Stepha Inc.: Ayurvedic Haircare Made Simple

As a person who wears my hair natural I've been seeing quite a few other naturals talk about using the Ayurvedic Haircare method, but I was confused about the process and products.  I recently came across this blog that gives a very through breakdown of the products and how to use them.

Stepha Inc.: Ayurvedic Haircare Made Simple: Amla Fruits Ayurvedic haircare has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, moving from discussions on hair boards to the ingredient ...

I've never been one to obsess about the length of my hair because my hair grows pretty fast.  However, this year I do have a  plan to maintain more of my growth.  Having been natural for going on 12 years the one thing I've always been very slack in is protecting my ends.  I started doing protective styles in November, 2011 and plan to do them more frequently, even when the weather warms up and I'm tempted to wear it out. :-)  As the blog states, I'm going to try a couple products to start out and see how it goes.

So, check out the above linked blog article and let me know your thoughts.  Do or have you used this haircare system? What were your results?

Peace, Love and Hair grease!

My Loc Journey: A Snapshot

Hi and thanks for stopping in! :-)

I'm sure you've noticed from my profile picture that I no longer have locs, but I wanted to share a portion of my journey from starting my locs, maintaining them for 5 1/2 years and removing them. (March 2004-September 2009).

First, let me say that I have been natural since 2000 (12 years).  My last relaxer was January, 2000.  I transitioned for 9 months and did the big chop "BC" in October, 2000.

Now for my actual loc journey.  I started my locs from braids, which were referred to as "braid locs" then, but I simply called them locs.  :-)

In the Beginning :-)

I started out maintaining my locs with the latching method using a tool called "nappy loc" tool.  After about 6 months though I transitioned to using the twist/palm roll technique.

This pictures below show my locs in 2006 

(2-years loced).

Random Pics

(Click to see larger image)

Family: Sister, Mom and myself

Loc Updo with my sister

Loc Updo

Loc Updo

Loc Updo

Loc Updo for Church Anniversary

@ the Wax Museum "Oval Office"

Rosa Parks (Wax Museum)

My daughter and I

Loc Updo

After five and half years I decided to go back to loose natural hair.  I missed playing in my hair and doing various hairstyles.  The picture below is of my locs 1-month before I cut them down to about 3-4 inches and then picked apart.  That process was UGHHH and if I had to do it again I'd just cut completely off and start with what ever loose hair I had at the roots.  :-)

In the end. 5.5 Years Growth

This is a quick snap-shot of my loc journey.  I plan to do a more detailed post and video in the future.  Follow me so you can stay in touch and be notified when I do post. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Natural Hair Old School Style: Royal Crown Grease

2nd Use Twist-Out

The latest craze for some in the natural hair world right now is twist-outs done with Royal Crown Hair Dressing (grease).  Is there some sort of "magic" to it's use with regard to twist-outs? Can the results be recreated with other products? Does it improve the curl definition? Should you even use "grease" in your hair?  I personally got the idea from a fellow blogger and YouTuber "jcokes7" better known as CoilyHeadChick and decided to give it a try. 

My first attempt using the RC grease was on hair that had reverted from being blown out and flat-ironed and had several other products already in my hair.  I simply moistened my hair with a water-mix I created with some SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and water. The results were nice.  My hair was soft, however, because I did it so late at night, it wasn't completely dry when I got up in the morning.  No worries though, I rocked it out.  (See below)

1st Twist-Out with Royal Crown Hairdressing (grease)

As you can see the definition wasn't as well defined, but does the definition come from the grease anyway?  Unlike the second attempt I actually separated the untwisted twists to get more fullness and coverage since I did the twists rather big for my personal liking. (27 to be exact)

2nd Twist-Out with Royal Crown Hairdressing (grease)

Immediately after Untwisting, without separating

After coming home from church, 5-hours later.

After church -- It was a little windy.

My second attempt was done from freshly shampooed hair with SheaMoisture Restorative Conditioner as a leave-in and Royal Crown Hairdressing.  I was a little concerned that it wouldn't be dry again, but it was and the results were absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  My only complaint is the pointy-straight ends in the front section of my hair.  That's always an issue for MY hair though and not related to the RC at all.   I didn't separate the untwisted hair in order to help the style last longer without re-twisting at night.

So let's answer my original questions:

Is there some sort of "magic" to it's use with regard to twist-outs? 

No

Can the results be recreated with other products? 

In short, "Yes"!  There are many other styling products on the market to assist with curl definition, but by far the price of the Royal Crown Hairdressing beats them all.  So when you want to be a budget conscious consumer, there are some old school products still on the market that will tickle your fancy if you give them a try.  :-)

Does it improve the curl definition? 

I would say "yes" and "no" to this question.  First, I would say "no" because in and of itself I don't believe it improves curl definition.  On the other hand, and this is from my own experience, is to say "yes" because what this product does do, due to it's thick consistency, is help to hold the individual strands of hair together to keep the "frizzy" look away.

Should you even use "grease" in your hair?

The use of hair grease on our hair dates back many, many years.  For most of us, our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmother's etc. used hair grease.  However, in this more modern time and knowledge about product ingredients "natural hair wearers" tend to stay away from all types of hair greases.  Your choice to use it or not should depend solely on your own personal preferences and experience in what works for YOUR hair.

I will certainly continue to use "grease" in my hair, although, I have another hair grease I plan to go back to using on a regular basis so stay tuned for that in the near future.

These results are specific to me, let me know how it works for you.

PEACE, LOVE & HAIR GREASE!