High Porosity Growth/Health Challenge

 High Po's Stand up,

So my girl Adrian Hey gurl hey, Just did a Big Chop congrats Love <3.  She also did the porosity test and found out she is a High po Clapping hands and stomping feet.  Well she asked me if I could do a High Poroisty Growth/health Challenge.

Of course I can, so first I had to look at the Struggles and the issue High Pos deal with and what best would help us maintain healthy hair and receive growth.

Challenge Starts Sept 1/16-Feb 1/17 6 months and you can join either my Facebook page:

Mamadaye's Facebook page

Or 
Follow me on IG and tag me
https://www.instagram.com/mamadaye/

• Just comment you want to join the challenge and take photos of your front, side and back of your hair. (Comment under the pic posted above in both facebook and/or  Instagram)

• Check in will be every 4 weeks.

• Write down all the issues you are having with your hair and decide what challenge you are taking.

I have made a couple of suggestions in the video and this blog.  However I know that we as naturals or even High porosity have the same issues or hair.  So you can make this challenge fit for your needs.



So these are the steps for Moisture maintenance for High pos"
Wash/co wash multiple times in a week or multiple times in 2 weeks.  (Your preference)
Deep condition with every wash
Protein treatment
LAOC/ LAO/LAC method to maintain moisture
Refreshing Refreshing, Greenhouse effect, or bagging method
Trimming

• 1.  Wash day ( either wash/co wash) hair 1-2 a week ( I noticed when swimming 3x a week my hair grew so fast.  Which tells me the more washing the more growing ( in my best cave man voice ).

•  2. Deep Condition (weekly)  For me this is a must every time I wash my hair. This will bring moisture to our hair and allow for detangling.   I deep condition for 15-20 minutes and I use the Huetiful steamer.  Steam, heat for DC is great for our hair.  Yes it opens our already open cutlicles up but it also helps the water to infuse in our medulla of the hair structure.

(Now when it comes to Co-washing You dont have to DC.

• 3.   Protein Treatments:  Now High porosity hair is prone to breakage and split ends due to the cuticle of the hair being raised and when we manipulate our hair with detangling, styling we increase our risk of hair breakage because our Keratin is weaker making our cuticles prone to breakage. 

To prevent that breakage we use Protein treatments to increase the keratin and strengthen our hair.  Now its important to note that If you do a Protein treatment make sure you follow with a moisture DC.  Its strength first moisture last.

I will be Protein treatment monthly and trying to see if I use GreenBeauty hydolized wheat protein liquid in my HG DC as my protein treatment and even put it in a pray bottle with 2/3 water and 1/3 Wheat protein I can use that as a refresher/strength.

• 4. LAOC(Leave in, Aloe, Oil, Cream/Butter) /LAO( Leave in Aloe, Oil) /LAC(Leave in, Aloe, Cream/Butter) methods.

Finding the right method to help moisture retention is KEY for high pos.  So I will be folling the LAOC method to help maintain moisture in my hair.

•  5. Refreshing:  there are going to be 3 ways you can refresh your hair.

 Easiest on is use spray bottle with water and pump of leave in.  Spray on your hair at night cover your hair or sleep on a satin pillow like me and go to bed. I refresh my hair every Friday.

Or

Green house effect: My girl Michelle does a great video on Greenhouse effect.  I LOVE the greenhouse effect.  I will be using this weekly 1x a week for moisture retention.

.

 Bagging method:  This is a great example of the bagging method.

 Bagging method focuses on the ends of your hair vs the green house focusing on all your hair. 

• 6.  Last is Trimming.  Again because of the Cuticles being raised we are more prone to split ends and knots.  Because of this I believe trimming on a schedule time is SO important to High pos.  By sticking with a faithful trimming you will see an improvement on your hair and growht.  So every 6-8 weeks have your ends trimmed.

Now you can decide which one works best for you and once your hair gets really dry that a sign to start all over.  Basically back to square on and wash your hair and follow the remaining steps.


Of course you don't have to follow my suggestions you can use your own.


Im excited to my First ever Length check and challenge.  Again Adrian thank yo for this idea and High Post Let grow some Health Long High Po hair.

Side note:  We all have different levels of Hair Growth so even though 1/2 inches per month is the "normal" rate of hair growth.  I understand that some have an even slower growth rate.  That is why I suggest pictures because a photo can show you the growth when you don't believe any has occurred.

??Does Apple Cider Vinegar Really Help with High Porosity??

 

As a High porosity curl girl we as a porosity group get pushed to the back and most hair lines are made for the low to normal porosities.  So most of the time we High po's have to fend for ourselves.  

DIY's, or finding different lines to find that perfect leave in but then have to search other product lines to find the perfect butter and oil, so on and so on you know what I mean.  And the double edge sword is that you hope and pray they all work well together adn your not have alot of white beads in your hair.

Then you have the myths and rumors of products, ingredients that will help High porosity hair to fix the Damaged high porosity hair(that is a whole different blog to talk about how that works my entire nerves right there...but i digress).

 

GET TO THE POINT MAMA,

I know as a newbie natural every natural I spoke to, read blogs about, watched youtube videos have praised ACV(apple cider vinegar) as the ALL MIGHTY hair product you can use it to cleanse your hair, detangle your hair, soften your hair and even Close your hair cuticles.

 The latter is the test I am putting in my Myth vs Facts:

 

Why do this series of videos challenging ACV or other myths: 

1.  As a High po gal this pertains to my hair

2. I have tried ACV and the ACV rinse( 1/4 ACV and 3/4 water) and my kizzy (my hair nickname) did not like it at all.  My hair was not soft and it tangled more for me.

3.  All the natural hair community: bloggers, vloggers, Hair companies keep telling us this is good for our hair, and we NEED it but when I used it my hair hating it.

4.  NO on really showed me WHY this will work for my hair and  after showing me the results  HOW it could benefit me.

 

So I took it upon myself to see what would happen if i put the ACV to the test.

 I felt that this had to be done in such a way that there would be no questioning the results.  So I purchased a store brand ACV, a popular ACV brand and the HG, the Queen or King of all ACV  

Easiest Henna Treatment Ever!!

I have tried Henna, twice total.  Once with Henna powder and the second time with a Henna gloss bar. 

The first time Oh My Goodness, all I can say have no plans because your whole day is Booked.  Why well the steps to Hennaing your hair are as followed:
*Step 1the Mixing,
*Step 2 The waiting 3 hours....Yes 3 hours for the henna to mix was torture, but this step is to ensure the lawsone is activate so that your hair will take on the reddish orange tone .
*Step 3 add the Henna to my hair and then yep you guessed it wait another 2-4 hours for the henna to bind to the keratin in my hair cuticles.
*Step 4   wash, condition and style your hair.
Sounds easy but oh so time consuming.

Well to say the lest I was not team Henna after that.

But then I found what I thought was the answer to my prays, the henna gloss bar.  I thought it is already mixed, (Early celebration dance inserted here) and all I have to do is melt it and apply to my hair wait 2-3 hours and bam Im good.  NOT even.  My gray hairs had a barley there yellow tint to it.

 So I was back to square one.

Either Henna and have my whole day taking away from me or Dye my hair which I really didn't want to do but it was a way faster process.  These were my two options until a curl friend of mine put me on the 411. 

She gave me the Smartest most simplifying  tip for Henna ever.  Mix the henna and then put it on the hair immediately after mixing.  Then cover your hair and go to sleep with the Henna in your hair.  Over night it will active the Lawsone molecule and in the morning you wash, condition and style your hair.  This henna treatment allows you to skip 3-5 hours wait time.  I mean genius right.  I have to give my girl Napfreedom215 a big cyber kiss and hug for sharing this with me.

My hair came out exactly like it did on the first attempt of Henna I dare even say a dark red orange then it was before. So this changes every thing for me. 

So if you have tried Henna and the wait time and hours on your hair was not worth the effort give this a try and see if you become a Henna head natural.

Winter Swimming Hair Regimen{ Maintaining Moisture & Healhty Hair}

Swimming during the Winter is Hard, One, ITS COLD, two you want to find a way to retain moisture in your hair while Not Damaging your hair from the Chlorine or Stripping it Dry.

I want to share my Winter hair Regimen with you on How I maintain my Moisture and Health of my hair.

First Step
Wet your hair THOROUGHLY to allow your hair to absorb normal water Before going into the Pool. By doing this your hair will not absorb the Chlorine water as much because your hair is already saturated with water.

2nd Step Spraying Aloe Vera Juice on my hair before swimming has 2 Benefits.  First it is more Viscous than water so your hair medulla will hold that moisture longer than water and Secondly Aloe Vera has a low pH level 4.5 Which will lower your hair cuticles. Closing your cuticles to help seal and protect your hair from the Chlorine. Place your swim cap on.

NOW swim for an 1hour and get your WORKOUT ON!!

After Swimming its Important that You begin Removing the Chlorine from your hair.

First by Rinsing your hair with Warm or Med Hot water to open your cuticles and Remove chlorine from your Hair.

Then I Pre Poo My hair. I go into the Steam room for 5-10 minutes to Pre poo my hair. This is to help me begin moisturizing my hair before I strip it Clean with a Clarifying Shampoo.
 

I use the Oyin Grand poo bar to wash and Clarify my hair.  I wash my hair and scalp to ensure I have stripped away any remaining Chlorine from my hair.

I then Begin bringing the Moisture Back into my hair. Because I swim 2x a week the first time I only use a regular conditioner on my hair.  I use the 3n1miracle moisture by  Aussie let it sit in my hair for 3-5 minutes. On the second day I  Deep conditioner using Naturally Grow Intense Deep conditioner and sit in the steam room for 30 minutes.


 

I will Then Put my hair in a 100% Cotton T-shirt.  The Cotton T-shirt is better than a Towel.  It absorbs my moisture but there is no Damage to my curls. I lotion up, and get dressed.  This is Important because its SO COLD outside you don't want to go outside in the COLD with Extra Wet hair.  Moisture hair yes WET hair NO GO.

I then do my LAOC Method: Leave in, Aloe Vera. Oil and Cream.  To loc and Seal my moisture in.

I Braid or twist my hair and Put My hair hat on( my Wig LOL).  IF you dont wear wigs you can Twist it , Goddess braid or Have your hair in Mini Braids.  If you do this after moisturizing put a Head rag on and a hat to lay your hair down so its not so Frizzy and I recommend you Braid your Mini Braids to give it  a Wavy Fresh Look. During the warmer months WNG (Wash n Go)

At NIGHT I will do the Green House affect:  Spray my hair with Water lightly, Spray with Aloe Vera juice, Olive oil,castor oil and coconut oil Mixture and Then place a plastic Bag or Cap on my hair, Add a Head Rag and Put  a winter cap on my hair.  This allows my body heat and the moisture from the Aloe Vera and water to Heat moisturize my hair every night. 

  This refreshes my hair, moisturizes it and on Monday I start all over again.

So Yes its a lot of Steps but in the Video I show how my hair has grown so much since following these steps. Because of the Positive Growth I know I'm doing the Right Regiment for me.
 ( All pictures I got form Google :D)

Have you every wondered What these products do for your hair?

Is it just me or do you seat and wonder are these products really good for my hair or is it all hype just  to get me to  purchase the products?

Well Im a person who has to be proven that these products are good for my hair.  I even questioned the DIY products.  Does ACV help with my High Porous hair or the Aloe Vera is it a great moisturizer to my hair?

in this video I test both Aloe Vera and Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to see how my hair reacts to the products.  The result where astounding and I learned some thing new and hope you do as well.   Comment below and tell your reaction to the test.

Sharing a Piece of myself about Why I went natural

My Natural hair story is a long deep physical and emotional one.

I went natural for two reasons, the most obvious one is I have always loved natural hair.  Really, at the age of 17years old, many many years and years ago lol. I wanted to go natural when I met a young lady my age who was natural but I was not strong enough to fight the cream crack and I relaxed my hair again.  Now jump a couple years later. Now the second is the hardest for me to talk about, in December 2009 I was diagnosed with a life changing and rare syndrome that truly affected my life, personally, socially, mentally, and physically.  I had Spine problems and got Diagnosed with the worst cause scenario CES. Caudia Equina Syndrome effects the nerves in your spinal canal in a damaging way.  I had a herniated disc that was bulging 80% in my spinal canal, one icy snowing day I slipped on some ice and fell.  Before slipping on that ice I was in pain all the time I'm talking on a scale of 1-10 I was a 20 everyday.  When I slipped on the ice,  I had no pain no what so ever.  At first I was like yes, but being in healthcare I realized that was not a good thing.  I called my doctor and after speaking with him I was scheduled for emergency surgery the next day.  It was a roller coaster.  After the surgery I learned I had some sever nerve damage.  I was unable to use the bathroom on my own and I had to learn to cath in order to go to the bathroom.  Among other things Im just not ready to talk about. 

I cant tell you at the age of 32 how dark my life felt, I couldn't believe I was going through this at such an early age.  This was not how my life was suppose to be.  I am a social butterfly, I loved to do things with my friends and family.  I loved playing and be crazy with my girls,but once this happened I pretty much stayed in my room and cried all the time.  Or I would smile with my family because I didn't want them to know how mad, upset, frustrated or how much I hated myself. I felt I was a burden to them and how dare I be a Debbie downer.  It was not  fair to them.  So I hid and I lied so that they wouldn't worry about me.I had more bad days then good, and I felt I had no control of anything in my life.

At the time I was rocking Sew in after sew in for about 3 months.  I realized in February that I had'nt gotten my hair relaxed and transition.  It was then I decided to go natural.  After I was done with the sew ins, I would flex rod, braid and flat iron my hair.  I got the Brazilian Keratin treatment and then I realized that if I wanted to rock my hair natural why was I still wearing it in a relaxed state by way of  the BKT and Flat ironing it.  So I joined natural hair communities, watched a million natural hair videos on youtube and talked with friends and family who were natural and I began learning how to take care of my natural hair and what I needed to do  as a transitioner.  In May 2010 on Mothers day I decided to Big chop my hair.  I had washed my hair and was going to put it in a pony tail but when I saw those beautiful curls I wanted to really see them without those raggedy straight ends.  So I grabbed a pair of scissor and cut my hair!  It was drastic, it was not part of my 1 year transitioning process but at the end when I looked in the mirror All I saw was Beautiful!!  I loved it and I will never got back.  What I saw in that mirror was me in my most natural state they way God made me and I realized that all this time the definition that I had in my head of what I thought was beautiful was not mine. That is what keeps me on my path abd  now what motivates me to stay naturally beautiful.

Soon after that my daughters Jazzy and Rere decided to go natural with me as well.  We have been on this journey for 3 1/2 years and We love it!!

It took an emotional diagnoses to get me where I am now, and even though I still have CES I have more Better days than bad.  I take each day at a time and I know that God only gives you what you can bear!!  I don't share this for sympathy I share this for someone out there that may be in a space that I was in  where you felt lost, alone, weak.  I want you to know you are stronger than you know.  And the one thing that will help you is Pray, patience, love and support.

Layers of acceptance

We all have gone through it. When we put that relaxer in our hair, we choose to not accept our natural nappiness. We thought we were not going to be Beautiful without our hair straight. Or we didn't get to choose our mothers, aunts made the decision for us. Or we thought it was easier to manage our hair with a relaxer. (There is nothing wrong with that. I want you to know I am not a relaxer basher!! If you are happy with your relaxed hair then I am happy with you:) )

Then we decide that we wanted our hair to be natural or because of a bad hair experience via relaxed burned, bad hair dying experience what ever the reason maybe.

But we then face the layers of acceptance. Some still lay under the layer of the unknown, the layer of fear, the layer of concern, the layer of acceptance of ourselves. The layer of our natural beauty!

So we transition

I know I did because I feared how I would look. I feared I would not be beautiful, I feared my husband would not think I was beautiful, I feared that my hair would never grow long that it would always be short. I feared that I would have some nappy coily hair, I feared the unknown.

My youngest transition with me because she was not ready to wear her hair curly. She wanted it flat ironed all the time. Her hair was past her shoulders about top of scapula. Her fear was of having to cut her hair and what her piers might think of her with short hair. She was 10 when she decided to go natural via transition.

There are others like my oldest daughter who made the decision and shaved it like that, but then realize; Wow I look different with a low fade and decide to wear wigs till it grows in some. Her fear was what would her piers think of her and that people would think she was a boy. Mind you she was 15 when she did this and that she is 6 feet tall!

We have so many fears, unknowns, and what ifs.

But once I washed my hair after transitioning for nine months and saw those beautiful coils, the what ifs, the unknowns, the fear seemed quieter that day and I pull my scissors out and cut my relaxer off.

I felt beautiful, I felt free, I felt happy and I felt confident in myself!

Now being almost 3 years natural I have hairstyles I'm still afraid to try. I Bantu knotted my hair early one morning by mid day, I had earns I needed to run and was afraid to go out with them because of my same fears as when I was first transitioning. Because of those layers of acceptance. But then I realized that I could go out with a scarf on and look ghetto or I could put my face on and walk out with my head held high. And that is what I did and to my surprise 3 brothers flirted with me and I got multiple compliments on my hair.

There are still those layers of acceptance that I'm still battling with. But day by day I free myself from a layer and that is all it takes!!!
:)