BOUNDLESS TRESSES - DAY 1

I received my BT bottle today and it smells great! I applied a little too much to my scalp today around 4pm and am resolved to applying it everyday for the months of May and June. I will stop applying on the 30th of June and get a relaxer either on the 16th or 17th.

Here are a few shot showing my NG (mid April) so far -
And a picture of my hair wet (mid April)

LENGTH CHECK - APRIL '08

Comparison shots to February and March

February 29, 2008

March 30, 2008

April 28th, 2008
April 28th, 2008

I see a difference when I style my hair but looking at these pics, it seems that there has been no change. Quite disappointing.

MY WEEKEND HAIR

My hair was feeling dry and I needed to straighten it for an outing to DC. It was painful combing my NG but once I got through straightening with my FHI iron, my hair looked longer and healthier.

I won't lie, all the time it took to comb my NG and then flat iron my hair was discouraging. It took forever! Nevertheless my hair looked good. The rain in DC caused some reversion but that was okay.

I decided to not wash my hair for as long as I can hold out for. I have moisturized with coconut oil, castor oil (especially on my temples) and Amla oil for my roots. My roots look good. Pics to come.

UPDATE: I think the castor oil at my temples caused a breakout on my face. =(

BOUNDLESS TRESSES & A HOMEMADE REPLICA

I just ordered Boundless Tresses - $25

Here is a recipe for a homemade version

If you want to make your own. Here's a recipe I got from another forum.

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Coconut oil

Jojoba oil

Pure sulphur (yellow colour)

Empty MTG 32OZ bottle for good measure....i fill the bottom about a full inch of sulfur powder and fill the remainder with the natural oils. leave the mixture for a day or two so that the sulphur can dissolve a bit into the oil mix. give it a good shake before applying the sulphur to scalp/hair area. if you find the mix clumps together run it through the blender.

I purchased the sulfur on ebay--

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5606650949

eta: I make my own version using a 12 oz bottle.

2 teaspoons of sulfur

4 oz. jojoba oil

3 oz. olive oil

4 oz coconut oil

10 drops essential oil (you pick scent, however, I've used lavender , lemon, or rosemary)

Shake well before apply.

Here is a helpful link to LHC forum


Also check out Claudie's Elixir info

ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT ROLLERS

But not the results I was looking for. After a morning run, I mixed ORS Con with Camellia oil, Glycerin, Coconut oil and put it in my hair for about 15 minutes while I vacuumed the play room.

Once washed, my hair had a lot of slip and I was able to detangle like a breeze. I then decided to put some Champagne Kiss in it but that made my hair stiff, so I put some more ORS Con back in there and got the softness I wanted.

I rolled my hair, which took forever due t numerous interruptions. Anyway, once I took the rollers out, the hair needed to dry some more, so I put the blow dryer on cool/low to help. What I noticed is that wherever I didn't put my wrapping lotion on, my hair looked frizzy. I even put coconut oil in it which helped to tame it a little, but once I wrapped my hair with a scarf for a while, my hair looked incredibly better.

Anyway, I just couldn't help but notice was that my hair is much coarser and maybe even thicker. I just hope I can continue to stretch because I am feeling the itch for the creamy crack.

SHIKAMLARITHANEEM + PROTEIN DAY

My ayurvedic mix today consisted of

1. 2 tbs of shikakai
2. 1 tbs of amla
3. 1 tbs of aritha
4. 1 tbs of neem
   

I rinsed it out and then cowashed with VO5 Freesia. Then I created a DC which included

1. ORS Mayo
2. Castor oil
3. Coconut oil
4. Cinnamon

I applied and left for 1 hour. The cinnamon is being used to lighten my hair. The castor oil is intended to thicken my locks and the coconut oil is intended to simply moisturize while the ORS strengthens.

RESULTS:
My hair feels alright, not fabulous, not bad. Basically nothing to write home about. I moisturized the next day with Vatika. It looked better but nothing extraordinary.

NEEM POWDER

I got some Neem Powder today. Finally! The store didn't have any Amla powder unfortunately.
I added 1 spoon of Neem powder to my Shikamlaritha mix and will see how it goes.

MOISTURIZED HAIR

My hair was damp when I woke this morning but I allowed it to airdry over the course of the day. After a 2 hour trip to the gym, I added castor oil and coconut oil to my strands. The result was incredibly soft and luxurious hair. I then had a hot shower and hoped that the steam would help my hair as well. I think it did.

My scalp is not itching the way it did. I think the tea tree oil helped. I plan on making a mix for my scalp that will include -

1. Tea tree oil
2. Neem oil
3. Amla oil
4. Coconut oil

I ope that this mix will keep my scalp comfortable. I will put it on my scalp on wash days which is every other day. So I think I will mix up the oils and put it on my scalp on Monday.

COWASHING DRY HAIR

My hair continues to be dry. eARLIER IN THE DAY, i PUT TEAT TREE OIL ON MY SCALP AND RUBBED SOME aMLA OIL ON MY LOCKS. iT FELT HORRIBLY DRY AND SO I PUT SOME mANGO BUTTER ON IT WHEN i WENT OUT FFRO DINNER AND WORE A HAT. tODAY HAS BEEN A HORRIBLE HAIR DAY. In fact, the week (after my 2nd roller set) has been horrible!

I picked up some coconut oil this evening. I put some in my hair and as a prepoo for an hour then I cowashed with my VO5 Freesia. After putting that in twice, my hair felt horrible so I added some VO5 Champagne Kiss which left my hair feeling a little better.

After washing that out, I made a conditioner with ORS Con/Coconut Oil/Glycerine/Castor oil and put it in my hair for about an hour. I should have added some cinnamon but forgot, just too focused on adding moisture to my hair. Lightening my hair will have to wait until the balance is right. Once I wash out this conditioner, I will use an ACV rinse to restore a healthy pH balance.

I have observed more breakage and shedding than usual and need it to stop. I think it might be the henna I used. The next time I use it, I will mix in some conditioner and a little more Amla powder.

I hope that my hair will feel better. If it does, i will skip a cowash today (sunday) and simply do a shikamlaritha rinse on Monday.

MY SCALP IS KILLING ME!

I have endured an itchy scalp for a long time, but this week, it's been a hot mess! I am gouing nuts - I have scritched and scratched and used shampoo twice this week! That is more than I have used in the last 2.5 months! What is going on!

I used Suave Tropical Coconut shampoo and followed up withVO5 Champagne kiss moisturizing conditioner. I scritched like a mad woman. The conditioner smelt heavenly and felt just as good or even better than the Freesia one. I am sticking to these conditioners, they are cheap, make my hair feel soft, give slip and help detangle.
But I need to figure out why my scalp is perpetually itching. I will add some Tea Tree oil to my scalp today and will do some research.

USED SILICON MIX

And I don't think I will use it again! I noticed some unusual breakage when I had it on and afterwards. I had no slip and my hair smelt like it, felt heavy and nasty. I don't remember being too impressed the last time i used it but it wasn't so bad. I think that is because I DCd with it first.

Anyway, I wil not use it again. I will instead give it to Nogo. I will give her the treseme conditioner and the Dove Advanced color Con or and the Pantene detangler. Assuming my mom doesn't like those prods.

So, basically, Silicon Mix joins the pile of NEVER AGAIN products.

MY HAIR FEELS DRY

So, after having my hair down, but pinned up and off my clothes all day, my tresses felt dry. That was a far cry from the moist locks I had on Tuesday and it made me sad.

Thus, on Wednesday evening, I added some yummy Mango Butter, Spiked Scurl, Castor Oil and Amla oil to my hair and am hoping for the best. Hopefully it will feel good on Thursday.

I will wash with VO5 and Silicon Mix tonight (Thursday). Then i will finish up using the MB/SC/CO/Vatika and hope for the best.

HAIR REGIMEN

Cowash - 5-7 days
Baggy ends once a week & entire head once a week
Deep Condition once a week
Carmel every six weeks
clarify once a month with baking soda and warm water
shampoo once every 2 weeks with DE
Shikakai/Amla/Egg combo once a week
Prepoo with 2 eggs/evoo/vatika/oil mix once a week before shampoo
massage scalp with oil mix 3-5 days a week
moisturize with Keracare creme after DE shampoo
Use leave in conditioner (DE), SCurl, Vatika, oil mix every wash
MN & Sulfur 8 oil spray challenge begins March 1st and goes for 2 weeks.

PRODUCTS FOR CARMEL MIXTURE

SECOND ROLLER SET & PIN CURL

I did it again and I loved the results! I clarified with Suave Coconut Shampoo and then conditioned with SH. I DCd with ORS Con for a few minutes, rinsed and finger combed. I then squeezed out the excess water and applied Mango Butter from Elasta QP. It smelled so good, I had to keep reminding myself that it was not edible. lol!

After the Mango Butter, I sprayed Spiked SCurl, sealed Castor Oil and Amla oil (which I focused on my ends). I then combed out my hair and put the rollers in.
My hair air dryed for about 3 hours and when I removed the rollers, it looked like this
-The red hue from the henna treatment is pretty visible under the light. My hair felt so soft! I don't think my hair ever felt this good while looking this good without the use of heat. There was a lot of sheen, yet not much residue when I ran my fingers through my hair.
I went to the gym for a workout later that night and when I returned, my curls had fallen a little so i did a pin curl.
Then, I wrapped my hair with a scarf, had a shower and went to bed. Here is what it looked like in the morning -


Not bad! I know that I will be using my rollers more often. I love the look of my full, thick and bouncy hair especially if i can achieve all that without the use of heat. I am not that good at getting the rollers taut but once I achieve that, the curls will look even better. USing rollers, I just might be able to stretch until July. I hope so anyway, because although I have no desire t get a perm, I do wish my roots didn't show as much because they are junky! And did i say that my hair was soft! My NG included. It is amazing what I have learned about my hair since becoming hair-conscious. Thank God for BHM, hair bloggers and everyone else!

MY FIRST ROLLER SET & PIN CURL

I had some spare time on Sunday and so I did my first roller set. I have had them done before, but this time I did it myself. I co-washed and put KODL, SCurl, Castor oil and Vatika in my hair. I also put my KeraCare Foam Wrap Lotion. Then I started at my nape and put in the rollers.

I unfortunately was unable to let it dry completely but still ended up with nice full hair.


Later that night I decided to do a pin curl which looked okay in the morning, but don't have pics.
I think I can see some red from the henna.

I am going to try again because my hair looked presentable and was lovely, so i hope to do a better job with the roller set and actually let it dry this time. lol!

2 DAYS AFTER HENNA

I had to wash out my dry hair. The protein overload had led to lots of shedding. So I washed with VO5 Con, scritched and left some ORS Con in my hair for a few minutes while I finished off in the shower. I finger combed and let my hair air dry a bit, then added the normal post wash products and put some wrapping foam and put rollers in my hair. Will see how it goes.

THE DAY AFTER HENNA...

My hair feels dry and brittle. I have added Grapeseed oil and still no change. I will not put heat in my hair, but will wash and condition first thing on Sunday and try to put some moisture in my hair. I think the problem is that I have a protein overload, what with the Shikamlaritha/ORS Mayo combo earlier in the week and now the Henna experience.

I see a little color was deposited on my hair from the henna. My grey hair has a little red to it but very slight. Probably after a few more application, I will achieve the color I am looking for.

AYURVEDIC MONTH

I think April should be the month I focus on ayurvedics. As such, I will
shikamlaritha on Mondays, Co wash on Wednesdays with VO5 and ORS Con/SM and henna on Friday day/night.

I hope to experience additional growth. It looks as if I have just about an inch and a half of NG. So, I am looking to have 2-2.5" total in NG.

I am preparing a henna mix using LaShanne's recipe

55g (4 TBL) Henna
1 TBL Orange Juice (Terp)
1 Cup Cold Water
Stir till it's mixed up. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside. (I usually do this on a Fri. nite)

-- the next morning, after the dye releases, mix in...
3 TBL Olive Oil
3 TBL Honey
24 drops of Rosemary Oil (or any essential oil, it's more for scent, henna kinda stinks)
Mix should be smooth like a relaxer

UPDATE: I did not add Olive Oil or Honey. I did, however, include 5/6 tbl of cinnamon. I left the henna for 5 hours. Rinsed with SH and then put a mix of ORS Con/Cinnamon on my strands with ORS Con/Glycerine/Castor oil on my roots and ends. I left that on for 4 hours, rinsed with SH and used KODL, my rosewater/glycerine oil mix, Castor oil. Then the next morning, my hair did not feel moisturized so I used KODL, Scurl, Castor oil, Vatika and wrapped the hair.

SHIKAMLARITHA, BABY!

I did it again and the results were incredible. I used my shikamlarithata recipe, rinsed hair with it, cowashed with VO5, then DCd with ORS Mayo for 3 hours. When I washed it all out and finger combed, my hair felt soft. I added KODL, a mixture I made earlier (recipe below), and sealed with Castor Oil. Husband said my hair smelt like sweet fruit.

The follwoing day, I added KODL, Scurl and sealed with vatika and my hair airdried while walking the kids. It feels great! I think this week will be an Ayurvedic week.

Oil mix recipe this week,

Rosewater glycerin
Amla
Vatika
Castor Oil
Glycerine

It smells great but I think ading the rosewater glycerine was a mistake because it is watery and doesn't mix well with other oils, but once i shook it up it seemed fine. I think this will be my baggy mix from now on. I might throw in some additional oils though.