Update: Porosity and Skin Care

Hair Porosity Update
So remember I rinsed my hair with diluted apple cider vinegar on my wash day (2 days ago). So yesterday before putting my hair in cornrolls (my latest protective hairstyle), I did the porosity test with 2 shed strands. Both strands stayed on the surface = low porosity. This means my cuticles are tightly closed (not good!) and I'm aiming for normal porosity (where hair sinks to the middle of the jar). So I'm guessing next ACV rinse, I won't use as much ACV. But anyway, I'll do another test right after I deep condition next washday and see what happens. That'll indicate whether I need to repeat the ACV rinse or not. And if so, I'll put less ACV this time!



Skin Care Update
As you know by now, I've been doing the facial steam weekly. Let me remind you the steps: Cleanse, Exfoliate, Steam, Mask, Tone, Moisturize. I initially used a combination of honey, avocado and coconut oil as a mask but it was too messy. So this time around I used the Montagne Jennesse Squeezed Lemon Green Tea Peel Off. That ish smells gooooood y'all!!! Whether these products work or not, of course will depend on the results in the long run.

Anyway the main point of this post is to let you guys know that I'll be choosing my products around my need for: even skin tone and getting rid of hyper-pigmentation which I have from years of pimples (just my oily skin luck huh!). There are way too many natural items these days so I'll just pick the ones suited to my needs. Therefore, I'm going to try out the following for a couple of weeks:

Moisturizer: Aloe Vera Gel (although it's generally for dry skin, it absorbs into my skin anyway and I feel hydrated and moisturized so thumbs up). Also Aloe Vera is said to be good for acne - so double thumbs up!

Face Mask (during facial steam): Lemon juice (1/2 squeezed) + Manuka Honey (2 tsp) - Lemon is known for treating pimples and brightening dark spots. Because it's quite strong which can cause itchiness, it's advisable to mix it with honey which in itself is a moisturizing ingredient. So hopefully this should be a staple mask for me.

Hyper-pigmentation Daily Treatment Serum: I'm still on the hunt for the perfect organic product to help with my dark spots. I'll be using it as part of my nightly washes (cleanser > serum > moisturizer).

Body Lotion: Still thinking about this as well - was thinking Shea butter but I don't think my oily skin would agree. Or what do you think? So yeah, still on the hunt. I'll miss my Nivea body lotion (love that stuff).



So that's it ladies! I'm really keen on getting healthy glowing skin by the end of this year x

Wash Day 25/05/13: Did my first ACV rinse

So a week ago on my wash day, I wanted to see how porous my hair was. Hair porosity test determines the condition of the cuticles and how well moisture penetrates and stays in the cuticle layer of the hair shaft. See below.

A popular way to test this is to dip a strand of shed hair - wet or dry - into a jar of water. I would advise your hair is not coated in oil as this will skew the results and sink under water anyway. The strand stays on top if its porosity is low and sinks to the bottom if its highly porous. We want it to stay in the middle (normal porosity). So I did the test after shampooing and within seconds my 2 test strands sunk = highly porous.

When it's highly porous, it means that it absorbs moisture but it loses it as fast as the cuticles are too open to retain it. This is bad news because too much moisture can lead to breakage, and that's the last thing I want. So I decided that yesterday I would fix this.

How I'm fixing my highly porous hair
Wash day yesterday: I shampoo'd with a moisturizing shampoo then deep conditioned with a moisturizing conditioner under the Secura Steamer (yes I finally used it!). Then I did the ACV rinse. Apple cider vinegar is acidic and it's known for closing the cuticles. So I added 1/4 cup of ACV in 2 cups of diluted water and 5 drops of lavender oil. After washing out the deep conditioner WITH COLD WATER (cold water also closes the cuticles), I poured the ACV mix over my head. That shit stunk y'all lol But not too bad.

Then I applied my Dermorganics Hair Masque to further close my cuticles and balance my hair pH, washed it out and applied my Dermorganics Argan Oil leave-in to kill the ACV smell. Applied moisturizer (my mix of glycerin + olive oil + jojoba oil + diluted water) and further sealed with coconut oil. Then air dried and put my hair in a bun.

Change of Sealant: I'll also start doing the LOC method - moisturize, seal with oil (olive/coconut), further seal with butter (mango butter/shea butter). I changed my sealing oil from almond oil because even though it's odorless, it's too light and it feels as if it doesn't penetrate as my hair gets very oily. Although normal porous hair should absorb whatever you put on it so maybe it's 'cause mine is highly porous.

Anyway, I will repeat the same process next wash day and test my hair porosity again and see if there's any improvement.


Until then.... stay cool!
x


p.s: I still want the Roux Porosity Control!!!

Finally did my first facial steam - Secura

So a few hours ago, I used the Secura hair and face steamer.

Here's what I did:

Step 1: Washed face with cleanser and used St Ives Apricot Scrub

Step 2: Steamed distilled water in the steamer, and steamed face for 10 mins

Step 3: Applied mask - Avocado + Honey + Coconut Oil; left on for 20 mins

Step 4: Rinsed face with distilled water to close pores. Applied toner with a cotton ball - Apple cider vinegar (ACV) + 10 drops of tea tree oil + green tea + distilled water

Step 5: Moisturized with Palmolive 100% Aloe Vera Gel


Results: Glowing skin; non-drying. Steamer feels nice and safe to use. Love the whole process but I guess results will be glaring with continuous use. I'll start deep conditioning with the steamer as well.



Currently: Hair is in corn-rolls. I'm moisturizing and sealing with coconut oil every two nights (then put it back in corn-rolls). Still on the hunt for protective weave styles, seriously considering the ombre effect style. Will keep you updated. Ciao! :-)

Last wash day commentary 30th April, 13

Hey queens how y'all doing!

Yet again I couldn't wash on Saturday (normal wash days) as I was too busy entertaining visitors. I was travelling on Tuesday so I decided to wash that morning as I wouldn't get the chance to do it away from home. So I did the moisturizing shampooing and DC'ing. I used the Dermorganics Shampoo and Masque, followed by the ORS Replenishing Conditioner. Since I bought the dermorganics range, I found that it lathers well and hair is moisturized, but I'm not so sure if it shampoos clean. The day after, I literally scratched a bit of dandruff off my scalp. I thought my hair was clean after two washes but I guess it wasn't.

Also, I had quite some shedding afterwards (see picture) but I guess it's not that bad. All in all, it was an okay thing. I couldn't use rollers as I was travelling that day, so I just put it in a bun and let it air-dry.

Unfortunately, I traveled outta town to a place colder than where I'm at. And the cold took a toll on my hair in terms of how often I moisturized/sealed and exposed my hair. I literally HAD TO wear my satin bonnet indoor and put the hair in a bun or braid out to go outdoor. So that got me thinking about what to do when winter hits MY town! I've got a few ideas in my mind which will be discussed in the next post. Stay Tuned!!

CURRENT LENGTH

Hair journey ain't easy, but it's the goal that keeps me going. Stay motivated! :-)