begins with two pictures of a woman’s hair taken 5 months apart. The first is a picture of her hair illustrating what appears to be a seriously thinning perimeter. The second is of her hair five months later where the perimeter appears to have filled in at the longest length from the prior picture!! WHAT THE … WHAT?!?!?!

I was immediately intrigued and started googling!! It seems that this “lead hair” theory was propounded and explained by Chicoro in her book, Grow It: How to Grow Afro-Textured Hair to Maximum Lengths in the Shortest Time. However, I was not able to find much online explaining the thought/science behind it except the following:

from Long Hair Don’t Care:

LHDC: Yeah, I like to use Chicoro’s method of trimming. She calls it the goal point or length based method, I think. Bascially you let your hair grow (regardless of what the ends are looking like) until the bulk of your hair reaches your goal length. BUT the lead hair (the strands of hair that are the longest) shouldn’t be longer than about 2-4″ than the bulk of your hair.

She advises to set small goals and once you reach them cut all your hair evenly and start all over again…

I hope that makes sense. I figured since she has hair down to her behind, she knows what’s (sic) she’s talking about LOL!

But the fact is that hair grows unevenly…so who’s to say tht (sic) the shorter lengths are due to breakage and not because your hair grows slower in that area? I also think that trimming is just for aesthetics…but that’s JMHO.

I also found this thread on LHCF. In the first LHCF discussion linked above, everyone seems to firmly believe in “lead hairs.” But, in this second thread, the premise is met with deprecation, with many adamantly against the concept. However, I must say, the young woman who began it was asking about whether the longer strands of her hair looked like “lead hair” or breakage and, ultimately, it did appear to be very bad breakage. I can easily understand why some disbelieve this theory as it may be used as an excuse to hang onto longer, damaged, thinning hair for the sake of length.

That being said, I am thoroughly fascinated with this concept!!! I don’t have enough information, proof or “scientific evidence” to entirely believe it yet. BUT, I think that it is something that could be easily proven or disproven … at least, to one’s self! Something that I do believe is true is that hair on the same head can grow at different rates. You get your hair cut in a blunt cut and a few months later, it’s longer, but rounded or one side is longer than the other. I know that my right side seems to grow a little faster than my left. I also have been wondering if the thin layer that I had cut off at the beginning of the NC.com GOC in February is returning. However, since I haven’t straightened my hair since last October and have no intention to do so anytime soon and my nape hair is almost straight and always hangs longer than my curlier crown, I’m not a good “candidate” to test this theory.

However, I was thinking that one  of YOU might be willing and able to do it over the course of our challenge, which has 5 months (well 4 1/2) remaining! I think whoever wants to test the theory would definitely have to begin with an even perimeter as the “control,” though obviously it does not need to be full thickness. This would need to be evaluated on fully straightened hair (not flat ironed per se, but a blow out at least). If the perimeter is irregular, I think a cut/trim is definitely in order to even it out at the longest point. Also, any split or damaged ends need to be eliminated. It’s important that the ends are examined and appear healthy. Then, a length check tee shirt or, at least, a shirt marked with the starting points is needed and should be used for the initial, mid-point and final length checks on straightened hair. I say starting points, because I think the full thickness line needs to be marked as well as the longest/thinnest layer. Search and Destroys to remove splits and knots must be employed as a preventative measure, but no trims other than the initial evening one. Photos at 3 intervals would be necessary: one in September, one approximately 60 days later (mid-November) and one at the end of January. Finally, I was initially thinking that the individual’s hair should be in good health with limited to no breakage, as far as they can tell. However, this may not be entirely necessary as one could also determine if the hair is breaking or growing during this process. If the long hairs shorten to meet the bulk of the hair or the entire length of hair becomes shorter: *ding, ding, ding* … breakage! If someone wants to do this because they are trying to figure out if they are experiencing breakage, maybe we could have two volunteers: one with healthy hair, one with ends that are “suspect;)?”

So, what say ye? Is anyone interested in being a “guinea pig” for our little lead hair experiment?

Have you heard of this theory? Are you for or against and why?

(p.s. If anyone has the book and wants to provide us with a little more information behind this idea, go for it! Because, you know, I’m being cheap trying to find the info for free online as I have no plans of buying the book anytime soon ;) .)