Castor Oil Challenge? Yes, Please!!!

Yea, I want me a piece of that castor oil challenge. Sadly, I have never completed one or seen one completely through. Call it lack of motivation. Ehh...lol. Well, I have nothing standing in my way right now. So, I am going to make it my goal to see this castor oil challenge to the end. Bad news is, I missed the first nine days of Hairlista's Castor Oil Challenge o_O I have no idea where I was, but I was not in attendence for that one, sadly. But I am going to start nine late and end nine days late. No biggie. I have been doing some research about castor oil, and I wanted to add that info in with this blog. So here is your chance to leave if you want to, lol.

I did my research about using castor oil with the following methods: pre-poo, quick rinse conditioners, deep conditioners, leave-ins, sealers, ends and roots. I wanted to make sure that I am going to use castor oil the most proper way to achieve the maximum amount of results that I can.

I read where castor oil is an excellent way to add quick shine to your hair, but this type of shine has little to no dealings with the health of one's hair. Also, castor oil can be thick and not so easy to rinse out, so there may not be a reason for me to put castor oil into my hair as a pre-poo when I already have trouble removing build-up from my hair in the first place. BUT, I did also read that Jamaican Black Castor Oil was a great pre-poo alone with heat. So, if I am going to use castor oil as a pre-poo, this will be the one I use.

I read for dry ends and edges, rub one drop of castor oil onto either one. It is best not to exceed a drop or two to cut down on one's hair being weighed down.

Castor oil is makes a great hot oil treatment.

Castor oil does well with deep conditioners.

Castor oil is beneficial when mixed in with proteins.

A drop of castor oil with leave-ins are supposed to good.

Castor oil is a great sealer.

So, I plan to check out each and everyone of these points.

I have officially started yesterday!!! August 6th. I am going to end this bad boy for myself around November 6th. The rule for myself is to use castor oil every other day. Another great thing, I am getting my mom on the bandwagon. So, me and her will be hitting the castor oil hard for three long months.
Another awesome point: I have order my Jamaican Black Castor Oil. In all, the product I am using is the JBCO, regular drug store brand CO and HBCO.


This is my Start Pic. I plan to put one up every month on the sixth.
Some of you may know from my previous blogs that I have trimmed my hair to Full SL. I am grazing APL, tho.

I have decided that me and my mother are doing the advanced level part of the challenge. This requires us to apply castor oil to our hair every other day and apply a teaspoon of castor oil to our deep conditioners. I know that I will be on this challenge hard, but my mother likes to put things off. I refuse to let her not participate in this challenge, lol.

My goals for this challenge is as follows:
-Retain length
-acheive thicker hair
-acheive longer hair
-notice improvements with my mother's hair

I plan on taking a picture of her hair soon and posting it on here. I want you all to see both of our before pics. I am excited. The above pic is of my hair after regular wash day, wrapped hair and hood dried. Good luck to everyone who is doing the Castor Oil Challenge!!!

Hosting a GIVEAWAY on AUGUST 30th!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, ladies!!! I am so excited. If you do not know already, I am going to open an accessory store on September 30th!!! I am so excited that I am taking what I love to do to this extra level. I am super excited about it.

September 30th is the official day that I am going to open my store for the everyone, but I am giving my blog followers an opportunity to view my store a month ahead of the official date. SO...On August 30th, this giveaway will begin. The store will be available to view then, too. I would love some contructive criticism from my blog viewers before I put myself totally out there for the entire world. I welcome all advice.

 My store name is not concrete yet, so the name of the store will be announced the day of the contest. Also, the website will be made available then, too. It is just this long, tedious process in regards of getting the store up and running. So, please be patient with me, but I am definitely going to have all of these things ready by the time I officially announce the giveaway.

So, that there are no surprises, I am going to announce a few small details about the giveaway now.

Ok, so #1, there will be TWO (2) winners of the giveaway.
Alright and #2, the prizes will be handmade accessory pieces from my store.

I am not releasing no more than that right now, lol. August 30th is the day. Find my blog post bright and early on that day. I hope to see you soon!!!

Operation: OMI CONDITIONERS

Before I started a healthy hair journey, I only knew about one kind of conditioning. That type was the one that followed behind shampoo, lol, and that was it. I have heard of deep conditioning and leave in conditioners, but I have to admit, it was one of those things that I thought that took a lot of knowledge before actually doing because you do not want your hair to fall out. Yeah, I was that lost. Lol. Anywho, I have learned so much since being on this journey, and I wanted to share my information about conditioners.

One thing I learned about rinsing out conditioners is that it is best to wash it out with cool to cold water. It is best not to strip the moisture and nutrients out of your hair. How do we wash dishes? With hot water, hopefully, lol. In my opinion, hot water cleanses more than cold water. If hot water rinses the conditioner out, it is rinsing out all of the moisture you put in your hair. Isn’t that wasting conditioner? I would think so. I don’t know about anyone else, but I hate wasting stuff that I have paid good money for. Another fact about cold water, it closes your cuticles in your scalp and hair where hot water from shampooing has left opened. This keeps your scalp cleaner by closing your cuticles. So, I am a big believer in rinsing with cold water.

Who use to like soaking their hair in globs and globs of conditioners? *waves* ME!!! Lol. Boy, I remember those days where a bottle of shampoo can last three times longer than a bottle of conditioner. One day long ago, I bought a brand new bottle of conditioner. I washed my hair one time and half the bottle was gone. I was in dire need of some knowledge. Did you know that it could be really unhealthy to put a lot of conditioner on your hair? Research states that too much conditioner on the hair could “smother” the hair, or too much conditioner will not allow the hair to absorb a healthy amount. How do one know how much conditioner to use. Bottles say dime size and quarter size. However, one can use up to two and three quarter size amounts. Research also says that the time you leave conditioner on could be unhealthy. Some research states that hours and hours of conditioning could be “smothering”.  Since leave in conditioners are not wash out conditioners, it is important not to use that much leave in conditioner because you do not want to over moisturize your hair and not allow your hair to reap the wonderful benefits.

One thing I learned that there was something called a protein conditioner. Now, I always thought that was an oxymoron, you know, opposites. However, when I learned how to work a protein conditioner, I could really tell a difference. The protein conditioner of my choice is ORS replenishing conditioner. Boy, do it smell good?! I use this as my protein conditioner, when my hair feels really straw-like. I apply a package of this good stuff on with twenty minutes under a dryer. My hair feels like butter.

It is a lot of information, but I really can get used to changing my conditioning ways around.

Unrelated to Hair, but BAD NEWS!!!! :(

I definitely hate typing this particular blog post, but my blog journey would not be genuine without discussing the hardships and rejections that one may encounter during their career journey. With that said, I am forced to spell it out to my readers...that I did NOT get accepted into grad school.
This was one hard pill to swallow.

I received the news sometime late last week. Through email, I was alerted that my application was received WAY after the commitee decided on who they wanted in their program WAY before the deadline. Sadly, I was amongst the ones not picked to start graduate school in the Fall. This sucks. I felt like I did everything I was supposed to. I have invested so much money into applying for this school and taking tests, only to be let down. *sighs*

Another devastating blow is the fact that this was the only graduate school I applied to. So, I have no Plan Bs. Also, not being in school will cause me to lose my insurance. Most of the grad school fall due dates have passed; however, there is one small glimmer of hope that I could take up an online degree. At this point, I really don't care where or how. Just let me get in soon, please.

I am trying to remain hopeful because my cousin will be leaving for pharmacy school in two days. I want to remain hopeful that I, too, can pull it through and get into someone's school; a school of what I really want to do. She keeps me hopeful because she was an underdog for a while. No one believed that she would do it.

Now I feel like the underdog. I feel like I have let myself down. I have really learned a valuable lesson in procrastination. LOL. I have also learned a lesson in having plans. Even though my main plan sounds like an awesome plan, there are possibilities that the one you have your heart set is not the one for you. I have learned that now. But secretly, I don't even know if I ever wanted to go to grad school. This blow to my ego has really allowed me to reevaluate myself and what I want in a career. I have realize that I am so lazy as far as getting to the title. It seems like I just want the title: grad student, professional employee, career woman, etc. Do I even want to work for it anymore? With every approaching day, the answer is I do not feel like doing a thing. I want to lay in bed and pout about how I do not have a job and now how I am not in school and I have no plan Bs and that I will be in parents' house forever. UGH! That last one makes my stomach hurts just thinking about. However, regardless of how bad I do not want to work for it, if I want it...I will work for it.

So, I may have been knocked down this round, but I am still in this fight. Don't count me out yet. But do pray with me.

SORRY FOR THIS RANDOM POST! But thanks for taking the time and reading another portion of my life, aside from my hair journey. Please continue to follow my career journey blog:

http://immadomeandloveit.blogspot.com/

Hair Update!!!

So how about my I couldn't comb my hair yesterday. It was horrible. I couldn't even finger comb my length. Ugh!!! I was like, I can wait until the end of August. However, when I tried to pull my hair into a ponytail, hairs started snapping at the joint where natural and relaxed meet. UH OH! Not a good sign. I went ahead and decided to relax at six weeks. I wrote on my Twitter that I was happy and sad that I relaxed my hair. My hair did not relax bone straight. About 70 percent of my NG was texlaxed. I could not believe my luck. I also decided to trim my hair. I trimmed my hair until it was blunt, even and full. It took me above APL; however, it looks good. It hasn't looked this good in a long time. My hair looks thick, feels heavy but has so much body and movement. It is so soft.

I am officially SL again. However, I am at a healthy length, and I do not regret trimming my hair. I am now concentrating on babying my ends. I have even hair. no thin ends. I am grateful and I am going to do my best to maintain my blunt-ness, lol.

I relaxed with ORS normal relaxer. I believe this is going to be my last time using this relaxer. I seriously think that I am moving on to a different relaxer. Another thing that I am going to do different is invest in a better and more efficient application tool. I have been researching and found a tool that I am interested in. My issue is lack of something. I cannot get all of my hair smooth. Everytime I end up telaxing, it is always completely by accident.

I am going to continue with my biotin. I take three a night. My nails are showing great results from my biotin use. I am going to continue to moisturize my hair the new way that I have learned how to. I am also going to incorporate liquid castor oil back into my regimen. Another thing that I am going to look into is a bigger hood dryer. I attempted a roller set with my huge gray rollers and had to take them out because I couldn't fit under the dryer. UGH! So, I could use advice on finding a bigger dryer for a great price. I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Updates and My Personal August Challenge

So, I have worn my hair down all summer. It has literally not been up at all. I have read that it is good to put your hair up to keep your shirts from drying out your ends when your hair falls on your shoulders. I am a firm believer in that. However, I have been such a girlie-girl lately. I have to have my hair down. I look and feel feminine. Also, it has been looking so good, that I would feel bad to put it up and lose out on rocking my hair that day. Idk, my journey has been full of debates, whether or not should I wear my hair up or down, benefits of wearing my hair up or down. If I wear it down, it looks nice but my hair could be dried out by shirt fabrics. If I wear it up, my ends are protected, but the hair tie could wear into my hair and cause breakage. Ugh, the dilemna. Although I have been at the crossroads of my hair journey, I am still hopeful that I will prevail. I have decided that I am going to give my answer about my continuing the hair journey on August 31st. I have also decided to relax my hair August 30th, marking me at 10 weeks exactly.

Back to the ponytail, I am going to make August my BUN MONTH. I am going to need to bun like crazy that month. One, because I want to retain my length and protect my ends. Two, I want to attempt to pull of feminine looks with a bun. I am hoping to capture a picture a day, so that I can mark my progress. I am going to start July 29th and end August 29th. I am so excited!!! I have never done a bun challenge, and I am excited about starting. I am going to research about ponytails like I have done other research posts. Be on the lookout for that post. Also, I am going to have a flatiron post and a relaxer prep post. Be on the look for those.

More about my challenge, it is MY OFF THE SHOULDER CHALLENGE. I can wear any hair style, but it has to be off the shoulder. Pretty much, I am limiting myself to buns; however, I can attempt tight rod sets. The only way I am going to attempt them is if I HAVE WORN MY HAIR IN A BUN AT LEAST A WEEK. I have to set rules for myself. Once my curls start to fall, I am going to have to put them up or pin them up. What I am trying to do is make bunning a safe habit for me and my hair. If that works out for me, I will attempt the challenge again in October.

Another thing that I am going to work on is satin pillowcases for my mother and I. My mom's hair was doing so good, but she does not like tying her hair up at night and when she does, she puts the know halfway up her head. I cannot beat it in her head no more than I have already tried. Now, her hair is suffering. In the back of her head, it is thinning out so bad. I want so bad for her hair to grow out and do better, but she won't do better. Very frustrating.

I have a month before I give my decision. I have to admit one thing: I trimmed my hair last night. It was no more than an inch, but the trim was needed to keep a blunt look in the back. Obvious, I should not expect much length difference come the end of August, but I am looking for health. I haven't been on the heat. I have been taking the biotin. I have been moisturizing and oiling properly, shampooing and conditioning properly. I have notice a difference with me moisturizing and oil differently and shampooing differently. I am noticing a difference in health. However, I see where more work is needed. I need to work on my leave-in selection. I will be working on all of this the rest of this month and all of next month. I believe to be crucial to the health of my hair. Watch out for more updates and posts.

See you at the next one.

My Hair Inspiration

Teyana Tayloy has the most beautiful hair that I have laid eyes on. I am not sure is she natural or chemically treated, but if I was to take a guess, I would say natural. Even though I am relaxed and have no future plans of transistioning to natural, I would love to have her hair. Like that would ever happen. The style she is rocking in the above pic is my type of style, big hair. I love big, huge hair. I would wear my hair big everyday if I could. I would wear this style as my wedding hair seriously.

Alot of girls dream about their weddings, and I am have been doing alot of considering about my own. My boyfriend and I have been together for 26 months. We have both graduated from college. Personally, I am ready to settle down. He isn't because he feels like we need a few more years before we make that big step. That is fine. I can respect that. I am going to have to respect it if I want to be with him, lol.

I used to have these goals where I wanted to predict that my hair would be this long this year and that long the next year. I have been predicting my hair for length after length year after year and I am still the same length that I started with. Right now, my only goal other than healthy hair, I would absolutely love MBL to WL hair for my wedding. A wedding may not take place for another three to five years, but I believe that I can achieve some length then, right?

Teyana Taylor will be my hair inspiration until this make believe wedding, lol. She is my inspiration period. I want to try to achieve her thickness and length. It is beautiful, and I want it BADLY. LOL!