Moisturizing hair creme: The results!

Et voila!
This is how I pack them.

A picture of the consistency.

Ciao Ciao

Concoction time: Moisturizing hair creme

Hey people,

I decided to make a new batch of my homemade hair moisturizing cream.
This time I'm posting all the steps and ingredients, so enjoy it.
If you try it for yourself, let me know how it turned out.
If you tweak it also, please share.

Ingredients:

• Oil phase
• Shea butter: ~20ml - 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Mango butter: 15ml - 1 tbsp
• Coconut oil: 15ml - 1tbsp
• Macadamia Oil: 5ml - 1 teaspon (tsp)
• Argan oil: 5ml - 1 tsp
• Jojoba oil: 5ml - 1 tsp
• Cartham oil: 5ml - 1 tsp
• Jamaican black castor oil: 5ml - 1 tsp
• Olive oil: 1 tsp
• Camelia oil: 1tsp
• Emulsifier: Olivem, BTMS
• Emulsifying wax
• Water phase
• Water infused with burdock, Horstail (Equisetum arvense)
• Aloe Vera Gel: 2 tbsp - 20/30ml
• Glycerin: 2 tbsp - 20/30ml
• Others:
• Preservative: Cosgar: 20 drops
• Coconut fragance: 20 drops or less upon your liking
• Vitamin E: 20 drops
• Phytokeratin: 1/2 teaspoon
• Silk amino acid: 20 drops
• Provitamin B5: 20 drops
• Ceramide: 20 drops

You can use less ingredients obviously but I like to mix these together as my hair love them.
Basically, you can use 1 oil or butter, an emulsifier and water.

Heat separately the oily phase and the water phase to 70°C.
Do not forget to add in the oily phase the emulsifier.

Mix the oily phase in the water phase. Use a blender to mix it well. Let it sit 5 minutes and mix again. Let the mixture cool down.

All the ingredients listed as others has to be added later when the mixture has cooled down. Then mix again before transfering the cream in the container of your choice.

You can play with the oil/water proportions to have a cream consistency or a lotion.
My mixture is 60-70% water and 40-30% oil.

I'll post the result later.

This mixture can be use during 6 month at room temperature.

Now, it's your turn!
Ciao Ciao

Back to the basics!

Hey people!
There's a lot going on right now and I've been missing around. So sorry for that!

I'm now to a point where I want to simplify everything hair related. Why?

1. I do not have as much time as I wish
2. I know what my hair likes or not. This one took a while to get in.
3. I want to enjoy my hair

I had to identify and set up a backbone to my regimen and product. I've identified products and techniques that work for me. This can and will be always improved as this is why I've been in this journey!
Now that the backbone is set up, I can play around trying products, concoctions and enjoying my hair!

I've relaxed my hair 2 days ago. Last relaxer, I used the ORS Lye relaxer normal strength. My hair was texlaxed mainly but the moisture level was better than usual.
This time around, I'm back again to Optimum anti-breakage salon no-lye relaxer normal strength. I used the new version and y hair came out bone straight. I was looking for bone straight look this time as I have an event to attend.

So back to the basics to the no-lye relaxer.

Detangling: paradise or hell

Detangling has always been underated in my hair regimen.
I've always relied on the product to work it's magic for it and never really felt the need to improve my technique. Oh boy I was wrong!!!

With my hair's current length, I understand now how important it is to have a good technique for detangling. Do not get me wrong, I'm combing from tip to roots, with a large tooth comb but still my technique had to be improved.

My detangling process is now the following:
1- Take my time. If I'm in a hurry, no detangling for me. I just lightly separate the strands and push back my hair in a bun;
2 - Grab all the products and tools I need: combs, moisturizer, oil, butterfly clips
3 - Gently part the hair in 4 sections and lightly separate the strands with my fingers. This helps a lot to remove all the tangles GENTLY!
4 - Part each section in 2 or 3 and apply the moisturizer to each section and put a butterfly clip on each.
Since my hair does not like wet detangling, I use my moisturizing spritz with aloe vera very lightly before applying the moisturizer.
5 - Once all sections are done, start with applying the oil to each section and put a butterfly clip on each.
6 - Start detangling the first section from tip to root with gentle short strokes using the shower comb. Then use the wide tooth comb to get all shed hairs.
7 - Once all sections are done, I can proceed to styling.

With this technique, no more tangled hair and less breakage from combing.
These are the combs I use in this process.

Ciao Ciao

Aloe Vera juice detangler

I've been using Aloe vera juice and gel since the beginning of my hair journey but in and off.

With the hot summer, my hair is so dry and the new growth is difficult to detangle when I'm many days post wash.
I came up with different spritz to detangle, moisturize my hair inspired by Kimmaytube recipe.

Hereby the recipes I use:

Moisturizing and detangling spritz:
- 1oz of Aloe vera juice
- 1/2 oz of leave-in conditionner of your choice (neutrogena silk touch leave in or kinky curly knot today or herbal essences long term relationship beautiful ends)
- 1 teaspoon of macadamia oil

Prepoo detangling spritz:
- 1 and  1/2 oz of Aloe vera juice
- 2 oz of instant conditionner of your choice with the best slip ever (I use Timotei couleur éclat après-shampoing)
- 1 teaspoon of macadamia oil

This is the brand I use:

Ciao

Paul Mitchell: moisture and strength

Hi people
So far so good with the Paul Mitchell products I've been using.
I'm currently 12 weeks post and my under-processed hair and new growth are thriving with this product right now.
I'm due for a relaxer but I decided to stretch until mid-september as my hair is so manageable!
There is one thing I wish would be better: I like to DC on dry hair before a cowash. I find myself using way more product for my liking.
I will try spritzing my hair first with Aloe vera juice before applying the DC.
I hope it will help to cut down the amount of product used.
Ciao

Regimen revamping: product testing

Hi people
Following my post on the ONE brand/line quest, I've purchased the Paul Mitchell products:

• Moisture line: shampoo, instant daily conditionner, super charged mositurizer

• Strength line: shampoo, instant daily conditionner

• clarifying: Paul mitchell Two shampoo

I've been using them for the last 2/3 weeks and I must say that I'm impressed!
The Super charged moisturizer is heaven in a bottle for my 4 weeks 7 weeks post  (I did not realize, time is flying!) and underprocessed hair! we'll see how it will work deeper in my stretch.
The strength line delivers what it says: strengthen and soft hair at the same time.
I've used all the products straight: no oils or glycerin added and they work wonders.

Keracare you better watch out!

My final choice will be made in July/August because I want to see how these products work during the stretch.
Ciao Ciao