The Healthy Hair Diary

Castor Oil Challenge - 3 Month Check In & Results

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

So 3 months have passed and the castor oil challenge is officially over.

Quick recap; I joined the challenge which started on September 19th at the extreme level. This consists of oiling my scalp every other night followed by a scalp massage, adding 2 teaspoons of castor oil to my weekly deep conditioner and also use castor oil mixed with avocado oil to seal my ends each night.

This challenge was so easy take part in and I quickly found myself in a routine. As mentioned in my two month check in post, I made sure my oils were pre-mixed and stored them so they were easily accessible.

To oil my scalp, I pre-mixed Lavender Jamaican Black Castor oil with 100% pure castor oil and stored it in an applicator bottle which makes oiling my scalp no task at all.

For deep conditioning, I made up another mix of Lavender JBCO and pure castor oil and this bottle stayed in the bathroom so when washday came around, I could easily add my castor oil mix with my deep conditioner.

Last but not least, to seal my hair, I pre-mixed a 100ml bottle of Avocado oil and Lavender JBCO. I keep this with my moisturiser downstairs so that it is always ready and waiting when I go to moisturise and seal before I go upstairs to bed.

I used castor oil to oil my scalp prior to the castor oil challenge starting during the challenge oiled my scalp very other night and if I am being honest, I wouldn't say I noticed a vast difference in growth which I could definitely attribute to the use of castor oil. What I can say is that I definitely love to use JBCO to oil my scalp and will continue to use it as it helps to soften my new growth which makes it more manageable when stretching my relaxers.

Adding castor oil to my deep conditioners gave my hair that extra moisture boost it needed and after each wash day my hair was always left feeling so moist and manageable. Now the challenge is over I will alternate between my favourite oils to mix with my deep conditioners.

Sealing my hair with avocado oil mixed with lavender JBCO was my favourite part of the challenge. My hair would feel so amazing after moisturising and then using this oil mix to seal my hair. Throughout the challenge my ends were still moist at the end of each day and I relaxed my hair on December 16th which is 3 days before the end of the challenge and I can definitely say that I have managed to retain length. I trimmed my hair yesterday and only needed to take off just over one centimetre rather than the usual 1-2 inches which I am very pleased about. Although the challenge is over I will definitely continue to seal with my avocado oil and JBCO mix over the colder months, once this mix has been used up I will try mixing JBCO with grapeseed oil.

September 2015

December 2015

How does castor oil work for your hair?

1 Week Post Relaxer

Wash Day Diary - 1 Week Post Relaxer

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

1 Week Post Relaxer

Wash Day Diary - 1 Week Post Relaxer

Monday, December 28, 2015

11 Weeks Post Relaxer

Relaxer Touch Up – 11 Weeks Post Relaxer

Monday, December 28, 2015

Late post!

I planned to relax my hair on Saturday 19th December but we had quite a few festive events to attend that I decided to do my touch up mid-week on Wednesday 16th December instead.

I started preparing my hair by sectioning into four and applying olive oil to the length of my hair excluding my new growth. Separated each quadrant into 1 inch sections and twisted hair from new growth downwards. I can honestly say I forgot to follow this up by adding petroleum jelly and have just remembered whilst typing this post which is irritating.

Anyway, with my hair ready I went on to add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to half a tub of ORS Professional Olive Oil Lye Relaxer and mixed thoroughly for 3 minutes until all mixed together, set my timer for 18 minutes and then started applying the relaxer to my new growth starting with the two back sections. The timer went off whilst I was still smoothing so I continued for another 4-6 minutes then rinsed until all relaxer was out of my hair.

I towel blotted my hair for a minute or two and then applied Aphogee 2 Minute Reconstructor to my hair as a mid-protein step and let sit in my hair for a few minutes and then rinsed.

Using the ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo, I neutralized my hair lathering 4-5 times to ensure all relaxer was out of my hair then blotted dry with a towel for a few minutes whilst deciding what to condition with. I grabbed the Creme of Nature Conditioning Treatment and applied it liberally to my hair and then sealed with my castor oil mix. I covered with a plastic cap and sat under the hood dryer for 30 minutes then rinsed one cool. Yes I should have used a light protein conditioner to condition with considering it was relaxer day but my mind was somewhere else and by time I realised it was too late to go on to add more conditioner, I had work the next morning.

I t-shirt dried for 25 minutes and then applied my leave-ins; Creme of Nature Straight from Eden detangling leave-in, Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Leave-in and sealed with Inecto Pure Coconut Oil Serum then detangled my hair with a wide tooth comb and air-dried using a satin scarf to lay my edges.

When my hair was 70% dry, I could just about keep my eyes open so admitted defeat and put my hair in a loose bun secured with satin scrunchy and then tied down with satin scarf then took myself to bed knowing I would have to get up that little bit earlier to deal with moisturising and sealing my hair before work.

In the morning, I moisturised and sealed with Elasta QP Olive Oil & Mango Butter Moisturizer and my avocado oil and lavender JBCO mix, styled my hair and was out of the door.

I am pleased with my results, I am left with texture so my hair isn't bone straight and it is so manageable, I forgot how good it is to be able to run my fingers through my hair.