Two New Products and Christmas Hair

Since it's been a while since I have bought new hair products I thought it was about time to do that. I made sure to stick with the sachet-/travel sizes because I don't like being forced to use up products that just don't work on my hair.

So I got an intensive treatment and the Lee Stafford Poker Straight Conditioner. That 'Artist' brand is a German brand so don't go looking for that at your local Wal-Mart. lol
I have already used the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment a while ago and although it didn't make my hair grow faster it conditioned it well but I don't think it's worth to spend 11 Euro for it. I can't wait to use the Poker Straight Conditioner. For those of you who aren't familiar with these Lee Stafford products, they smell extremely good (well, if you like perfumy products that is). If you have a sensitive nose or don't want your hair care products to clash with you perfume you better stay away from these products.


And finally look at my Christmas hair!!! I was suprised myself by the length and fullness after so many weeks of excessive shedding not long ago. I really don't want to sound vain but it's pictures like this that keep me motivated. Hopefully it inspires you too!

I'm wishing you all the best for 2013. May it be a good year for you and all your loved ones. Keep growing!

My Shrine in November 2012

These are my current products. Of course I don't use all of them every time I wash my hair! lol
The white jar on the very left of the picture holds my beloved extra virgin coconut oil.

My Hair Care Routine

The Basics:

- I wash my hair every fourth day.
- I always wash my hair in the evening
- I never wash my hair under the shower because I love hot showers.

Note: Right now I don’t have any intention to extend the time between washings since I’m suffering from seborrheic dermatitis which still isn’t completely under control.


Coconut oil:
The day before my washing day I put a fingertip of coconut oil in the end of my sleeping braid. The next morning I oil the entire „ponytail section“ of my hair and put it up in a bun. This way my hair has the entire day to soak up as much of the oil as possible.

Note: With Coconut oil time matters. The longer you leave it on your hair the more your hair will benefit from it, especially if you’re using coney conditioners like I do!


Water Temperature:
I always wash my hair with rather cool water and finish with ice cold water. Brrrrr……!!!


Shampoo:
I shampoo twice with my sulfate-free, gentle, fragrance-free anti-dandruff shampoo which is a blessing for my lately super-sensitive scalp.


Conditioner:
After blotting out excess water with a towel I gently spread my conditioner all over my hair with my fingers (focusing of course on the ponytail section). I leave it on for a couple of minutes, then rinse it out carefully.
Cones please for this lady!


Drying my Hair:
I blot out most of the water with a towel then wrap my hair in an old cotten t-shirt. After 30 minutes or longer I put in my leave-in products for hair and scalp and let it air dry.
I NEVER blow dry my hair!!


Combing after washing:
Once my leave-in is in I gently finger comb my hair and leave it alone for as long as possible until I detangle it with a wide tooth comb.


Once a month:
I use my sulfate (SLES, anti-dandruff) shampoo and do my clarifying wash with apple cider vinegar to remove any product / hard water build-up I might have. Then I follow with a deep treatment.


In between washings:
I always braid my hair before I go to bed and put jojoba oil or one of my DIY leave-ins in the end of my braid to protect it from friction.
Sometimes, if my scalp is very itchy, I do a scalp massage with my anti-dandruff tonic.


Additional things:
- Sometimes I oil my scalp with my Khadi Oil (about 1-2 hours before washing)
- Sometimes I finish my routine with an ACV rinse (with cold, filtered water!)
- I sleep on a silk cloth which I wrap around my pillow
- I wear my hair up in buns 99 % of the time

Length Picture for October

I'm still at 26,3" since I had a little trim last week. My ends feel a lot better now and I'm happy.

I'm still shedding a lot of hair. Everything has been checked in the meantime (iron, blood sugar, thyroid, hormones) and all results were good so there's no medical problem. I'm taking my hair supplement with the zinc, biotin and the B-vitamins and also brewer's yeast every day. Let's just hope this will end soon. :-(

Shedding!!!

Ok, there's no way to deny it any longer. I have a SERIOUS shedding problem. The picture below shows the clump of hair I lost the last time I washed my hair (plus the once I lost before while massaging my scalp with my anti-dandruff lotion). I was really shocked so I decided to keep and count them.

I stopped counting after about 50 because there were way too many to count them all. So the next picture shows these 50 hair. I looks like a lot in the picture because of the light but it was actually a quite pathetic pile.

It gets worse!! Can you see the four evil knots in the next picture??

How in the world did that happen?! I had combed my hair before I oiled it with coconut oil, did wear it in a bun the entire day and combed it again before washing (with a sulfate-free shampoo, btw.).

I put all the hair in a bag and labeled it with the date and I will keep doing this for a couple of weeks to see if this problem gets better or worse. Let's hope for the latter! :-(

I really can't see what could possibly cause this problem since...

... I haven't changed my diet recently

... I don't take any medication

... I do drink plenty of water

... my diet is well balanced with fruit and nuts and all these goodies

... I do take a hair supplement twice a week

... my stress level is normal

... my blood had been checked recently and everything was fine.

Please, if you have any experience with excessive shedding let me know how you dealed with it!!

Future Plans

My next future plan is to go sulfate-free again which I already was for a couple of weeks before my scalp problem got so worse that it had to be treated. The anti-dandruff shampoo which I'm currently using contains SLES and I use it every 8 days. In between I use my sulfate-free L'Oreal EverPure Moisture shampoo which I absolutely love, love, love!

I'm planning to use an organic ayurvedic anti-dandruff shampoo with neem along with a scalp soothing oil from the same brand. I will order these products here.


Khadi Neem Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

ANTI-DANDRUFF

•    Balances sebum
•    Reduces flaking & itching
•    Prevents fungal build up 

Aroma Tea Tree, Eucalyptus & Rosemary

Neem & Nirgundi balances sebum, reduces flaking & itching. Tea Tree, Rosemary & Eucalyptus essential oils prevents fungal build up   
Almond & Wheat protein, Shikakai & Amla softens & conditions hair.

Neem, Nirgundi & Fenugreek have traditionally been used in Ayurveda to prevent fungal growth & keep scalp free of sticky & flaky dandruff.
Amla, Shikakai & Reetha are natural hair cleansers & conditioners. Indigo gives shine to hair & Henna gives body and bounce to hair.
This balanced Ayurvedic formulation for clean scalp will keep sebum production under control, cool scalp & prevent dryness & dandruff.
Zinc PCA is a must to prevent fungal growth.
Fortified with conditioners hair will be manageable & soft preventing breakage & split ends. Use alternate days. Balanced pH for normal human skin.
Rosemary & Tea Tree essential oils will balance out sebum production keep scalp clean, prevent dandruff & encourage hair growth.

INCI: Aqua • Coco Glucoside • Lauryl Glucoside • Sodium PCA • Glycerin • Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate • Azadirachta Indica (Neem) • Acacia Concinna (Shikakai) • Sapindus Mukurossi (Reetha)  • Vitex Negundo (indischer Mönchspfeffer) • Lawsonia Inermis • Emblica Officinalis (Amla) • Indigofera Tinctoria • Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera) • Coco Glucoside & Glyceryl Oleate • Rosmarinus Officinalis Essential Oil (Rosmarin) • Citric Acid • Xanthan Gum • Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein (Weizenprotein) • Hydrolyzed Sweet Almond Protein (Mandelprotein) • Zinc PCA • Sodium benzoate & Potassium Sorbate • Oryza Sativa Oil • Melaleuca Alternifolia Essential Oil (Teebaumöl) • Eucalyptus Citriodora Essential Oil (Eukalyptusöl) • Azadirachta Indica Oil (Neem) • Linalool*, Limonene*

Khadi Balsam Hair Oil

Sesame is a deep penetrating oil and prevents dryness of the scalp. Tea tree prevents scalp infections while Neem is an antiseptic.

Camphor cools down the skin while Lemon keeps the scalp clean.

Mustard is a hair tonic which helps stimulate the scalp and promotes hair growth while Fenugreek is anti-bacterial and prevents the dandruff on the scalp.

Directions: Part your hair and apply oil all over the scalp. Massage the scalp gently with fingers in a circular motion so that the oil gradually gets absorbed into the scalp.

Leave for an hour or more before washing. Keeping it overnight is also very beneficial.

Essential Oil: Tea Tree

Ingredients : Brassica juncea (Mustard oil) • Citrus medica limonum oil (Lemon) • Sesamum indicum (Sesame oil) • Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor) • Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tee Tree oil) • Azadirachta indica (Neem)

Current Problem: Shedding!!!

So with my scalp problems under control the biggest issue I have right now is that I do shed a lot of hair when combing and washing it. I don't know if the amount of shedded hair is enough that I should be worried about it but it's definitely more than I used to shed. My diet hasen't changed, I do exercise on a regular basis and I'm not stressed. Also my blood has been checked recently and everything was fine. So I really don't have an explanation for this. A couple of days ago I read on this blog that scalp massage increases shedding so this could be an answer since I have been massaging my scalp about 3 times a week headfirst for 2 minutes with my anti-dandruff lotion. I won't use this for a while to see if this problem improves.

Update: Scalp eczema

I've got good news! My husband just checked my scalp a couple of days ago and the brown/yellow covering which I had was completely gone. Just in case you don't remember, it looked like this:

Pretty gross, isn't it? lol

I still have a little bit of the regular dandruff (the little white flakes) but not as many as I used to have. My scalp sometimes does itch a little during the day but it's defintely at a level where I can say that I can live with it. All I did to get this problem under control was using a good anti-dandruff shampoo on a regular basis and to control the itching I used an anti-dandruff hair lotion about 3 times a week.

I hadn't oiled my hair with coconut oil before washing it for a couple of weeks after reading here that this might worsen the problem. Well, since this was the only site where I have read this while every other site seems to encourage the use of coconut oil when having scalp problems I have gone back to oil my hair. Today I have even oiled my scalp. Oh, how I have missed my coconut oil. We'll see how how my scalp reacts to it.

My shrine in July 2012

This is my current hair care shrine. I think this doesn't need any further explanation. ;-)

Please, don't hesitate to contact me if you want further information on any of these products. I haven't tried the Tresemmé conditioners and the VO5 Nourish me Truly Hot Oil treatment yet.

New Length Pictures July 2012

Ok, so this is how my hair looks right now. It's 65,5 cm (25.8") long.

It's still wayyyy to go until I will reach waist length. Can you see how the flash messes with my actual hair colour! Yes, it's THAT red. lol

DIY: Honey Spritz

Since I have been kinda lazy on the DIY front lately I thought it was about time to get creative once again. Well not THAT creative since I 'stole' this recipe from someone else (thanks, Prusse).

Ok, here we go!

I needed:
- 100 ml of warm water
- 1 tsp. honey
- lemon juice
- The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture conditioner
- 5 drops of essential orange oil

- a spray bottle (100 ml)

I boiled the water and let it cool down a bit to the point where it wasn't hot anymore. Then I added the honey, a dash of lemon juice and conditioner and the orange oil and stirred it all well until the honey and the conditioner were dissolved nicely. I filled it into the spray bottle and there you go!

I keep this in the refrigerator and will use it to moist the end of my sleeping braid before I go to bed. This can be used alone or the moisture can be sealed in with either jojoba oil or my sheabutter-jojoba oil-mix.

If you want to know more about the benefits of honey in hair care please head over to Cinnemon Hair's website. It's one of my favourites!

I got the idea for this leave-in from Prusse's blog.

Hairy Timeline

 I think it's about time to look back into my hairy past and confess my hairy sins to you.


Early 80's
The early years! When I was very little my hair was sort of curly.



 
1998
This picture was taken in Winston-Salem, NC.
My hair has never been longer than that. This was the point where it stopped growing because I was wearing it down or in half-up styles every single day, washed it every other day and I was blow-drying it without any heat protection. I had a lot of split ends and my ends just broke off as fast as my hair grew at the roots.
Imagine how long my hair could be today had I already known all the things about hair and hair care I know today! Oh well.....



2006
When I came back from the US in 1999 I got my first perm and from that on I constantly permed my hair until I got pregnant with my son in 2007.



February 2008
By the end of my pregnancy my last perm was nearly gone and the ends were pretty damaged and still a bit curly.




March 2008
After my son was born I felt like I needed a change and chopped it all off. This picture was taken after I came home from the salon where my hair had been tortured with a flat iron. Don't I look like a red-haired Jennifer Aniston? lol
Today I know of course how bad, bad, bad flat irons are.




Summer 2008
In Summer 2008 mummy was stupid enough to get another perm. Bad relapse, I know. My poor hair!!!



May 2009
At the beginning of 2009 I joined a long hair forum and decided to let my hair grow until it was 1 meter (40") long.
I started to grow out my last perm and my bangs, stopped blow-drying my hair and started to treat it as gentle as I could.

June 2012
And here I am now more than three years later. My hair is now 64 cm (25.2") long, completely natural and it has never looked better in my life.
It's growing slowly but steadily, I don't have many split ends and no breakage. I'm getting a trim (1 cm) every 4 months.

Pocket Tangle Teezer

I finally got the pocket size Tangle Teezer! The bristles of my regular one have already been suffering from being carried around in my purse. I love my TT, it's such a life-saver!


I als got a new silk cloth for my pillow. My old one looked somewhat shabbily after being washed a couple of times.

Shopping at Boots

Last week I was in London for a couple of days and of course I couldn't miss the chance to shop at Boots and get myself some conditioners and treatments of brands we don't have in Germany. Luckily they have these little travel sizes as well. I so can't wait to try them all!!

These two kinda smell like Juicy Fruit chewing gum. I'm going to use this conditioner tonight.



Ok, so in England it's obviously common as well to sell hair care products in supposed salon-quality (what ever that means!) at drugstores. They do this in Germany as well.
Naturals seems to be something like the organic line of Tresemmé, without silicones and no added colour, with aloe vera and avocado oil. I'm curious about it!



I'm most curious about the VO5 Hot Oil treatment since I have heard a lot of good things about it. I've already tried the Miracle Concentrate. It's a leave-in that can be used on damp or dry hair. It comes with a pipette so you can dose it dropwise. It controlled my frizz quite well and left my hair soft and manageable. No wonder, it'a a silicone-bomb! (Yes, I did read the label before I bought it.) I don't have a problem with cones but I can't see myself using this stuff after each washing. I have used four drops on my damp hair and than another drop after it was completely dry.

Seborrhoisches Ekzem

Ich hab ja schon vor einer ganzen Weile mal geschrieben, dass meine Kopfhaut ziemlich juckt (egal welches Shampoo ich verwende) und ich hab mich schon die ganze Zeit gefragt, was da eigentlich los ist, war aber irgendwie auch zu faul deswegen zum Arzt zu gehen. Nachdem allerdings mein Mann dann festgestellt hat, dass meine Kopfhaut so aussieht...

*kreisch* (Sorry, sieht ziemlich eklig aus. Ihr könnt euch vorstellen wie geschockt ich war, als ich das gesehen hab!)

... bin ich dann doch mal zu meinem Hautarzt gegangen. Der meinte ich hätte ein Seborrhoisches Ekzem und hat mir (mal wieder) was cortisonhaltiges zur Behandlung verschrieben. Das Mittel wurde in der Apotheke gemischt und besteht aus 0,200 g Betamethasonvalerat, 4,000 g Salicylsäure und 200,000 g Ethanol 50 %. Ich sollte es die ersten 4-5 Tage jeden Tag auf die Kopfhaut auftragen, danach jeden zweiten Tag. Er meinte wenn es nach sechs Wochen noch nicht weg ist soll ich nochmal kommen. Ich hab das Mittel drei Tage lang benutzt und mich in der Zeit mal selbst online informiert, ob es nicht Alternativen zum Cortison gibt.

Herausgefunden hab ich, dass das SE auch Seborrhoische Dermatitis genannt wird und im Prinzip nichts anderes ist als das was im Volksmund schlicht und einfach 'Schuppen' genannt wird. Es gibt eine ganze Seite zu dem Thema mit einem Forum, indem man sich mit anderen Betroffenen austauschen kann. Dort wird (ich hab es mir schon fast gedacht) dringend von der Verwendung von cortisonhaltigen Mitteln abgeraten, da diese oft die Symptome erstmal verschwinden lassen, diese aber nach Absetzung des Mittels sehr schnell, oftmals noch schlimmer als vorher, zurückkommen. Da ich schon wegen einem anderen Hautproblem Erfahrung mit Cortison habe und weiß, dass es nicht zum Dauergebrauch geeignet ist, hielt ich es für ratsam mir lieber gleich eine Alternativbehandlung zu suche und die Behandlung mit Cortison nicht weiterzuführen.

Auf der SE Seite wird das Mittel Terzolin erwähnt, welches gut helfen soll. Dies ist ein medizinische Schuppen-Shampoo, das nur in der Apotheke erhältlich ist und den Wirkstoff Ketoconazol enthält. Terzolin ist allerdings wahnsinnig teuer und ich habe ein anderes Mittel gefunden, welches den gleichen Wirkstoff enthält und nach dem gleichen Prinzip funktioniert aber weitaus günstiger ist.

Für 120 ml habe ich 17 € gezahlt. Immer noch ein stolzer Preis.

Das Shampoo benutzt man vier Wochen lang zweimal die Woche und danach nur noch einmal die Woche oder alle 14 Tage, um eine Rückkehr der Symptome zu verhindern. Ich habe es jetzt erst einmal benutzt und merke bislang natürlich noch keine Verbesserung. Ich muss es bei jeder Haarwäsche benutzen, da ich meine Haare ja nur zweimal die Woche wasche. Ich habe es genau nach Anweisung verwendet und meine Haare sind schön sauber geworden. Meinen Waschrhythmus muss ich also nicht verändern was mir sehr wichtig ist. Geschadet hat es meinen Haaren anscheinend nicht. Sie fühlen sich genau wie immer an und ich hoffe, dass das auch so bleibt und das Zeug sie nicht mit der Zeit total austrocknet. Ich werde weiter berichten!

Hier sind ein paar hilfreiche Links zu dem Thema:
 
Wikipedia
Ket med
Terzolin
Infoportal und Diskussionsforum


P.S.: Der gute alte Apfelessig, mit einem Wattepad direkt auf die betroffenen Stellen aufgetragen, soll übrigens auch sehr gut helfen. Wer hätte das gedacht! lol

Mein 'Schrein' im April & Zukunftspläne

Das sind die Produkte, die ich derzeit (noch) benutze:



Wenn die beiden Kuren aufgebraucht sind werde ich meine ganze Pflege auf die neue sulfat-freie L'Oreal EverPure Pflegelinie umstellen. Das Shampoo hab ich schon.



Meine Haare sind zwar nicht gefärbt aber trotzdem ziemlich trocken und pflegebedürftig. Ich habe schon lange keine komplette Linie mehr benutzt weil ich irgendwie immer an einem Produkt was zu bemängeln hatte. Entweder im Shampoo oder im Leave-in waren zu viele Silikone oder im Shampoo waren zu scharfe Tenside (z.B. ALS - Pantene & Herbal Essences).
Ich werde diese Produkte mindestens 6 Wochen lang benutzen und dann berichten was meine Haare dazu sagen.

Hier könnte Ihr alle Produkte dieser Linie sehen. Erhältlich sind sie bei DM und jedes der Produkte kostet ca. 7 €. Ist ein stolzer Preis, dementsprechend hoch sind meine Erwartungen.

Längenbild für April

So Ihr Lieben, es ist wieder mal so weit. Drei Monate sind schon wieder um und meine Haare sind ein schönes Stück gewachsen.



Sie sind 63,5 cm und ich denke man kann sagen, dass ich 'Midback' erreicht habe. Ich freu mich!! ;-)

Neues Längenbild zum Jahresanfang

Meine Haare sind jetzt genau 60 cm lang und sehen so aus:



Leider sind sie im letzten Jahr nur 7 cm länger geworden aber ich war auch viermal beim Friseur zum Spitzenschneiden. Meine Haare brauchen das einfach.