Mission: D.A.N.D.R.U.F.F.

I've been gone for a while because of spring break. I flew to Tennessee to stay at my grandma's house to visit her, my cousins, aunts and uncle.
Lately, my dandruff has really been bothering me. A lot. I know it has something to do with my hair not growing at the rate I think it should be growing. (Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp. Healthy scalps do not have dandruff). I really should have tackled this problem months ago, when I first started my hair journey. BUT I thought I did get rid of it.
When I started my HJ it was the first time I ever moisturized and sealed my hair. I thought I was supposed to use the oil directly on my scalp. Doing that didn't get rid of my dandruff, it just masked the issue. I've realized that to really get long healthy hair, I have to quit running from my scalp caring for my scalp.


I've stopped using oil directly on my scalp. (I actually don't think I need oil on my hair everyday-maybe a few days a week I'll moisturize and seal, other nights I'll just moisturize.)


1. What's causing the dandruff?
I've looked up causes of dandruff many times, and few causes apply to me.

1. overactive oil glands (maybe, but I never thought I had 'oily' hair. Especially since I'm black and black hair tends to be dry)
2.  food allergies (none that I know of)
3. stress (Nope...not this either)
4. excessive perspiration (No, I don't work out that often and I'm not a naturally sweaty person)
5. harsh shampoos (Maybe...? Not sure. But I've switched shampoos so often, I'm sure one wasn't that harsh)
6. dry skin (maybe on my scalp, not on my face though. Does your scalp and face have two different skin types?)

 2. Plan to get rid of the dandruff.
Easy. Pre-pooing. However, this time, I'm going to use Witch Hazel. Witch Hazel is a stinky plant that is good for everything! I originally bought witch hazel to be used as a facial toner (before clinique). (Tip for summer: I also use it as after shave to prevent razor burn) I've also read that it can help with dandruff. My plan is to put this directly on to my scalp to let it sit for at least thirty minutes then wash as normal, or then put what ever pre-poo mixture I want to use that day on my hair and let it sit for a while.

This is the brand I use.
I bought it at Target for around $3.

side note: witch hazel is also a crazy witch lady on looney tunes

There are other home-remedies that I want to try also, here are some that sound interesting to me:

-crushing aspirin into shampoo, letting it sit for two minutes, rinsing it out.
-returning to apple cider vinegar rinses
-cleaning my hair brushes more often

100th Post..Vent/Rant

I'm frustrated. It's my sixth month of being on a hair journey and I have seen no real progress. My hair looks the same. Same length. Same health. Yea, it's softer. But my goal isn't to have soft hair. I want long, thick, healthy hair. I've spent so much time researching new products, watching YouTube videos, trying to learn new things to incorporate into my regimen to grow my hair. Nothing has worked. What's the point of spending all this time, effort and MONEY if I'm not getting results?

In the last week, I've watched two people say how easy healthy hair is.
1. Ulovemegz.
Her video was about how it's impossible to fail a hair journey. She pretty much said all you need is knowledge and to be consistent. I HAVE! Don't get me wrong-I love her and her videos, but if that's true, why haven't I reached shoulder length yet? SHOULDER LENGTH!! When most people start their hair journey, the start around shoulder length. I, however, am not even close. I know a lot more about hair now than I did before. I take care of it a lot better. I wash it consistently, don't use heat, use enough moisture, but I am still  and forever will be at neck length. Ugh.

2. Shilinda1.
She said if you're washing it, conditioning it, and moisturizing it, then your taking care of it. I CAN'T TELL! I'm doing all of that twice a week or more, and can't tell the difference between my hair before compared to now. Why should I continue on my hair journey? Why should I spend so much money and waste so much time on something that's not doing anything? Pointless. I could have my hair straight right now but NO! I'm walking around with ugly ponytails for no reason. Heat/No heat. Mineral oil/ no mineral oil. Moisture/no moisture. My hair is going to do the same thing.

...mad.

Yesterdays Wash Day

Yesterday was an interesting wash day for me for two reasons:

• it was the first time I had to wash my hair before going to work
• I didn't mix anything into my DC (as requested)

On saturday, I put a lot of Africa's Best Herbal Oil into my hair before going to bed. Then in the morning I pre-pooed with ORS replinishing pak and it went great. (click here for more details) After I rinsed my hair out, I washed with HE Reconditioning Shampoo/Conditioner- it went well as usual. Then I tried something different. I was requested to use the Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner with out any added oils into it just to see how it went. It was good! I liked it! My hair was soft after using it. A lot softer compared to the first time, but not as soft as last time. (which was expected because I didn't add any oils)

Then I used Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk. I think I'm going to stop using that. My hair feels less soft after using it, on top of that I don't think my hair is that frizzy with out it, so it's not adding any benefits to my hair. If I notice an increase in frizz, I'll continue to use it. Until then, its OUT the regimen. I also added Fantasia frizz buster and aphogee green tea and keratin mist. I think I'm going to get a relaxer this week so I keep using small doses of protein.

Bantu Knots and Pink Grapefruit Review :)

Last night I detangled my hair and did 8 bantu knots in my hair. I haven't done these in a while so I wanted to revisit them. Thank goodness I did, because I actually like my hair today and got a lot of compliments on my curls. I used to do 3 bantu knots- one on top and two in the back, but last night I did eight and that could have made a difference in why I like these better. I've still been using the GF leave-in conditioning cream to moisturize and seal and my hair has been SUPER soft!

I said a few months ago that I would go on a 'skin journey'. I stuck to a regimen for a while, but not much has changed. So last week I bought a new product: Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash with Grapefruit. I decided to get the scrub since I know how important exfoliating is for clearing acne. First off- the smell is delicious. It smells exactly like a grapefruit, which is good, but honestly I don't really care what my face smells like. I've used it for almost a week now and this crap made my skin SO dry. I'm not sure how well it works for acne, because I haven't used it for that long and don't plan on it! I'll continue to use it as a weekly exfoliator, but as for washing my face twice a day, it won't do. I will NOT be repurchasing.

 

Stupid Braidout... >:(

I did another braid out again. I did it on damp hair. I woke up and it was still wet! That's bad for 3 reasons:

1: It's cold out side. I COULD'VE CAUGHT PNEUMONIA!

2: Cold weather + Wet hair = breakage

3. My braid out didn't fully set in and form the right curls



My outfit/hair of the day



All this contributed to the frizziness of my hair. I didn't use my Fantasia Frizz Buster as I usually do because I wanted to see how well the Garnier Sleek and Shine controlled my frizz. It didn't. At all. I woke up with frizzy hair and had frizzy hair the whole entire day. I was smart enough not to wear it down today and decided to quickly detangle and put it in a bun. I do like my curls to have a small amount of frizz to them because it makes them look more natural, but gosh! I looked like a troll doll today! So tonight I'm going to try a bantu knot out and hopefully it'll be cute in the morning.  

This proves that using no heat is going to be harder than I thought. I know ulovemegz (Youtube) only does braid outs on co-washed hair so I think I'm going to take that advice and follow her lead. I'm not giving up on not using heat because I really want my hair to grow, but if I keep having days like this I'm going to be doing a lot more roller set/saran wrap methods in the near future.