The Baggy Method

As promised on Tuesday, here is a post explaining what the Baggy method is.

 

The idea of the Baggy method is to help locking in the moisture you "bring" to your hair. It is very easy to do but the results, of course, vary from head to head: it works and does wonders for some, but can be a nightmare for others. Like every products or methods out there :-)

 

To use the baggy method you will need the following:

• your favourite moisturiser/conditioner
• an oil of your choice to seal that moisturiser/conditioner (EVOO, Castor oil, Coconut oil...)
• a plastic bag/cap
• hair band

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First, you wet your hair with the water (doesn't have to be soaking wet, just damp hair is enough).

Second, you apply your moisturiser/conditioner to your hair.

Third, you seal the moisturiser/conditioner with the oil.

Fourth, you cover the hair with the plastic bag/cap and keep it in place with the hair band.

 

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And you are done! All you have to do is to cover your head with your usual satin scarf/bonnet and go to bed. The next morning, remove the plastic bag/cap and let your hair air dry (as it will be damp from the moisture overnight).

 

Note that you can use this method on your ends only or on your entire head. The only difference is that for your ends, you put your hair in a bun put the plastic bag/cap on that but only.

 

Depending on how heavy you are with the oil, you won't want to do this every night as the build up will be important. If you want to use it each night, you might want to consider co-washing your hair the next day. Although it is not good to keep your hair wet all the time.

 

This method is quite helpful in order to retain length as it helps keep your ends moisturised, therefore, they will be less likely to break. I try to use it at least 3 times a week. Sometimes I do it more, sometimes less. I stay careful in order to have a moisture overload.

 

Do you use the Baggy Method? What results did you get?

Experiments

When you start a Hair Journey (HJ), experimenting is a very important part of it, and especially at the beginning (I think no one will say the contrary).

 

Deciding to go on a HJ is not an easy thing when it comes to the whole organisation: you have so many questions going through your head once you've said "That's it! I'm going to take care of my hair!". No matter what your reason for it is and the goals you set for yourself and your hair, you will have to experiment at some point.

 

And this does not have to be a bad and tedious thing: experiment is a good part of the whole process. Now, the only surprise you might get with experimenting is....you might turn into a Product Junkie lol I know I definitely turned into one at the beginning and although I have managed to stop myself from buying every single product I read about in forums and saw on TV, I still from time to time buy some things I don't necessary need there and then. And it also doesn't mean I don't have a wish list of things I would like to experiment with in the future.

 

Soooo! All of this to say that after almost three years on my HJ, I still experiment with new techniques or products on a regular basis. Just because I have found a regimen that works for me, doesn't mean that I stick to it religiously. There are loads of things that can make me change my regimen: for example, I have moved around a lot in the last year or so and I have not been able to carry all my staple products with me abroad. And sometimes, finding them in another country is not easy! So you have to adapt, and find new things. Other times, a product your hair loved for months simply stops "working" (despite clarifying your hair for an product build up). In that case, I stop using it for a little while and get back to it later on.

 

I had used the Baggy Method (I will discuss this method in my next post) at the beginning of my HJ. But had stopped. After the cold (VERY cold) weather, my hair needed some serious TCL so I started using it again. But my usual product didn't seem to work. Which meant one thing: experimenting time for Pti Kikó!

 

I created my own mix: Rosewater and Glycerin (yes, as the Winter is gone now, Glycerin is back in the place). But I had put a little bit too much Glycerin and the mix was a bit sticky on my hands so I added a tiny bit of my VO5 conditioner. Shook it well and voilà! I will see how it goes after a few weeks of using it. But so far, it is OK.

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What about you ladies? What mixes do you make that help your hair when in need of TLC? Or methods?

More progress

A little update on my bold spot (see previous update here).

 

I am still happy with the progress. Considering I did not use my Castor oil every single day in the last few weeks (please read "the weeks when I was ill" lol).

 

It has definitely got a bit fuller since February. What do you think?

 

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Product Review - TRESemmé Thermal Recovery intensive repair & hydration treatment

A few days after my relaxer, I treated my hair with my usual heavy protein treatment (Aphogee 2 step protein treatment).

 

Then of course, I had to follow with a deep conditioning session. Which I did the following day.

Although I have found my now much loved Keracae Humecto, I still have some products to finish that I had started to use before that one. One of them is the TREsemmé Thermal Recovery Treatment.

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Ingredients:

Aqua (Water) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Quaternium-18 , Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine , Phytantriol , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice , Panthenol , Dimethicone , Glyceryl Stearate , Quaternium-80 , Propylene Glycol , Ascorbic Acid , Hydroxyethylcellulose , Glycerin , PEG-12 Dimethicone , Steareth-21 , Panthenyl Hydroxypropyl Steardimonium Chloride , Oleamine Oxide , Tocopheryl Acetate , Disodium PEG 12 Dimethicone Sulfosuccinate , Silk Amino Acids , Keratin Amino Acids , Hydrolyzed Soy Protein/Vegetable Amino Acids/Lysine Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride , Hydrolyzed Oat Protein , Biotin , Niacinamide , Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract , PVP , Sorbitol , Citric Acid , Disodium EDTA , Polysorbate 20 , Methylcloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone , Amyl Cinnamal , Butylphenyl Methyl Propional , Citronellol , Geraniol , Hexyl Cinnamal , Hydroxycitronellol , Limonene , Linalool , Parfum (Fragrance) .

 

As always, we know that the most important ingredients in a list are the first five.

Here it starts well with Aqua and Cetearyl Alcohol (a "good" alcohol that is an"Used as an emollient, emulsifier, conditioner, and thickener.") (source: Tightly Curly website)

The next on the list is Quaternium-18 which is used to "keep products from separating. [It also] gives hair shine, conditions hair and helps reduce fly-aways due to static electricity" (source: Tightly Curly website).

Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine (this one gave me a headache to figure out during my research lol)is a surfactant which means that it is cationic (positively charged as opposed to the hair that is negatively charged). It is basically a conditioner. It has good effects on the hair but be aware that due to its nature, it can build up on the hair so you might need to use a clarifying shampoo from time to time.

And last, Phytantriol. It is an emollient which helps hair retain moisture.

In all, it looks like the first ingredients are not so bad.

 

Smell:

This thing smells sooooo good! I am in love with the smell. It is a bit fruity and I really wished the smell would have stayed longer in my hair :-)

 

Texture:

Very creamy. Even after I've had added some Olive Oil to it.

 

Application:

Very quick and easy. Maybe because I have a fresh relaxer? I don't think so because I have used it once before and it was the same experience.

 

Results:

I wish I could say that I had fallen in love with the product as much as the smell. Unfortunately....no. It is not a bad product but I didn't get that "wow" factor once rinsed out. My hair felt exactly the same as it was before the application. And what I am looking for is for something that will give me this "wow" (and I do mean "WOW"!) feeling.

 

On the other end, instead of using a plastic cap, I used some cling film and I must say that I prefer that method. I have used it a second time since then for another DC session and I have the feeling that it was more beneficial.

 

So ladies? Any experience with this product?

Product Review - Kinki Coili Curli Heaven's Hair Milk

Yes....this quest is still going on unfortunately.

As said earlier, I am trying to find a hair milk as a daily moisturiser. I now have a little list of moisturisers that do not work with my hair (or at least not as much as I'd like them to).

It seems like each time I think I have found something that I'd consider trying from the reviews on forums, the ingredients don't please me.

Until a few weeks ago when I saw this product:

 

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I found it on the UK website of the shop I am used to go to for my products. It was hair milk and the ingredients didn't look bad.

Ingredients:

Aqua, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit oil, Riccinus communis (Castor)Seed, oil, Butrospermum parkii, Cetyl alcohol, Cetrimonium chloride, Hydrogenated Jojoba oil, Glycerine, Phenoxyethanol (and) caprylol glycol (and) chlorphenisin, Parfum, Guar Hydroxyprpyltrimonium Chloride.

I ordered it and the price was £5.99 (around $9) for 120ml.

Now what can I say?

Smell:

When I opened it and smelt it, I was put off straight away. To me it has a weird smell to it. Like something rancid. So much that I had the reflex to check if there was a use by date on it! Really didn't like it.

Texture:

This products actually looks like some sort of milk (a bit thicker) once on your hand. It is not creamy or anything, but still smooth. Unfortunately, once it starts drying on the skin, it has this odd feel to it which I cannot describe...it is not sticky but it leaves the skin a bit "rough".

Application:

I was already not up to applying it due to the smell lol but I tried it anyway. The feeling I had on my skin was the same on my hair. At first, it feels smooth but once it starts penetrating the hair, it's almost as if I had used a clarifying shampoo. And of course, the smell!

Conclusion:

I've tried some products that didn't work since the start of my hair journey, and I have to say that this one is the one I've hated the most so far. Yes, I have used the word "hate".

Now I am left with this bottle hardly used. I need to "recycle" it as I have paid for it at the end of the day.

Has any of you tried Kinki Coili Kurli Heaven's Hair Milk? Or any product from that brand? What did you think of it?

Relaxer nº2 (April 5, 2013)

I finally relaxed my hair last Friday after a 3 months stretch! This was much needed, I can tell you that.

Due to the amount of new growth, I asked my sister to give me a hand and apply it for me.

I had started using ORS Lye Relaxer for my last relaxer, but as I was worried I would not managed to apply it to my entire head within the required time, I preferred to go for a milder relaxer. One that would not be so harsh on my scalp.

I had one application left of the following:

 

I honestly could not tell how long it took for my sister to apply it on my head. But I had to rinse as soon as it was done: my scalp is extremely sensitive so I cannot keep relaxers for long.

I rinsed the relaxer, then applied my Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructer under a plastic cap for 20 minutes. Rinsed that and then used the ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo. I deep conditioned with Keracare Humecto for a couple of hours. I then let my hair air dry.

I washed my hair again the following day with the ORS shampoo and my Roux Porosity Control shampoo (I know it sounds like much, but my hair still felt like some relaxer was on it so....)

I have not made any length check, purely by choice as I don't want any disappointment. I know it will take a while for me to reach BSL again so I prefer to focus on the health of my hair rather than that.

I have experienced some breakage though: a little chunk of my hair just broke. It fell with the water as I was rinsing the relaxer. "Luckily" (I guess) it is under my hair so it cannot be seen.

With all the lack of TLC in the last few weeks (very, very cold weather; flu...), I am going to need to do some serious deep conditioning/protein sessions!