Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse, Not-so-Bantu Knots and a hair adventure

Shooo! What a title! 

But before I take you on this ride, please take a look at the blog entry done on Apple Cider Vinegar to shed some light on what we will discuss. 

On Saturday, I had bit of an adventure, lots of fun washing and relocking my hair at home. I did my very first Apple Cider Vinegar rinse. Here is the mix:

• 2/3 quart (4 oz.) Apple Cider Vinegar - I used Bragg's Apple Cider
• Just under a quart of cooled boiled water

Here are after-shampoo and rinse photos:

After washing my hair with Avalon Organics (I forgot my Shea Moisture Retention Shampoo by my mum), I then poured in the ACV Rinse onto my scalp in stages, making sure that every part of my head was saturated. Once that was done, I towel-dried my locs for a bit and sat in the natural air (it was a really nice and sunny day). The Avalon Organics Tea Tree Treatment would not have been my first choice, as using it without the Shea Moisture tends to leave my locs just a little crunchy. So that is what happened. Nothing bothersome though, but, I do believe that if I had washed using the Shea Moisture, the result would have been different.

Before relocking, I did my Dr. Miracle's Nape and Temple Balm massage and followed that up with a few spritzes of BB Stimulating Growth Oil.

The second bit of my adventure happened when I reloc'd using a combo of my Organic Root Stimulator Loc and Twist Gel and the BB Firm Locking Gel. The results of that have been fine so far. I had no real special reason for doing it. It was just a quick thought that came into my head.

Now, the piece de resistance goes to my Not-so-Bantu Knots. Take a look!

I was going out so I really could not keep them in to form as well as I would have liked. I had to keep many of them in with pins, too :) :) I dried for more than 30 mins but some were still dry at the root. And, this I felt badly about. Even my loctitian always advises to dry my hair properly so as to avoid stinky smelling damp locs. I am told that this smell can linger forever after consistent washes and not drying the locs properly. Mine are okay though. But will be careful when I do D.I.Y at home.


When I took them on Saturday night, there were not that many with a bend. But what is cool is that today those same ones are still bent :)

Not-so-Bantu Knots down

My Observations

• A source recommend using a 75 mls (2.5 oz.) to a quart of water. And another still suggested using boiling water. I used just a bit more :) 
• My locs are BLACKER!! And I mean really BLACKER! I like it actually!
• My scalp feels clean and relaxed, for lack of a better word. Wish I could find the words to explain exactly what I mean. Remember that the properties of the ACV work at removing product build up and gunk from the scalp and hair shaft, and also closes the hair cuticles. So, maybe that explains the feeling. 
• I will try the Bantu Knots a later date when my hair is a little longer :)
• Be sure to spend more time drying my locs to avoid a smelly head of hair

Today (Monday Nov 7) I actually got comments about how nice my hair looks, about them being much fuller and softer. Do I attribute this to the ACV Rinse? Maybe :)  Yes, actually I do. Primarily because I feel it and see it, too.

Out on Saturday

What do you think? Have you ever tried an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse? 
How was your experience?


Drop us your thoughts, looking forward to reading your posts!

Wash and reloc all on my own

No, it is not my first. But, I have not done a W+R all on my own in some time. I guess I shy away from it because my technique is not the best nor can I pin my hair up the way my loctitian does. 

Honestly, it needed to be done and I thought it would be nice to try again on my own. 

So today I tried and I like the end result. With this wash, I revisited my Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Treatment Shampoo. I had done a review on this product a few months ago. I shampooed with it first to avoid the drying effects I encountered the first time around. And maybe following it up with the Shea Moisture was the right thing to do, as that shampoo leaves my hair full of moisture and well-washed. I rinsed and repeated again, leaving it in a little longer the final time. 

Next, I used my faithful Shea Moisture. Nothing more to say there about this product. I love it!

After towel drying my hair a little bit, I used two new products that were given specially to me to try directly by the Bronner Brothers hair company. It is the company's new Tropical Roots line of hair care products. 

I have been using their Growth Hair Oil now for three weeks and I first used the Firm Locking Gel two weeks ago at my last salon visit. But, this is not a review of these two products. Stay tuned for that in the weeks to come!

So...TA DA! The finished product!

Hopefully this sparks some courage to do it again soon.

I need for sure to work on flat twisting. No matter how many YT videos I watch on how to flat twist, I just can't seem to get the hang of it. Well, not just yet. I'll definitely keep trying. I can see parts at the front and sides; but, I'm not sure how the parts at the back look. LOL! Hope I don't cause my loctitian much heartache in two weeks.

Product reviews: Avalon Organics and Soft & Beautiful

Time for this much awaited product review! Here goes...

So, I finally decided to purchase a shampoo from Jenn's Health and I settled on the (drum roll please) - Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Scalp Treatment Shampoo. I then went to a second beauty supplies store, Diamond Girl where the Soft & Beautiful 3-in-1 Botanical Oil came highly recommended  by one of the assistants, Marcia, who is also a hairdresser.

Soft & Beautiful - Beauty...but with Paraffinum Liquidum

Target group: women and men with dry hair

Description: provides brilliant and lustrous sheen to dull, dry hair or severely damaged hair. The natural and refreshing oil: Helps control frizz, revitalizes hair without weighing it down, for beautiful results every time. This oil can also be used for moisturizing dry skin. Also, recommended for manicures, pedicures and massages.

Ingredients: Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum), Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Lanolin Oil (Lanolin), Tocopherol, Cetyl Dimethicone Copolyol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Bht, Fragrance (Parfum). 

Cost: $12 

Length of use so far: Just over 3 weeks

Insight: This product line is not new to me. When I had relaxed hair, I used on a repeated basis the Soft & Beautiful Botanicals 3-in-1 dry scalp Treatment. Not because of any real problem, but I liked it lightness, scent and manageability on my hair.

Reasons for purchase: To keeps locs moisturized and to add shine.

Even as I stood with the bottle in my hand, my mind took me back to my post on Mineral oil. But, the more bottles of hair oil I looked at, the less convinced I became that I'd actually find one without Mineral oil. What sold me in talking with Marcia, the assistant in the store, was when she said that it would not stay on my locs the way other oils will; and, that she used it PERSONALLY! So, I took her at her word. This has been just over three weeks now since I began using this product and I am pleased with what I see. 

Likes: It does not sit on my hair like the JML Sproil does. I like its light sweet scent. The Botanicals 3-in-1 Oil may not tingle like the JML - which I had been using for sometime - but, I don't have that "greasy hair" feeling I had with the  JML. Nor, have I been having as excessively oily pillowcases as before.


Decision: Will complete this current bottle.




Avalon Organics Tea Tree Mint Treatment Shampoo

Target group: Men and women with itchy scalp

Description: Fortified with a vitalizing elixir of tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus and rosemary to clean and treat the scalp, as well as to help protect against dry, itchy or flaky scalp.

Ingredients: No parabens, no sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate.
Purified water, organic aloe barbadensis leaf juice, sodium cocoyl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, vegetable glycerine, organic malaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil, jojoba oil, organic helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, panthenol (pro-vitamin B-5) and the list goes on.


Cost: $14


Insight: This product really sold itself to me as it has an extensive and natural cast of ingredients which promote healthy hair. For example: tea tree, rosemary, jojoba oil and aloe.


Likes: The deep cleaning feel from the mint and eucalyptus.
            The smell - was invigorating actually.


Dislikes: Sadly, it left my hair too dry. Way too dry. I thought it would have done more to help me with my very itchy scalp, as I used it two weeks after I'd gotten my hair relocked. To me, it has not. I did not like the way my hair felt. I did not follow up with a conditioner, but, personally I don't think it should have mattered. I am aware that sometimes the combination of EO's maybe too much for some hair textures. And also that overuse might have adverse effects. But, I know the latter does not apply in this situation for me. I'm not even too sure if to bother with a second try - I mean money doesn't grow on trees, and in these trying times, it's going to be a sin for me to toss this. Think I'll put in the bathroom cupboard :) until I decide if to take it to the shop and have my loctician us it on my hair. Or, just give it away to someone else who may have better luck using it. 


Have you ever tried this product? How was your experience?
Leave us your comments.
Gracias, chicas y chicos!


Besos,


(0: