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:)

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!

Castor Oil Hair Challenge!

  A lot of people don't know this about me but my hair is really thin on the sides almost to the point that its practically GONE! When I was little my mom made my ponytails SUPER TIGHT!!! My hair was so thin and couldn't take it and slowly began breaking off on the sides. Growing up as a child this made me really self conscious and I did my very best to hide it. I felt as if people would make cruel jokes about my hair and laugh at me. When first starting this blog I knew I would have to share this part of myself but that still doesn't make it any easier. Part of building confidence is not being afraid to freely let your imperfections show and not being ashamed. So this is me letting it all hang out.

                                                                     
 Whewww *sigh of relief* It feels great to talk about my thin sides and not feel ashamed and uncomfortable. Lately I've been hearing a lot of hype about castor oil, Jamaican Black Castor Oil to be specific. Castor Oil has many useful hair benefits such as :

1.Thickening Hair that is beginning to thin

2.Reduce/Prevent hair damage

3.Prevents dry scalp

4.Deeply conditions/moisturizes hair and scalp

Most importantly castor oil INCREASES HAIR GROWTH!!!

  After doing my research I decided to make a natural hair challenge for myself. For the next 8 weeks I will deep condition my hair with castor oil at least once a week I've come up with a weekly regiment that I believe will give me he best resuts.

Weekly Regiment

1. Apply castor oil on edges, all throughout scalp,and on the ends of hair

-Allow Castor oil to sit in hair for at least 5 hours (Longer if possible)

2.Shampoo hair with SULFATE FREE Coconut Milk Organix and apply Coconut Milk Organix Conditioner

-Gently Brush or Comb hair after applying conditioner

3.Apply Coconut Organix Split Ends Mender all throughout hair

4.When styling hair only use Raw Shea Butter

-Be careful not to use too much to avoid causing a build up

5.Before going outside make sure to seal moisture in hair use EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

   I test ran my weekly regiment January 18th. I applied the castor oil to my dry hair and scalp and then put a shower cap on my head. The shower cap helped to prevent getting the castor oil all over my pillows and clothes. I left the oil in my hair overnight. By the time I went to wash the castor oil out, my hair was really soft and some of it had turned into little curls.

 I styled my hair in a twist-out using the raw shea butter. Before applying the shea butter in my hair I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. This just made the butter softer making it easier for me to work it through my hair.

  Even though this is only Week one of my natural hair challenge I'm really loving the results so far. My hair feels a little bit stronger already and has a nice shine to it that I could only get before by loading tons of product in my hair. The ultimate goal of this natural hair challenge is to make my sides grow back in. I'm hoping for the best and will keep you all posted on my progress:)