Castor Oil Update

  Hey Guys:) Just wanted to update you all on my castor oil hair challenge! In many ways the challenge was a success but it was also a failure. For example the main reason for me beginning the challenge was to grow the hair on my thin sides back. The castor oil did wonders for my hair as far as retaining moisture,and making my hair grow longer and stronger than ever. But it really didn't do much for my thin spots. The hair surrounding the spots has grown longer and thicker. But the actual spot itself still remains thinly covered with hair.

  I'm beginning to to worry that maybe my sides are too far gone. It's scary thinking that I will never have hair there again. With all the technology and natural hair remedies out there I doubt that's true so i will keep HOPE ALIVE! It's been suggested to me that maybe I should go to a Dermatologist and let them evaluate the problem. But before I go to that extreme I'd like to naturally try and grow my hair back. 

  As far as the castor oil, I think it is any Naturalista's DREAM PRODUCT<3 It works great as a deep conditioner or even applying daily to your ends and problem areas. It made my hair extremely soft while keeping it strong so that it wouldn't break off. My ends were never frizzy while using the oil and my hair was developing a natural sheen. The dryness I use to sometimes see in my hair had disappeared. Castor Oil is not only good for moisturizing but it also seals in moisture! With natural hair MOISTURE is the most important, so if you haven't tried castor oil yet I highly recommend you should I still use it even though my castor oil challenge is over.

  As far as my mission to grow the hair on my thin spots back I will definitely keep you guys posted on what new natural hair remedies I find. But if you think of anything I haven't tried and you think it might work for me please don't hesitate to let me know! I would love your feedback and I'm willing to try anything. Thanks for stopping by and please POST COMMENTS:)

Keep on Rollin&apos;

The first stages after the "Big Chop" have been some of the best stages in my natural hair journey so far. But now that my hair has grown out a bit, I'm at the dreaded awkward length. Twist-outs, fro-hawks, head bands, and wash and goes are becoming boring to me and though I do have a lot more hair than what I originally had, I still don't have enough hair to do many natural hairstyles. I thought that this was true up until about a week ago. I realized when my hair was stretched, I had enough hair on the back of my head( which was previously tapered) to twist! So with the help of a friend, we came up with the hairstyle in the photo to the left. It started off with two twists going up the back of my head. The twists in the front are arranged so that you can't tell where they end. My hair was already moisturized and was stretched with a blow dryer on a low heat setting. All you need after that is patience and bobby pins, lots and lots of bobby pins! The twists can go in any direction or style that you want but the main goal is to not be able to tell where they end and for some, where they begin. This is a great way to protect your ends and is also a great way to wear your hair so that you won't have to do it everyday. Another thing I liked about this hairstyle was that it was very easy to sleep on. I wore this style to a party and for 3 days afterwards and it didn't budge! I only took it out to add moisturizer an oil to my hair because it was getting dry. This style is very versatile and can be worn anywhere; to a formal event or just for a casual day to day look. So I hope you enjoy and give us feedback on what you think of it.

Straight to the point!

At the end of December 2011, we decided to participate in a No Heat Challenge. This challenge was like a promise to ourselves that we would not flat iron, curl, blow dry, or use any other heating tools on our hair for as long as possible. We would only curl our hair using natural methods and we would also do more natural hair styles. But eventually, we both ended up straightening our hair so we wanted to give you all an update on how that went. . .

Robbin's Hair, Natural(left) vs. Straightened(right)

To Straighten we used the following:

Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo

Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner

Silver Bird Conair Pro Blow Dryer with Concentrator Nozzle

Round Brush

CHI 44 Iron Guard

CHI Ceramic Flatiron

CHI Silk Infusion Serum

Rat Tail Comb

Wide tooth Comb

Hair Clips to Section

Bobby Pins for pin curling (optional)

Keon's hair; Natural(furthest left) vs. Straightened(center, right)

Procedures:

1) Wash hair with the Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo. We usually co-wash but when flat ironing, we find it better to have clean hair so that your hair will not be weighed down and so that it will have a weightless feel and look.

2) Apply the Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative conditioner while your hair is wet. Gently detangle your hair with the wide tooth comb while the conditioner is still in your hair and afterwards completely rinse out the conditioner.

3)Spray the CHI 44 Iron Guard throughout your hair and make sure you apply the product to your ends. Comb the product through your hair to ensure that the heat protectant has been applied all over your head.

4) With the blow dryer on a medium heat setting, use the round brush along with the blow dryer and the concentrator nozzle to dry your hair (the technique used at Dominican salons). We find that when we use this method we get less breakage versus using the comb attachment for the blow dryer. This method also gets your hair very straight so we don't have to go over our hair with the flatiron more than two times. The Silver Bird Conair blow dryer gets very hot so we didn't have to use a very high heat setting. Blow drying your hair using this method will take more time but it shouldn't be that way because of the heat setting being too low. Your blow dryer may be different so you may need a hotter setting but do be aware of how much heat you're putting on your hair and be sure to take the proper precautions in protecting your hair while using large amounts of heat.

5)  After blow drying your hair, lightly mist more of the CHI 44 iron guard over your hair but not to the point where you hair starts to shrink again. Section your hair and flatiron using the method of your choice.

6) Take about a dime sized amount of the CHI Silk Infusion and apply it throughout your hair. You don't need a lot of this product; a little does a lot.

Everyone has different methods of flat ironing and this is ours. Straightened hair lasts as long as you allow. At night you should sleep on a satin surface i.e. satin scarf, pillow case, bonnet etc. Also, after straightening neither of us had any heat damage or breakage; our hair returned to its healthy natural state.

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoy and don't forget to comment and tell us what you think!