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.

Willkommen!

Hallo zusammen,

als erstes werde ich euch einen kurzen Überblick über meine derzeitige Pflegeroutine und -produkte geben.

Ich bin 2008 zurerst auf silikonfreie Haarpflegeprodukte (Reelle von DM - gibt es nicht mehr) und von dort aus auf Naturkosmetik umgestiegen. Hab von Lavaerde und Honig-Ei-Shampoo bis hin zu Brennesselspülungen und Joghurtkuren alles ausprobiert (naja, fast alles), leider mit mäßigem Erfolg.

Mittlerweile benutze ich wieder die konventionellen Produkte inklusive Silikonen und komme wunderbar damit zurecht!!
Zurzeit befinde ich mich wieder in der Experimentierphase und benutze seit ca. zwei Wochen Das Herbal Essences Viel Feuchtigkeit Shampoo und die dazugehörige Spülung. Bin soweit ganz zufrieden damit. Dazu später mehr.
Davor habe ich eine Weile Fructis Oil Repair Shampoo, Spülung und die Sofort-Repair-Kur (Leave-in) benutzt. Damit war ich auch zufrieden. Die Kur benutze ich immer noch manchmal abends für die Spitzen, da man sie auch auf trockenem Haar benutzen kann.

Ich denke nicht, dass ich nochmal zu Naturkosmetik zurückkehren werde. Zum einen weil die darin enthalten Duftstoffe nicht bis zur nächsten Haarwäsche halten (*würg*) und weil ich mittlerweile überzeugt davon bin, dass es für die Haare keinen besseren Schutz gibt als Silikon. Nach wie vor beäuge ich die Inhaltsstoffe meiner Produkte kritisch und versuche, mich weitgehend an die neue Generation Silikone, die keinen Build-up verursachen, zu halten. Diese wären Amodimethicone und Bis-aminopropyl Dimethicone.

Meine Haare werden jeden 4. Tag abends gewaschen, nicht geföhnt oder mit dem Glätteisen gequält und jeden Tag hochgesteckt. Etwa zwei Stunden vor dem Waschen gebe ich eine Mischung aus Kokos-und Olivenöl (50:50) in die Längen und Spitzen.

Welcome!

Hello everyone,

first I will give you a short outline of my current hair care routine and products.

In 2008 I first started to use cone-free products and then I changed to natural cosmetic products. I’ve tried nearly everything from Rhassoul powder and honey-egg-shampoo to nettle rinses and joghurt treatments, unfortunatly with only lukewarm results.

In the meantime I’m back to using conventional products including silicones and I’m getting along just fine with them!!
At the moment I’m once again back in an experimental stage and I’ve been using Herbal Essences Hello Hydration shampoo and conditioner for about two weeks now. I’m happy with it so far. I’ll post more about this later.
Before this I used Fructis Oil Repair shampoo, conditioner and the repair-Leave-in (round bottle) for a while and was happy with it as well. I still use the leave-in for the tips in the evening sometimes because it can also be used on dry hair.

I don’t think I will ever go back to natural cosmetic products. For one thing because the flavours contained in these products don’t last until the next washing (*yuck*) and also because in the meantime I’m convinced that there’s no better protection for hair than silicones. I’m still checking the ingredients of my products critically and try as much as possible to stick to the new generation of silicones that doesn’t cause that build-up effect. These are amodimethicones and bis-aminopropyl dimethicones.

I wash my hair every 4. day in the evening, I don’t blow-dry it and don’t torture it with a flat iron and I wear it up every day. About two hours before washing I put a mix of coconut- and olive oil (50:50) into the lengths and tips.