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~

Do You Know The Length Of Your Hair?

Hey Kinkies.  Below is a chart to help you in determinining what 'length' your hair is classified as.  As you look at the chart, I want you to ask yourself: am I more concerned about length or the overall health of my hair.  I want to remind you that just because your hair is long, it does NOT mean that it is healthy!  You could have heat damage, split ends, a strand of fairy knots... Lord knows what else.  

I used to focus on how long I wanted my hair to be (you know that image of long, flowing hair that TV helps to embed in our brain?!?)  Now, I focus on the health of my hair.  With healthy hair comes great length!

Hope it helps Kinkies... Make sure you check me out on Facebook, Kinky Kinetik and 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.

Hair's A Secret: Strong Enough For A Man, But pH Balance For My Hair?

When you think of pH, the first thing that may come to mind is that old Secret commercial where they claimed that their deodorant is strong enough for a man but pH balanced for a woman.  Aside from thinking deodorant, you should think HAIR!! Yep, hair!

What is pH?  pH is the "potential of hydrogen," or the measure of how acidic or basic (alkaline) a solution or substance is.  pH levels range from 0 - 14. 

There is a scale that one can use to determine how acidic or alkaline/basic a given substance is.  If the pH is measured at 7, such as in distilled water, it is neutral. If it goes above 7, like for bleaches and detergents, it is considered basic or alkaline. If the pH is measured below 7, like for vinegar and lemon juice, it is considered acidic.  The pH on the hair and scalp is usually about 4.5 - 5.

How does pH affect hair?  pH affects the health of your hair.  As such, you need to be mindful of the products that you use on your hair.  Some people may use baking soda to raise their pH level.  The use of apple cider vinegar (ACV) may help hair to be more resilient, smoother and stronger.  If using baking soda on your scalp, you need to understand that it has a high pH level (and isn't natural).

In order to clean the build-up that is on hair and scalp, shampoo has to be acidic.  Shampoos can range from a pH of 4/4.5 to around 8.5.  Permanent hair dyes contain alkaline chemicals such as ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, which can penetrate hair strands to their cores, or the cortexes. As a result, the production of melanin, which is responsible for your natural hair color is affected. Because permanent hair coloring can be highly basic and may have corrosive properties on hair, it is not always a recommended option for people who want to maintain healthy and strong tresses.  (Man I wish I knew this before I died my hair!  Next time I will try some henna...)  Perms have a pH of 11 - 14, while texturizers may be in the range of
8 - 11.

Should I care about my hair/scalp's pH level?  Yes as it helps to keep bacteria and fungi off of our scalp.


I found the following summary on a reply about pH levels of hair:

~pH 2.0: hard; smooth; not resilient; breaks easily
~pH 6.0: not as hard; smooth; very resilient; resists breaking
~pH 10.0: rough; not very resilient; tends to break easily
~pH 12.0: very rough; not resilient; tends to break very easily

As read on other sites, pH for hair is generally good at a level of 4.5 - 5.5.  Products with a pH level of 4.5 - 7 is noted to be good for our hair.

As per information that I gathered from YouTube vlogger, Kimmay:

~ACV is safe when diluted to 4 pH,
~aloe vera juice is 4 and good for a leave in conditioner or water bottle spritz,
~after wetting hair, use an acidifier within the pH range of 4 - 6 to close the cuticle (4 - 5 may be more effective), and
~the safe range for washing hair is a 4 - 7 pH (no harm done).

If you want to test the pH of products that you use, the plastic strips are better to use than the paper strips.  the pH strip can be pricey and they do very when it comes to the level of pH testing (basically, not all strips go to 14). 

Given the above and Kimmay's awesome hair growth, I may try to consider pH and my hair a bit more.  What about you?  What are your thoughts?

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?