Winter is over for many of us and it’s time to pack away those warm and cozy winter hats. What more perfect time to start looking for easy, breezy summer beanies?!? Well, have I got the giveaway from you!! Remember my girl Dottie of Threadmill? If you don’t, she specializes in some of the cutest hand-crocheted hats around and at very reasonable prices.
Well now, Dottie is offering all of you a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to use at Threadmill! And, that’s not all!! The winner of this giveaway will also get to select a unique and whimsical ring from DarlinBabe, the Etsy shop of Dottie’s daughter!!
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Want in on the action?! Then submit one of the following with the subject, “Threadmill Giveaway,” to hairscapades@gmail.com by the contest deadline for your chance to win!
TUTORIALS – If you are an aspiring, amateur hair stylist with great hair and greater styles, please share!! Or, maybe you have a great DIY item or homemade recipe or remedy! Send me a bulleted picture tutorial or a YouTube video of your fabulous style, project or recipe for inclusion in the “Library!”
REVIEWS – Did you try an amazing, lackluster or absolutely horrendous product, tool or accessory recently? Do you have a holy grail product that just doesn’t get enough shine? Then send your in your Rant or Rave (include the ingredients list for product reviews, please!)! Video reviews are very welcome as well!
HAIRSTORIES – The coffers are getting low! So, if you haven’t sent in your story yet, now is the time! Click the hyperlink for the HairStories page to find links to interview questions for Big Chop, Hair Crush, Transition, Henna and Me and My Albatross hairstories.
NATURALS AROUND THE WORLD– Share your natural or transitioning story as a member of the international community. This is a chance for us all to learn about the different experiences and various perspectives across the diaspora and in the homeland. How are our stories the same and how are they different? (Yes, Threadmill ships outside of the US. So, all my non-US readers, you qualify for this giveaway too;)!)
MINI-HAIRSCAPADERS – Do you have a little natural in your house with great curls, kinks or coils? Would you love to share her/his mini-hairstory? Then click the link, answer the questions and submit your mini-hairscapaders hairstory with 5-6 pictures.
GUEST BLOGGERS – If you maintain your own blog and would like to share a post on Hairscapades, send the article, a link to your blog and a pic of yourself. If you don’t maintain a blog, but would still like to make a submission, send me the post with pictures (of course ;))!
GOT SKILLS? QUESTIONS – This is a category under our Grow Out Challenge (GOC) that was created to answer pressing questions from you guys! I will try to answer as best as I can. However, this question is really for all of the readers. So, send me your most burning question!
Have a lot of great material? Then send multiple entries and earn an additional chance to win for every submission! Contest deadline is April 30th. A winner will be selected and announced in the first full week of May.
Soooo … what are you waiting for?!? Get to writing ;)!! LOL!!
Yup. I finally took the Terressentials Mud Wash (TMW) plunge! Since November, my feelings have been bouncing between an intense desire to try it and a fear of the results. My intense desire was due to reading the claims of amazing post-mud wash hair: fullness, shine, body, easy peasy detangling, no need for conditioner, all natural. My fear was related to reading other reviews that indicated hair was tacky, coated and difficult to detangle after the wash. After having my desire to try it reignited and placing the order in mid-March (see here for what prompted the plunge), I became hesitant again once it arrived. I wondered if the Terressentials would remove the protein treatments I’ve come to view as essential components of my regimen. My concern arose due to these statements on Terressentials FAQs page:
Chemical hair treatments permanently alter the outer layer of the hair shaft creating a porous cuticle – under a microscope chemically treated hair looks like Swiss cheese. Once hair is damaged by chemical colorings, perms or straightening chemicals, people are sold a myriad of synthetic products that artificially coat the hair with plastic or protein polymers to make it look and feel undamaged. The more damaged the hair, the more porous it becomes; the more porous the hair, the more it absorbs these synthetic “protein” polymers (e.g. soy, wheat or oat proteins– that are NOT edible foods), plastic polymers such as PVP (petrochemical polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and gum coating agents. These are the substances the “mud” removes in the detox protocol, but the detox process takes time.
Sometimes when people begin using the Hair Wash, their hair may feel stiff, sticky, oily, heavy or dry. This feeling may persist until the residues of protein and plastic polymers have been completely removed …
It is highly likely that your current shampoo, conditioner, hairspray or other styling product contains some type of petrochemical polymer – a PVP vinyl, acrylate, silicone, carbomer, or hydrolyzed synthetic protein (soy, wheat, oat) polymer – all of which add a coating to the hair to make damaged hair appear undamaged. These plastic polymers also glue broken hairs together. Since polymers are difficult to remove with a gentle clay cleanser, it usually takes several washings to completely remove these gummy, oily residues from the hair. As these materials are being removed from the hair, hair may feel stiff, sticky or dry. It may even be a bit more difficult to comb out, especially if it’s long. (emphasis added)
Maybe you understand my hesitation now? I mean, I care about the ingredients in my products, but am no where near using all-natural/organic products. But, after reading the Terresentials FAQS for, like, the 100th time, I realized hydrolized animal protein (as contained in ApHogee) wasn’t listed. In addition, several ladies told me that they continued to use TMW with their normal, non-natural products with no problem. Then, fellow blogger EmilyCottonTop eased my mind further with her posts about loving Terressentials AND ApHogee. Finally, I came across this interesting thread in the NaturallyCurly.com forums, where someone shared the link to this thought-provoking video:
So, finally, after all of that, I suspected that my hair would survive the introduction of TMW into my normal, cone, animal protein and polyquat laden regimen;). And here is how it went!
The Process As most of you know, I’ve been researching this one for a while and have shared several posts on the Terressentials Mud Wash, including one with a link to Naptural85’s video tutorial. I’m not going to re-hash any of that here. However, if you are interested in checking those out, just use the “Search” box and type in “Terressentials” to find all of the posts on this topic:)!
Ultimately, I decided that I was not going to follow the 7 day detox protocol as the folks over at Terressentials indicated that this was for those who wash daily. Therefore, I plan to shampoo with the TMW once a week based upon my normal wash schedule.
So, this is what I did:
I purchased two “flavors”: Lavender Gardens and Left Coast Lemon. I decided to go with the Left Coast Lemon first as I prefer the light, citrusy smell over the stronger floral scent of the Lavender Gardens.
Divided hair into 8 sections and twisted each one (I did not pre-poo or detangle).
Thoroughly wet my hair in the kitchen sink.
Diluted about 3-4 tablespoons of TMW with filtered water in a small plastic bowl and mixed using my fingers (I used too much water, resulting in a runny mix). NOTE:I had to mix more wash as I ran out after finishing half of my hair.
Poured diluted TMW into a dye applicator bottle for ease of application (since it was so watery!).
Removed first twist and applied TMW to the roots, massaging it into scalp. Then applied more wash down length of hair, working it in and finger detangling the section before re-twisting.
Repeated until all sections were treated (this probably took about 45 minutes; I was trying to be very thorough as I wasn’t following the 3 wash or 7 day detox protocol).
“Baked” hair for about 10-15 minutes with blow dryer. I did this as the Terressentials FAQs page indicated that the detox process can be sped up and absorption ehnaced by “baking” the mud under the sun for 15-20. There was absolutely no sun in sight on Saturday, so I figured the dryer would do!
Allowed mud wash to sit on head, uncovered, for an hour or so. This was another tip from the site to speed up the detox process.
Hopped in the shower and rinsed mud. Released each twist to rinse and finger detangle under the shower stream.
Applied about another tablespoon or so of TMW for a second and final wash and rinsed.
After this process, I didn’t condition at all … no regular conditioner, no deep conditioner, no leave-in conditioner. I wanted to be able to evaluate the unadulterated results from the TMW as so many indicate that no conditioner is necessary after using it.
So, I blotted with a hair cloth and then allowed my hair to air dry (which it did pretty quickly without any product). When my hair was mostly dry, but not quite, I placed about a dime-size amount of JBCO/EVOO mix in my palm, smoothed it and applied to my hair, focusing on the ends. Then, I proceeded to do two strand twists using some Sofn’Free Mold & Hold Wax on the roots of a few of the twists for control and hold.
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My Thoughts So, what do I think of the Terressentials Mud Wash? I think it … or some variation of it … is a keeper. After the rinsing (which was very easy), my hair felt heavy like it does after a henna treatment, but with less mess and time involved. My hair also looked like a sheet of waves and looked very defined and shiny. I will say that it did have a very slightly coated feeling, but that totally dissipated and was replaced by softness as my hair dried.
In addition to being soft, ,my hair was fluffy and full. I took the opportunity to finally do some two-strand twists, because I suspected that I might be able to achieve a decent, non-anorexic looking, set. I usually twist on dry hair to get the plumpest set possible. I further stacked the deck by trying a technique Chy’sCurlz suggested for fine-strand naturals here. She recommends twisting in the opposite direction of what feels natural in order to form a plumper twist and I agree that it works!
Back to the wash, overall, I really liked it!! The only cons I experienced thus far are the cost due to shipping and, directly related to that, how much I had to use to wash my whole head!! I’m pretty sure I used half of the 8 ounce bottle!! If the bottle lasted for a year, no biggie. If I only got 4 applications out of it but it cost $4-$5 and could be found on the ground, fine. But, at $10.75 a pop, plus approx. $9 for shipping, this stuff needs to go a lot farther or cost a lot less!!
With that being said, I was trying to do a very thorough “detox,” since I had no plans to wash three times or every day for 7 days. Therefore, I don’t think I will need as much wash going forward. Also, maybe half of it won’t end up on the sink next time ;).
“Final” Verdict So, I know what you’re thinking. Will I buy it again? Is it worth the cost? Hmmmmm … well, I have a bottle and a half to go and I’m going to continue to use it weekly until it’s gone. I did really like the results and the ease of detangling without the need for a pre-poo or any conditioner. However, I’m already on the hunt for a DIY recipe, because I don’t see myself spending that much for something that I may be able to easily and cheaply make at home. I already have the ingredients that I need to make a “mud wash” (aloe vera juice, bentonite clay, carrier oils and essential oils). It won’t be the exact recipe of course, but I think I’ll be putting on my mixtress cap to see if I can come up with something that closely mimics the results at a fraction of the cost. So, stay tuned for more on that front!
In the interim, if I happen to be in Middletown or Frederick, MD, I’ll probably be making a pitstop at a Terressentials store to stock-up, sans the shipping costs!!
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