Cultured in Media

Back to the original content of this blog, HAIR TALK. Lately I have been so chill with my hair that it actually just look like a pile of strands sitting on my head. I really haven't done anything to my hair in about a week other than wash it a few times. So today, I decided to give it a treatment and a proper trim. I had a hard time deciding on which treatment I wanted to give this mane. Tonight, I decided to give my my hair back its shine and the look of fullness so I went with the classic old oil rinse. Prior to the oil rinse, my hair looked a hot mess. So dry that it could break off easily. I mean it also could have been because I have been so tired of doing my hair lately that I honestly have been neglecting it, which is never a good thing. Before: So what I did was mix a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and Safflower Oil. I then separated my hair into four sections and then applied the oil through the scalp to the ends as if I was shingling my hair. I then pu...

I know for a fact that you know what Olive Oil is used for; cooking obviously. But did you know that you can also use this product for your hair and skin? Of course you did, so did you actually try it out? Well I have, and still continue to use Olive Oil, well the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, known as EVOO in the hair hair world.  If you have dry hair, thick hair, dirty hair, breakage, colored, permed or natural hair, this will work wonders for your tresses. I use it for an oil rinse, a pre-poo, a sealant, and also as an itchy scalp reliever - especially when my hair is almost desert dry. I will make a separate post later for each of the ways I use EVOO but right now I am just trying to introduce you to it. Olive Oil has been used on the hair for thousands of years. It adds shine, body, softness, and resilience to the strands, making it stronger and preventing breakage. It doesn't matter the hair type, or race of a person, Olive Oil works for everyone. Give it a try and see if...

Sigh! How many times do you see me say "Day 1?" Okay, yea, a lot right? Well this time I am sticking to it. I promise. I want for next summer to be the summer I let all my hair down to my waist and swing it back and forth. Tonight I am doing an oil rinse combined with two eggs for protein. Right now my hair is lacking shine as you can see below, and also these strands are so dry that it seems as if every drop of oil I put on my scalp is sucked up upon impact. So what I did is whipped up two eggs, put more than enough coconut oil into the whipped egg.  I parted my hair into two sections. And started applying from the back first, since that is the area that mostly rubs against my clothing. Make sure you are wearing a shirt that you do not wear outside as the oil may drip or slide down the neck, face area. After applying to the whole head, I waited for approximately 45 minutes with bantu buns.  I washed out in the shower, shampooed, then used regul...

Day 19 through 21: Okay, oil rinsed Wednesday night, and dry wrapped hair again. I wore the following styles all week. Saturday, I washed and conditioned. After letting hair air dry over night, I decided to flat iron. It came out beautifully. I made sure I used heat protectant as always. So no complaints over here. ETA: Okay well day 23 was pure hell for me. First I OD on Nyquil. So I was extra drowsy. Plus it was rainy outside all day, so I was just miserable. Now to complete this messed up day, I went left work, headed to my car that was parked down the block to find this: A DAMN FLAT TIRE. IN THE RAIN. WITH THIS FRESHLY FLAT IRONED HAIR. AAAAHHHH. I looked a pure mess afterwards. All that time flat ironing went to waste. So I am here tonight as I type this update, re-flat ironing. Don't worry, this is my last time flat ironing for a while. My friend, who is natural, did not flat iron her hair for a whole year and finally did it for Christma...

I remember a time when my hair was flourishing. I mean, growing to the point where it was so healthy and shiny that it appeared to be a wig. I want to get back to those days. And since I am on the "Fall No Heat Challenge," I decided to do what I used to do. What worked for me in the past. My old regimen that got me where I am today was to do an oil treatment mid week, then do a Deep Conditioning treatment at the end of the week. I would always make sure that my hair was always moisturized. I also used to flat iron bi-weekly without any negative affects to my hair. It was growing in healthy, strong, and thick. I guess I stopped that regimen because I ended up getting too busy with life things. Well now I'm back on it. As I type, I'm sitting underneath my hooded dryer doing a pre-poo oil treatment. The products I used are Herbal Oil from Africa's best, Cinnamon Oil, and Olive Oil. I sectioned off into four sections and applied the oil to my hair from the root...

I decided it was time I go back to the care I used to give my hair. I used to take the time to make sure my hair was feeling good. I noticed my hair was in it's healthiest state doing oil rinses back in 2011. I would oil rinse every two weeks. The week I wouldn't oil rinse, I was deep conditioning. I figured this weekend was as good as any to begin. Enjoy the pictorial. During oil rinsing. I used EVOO  and Africa's Best Hair/Skin Oil with a dab of Conditioner See the waves? My natural texture and glow after the oil rinse I decided to braid it for a gorgeous braidout in the morning. Let it airdry under the fan for a total of four hours. It didn't come out as fluffy as the last time but it still looked great to me. 

OIL RINSING: Hair’s claim to health Oil rinsing is using essential oils or hot oil treatments to rinse hair. This is often referred to as pre-pooing the hair before your normal wash routine. When I first found out about oil rinsing, I was clueless as to what it was. Naturally, I began researching the purpose and discovered that oil rinsing has many effects including combating dryness, providing strength to strands, and adding shine to dull hair. I began pre-pooing (oil-rinsing) to strengthen the strands and to promote growth by giving the scalp a massage with the oil while I waited to rinse the oil out. The results were incredible. It seemed to have given my hair life. It seemed sleeker and much shinier. You should give it a try even if you feel as if your hair is in a healthy state; this is guaranteed to give it an extra boost. Types of Oils BRAHMI OIL : The first oil that I ever used to oil rinse was an Indian brand, Brahmi Oil. Massaging this oil into the ha...

I recently got asked what my transitioning regimen was like and although I transitioned for exactly 17 months, I didn't have an exact format that I followed directly. I basically was doing a trial and error method, where I had to find what worked for me instead of doing what worked for someone else. Jumping onto band wagons and spending a considerable amount of money on products every different "what's hot" item, just wasn't working for me.  I had tried growth aids, hundreds of shampoos and conditioners, different hairstyles every other day, weaves, and everything else you can think of. What I learned about doing all of that was that I was doing much more damage than originally.   I did the bunning thing for a while and noticed that it was breaking my hair. Some have success with bunning but I was one of those who did not. I had to cut several inches off to get it back to health because it was growing in thin, plus breaking at the end. What did work for ...

I love for my hair to have some type of shine to it. What better way to make it shine and to make it extra soft? Oil rinse.  Okay, oil rinsing is when you use essential oils to rinse hair. I usually do it before conditioning hair. I  know some people do not shampoo their hair afterwards but I use a no sulfate shampoo so hair will not have that "oily" affect as I had experienced before. Olive oil nourishes, conditions, and improves the strength and elasticity of your hair. I normally begin on dry hair. Mix oils if you like. I used olive oil and cedar-wood oil. Section off hair and begin to apply enough oil from root to tip Baggy hair and leave it covered for at least 25 minutes Rinse hair out These next few steps are optional but is my normal routine. After oil rinsing, follow up with a no sulfate shampoo After shampooing, use a moisture rich conditioner Set hair as usual. I shampoo after the oil rinse simply to make sure hair is not too ...