I'm so excited about the henna - I LOVE this color - love it! It's deepened more - still not red, but - copper. It's sooooooooo pretty. I still have the super dark roots, but that's no suprise - I'm almost positive that the henna was too thick.
I also got my Oyin shipment yesterday - the large WP, the large HoneyHemp conditioner, and the Poobar. I put the WP in the fridge, as I doubt that I will go through the sample size one in 2 months, and I want to keep it fresh. The HH and the Poo bar went into the bathroom cabinent.
Funnily enough, since I am considering going WO, I'm not sure how much use I'm going to get out of the Poo Bar.
Speaking of which, I joined a challenge on the Nappturality forum - a 3 month Challenge to do nothing to your hair but twist, wash, and retwist it for 3 months. I actually plan on making it a four month challenge, and I'm going to henna my hair each time. I'm going to do four months, because by then (8 applications of henna) I figure that my hair will most likely be almost as dark as it's going to go, and I'll be able to see my growth rate really clearly. *sighs*
I'm honestly REALLY down about the damage I've done to my hair - esp since it was out of pure LAZINESS. I KNOW that having my hair is twists is so much better of a protective style than the afro (I mean, not combing for 2 weeks, vs combing every other day? And preventing tangles and knots???) but - I just didn't FEEL like doing it. I'm trying to think of a reasonable schedule, but - eh. I think that having to cut off 2-3 inches from ONE side of my hair - so that my hair isn't OBVIOUSLY lopsided was a painful lesson well learned. *shakes head*
Anyhow!! I need to check on my Sweet Success Oil - I don't think I've gotten a shipment notification yet.
I so, so, so, SOOO have to keep my hands OUT of my hair. I twisted it, and not only was the left side (the side my hands are constantly in - pulling, tugging, twisting, 'fixing' knots) was a GOOD two inches shorter - and a good bit thinner - than the right. *sighs*
So, I guess I've had a 'mini-chop'. I sat here and trimmed my twists the best I could - cutting out a lot of damaged hair (which felt so deceptively silky by that time because of the WP), as well as evening out the sides of my head. I left the top and back a little longer - it'll be interesting seeing what it looks like when my hair is all out again - and I might do a bit of a snipsnip again.
Interestingly enough, it only took me - what - 3.5 hours to twist my hair - which is MUCH faster than usual. I think it was because I didn't have to fight my hair NEARLY as much to get it into smooth parts because it's looser. I would be MORE than willing to keep my hair in twists 90% of the time if I can twist it that fast. And - *sighs* if it's in twists, it'll be easier for me to keep my fingers out of my head.
So. I can't wait to get the Sweet Success Oil - I'm going to be massaging the doghell out of my scalp.
And- the henna!!! I LOVE the color. Oh my god - I love it. It's - almost indescribable - I call it Autumn. Like - the orange and red of maples leaves, lit by sun. Did I mention the shine? My hair - GLOWS. It looks almost like pure copper. IT's GOR-FREAKING-GEOUS. My poor broken off tightly curled ends show up like metallic flakes on my dark dark brown roots (which look to be the SAME color - once again, I think the henna was too thick). It's - gorgeous. I'm SOOOOOO happy with the henna experiment.
So, I've been reading the thread about using only water to wash your hair, and I'm rather honestly intrigued.
When I had locs, I rarely felt a NEED to wash my hair. My hair didn't seem to get dirty - it would smell good most of the time, but sometimes i would just feel the NEED to wash my hair. However, I would condition my hair on a regular basis just to keep it feeling soft and flexible.
Now, with loose hair, I still rarely feel the need to WASH it - that was one of the main reasons I switched to co-washing - because my hair so very rarely gets dirty, but I need to keep it conditioned.
After reading most of the WO thread (I'm on page 86 of 101) I'm thinking that WO might work for me. I noticed a few days ago what when I give myself a scalp massage, my hair gets VERY soft and conditioned - and I'm wondering if it's because I'm spreading the sebum down my hair strands, and my natural oils and juices and enough for my hair.
My main concern though - I NEED to put something into my hair to get the tangles out - that's mainly why I use conditioner now - to comb through my hair. But - at the same time, I've begun to notice that MOST - I'd say 90% of my tangles are caused by either shed hair, or broken ends getting tangled on the ends of my hair. Now! I figure that hopefully *crossing fingers tightly* the henna will strengthen my poor, poor overprocessed ends enough so that they won't break off as much. And! I figure that the Sweet Success Oil (Moondancer's Blend) will help the shedding (as most folx who use it say that they shed a LOT less).
In addition, if the henna loosen my curls some, I figure that whatever sheds/breaks will be more able to leave my hair without tying itself to my ends.
Also, I've been thinking about using honey as a 'combthrough' - something that won't strip the sebum off my hair (does honey strip sebum???) but at the same time, will give me enough slip that I can comb through.
Excited, am I. Let me go and finish reading this thread, and I'll post a few questions to the thread to clear things up.
Henna Very Happy!
This is going to be long timestamped entry.
I got home around 6pm, and promptly began putting together the mix for henna.
100g Henna
1 cup hot red wine
3/4 cup hot water
tiny sample of pectin
1/2 cup of honey
I used the pectin to try to make the henna more 'gel-like' since I was mixing honey into the henna to allow it to wash out better.
6:18 - Mix all put together, very warm, put paper towels on it to see when the dye released, and put it on the porch outside. Took pre-pictures of the hair - finally changed the lighting settings on the camera in order to get my hair REAL color - you can actually see the three different colors - my 1.5 inches of dark roots, the 0.5 inches of lighter orange hair right next to the roots, and the 4-6 inches of darker orange hair to my tips.
6:33 - Pulled out the 15 minute strip - a little bit of dye release, but not enough to put in. I pulled out the latex gloves and saran wrap - I suspect the 30 minute strip will have enough dye release to put on. I also mixed up some honey & water in a spray bottle to use to mist my hair so it'll be little damp when the henna is ready. While I waited, I read the 100odd page long water Only Thread.... I elaborated my thoughts on that in the previous entry.
6:50 - whoohoo!! Dye release is almost certain now, I brought the henna back inside, and put a sample dot on my heel - my usual dye release check point. THe henna is VERY thick and goopy - I think that adding the honey will make it perfectly gel like for my hair. Okay - off to spray more water in my hair so that the henna will flow better. Okay - added half a cup of honey - it made it looser, but still rather thick.
7:20 - Allrighty!! Henna is in hair - I could have made it a good bit thinner, or made my hair wetter - I smushed and squished it in as much as I could - *laughs* I CERTAINLY don't need to worry about any drips now! I hope that the pectin doesn't gel it too much. Can I say though, my head is HOT. HOT. But then, I'm in an un-airconditioned house, so maybe it just hot out here.
7:56 - Though, I have to admit, it is heavy. I can smell it a little, but thankfully, I LIKE the smell of henna. And my neck is a little sticky from the honey - but, I'll be fine!!
I'm online talking to a friend of mine, and I realized - henna looks exactly like SWAMPMUD.
It's freaking fabulous.
8:15 - Hmmm. I'm actually getting some drippies down the back of my neck. I don't know if it's from the little bit of water that was inside my showercap (or maybe condensation) because I'm dabbing at drips, and they seem to be coming out pretty clear.
10:06 - It's still on my hair, still damp, I can smell it more now. Did I mention that I like the smell of henna?? I'm glad, because I can smell it more now. I think there might me wine on my fingers - my eyes are stinging a little when I rub them - or maybe that is leftover henna. The gloves were dyed a DELIGHTFULLY bright orange color - just in the 20 minutes it took for me to squish the henna into my hair. I'm sitting under a ceiling fan, so I'm hoping that the slighty cooler air flowing over my head is slowing the dye release a little so that I can have a longer 'soak' time.
Hmm. That's interesting. These number are completely imaginary, but work with me. Let's say that a henna is cool - 70 degrees, say, when you leave it on your head. And, because it's that temperature, it takes the henna - 24 hours to demise.
On the other hand, let's say a henna is warmer - 90 degrees say, when you leave it on your head. And, because it's that temperature, it takes the henna - 14 hours to demise.
You leave both henna's on your hair for 12 hours. Which temperature will produce a deeper dye - the warmer one (that demises faster, so more of the dye leaves the henna and enters your hair) or..................................
Hm. I think I just answered my own question. I need to keep my head HOT.
Hmmm.
10:20 - Okay. I just put a dishtowel soaked in hot water on my head, put another showercap on top of it, and turned the fan down. *laugh* I know, I was complaining about it being hot earlier, but it's cooled down a lot since then.
Anyhow - following my earlier thoughts....
Henna's demising is basically the point at which henna has given up almost all of it's lawsone molecules. And - whether it gives up it's molecules to water (in the case of a henna that is left too long in the sun before you put it on your hair) or if it gives up it's molecules to your hair (which, is kinda what we want - to dye it, right?) it's going to give up it's molecules in a geometric progression based on its temperature.
So. Really, you want this swampmud to be on your hair for as short of a time as possible - but at the same time, you want it to give up the most dye it possibly can. So - the warmer, and moister (so that it doesn't dry into a clay headdress) you keep the henna on your head, the shorter amount of time you have to have it on your head in order to get the most dye out.
Hmmm. I wonder if it really works like that.
10:39 - EEEwwwwwwwwwwww!!! I just touched a piece of hair over my ear (it's a little exposed to the air) and it's hard and gooey. Like, old gum. *shudder* Old, water soluble gum (I hope). *wiggles washcloth on head* It still feels damp - I'm going to be in SUCH a hard spot if this stuff dries on my hair. *gulp* *checks other side of hair* Hmm - it's the same way over here. But - I think it's dry, but it's still softish. I think I'll be cool - it's going to take me FOREVER to rinse this out. MUST make it thinner next time.
11:00 - I have to admit, I keep touching this piece of hair on my hairline that I pulled the goo balls off of (won't be doing THAT anymore - my head is sore) and - it's amazing. My hair feels soft, flexible, and enourmously strong. *happy grin*
11:22 - Oh, it also feels MUCH straighter. Mwuaahahahaaaa!!!
Hmm. And, I can't smell the henna nearly as much anymore. *wiggles washcloth again* feels like it's starting to dry out a little. It's been what - 3 hours? No, four. *shakes head* Though, I normally only leave the regular stuff on for about 2 hours... this is natural, so. Argh. MUCH thinner next time.
11:46 - Hmmm. I'm starting to get tired, and my heads REALLY heavy. I think I'll finish the last of my wine, and go to bed.
Good Night!!
12:31 - Okay, I lied. I wasn't tired, I was HUNGRY. It's odd, actually noticing when my blood sugar drops now. I had a sandwich, and I feel EVER so much better. I'll still be in bed in a bit, but - sheee - at least I'll be going to bed comfy!
[b] The Next Day [/b]
7:40 - Oh, Rise and Shine. Or should that be Rinse & Shine?? :D I'm 'working from home' (oh, the benefits of being a computer geek) so I have to do a little work before I hop into the shower and start the VERY long (I'm sure) Process of rinsing this out. My hairline around the back is dry to this morning, but everything under the saran wrap is still damp and oozy. We shall see.
8:50 - Okay, work is at a point where I can go and rinse. Wish me luck!!
9:15 - WOW. That rinsed out AMAZINGLY easy. I ended up standing in a tub of greeny muddy water (SsswwwaaaammmppppMUD!!!!), but - it still rinsed out really easy. However, my hair is SOOOO dry. Oh my god, so very, very dry. Note to self - MUCH less acid next time - try 1.5 cups of hot water to a half cup of red wine. I LOVE the honey though - I'm sure that's what helped it rinse out so well.
Oh....you wanna know about the color, eh. It's - not NEARLY as dark as I had expected (too thick) but - I LOVE the color. It's orange as ALLL get out - I mean, ORANGE. So. Now, it's decision time. I could mix up another batch...I'm thinking that I should use 50g, and use the same amount of liquid, and honey. It'll be drippier, but, I think it'll soak in better) and use it right off, but I think I want to wait a day or two to see what color it oxides too....but I definitely know that I want to go deeper. *grins*
My hair is DOUSED in conditioner and honey right now - I think that this might REALLY prompt a bit of a trim. If I plan on doing that, I'm going to have to do it before hubby gets home.
Also!! My curl is WAYYYY looser. I mean - WAAY looser.
So, I'll leave this condish in for about two hours or so, then rinse it out and see what it looks like.
10:45 - okay, I couldn't go the full two hours, I had to start combing out my hair. Oh, my, GOD. I might lose my Napptural card for this, but the henna has SOOOO loosened my coils!! I almost have - CURLS now. *sqqqqqqqquuuueeeeeeee* Okay, I'm almost done combing it, and then I'm going to go and rinse out the conditioner. *sniffs hair* I smell henna again....we shall see what color it ends up being.
11:02 - Oh. Wow. Wow. My hair - she is soft. And loosely coily. And - it's already turning a richer, deeper red color rather than orange. My coils have SOOO been loosened up. I'm going to dry my hair a little, then spray this mister I just whipped up (honey, a lil ACV, a lil olive oil, water, and a touch of Oyin HoneyHemp conditioner (my favorite!!)) into my hair, and see how she acts.
My hair always acts like hot stuff when it's wet - the DRY state is what really matters.
11:36 - I'm in love, really. I had to grab a hand mirror so that I can admire my hair from the couch. It's sooo soft. Sooo loose. It reminds me of how my hair looked in this baby picture I have of myself. Man.... THIS hair long would be - stunning. I wonder how much the curls will return after a few days. It's interesting - now I can actually see how SHORT my hair is. Man, but it's short. I actually think that I'm going to twist it today - since I won't have to fight with my hair to put a part into it. THe color is still getting darker, so I think that I will be willing to wait til next weekend to redo the henna. I can see this being an every weekend thing for a while. Hmmm... if I use 50g each time, I've got two months worth of henna. For 36 bucks, that's not bad - esp if I can stop using other products.
And did I mention how SHINY it is?? Sheesh - a camera can't even capture this! I don't have quite so many tangles, but I still have some knots. My hair feels - slightly sticky on the ends - I suspect it might be from the honey that was in the spray (which, by the way, seems WONDERFUL). I'm going to use some of Oyins Whipped Pudding to do the twists - and then, I'm going to trim the crunchy horrid damaged hair off of the bottom of each twist - I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I just never felt like twisting my hair!
So, I guess this is the end of the Henna Happy Experiment, Part One.
I learned a lot, and I'm VERY pleased with the results - I can't wait to see how it changes tomorrow.
So - last week, I scooped up some honey. I planned on mixing it with the henna so that it would rinse out easier (once I get my henna!!) but Friday I realized that my hair was really, really dry. I'm suspecting it's because the temperature was in the high 90's low 100's all week, and despite actually being a good girl and co-rinsing my hair twice that week - it just wasn't enough to keep a healthy bit of moisture in the hair.
So - Saturday, I came here and rummaged around to see what kind of information there was about honey. I remembered that SMT had honey in it, but I didn't have any aloe vera gel, so I knew that was out. However, I stumbled across a few threads that said that they just mixed the honey with some conditioner, tossed it into their hair, and it came out wonderful.
I promptly got up, whipped up a batch of conditioner and honey (half & half) put it into my dry hair (it was MUCH more runny than I expected - I understood why they said you should mix it with a THICK conditioner), slapped a showercap on top, and sat for a couple of hours. I had sticky spots behind my ears and down my neck, but I could feel my hair soaking in the moisture. I rinsed it out shortly before I left the house to go clubbing, and I noticed that my hair was DEFINITELY softer, and seemed less tangled. I had PLANNED on following up with an ACV rinse, since I know that helps close the cuticles and reduces the tangliness- but then I was invited out, and I didn't want to worry about smelling like - well, a douche. And yes, yes, I know you aren't supposed to be able to smell the ACV after it dries, but I wasn't willing to test it out in the club!!
So! I liked the honey - it made my hair nice and soft - but it felt a lil crunchy after it dried completely. I'm not sure if it was maybe because I put it on dry hair, or if I didn't wash all the honey out or something - but I thought maybe I just used too much honey, so next time, I would use 2 parts conditioner to 1 part honey.
I did that this morning - I figured that if my hair isn't THAT tangled, I might as well comb it out and recondition it to see if it would get a little softer. I mixed 2 pt condish with 1pt honey (and emptied out a conditioner bottle, so now I have something convienent to hold the honey in!!) and slapped it into my hair (wet this time) and let it sit while I washed my body.
My hair actualyl felt - SOFT. Like - almost to that mushy feeling that I think hair get's when it's over-conditioned/too moist - but it combed out like a dream - I barely had to tug the comb through it at ALL - and it stayed that way after I rinsed it out - it was - amazing, quite honestly. I've NEVER seen my hair so, so - SOFT. I've been pulling at my 'tanglespot' (behind my left ear) all day, and I've got tangles - but they come apart SO much easier.
Another good thing I noticed was that a LOT of shed hair came out. I have - outrageously thick hair, and a large part of my tangles is shed hair 'tying' itself around the ends of my hair - so I might have a strand that is three times longer than it should be because it's created from three strands of hair tied together end to end. Because my hair is dyed, I can INSTANTLY tell the difference between shed hair and broken off hair - my shed hair has a 1.5 inch long black 'root', whereas the browkn off ones are golden brown/orange all the way from root to tip. So - as I was combing through my slowly drying hair this morning, I was SHOCKED to see how much shed hair was coming out - and quite throughly pleased, I must admit.
So - Honey is going to be a permanent addition to my bathroom now!!!
*weeps*
I just got a notification in my junk mail that the electronic shipping label for my henna was created, and it should have shipped out yesterday. Dammit! I knew I should have ponied up the extra loot to get it here earlier.
Well. Since I won't be henna'ing this weekend, I suppose I should dedicate myself to stripping the last of the wallpaper off the walls of the craft room. That way, I can lesuirely (and guiltfreely) henna myself NEXT weekend. Hmmm....maybe I'll even take Friday off - just to give myself a three day weekend (in case I need to Henna twice!) That way, I can henna on Thursday night, sleep in it (cuz I'm hardcore yo!) and give it a chance to oxidize, and STILL be able to redo it on Sunday if needed. *vaguely happier*
*quivering pouty lip*
Danggone it!
