Wash Day

Yesterday I washed my hair.  It's been a month since I washed it although I cleaned my scalp several times since then.  I tried a new routine new which is what I've been looking to do.  I did the baking soda cleanse first.  I didn't put the baking soda in conditioner because it was so hard to wash out when I did my husband's hair.  I just made a paste with water.  That was so much easier. Then I tried a peppermint soap that I found at the beauty supply store.  It's made by Nubian Heritage and has all natural ingredients like shea butter and aloe (among other stuff).  I bought it cuz I thought it would give my scalp a little tingle but it didn't.  It did have a very good lather though, which I liked.  After that, I did the apple cider vinegar rinse (I did not rinse it out).  Then I put on Dr. Miracle's Tingling Conditioner.  It felt divine!  I left it on for a little over an hour and washed it out.  My hair felt so soft and clean that I didn't even want to retwist it.  It even had a little shine to it.  I did end up retewisting the first few rows so the front would look neat.

I retwisted mainly because I wanted to try a new twist gel that I concocted.  I mixed aloe vera gel with honey and added a little olive oil and tea tree oil.  It went on nicely but my hands were a little sticky afterward.  This morning, my locks were hard and crusty (but not flaky).  I think I added too much honey.  I don't know what proportions I used; I just put stuff in a jar. LOL!  As the day has gone on, the locks are not as hard anymore but I don't think I'll be using that gel anymore until I figure out what to do.  I think I'm gonna add more aloe vera gel to it and see if that helps.  I've seen on nappturality where people use AV gel (and honey) to twist their locs so I know it will work.

I noticed that my hair has grown, especially in the back where it was last cut.  I'm excited about that.  I don't want it down to my butt but I do want it to my mid back (I think). When I looked at a ruler and saw how long 6 inches is (the average amount that hair grows in a year), I got excited again.  I can't wait to see how long it is at the end of the year.

I think I'm going to wash my hair again soon because I noticed that I couldn't get all the stuff out.  That's another reason why I wasn't stressing about twisting it.  I still have buildup where the new growth meets the locked part and I gotta figure out how to get it out!!  I need to get something that does a better job of clarifying.  Maybe I can get hubby to help me rinse next time.  I rinsed my hair twice and the stuff still wouldn't come out.  Oh well.

I liked what I tried this time and my hair and scalp feel great.  The only thing I would change is the lock gel.  I might just stick to what I've been using (ORS Lock Gel).  I don't think I've ever spent this much time on my hair myself.  It felt good. :)

Another thing I noticed is how different my hair (and scalp) is from my husband's. He normally has a itchy, flaky scalp and I don't.  I washed his hair Wednesday cuz it was itching so bad and it's flaky again already (but it's not itching).  I think next time, I'm gonna try a hot oil treatment on him to see if that helps with his scalp. I realized I can't do the same thing to his hair that I do to mine because it doesn't always work.  But I'm enjoying the learning process.