*sigh*
So, I'm still experimenting with the whole 'stretched' thing.
*thinks* Let's see - I did my hair on Sunday, and my hair detangled like a dream, and I braided it up, and then, I made the mistake of getting impatient, and took it down and messed with it before it was fully dry, and *sigh* no. Alllllll the tangles came back, plus some. What sucks is that it takes so long for my hair to dry!
I noticed, while I was rinsing my hair in the shower, that there seemed to be a 'sweet spot' when part of the conditioner was rinsed out, when my hair felt - heavy, very moist and lush. The problem was, at that point, I still had conditioner on my scalp, so I had to keep rinsing to get it all out.
I'm thinking that using my leave-in BEFORE I get out of the shower - rinsing past lush, then putting on enough leave-in to take it back to lush, and THEN braiding it, to see how that helps with the tangles. The only downside to that is that usually makes my hair take even LONGER to dry.
I need to figure out an interim style - something that I can do with my hair as it's drying, so I'm not stuck HAVING to remeddle with my hair before it's fully dry.
As my hair has gotten longer, it's gotten easier to detangle, because I can SEE the knots to pull them apart - without breaking hair. But it's still just not quite long enough. And, I'm majorly paranoid about meddling with my tangled hair daily. *sigh*
So, I'm starting to feel (again) like my hair is still just a little too short to really experiment and do the sort of styles that I really want to do, so I'm going to go back to the big fat twists. I did generally six across, had to drop it to 2 and 4 right at my crown and nape - and I'm wearing them in flat twists. I did the parts 'blind' last time, but I'm going to redo them 'right' tonight after I DC, so that they are more consistent going across my head.
I'm really pleased with them, because they allow me to get to my scalp without even MEDDLING with my ends - it's really wonderful.
Another thing that I noticed when I put my hair into twists - holy CRAP but it's getting thick! I mean, I've always had a lot of hair, but it's lush thick now - like, crazzzzzy thick! My 'tail' at the end has easily DOUBLED in size.....that makes me feel a little better about not seeing the big growth jumps I was seeing last month. Also, I'm seeing a lot of short little hairs sticking up all over my head - I'm assuming those are the new hairs from the initial shed follicles finally getting long enough to make themselves known.
I'm back to being paranoid about retaining length, though. See, I started not caring at all - about growing it faster, or about keeping it. Then, I got all freaked out about keeping it, and went super protective. Once I got into that groove good, I got freaked out about how slow it was growing. I'm still in the process of figuring out that groove, but I think that I've come to enough of a peace with it (with a little help from some friends ;), that I am now getting back into the obsessed with retention bit.
I'm NOT TST'ing my whole head in itty bitty twists. Just, not. It took me FAR too long to do these fat ones that I'm rocking now (true, I was playing a bit, and it was crazy tangled, but STILL!) - but I think that, if I can figure out a good parting pattern, the fatfats might work, and work well - and I think that they might work even better on WET hair, as my twists keep falling apart since I did them on dry hair without adding a moist leave-in as I was doing them. *laugh* *sigh*
We'll see. I don't think I'm going to have a lot of time to mess with my hair tonight (trying to get the house in a company-appropriate state), but I am going to DC (slap that in as soon as I get home, and do some stuff around the house while it's soaking) and then retwist & megassage tonight.
Hrrm. If I retwist into these twists, that might be a fabulous interim style!!!
Stuff and Stressin.....
Stuff and Summaries.....
Hrm, hrm, hrm.
I've got a lot to catch up on - where to start? *checks last entry*
Okay, let's start with the results of the oil experiment.
When I took my hair down on Tuesday, it was still rather detangled, but not as detangled as I would have liked it to be. My hair wasn't as crunchy anymore, and - it actually felt kinda - good, actually.
My ends, on the other hand, were HORRIBLE. I don't know what it was - buildup, unbalanced pH, what, but they felt - like velcro. Very much sticking to each other, no matter what, and rough. On... *thinks* Wednesday, my 'normal' DC night, I wasn't feeling very well, and I was frustrated with my ends, and didn't really feel like playing with my hair and creating a mix like a usually do. So, I DC'd overnight with the Cream Rinse, hoping that maybe the use of something 'straight' would help my ends.
*sigh* I stayed home Thursday, and after rinsing out the DC found that - blech - my ends still felt like crap. So, I tried something I haven't done in a VERY long time, because I had been told that.... well.
Baking soda is usually used to clarify/clean hair. Citric acid is usually used (at least by me) to acidify/smooth hair. One is acidic, and one is alkaline, and when they are combined - they make a wee little volcano type reaction. I was told (ages ago) that the result of that reaction leaves basically water and salt, and that salt isn't the best thing for hair.
So, I stopped doing the combo treatment, and would use the BS and CA in two separate steps. One thing I remembered, though, from doing the combo step, is that my hair would end up amazingly smooth and buttery - almost silky, somehow.
Then, a week or two ago, I saw a thread that blew up on tLHC, all about someone who used a salt rinse on her hair, and ended up with REALLY good results.
So, since I was so sick of my ends that I was seriously considering a trim (and trust me, that's - that's majorly major for me), I figured - what the heck! I'll try the 'salt' treatment, and see how my hair turns out.
I put about a teaspoon of BS into a cup, and added a tiny bit of water, just enough to make it a liquid rather than a paste. I then added some Tangerine V05, mixed well, and then about a 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid into it. It instantly foamed up, and curdled almost (that had to be from the conditioner, as it turned into a mousse type foam last time, but I used a different conditioner, last time, too), and was rather - icky looking. I was a lil hesitant, but I put it onto each twist (still had my hair twisted up from rinsing out the DC), soaking each one in the mix well, and then poured the last of it over my head. I let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then went to rinse it out.
Oh. My. Gods.
My hair - and more importantly, my ends, were BUTTERY. I'm talking silky, slippery, glossy smooth. They didn't feel all rough and bumpy and angry like they had before - they felt smooth and strong and slick like the rest of my hair did.
I detangled (I was actually able to comb through my WHOLE HEAD without sectioning - just comb, comb, comb, done), added a tiny bit of leave in, and braided it up to dry.
That was Thursday, and I've oiled my hair *thinks* twice since then, and I've worn it OUT (in two puffs) for almost a full day and - my ends are STILL smooth. And, even more shockingly, they are STILL mostly detangled! Mind, I haven't gotten my hair wet again, but - still! It's - it's AMAZING. I'm sitting here playing in my hair right now - just feeling and rubbing on my ends because they feel so danggone GOOD.
So, I've been meaning to go back and take a look at the salt thread, because I'm curious to see if anyone might have mentioned how this works so wonderfully on hair - I'm not going to use it all the time, but I will whip it out in hot instant when my hair starts feeling grumpy again.
So, the pissed off ends have been placated.
I've been oiling my hair to (adding a tad bit more every other day) and I think that's helping with the end happiness/detangledness as well. I'm really pleased.
Now, to the boosted MT.
I finished the MoeGro Oil on Thursday, squeezed all of the oil that I could out of the herbs, and then poured it off into an old mini Patron bottle. Yeah, yeah, I know, but it was the perfect size. *lol*
I used 1 capful SAA, 2 capfuls HQ, and 1/2 teaspoon of MoeGro Oil, plus two or three squirts of Vit. E oil. I ended up with a pale green, rather pretty mix. I used it that night, and I've been using it nightly since then - it's much easier, because I don't have to part or anything to apply it, I just smooth it in. I'm only using a tiny tiny bit, so the 2 ounces I made will last me a good lil bit of time. I want to use it on my eyebrows, too.
I took pictures of my hairline with my damp hair pulled back into a ponytail (I can make one now! It's anemic and it's ugly, but it's a ponytail - okay, really, it's a bunnytail. *lol*) and *sigh* it looked even worse! Amazing what the difference in styling will do, and I also understand why I've never even tried to slick back my edges - just, no. I'll post them a month from now when I take the comparisons.
*thinks* Oiling, Salt, MoeGro, hairline...... I think that's about all I wanted to cover this go around.
Oh! Length shots. *makes funny face* I'm really starting to get more and more 'eh' on progress shots. Largely because I'm not ready to ask DH for help on taking photos, and it's hard for me to 'arrange' my hair in a good picture taking form. Anyhow. In the front, my hair comes about to my chin, stretched, more or less. In the back, I'm shoulder length, stretched.
Something else funny I've noticed length shot wise, is that with shrinkage, no matter what, my hair is roughly neck length - but over time, the 'sides' of my hair have filled out when shot from the back, so that it looks 'fuller', but it's still very much neck length, un-meddled with.
And I'm really very unwilling to straighten even part of my hair just to prove that it's growing (esp. when I know it is!), so, yeah, length shots have lost some of their appeal for me until I can figure out a consistent way to make comparisons. *sigh* DH just might have to start helping.
Oil, again.....
So I'm trying an experiment, going back to something that I tried before, and didn't work out so well.
Oiling my hair.
I've been getting more and more paranoid about the daily manipulation of my hair, despite not seeing a lot of breakage when I do it.
I've read (for ages, too!) about how many people rave over castor oil, and I strongly suspect that one of the main 'emollients' in the Survivor Detangler is castor oil, and I just ordered a big old bottle of castor oil - so, I mixed about 2/3 castor oil to 1/3 Survivor, and added a few drops of Amryis, just to add a bit more of a lovely smell.
So, as I'm taking my hair down yesterday to megassage it, it was CRAZY tangled. I haven't seen that many knots and just general bits of unhappy in my hair for a while, so it was actually a really good 'test' of the oil.
Firstly, it seems like the front of my hair (ears to forehead) liked the oil more - or, I was just too heavy-handed for the back, which seemed to get a little crunchy, initially. I used just a tiny bit, dabbing more on knots to encourage them to 'fall apart', and ended up with hair that oddly enough, was 'lighter' than it normally is - fluffier, somehow.
To me, that's a good sign, as that means that fewer of my strands are 'clumped' and stuck together.
I put it back in my updo, and slept on it last night. When I woke up this morning, it was still fluffy, and it felt - soft. Not the least bit oily or greasy, just soft. I tied it down how I usually do, drove to work, took the tie off, rolled on.
Checked my hair in the mirror after lunch, and it's 'poofed'. It's not shifting out of it's style, but it's definitely fuller, not as tight as it usually is, and it's still very soft.
The real test will be tonight, when I take my hair down. If I still have the crazy knots (or worse, if my ends are crunchy) I'll have to *sigh* either wash my hair tonight (doubtful. very doubtful) or I'll have to just skip doing the MT and leave my hair be until I DC tomorrow.
If, on the other hand, my hair is soft all the way to the ends, and is still mostly detangled - I might have found just the thing to help me with taking my hair up and down and up and down and up and down. I tried using the AfroDetangler, and it's just plain got too much water in it.
Feeling on the end of my braid, it feels a little dry, but not crunchy, and seems to be mostly still detangled - so I'm hoping I might have found my magic potion.
My hair is suitably moisturized (the DC's insure that), and really all I need is something cone free that provides a little 'dry slip'.
We shall see.
Also, yesterday, I took pictures of my temples, as I was mildly horrified with how bad they looked. Looking at them today, I realize that slicking back my edges is a bad, bad, bad idea, as then I REALLY look like I'm balding. Well, I mean, my temples are thinner than the rst of my head, but it's REALLY obvious with my hair slicked back and not so much when they are happy and fuzzy.
I'm trying to figure out the best way to take accurate comparison pics - I'm thinking I could dampen them, and slick them back - it's the ugliest look, but it's the most 'truthful', as fuzz covers more than straight does. I'm planning on taking pictures daily for this one.
Rambling & Recipes
So, last night, two interesting (and wonderful!) things happened.
1 - I got my box from MountainRose Herbs. 8 ounces of dried herbs by WEIGHT is a - well, it's a heck of a lot more than I was expecting to get, I'll say that much. I'm going to have to put most of in into a Foodsaver bag, and then freeze it to keep it.
2 - I finished the last of my MT mix.
I had to go and dig through the old MT/OCT challenge thread in order to find when I made that, and my 'latest' recipe - I really need to get better at recording things here.
Anyhow.
Firstly, the tub that I was using from Oyin was only 4 oz, not 8 like I thought it was. I have no clue why I thought it was 8, as the Whipped Pudding comes in an 8 oz container, and it's a heck of a lot bigger.
So - with that in mind, this is the 'new' recipe.
I did a bit of rambling to get here, and I'm going to skip all of that, because - I ramble enough, as it is.
*lol*
3/4 tsp Honeyquat (6 capfuls)
1/2 tsp SAA (4 capfuls)
1/2 teaspoon Castor Oil (2 capfuls)
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (20 squirts)
3.5 ounces MT (to fill)
I mix the first four ingredients together in the tub, then add the MT to it.
Simple, and straightforward.
Now.
I've been lurking over at NP.com lately, and I think I'll remain a lurker, because I'm just plain not that hardcore. And - I hate censoring/silencing myself, but I'm respectful of their rules, so rather than speak in a way that is only partially authentic, I'm opting to keep my mouth shut.
I read a bit of the original MoeGro thread/challenge, and it sounds - interesting. Seems like most ladies were getting excellent growth right from the start - which is most promising. No pictures, and I suspect it's because (as I've learned) curly hair doesn't show minute increases in growth well, at all. But, I can't see it making the MT work less, so - I'm very interested in seeing how this will work.
I've been debating whether to use straight castor oil, or to mix the castor and Vitamin E oil. For right now, I really think that I'm going to go with the straight castor oil - I've got more of it, it's cheaper, and if I don't like it/mess up, I'll be 'okay' with tossing that, but I will be real tight lipped if I have to toss some of my Vit. E! That stuff is not cheap.
So. I think I'll use straight castor oil - the last of the kroger kind, since I just got a GREAT big bottle from MrH - though, I need to check the thickness - it looks a little less viscous than the stuff I have now. I might use the less viscous kind, as that might 'infuse' better? I don't know.
I was going to use 2 ounces of oil - I figure that's about the 'minimum' I could use, and be sure that I had plenty - and considering how little of the stuff I use at once, that would be more than enough to get me through a while. I want to use enough herbs (half horsetail, half nettle) to fill up the oil to the halfway point - so it will be half herbs, half oil. Going to stick it in some boiling water, and let sit. Then, I think I'll put it. *thinks* on top of the fridge, or on top of one of our corner cabinets - that should be the hottest area of the house, and let sit for a week.
So, my next Thurday (17th) I should be ready to mix up a boosted version. I'm going to use the exact same recipe, and just use the boosted castor oil instead of the plain stuff. I figure I'll make just two ounces - since it's going on my temples only, that should be more than enough to last me for the month I want to use it for my trial period.
In the meantime, though, since I did run out of MT last night, I'm going to mix up a 4 oz tub, again, so that I don't have to 'ration' myself, out of the standard recipe. If by mid-August I decide that I like the boosted mix, I'll dump whatever is left of both versions into an 8oz container, and fill it up based on how much 'room' I have in the container. 8 ounces should last me from August until the end of the year, so we shall see.
I keep saying that I need to go and dig into the TLHC archives and see what the heck I can do with the Irish Moss and Hibiscus and Fenugreek (Methi). I'm certain that the IM and the Methi are both slip-agents. The Hibiscus I think was for the henna, to add extra red, but I think it has other hair benefits, too.
The lemongrass smells FABULOUS. Depending on how the MoeGro smells, I might add a little to it. The Amyris smells - woody. Not quite as full/sweet as sandalwood, but it's not a bad substitute. The Neem oil, on the other hand....... I don't know about that. It smells - very earthy and a little dirty, too. I'll have to look that one up too, I think one of it's properties is that it helps stop shedding (oooh, along with Shikaika and Amla, I think!) which, I could definitely use.
I think - not totally sure though - but I think that I'm shedding a little more than usual. I'm not sure if it's because I'm in my hair daily, or if it's my follicles reacting to the restart of MT, or if it's the shift in temps, or what....... but it 'feels' like a little more than usual, and anything I can use to gently convince my follicles to keep it and grow with it, is a good thing.
Hrm. I think that's it for the recipes and suchlike. I might post tomorrow on the results of my research. *wiggles eyebrows*
I have made another discovery though - Why, exactly, was I whinging about parting my hair down the middle? I can't remember now - but, I have figured out that an 'up' flat twist looks SO much better on me than a 'down' one does.
Compare:
An 'up' twist.
A 'down' twist.
I didn't have any full face pictures of the down one, but trust me, it's most likely because the squareness (and hugeness) of my head is - magnified, almost, by the style. I wore a 'down' twist yesterday, and I'm wearing an 'up' twist today, and - even though I was in one of my best look good outfits yesterday, and I'm more casual today, I look SO much cuter today.
It's all about the hair.
Okay.
I think I'm done.
Two Interesting Things...
As well as two posts in the same day. Clearly, I'm going into a hair mania phase.
Okay.
So. Thing 1
I think - hrm, well. My hair is always growing, one would hope. It's just that normally, it grows so slowly that you don't - notice it, quickly.
I just put my DC in my hair, and I swear my hair looks longer than it did on Saturday.
Mind, I'm 99% certain I'm just witnessing the magic of shrinkage, since I've been wearing my hair stretched & secured since then - but it's delightful and warming, all the same.
Ooo. Thing 1.5
I've realized how I best want to wear my hair. Stretched & Secured.
I've realized that as long as my hair is stretched - whether stuck in two strand twists, or air-drying in braids and taken down - as long as it doesn't get WET - while LOOSE - I'm okay - I don't have to worry about detangling.
Okay - this has always been my 'intentions', I guess you could say - but I've finally been able to fully put it into words.
So. The idea, that I realized, is that once my hair gets long enough, I can hold it stretched in buns/updo's - and I can wear it fully loose! Just - hair. Hair, that if I wanted to (and can find the perfect detangler/leave-in) take down, part, fiddle with, and then re-stretch and put back up. *faint*
It - it would be wonderful. That's how I want my hair to be. And then, when I wash it - it shouldn't be that hard to detangle, since it's been stretched the whole time. And of course, even if I do, my wet hair is even easier to detangle! And then, comes the danger point - loose, unstretched, wet hair. The faster that I can get it into a stretched position, the better it will be.
And! And! Once my hair is long enough that I can pull, twist, and secure it (using my fabulous GHD Pins, and further along, hair toys) in a couple of seconds/two or three movements - voila. Maintaining my hair should become insanely easy. I'm quivering with excitement, here.
Now, of course, it I wanted to wear my hair stretched, unsecured, and 'dry', I would have to protect it against humidity. I've realized, that I can use the same products that people use to protect heat-stretched hair from humidity. Haha! Stretched hair is stretched hair, no matter what the process (and extent) of stretching is.
I've already got a couple of samples of Sabino Moisture Block hanging around - it'll be perfect to try this out with that. Though, I don't know, because if I recall right, it 'takes' heat to set. Hrm. I'll have to check the reviews again. Maybe some of the Aveda stuff would be better.
And I have no problem with having kinkywavy hair. I don't want it to be straight. I don't want it to be shiny/silky/smooth. I want it to be a great, red-glowing, glistening, mass of flyaway, gravity defying, beautiful crinkly wild black hair.
Quivering.
So. Thing 2
I have a hemline. I mean, I've always had a hemline, but today, I actually saw it for the first time. It is, as I knew it was, a lovely V. One of the fabulous things about nappy hair - my hemline will ALWAYS be full and thick. *hehe* Anyhow.
I'm now about 50% shoulder. I'd be 0% shoulder when the bottom point of the V was still above my shoulder, and I'll be 100% shoulder when the broad side of the V is past my shoulder - and by that time, I'll most likely more than 1% APL.
Hrmm. Maybe not 50%. I'm so going to take a pic and calculate it - based on a T scale. Yes, yes, I think I might have finally found a way to 'measure my hair' Hah.
I know, in my heart, it's really pointless. Because, with shrinkage, I won't see a change until - well, the change is obvious. Any less than being obvious, and - it could be shrinkage. And once it's there - it's there, ya know?
But! Also, once it hits APL, I can hold the hair stretched down behind me.
Things are going to get SO much easier as my hair gets longer - I'm so excited!
Mid-Week Review....
It's only Wednesday, so really, I've only done it twice, thus far, but I'm - I'm mostly satisfied with the whole daily manipulation thing I've been doing in order to apply the MT.
Monday was a bit of an adventure, as I haven't dealt with my hair dry in a while - and my ends are velco-ish, which is rather upsetting, as they aren't NORMALLY like that. I suspect it's because I skipped my usual post DC acidic rinse (tsktsk, Kiya!) and thus my ends are a little more raised than normal. I broke out the Eqyss Survivor Detangler, though, and it worked SO well on my hair - I could almost see myself wearing my hair 'loose', maybe.
Tuesday was easier - I had a better 'grasp' on the style that I'm rocking this week (I need to take pics), and the detangler still in my hair made it even easier - but I'm still not pleased with how my ends were feeling.
I'm going to work out tonight, and I'm planning on DC'ing while I'm working out (just a quickie), and I'll do the acidic rinse afterwards to see if that makes a difference - I hope it does, because otherwise, I might have to go back to the twists, which I really don't want to do. I'm enjoying having my hair more 'loose' than normal.
Shoot, I might keep messing around and start exploring the wide world of wash & go's!
Anyhow, the style that I'm rocking now has a single part from ear to ear (roughly, it's more a little in front of my ears) with a flat twist starting at each temple and meeting in the middle as a braid in the front. The back is simply flat twisted straight down, and I stick the braid from the top into the flattwist section and hold it down with a GHD Pin, and I'm good to go! It looks like a single french twist, almost, but I avoid the dinosaur head look, and my shorter hairs in the front/around my temples aren't stressed, either.
I didn't talk at all about the LHCF Meet-up I went to! Met quite a few really nice women, had a good lunch, talked LOADS about hair, and then we went to Ulta to browse. I ended up leaving with a 10 pack of Good Hair Days Pins (which, I am utterly and totally and crazy in love with), a sample size of the Ojon Conditioner (which I largely brought because it smells SO damn good), and one of those 'temp hair dye' things in - red, of course. *lol*
I want to sing the praises of GHD pins allllll over the place! They actually HOLD my hair. One pin, and it's a stable, solid, actually a little difficult to get out, hold. I love them, and they will be MOST useful in experimenting with different styles.
The Ojon stuff smells good, but I don't know. It's only 2oz, so it's not really enough for me to try and conditioner with (hahahahahahaa! triple the amount, and I MIGHT be able to do it), so I was going to try to use it as a leave-in (did I mention the SMELL? So. Damn. GOOD!). I tried a little on my ends, and it was nice for a hot second, but once it dried, it was totally nothing special.
The Dye stuff I tried right before I DC'd, which of course washed it out. My hair is dark enough that really, you can't even see it (really, am I surprised? No, not at all), so who knows when I'll actually ever use that - maybe when I get some grays, or something.
I've started back up on my daily usage of MT - I had the itches on Mon/Tues, but I seem to be better, today. The occasional random tingle, but otherwise, it's pretty good. I've got some plans in the works for my MT mix - we shall see how that falls out.
Also, I took advantage of the break on the 'Buy Nothing' Challenge, and had fun at MountainRose Herbs. All together, I got:
Horsetail (Shavegrass) - this, I'm going to use as a booster for the MT - I'll get into more details below.
Nettle Leaf - this, I'm going to use as a booster for the MT - I'll get into more details below.
Fenugreek Seed powder - this is supposed to be the Queen of Slip in the herb world - I've been wanting to experiment with it for a while.
Hibiscus powder - I'm actually going to have to check TLHC to figure out why I wanted this (or do a quick search on my blog), but since it was in stock, and I was ordering anyhow, I figured 'Why Not?' *lol*
Irish Moss powder - this, like the fenugreek, is supposed to be slip-almighty. I remember thinking that I could make a Porosity Control dupe with this and some citric acid, so yeah.
8oz Cobalt Blue Jar - I got two of these - I thought it would be nice to have some 'pretty' containers for my mixes.
1oz Amyris essential oil - I've been on a 'goodsmell' kick for a while, and I got this because it's the cheaper (and less endangered) alternative to Sandalwood, a scent that I adore. We shall see what I think.
1/2oz Lemongrass essential oil - I was in love with the smell of some Carol's Daughter stuff, that smelled almost just like lemongrass, so I figured if I hated that Amyris, I could use this instead.
16oz Castor oil - this was VERY cheap, and if my 'boost' works the way I want it to, I might be using a lot of it.
Neem Oil - this one, was pure PJ'ism. I've heard raves about it, and figured, hey! Why not?
8oz Amber Screw Cap Bottle - this I'm going to use for the boost, as well.
Soooo. The Boost. There's currently a revival of something that was apparently on NP a while ago on LHCF, called the 'MoeGro' Recipe. I'm not even going to get into the love that my people seem to have with misspelling hair care names - I think I've whinged on that before.
Anyhow. The 'mix' is basically an infusion of either horsetail or nettle herbs in an oil that soaks into the skin, along with some aloe vera gel for the skin healing/mucopolysaccharides.
So. Me & my bright self thought that since I'm already adding oils to my MT mix (which also already has the skin healing/mucopolysaccarides in there), that it would be an interesting 'boost' to use horsetail and nettle infused oil as the add-in.
So. *sigh* It's going to be a while before I can actually try this out, as I'm not supposed to get the order from MR.com until the 9th, and then I want to wait at least another week for the oils to get good and infused, so the earliest that I could start using my boosted mix would be the 16th, which isn't BAD, but it's just - argh.
One of the sistern on the OCT/MT Challenge thread pointed out that I might be going just too too overboard, so I've decided to use the boosted mix on a specific spot on my head - I'm thinking about using it on the still slowgrowing/thinnish patch in front of my right ear. That way, I have a 'control' area, I will continue to use the 'unBoosted' mix on the rest of my hair, and I'd want to use it for at least 2 weeks to see if I can see any difference between that area, and the rest of my head. If it passes, then I'll start using in on my whole head.
Hrm. That brings me to thinking about refreshing my current mix. I'm almost out, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to stir up some more before the 16th - but how much should I make? Hrm. I would jsut need a months worth, so maybe about 2oz? That should be enough to get me through, and I was planning on making just an ounce of the bMT..... so yeah, that should work, nicely.
*smile* If this works the way that I hope it will, I think that I will officially be DONE with the hunt for a growth enhancer, and I'll do this as long as I can - pun, totally intended.
Hrm. I think that's it, for right now, in the wild world of hair.
I'm still mulling over what I'll do to my hair this weekend - maybe I'll experiment with the perm rods?