Sunday, May 27, 2012

Kitchen Testimonials: Cpj

Subscriber, Cpj, had this to say about maintaining mini twists:









I agree. In order to preserve any protective style when washing gentle handling is a must! Aside from maintaining the look of the style, I find that gentle handling avoids extreme tangling. What methods have you all found to be helpful in maintaining your twists and other protective styles?

DIY Recipe: Accidental Herbal Hair Rinse


I've been on a quest to make an all natural hair lotion that isn't too greasy but has a thick creamy texture. The inspiration for this quest is my fond memory of Luster's Pink Lotion- you know the one! I looooved this stuff, and swore it transformed my texture each time I slathered it on. Of course it did not, in fact it just created build up and attracted dirt because I piled it on daily. But that first application... on clean hair... with a hard boar bristle brush... couldn't no one tell me I didn't "have Indian in my family." o_O

I don't want to live in that delusional world anymore, but I do want to find the perfect recipe for a thick creamy lotion. The one I'm about to share with you... is not it! I found a recipe online that was inaccurately described as a nettle hair lotion. Then I personalized it by adding horsetail and chamomile. The consistency was not at all creamy... it was basically tea. It did however make a wonderful hair rinse to use after conditioning and I did see an increase in sheen and strength in my strands after using it for about a month. Check it out and tell me how it works out for you!

I used 2 teaspoons each of dried nettle and horsetail leaves.

I added in 2 teaspoons of dried chamomile flowers.


I placed all of the herbs in a tea bag and steeped in boiling hot water for about an hour (long enough for the mixture to cool down).

I used this mixture on one of my "mega-cleaning" days. I also decided to try the condition-first method. I rather liked it. This was my regimen:
- pre-poo castor oil treatment
- coconut honey avocado deep conditioner
- baking soda rinse
- ACV rinse
- herbal rinse

Have you tried any herbal hair rinses? Have you tried any other recipes for hair lotions? Please share them with us!