The Hair Journey: The fungus is baaa-aaaack!

Howdy folks!  I have some terrible news to share! The fungus is BACK! I'm so disappointed and slightly irritated at my dry flaky scalp.  Even if I apply tea tree oil it seems to get worse.  I have come down from my adulation of being rid of this pesky condition.

One thing I've been doing differently is not using and tea tree or dandruff shampoo.  I've been doing more co-washes because I wanted to stop using shampoos that stripped my hair of moisture and changed my curl pattern.  I used apple cider vinegar and did not see any relief.  So now, I'm experimenting with a home remedy I've "heard of" on social media:  onion and ginger juice!  I added aloe to the party because I'm desperate! Take a look.

My scalp - June 22, 2014.  Not pretty - this is 4 days after co-washing.

Step 1 - make the onion ginger aloe juice concoction: I used my juicer...and cried a lot!! Those freshly juiced onions were serious tear jerkers!

I used 6 -7 inches of ginger and two medium sized yellow onions. 

Step 2 - mix the ginger onion juice with aloe vera juice:

Aloe vera juice, spray bottle and ginger onion juice

Aloe vera juice

Final mixture: ginger, onion and aloe vera juice

Step 3 - Apply to scalp, cover and let the anti-fungal treatment begin!  I left the cap on for about 1 hour.  My hair is so thick, I just parted it and applied the juice to each section.  I was boo hooing the whole time (it's the onions...the onions I say).

After spraying before capping

The treatment was working....I could feel tingling....

Step 4 - rinse hair and style.  My style for the day was a free flow afro.

After rinsing (scalp looks free of debris)

Curl pattern

 

Pomade of choice!  Applied before picking. My favorite styling product and you can pronounce all the ingredients!!!!!!!

Picked out afro...free style...no patting into submission...

Shrinkage!!!! Whoa mama!!

After the treatment..my scalp felt good.  I'm not sure how many times I should repeat the process, but I'll do it as long as it takes.  I'm also researching foods and herbs that help eliminate fungus/dandruff.  I want to do it the natural way.....no chemicals.  Onions are recommended a lot in home remedies for hair,  but I didn't understand why.  Come to find out onions are high in sulpher....our hair is full of di-sulfide bonds...so I can see how it can strengthen hair but still not clear on it's anti-fungal properties.  Aloe and ginger both have antiseptic/anti fungal behavior so I understood the use of those ingredients.

The fungus saga continues..........stay tuned for more updates!

What else can I use to combat my fungus parties???


Peace and love!

The Hair Journey: Finally! Dry Scalp and Fungus Free!!

Hi Folks -

I've never been worried about hair growth..it's always grown quite well...but what has worried/concerned  me is the dry scalp/fungal issues I've been experiencing for YEARS!

I am happy to report that since I've been on the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)/aloe vera gel regimen I have been free of the fungus!!

I am in a really down mood this evening...have you ever had a headache that just WILL NOT quit? Well that's me tonight. I'm in pain...but I have to share this  success story about my hair!

The process:
1. I sprayed ACV (diluted with water) on my hair for 1 week.  Kept it in overnight covered with a shower cap. 

2. Most of the time I DID NOT rinse my hair in the morning.  I just sprayed the aloe vera mixture on my hair, applied tea tree oil (diluted with jojoba oil) on my scalp and locked in the moisture with plain shea butter.

ACV

Shea butter

Aloe vera gel

The result:
1.  As I stated in the beginning of this post, I am fungus free (based on what I can see with my naked eye meaning no visible scaling).  

2.  I have not had any extreme itchy episodes (including when I was rocking the Mohawk). No major flakes falling and no burning. Plus the white spots that were starting to form on my forehead are gone!

3.  My hair felt nice and moist until about noon...then it felt dry.  But when I ran my fingers through it, it wasn't as dry as I thought.  So some moisture was being retained.

4.  I am a happy camper! Loving the fungus free experience! And loving the fact that I'm finding a good process to keep my hair clean and moisturized.

I will continue to use this process for my hair.  And I LOVE the fact that I did not have to spend a heap of money on products!

What natural elements are you putting in your hair?

Peace and blessings!

The Hair Journey: Tress update

Hi Folks -

My natural tresses are progressing nicely!  I am liking...not loving the wash and go. For a while there I felt like Kunte Kente or a run away slave (relax folks)....it was hard to get use to my emerging curls! I was rocking that fade!!  Again, this is new territory and I'm embracing it!

Progress:

Side view....

I mentioned in an earlier post (The Hair Journey) that I've struggled with dandruff/dry scalp/ scalp fungus for years.  Since I've started growing my hair back I've been using aloe to take away the dryness.  It works!!! I use it 2 - 3 times per week.  I've also mixed it with slippery elm bark for extra moisture.

I apply it when my hair is wet and cover it with a shower cap.  I let it dry and style as desired in the morning.

I take the fresh aloe leaf, peel it,  and  blend it to a smooth consistency.  Love it!!!! I've also been using single oils on my hair: jojoba and grape seed.  The aloe moisture mix softens my hair and nourishes my scalp...I feel like I'm doing a commercial! :)

The curls are refined by using Taliah Wajid's curly curl crème.

Aloe + slippery elm moisture mix

Fresh aloe leaf

The good stuff!

The next steps are to:

1. Consult my barber (who works with all types of natural hair styles and lengths) for more ideas
2. Meet with a friend who's hair is a similar length to share ideas and products
3. Keep it growing baby!

More to come!

Peace and blessings!!