This will be a rambling post. Bursting at the seams with loads I’ve been up to since my last post.
Hair update
I did a protective style. Those who follow me on Instagram would have seen the pictures. Lovely jumbo braids. I carried them for 4 weeks. I was impressed. One that I didn’t get bored with the style after 2 weeks. Secondly that it didn’t frizz too quickly. By the 4th week, it had frizzed proper, so I was glad to take out the braids. Did I miss my hair?, not really. I moisturized and sealed every day. the only difference with my normal regimen was I did not wash my hair throughout the period the braids were in. I didn’t have any itch issues.
What did I moisturize with? I had 3 types of spritzes.
1. Aloe vera juice (whole leave, home made)
2. Plain water with coconut oil, tea tree e/o and peppermint e/o
3. Kimmaytube leave in conditioner. (aloe vera juice, leave in conditioner, castor oil and jojoba oil)
Everyday, I spritzed with any of the spritzes I fancied, then sealed with an oil or homemade hair grease sometimes. There were times I didn’t need to seal with an oil. I definitely did a Keep It Simple Sister. (KISS) J J
The braids have been out for about 3 weeks now. For the first week, I did two strand twists…..all by myself. 3 hours of standing in front of the mirror. I was impressed by the outcome. I liked it enough to take to work for a whole week. I didn’t want to lose another 3 hours of my time doing twists the following weekend. What did I do, went to the salon, that’s what I did. I enjoyed my vist. My hair was done in under 30 minutes. Two strand twists. Not different from what I did myself, but in only a fraction of the time. Wondered why I haven’t been going to the salon all this while. The cost of my hair at the salon and the home service I have been doing is not much different. Salon visits will spare me all the unnecessary bantering and socializing, which frankly I don’t feel up to most of the time. I just want my hair done in piece without me having to make conversation. Anyone out there like me? give me a shout out!!
That’s what my hair has been up to in the last 7 weeks.
Mixtress_ing update
I have honed my DIY_ing a.k.a mixtress_ing skills. My new motto is, “if I can make it, I won’t buy it”
Hair Grease
While braiding, the braider asked for a hair pomade. Frankly, haven’t used any in ages. All that mineral oil makes my scalp itch. Vaseline is a no-no . told her not to worry. I mixed up a hair grease in less than 15 minutes.
1. Beeswax
2. Cocoa butter
3. Shea butter
4. Coconut oil
5. Olive oil
That was all. Using double boiler method, I got all the ingredients melted and mixed. Poured into a container and in less than 5 minutes, it had solidified. Hair grease ready!
Antiperspirant
After I took out the braids, I felt I didn’t need the grease anymore. Feel it will be too heavy on my hair, being fine and all. What did I do?, I added some bentonite and rhassoul clay, a little more beeswax ( I think too much) and got a deodorant/antiperspirant. Easy peezy right?
I had to ditch the antiperspirant though. The beeswax I used must have been too much, I didn’t like the sticky under arms. Back to using Thai Crystal antiperspirant. Store bought. Will try the clay antiperspirant recipe another time.
Cold press coconut oil
This is by far the most exciting thing I have made to date. I didn’t believe how easy it was to make cold pressed coconut oil. I used two coconuts. Grated and extracted the milk. All I did was to leave the milk to settle. The oil was at the top of the bucket. After about 12 hours, it looked more like curd. Scoop out the cream at the top and leave to sit for as long as you want, the oil will float to the top. There you have it, cold pressed coconut oil, no additives, preservatives or what not. Pure, unrefined. I had recently bought a bottle of coconut oil, now I’m looking for who would like to have it. I prefer the one I made. I have used on both body and hair. Definitely one item I won’t be buying again!.
Almond milk
After I made it, I wondered why I had spent money buying it in the first place. Seriously, there’s no need to consume packaged almond milk. I don’t care if its touted as being organic, no preservatives or whatever. It is not worth the money. Earlier I had attempted to make almond mil. The sieves I used were not fine enough, so there was always bits in the milk. Didn’t quite fancy the grainy milk. I bout a whole case (12 cartons) of almond milk from a health store here in Lagos. Yes…. It was okay, but I couldn’t get round all the added sugars and sweeteners. It probably contributed to my weight gain during that period.
When the carton finished, the health store no longer had the milk in stock. They made me get flax milk. Wasn’t bad, but too much added sweeteners. Told myself I would return to attempting homemade almond milk. I changed the sieve to cheese cloth. Hey!, that was the trick. I had flawless milk. Beautiful. No grains, just smooth milk. I couldn’t get enough of the milk. Cheese cloth started to wear out. And miracle of miracle. At Game (ShopRight, Lekki) in the auto section, I found something called sheep cloth. No idea what its meant for. Maybe cleaning. The texture looked like it was a finely meshed cheese cloth made from soft wooly fabric. It was a roll. It was cheap, less than 2,000Naira. I bought it. That very evening, I made almond milk. Sigh!!! It was pure heaven. Ahhhh!!! The best almond milk to date.
I have an endless supply of sieve, almonds are cheap and readily available. Who says dairy intolerant people can’t enjoy a bowl of cereal without milk, ehn?
One more thing I won’t being buying again.
Aloe Vera Juice
Sometime last year I planted aloe Vera in a flower pot. It grew so well, I had to transplant into another pot. Both pots are huge, with leaves everywhere. I had bought a gallon size aloe Vera juice from trader joes. When that finished I got another bottle. Why waste all that money when I have the plant staring at me everyday. Decided to start making my very own aloe Vera juice. I have made two batches now. No regret. What I noticed is the spiny edge should not be included when juicing. The first batch I did, I plucked, washed and juiced up. I got itchy neck and ears when I used the juice. Interestingly, my scalp did not itch. Second batch, I trimmed away the edges. The resultant juice was perfect. No itch anywhere. One more thing I won’t be buying again.
I’m not yet done mixing by any means. I have two recipes, I plan on trying out soonest. Ghee and carrot oil. They are so easy to make. I’ll keep you posted as soon as I make them.
Till then, keep smiling!!
XOXO
