Braid Out And A Note On Being DIY [PICS]

I took down my mini-twists yesterday and my hair is finally loose again. In preparation for a wash and deep conditioning, I doused it in my diy Shea butter mix and plaited it in a random mix of 6-8 different-sized twists and braids. However, after looking at a dozen and one Youtube videos on crochet braids, I decided against washing and deep conditioning my hair (I had already washed it while in twists two days prior to the take down, anyway) and redid my hair into 6  braids to stretch out the hair evenly in preparation for crochet braids, instead. I later decided to add perm rods at the end of  each braid just in case I wanted to rock a braid out for church (which I did today; Oh the compliments I received!) It would be the last time seeing my hair out and about for at least two months so today was my chance to “play”. If the crochet braids don’t work, I’ll go back to mini twists, which weren’t that bad of a protective style. I plan to start installing the crochet braids tomorrow…if I can just get to cornrowing my hair right. It is really hard getting someone to cornrow my hair. I am very particular with my hair (e.g., I don’t blow dry nor do I use combs/brushes), and then there is the fact that I have a lot of it.

What are crochet braids?

Awesomeness. Pure awesomeness. At least, I hope that’s what they’ll end up looking like when I’m done.

I don’t want to give anymore details. I wanted the crochet braids to be a surprise, but I got so excited about them so I gave myself the permission to gab just a little. 😉

Anywho, my hair today; it’s not as defined as it was earlier this morning but I still like it:

Right side

Left side

Back

Full frontal. 😉

 

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A note on being DIY (Do It Yourself)

My mom wants me to bottle and sell the products I make, since I pretty much am diy (do it yourself). I am diy partly because of my limited resources and mostly because I avoid silicones; almost every freakin’ store-bought hair product has silicone and I’m not talking about the “good” water soluble kinds, either. I can’t afford super expensive shampoos and conditioners, but being diy is super fun and you can fix things to your personal preference (for example, I noticed that prolonged and obsessive use of grape seed oil gives me serious elasticity to the point where I was getting worried and that henna kind of reverses it; I still use grape seed oil, but in moderation now). The best part of diy is that my build-up has decreased dramatically and my hair is a billion times shinier. However, I’m pretty sure there are company-made products that work well and are safe for optimal hair health. Last week, I used my boyfriend’s shampoo and conditioner (Aveda Shampure line) and they were divine (and silicone-free)! Don’t knock the big industry hustle, my friends. Just know your ingredients!

DIY Deep Conditioner (Banana, Yogurt, and Avocado) – My First Attempt! [PIC]

I’m not too keen on being a “mixtress” (it’s often too tedious) but sometimes I like to do a little concocting myself once in a while. I have been keeping my eyes on a certain yogurt and banana deep conditioner recipe that is supposed to make your hair feel like sun shine and rainbows. Let me tell you – it did just that. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Here is what I did (I modified the recipe based on the many different recipes I read on blogs/forums and watched on youtube).

You will need:

4 oz. plain greek yogurt
1 very ripe banana
1/2 of a ripe avocado (next time I’ll use a whole avocado. I really just wanted to eat the other half…)
4 tbsp honey
3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp grape seed oil
2-3 tbsp vegetable glycerin

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients into a blender (I used my Nutribullet). Blend until very smooth. Apply onto clean hair as if applying a virgin chemical relaxer. (I washed and conditioned my hair with commercial products two days before my diy conditioner application so my scalp and hair was clean enough at the time of application). Do not shampoo.

My application experience:

Application time for me was two hours. My hair was in eight corn rows prior to applying the mixture. I would loosen a corn row, finger-detangle, spritz lightly with water, generously and carefully apply the conditioner, and then twist the hair. I would then go on to the next row and do the same thing until my whole head was complete. After this process, I put on a disposable conditioning cap and let the mix sit in my hair for about five hours.

Looking at other naturalistas’ experiences with their home made conditioners, I found that many had to wash their hair several times (and sometimes with shampoo) because banana bits were still in their hair. Thankfully, my process went very smoothly. The consistency of my conditioner (although I think “mask” is a better term) took up the consistency of the yogurt. It went on smoothly and washed off smoothly. However, be careful not to get the mix on your scalp. It wont be terrible if you do, but having it there will make rinsing out a little more difficult. I got some of my mix into my scalp and so had to spend extra time rubbing my scalp to loosen up the build up.

Smoothing my hair after I’d finished applying the homemade conditioner on each section.

When I finished rinsing the concoction out my hair, I gently wrapped a cotton shirt over it so that it would absorb as much excess water as possible. I (accidentally) went to sleep with the cotton shirt and finally removed it this morning (which made it roughly 8 hours of cotton shirt drying time).

My hair was about 90% dry after that – dryer than I intended, so I sectioned my hair into 8 parts and using a spray bottle of glycerin and aloe vera juice (water would have worked just as well), I spritz each section. I finger-detangled each section, braided, and then sealed each section with grape seed oil and Jamaican black castor oil.

What about the smell?

I was kind of paranoid about smelling like bananas and yogurt all day. I absolutely hate the taste of bananas and can’t even stand their smell. I’m not a fan of yogurt but greek yogurt (depending on the brand) is tolerable at times. After rinsing my hair of the mix, it still smelled like a produce stand (actually, it smelled totally of bananas but was faint). However, when I allowed it to dry completely after rinsing the conditioner out, the smell was gone.

Was it messy?

Nope. Hardly. I did get some of the conditioner on the back of my sweatshirt where my hair touched it, but that’s nothing a quick clean in the washing machine and dryer can’t fix.

The results?

My hair right now is still in the eight braids. Tomorrow I will attempt a braid out, and – if I remember – take pictures and upload them here.

I loved the way my hair felt after rinsing out the conditioner. It was unbelievably soft. Soooooo soft. And even when my hair dried it still felt great. Detangling was 50% easier and my curls really popped, though the front section of my hair was still stubborn in that there was still frizz and very little definition (boo!). I will definitely try this homemade conditioner again in the future.

The success and ease of this homemade conditioner has encouraged me to try other mixtress-y things. Next on my list are oil rinses and apple cider vinegar rinses.