JBCO Challenge Day 5 & Day 6

Day 5~ I didn't do anything for day 5. Home sick all day.

Day 6~ I pretty much did a LOC method before running out to do errands.

I spritzed my hair with Aloe Vera Juice (AVJ) and water, rubbed about nickel size amount of JBCO in my hands and rubbed into my hair in a kind of section/layered process and massaged in. I finished with my Cantu Shea leave-in conditioner, wrapped with a satin scarf then went about my day.

Normally, when getting ready to head out, I just wet or spritz my hair with water; pick, brush, or comb through my hair to style; then slap on a headband and be done. I would end up having major shrinkage or lots of frizz. Not to mention, a great deal of breakage and shedding. 

The past few months that I have been researching how to better care for our (my daughter and mine) natural hair, the more I discovered I was doing so much wrong and harm to my hair and learned many styles I could practice with her hair, keeping our regular routines simple, practical, and practice-able. 

Being introduced to and learning the LOC method, I found my regular get up and go method could still be maintained with only a couple additional steps. Knowing now how important moisture is, I no longer dread starting the comb out of my hair. 
The moisture helps the hair to absorb and utilize the natural oils, in my opinion, helping the hair to better repair itself instead of how other oils that aren't so good, plug holes and cracks in follicles,  adding no real benefit except maybe shininess. Adding a cream/butter (thick) base on top of that helps to prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly allowing your hair to transition accordingly to our daily ever changing environment.

These little thoughts of mine help to understand why I have to do things the way I do them. It may be a bit OCD, but educating, teaching, and learning the how to the why of it makes easier to implement. Since we gals like to 'share', I like to understand what i'm talking about and not steer wrong. ;-p

Thank you for viewing and Take Back Your Mane Control! ~
Miss EM

JBCO Challenge Day 3 & Day 4

Day 3~ No additional application today. Scalp had been itchy, different spots, all day. I tried carefully to be delicate in scratching, then remembered scratching can leave scars on the scalp for germs so resorted to massaging the areas. I can still feel the slickness of the castor oil in my hair, probably on the shafts themselves. I think massaging helps to redistribute the oil to my scalp. Still, I've chosen not to do anything to my head. Twists are holding their own, but feel a bit looser. Roots are showing some definite curl definition. Is my hair growing already?

Day 4~ Woke up to an itchy head! Massaging grants me the most relief. While the house is empty, something has to be done today.

I have some left over oil mix that i will use as a pre-poo. I have CD's Tui Herbal Shampoo, which I find (any shampoo, really) to be a great clarifier to remove any build up gently.

I have my shower spray bottle filled with ACV rinse. I haven't used the ACV rinse for a long while and think i'm quite overdue. My mix is heavily concentrated with ACV, like half H2O and half ACV. Rule of thumb, 2/3 H2O, 1/3 ACV. 

I have a DC/Protein recipe from YouTube Channel Naptural85. It consists of:

2 eggs

6 scoops of mayo

2 T honey

It's pretty basic and I will apply after my ACV rinse. After that, a simple LOC method where my oil will be my castor oil. So, i'm ready to get started!

Results (as I go):

1. Applied my oil mix and instant cool relief of the itching! My applicator bottle with nozzle tip helped to get right under my twists, just massaged the oil in, put on a plastic and foil caps and let sit for 15-20 minutes while making my DC mix. Excellent.

2. ACV rinse was deeply gratifying for my itchy spots. My scalp feels fully clean and I LOVE the fact that the rinse seems to always perk up the coils at my roots :-D

3. This is my first time doing a DC recipe and may have to adjust the recipe for my short hair. Mixing it up was no problem. The problem, I get easily distracted and let it sit too long. Went from a nice thick consistency to very very runny. And, I let my hair air dry too long after towel blotting. So as I was applying the mixture to my hair, it already felt dry and brittle. I kept applying the mixture til I could feel the slip in my hair, then added my caps back. Application may have been too much, very drippy and have a LOT left over.

4. L: fresh rinsed wet hair, pick out some egg

    O: Sunny Isle JBCO, topical applied

    C: Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner

My hair doesn't feel dry or brittle, but it does feel as if it is taking to the added moisture. Sometime I will get the ends trimmed to remove some of the fuzz and see the difference in the new maintenance plan.

Thank you for viewing and Take Back Your Mane Control! ~ Miss EM