It Creept Up on Me! Henna Time!

I've been applying cassia treatments to my hair since March and have really enjoyed the results. However, last night my hubby discovered something that made me change my mind about cassia. What was that something? My first gray hair!! I'm trying to be cool about it, it was bound to happen at some point. However, the idea of the gray hair still makes me a little uneasy (superficial, but true). I had my hair in braids last night and my husband reached over and yanked on a hair. I screamed, of course, and he felt bad and said he thought it was one of our cat's hairs (this happens often that a piece of her fur ends up in my hair). Not knowing what to do, I asked my husband to cut the gray hair really short. I heard my Mom's voice in the back of my head saying "pluck one and you'll get 10". It's not in a noticeable spot side of my hair and closer to the bottom of my hair, however, I have to accept it and the others that will follow.

Since I don't want to dye my gray hairs blond, I think I am going to give my cassia to my husband, if he's interested (aka I offer or insist on letting him be by guinea pig). Well, I guess if I apply cassia straight away it shouldn't dye my hair. In any case, this means I am now Team Henna. This summer, I'll head to the States for a few weeks and will purchase a supply of henna to bring back with me. I saw Curly Nikki, the Queen of Henna, uses super fine sifted Jamila henna. I think I'll try to find the same kind. Customs is going to have fun with me when I return!

What type of henna are you using? If you have gray hair(s), what color did henna dye them?

L.O.C Method

 Yes, another acronym to add to the natural dictionary! When I first went natural, I have to admit, I didn't see the point in sealing. My hair was in the twa stage and was relatively easy to moisturize. After washing my hair, I'd just slap on a little leave-in and call it a day. Now that my hair has grown out of the twa phase, I realize the importance of keeping my ends well moisturized and protected. Thus, I never skip the process of sealing my ends after washing my hair. However, to be honest, sealing my ends was always sort of a ritual, based on popularity among the natural community. It was almost a rite of passage to wash, add a leave-in and seal my ends. Unfortunately, even taking these measures did not prevent my ends from being brittle and dry. Thus, weekly deep conditioning and/or baggying sessions have helped me combat dry ends.

Well, lately I got to thinking... "maybe my routine of applying my leave-in and sealing is not doing much for my hair." Ever since I saw this article on Curly Nikki on the LOC method, I've been tempted to try it. The idea behind LOC is that you have a liquid, then oil, then cream on your hair. This is supposed to result in sealing each layer with the goal of maintaining moisture. Today, I tried this method for the first time. It's too soon to say whether there is a difference, however, I will provide an update towards the end of the week. So far, what I can say is that my hair has never looked this shiny after moisturizing. That's already a positive!

Tonight I washed my hair, deep conditioned, then applied coconut oil to my hair in sections. Next, I added a generous amount of my leave-in and detangled, then braided it. I'd like to do a braid-out tomorrow and hope the LOC method will result in more defined and moisturized hair.

Do you LOC?

UPDATES: See my September and October posts for more on the LOC method, which I love by the way!