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.