TRYING NEW THINGS ALONG WITH SOME OLD

Hola Beautifuls!


O.M.G. Blogger or my daughter's laptop or the posting gods have been giving me grief. ALL DAY. It's almost evening and I'm just now getting this post done because of the trouble I had with posting my pics. So I just ended up resorting to my camera phone. Not the best choice but I got it done.
Anyhoo...

The New:
I know I've briefly mentioned being bored with the usual twist-out and being on a self-imposed bun challenge. So I wanted to share with you some new things that I'm trying. I love surfing youtube channels. One of my favs is ChiselleCouture's channel. She is fearless about styling her hair and comes up with some pretty great styles. A lot of which are protective.

One in particular that I decided to try was the "Flat Twist w/Bun".

My version came out decent for a first try. I'm definitely going to do this style again to get it closer to my vision of perfection.

*I ended up taking and sending these pics via my phone so please excuse the look of them. Especially, the back photo. Lol.

 The Old:
It had been ages since I had applied some ayurvedic powder mixes to my hair. Oh yes! I forgot to mention that I purchased the Sprite shower filter and have used it a plenty. :)

So for this mixed I used the following recipe: 
3 T of Amla powder
2 T of Brahmi powder
1 tsp of Maka powder
1 tsp of Hisbiscus powder
1 tsp of Burdock Root powder
1 14 oz can of Coconut Milk

I must say that I loved this mix. The Hisbiscus powder made it a bit grittier to wash out but my hair felt like "Oh la la" afterwards. I'll definitely be playing with the amount of each powder some more because it was a bit runny. I prefer mine to have more of a paste consistency so I'll probably bump up the amount of every powder outside of the Amla next time.

Have you tried anything new or brought back an oldie-but-goldie lately?.....

Post Title → TRYING NEW THINGS ALONG WITH SOME OLD

AYURVEDIC MIX DONE RIGHT

Good Morning, Gorgeous!

Just had to share w/you my hair day on this past weekend. I did my first successful ayurvedic hair treatment. Woo hoo!!

A few weeks ago, I had my hair blown out and flat ironed, which I will NOT be doing again. (We’ll talk about that later.) So I pre-shampooed with my trusty Hairveda Vatika Frosting. Then I co-washed with Herbal Essences Totally Twisted condish. Rinsed that out and did an oil rinse with Carol’s Daughter’s Hair Elixir (It's one of the products I'm trying to use up). After rinsing the oil out, I applied the powdered mix.

This is what my mixture consisted of:
2 T amla
2 T brahmi
1 tsp maka

I added enough hot water to make it into a slight paste and let it sit for about 20 minutes (not sure if that was necessary).



After rinsing out the condish, I applied my ayurvedic mixture. Next time (this weekend), I will remember to used Coconut Milk instead of water. I let it sit on my hair for about 40 minutes. Then I rinsed it out and did a 30 minute steam treatment with Darcy’s Botanicals Hair Mask.

Once that was done, I did a cool rinse out and spritzed my soaking wet hair with Darcy’s Botanicals Herbal Leave-In Spritz. After which, I wrapped my hair with a Curl-ease towel for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then I twisted it up with Darcy’s Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Crème. I wasn’t too sure how I felt about it as I used the products and even after twisting my hair but I will say that I was lovin’ my twist-out on Monday. My hair really felt soft and moist so I’m glad I made this purchase….says the woman who’s trying to use up the products in my ever increasing stash. Lol.

Now back to me not getting my hair blown/flat-ironed out anymore. Well, at least no more this year. I really felt like it was dry this time. And that did not make me happy. So from here on out, I’m sticking with no direct heat. I’ll probably try a roller-set among other styles just to quench my need to switch it up.

So what’s going on with your hair?....

Future reviews coming soon on:
Darcy’s Botanicals
Afroveda Hemp Seed Lock, Twist & Roll Butter
Donna Marie’s Lock & Twist Pudding
La Boutique de Fleurzty

This Week, look for:
Carolyn’s Corner on sweeteners
Review/experience on Agape Bars

Post Title → AYURVEDIC MIX DONE RIGHT

AYURVEDIC HERBS SIMPLIFIED

Hola Beautifuls!

I’m posting this to help simplify ayurvedic powders (I hope) and their uses on the hair, also skin. But my main focus is on using the powders to make paste to condition, cleanse and treat the hair. I know I've mentioned them before here and here. So I'm attempting to simplify them a bit more in this post.

Here’s a listing of a few of them:

Amla
The herb is an astringent, helps dye uptake, a conditioner and is mildly acidic (high in Vitamin C). It is said to penetrate the scalp and strengthen hair at its root, to stop and reverse abnormal hair loss and to promote stronger, healthier new growth. It is also an excellent conditioning herb.


Aritha(Soapnut)
Cleansing, can leave hair a bit stiff. Aritha - can be used whole, fresh or dried, boiled then let stand of a night, as a shampoo on their own. It can also be used as a gentle fabric detergent. Some recommend it for use with shikakai and amla. I would not put it with shikakai for use on the hair since, as a cleanser, both can be drying.

Brahmi
Used for skin diseases. When used as a paste promotes growth and is anti dandruff. Similar to the oil.

Bringraj (MAKA)
Aids in hair growth. Used for prevention of premature balding, and helps with sun damaged and color treated hair. Bhringraj is an ancient remedy for hair loss, premature graying, skin allergies, and devitalized skin and hair. Bringraj herb and oil have similar properties. Conditioning. Moisturizing.

Hibiscus Petal Powder
Mild cleansing agent, promotes hair growth, softens and conditions. Hibiscus - possibility of it staining light porous hair a slight red. Hibiscus petals, also known as jaswand, were used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate thicker hair growth and to prevent premature graying, hair loss and scalp disorders. The petals act as a natural, emollient hair conditioner.

Kalpitone Powder
Used to get Dark, Dandruff Free hair. Kalpi Tone Powder has the following advantages: Gives a dark tinge to the hair. Strengthens hair roots and promotes hair growth.

Neem
Anti fungal, anti bacterial herb. Can have an unpleasant smell if infused in oil. The herb itself has a neutral smell. It works in killing of and protection against lice, fungal caused dandruff, and any infection caused skin conditions. Helps treat eczema. Natural insecticide and fungicide.

Shikakai
Cleansing agent. Can be drying. Use with oils or a conditioning herb.

I would definitely recommend doing a pre-poo with oil at least an hour before doing any ayurvedic treatment. Especially if you're using any of the powders with "cleansing" properties as they can be drying to the hair. You can use basically any oil or oil mix to pre-poo with. I plan on doing a henna (another ayurvedic herb) treatment this weekend and will oil pre-poo several hours in advance with that wonderful and delicious smelling Hairveda Vatika Frosting. Loves this stuff!

I had never considered Hisbiscus Powder to be an ayurvedic herb but indeed it is. It is very moisturizing and can help balance out the cleansing herbs, Aritha and Shikakai, cause they can dry the heck outta your hair.
A recommendation for mixing ratios is to do a 2:1 mix of moisturizing to cleansing powders.
I would also add a small amount of oil to whatever mix you choose to try.

My next batch will consist of 2 Tablespoons of Amla, 2 Tablespoons of Brahmi, 1 Tablespoon of Maka, just enough warmish water to make it pasty, and a little bit of oil of choice. I may even add a Tablespoon of Shikakai. Either way, I’ll keep you all posted on it, especially if I add the Shikakai to the mix.

Check out From Nature With Love for more info. on ayurvedic herbs and possible mixes.


Speaking of Hisbiscus Powder, Laquita of All Naptural was kind enough to send me some products that she made from the Herb Giveaway winnings from this blog. I’m especially lovin’ the moisturizing hair oil which contains some of the herb in which I speak. I’ve been using it the oil for my steam oil treatments and I must say my hair feels quite lovely after rinsing it out. Laquita also has an etsy shop where she sells her products. You can check it out here. I must say, I am so proud of her and all the other ladies out there making it do what it do. I also am in anticipation for Fleurtzy from Texture Playground to debut her products. You can catch wind of her “in the makings” at Newly Natural. More natural, organic and holistic entrepreneurs on the rise. Lovin’ it!

I do hope that this helps for the ladies out there interested in and those who maybe a little apprehensive about using ayurvedic herbs.

Much Luv,

Post Title → AYURVEDIC HERBS SIMPLIFIED

AYURVEDIC MIX, pt deux

Hola Good People!

I hope you're keeping warm wherever you are. It's 24 "balmy" degrees in the ATL. And I won't even mention what the windchill is. Anyhoo, remember the post that I did on my first ayurvedic mix for my hair?... Well, I finally thawed it out to use once again. It went a lot better this time. Although, I believe I should have been more thorough in the application.


It's okay. I still have another application's worth left. Yeah. Really. I made that much. The mix consisted of amla, bhringraj (also known as maka) and brahmi ayurvedic powders along with some grapeseed oil & avocado oil. As stated in the older post, I used WAY too much. Instead of dumping the entire boxes of ingredients in the bowl, I should have used amounts in the size of a tablespoon or two. Learned from my mistake though.

AYURVEDIC POWDERS

Amla - promotes hair growth, controls hair fall, cures scalp infection, controls premature graying

Brahmi - cools the scalp and induces sound sleep, Controls dandruff, Makes hair long, dark, Dense & lustrous , strengthens hair roots

Bhringraj (or maka) - makes hair dense, promotes hair growth, cures Alopecia, removes scurf, prevents premature balding, helps with sun-damaged or color-treated hair

Now between the Brahmi and the Bhringraj(maka), one of these was the culprit of putting some dark, hard to clean grit under my nails. Just fair warning, if and when you use one of these powders be prepared to have to work on your nails. It took forever for me to get them free of the dark powder.

Other than that, this application was a success. I followed it with a steam oil treatment. Woot woot! I used a mix of Bhringraj oil and an oil mix that I had on hand. I'm really digging the steam oil treatments right now. I think they're really benefiting my hair during this cold season.

My hair feels great,detangles very easily, has a nice sheen and seems to hang better. Or maybe it's just growing. I'll take that too!! I've also noticed that my hair hasn't been shedding as much. Usually, I shed a small rugs worth of hair when I do my weekly washes. This amount seems to have been cut in half, maybe more. I think its a combination of the use of the steamer and the oil and ayurvedic treatments. Either way, I will continue to do these things.

Have you done or tried an ayurvedic mix lately? If so, what was your mix?..

Post Title → AYURVEDIC MIX, pt deux