Shea Growth And Retention Regimen 2019

[ElevatedEnergy]

Oh wow, no wonder my mixes never take on any scent... I use similar amounts of shea and oil, but no where near that much of the fragrance oil. I'll have to try increasing the amount in my next mix.

I was using drops & counting those prior, but I purchased a few fragrance oils from Brambleberry & saw on their online calculator that I wasnt using nearly enough for the fragrance to hold.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

I shoulda closed my eyes and quickly scrolled by because I don't need another oil but suddenly I have a cart full. I have too many herbs and oils, I'm really out of space but my hair is bleached and Safflower sounds like something I need, especially infused with catnip.

I love me some Safflower oil...it's so light! I always wanted to try catnip....I heard it is the best herb for the hair end's but I have yet to try it.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

My experimenting with the DC and Shea is over for now until I wash my hair. And find my frocking Oyin Hair Dew.

Yes, you gotta find that. That Oyin Hair Dew + Shea Butter after washing keeps my hair so moisturized. I never have to use additional products other than Queen Shea in between wash days & I'm headed to 3 weeks post wash. I'm so grateful for that combo!

 

[icsonia22]

I made my creamiest blend of Shea butter where today. I've tried the fancy smancy kind from Amazon but nothing compares to the good old yellow Shea butter from my local BSS. I put the container in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes until the outside melted. Then I poured the Shea butter into a bowl and blended. It took maybe 3-5 minutes compared to the 15 minutes it took when I was using the butter from Amazon. I added a little bit of EVOO and slathered it on my blown out plaited hair. My hair feels amazing and the application was super easy.

 

[BeautifulRoots]

I was using drops & counting those prior, but I purchased a few fragrance oils from Brambleberry & saw on their online calculator that I wasnt using nearly enough for the fragrance to hold.

Hmm I'm intrigued to try fragrances again. I kind of gave up on them, but realize I may not have been using enough fragrance in the batch.

Any recommendations on nice fragrances/your favorite fragrances from Brambleberry?

 

[ItsMeLilLucky]

Can I get a pm to know who this is? I'm so nosy.

And tell me when you’re done

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Hmm I'm intrigued to try fragrances again. I kind of gave up on them, but realize I may not have been using enough fragrance in the batch.

Any recommendations on nice fragrances/your favorite fragrances from Brambleberry?

The ones I purchased from Brambleberry were kinda hit & miss. I purchased some florals to scent a few spring/summer soaps I was making and I only liked 2 out of the 8 I purchased.

I would recommend the fragrance oils from Bulk Apothecary over Brambleberry. What kind of scents do you like? Bakery, Fruity, Floral, Fresh etc? That would help narrow down a suggestion.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

^^^But a few off the top of my head from Bulk Apothecary:

Juniper Breeze, Brown Sugar & Fig, Honolulu Sun.

All of these are Bath & Body Works dupes so if you have smelled the scent from there, it is exactly the same.

Another one I have been using for the Winter is Candy Cane. Minty but sweet. Sooooo good!

@BeautifulRoots

 

[sunflora]

I found an old red velvet flavored whipped shea body butter I bought from Etsy awhile ago. The ingredients check out, I wanna use it in my hair and smell like a snack

 

[PlanetCybertron]

New Butter Mix I bought from Etsy.

Mixture of Cacao, Cupucacu, and MuruMuru Butter, with Cold Pressed oils.

Got it in the mail last night. Absolutely love it. I will be applying it to my scalp, and using it as the last step in the LCO method.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

[caribeandiva]

I was using drops & counting those prior, but I purchased a few fragrance oils from Brambleberry & saw on their online calculator that I wasnt using nearly enough for the fragrance to hold.

Thank you! I was wondering why my fragrances never smelled that strong. I wasn’t using nearly enough!

 

[BeautifulRoots]

^^^But a few off the top of my head from Bulk Apothecary:

Juniper Breeze, Brown Sugar & Fig, Honolulu Sun.

All of these are Bath & Body Works dupes so if you have smelled the scent from there, it is exactly the same.

Another one I have been using for the Winter is Candy Cane. Minty but sweet. Sooooo good!

@BeautifulRoots

Very nice. I'll have to try some of those dupes, Juniper breeze was one of my favorites.

To answer your question, I tend to gravitate towards fresh, sweet, and earthy perfumes. I also like sweet citrus scents similar to Jane carter nourish and shine...not sure what the blend is but it smells really good.

 

[ElevatedEnergy]

Very nice. I'll have to try some of those dupes, Juniper breeze was one of my favorites.

To answer your question, I tend to gravitate towards fresh, sweet, and earthy perfumes. I also like sweet citrus scents similar to Jane carter nourish and shine...not sure what the blend is but it smells really good.

You would probably love their
Frankincense and Rain oil then. That one was really good...I ended up using it in my diffuser & to make some shower steamers....one of my favs!

 

[myhairgrowstoo]

You’re very pretty!

Thank you!!

 

[scarcity21]

Adding another Shea product to my 2019 arsenal. It's an Herbal Shea Scalp Cream. I already use Shea from roots to the ends, but I've never rubbed it on my scalp. I'll mainly use it on the days leading up to wash day or as an overnight scalp prepoo treatment, just to see how my scalp responds. I have my hair in a low bun with a side part, so I put a tiny amount on the part last night....that area feels good this morning.

I went to my lil Herb Apothecary closet & found some coconut oil that I had been steeping in herbs since May. I don't know everything in it, but just by looking at it....I can see some sage leaves, lavender flowers, fenugreek seeds, rosemary, mustard seeds, Horsetail & Nettle. In the smaller bottle, I had been steeping some Ricebran & Meadowfoam Seed oil in some Ayurvedic Powders & some other herbs. Again....don't remember all of them....but I see some Rosehips & bamboo leaves. (I really need to do better bout writing this kind of stuff down. I just be throwing herbs in oil lke a herbal gumbo. LOL) Essential Oils used: Rosemary & Geranium.

View attachment 440461

For my Regular whipped Shea butter, I use a half oil/half shea ratio & whip for 8-10 minutes.
For this scalp treatment, I went lighter on the Shea & heavier on the oils. I used 2 parts oil, 1 part shea...& set my standing mixer to cream instead of the whip mode. Let it run for around 2 minutes. My goal was a very light yet creamy result. I think I achieved it.

View attachment 440459

It melts as soon as I touch it....was a struggle to take this pic.

@ElevatedEnergy which mixer do you use for your whipped Shea mixes?

 

[Chicoro]

Wholefoods

I live in Lyon, France. They don't have 98% of the places and products that we have in the US! Thank you, though!

 

[Chicoro]

This is @Dee Raven .If Shea butter is not working for you, for whatever reason, don't fret!

Gorgeous hair can be gotten without Shea butter,too!

Here is one of our LHCF Sisters. Her hair HATES oil she says. She posted this end of year photo in the Luscious Ends thread at the end of 2018. Look at that long, luscious mane!




Thread link is here:

Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2018
https://longhaircareforum.com/threa...s-challenge-2018.828867/page-10#post-25053769
Post # 280

 

[Chicoro]

I did a search and found my own post on the 1st page of the old Shea thread LOL Here is a summary:


Ceramide Rich Oils and Shea Butter Tutorial(courtesy of @ElevatedEnergy ) Sure! You know I got my Shea Siblings! I love Ceramide rich oils and have been using them consistently in my routine for close to 3 years after being inspired by this particular thread and the OP documenting her progress.

https://longhaircareforum.com/threa...volution-of-my-bun-pics.488440/#post-11663946

And this:

http://www.bellemocha.com/2010/01/stronger-cuticle-layer-with-ceramides.html

I would highly recommend reading those but for a quick wrap up of them both: Ceramides are the "glue" that bind the cuticle and the cortex of the hair together. It helps in the prevention of split ends. Ceramides help protect the cuticle layer of the hair which in turn slows down moisture and protein loss. They are high in linoleic acid and helps to flatten the cuticle. When cuticles lay flat; hair is shinier, retains moisture better, feels smoother, porosity and elasticity are improved.

For my own personal experience, the biggest change I noticed right away was the difference in my split ends. I was transitioning and was dealing with tons of splits. Once I started using the ceramides, it was almost as if the splits just repaired themselves and I haven't had an issue with splits since.

My favorite Ceramide Oil hands down is Safflower Oil and I use it on my hair and face. However, here is a list of some Oils and their ceramide percentages:
Safflower oil 78%
Grape seed oil 73%
Poppy seed oil 70%
Sunflower oil 68%
Hemp oil 60%
Corn oil 59%
Wheat germ oil 55%
Cottonseed oil 54%
Soybean oil 51%
Walnut oil 51%
Sesame oil 45%
Rice bran oil 39%
Pistachio oil 32.7%
Peanut oil 32%
Canola oil 21%
Egg yolk 16%
Linseed oil 15%
Lard 10%
Olive oil 10%
Palm oil 10%
Cocoa butter 3%
Macadamia oil 2%
Butter 2%

Thank you for re-posting this for us. I added the post to the ceramide thread/link, in blue!

 

[Chicoro]

To my Shea experts?

Is East African Shea butter more creamy in texture when whipped or West African Shea butter?

*I heard East African Shea Butter gives better whip appeal..I don’t know???????

Happy Hair Growing!

Try it and see!

 

[Chicoro]

I just realized that i hasn’t explained myself. I thought you had helped her with her regimen too.

No, I didn't! She does say that in a global sense I helped her cultivate interest and belief in the beauty and potential of afro-textured hair. So, let's just say I influenced her [a little bit!].

 

[Chicoro]

I like to go plum crazy with Shea butter. Back when I had about 4 inches of heat damage, I noticed that my hair that wasn't heat damaged was clumping together forming a silly straw curl pattern. That same thing happened tonight for the first time since I've cut my hair. Once water hit my hair, I noticed a uniform curl pattern. All the gel in the world can't replicate that. Normally water makes my hair turn into wet cotton, but Shea butter made it take a completely different turn. Now I'm over here questioning my curl pattern. Just when you think you know your hair, Shea butter shows you something different.

This is so true!

 

[Chicoro]

I will be switching to grape seed oil for my next batch then. I’ll swap out the evoo.

I always say growing afro-textured hair is a thinking and analysis game. Here you are switching oils based on analysis and THOUGHT, not because of guess work. Bravo!

That's how we do it, ladies!

 

[Chicoro]

@CurlyWhoCrux I agree with @caribeandiva!

Pre- whipping saves me about 5-10 mins during a full application of Shea butter because it melts faster in my hands.

However, I used unwhipped pure Shea butter for a long time. I would simply add whatever liquid oils I’m using to my hair section first then melt some Shea butter in my hand and apply. Most of my hair’s improvements were seen during this time.

I did this out of laziness and I wanted to experiment with different liquid oils.

Making mixed concoctions is fun and a small time saver but shea butter doesn’t need all that to work its magic!

"However, I used unwhipped pure Shea butter for a long time. I would simply add whatever liquid oils I’m using to my hair section first then melt some Shea butter in my hand and apply. Most of my hair’s improvements were seen during this time."

This is how herlucidsky uses Shea butter: no mixing. That might be a huge part of why of her afro-textured hair is approaching knee length!

 

[GGsKin]

I love your hair @Dee Raven. Your pictures are encouraging, and show what has been mentioned about lengthening and thickening stages of growth (I know Chicoro has talked about her own). I see what you mean about the difference. It looks like you were in a thickening stage. Beautiful results!

Trying to be delicate with my ends. I've been putting Shea butter on them every night (sometimes moisturising) before putting into 3 or 4 bantu knots for bed.

 

[Chicoro]

I love me some Safflower oil...it's so light! I always wanted to try catnip....I heard it is the best herb for the hair end's but I have yet to try it.

Do you know off the top of your head why this is said?

 

[Chicoro]

I didn't believe @caribeandiva when she said this thread would probably have more folks than the 2018. But it is only January 5th and we've got almost 300 posts already!

 

[Chicoro]

I have 6 strands at about 26.5 inches at the longest. And I'm going to hold on tight to them, too!

That means, I'm skipping the Aphogee 2 application in 2019, for a while. I will compensate with my leave-in protein products.

I want to see what Queen Shea is going to do to my hair.

 

[Chicoro]

If you can, you may want to take measurements of your entire heads, in different areas. Information can help you optimize the health, length and beauty of your hair.

 

[Chicoro]

With Shea butter, having hair at 30 inches is something I am realistically entertaining. Here's to growing and retaining healthy hair lengths, in 2019, you've never ever believed were possible!

 

[Chicoro]

So it begins....

Getting gansta with the 'grease' in 2019. Queen Shea fo' Life!