“Today on Wash Day Shenanigans: Shelli decides to try a three new things! Want to learn how it will all end?!?! Then, don’t change that channel!!”
*teehee*

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner
After less than stellar results using Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose (AO HSR) Moisturizing Conditioner as a post shampoo “quick” conditioner, I decided to follow the directions on the bottle for using it as a deep conditioner. I deep conditioned BEFORE shampooing. Yup, you read that right. I’ve heard of this before and knew that others had success using this technique, but I’d never tried it.

A little about the product first though:

via Aubrey-Organics.com:

INGREDIENTS INCI: Aqua, cetyl alcohol, alcohol denat. (38b, lavender*), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter)*, triticum vulgare (wheat) germ oil, lonicera caprifolium (honeysuckle) extract, aloe barbadensis (aloe) leaf juice*, glycerin, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil*, rosa rubignosa (Rosa Mosqueta®) seed oil*, citrus grandis (grapefruit) extract, tocopheryl acetate, foeniculum vulgare (fennel) fruit extract, humulus lupulus (hops) extract, melissa officinalis (balm mint) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, daucus carota sativa (carrot) root extract, beta-carotene, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) water, angelica archangelica extract, chrysanthemum sinense flower extract, magnolia biondii flower extract, ascorbic acid. *Organic

From the bottle:

Directions
Shake well before using. After shampooing, apply to damp hair and work through, concentrating on the ends. Leave on for 1 to 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 hair as usual. (emphasis added)

On Friday night, I put my stretched hair into 2 braids after oiling my scalp with sunflower oil mixed with the remnants of my EO mix. I applied a little oil to the length of my hair too. Then, on Saturday night, I divided my hair into 4 sections and applied about a tablespoon AO HSR to each area before twisting. I really didn’t detangle much at all. Once done, I donned a plastic cap and winter hat. Then, I did 10 minutes of Abs of Steel and 30 minutes of The Biggest Loser Cardio Max. After that, I chilled for about an hour, playing on the computer, eating dinner and watching and episode of The Big Bang Theory that I had somehow managed to never see!! Finally, I hopped into the shower, shampooed with diluted DevaCare One No Poo and rinsed. My hair felt GREAT!!! It felt strong, moisturized and smooth. And, I’m telling you, it was the easiest detangling session that I’ve had in MONTHS!! I don’t know if it was the AO HSR as a pre-poo DC or if my hair was just that stretched!! But, I can’t wait to try this again next week to see if I get the same results (I may do a Vatika oil pre-poo under the AO first or mix a little oil with the conditioner just to get the protein retention benefits of coconut oil). Anywho, then, for good measure, I applied HE HH to do a final finger detangle. However, I really think that it might not have been necessary!

Preliminary Review of AO HSR: Thumbs up and 5 stars as a pre-poo DC on dry hair!!

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Aloe Vera Juice (AVJ) to Seal
Next, I decided to use two products that have been part of my natural hair arsenal for almost two years in a different way. What prompted this deviation? This post and video on blackgirllonghair.com by HeyFranHey: Moisturizing & Sealing 3B/3C Hair. In it, Fran explains how using oils to seal left her hair flat and lifeless, because they were too heavy. But, AVJ was the perfect lightweight sealant! She also shared this YouTube video tutorial demonstrating her technique!

Now, as many of you know, I use a modified Kimmaytube leave-in, which contains 2 tablespoons each of Kinky Curly Knot Today and AVJ (whole leaf) and 1-2 teaspoons of oil. I’ve thought about leaving out the oil altogether, because I remember reading that someone else did that because the oil was too heavy. However, I never got around to trying it … I think partly because I felt like I needed an oil to seal in the moisture. But, after reading and watching Fran’s post and video and thinking about how the pH of AVJ seals the hair cuticle, it made so much sense to give this a try! I wanted huge, curly and fluffy hair too;)!

I proceeded to pull out my KCKT and AVJ and followed Fran’s steps for applying the leave-in and sealant. I had allowed my hair to dry to damp, so I did have to rewet with filtered water from a spritz bottle. Therefore, my hair wasn’t as soaking wet as hers. But, it still seemed to respond very well! This seemed so much easier than mixing and applying the Kimmaytube leave-in! Again, my hair was very detangled, so applying the products was almost a breeze and my hair already had volume and curl after finishing the application.

Preliminary Review of KCKT leave-in with AVJ to Seal: Thumbs up wet. Dry? The verdict is still out, because …

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Plopping
Given that it was the evening, I would normally do some type of TnC or twist set. Though wet hair in the morning is inevitable, my hair is controlled so that I don’t wake up with a tangled, matted rat’s nest. However, Saturday night, I decided to experiment with an overnight Wash and Go “drying” technique touted to enhance curl formation, definition and volume: Plopping. I think I tried it once before, but don’t remember the results. So, they probably weren’t that spectacular. Regardless, I decided to try it again. However, I needed to research how to do it as it had been so long. I came across this video using a long-sleeve t-shirt rather than the short sleeve one that I’d typically seen.

I grabbed a long-sleeve tee and followed the directions (using my bed as the flat surface, rather than a chair). A couple hours later, I hit the sack. I woke up Sunday morning and decided to do the reveal prior to working out. Figured that I could pineapple my hair if it came out all big and lovely like I desired.

It came out big all right … lovely? Not so much. *sigh* My hair was still slightly damp, very soft, big, but with next to no curl definition. I watched another video that indicated that a styler should be applied and left to air dry for an hour prior to plopping. I’m wondering if I had applied something like a curl gel over the AVJ and then waited for an hour prior to plopping, maybe this would have worked out better. But, as it was … I bunned it up for a fundraising Mother/Daughter’s Fashion Show that I attended for my niece’s school. My niece wasn’t in it, but my sister co-chaired and Sofistafunk loaned a slew of wonderful skirts for the event!! I’ll try to share some pics later, but mine weren’t that great as the girls were moving too fast for me to catch good ones!!

First Time Plopping Experience: #Fail

So, last night, I used a couple new products for the first time and placed my hair into 8 twists, setting the ends on flexirods. I’ll let you know how that turned out tomorrow!

GOC Health & Fitness Goal Update (BONUS ;))
I stuck with the plan in regard to exercise and did The Biggest Loser Cardio Max Week 1 (30 min) 4 days, Lauren Brooks Kettlebell 2 days (40 min. Wed.; 12 min Sun.) and Abs of Steel (10 min) 6 days. I took my supplements every day and ate pretty well most of the week. I was down from 136.5 last Monday (bloated from pancakes on Sunday) to 132 yesterday. Yea!! Why did I get on the scale this morning and it was back up to 135?!?! Boo!!! Dang water weight loss and gain!! Had creme brulee at the fashion show and some shrimp fried rice (after eating some healthy steamed shrimp and broccoli with brown rice; no sauce) last night with friends. *sigh* I know that 135 really isn’t right and it’ll go back down today when I eat well and exercise … but DANG!!

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What did you do with your hair this weekend? Try anything new? Anyone else try AO HSR, AVJ for sealing and/or “plopping?” If so, how did it/they work out for you? Any tips or tricks?

To my GOC ladies, it’s the end of the month! So, start getting those April Updates together and sending them in to hairscapades@gmail.com!

Remember to let us know the following:

• How you did in regard to following your planned regimen (hair and health & fitness)?
• What tweaks have you made (did you try something new? Add something? Remove something, etc.)?
• Have you had any challenges? Setbacks? Accomplishments?
• And don’t forget the pics!! We love to see your beautiful hair and lovely styles:)!