Stepping forward

On Saturday night, I decided it was time to try some of the simpler tips I've found on "Le Jardin d'Isa et No", so I started by crushing some garlic and massaging it into my scalp. I'm not sure how successful or efficient it was, I seemed to get more garlic on the floor than in my scalp, but I'll try again, otherwise, I'll make a macerated garlic oil.

Next, I massaged some Mira oil into my scalp, to try to get rid of it, and finally, I coated my dry ends in sweet almond oil. The almond oil worked wonders, so I tried it again last night, using the smallest amount possible, and by morning, all the oil had been absorbed, and my ends where as smooth as though they'd just been cut. Talking of which, I bought some haircutting scissors, so I'll be able to have a little fun with the Search & Destroy method when I become paranoid about split ends.

On Sunday morning, I applied a little dry kaolin to my hair, to start "cleaning" my hair, rinsed it out, and then shampooed it with Thea's kitchen shampoo recipe. When my hair finally dried, it was so soft, I've never felt it to be like that before.

Since, I have finally made up a vinegar hair rinse, and I'm going to repeat last weekend's routine, adding the rinse at the end, as my hair needs a wash!

I've also decided to ask mum if she can order some stuff for me from the Alter Africa  site with her french account, because they won't accept my card, and neither will they accept foreign cheques. It's an African fair trade site aimed at french consumers, and they sell many African and oriental products, such as Rhassoul and Aleppo soap.

I've received my Barefaced Beauty special offer items, and I'm fairly happy with them, but the colours aren't that exciting, so I might not be buying from them again.

It's been a long time

...And there have been a few changes to my routine. I eventually became tired of the leave-in serum, and got rid of it, unfortunately I couldn't recycle the bottle. I did try the Weleda shampoo, but I wasn't impressed with it, and I haven't been impressed by Mira hair oil and shampoo. I've washed out the two shampoo bottles, for later use, have stopped my subscription to Mira, and I have half a bottle of the oil left, which I will now use instead of olive oil in all my preparations, until I finish it.

For shampoo, I am currently using a recipe by Thea from the Long Hair Loom, but I would like to try Rhassoul clay, and as I'm going to London next week, I'll be trying it soon, and I can use it to cleanse my face as well. I'd also like to get some Alep soap, because I'm tired of shower gels, they all seem the same to me, and it could serve as an emergency, or fall-back shampoo.

Yesterday, I did a coconut milk mask, before trying to wash my hair with kaolin, a.k.a. white clay. I say try, because kaolin has a strange reaction with water, meaning that getting the right consistency is very difficult, and I wasn't impressed with the results. My hair was very soft, and eventually dried, but it looked either still wet, or heavily oiled. Annoyed, I made Tanja's hair miracle mask last night, again from the Long Hair Loom, although I forgot the EO's, but the Mira oil made up for that. I put it on for the night, and washed it out this morning, with Thea's recipe. My hair's not dry yet, so I'll post my impressions later.

I still love my wooden combs, and I'm thinking of replacing my brush with a wooden one that I've found online. Advantages? A lot easier to clean, and far less chance of broken bristles, as long as it doesn't suffer too many accidents.

I've opened an account on a new forum, but french this time, called Le Jardin des Chevelus .  The website it's attached to, Le Jardin d'Isa et No , is dedicated to natural products, and home-made recipes.  It therefore has lists of many ingredients and there uses, which I find great. I also very much like the way the forum is organised, although it can feel like being back in high school with all it's rules, but I understand why they're there.