JBCO Challenge Day 40

Happy New Years! Welcome to 2013! Can you believe it?! We survived the Mayan Apocalypse and the End of the World! *lol* Only God is ever knowing of or pending existence. Oh! And I haven't made any real New Years resolutions, either.

Update on JBCO Challenge!

Christmas almost snuck up on me HARD! But, I kept pretty straight with regimen. New Years created a greater muck,on the other hand, took a beastly wipe out of me. The last application of JBCO I applied to my scalp was, sadly, December 31. Since then, I have not applied JBCO, cowashed or protected my hair very well to not at all. :-( I was FLAT on maintenance. The weird side effect, besides hair dry and matted, my scalp is VERY dry, flaky, and ITCHY ITCHY ITCHY!!! Much of it I attribute to not a very healthy diet or intake of water. That's a whole other story, but water intake I can definitely correct. Today I have planned a deep hot oil treatment with JBCO followed by poo/cowash, a protein DC, and ACV rinse. Its gonna be the Works! Not quite sure it will be in that order, but want to make sure i'm not left with egg in my hair.

Ive checked int to all JBCO Check Ins except Week 6 :-) I could probly still do it now, but battling with "whats the point?" nagging at me. I think I have decided that "Ol' Hag" has GOT to GO! Yeah, i'm gonna go ahead and check in for Week 6. Better late than never and can try to stay on the wagon the best I can. I have general copies of my Check In posts and am sharing them with you today, with some progress pics, first. Let me know what you think :-D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You all remember where I started? Here is a collage of KCCM's JBCO Challenge Week 1 Pics. *ugh, scary, yet so brave* 

With my head, you'd see why I so very camera shy. I mean, I am not my hair. Remember these pics! They are base for Week 5 Length Check pics just below.

Now the back of my head, I was concerned about middle more than nape. Week 5 pics are of both compared to Week 1 middle.

Look at that side stretch! Clean!

My front has got a little cleaner length, but look at my brows > I have brows!

And the big reveal.............

Compared to before pic, I couldn't get pig tails back here!

Everything is pulled up!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weekly CheckIns Q&A's

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 2

1. Where do you live?

Manor, TEXAS!

2. Are other members of your family naturals too? Who? Were they natural before you or vice versa? Do you all support each other?

Yes, my mother. She went natural after I did only because I had gone from relaxing to hotcombing my hair and she had like the results of my hair. I dont know about supporting each other, but do know that we just do what we can for the times.

3. How did you use Castor Oil in your hair last week (week 1)

day 1~ I applied straight to my scalp and twisted hair. 

day2~ I applied to sectioned parts (scalp), edges and eyebrows

day3~ no castor oil application, massaged itchy spots *wish i got warning about cleansing 1st*

day4~ pre-poo w/ my oil mix (itch relief!), ACV rinse & DC/Protein treatment; LOC method with castor oil for my oil

day 5~ no application, but surprised of hair moisture

day 6/7~ repeat of LOC method

4. (optional) Share a pic of the bottle of castor oil you are using. *I did supply my pic*

~~~

Week 3

1. Since going natural have you ever felt really overwhelmed? If so, Why? If not, What have you done to make this journey run smoothly?

Ive been natural for almost 2 decades. I didnt take hair care seriously before going natural, and was somewhat interested after going natural. Overwhelmed was not on the list.

2. Do you see any change in your hair since using the castor oil?

yes, my hair stays moisturized longer and keeps a shine, too. ive also noticed in my twists, the hold for pattern is tighter.

3. How did you use Castor Oil in your hair last week (week 2). Did you use it any different than week 1? 

after i twisted my hair, dry with JBCO, the application stopped their. I massaged my scalp most the week and only applied JBCO once to edges and eybrows.

4. (optional) Share a pic of your hair before you went naturalDo you Tweet? Do you Instagram? If so use hashtag #KCCMcastoroil so we all can follow the condo and check out your pics. Feel free to include me in the convo @BlakIzBeautyful (this is my name on IG too!)

ill be surprised if i find an existing pic of me before i went natural!

~~~

Week 4

1. There are so many products on the market, what are your favorites for washing? 

~ Carol's Daughter Tui Herbal Shampoo, Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner, Dove Intense Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner

What are your favorites for moisturizing/styling?

~ Cantu Shea Leave-in Conditioner, pretty much it for product buys; otherwise its AVJ/H2O spritz, H2O spritz, JBCO *really liking how my hair stays moisturized longer with it*

What qualities does a product have to have in order to become one of your favorites?

~Almost all ingredients have to be naturally derived or provide great slip and moisture to my hair during and after shampoo, reduced or no alcohol content, and cannot leave my hair feeling dry and/or stripped.

2. Since using the castor oil, has your hair seen any of the benefits listed in the list above? 

~ OMGosh, YES!!

Which ones?

~ i have noticed increased darkening of my edges cuz my widows peak is growing back very visibily! my hair seems to have an even thickness all around, one side no longer feels thinner than the other when i grab a handful or put in pigtails

3. How did you use Castor Oil in your hair last week (week 3). Did you find yourself losing momentum or are you still going hard?

~ last week i used my JBCO to do small twists on my head, took hrs! I kept the twists up all week,i couldnt figure how i wanted to apply more JBCO to parted sections but managed 1x, otherwise just applied to edges, eyebrows, & lashes. seems like each time i apply to brows and lashes, old hairs wanna fall out/shed.

4. (optional) Share a pic of your natural hair in one of your favorite styles!

~ sorry, I dont have pic of small twists :(

~~~

Week 5

Length Check-In!

Wanna put your pics together in a collage? Go to fotoflexer.com or picmonkey.com (I chose fotoflexer.com)

Check In Questions:

1. What are your favorite natural hair styles? How long does it take you to style your hair this way? Which products do you use to get the best results of this style?y

~ My favorite hairstyle is "let it be". I either like to wear my hair in its natural fro with an elastic headband/bandana or pull it back into a cute flat roll front or ponytails just to feel i can do something with it. Any less than 5 min to do. Once in a while i will try twists but hate that i feel i cant get a handle on my hair. Forget braids of any sort!

~ Products I keep minimal. I have a lot of products but have only been using JBCO, Cantu Shea Leave-in, and CD Mimosa Hair Honey or Loc Butter for twists.

2. How did you do last week (week 4)? Did you follow through with your goals? Any challenges thus far?

~ Last week wasnt that bad! Following another participant, I changed up my application by putting my oil in an applicator bottle. I added Jojoba and Apricot oils and CD Hair Elixir (just to use up whats left) to make consistency a little bit thinner and fluid. During the week, i applied to sectioned hair or random spots. Also applied directly to edges and brows. Made challenge much more manageable.

3. Based on your length check pics, can you see a difference in thickness or length yet? For those of you focusing on  your edges, are they growing in?

~Oh My Yes! Last week, the thickness became very prominent, i thought i was losing my mind! It felt so sudden! Plus, my problem spot for the back of my head was a real shocker! It has grown out more than I expected! I found this out when i parted my hair into four sections and was able to get 4 full, puffy pig tails! Normally i can only get 2 on top of my head, but 2 full ones for the back of my head?! No fuzzy loose uneven edges?! Knock Me OVER!! And my edges? My widows peak is coming back!!

4. Post your length check pics!

5. (Optional) How was your Christmas? What did you get?

My Christmas was great! For the last 10 yrs ive been cooking, this is the first that I prepared ahead, got plenty of sleep, and was not riddled with pain from standing all day. Granted, the sacrifice was minimal food to display, but it was worth it to enjoy family and great conversation. Christmas was for the kids because noone has had much money, but my parents, uncle, brother and his wife, and neighbor(!) still bestowed to me some cute jammies, gloves &hat, designer roller parfumes (allergic reaction to spray parfumes), exercise ball, gift cards and lotto scratch offs :) Definately Fun!!

~~~

Week 6

1. What goals do you have for your hair this new year? What goals do you have for your life this year?

~ My goals for my hair and life in 2013 are better than past years. My goals are intended! I intend for my hair goal to reach my shoulders or longer. I will be grateful if achieved by Summer. My life goals I intend to be much healthier. Healthier in the Lord, in my family, in what we eat. Another goal is that I will be able to find work that I have a willing conviction for!

2. Do you prefer “all natural”/”organic” products or are you open to using anything? Why? 

~ I wish I can say one or the other, but I find that I lean more toward natural. Since paying attention to product labels for my body, I try to stay away from products that have or have too much alcohol or cones in them. My skin gets very dry and I have found that my hair responds better to my direction since cutting those out. I know I cant get away from all of the bad stuff, so for now, got a good thing going

3. How did you do last week (week 5)? Did you follow through with your goals? Any challenges thus far?

~ Week 5 was so rewarding! The length check was awesome to do because I was able to see the changes in my hair! The side effect, after Christmas celebrations, all the excitement left me at the same time. It was a downhill slope. I did nothing to my hair in week 6. Nothing. You name it. Nothing!

4. (optional) Share a picture of your favorite hair moisturizer.

~ I cant say I have a favorite. I just use what is on hand the best I can. No pics.

~~~~~~~  ~~~~~~~

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 know what i'm talking about and not steer wrong. ;-p

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

Miss EM

July Fry, Here In Texas!

I hope you all are enjoying your Summer festivities! I surely have. I can't believe I skipped a whole month in this mane adventure. What I can say is June, didn't miss much. The whole month of June was a steady process of ensuring my hair and scalp were properly oiled and succeeded with CO hair washes with maybe 2 actual poos for build up cleansing. My hair has been very curly and moisturized, especially with the practice of protective styling with different types of scarves. 

My favorite is my solid blue linen scarf (or imagine fabric like a cheese cloth). It is very long, I would say about 3-4 feet. It scrunches very easily and holds the scrunch, making it sometimes difficult to make even when I fold it in half longways. 

I have a purple printed silk scarf that I absolutely love putting on my head when my hair is wet and oiled.

I also have a brown satin and a black silk-like mesh scarves. The brown satin is kinda thick and tends to soak up a lot of water from my head. With this Texas summer heat, it works, leaving my head very cool and protected when I am outside. Both scarves I try to reserve for night sleeping because they stay on the best.

At the end of the day, my hair is matted down tight with curly waves, but I can pull a silky curly rooted strand from underneath and it just tickles me that I know my hair is loving the moisture!

Yesterday, I got a chance to condition my scalp with Coconut Oil, with the help of my mom :D I let it soak in and heat under a plastic cap while re-twisting some of her twists with Carols Daughter (CD) Loc Butter for 30 minutes. For my moms hair, it being very corse, the CD Loc Butter softens it like a baby and helps to get some of her unruly gray hairs and put them in check. 

The only drawback I didn't like about conditioning with the Coconut Oil is how, topically, it left my hair feeling a little dry before and after rinsing. My scalp and roots didn't feel dry, thank goodness, but I kinda wonder if the addition of a plastic cap may have emphasized where my hair was most damaged by lack of moisture on the extension of the hair? I will kinda play with when and where on my head I apply the Coconut Oil to see how it works best. So far, root and scalp are happy campers.

I just recently purchased CD's 3-piece Chocolat Starter kit. It comes with the Chocolat Shampoo, Conditioner, and Blow Dry Cream. The shampoo did enhance the dry feeling felt earlier with the Coconut Oil. Eerrh. The conditioner wasn't too bad. It helped resolve some of the dry feeling and after massaging in and combing through, it seemed like my hair kinda had a stretching moment. Kinda startled me, in a good way. I was pressed for time when I applied the blow dry cream and did not get a chance to actually use the blow dryer on my hair, but the result for the evening were very very tight kinky curls. I have to give the CD Chocolat regime another chance, done right, in order to give accurate results how it works for me. Maybe without the Coconut Oil conditioning, too.

What I have noticed up to this point, is the hair on the back of my head has grown beautifully! Ive got about a good two inches of growth. The way it feels, it is almost just enough to get started on twists for my hair. 

Why I don't do it now? My hair is still at uneven lengths: top long, sides reasonably long and back very short. I do not wish to embark on an uneven style that I do not feel comfortable sporting, knowing this little oddity is like someone disliking how their nose is shaped. Its an imperfection you can grow to love, manage or deal with. My case, i'm managing!

Thank you for viewing and Take Back Your Mane Control!