MY HAIR IS DARKER & BAD DREAMS

Okay, I have a box of Henna that I have not used but for some reason yesterday, I noticed that my hair was much darker than its normal color. I'm not sure what caused this but I'm not upset about it. Vatika has henna in it and that could be a contributor, but, I think Amla also darkens hair.

Even Husband noticed the difference. I will do some research and figure out what caused this color shift. I still want to use henna but some additional research has me thinking that I might not want to go there just yet. What if the red is too much, then what? I honestly want to know if i can combine henna with cinnamon and honey (which I was going to use to lighten my hair). I will give myself the next 2 weeks to research this possibility and then I will try it out in April.

I did not use the MN/Sulfur mix yesterday. I was too tired to add it in after my DC last night. I probably have only one more application left, so i will try adding it this morning since my scalp should still be relatively clean from last night. I hope i can swing by somewhere and get an additional bottle of MN today so that I can get back to it tomorrow.

I had a horrible dream last night. It seems as if one of my babies died. God forbid. It seemed like a drowning. This is the second horrible dream i have had of the children. The other involved a baby being raped and I was slow to stop it, for some reason. God forbid. May this not be my portion, my children's portion or anyone's portion. Amen. I put my faith in God that he will protect my family always. Lord, you promised, and I believe you.

SPIKED SCURL & MN/SULFUR PROGRESS

So, I spiked my SCurl with some glycerine. I think I can feel a difference. I do know, that sealing with Castor oil and Vatika has resulted in my hair feeling very moisturized. Maybe even over moisturized, although I don't think that is a bad thing.

I continue to use my MN/Sulfur mix but I think it will finish tonight. I have started putting it on twice a day, sometimes. Once in the morning and again at night. The truth is I do not know if it is working, but, I am willing to try again. I can't believe that my mix has lasted just short of two weeks. I pray it works. I need a little success at something right now.

I need to make serious money and think I will sell something, maybe my LV bags. **sigh**

A WHOLE HEAD BAGGY DAY

This morning, I washed my hair with VO5 Freesia Moisturizing conditioner and used my shampoo comb/brush to scritch my scalp. After rinsing off, I then applied MN/Sulfur mix to my scalp. After massaging my scalp, I applied ORS RP to my roots and strands, and covered with a shower cap. I left it on for approximately 7 hours then washed it out. My hair felt incredibly soft, but my roots didn't feel as nice, probably because all the conditioner had pooled to the bottom of the shower cap and thus my ends felt incredible. Anyway, I used some VO5 to condition my roots, which definitely helped. I spent a considerable amount of time finger combing.

I then applied MN/Sulfur mix to my scalp and massaged. After that I applied SCurl (which has Glycerine in it ) to my root and strands. I sealed with Castor Oil and vatika. I hardly had any shedding or breakage and chose not to comb my hair but did comb my ends at my nape. I allowed my hair to air dry and only put on my scarf when I ran out to the store to pick up a bottle of ORS Replenishing Conditioner (RC) and Kids Organics Detangling Moisturizing hair Lotion which I will use on my daughter but also use as a leave in after protein treatments.

My hair feels good. This I swear!

NATURAL HAIR COLORANTS AND LIGHTENERS

Well, I recently read that honey and cinnamon can produce highlights at Kittikat24's Fotki. And, in fact, even though the method requires repeated use, such repetition allows you to control the color you obtain. I think, actually, I know that I want to try this. The lady (can't remember name) mixed honey, cinnamon powder and conditioner to make her own mixture. She added it to hair twice a month and in 7 tries, she obtained the highlights she wanted.

Now, I know that i would like color in my hair, especially for the summer. This seems to be a gentle way of achieving color. I however purchased Henna yesterday at Periyar and was considering using that as a means to achieve the colored look. I think I will use the honey/cinnamon mixture instead.

GLYCERINE & CASTOR OIL

Since I started my haircare journey approximately 3 weeks ago, I have heard continuously about the benefits of glycerine and castor oil as hair products. Today, I read on BHM that glycering is a good replacement for SCurl. In fact, ladies are swearing that you simply need to add Glycerine to your SCurl and/or favorite conditioning products to 'spike' them for major moisture benefits!
Hair ladies are also swearing by Castor Oil as a sealant.

So, here is what I'm about to do. I will add a serious 'dollop' (or 2, or 3) of Glycerine to my SCurl and see how it goes. If the results are startling, I will add some Castor oil as well. I will add Castor Oil to my SH (probably) and definitely add some more to my oil mix.

By the way, I bought some Henna and Neem oil from Periyar. I think I will add some Neem oil to my oil mix. I need to go back and purchase Neem powder for a skin concoction and my Ayurvedic hair treatment.

MY 3RD AYUREDIC RINSE

And I think I have discovered something....

Well, not in the Ayurvedic products, but lets talk about that first. I prepod with one egg/Melted Ghee, Olive oil. Caution: I made the mistake of throwing the ocmpleted pre-poo mix in the microwave because it began to thicken when I went upstairs to bath the kids. Big mistake! The egg cooked and i had to remove that part. Anyway, I prepood for 2.5 hours (went to the gym and supermarket).

My ayurvedic mixture contained 1 tbs of Shikakai powder and 2 tbs of Amla powder. I poured the mix as close to my scalp as possible and rubbed my scalp. I tried to not move my hair strands too much. I rinsed off and then used my new VO5 Free Me Freesia Moisturizing conditioner and Lord, have mercy, my hair was soooo soft! I conditioned 2 more times and had to force myself to put the bottle down. My hair felt like silk!!!!!! Even better that the Carmel mixture results, I think.

And, the conditioner cost a whopping $.99!!!! Unlike past Ayurvedic treatments, I did not use the ORS Mayo. ORS Mayo seems to cause major shrinkage and doesn't do much to moisturize. Afer using VO5, I experienced no shrinkage. In fact, for a second, I thought my hair was longer, but it was just my imagination and excessive hope that the MN/Sulfur mix is working.

I added my MN/Sulfur mix to my scalp (7th day in a row), then added SCurl to my roots and strands. I sealed with Vatika, combed (noticed quite some shedding) and folded up my hair. This morning my hair was soft, smelt sexy, had so much luster and looks good. I had to force myself to tie it up just so I don't have my hands in it as it is quite soft and my new growth is tame!

I must say that I will continue to use the Ayurvedic treatment once a week and will use the ORS Mayo and VO5 next time.

FULL HEAD BAGGY!

Well, today is my 5th straight night of applying the MN/Sulfur mix to my scalp. After some time at Alynxx's Fotki, I decided to replicate her full head baggy method.

The first time I attempted to baggy, I used a glycerine/water mix (not sure if the measurements were right) and did some bantu knots. But, I forgot to get a bag, so I just used my scarf. Anyway, today, I had everything I needed and even went a little further.

So, here's what I did -

1. I co-washed with SH
2. Added MN/Sulfur mix and massaged scalp
3. Added SCurl to roots, length and ends
4. Added my sloppy, watery Glycerine/water mix to the roots, length and ends
5. Added a liberal dollop of Castor oil (which apparently thickens hair)
6. Added a quarter size amount of Vatika
7. Finger combed my strands
8. Folded my ends over the back of my head and held with pins (hope it will keep my ends straight

The last time i applied glycerine/water mix, I had extremely soft hair the next day, especially after I added some of my oil mix to the shaft. So, I hope that this results in soft hair that shines.

MY OIL MIX

I make my own oil mix which I massage onto my scalp daily and even put on the length of my strands for additional moisture and softening.

My mixture includes the following:

1. Olive oil
2. Honey
3. Grapeseed Oil
4. Castor Oil
5. Tea Tree Oil
6. Lavender Oil
7. Camellia Seed oil

I did not add any vatika because I always use vatika to seal my hair after adding SCurl with every co-wash. I will add other oils into the mix as I acquire them but so far, this oil mix smells good, feels good and gives my hair incredible sheen.

MN/SULFUR CHALLENGE

Based on my recent observations, it took me 8 weeks to grow 1 inch/ 1 index tip length of hair. To increase my hair growth, as of today, I am now using my own MN/Sulfur mix.

I mixed

1. 1/4 cup of Sulfur 8 pomade
2. 1 tube Safeway brand MN 2%
3. 4 capsules MSM
4. 6 drops of honey
5. A few large, quarter-size drops of Vatika
6. Several drops of Lavender oil to mask smell

The result was a creme that looked like relaxer. Here is a pic -
After doing some research, it appears that co-washing as frequently as I like (at least 5 days/week) is not advised. I am not sure why. But, I will try to wash 3 days instead. I also plan to apply this mix 5 days a week for at least a month. I have a picture that shows my starting point -
I hope to gain 1-2 inches in a month, in comparison to 1 inch/2 months.