Exfoliating Your Scalp

So Kinkies, our scalp needs a good cleansing here and there.  We need to remove product build-up, dried up sweat, and the old skin cells that are just laying around chilling.  I'm a fan of sugar body scrubs and I did a video on how to use them on the scalp.  Interested in more details?  Check out the video below!

Why Is Her Hair Longer Than Mine? We Went Natural At The Same Time!!

I don't know how many times I've heard or saw this question.  I would definitely have my MacBook Pro if I was given $5 for every time I heard it!  LoL.  Have you asked this question, whether to yourself or out loud?  What was your answer?

Kinky's Castor Oil Challenge #1 (Winner Announced)

Hey Kinkies!  So we have completed our very first castor oil challenge.  Yayness!!!!  Nine Kinkies, including myself, decided to use castor oil and see if it aided in hair growth.  The original post, with the challenge details, can be found here.  Over the last few weeks, I've seen some great growth by those that participated; however, I was only able to choose one winner.

Kinky's Castor Oil Challenge #1 (Third Check In)

Hey Kinkies!  So we are six weeks into our castor oil challenge.  Nine Kinkies, including myself, decided to use castor oil and see if it aided in hair growth.  The original post, with the challenge details, can be found here.  Here's some results so far:

Kinky's Castor Oil Challenge #1 (Second Check In)

Hey Kinkies!  So we are four weeks into our castor oil challenge.  Nine Kinkies, including myself, decided to use castor oil and see if it aided in hair growth.  The original post, with the challenge details, can be found here.  Unfortunately, we have not had as much participation as expected but the show must go on... Here's some results so far:

Kinky's Castor Oil Challenge #1 (First Check In)

Hey Kinkies!  So we are a few weeks into our castor oil challenge.  Nine Kinkies, including myself, decided to use castor oil and see if it aided in hair growth.  The original post, with the challenge details, can be found here.  Here's some results so far:

Kinky's Castor Oil Challenge #1

Hey Kinkies! I'm kicking off my first challenge - a JBCO Challenge!! Although it's okay for my Kinkies to use any castor oil, it appears that the majority of them are using JBCO and that's what I'm using too!

Hungry? Hair's Some Foods That May Help Your Tresses Flourish...

We've all heard of feeding our soul; however, if growth and good hair growth is your focus, you may want to try some of the foods below!

Food: Beans, such as legumes and kidney beans

What's In It: Protein, iron, zinc, and biotin.

What It Does: Protein promotes hair growth.  If one is deficient in biotin, their hair may become brittle as a result.  If you are deficient in zinc, it may result in hair shedding.

Food: Carrots

What's In It: Vitamins A.

What It Does: Not only are carrots reportedly good for vision, they contain an excellent source of vitamin A, which promotes a healthy scalp.

Food: Dark green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli and Swiss chard

What's In It: Vitamins A and C.

What It Does: The vitamins in these awesome veggies help to produce sebum.  In addition, dark green vegetables are a source of iron and calcium.

Food: Eggs

What's In It: Biotin and Vitamin B-12.

What It Does: We all know that biotin aids in hair growth (hence why some take it in supplement form to achieve hair growth).  Both Vitamin B-12 and biotin are important.

Food: Low-fat dairy, such as yogurt and skim milk

What's In It: Calcium, whey and casein.

What It Does: The calcium in low-fay dairy products is an important mineral for hair growth.  In addition, the whey and casein founds in these products are high-quality sources of protein.

Food: Nuts

What's In It: Zinc, selenium, and alpha-linolenic acid.

What It Does: Brazil nuts are one of the best sources of selenium, which is an important mineral for the health of your scalp.  Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid, am omega-3 fatty acid, which may help to condition your hair.  some great sources of zinc are cashews, almonds, and pecans.  If you are deficient in zinc, it may result in hair shedding.

Food: Oysters

What's In It: Zinc.

What It Does: Zinc boosts hair and is an antioxidant.  If you don't like oysters, you can also get your zinc from lamb, beef, whole grains,and nuts.

Food: Poultry

What's In It: Protein and iron.

What It Does: Without an adequate amount of protein, one may have weak and brittle hair.  If there is a significant deficiency of protein, one may lose their hair color.

Food: Salmon

What's In It: Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin B-12, and iron.

What It Does: Omega-3 fatty acids support scalp health.  It you are deficient in this, your scalp will be dry and your hair may look dull.  If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute this for two tablespoons of ground flax seed.

Food: Whole Grains

What's In It: Zinc, iron, and B vitamins.

What It Does: The zinc boosts hair, the iron helps the red blood cells carry oxygen to the hair follicles, and the vitamin B helps to create red blood cells.  Lack of B vitamins may result in shedding, slow growth and weak hair that can break.

Foods that may impact the health of hair: Caffeine, sugar, fat, and carbonated drinks.

Other sources of nutrients:

Protein: liver, brewer's yeast, fish, eggs, beans, cottage cheese, yogurt, tofu.

Iron: liver, whole grain cereals, dark green leafy vegetables, eggs, dates, raisins.

B Vitamins: eggs, meat, poultry.

Essential Fatty Acids: walnuts, canola oil, fish, soy.

Vitamin E: avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil.

Sulfur: meats, fish, nuts, legumes, vegetables (especially onions).

Feel free to also check me out on Facebook, Kinky Kinetik and on Twitter, Tweet Kinky.

~Keep it Kinky~

Kinky (And Her Princess') Weekly Regimen And Some Kinky Tips

I have been asked whether or not I have a hair regimen.  My answer, yes and no.  Yes, because I do almost the same thing each week.  No, because the products vary.

Every Sunday, I shampoo our hair.  Lately I have been using the shampoo bars that I previously reviewed.  Why do I shampoo instead of just cowash?  Simply put, I have been doing product reviews.  I honestly feel that once you are starting to use and/or review a new product, your hair (and scalp) should be free of any other products that you previously have used.  I think that is the fairest way to determine if a products works well for your hair and you are allowing it to do what it is supposed to do, without having left over products on your scalp (and hair).

My daughter and I mostly wear twists and twist-out styles so I would twist our hair, sometimes in a cute style, while using some form of a moisturizer (water and/or product) and styling/sealing that in with some other product (butter, oil and/or natural gel that contains the aforementioned).

Similar to the reason why I shampoo, I don't do a deep conditioning treatment each time I shampoo.  Why?  If a product claims that it will moisturize your hair or claim to do whatever else, I like to use the product itself to see if it really performs as it is supposed to.  If I am reviewing an entire line of products (or most of their products), I will use those products based on the directions provided.  I try to avoid mixing some products as not all products work well with others and again, I want to see if the product can perform without extra 'help.'

At least once a day, we spritz our hair with either water or a moisturizing mist/spray that we have.  When showering, sometimes we won't use a shower cap, this allows some moisture (and steam) to get into our hair. Often times when it rains, I won't use an umbrella... unless of course it is a heavy downpour.

When I take down our twists, I use an oil, butter, or other product that I am doing a review on.  I don't really retwist our hair.  For me, it never seems to have that same definition.  I may pineapple our hair but instead of doing it at top, I may do it going to the back.  That method seems to work better for me.

Nightly, we use our satin caps and/or silk satin scarf to tie our hair up.  I don't like to unveil our hair until we finish getting dressed as putting shirts, sweaters, dresses, etc., over our head can mess up your style.

When I am not working on a product review, I do like to do a deep conditioning treatment at least twice per month.  I do scalp massages at times and trim split/frayed ends whenever I notice them.  Oh, and when I am applying a product to my hair, I smooth it in from root to ends.

I hope that I didn't miss anything and I hope that this helps you with determining a regimen, if you don't already have one.

Do you have a regimen?  If so, what's yours?

Feel free to also check me out on Facebook, Kinky Kinetik and Twitter, Tweet Kinky Kinetik

~Keep it Kinky~

I Am Knot Going Out With My Hair Looking Like This!!!

We have all heard of the pineapple method right?!?  That's when we gather our twist, braid and/or bantu knot out at the top of our head and hold it together with a scrunchy.  We then resemble a pineapple.  Well I tried this method last week and it was an ultimate fail!  I just HAD to do SOMETHING with my hair but didn't know what...  I could NOT wear it the way it was.  It was either do a wash and go, uh scratch that, it's cold in Jersey. The other option was a puff.  Let's see how I made out... 

Uh uh, do y'all SEE this?

  

Now what in the world am I going to do with this?  I can't go outside looking a mess!  My twist out is looking like a twist OUCH!

Hmm, all the while I THOUGHT pineappling would work.  Guess not!!   I have to figure SOMETHING out!!

But wait a natural pickin' minute - do y'all REALLY see this?!?

Ok Kinkies, I got this!  No need to worry!!  Nothing some water, a bit if product (or natural oils/butters) won't fix.  Get an over-sized ouchless headband, wrap it around your puff twice (not too tight), smooth your edges and voila - a puff that's presentable!!  

SB - Too bad I don't know how to make a comic strip with photos!  LoL.  I hope you enjoyed this Kinkies!!  :-)

Please feel free to check out my other product reviews and come visit me on my Facebook page, Kinky Kinetik

That's Knot A Good Bobby Pin To Use!

Snag!  Yup, that's what some bobby pins do to your hair.  Just because you have them laying around, doesn't mean you need to use them.  I do a search and 'throw out' of my bobby pins when I am either using them to create a hairstyle, when I see them laying around somewhere in the house and/or when I'm going through my stash of products and tools.

Well I don't know which ones to throw away Kinky!  Have no fear, Kinky is here!! (cue superhero music while Kinky stands with her hands on her hips, cape blowing in the wind). Hehehe.

I'm going to label 'A' as a silent offender.  Some Kinkies may think that it is okay to use silent offenders but trust me, if you have ANY bobby pins with one or more of the ball tips missing, I suggest you throw them out!!  Not only can using these contribute to you getting split or frayed ends, it can also cause you to scratch and possibly damage your scalp, depending on how you're putting them in your hair.  These pins are silent but deadly!

'B' is alright with me!!  'B' has both ball tips and is smooth all the way around.  'B' has no ridges when you slide your finger along the coating that keeps the ball tips in place.  These are the bobby pins that you SHOULD keep.  Sporadically, you should inspect them after multiple uses, to ensure they are still smooth all around and not turning into a silent offender or 'C' bobby pin.  I have found that even new bobby pins, namely some of the ones from the dollar store/Dollar Tree, can be brand 'new' yet need to be thrown out as they are not of good quality and/or have those ridged surfaces I mentioned before.

The 'C' bobby pin is the blatant offender.  If you use these in your hair then you are asking for trouble in the split and snagged ends area.  Depending on how you put the bobby pin in your hair, you also run the risk of snagging other parts of your hair.  I have personally run into this and I had to carefully and strategically remove them from my hair.  No, I didn't purposely use a damaged bobby pin - either I did not know it was snagged when I put it in (lack of inspection) or somehow, some way, it became snagged while in my hair.  Nonetheless, I ensured that once removed it made it's way to the garbage, where it served it's life sentence.

Well, I hope this helps some Kinkies.  As with some of the hair products we use, we also need to be careful when using some styling tools.  Thanks for reading and be sure to check me out on Facebook, Kinky Kinetik.  As always, Keep It Kinky!!

K-Y Jelly... Not Just For Sexing!

So when I say I JUST saw a post about this, I literally JUST saw a post about using K-Y as a hair moisturizer.  I ran right over here to talk blog about it!

Now, I know I already talked about using Monistat on hair and I said thought I had seen it all.  Apparently, I was so WRONG.  (If you didn't read that post about the Monistat, click --> My Scalp Has A Yeast Infection) Some people are literally using any and everything for growth and moisturizing their tresses.  My question is why?

Is hair growth THAT important that you want to resort to usage of Monistat?  Is your hair THAT parched that you have to use lubrication?  Hmm, probably better off using mineral oil... at least it seals in moisture.  (Disclaimer: I do NOT support the usage of mineral oil... I was just being a bit sarcastic.  Please, please, please think of what you are putting in our body.  Know that the stuff noted above will seep into your hair shaft and scalp and travel throughout your body.   Are oils, water, butters and other products geared towards hair NOT enough?

Anyways, just ranting for a bit.  To each their own.  As always - keep it kinky!

Long Hair, Don't Care?!? Uh, Well You Should!

So, thanks to Lil' Wayne, men and women alike are going around shouting 'long hair, don't care.' Contrary to belief, you SHOULD care!!

Some women may be obsessed with long hair.  I can admit, that I DO want my hair to be long... just as it was when I had a perm.  However, I do also want it to be healthy.  The thing some fail to realize is that just because your hair is long, it doesn't mean that it is healthy!  At what LENGTH will you go to, just to say you have LONG hair? (pun intended) Your LONG hair can be dull, dry, lifeless and have SPLIT ENDS!!

What causes split ends Kinky?  How can I prevent them?  Some causes of split ends can be:

~Brushing and/or back-teasing you hair,
~Combing hair while it is dry (especially AA hair),
~Not conditioning (and moisturizing) your hair,
~Chemicals (perms, dyes, etc.),
~Not trimming when needed,
~Your clothes (yep, your hair can snag on shirts, sweaters, hats and scarves), 
~Excessive use of heat, and
~Trimming with inferior scissors (household or kitchen scissors that are dull).

What can I do to prevent split ends Kinky?  You can search AND destroy!!

Besides doing the opposite of what is listed above, you can do a search in destroy.  A S & D is when you take portions of your hair at a time and trim off fairy knots and split ends.  Some may elect to do this as opposed to actually trimming their hair entire head.

Well I ain't trimming my hair!!  How will it GROW if I keep cutting it?!?  To be honest, you really SHOULD cut those fairy knots and trim those split ends.  Why you ask?  Because they are making matters worst for your hair.  And yes, your hair may still grow with the split ends; however, you also risk the 'split' traveling up the shaft of your hair. You risk your beautiful tresses breaking.  You risk those split ends affected the other strands on your naturally, beautiful hair.

So kinkies... I say go for it, trim those ends, do a dusting, search and destroy!!  It seems that that's the only way to get rid of split ends.  Some products out there, such as Nexxus ProMend, allege that they repair split ends as follows:

My only thing is, I have to see it to believe it... I don't know of any PROVEN product, or protein treatment, that repairs hair as above.

If not interested in dusting and you're not sure of how to go about trimming your hair, try using the picture below as a model.  I've actually watched YouTube videos and know of people that use the method below.  A few nights ago when I twisted my hair, I cut the ends based on the same principle.

Here is a picture of some types of split ends:

I hope that the information above has helped you in some way.  Feel free to comment as well as let me know if I missed anything.

My Scalp Has A Yeast Infection!!

OK, so maybe the title was just to grab your attention...  My hair doesn't have a yeast infection and neither does my scalp, but does that mean I shouldn't use the product below?

 

Hmm, I'm guessing not!  However, there are some women out there that believe that the active ingredient, Miconazole Nitrate, is the answer to hair growth,  I know, I know, weird right?!?

Now, when I thought I had heard every tip possible to grow natural hair, I run into this information.  Normally I'm an optimistic, willing to try some things at least once; however, I cannot say that my product junkie-ism will allow me to go to the nearest pharmacy and buy a box of the above.  And after buying said product, proceed to open it, put it on my scalp and go on my merry way.  Nope, can't do it, won't do it!

I read that mixing your yeast infection cream with an oil and applying it frequently to your scalp will help in hair growth.  I've also read that the same regimen will also cause headaches in some.  (I guess that's the stimulation helping with the hair growth).

They say don't knock something until you try it but err uh ummm... I am knocking, pushing down and stomping the idea of using yeast infection cream on my scalp.  I think I would rather stick to Castor and other oils that aid in healthy hair growth.

Is this 'insane in the membrane?'  Are we as a people that obsessed with hair growth that we would go to such heights (or lows rather) to achieve hair length?  What do you think?