Never mix Henna with...

Note to self. Never. EVER. Mix your Henna with Peppermint oil again. I don't care if someone on the hairboards does it and they get a great scalp massage that leaves them feeling invigorated. Or if someone else gets a perceptible amount of growth. 

The other night I decided to get fancy and use a few five, ten several I have no clue drops of peppermint oil. The first ten minutes were okay to slightly irritating. The next ten to fifteen minutes were so painful that I got relaxed flashbacks and wondered what the heck I'd done to myself.

After 30 seconds rationalizing, I ran to the sink and washed that ish out like Denzel in Malcom X. 

My Aveda Disaster

Fortunately during my almost 3.5 years on my Healthy Hair Journey (HHJ) I've been fortunate to only suffer one major setback.

Over winter break of 2012/2013 I stopped in Aveda on a whim, in search of nothing in particular. I was drawn to the Be Curly line because well I was looking forward to being Curly. With a glance at the ingredients list (First mistake) and a little goading from the SA I purchased the above, Aveda Be Curly Conditioner and Style Prep.

Once home I took a big handful and smoothed it over my detangled 20 months post relaxer BSL (bra strap length) hair. Second mistake. Although my hair instantly felt rough, I still smoothed on more of the product. Third mistake.

In the end I was left with several clumps of hair that were severely dreaded together. I spent several days detangling (I was so frustrated), had to cut about 2 inches off and I'm pretty sure I got tons of splits in the process.

My Mom, being well my Mom, was probably more crushed than I was. 

1. In the end I learned that my natural hair is extremely protein sensitive vs my relaxed hair which loved protein. 2. I also learned that strand tests are no joke. Now I do one before using every single product. 3. And lastly, I listen to my hair. If something feels rough going on, it's out. Even if I get defined curls with 5 inches of relaxed hair hanging out. 

All of these products were purchased by me :)

Lush Henna Nightmare

H.A.M.

Although I was very happy with my Nupur Henna, the PJ in me couldn't resist trying Lush Henna. I love everything I've tried at Lush all two of the items so I should love their henna right? Wrong!

First the smell. Maybe it's due to the heady nightmare than can sometimes be Lush, but when I bought this the smell didn't seem overpowering. It was pleasant. Almost like the Turkish Delight Creme. Once at home and on my head, it was a different story. Nauseating and gag worthy are two things that come to mind. I wrapped my hair in tons of saran wrap and sat in the backyard hoping to diminish the scent. Fail.

What I wanted to do

Second. Mixing up my two blocks took forever. A few people said they grated theirs and others used hot water. I decided to let it soak in warm/hot water for a little while. Then I attacked it with my Henna spatula. And lastly I used my hands to mush the leftover chunks. Ridiculous. During all of this mashing I noticed little black flecks floating in the Henna. "Weird, maybe that's the coffee?" I thought.

Third. Putting this on was a total mess, but I probably made the mix too thin. I wasn't inclined to mash another block so I forged ahead. This one's on me.

Fourth. I typically keep my henna in for 6-8 hours depending on what I have to do. I don't like that smell either, but it's tolerable. I washed this mess out after 4 hours which was quick for me, but the max according to the instructions. Upon rinsing the little black flecks that seemed innocuous had turned into hard black pieces that felt like little pieces of rock or hard plastic (which obviously it wasn't but those pieces were hard!).

Picking that ish out over the week SMH

Five. When I rinsed it out I had absolutely no difference. Which shouldn't be, since my hair is extremely porous. No difference to the naked eye, my hair samples from before and pictures.

What actually happened

What I expected

A total waste of time and money. The best thing about this was that after explaining what happened, my Lush store accepted my return.

Pineappling: How I Preserve my Braid-outs

In order to stretch my braid-outs into decent looking 4-5 day ponytail hair I rely on the pineappling technique that many naturals use. I scoop all of my hair into a loose ponytail at the top of my head near my forehead. Once that's secured I use my way too small scarf to cover the back.

And then I usually cover with my bonnet. I need a bigger bonnet and scarf if I'm going to keep growing my hair.

Here is a great video by MahoganyCurls demonstrating this technique: