Tag Archives: rosemary

Rosemary Challenge – Yep, I’m Still Going! (Eight – Nine Weeks)

21 Jul

I’ve been sticking with my rosemary challenge for two months now, and it’s really been easy as pie. I have several products that include rosemary and I can easily add rosemary EO to my oil mixes and seal with them. Also, I have added a few products that I’ve bought over the past couple of months, which include:

  • Beija Flor Naturals Creme Brulee (more of a butter and better for sealing, not as a leave-in)
  • Shescentit Deshani Scalp Elixir (I won this in a Facebook contest and just got it yesterday so I haven’t really used it)
  • Generic Version of Paul Mitchell “The Conditioner” (Haven’t really used this one yet)

Now…for my hair. Lately, I’ve had a lot less shedding, but this should not be due to my rosemary challenge, because I mainly apply it to my ends. But…I do have some leave-ins that have rosemary, like my Replenishing Mist, HerbNLife, and Knotty Girl, that certainly get on my scalp, so who really knows? At the same time, I’ve been drinking apple cider vinegar drinks as an overall health and detox drink, so that may be affecting it as well. It’s interesting – sometimes we use something for one benefit, yet receive more! But…it makes it difficult to gauge my challenge results… :(

Breakage due to mechanical manipulation has decreased as well – I used to get (or see) less than ten broken hairs when I finger comb or comb my hair in the shower, and now it seems to be less than five.

However, I just trimmed my hair yesterday because I thought my ends looked frizzy, but honestly, I instantly regretted it after I cut my first section, because after a blow out (before flat ironing) my ends are ALWAYS frizzy! But then, I told myself to shutup because my ends ARE old (obviously years old) and I hadn’t done a trim since March 2, and I need to cut the red out anyway. Next time though…I’m going to flat iron and examine my ends totally straight before I reach for the scissors.

After blowing out and trimming my hair, I did a set of smaller twists to keep in for at least a week – it’s like 85 degrees right now, which I LOVE, but I do NOT love my hair on my neck and shoulders! Between washing/conditioning, blow drying, and twisting, my hair took like five hours (although I took a break to take my dog out and hang out a little)!!! So I’m definitely trying to keep these in until my scalp gets icky. I was also sure to use my Emtage when I ran the blow dryer over my hair to “finish” it, and will oil my ends to lubricate them every couple of days with one of my rosemary oils. The results…

 

Catch you all on the flip side…xoxo

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Rosemary Challenge Check-In (Three Weeks)

12 Jun

I’ve been doing my Rosemary Challenge for the past three weeks, and I must say…easiest challenge evAr! Since I seal my hair every time I wet style it anyway, it’s been simple to use oils/moisturizers with rosemary. The main products I have been using are:

  • Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter (I also did a nice set of twists with this – see below)
  • Tropical Traditions Rosemary Organic Coconut Hair Oil
  • Ingredients to Die For VegeMink Mix
  • Knotty Girl Vanilla Cupcake Leave-In (I’m all out of this – sadness)
  • HerbNLife Head Sprung (I actually had to put this away because the WEN was getting NO PLAY, I <3 Head Sprung)

Now, I honestly can’t say I have seen a huge difference in my hair, but it seems like I am retaining length well, and I rarely see a single strand knot (SSK). I also bought some rosemary EO and added more to my VegeMink oil mix (it was only $5!!), and sometimes I put the  mix on my temples because I love the tingle and it relaxes me.

Last week, I also did a set of twists with the Health Hair Butter (well, I used other stuff too b/c I was comparing, but the HHB was used on the majority of my hair) that I really liked. I was scared that my hair wouldn’t be conditioned enough because the main ingredients are water, butters, and oils, but I think the moisture was locked it well and my hair didn’t feel dry four days later. My hair was also smooth and shinier than usual (my hair is not silky and does not have a lot of natural shine). Check out the result!

For now, I am enjoying this challenge and will definitely continue. If you joined me, how you doin’? *Wendy Williams voice*

xoxo

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Pals…I’m Bored…Who Wants to Play With Me?! (Rosemary Challenge)

21 May

Hey guys! First, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who participated in NNHMD this weekend, and especially to all the ladies who came out to the LA Curly Girls event. I had so much fun and it was such a joy to meet and interact with people – everyone was SO NICE it was impossible to be funky, lol! Sometimes people can be so nasty on the internet that it’s easy to forget how cool MOST people are. So thank you for reminding me and I truly appreciate you!

Now – to my actual post, lol. So I’m bored with my regimen, but I love it, right? My hair is doing well with dc’ing weekly and keeping up my low manipulation and sealing routine. My SSKs are currently under control and my ends seem healthier since sealing (when I straightened in November vs straightening in May). Last time I straightened, I didn’t even feel the need to trim my hair and my ends are more even. So how do I keep the boredom at bay without going crazy with heat styles (which I’m not going to do in spring summer anyway because my hair would just go cray)? Well…with a challenge, of course!

I was looking at my oils and I realized a lot of them have rosemary EO (which has always been an intriguing ingredient to me).

What’s rosemary?

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is used in cooking and often used in folklore as a medicinal treatment.

Rosemary and Hair

I have read in several places that rosemary helps improve the condition of your hair and scalp. It contains sulfur and silicon, which are said to help strengthen hair (pay attention to your ends, remember?!?!) and promote growth, and it can help relieve scalp conditions such as eczema (source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/244860-rosemary-hair-treatment/). Because length RETENTION is currently my main goal for my hair, I am interested to see if rosemary can help me preserve my ends and minimize breakage. Yes, I get breakage – it’s not excessive, but I think that everyone gets some breakage. Mine is mainly physical though – meaning, it’s my fault because sometimes I handle my hair like a WWE wrestler (which I am TRYING to get better at). But it would be interesting to see if rosemary can help “not let me get me.”

The Challenge

For this challenge, I am going to leave a product in my hair with rosemary at least four times a week. This will mainly consist of oils, but I do also have some conditioners that contain rosemary. While rosemary is also good for the scalp, I am not going to directly concentrate on mine, moreso my ends or length if it’s a leave-in. I think I’m going to do this until…Labor Day.

Goals

  • Reduce breakage
  • Increase retention
  • Minimize split ends
  • Strengthen ends

Products

I have the following products that contain rosemary essential oil or extract:

  • Carol’s Daughter Lisa’s Hair Elixir*
  • Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Hair Oil*
  • Emtage Silktage Styling Serum*
  • Ingredients to Die For VegeMink
  • Hairobics Detangler Oil*
  • Carol’s Daughter Healthy Hair Butter*
  • Spiral Solutions Deeply Decadent Moisturizing Treatment (which I can use as a leave-in)
  • HerbNLife Coconut Hemp Pomade*
  • HerbNLife Head Sprung*
  • Karen’s Body Beautiful Super Silky
  • WEN Fig Replenishing Treatment Mist
  • Knotty Girl Vanilla Cupcake Leave-In (Yay!)
  • AG Re: Coil
  • Bee Mine Bee Hold Curly Butter
  • Coco Curls
Well damn! I honestly I didn’t know that I had so many products that contain rosemary. Since that’s the case, I’m going to really concentrate on using the oils and butters but mix the other products in, because it’s higher on the ingredients lists of those products.
Precautions
Rosemary usage should be monitored if you have high blood pressure and can be unsafe if you are pregnant.
So…anyone wanna do this challenge with me?
xoxo

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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2 May

When I buy products, I am very focused on the ingredient over any other factor – what the company claims, testimonials, word of mouth, all of it. I’m really trying to learn what my hair likes and doesn’t like to get consistent results with styling. Throughout my PJ journey, I have come across some ingredients that are almost always in my favorite products, and I just wanted to share. Remember, your hair may not like the same things as Izzy, but it’s always worth a try:

- WATER: Seems stupid, right? But seriously, Izzy loves water based products. I use more butters and oils for night moisture or scalp massages, but I’ve found that she acts the best when I’m finishing her off with something water based rather than butter/oil on wet hair (shea butter on my wet hair? naaaaw son!).

- Aloe Vera: Aloe vera is absolutely my new all-star starting QB. I’d give it some groupie love if I could. I tried AV when I first big chopped, and really found it to be too watery/light on my hair. It was basically like finger combing water through it. I have no idea what changed, but I currently LOVE LOVE it. It’s fairly inexpensive and does an awesome job with “getting the white out,” softening a gel hold, and moisturizing my ends. Also, some of my fave prods are AV based, like AfroVeda’s PUR Whipped Gelly and Aubrey Organics Mandarin Magic.

- Honey: Mmmm….honey. So sweet, and I love getting honey in my face while I rinse out honey/olive oil treatments, lol! It makes my hair feel so good after I rinse it out, like I’ve swirled it in clouds and silk (okay, random comparison). Honey is a humectant, and holds onto moisture (unless you are in a low dew point). I started using straight honey in my DC, but obviously can’t keep it in my hair b/c it’s STICKY, and love my products that contain honey – Oyin’s Honey Hemp Conditioner, Koils by Nature Nourishing Hair & Body Butter, NuNu Love Handmades Coconut Puddin’…I just think it’s great. I’m going to start adding honey and castor oil to my thinner cowashes.

- Rosemary: Rosemary apparently stimulates the hair follicles and hair growth, reduce hair loss…yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah use this herb and your hair will grow. I’m not going to spit any of that game at you. My love of rosemary is based solely on the fact that I love how it makes my scalp tingle. Does that mean my hair is being “stimulated”? I have NO idea, I just like it! It’s like Izzy is having her own little party and I’m the only one who got invited. And y’all know I love VIP!

Well, there you go – some of my favorite ingredients for my hair. Now…what are yours?

xoxo

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