Hiya,
Apologies for my super late post, I've been dealing with a new born and trust me it's no joke #alwaystired!!
Finally got the chance to sit down and count the votes and find out the results and I'm excited to announce that the 2015 6 INCHES OF GROWTH CHALLENGE WINNER....
Hiya,Today's topic is all about deep conditioning which is an integral aspect of being on a healthy hair journey. When I first started my hair journey, I did overnight DCs very regularly, basically applied the DC mix to my dry hair, massaged it in, covered hair with a nylon bag and a silk cap and went to bed, the logic was that my natural body heat produced from wearing the nylon bag or shower cap will open my hair shaft and allow the strands absorb the products and the longer the better.The process I described above is essentially what steam treatments do but in a much shorter time, the steamer produces steam, your hair is covered and the hair shaft swells and opens up allowing all the product you've applied sip into the hair, all this usually in twenty to thirty minutes....As I got busier and more prone to just tiredly falling on my bed after a long day with less time or energy to sit and apply any kind of concoction to my hair, I decided to do my research, would it be less effective if I stopped overnight DCs or DCing for long hours and just stick to making out time to get a steam treatment at Savvy & Chic Hair Beauty Hub?Well here are my findings...Generally speaking,increased time and temperature increases the amount of product adsorbed into the hair shaft. This is because the hair has a maximum absorption time for surfactants (surfactants diffuse in water and adsorb at interfaces between air and water or at the interface between oil and water, in the case where water is mixed with oil examples include emulsifiers), hydrolyzed protein, silicones etc which are usually found in DC conditioners and their properties allow them to be absorbed into the hair shaft within seconds of applying the conditioner.If left on the hair for longer, the amount will in general double within 10 minutes. If left on for another 10-20 minutes, the amount will increase by another 60-100% of the mark set at 10 minutes. However after 30 minutes from initial application, there are no more increases in adsorption to the hair. The reason for this is that the hair conditioner simply has no more places on the hair where it can stick to as all gaps which it can plug and all surfaces where it can attach are occupied.Specifically speaking, absorption time is affected by the ingredients in your DC mix and their unique behaviors when applied to your hair, for example the PH level of the DC conditioner should generally be between 6-7 for the conditioner to work well to increase adsorption to hair. Below and above this range, the behavior of the conditioner can become a little more erratic and results may vary that's why some conditioners work well as DCs and you can feel an instant change to the texture and manageability of your hair after use and others leave your hair feeling BLEH!!The different quantities of ingredients also affects absorption. For example, a conditioner which contains 0.2% hydrolysed protein will be able to leave about 20% more protein on the surface of hair compared to one which has 0.1%. The result is more dramatic for surfactants with a 0.2% conditioner able to adsorb 80% more to the surface than a conditioner with 0.1% surfactant.The reality is, manufacturers will not tell you how much of an ingredient is contained in the jar, so you have to try the product and trust that your hair will tell you whether the product has too much or too little of the ingredient you are looking for same with adding other natural concoctions like honey, yoghurt, mayonnaise, eggs etc.Now the aim of my research was to find out if my hair was missing anything by doing SHORT DC's and I'm glad that the general answer is an empathic NO but does that make LONG DC's wrong? I don't think so, if for any reason I've had my DC on my head all day on a Saturday because I was too busy around the house, have I somehow ruined my wash day experience, I think not...it basically means that after the stipulated time of absorption and my hair absorbed all it could, the rest of the time my hair was just sitting pretty waiting to get rinsed out, it's like taking biotin or any multi vitamins for that matter, the body absorbs what it needs and the rest is sent away to be disposed through the toilet...so don't beat yourself up if you happen to forget a treatment on your hair for more than thirty minutes and don't beat yourself up either if all the time you had to spare for your treatment was thirty minutes....hope you get my drift (don't send me emails with the subject * WAILING FOR MY HAIR DABS *Crying profusely rolling on the ground, my DC was in my hair for 1 hour Ahhhhhhhhhh* LOL).And on that note, I'll be heading to the hub for my 30 minutes DC this evening as that's all the time I have to spare- No more guilt, Yayyy!!Who's giving her hair a treat this weekend?? C'mon it's just 30 minutes, make out time....feel free to share your concoctions below!!RESEARCH SOURCES- WIKIPEDIA.COM, BLACKGIRLLONGHAIR.COM
XxxDabs
Hiya,
How's everyone doing? Hope well...if you follow a me on Instagram, I have to apologize after promising to put up a wig post on the blog over the weekend but unfortunately I'm on a short vacation and only came along with my Ipad and for some weird reason my Ipad can't pull up pictures stored on the camera roll!! Bloggers out there, any of you experienced this before? What's the solution, please share below if you have one.
Anyways moving along, I decided to put up an Ask Dabs post that wouldn't require pictures, basically I'm sharing mails and replies I've gotten recently, if you've asked any of the questions below, hope my answers help.
First Up;
From Dadah-
Hi there. My sister introduced me to your blog and I and my family are addicted! However, since I started, my hair has detoriorated badly. It is now so dry, stiff,and very matted. I do the avocado mask,LOC EASE,shea butter moisturising, all to no avail. My hair worsens by the day. It is natural and was shoulder length. I bought pure coconut oil, but none of the products advised have been useful. I have used aloe vera, honey, coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, avocado,none worked. Any words of wisdom? Thank you.
Dadah.
Hi Dadah,
Thanks for your mail, from your mail, I'm hearing a lady who is trying to figure out what works for her hair which is fine but if you try too many things at a time too soon you do not allow your hair enough time to adjust to the effects of the products/remedies being tried. My advice is to try the LOC EASE method one more time, I actually adjusted the method more to the LCO method, try a liquid based product like a detangler, leave in conditioner or aloe Vera gel, cream which is a water based moisturizer with a thicker consistency that will help keep the hair moist and then seal with a light weight oil like olive, grape seed or coconut oil. Try this day in day out for a month and feel free to get back to me. You might also need to trim your ends as they might be dry and full of split ends, for deep conditioning since you are dealing with dryness, just stick to a cholesterol based conditioner for starters and see how your hair responds.
Regards,
Dabs
From Hannah
Hi Dabs
Please advise me urgently. I just loosened by box braid of about 6 wks old. It's so tangled that I cannot comb it. I have sprayed detangler, used the glycerine and water mixture, put leave in ... but still I can't comb through. What can I do. Don't want my hair to break off.
Thanks.
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for your mail. I think the extensions were kept for too long, I don't know what you ended up doing but next time that happens you can apply conditioner directly on the dry knots and tangles and allow the hair to absorb them and spritz water on the sectioned hair while you detangle gently with a wide tooth comb. As a general guide avoid keeping extensions in your hair for more than a month to avoid tangles.
Regards,
Dabs
From Daniella-
Hey Dabs...my name is Ella and I am a huge fan...been following your blog since late 2013...been trying to follow the hair advice...I used to have APL hair..but now it barely grazes my neck...I've suffered massive hair loss since I started my journey and I don't know why...plsssss I need help...need to know where I am getting it wrong....am a student so that means I have very little cash to spend on hair stuff and I also have very little time as I am a medical student...I find it hard sticking to a routine because I mostly come home exhausted and immediately sleep off...what can I do differently Dabs?...I want hair like yours someday.
Hi Daniella,
Thanks for your mail...you raise two very major common issues which are time and money. Luckily there are many ways to save time and money when on a hair journey. If you look in your fridge, there are quite a few things in there you can use to deep condition your hair- check this post I wrote ages ago on this...http://naijahaircangrow.blogspot.com/2011/07/open-your-refrigerator-it-will-reveal.html. Another advice I would give is to master reading ingredient labels, forget the fancy bottles and popular brands, it's what's inside that matters, you can read through this post to know how to read these labels and choose what works for your hair- http://naijahaircangrow.blogspot.com/2012/02/10-things-to-know-about-pityriasis.html. The brand or price should be your secondary focus as a cheaper conditioner can work as great as an expensive one. Finally try and purchase economy or large bottles of products, my huge tub of Cantu Shea butter which I currently use will definitely last me till next year!! Larger bottles may cost more but you are sure to have them for a while saving you money. As regards time, you don't need to spend that much time getting your hair done, focus on the basics and try hair spritz with spray bottles, they make everything quick and easy.
That's all for now, hope my replies help and I promise to put up the post about the wig as soon as I get back or a solution. Can't wait to share pictures of my new wig! Love it!! Oh and for those interested, the SEPTEMBER IMPORT WINDOW opens tomorrow, for hair/beauty orders, please send me an email- daboju@yahoo.com and I will respond ASAP.
Have a blessed week people!
Xxx
Dabs
Hiya,
How's everyone doing?!! Been a while!! Hope those on the 6 inches of growth challenge have not given up yet!! It's about 5 months to go, hang in there ladies!!
Well this post is just an update on my hair, products and styles I have tried lately...
Let's start, shall we!!
My hair has been doing its thing...
I've embraced a lot of 'protective' styling this year, protective being the operative word, with hair extensions, the hairstyles have had little to no impact on my hair line and I don't leave them in for more than a week plus!! I've also been rocking my wigs and loving the break they give my hair which I usually tuck away in big braids for a few days before I start missing my hair again...
Here are a few pictures of my hair lately;
In the above picture, I just took out my knotless braids and loved how it created this wavy twist out look with my hair, unfortunately my hair was dirty so I had to wash it out!
This was the hairstyle I rocked to the 2015 LOC Appreciation Day...I divided my hair in about eight chunky sections, braided the tips and tucked them inside so the chunks looked like free formed locs (don't think I fooled real loc heads with my attempt though!! LOL). But can you see all the texture that I am presently dealing with?!! On one hand I love it, on the other hand it drives me cray cray!!
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| Freshly detangled, moisturized and sealed hair...also keeping an eye on my ends!! |
Last week I tried out Crotchet braids again but I wanted the marley hair twisted into big havanna twists and the tips curled...got this done at the hub- 30 Norman Williams St. Ikoyi Lagos.
Had these in for one week and 3 days and got bored!! Took them out, got a good clarify with a bentonite clay hair mask treatment I got done at the hub;
Made my hair feel really nice and manageable considering it's about 10 plus weeks post relaxer!Will be relaxing it by week 12 that's my limit lately...
Oh and I have not repented from my product junkie ways oh!! It's always like I am looking for the next best thing until I get my fingers burnt!! Arghhh!! I was at Ebeanor just browsing through their cosmetics aisle when this product caught my eyes;
Looking at the bottle, it seemed to have everything going for it, first thing that caught my eye was the TRIPLE MOISTURE LOTION written to the side, I was like yessss, then it had no harsh chemicals also written and the usuals; no petroleum products, no sulfates, parabens etc, checked the ingredients, water was first, glycerin then a bunch of great oils-SOLD!!
Got home and this product that I thought would be light and liquidy and super moisturizing is just all types of wrong on my hair!!! It feels sooooo goooey!! And left some kind of annoying film/coat on my hair like a gel!! Left me so confused!
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| GOOEY!!! |
Anyways, that will teach me!! For now, I am just patiently waiting till relax day in about two weeks!!
So that's my update thus far, how's everyone else doing? Who has tried the above product? Did it work for you? Feel free to share your thoughts below!!
P.S As for that BLOGVERSARY GIVEAWAY I promised for non- Lagosians in the month of June, I am compiling a bunch of products and I promise to announce it sooon!! Please stay tuned and pray for me- the lack of ginger to blog these days is real!! I don't know why!! But when I do get the chance to sit down and open the blog, start a post...it just flows!! Like I didn't think this post would be this long!! Just pray for me!! LOL
Have a great weekend people!
Xxx
Dabs
