Mixology || Egg Oil and Amla Hair Serum with Argan Oil, Etc.

Are you interested in mixing your own hair serum?

This recipe originates from The Natural Beauty Workshop:

Ingredients 
1/2 ounce Egg Oil
1/2 ounce Amla Oil
1/2 ounce Argan Oil
1/2 ounce Broccoli Seed Oil
1/4 ounce Jojoba
10-20 drops Rosemary Essential Oil

Directions 
Combine the oils in a small beaker and stir well. Add the essential oil, then stir again. Transfer carefully to a dropper bottle.

For more details and where to purchase the ingredients, check out The Natural Beauty Workshop.

Hair Diary || New Twists + Length Boredom

Apparently, I was too "rush rush" in doing these new set of twists, so they are aging fairly quickly ... faster than they usually do.  However, I'm sticking to them for the full three weeks and will have to manage.

In other news, I'm having "length boredom" at the moment.  My hair is in a shrunken state (whether 80% shrunken or 40% shrunken) almost 24-7, and for the most part I don't mind it ... I like the ability to switch up my "length" and style via shrinkage.  However, once in a while, I go through this phase where I want to wear my true length.  In the past couple of years, that usually meant flat ironing.  I'm contemplating doing that next month ... but the maintenance of keeping my hair straight while I exercise 3x a week will be a challenge ... and twists are just so much easier.  We'll see what next month brings.

In the meantime, here are some more pics!

After my last set of twists, I wore a twist-out for a few days.
This photo is the result of finger separating/detangling the twist-out.
Since I was too tired to wash, I wore this for another day or two.

Rollerset to stretch my hair for the next set of twists.  (This was done after a wash and deep condition.)
Within minutes, my hair reverts to more of a blow-out, but that is fine by me.

I initially wanted to do flat-twists into a twist-hawk, hence what you see here.
However, I decided that I didn't really want to commit to the look for 3 weeks.
The back was left this way and I did regular two-strands for the rest of my hair.

Stretched for twisting.  I *heart* roller setting.

Finito!

Study || Turmeric vs. Prozac for Depression

A recent study has demonstrated that curcumin, which is found in turmeric, may be an effective treatment for individuals with major depressive disorder (without "suicidal ideation or other psychotic disorders"[1]).  The blind study evaluated three groups - those taking fluoxetine (also known as Prozac), those taking curcumin, and those taking a combination of the two.  Hmm ... could the day be near when turmeric is widely used to treat depression?  Check out the study for yourself:

SOURCE
[1] EFFICACY OF CURCUMIN IN MAJOR DEPRESSION (2013) 

MORE READS (EARLIER STUDIES)
POTENTIAL OF CURCUMIN AS ANTIDEPRESSANT (2009)
OVERVIEW OF CURCUMIN IN NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS (2010)

Healthy Hair Online: Geri the Great

She's a type 4 natural with fabulous hair styles and long, healthy tresses (hidden under all of that beautiful shrinkage).  Protective styling and finger detangling are part of her regimen, but she is not afraid to step outside of the box with her hair.  You can find her on http://geraldinethegreat.blogspot.com/.  Meanwhile, check out some of her hair shots:

My Monthly Goals Journal || New Series - October 2013

GOALS UPDATE:
- completed reading of "Half of a Yellow Sun"  (great book, by the way)
- successfully kept away from my business for one month
- regular sleep schedule - fail
- toned stomach - success
- fast food - failed three times, lol
Also, I no longer plan to make this a series since I have no monthly goals at moment (yearly goals, weekly goals, but no monthly at the moment).

__________________________
So I decided to start this series so that I can 1) break up my bigger goals into smaller ones and 2) hold myself accountable to meeting them via this public documentation.  This is reminiscent of the 3in6 challenges I used to do, except it is not strictly about hair ... it is about life.  So, here is my first entry ...

OCTOBER 2013 GOALS:

• retain close to 100% of my length for the month (continue protein + long-term twists + fingers only)
• no fast food whatsoever (I've been slipping lately, y'all ... it's just so convenient, but my mood afterwards pays for it)
• get to bed by 11pm (12am at the absolute latest ... this is going to be a challenge)
• develop a regular sleeping schedule
• tone my stomach (I think I see a small gut developing)
• finish reading "Half of a Yellow Sun" (I've been putting that off for too long)
• take a one-month break from my business

I'll be back in November to see how far I've come ...

Healthy Hairstyling #7: The No/Low Heat Roller Set

High temperature flat irons. Hot blow dryers. Direct heat has the potential to be damaging to the hair, especially when used improperly and too frequently. In the worst case scenario, irreparable heat damage can occur in the form of hair bubbles, splits, and loss of one's natural curl pattern.

The roller set, perm rod set, flexi rod set, straw set, and Curlformer set are all healthy alternatives to the blow dryer and curling iron. These sets require minimal (if any) heat usage. They can be worn on both natural and chemically straightened hair.

HOW TO ROLLER SET:

Tools:
- Snap-on or clips with Magnetic rollers (safer than mesh and foam)
- Setting lotion
- Smoothing serum (with dimethicone for anti-humidity)
- Medium-tooth comb
- Hooded dryer (optional)

Basic instructions:
1. Wash, deep condition, and detangle as usual.
2. Follow up with a moisturizer/sealant.
(2a. For kinky natural hair: Braid the hair into 8-15 sections. (I do this to "flatten" my roots and hair a bit.) Wrap your edges with a scarf. Allow to airdry until damp. Then undo a braid and proceed with below.)
3. Section off a 1" by 2" or smaller section of hair.
4. Apply setting lotion (diluted, if necessary).
5. Then apply the smoothing serum.
6. Comb through section until smooth.
7. Roll the section tautly down to the roots.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 until finished.
9. Let the roller set airdry or sit under a hooded dryer.
10. Remove rollers when hair is fully dry.
11. Similar instructions apply to other types of sets (e.g., straw, flexi-rod, etc.), though more intricacy is involved.

Rollerset Video Tutorials:
Natural with a great roller set technique. She does use direct heat in her later video, but her curls prior to flat ironing are gorgeous and show that roller sets work on textured hair:
I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCPyoaRZ8pk
II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFeDTx652wY

Tips:
* Sets last longer on cool, moderate days rather than hot and/or humid days. Save them for ideal weather conditions.
* Starting with wet to very damp hair allows for the hair to really set.
* Using a serum helps to minimize frizz from humidity.
* Stay away from moisturizers containing glycerin or other humectants, if you can. Humectant + humidity = a roller set that won't last.
* Roller set in small sections for smoother and faster drying sets.
* I get the best results with snap-on magnetic rollers because the "snap on" part keeps my hair taut and the roller intact.
* Pin curl at night to maintain the set.
* Smaller rollers yield tighter, longer-lasting sets.

Serum Recommendations:
Sabino Moisture Block
Chi Silk

Setting lotion:
Lottabody
Motions Foaming Wrap
Nairobi Wrapp-It Shine Foaming Lotion

Hair Diary || More Highlights + Finalizing My Adjusted Regimen

So, I think I've mentioned this before, but I was a color freak during my relaxed days.  (And being a color freak during that time usually damaged my hair until I switched over to doing highlights as opposed to full-on dyeing.)

Fast forward to now ... the color freak is back.  She first emerged in late 2010 with the red highlights.  Then she re-appeared this summer with the ombre effect.  Quickly bored with the ombre, which didn't take too well (it looks more pronounced in photos), I decided to do blonde highlights.  Unfortunately, after 50 minutes, the result was a mere copper, but it's growing on me.  I foresee more highlighting in the near future.

As for finalizing my regimen?  I'm currently experimenting with an adjusted protective style routine.  If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I spent the past few years wearing twists usually every 4 weeks back to back.  Now I'm toying with wearing twists for 3 weeks and an unseparated twist-out for 1 week.  This month is my second run in a row.

And now for more hair pics:

First day in new set of twists.  (Early September.)

Starting week #2.
Twists have shrunken and been washed (using the scalp method).

In the middle of week #2.
Prepping for highlights by undo-ing a few twists near my part.

Highlighted sections are covered with foil to separate from the rest of my hair.

Copper color after 50 minutes.  (Was going for blonde, but hey.
Maximum allowed time on the box was 45 minutes.  I didn't want to go too much over.)

The color I used: "7G, Lightest Blonde".  
I'm toying with using a bleach kit (more effective) in the future but I'm still researching the adverse effects of that.  Clairol Textures & Tones is actually one of the safest dyes when it comes to natural hair. 

My strand test turned blonde.  However, I looked at it after a couple of hours.  I'm not quite sure at exactly what point in time (definitely after 50 minutes though) that it turned this color.

Highlighted sections are twisted back up to blend in with the rest of my twists.

Highlighted sections are twisted back up to blend in with the rest of my twists.