Hot Oil Massage!

Hello everybody!

I decided that before I take my twists out on Thursday night, I will do a hot oil massage for my scalp using Brahmi Oil and Almond Oil on Wednesday night. I will melt it (it comes kind of separated) and then do a nice massage on my scalp to encourage growth and shininess before I take out my twists! I will massage gently because I don't want to encourage frizz. My hair is actually growing and I am so happy! I need to keep it going!

It's definitely time to take out these twists. The frizz is kind of taking over! Lol. But it makes for a bigger twistout which I LOVE!

Thanks for reading!

Morgan

Twist Out! :).

Hey all!

My twists have lasted well throughout this whole process, and it's time to do a twist out. On thursday, I will take them down. Here is my takedown process:

- moisturize and seal the night before you take your twists out. I don't moisturize my hair much in twistouts to keep the curl pattern for the first two days.

- the day you take out your twists, use shea butter and stretch out your hair in sections with your hands. This elongates the curls and helps them "clump" better. Shea butter works best for me, but whatever butter, like mango butter, works.

I find that this way, my twistout comes out amazing and stays un-frizzy for a long time.

Hope that helps!

Morgan

How to keep your two strand twists un-frizzy!

I have been using a new technique to keep my two strand twists from getting frizzy! Here are the steps:

1. Moisturize the hair with a SPRAY mix (not a butter or solid mix, this is heavy and causes frizz as you spread it along your twists).

2. Seal with any oil of your choice (to keep it light, if you are using castor oil, mix it with another light oil to thin it out).

The whole idea with this method is to keep the product as LIGHT as possible so as not to disturb the twists or displace the hair in twists.

3. Bantu knot your bang (optional). I just think this comes out really cute while protecting your bang from getting frizzy!

4. Wear the tightest sleep cap possible. This keeps the hair from being disturbed while you sleep. In bonnets, I found that the twists were doing their own thing and rubbing against each other and the fabric. This is why a satin pillowcase won't work either.

5. When you wake up in the morning, re-moisturize and seal your twists. Make sure that your twists get really damp because the moisture will add slip and lock the hair in the twist, therefore reducing stray hairs from coming out the twists. That is the same idea with using the oil.

This stuff might be obvious, but it took me a long time to get the perfect combination of steps to keep my hair from getting so frizzy so soon! I used to use a bonnet and it was a disaster. Also wearing the skull cap will keep your style!

Enjoy your frizz-free twists!


Morgan

Ever realize how much your hair has grown? :). Happy post!

I pulled my twists into a french roll last night to stretch them out for this morning. When I let my twists down, I realized that they were brushing the collar of my sweater. I did a little happy dance and proceeded to moisturize and seal. That made them shrink and fatten up a bit, which was good because they are now only touching the fabric a bit. Can't stand breakage due to factors I can change! Anybody realize how much their hair has grown one day? My hair has grown maybe an inch since coming to UPenn. I thought that my breakage that I wrote about earlier was jacking up my progress, but I guess not! Just two more inches to APL! SO EXCITED! My ultimate goal is APL (which some people think is short, but I just want my hair to be able to do lots of things), but if it grows longer then I won't cut it or anything.

I love the versatility of my hair in twists. I can just do so much with them while protecting my hair! Some things I can do with it are:

Twistouts
Down styles
Half-up half-down
French rolls
any updo style (50s retro is my favorite!)
bantu knots/knot outs (love this on my bang!)
and lots lots more!

My homemade deep conditioner

Hey all!

I made a homemade deep conditioner yesterday and here's the recipe:

1/2 Avocado

3 Tablespoons Amla Powder

2 Tablespoons Brahmi Powder

Dash of coconut water (for protein)

Water

Almond oil (however much you feel is enough to make a paste)

Castor oil

Avocado oil

The reason why I add coconut water to my mix is because it helps the hair retain protein while not adding too much protein to the hair. 

The avocado provides vitamins B,C, and E and moisturizes the hair.

Amla provides high amounts of vitamin c and is a natural conditioner 

Brahmi is said to help stimulate the scalp and promote growth.

And I mixed it all up to make a oily/watery paste (the coconut water separated it though)

I will see how it goes this weekend!

Thanks for reading!

Ayurvedic Oils

Hi all!

As you know, I bought a BUNCH of ayurvedic powders and oils (Major Product Junkie!). I infused amla and brahmi in almond oil and I seal with that. I also bought rose water and green tea (for breakage) yesterday to put in my spritz bottle. I think I might just make a separate spritz bottle because I don't want to mix the rose water with the conditioner. Just because I like the smell! :). Will give updates on how it makes my hair feel!

What's in your spritz bottle?

Ayurvedic Pre-Poo followed by conditioner wash

Hi everyone!

I would like to emphasize the great effects of ayurvedic hair products. I bought a bunch of indian hair products (amla powder, brahmi powder, neem, shikakai, brahmi-amla oil, and brahmi hair growth oil) and mixed them all up into one deep conditioning pre-poo. It made my hair feel very soft. I only left it on for about 15-20 minutes with a heating cap on to trap in the heat. Next time I have time, I might do something overnight to get the most benefit. It was easy to detangle and my curl pattern (while wet) was easy to deal with and loose, before it reverted back when dry. I will start doing this after every twist installment. This morning I lightly moisturized with my spritz mix and then sealed with brahmi-amla oil (it smells so good!). My hair is feeling great in its braid out. This is definitely a staple!!!

Missing my twists :-(

I miss my twists so much! They are so easy to handle and moisturize. I am currently wearing a puff that doesn't look great on me. I usually like my hair down. I will schedule an appointment for this week sometime, but I have a BUSY BUSY week. I go to New York next monday, so I am on a time crunch! Tomorrow I have work, wednesday I have work, thursday i have work, and Friday i have, ONCE AGAIN, work. No free time at all, I'm afraid.

By the way, I mixed my first deep conditioner using Ayurvedic powders, natural oils, and conditioner. I mixed shikakai (for cleansing, I won't be shampooing my hair), brahmi (for strength and conditioning), castor oil, grapeseed oil, and almond oil. I also mixed HEHH and NTM daily deep conditioner. I hope this works! I will put this on as a pre-poo/deep conditioner on dry/damp hair and then conditioner wash it out if there is grit still in my hair.

Any ideas for any other deep conditioner mixes? What do you guys use?


Thanks!


Morgan

Hair is still breaking :(

Hi everyone,

My hair is still breaking even in protective styles! I don't know what exactly I am doing wrong. I don't know whether my hair needs protein or moisture. It's hard to tell really. I just ordered Aphogee's green tea reconstructorizer spray, which I hope will deliver some protein to my strands. I also ordered Keracare's leave in conditioner, which will also deliver moisture to my hair (hopefully). So I will see what those products do for me. Any other ideas on what to use on my hair to help with breakage? My hair FEELS strong when I pull on shed hairs, but for some reason it's breaking off whenever I put my hands on it. UGH. It's never been this bad before! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Morgan

Taking a break from the twists?

Hi everyone!

I think I am going to take a break from my staple style: my two strand twists!! I want to start wearing chunky twist outs everyday, which means twisting my hair every night. I just love the look of them! I also will get the chance to try out my ayurvedic oils and products without the frizz (by applying at night before twisting) and see where that takes me. If I get tired of the twist outs, I will wear a french roll, which is easy for my length of hair (two inches past collarbone). I think I will try this for three weeks and see if I get any major growth from the ayurvedic products and also the MSM I started taking. I am looking for a good boost of growth because I really want to hit APL by next January or February! What are your thoughts? Too much manipulation for my hair? I would appreciate your input!!!


Morgan

Oil Massages and Ayurvedic Deep Conditionings

Hey everyone!

I am going to start doing daily oil massages just to see how it affects my growth. Adding stimulation to the scalp everyday will help activate your follicles more and therefore help with growth (hopefully). Everybody is different however. I just received almond oil, castor oil, and grape seed oil (my favorite) in the mail. I will also be receiving avocado oil soon! I will switch off oils every two weeks to see which one affects my hair health for the better.

I also will start deep conditioning my hair overnight with a cheapie conditioner mixed with ayurvedic powders (amla, shikakai, and neem) to see if it strengthens my hair. I know I am experimenting a lot with my hair, but I still need to know what it likes and doesn't like! I also need to buy a new shampoo. I don't care about sulfates really, because I will only be doing it every so often. Do you guys have any ideas? What do you think about the ayurvedic powders? Should I add them to conditioner or just mix it with water and/or oil and see what happens?

Your comments are greatly appreciated!


Morgan

Bantu Knotted my Bang!!! (and other news...)

Last night, I bantu knotted my bang (in twists) and this morning I had this fabulous looking 50's style bang! I will start to bantu knot my whole head for sleep and see the results! :). Follow me @morganmizell93 on twitter and search for me on facebook for pictures! I also have an instagram and my username is morganmizell93 (i think lol).

I think I might do a pre-poo hot oil treatment soon. I need to strengthen my hair so that it will stop whatever breakage I might have. This Friday I will be taking out my twists and rock a twist out for maybe 3-5 days. I'm just a little worried about matting, which is another reason why I think the pre-poo with an oil will be good to do.

What oils do you guys recommend? I currently have Wonder 8 oil, castor oil, and grapeseed oil. I would really like to try avocado oil because of the nutrients packed in it. Thanks in advance for your answers!

Morgan

New Products!

I have been buying new products to add to my hair regimen. I recently bought Amla powder and Neem powder to increase my hair's strength and I bought some other carrier oils. They are listed below in my regimen.

Here it is:

Prepoo: Amla Powder (and Shikakai once I buy it) and Neem Powder mixed with castor and grapeseed oil. Put on a shower cap and heat up for 15 minutes.

Shampoo as needed or co-wash

Conditioner: Suave naturals with Amla and Neem powder (is this too much neem powder?)

Deep Conditioner: To be determined. I bought the ORS replenishing pack, but I don't know how my hair will respond.

Leave-in conditioner: HEHH mixed with water (or maybe a silicone free conditioner?) or Suave Naturals conditioner mixed with water.

Moisturizers: For twists, I will use my spritz mix. For braid-outs, I will use Kera Care moisturizing butter cream for rebraiding at night (I think that's what it's called lol) and my spritz mix the next morning if needed). For twistouts- mainly my spritz mix to avoid frizz.

Sealants: Grape seed oil, Castor oil, Avocado oil, Jojoba oil (maybe). My favorite so far is grape seed so I will stick to that right now and change it up later.

What do you guys think about my regimen? Any comments would be helpful!


Thanks!

Morgan

Morgan's Regimen

My Regimen so far!

1. In the morning I spritz my hair with my braid spray and infusium-23 repair and renew mix

2. Seal with grape seed oil or Wonder 8 oil, depending on whether I run out of grape seed. I need to order some more offline!

3. At night I follow the same first two steps and put on a sleep cap.

4. I wash my hair every three weeks with a sulfate shampoo because my twists get really dirty. I am trying to incorporate weekly co-washes with cheapie conditioners like Suave Naturals, which have pretty good ingredients and slip. My favorite is the apple flavor! Yum!

5. As of now (TBD), I deep condition once every three weeks, but I want to change that to bi-weekly. I deep condition with NTM Daily Deep Conditioner. Sit under a heating cap for 30 mins then rinse. I need to find another one with more natural ingredients though, just because I don't like silicone build-up. YUCK.

6. Light silicone spray after washes to reduce frizz, any product ideas? Garnier Fructis has had good results for me in the past.

7. Leave-in conditioner ??? Maybe a watered down conditioner like my HEHH mixed with water.

8. *maybe* protein treatment every 6-8 weeks to retain moisture in my hair. or even infusium repairologie or moisturologie products….i will look into those as potentials!

Any other suggestions ladies?

Thanks!

Morgan

Retaining length through deep conditioning with twists

I just realized how I am going to keep my twists in for three weeks without getting them too frizzy! I will spritz to moisturize with my water, infusium, and braid spray mix, then I will start sealing with a silicone spray mixed with my usual grape seed oil. I think this may work and i will also incorporate a sleeping cap that is not a bonnet, but keeps the twists flat to my head. This way I can just spray and fluff in the morning. I hope this works because I feel like I have nothing left to do. I don't mind my twists shrinking at all, but I like to keep them stretched to decrease the probability of getting single-strand knots. 

I will also need to implement some kind of deep conditioning regimen because my hair might be in need of a more intense moisture treatment. I packed a 3 oz. tube of Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner just to try that out. I think i will buy a stocking cap so that I can wash and not worry about my twists getting frizzy. Or I can do it between installments, but I feel like once every three weeks is a long time. What do you think? Along with twice daily moisturizing and sealing, is deep conditioning once every three weeks enough? I know lots of ladies who religiously do it every week, which is what I used to do when I had a TWA. I want to retain lots of my length, so maybe weekly is the way to go. I need your input!

Speaking of retaining length, I think that maybe once monthly to every 6 weeks I should be doing a protein treatment. My hair gets dry easily and I think it's because my hair doesn't have enough protein to lock the moisture in my hair. I bought a few packs of the Aphogee 2-step treatment and the balancing moisturizing conditioner because my hair was feeling extra mushy and was too elastic for my taste. I might do that treatment soon. I hope this prevents my breakage immensely, because I have been seeing a few broken hairs even just with moisturizing and sealing in the morning. 

I used to use castor oil as my sealant because it is a heavier oil than grape seed. But I think that the heaviness of the oil was pulling on my hair too much when I rubbed it onto the length of my hair, and I think that lead to breakage in the past. The grape seed oil helps solve that problem because it is so light and is very nourishing. It makes my hair really soft and supple until I need to moisturize again at night. 

I am on a flight now with nothing to do but write, lol. I definitely should've brought some kind of entertainment besides my computer. It just has articles on schizophrenia for my research job at UPenn and some Facebook photos. They oughta change that rule about Wifi, or at least let us put our phones on airplane mode so that we can listen to music. I have been on planes where there is Wifi and it is so fun! I don't know why they haven't translated it to all airlines, which sucks.

If you want to follow me on youtube, my username is itcomesnaturally93. Me and my friend did a segment on natural hair FAQ's that people may have about natural hair in general. I don't know if it's very informative, but I thought it came out pretty well. :). If you want to follow me on twitter, my username is @morganmizell93 and I will start tweeting about natural hair and quick tips on how to keep your hair healthy! I will also be starting a fotki to document my progress, even though I sort of do it on here. I just want to become a member so that I can see what other people's regimens look like and maybe tweak mine a bit.

 Happy hair journeys ladies!

Frizzy Two Strand Twists!

I have a serious problem! I got my hair two strand twisted last Friday and it's gotten sooo frizzy! I like the look of older two strand twists, but this frizz is out of control. I usually keep my twists in for three weeks, but I think that I can only deal with two or maybe two and a half, then wear a twist out for a few days. I tie my hair down every night and spritz it with braid spray and infusium and seal with grapeseed oil. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Maybe not enough holding gel? My stylist used something different this week and I feel like my last twist installment had better hold.

Question #1: What holding gel do you use? Usually when im twisting my own hair, I use Ecostyler olive oil gel.

Question #2: How do you moisturize and seal without disturbing the twists too much? Should I put the oil and water-based moisturizers in the same spritz bottle? My only worry with that is that the oil might go on before the moisturizer and it will jut sit on top of my hair without any moisturizing properties.

HELP!

The importance of moisturizing and sealing the hair

I am going to stress the importance of moisturizing and sealing natural hair. My regimen for moisturizing and sealing is all over the place (still experimenting with different moisturizers), but the idea is the same. Here are the steps to moisturizing and sealing your hair. First, moisturize your hair with your favorite moisturizer (the mix I use right now is made of braid spray, infusium 23 leave-in, and water OR Hello Hydration by Herbal Essences and water). The second step is optional, which is to put a shower cap on top of your head to trap in body heat, which opens up the hair cuticle and allows moisture to penetrate the hair shaft. This method is called the baggy method. Thirdly, "seal" your hair with a hair oil of your choice. I prefer NO mineral oil, because it is know to clog pores and inhibit hair growth. So I use either castor oil or grapeseed oil. Grapeseed oil is a light, runny oil that is great for absorbing into the hair without making it greasy. Castor oil is very heavy that I usually use to seal in water on freshly washed hair. If I want my twists to really hang to get the stretched longer look for my twists, I will use castor oil. BEWARE, castor oil used on twists can contribute to frizz since it's so darn heavy!

Moisturizing and sealing hair is especially important for natural hair. It is very difficult to retain moisture in natural hair and just moisturizing without sealing will cause the moisturizer to evaporate in little time. Since oil has larger molecules than water-based compounds, it coats the hair shaft while the moisturizer does its thing inside the hair cuticle. The oil then absorbs into the hair and nourishes it. So it's like killing two birds with one stone! I love moisturizing and sealing because it leaves my hair feeling so soft and moisturized. It also helps retain growth because moisturized hair has increased elasticity so it can stretch and then go back to its original state.

Thank you for reading!

Morgan

Twist Updo Pictures

I did an updo with my twists! That means that they are growing a lot longer. I will keep this updo in for a week so as to hide the frizz. It is a basic french twist that will hide most of my ends, so I'm happy! Before I moisturized my twists by baggying them with my spritz mix and then sealed with grapeseed oil. Pictures are below.

My natural hair!

I thought I'd add some pictures to give you a full picture of where my hair is now!
This first picture is my natural hair straightened. It is shoulder length in this picture.

This is my hair in (sort of) mini twists. They got kind of frizzy because I think my stylist didn't use enough holding gel or something. I will probably keep them in for two weeks as opposed to three. My hair has been growing nicely in the twists but also breaking, so I don't know if I've actually retained anything. I'd like to keep this blog updated with hair pictures so I can see the progress.

First post!

Hey all! This is my first post about my natural hair. I am so excited to be starting this blog because I want to educate people and get them to embrace their hair the way it grows out of their heads. I see that many people relax their hair because they feel they have to in order to get jobs and be successful and that just isn't the case!

I have another blog documenting my neuroscience research, but I didn't want to mix in natural hair stuff with it, so I decided to start a totally new blog! This blog will document everything natural hair and my own triumphs and issues with my own hair. Hopefully we can help each other out on this website so we can be on our way to thick, beautiful, long natural hair! I will post pictures later!