Sunday, is the beginning of the week for most folks, we go to church, prepare Sunday dinner and prepare ourselves mentally for the upcoming workweek!  Let Sunday be your deep conditioning day!  Treat your hair before the hustle and bustle of the upcoming week, when most of us have practice, homework to go over, dinner to cook, and getting kids ready for the next school day.  We do this with our eyes close and hearts open.  Now take a moment to take care of your hair!  This easy & cost affective deep conditioning recipe will provide moisture, nutrients, protein, and vital vitamins for your hair!

Avocado Deep Conditioner

Excellent for dry and damaged hair; do this once a week and you will see a huge difference in your hair!

Items needed

2 very ripe avocado –Rich in vitamins and mineral such as, Vitamin E, A, & B6 complex and potassium, beta carotene, copper and letchin; highly nutritive and softening  that contains penetrating oils for hair and skin.

1 egg yolk (room temp) an excellent source of high quality  protein, eggs contain 9 essential amino acids, Egg yolks are naturally rich in vitamin A, D, E and several vitamins of B-group. All of them are good for hair: vitamins A, D and E are especially useful to treat hair loss, besides, vitamin A increases sebum production which oils dry hair and prevents dandruff and thick scalp, Vitamin D provides hair growth, and vitamin E increases oxygen absorption. B-vitamins are mostly responsible for hemoglobin. They increase the amount of oxygen and improve blood circulation.

Another significant part of egg yolk is fatty acids which make hair shiny and manageable. In addition, fatty acids were proven to fight dandruff, hair loss, psoriasis and flaky scalp, because they improve the skin structure

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – It has a rich, full bodied flavor with a strong aroma and is golden brown in color. Has a great conditioning effect in body care recipes and can be used in almost all applications because of its stable nature.

1 tbsp macadamia nut oil – This fine oil comes from the pressed nuts of the Macadamia tree. It is a priceless delight for the skin and has proven itself to be one of the best regenerative oils available. It is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, and closely resembles sebum (the oil naturally produced by ones skin to help protect it). Macadamia oil is a fabulous, protective oil with a high absorption rate and has been successfully used as a healing oil for scars, sunburns, minor wounds and other irritations.

1 tbsp of honey – is antiseptic and emollient and moisturizing.  It helps draw out impurities out of the skin and hair. It is a great conditioning agent for hair.

Directions:

Skin and pit avocados, mash them really well with either a wooden spoon or mix at a low speed hand mixer, add egg, EVOO, macadamia nut oil and honey.  Blend well and apply to hair in sections, mainly focusing on the ends of your hair.  You will see your hair get very soft and more manageable.  Leave on for at least 30 mins, with or without heat.

Conditioners

Conditioners have positive charge and  hair has a negative charge; this helps the conditioner to cling to the hair, Conditioners help retexture hair and skin by providing a protective coating over the cells.  This lubricates the hair shaft, promoting softness & help breakage and tangles.  Ensure your conditioners have a low pH and focus on the ends of our hair; because of our curls, it is hard for moisture to reach the ends of our hair.  Apply the conditioner of your choice and wrap your head in a towel or cover with a plastic cap and let it sit for at least 30 minutes; rinse with cool water to close cuticle and provide excellent shine to hair!

Here are some photos:

I love my hair!  It’s soft and shiny!

After I rinsed out the avocado deep conditioning hair  mask  I added the Replenishing Hair Oil, Herbal Gel and Nourishing Hair and Body Butter.

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Is Your Hair Dry???

African American Hair is the MOST fragile out of all the races because of our lovely curls, so it must be handled with the utmost care! Our Koily hair is very dry, porous and brittle, mainly because the natural oils have a hard time reaching the ends. The more curls the more fragile and the only thing that can combat dry hair is moisture!  Moisture also stops the hair from breaking.  Our hair thrives on moisture; our Koils will only flourish when they are well moisturized.  African American hair produces more sebum as other hair types.  Sebum is the natural oils that hair produces naturally to protect and lubricate our Koils.  Almost anything can disturb the moisture balance of your Koils and draw all the moisture out.  Extreme weather conditions, Synthetic products, and heat can upset the balance of the hair and make hair very dry, which will lead to breakage!

I am asked by many women, how to combat dry hair???  When I am asked this question, I always ask them the following questions:

1. ARE YOU DRINKING ENOUGH WATER!!
2. How often do you wash your hair?
3. Does your shampoo contain sulfates?
4. How often do you DC (deep condition) your hair?
5. Does your conditioner contain proteins?
6. Do you spray your hair with water?

Everything listed above can lead to dry hair!

• Water is the ONLY thing that can properly moisturize our hair and body!  You should be drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces, so if you’re 160lbs you should drink at least 80oz of water a day! Water assists in the flushing or removal of harmful toxins from the body. If the body does not have sufficient water, then metabolic wastes will not be removed as efficiently as they should. In essence, the body would be holding in toxins instead of expelling them as is required for proper health. Much of this toxin removal is performed in the kidneys. Therefore, the benefit of drinking water in this case is to allow the kidneys to perform their task properly. Another benefit of drinking water is to carry nutrients into the cells of the body. In addition to helping nutrients get into the cells where they are needed, the benefit of drinking water in adequate amounts also helps to keep the cells well hydrated so they can function properly and efficiently.
• How often do you wash your hair?  Washing your hair too often with a sulfate shampoo will dry out, damage hair, causing breakage.  Sodium lauryl sulfates  or laureth sulfates  are found in dish washing liquid and its main purpose is to cut grease; that is will do to your hair…..cut and remove all the natural oils & amino acids your hair needs to stay moisturized; the results are dull dry hair!
• Deep Conditioning is a formula designed to improve the health of your hair.  Deep Conditioning really penetrates the hair shaft restoring vital vitamins and minerals to the hair.  Either by putting a plastic cap on your hair and/or sitting under a hooded dryer.  If you do not deep condition at least once a month, please start by deep conditioning 2x a month until you see your hair retaining moisture; once you see a difference in you hair you can cut back to once a month! Deep Conditioning is essential for retaining moisture!

Simple Deep Conditioning Recipes:

Old Skool DC

1 Cup of Mayo

1 Egg (excellent protein treatment)

1 tsp of Olive Oil

1 tsp of Macadamia Nut oil (or grapeseed, almond, jojoba)

1 tbsp of honey

Easy Hair Conditioning Mask

1 very ripe Avocado pitted

1 Egg (excellent protein treatment)

1 tsp of Olive Oil

1 tsp of Macadamia Nut oil (or grapeseed, almond, jojoba, evoo)

1 tbsp of honey

Leave on hair for 30 minutes or longer with a plastic cap or a hooded dryer.

4.  Since hair is protein, a diet that is too low in protein may cause some thinning in hair or retardation in the growth cycle.  Some conditioners contain proteins; when too much protein is put on the hair, either every week or every two weeks it can leave the hair very hard and brittle.  Try to limited protein to the hair at least once a month.  Especially if your diet is rich in proteins!

5.  Having a Spray bottles is essential of natural hair!  It is beneficial to add water to your hair before styling.  Water (moisture) keeps your hair flexible for styling and it will not break easily and hair can reach it’s maximum length.

Simple Spritz Recipe

1 – 6-8 oz spray bottle

4 – 6 oz of distilled or purified water (please do not use tap water)

¼ cup of aloe vera juice or gel

1 tbsp of your favorite oil (grapeseed, almond, jojoba, evoo, Macadamia Nut oil)

5-10 – drops of essential oil of your choice

(if your hair like glycerin you can also add it)

Oils Excellent for Moisturizing Hair

Extra Virgin Olive Oil this rich green moderately heavy base oil with a strong aroma is derived from the first pressing of the ripe olives and is high beneficial vitamins and minerals.  Olive oil is excellent condition oil for dry hair.

Macadamia Nut Oil light medium textured, penatrating oil is high in monosaturated fatty acids; excellent for Kinky Koily Hair.  The chemical makeup closely resembles the sebum produces naturally by the scalp and will penetrate the hair shaft adding great moisture to your hair and skin.

Grapeseed oil is popular because it is odorless and full of minerals and vitamins that help strengthen your hair.  It is odorless oil, and can help add shine and moisture to your hair.  Grapeseed oil is known for having a high content of linoleic acid, is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid that supports cell health.  Grapeseed oil is also excellent for protecting the hair against high heat!

Avocado oil light green based oil is derived from the fatty pulp and seed of the fruit; that is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, D & E that especially helpful to fry, dull skin and hair.

Sweet Almond oil is treasures of some essential minerals such as magnesium and calcium.  Almonds have high contents of fatty acids.  Excellent for hair and skin!

Koils by Nature Products that Combats Dry Hair Are the Following:

Hydrating Shealoe Creamy Conditioner

Hydrating Shealoe Creamy Conditioner is excellent for hard to manage and dry hair that needs extra moisture. The emulsifiers and emollients condition the hair while the Pantheon and shea butter provide extra moisture so that the hair feels soft and smooth again and provide softness, manageability and shine to your hair.  Restoring all the Vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy hair.  This conditioner is excellent for co-washing.

Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-In Conditioner

Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-In Conditioner is an excellent creamy herbal infused creamy conditioner and detangler intended to smooth the cuticle and remove knots, snarls, and tangles from thick kinky textured hair.

Nourishing Hair & Body Butters

Nourishing Hair & Body Butter are made from the best butters & oils nature provides, it will moisturize, revitalize, soften, heal, and protect your hair and skin.

I will be adding to this blog as I find more information!!

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