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.