GREEN TEA HAIR RINSE

  
Hello Lavs, its been a while hasn’t it? Oh well, don’t be upset. I am always on and of the wagon. Anyway, now I am back on the wagon again, I just want to share my in between wash day hair treatment. I usually wash my hair every two weeks, and in-between washdays I do a green tea rinse to reduce hair fall and encourage volume and thickness. This I believe has been one of the secrets to my natural hair being so lush recently, I used to do it when I was in university and I stopped, but I am trying to go back to my old hair habits now (no more lazy natural). Anyway so here’s what you will need below;

 

INGREDIENTS

4 Bags of Green tea

250- 500ml of Hot water

A mug or glass jar

 

DIRECTIONS

1.Place the four bags of green tea in your glass jar or mug, pour hot water over it. Cover the jar or mug and allow it to cool for about 10-15mins. If you want the brew to be strong you can leave it for up to an hour in the fridge. I leave mine over night in the fridge, mainly because I forget it there, oh well it works great and the tea brew is pretty strong at this point.

2.Strain the tea bag, and pour the cooled green tea in a applicator bottle, or you can simply leave the cooled green tea in the jar.

3.Pour it all over your scalp and gently massage your scalp in a circular motion. GENTLY MASSAGE YOUR SCALP, you are not trying to wash you hair here.

4.Use a cotton shirt or cloth to take out the excess dripping water and cover your hair with a plastic cap for about 20mins.

5.Rinse out with cool water and you are done!!!

  

 WHY GREEN TEA HAIR RINSES WORK

Green tea contains high amount of antioxidants and caffeine that promote hair growth. The catechins in it have 5-Alpha-reductase inhibiting properties that help block the growth of DHT ( Dihydrotestosterone) which hinders hair growth and causes  hair fall.

Due to it’s antiseptic properties it also helps cure common scalp irritations like dandruff and psoriasis by reducing inflation.

Green tea also helps stimulate hair growth in the hair follicles and softens the hair. Thus, in addition to stopping excess shedding and hair fall, it contributes to the generation of new hair. It contains vitamin E and C, and polyphenols known to boost voluminous hair.

WHEN TO DO A GREEN TEA RINSE?

You can do it as an in between wash hair treatment like I do, or use it as a rinse after washing and conditioning your hair.

 RESULTS THE DAY AFTER

Hair has already dried, been moisturised and sealed. Sorry I forgot to take a picture during the rinse.

  
There you go guys!!!! Have a great weekend!!! Today is Friday I am off to do my green tea rinse hair. xxxxx

 

8 Benefits of Rosewater and 9 ways to use it

 

Holla, so many posts should have come before this, however, I am doing this for the benefit of my newsletter subscribers, which you can be a part of if you sign up HERE, get the latest scope in the natural hair community and organic skin care.

So on to discussing this amazing floral water. Rosewater is actually an amazing addition to your skin and hair regimen, its one wonderful ingredient I feel is underused in skin care.  Rosewater is a superb floral water that is highly beneficial to your hair and skin. However, after we have explored the awesome benefits of this products, please be sure to purchase it from the right source. Some suppliers simply put a rose scent in regular water, which does not give you the positive benefits of pure rose water. Purchase high quality Rose Water HERE.

Benefits

 

1. Slightly astringent properties so it helps fight acne, contact dermatitis and eczema
2. It helps heal scars, cuts and wounds
3. It cools down inflamed, red and blotchy skin
4. Due to its astringent properties rosewater helps clean pores and tone the skin.
5. It helps the skin maintain its PH balance and controls excess oil.
6. The nourishing and moisturizing qualities of rose water enhance the quality of the hair. It also helps treat mild scalp irritations and get rid of dandruff. It works wonders as a natural conditioner and revitalizes hair growth.
7. Also an antioxidant rose water helps strengthen skin cells and regenerate skin tissues.
8. It suitable for aging skin as it keeps fine lines and wrinkles away

Rosewater and Hair oil as a night time hair conditioning routine

 

How to use it

• To prevent eye puffiness: Busy schedule= no sleep= puffy eyes! Well bye to that!! Simply chill your rosewater in the fridge for about an hour and half. Apply some of the chilled rosewater to a cotton pad and then place it on your eyes. It will help sooth the tender skin around your eyes and prevents or reduces eye puffiness.
• After Sun body spray: Spray it all over your body to soothe sunburns and heal redness or itchiness.
• For Acne: Mix juice from one lemon and rose water in equal parts, apply the mixture to your face and leave it on for an hour. Rinse of with water, after about 2-3 weeks there would be a visible difference in your skin. The rosewater will help remove the blemish and scars. You can also mix 1 table spoon of fuller’s earth clay (purchase fullers earth HERE with enough rosewater to make a paste, apply it to your face and leave it on for 5-10mins.
• Freshen your face throughout the day: Especially in our hot whether rosewater can be your friend. Just spray the rosewater mist on your face, it will instantly freshen your skin, naturally hydrate and nourish it. It instantly gives you a wonderful radiance and glow. Personally its great to always have a bottle in your bag so you can freshen your skin through out the day.
• Facial toner: Most toners available on the market contain chemicals and alcohol. Using these on a regular basis will make your skin dry and age your skin in time. Rosewater is a better and more natural alternative to these chemical laden toners. Immediately after cleansing, apply some chilled rosewater to your face with a cotton pad. This will naturally tone up your facial skin, it will close your pores and give your skin a glow.
• Natural makeup remover: Just apply some rose water on a cotton pad and gently remove your makeup with it. To make it more effective, you can dampen the bad with rosewater and add some coconut oil to the dampened pad and massage your face in the cotton pad in a circular motion. If you have oily skin replace the coconut oil with rosehip oil (available on request), pomegranate seed oil, grape seed oil etc.
• Natural setting spray: Rosewater can be applied sparingly over the makeup as a setting product, providing beautiful, healthy glow and amazing dewy finish.
• To soften dry skin: Use rosewater as a body spray to soothe and soften dry skin immediately.
• Aromatherapy: The beautiful floral scent of rosewater on your pillow is said to aid sleep and leave you feeling well rested and refreshed in the morning.

 

Have a blessed evening!!

 

 

 

Caring for your hair while it’s under a weave

   

  
Holla, 

Okay you are a natural and you still want to rock those weaves right? Not everytime crochet, braids and wigs sometimes weaves. I hate weaves, but most people don’t, so if you are going to keep your hair in weaves, here are a few things you can do to keep your natural hair healthy.

First thing’s first, Do not neglect your scalp! As you know from my previous posts ( see HERE) a  healthy scalp equals healthy hair and steady hair growth. Unlike braids, you don’t have as much access to your scalp with weaves, so invest in an applicator bottle with a narrow tip, this will help you apply shampoo and oils to your scalp. Every week or every two weeks, you must wash your scalp, dilute a cowash or shampoo with water and pour it in your applicator bottle, lift each track and apply, use your fingers to massage the dirt out and rinse. Thereafter, apply a diluted conditioner in the same manner leave for 2-5 mins and rinse. Make sure your weave as been detangled before this process and woven into bigger plaits to prevent it from becoming a tangled mess.

Afterwards, you need to moisturize, dry hair breaks, that’s the long and short of the matter. You still have to moisturize and seal adequately, for healthy post protective style hair. Lift your tracks and spritz your leave in conditioner in your hair, you can also put some of your leave in conditioner into your applicator bottle and apply it to each braid. Thereafter, apply oils to each braid on top of the moisturizer to seal in the moisture, massage it all in with your fingers. This process is time consuming and its totally worth it, so you can have strong beautiful hair when you take out your weave. The process of sealing and moisturizing should take place every other day, depending on what your hair needs, at least twice a week.

If you have dry skin/hair, then I recommend that you oil your scalp, nightly, you can use a light oil like coconut oil which will help with protein retention as well as moisture. Fill an applicator bottle with this oil and apply it to your scalp only, do not apply it to the weave, as the sew in weave will get greasy.

Deep condition your hair, after shampooing your hair and weave, apply a deep conditioner on both the weave and the exposed hair and sit under a hooded dry/steamer/ plastic cap for about 30mins. Afterwards rinse out thoroughly, this helps keep the hair moist.

Take care of your leave out, if you are natural I recommend you do a closed weave or a weave that blends in well with your natural texture. However, if you do a straight weave or you are relaxed and you decide to leave out your hair, do not excessively use heat and straighteners to try and blend your natural texture into the weave. Always continue to wash, condition, moisturize, seal and protect your left out hair. Try heat free methods of blending your leave out hair with your weaves, you can use a scarf with gel or cream instead of straighteners, use flexi rods instead of a curling wand to give curls etc.

Make sure you protect your hair line, weaves and braids destroy your hair line if you are not careful. They contribute to thinning of the hairline immensely, as a preventive measure massage your hair with castor oil or a good growth oil as often as possible.

For some of my favorite products and oil to care for your hair while it’s in a weave see HERE

Improve hair growth through scalp care

If the scalp is healthy then your hair will grow healthy and vice versa, or even worse if the scalp is unhealthy you might have NO HAIR!! Lol!! Okay enough of the jokes.
In order to maintain a healthy scalp it is important to understand the functions of the scalp. The scalp comprises of skin cells, these cells are constantly shedding and reproducing to produce new cells on the scalp. This process happens in such a quick, synchronised and microscopic manner that it’s undetectable to the human eye. However when the normal functioning of the scalp is destabilized then conditions such as pimples on the scalp, bumps, dandruff, psoriasis and severe itching arises. Let’s look at the scalp as the soil of our hair, and a fertile soil will produce healthy crop! Hair is produced by the follicles situated in the deepest level of our scalp; it is composed mostly of dead protein and pigment. Most of the scalp’s problems are caused by an imbalance of sebum production. Sebum is the natural oil the scalp produces; it’s a slightly acidic substance that coats hair strands and lubricates the scalp. To maintain sebum balance and take proper care of your scalp here are a few useful tips:

1. De clutter: The natural oil your scalp produces is perfect! Don’t grease your scalp constantly with heavy oils and butters! It wants to be left alone. The over production of sebum causes large oily flakes on the scalp while it’s under production causes large dry flakes on the scalp. These flakes are skin cells, when they replicate at an accelerated rate they sit on the scalp, and will be accompanied by inflammation and itching. Hair cannot grow long or strong on an inflamed scalp. When we put excessive oils on our scalp, it tricks the scalp into thinking that it doesn’t need to produce oil and leads to an under production of sebum. Dandruff and dryness occur because of this under production and then you would want to put more oils, it becomes a terrible vicious cycle. The best way to moisturise your scalp is frequent washing and conditioning, this will keep your scalp clutter free and allow it to perspire. Also, focus on moisturizing your new growth and ends that will provide light moisture for your scalp. Don’t actively go through your scalp coating it in oils!!

2. Don’t scratch: Scratching your tender scalp with your fingernails causes injury to the scalp. As I have mentioned above, an inflamed and injured scalp will not foster growth. Furthermore, studies have shown that scratching causes BALDNESSSSS! Yes indeed, it weakens your hair follicles and causes serious hair loss. So when you feel that itch just smack your head! Lol seriously, give it a tap or a gentle massage with the ball of your fingers.

3. Eat Healthy: Yep, healthy eating habits are absolutely necessary for hair and scalp care. Your hair follicles are supported and nourished by the nutrients in your blood stream. Your hair and nails are the last to receive your body’s nutrients, which means that if you have any nutritional deficiencies that the vitamins and nutrients in your body will go straight to the important places like your heart, kidney etc. and there will no excess left to nourish your scalp. Drink lots of water as well to provide moisture from within, eat foods that are rich in B vitamins, such as; beans, whole grains etc., eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and reduce saturated fats. Healthy eating will not just improve hair and scalp conditions; it will also aid weight loss (if that’s what you want) and improve your general wellness.

4. Use gentle products: Check your shampoos for harsh products like ammonium and sodium lauryl sulphates. These ingredients strip the hair of moisture and leave the scalp feeling dry. Use clarifying shampoos once a month to get rid of build ups and moisturizing shampoos for regular hair cleansing. However, if you could use ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) as a scalp clarifier, this is not harsh when diluted and it conditions the scalp as well, that can be used up to 4 times a month for clarifying the scalp of build-up. In addition, be sure to thoroughly wash conditioners out of the hair, as conditioner residues clog the pores and can be mistaken for dandruff.I would also say stay away from harsh chemicals like relaxers. I am not the war on relaxer type, but I cannot count how many times relaxers burnt my scalp before I went natural.

5. No aggressive styling: Avoid styles that put a strain on your scalp! Beauty is not pain! For naturals there is beauty in our disorganized fluff! So we don’t need the braids to be so neat that they pull on our scalp! Overly tight braids, buns and weaves can lead to permanent hair loss through irreparable damage to the hair follicles.

6. Avoid Extreme heat: Avoid exposing the scalp to temperature extremes. Heat from blow-dryers and hooded dryers dry the scalp severely. Direct the blow-dryer heat down the hair shaft and not at your scalp!