Upward Toward the Sun

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Edwardian women washed their hair every 2-4 weeks.

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Argan & Rosemary cleansing oil. These are the only two ingredients. This is Perfect for getting my hair clean in between shampoos.

Argan & Rosemary Facial Cleansing Oil

Argan & Rosemary Facial Cleansing Oil naturally deep cleanses pores and softens skin. Rosemary essential oil kills bacteria.

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Super clever way to get waves! Can’t wait to try this.

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I LOVE her. She keeps it one hundred. So many excellent points. Don’t miss this!

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[sethnocentric]

[inmyperfectworld]

ALL textures of natural hair, are beautiful and so is every woman with natural hair. 😍🤎 There's NO such thing as bad hair.

[foreverbaby25]

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This is the absolute best gel for a clean, natural hold. Aloe gel. Shea Terra is a really dope brand. I have tons of their products. #Shea Terra

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Niacin for Hair: Benefits and How to Use

Niacin is a popular hair growth supplement, but is it safe? We spoke with a dermatologist and trichologist to find out.

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Homemade Shampoo for Hard Water Buildup

Living in a hard water area? Wondering how how to remove hard water buildup from hair? The answers are here! Shampoo recipe inside.

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What’s my strategy for 2024?

In my natural hair YouTube feed, I’m seeing a LOT of videos on mini braids.

I’ve always liked the look of mini braids and mini twists ever since I saw Roberta Flack with them with tiny beads sewn in. I was the first person in my high school to wear them.

I remember that no one, not a soul, including my friends and family said a word.

So I've done mini braids and twists many times. The last time was 2017.

My issue is the matting at the roots. Overall matting at the take down and having the time to re-braid in rotation.

My hair has been growing a lot since I started nourishing my scalp in late summer. But I am tempted to install small braids to accelerate the growth and retention.

Because work has been slow, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my hair for the last several months. But things could speed up and bam, suddenly I have no time for it.

Right now, my hair is in 14 chunky braids. I’m not crazy about it but it’s super convenient. I washed it last Tuesday. The Indian herbs with hibiscus mask has made my hair dryer than I’d like.

So what I think I’m going to do for 2024 is this:

*Re-braid each braid and split each one into two braids ending up with 28 braids. I'm using the scalp oil in the photo combined with the Coffee & Orange Glow from Curly Proverbz. The small jar is a moisture mixture that I made that has hemp seed oil, mango butter, cocoa butter and a bunch of essential oils. I made this 5-6 years ago and kept it with in fridge or freezer. This is excellent to get some moisture into my hair.

*Wash with braids in a month. Rebraid again but split each braid into two so I’ll have 56. Keep those in until a wash in March. Then maybe take out and rest my hair for a week and start over with the 14 braids.

I’m going to try to do this cycle for a year. I am going to miss wearing my hair out and doing bangs but I'm curious as to if this method will work.

Not sure what I’ll do in between washing. Stay tuned!

[towardthesun]

Could This Be The Reason Your Natural Hair is Thinning?

My sister and I have always had a super thick head of hair. Meaning, dense with many strands.

Several months ago, I noticed that while her hair was still thick, mine was getting thinner and thinner. Meaning, I would make puffs with either loose hair or twists, and they hardly amounted to anything; tiny little pitiful things.

I started thinking, is it because I'm getting older? I'm only 3 years older than my sister. So that didn't seem to be the reason.

Then I realized this is the issue. I went through a few years where I drowned my hair in oils and butters to relax the curl a bit, plus stopped doing apple cider vinegar rinses. During this time, I was plagued with velcro patches. Hairs that would stick together and had to be cut out. Cutting, cutting, cutting mid-strand patches over several years is what has caused my puffs to be thin.

Imagine that I had 2 zillion hairs on my head. But I cut out 1/8 of those at the mid-strand length. That would definitely affect the thickness and make my puffs look much smaller.

Once I started doing either ACV rinses or herbal tea rinses, the velcro patches disappeared completely! I think the oils and butter swelled the cuticles and allowed them to catch onto one another. The ACV and tea fixed that problem.

I still adore oils and butters but I use them less frequently. Now that my cuticles are smoother, I don't need them to "relax the curl." I'm happy to report that my puffs are looking nice and thick again! No velcro patches and way less fairy knots. FTW!

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*Sigh* The product junkie in me just can’t stop. This all natural hair tonic shall soon be mine, lol. $9 minus 15% discount.

INGREDIENTS: Distilled Water, *Aloe (Vera) Barbadensis Extract, *Arctium (Burdock) Lappa Extract, *Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail) Plant Extract, *Serenoa Repens (Saw Palmetto) Extract, Camellia (Green Tea) Extract, *Rosmarinus (Rosemary) Officinalis Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion Root) Extract, Lavandula (Lavender) Extract, Essential Oils, Mentha Spicata (Spearmint) Essential Oil Potassium Sorbate

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Faster Growth!

I’ve been using this hair mask made with hibiscus and Indian herbs and my hair is a lot stronger and less porous. I’m experiencing less shedding.

The pink bottle is my DYI of aloe, grape seed oil, and a mix of fresh ginger, cloves, fresh rosemary, fresh sage and lemongrass. Everything simmered in olive oil.

Normally, aloe makes my hair dry and scalp itch. I rinsed and drained the aloe first and used 1/4 aloe and 3/4 herb oil. It still itches my scalp and makes my hair drier. But I only use it once every 3-4 weeks. I spray a ton my hair until it’s soaked, do a scalp massage and braid up the twists or braid I already have installed. Everyone raves about aloe so I'm determined to find the sweet spot.

I'm noticing growth; little "sprouts" as "Curly Proverbz" calls them. The little sticks that are the first sign of new growth.

I've been doing this since late summer and I'm seeing results. I also massage my scalp twice a day.

My goal is to get 6-12 inches in one year, which would be phenomenal for me. For the first time ever, I'm actively trying to grow my hair by stimulating my scalp. I always assumed that my hair would grow 1/2 inch per month but for whatever reason, my rate was vastly slower than that. For 5 years, I hardly ever felt any new sprouts!

I also bought a bunch of really cool products, including some from "Curly Proverbs, some from Etsy and some from Whole Foods. They are all fire. I will post pictures soon.

So glad I never got into commercial products with tons of synthetic chemicals, glycerin or wax. Every single product I own is extremely high quality. And I take excellent care of my products. Most go in plastic ziplock bags in the refrigerator or freezer. I even have products from 6 years ago that are no longer being made (small business went out of business) that are so precious! I'll have to post pictures of my stash one day soon.

[black-lake-full-of-blue]

[towardthesun]

Fire!