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LOL Anais, you sound like one of those generic notes companies send you when you write them a complaint letter.   But I know that your note is heartfelt and genuine, and I greatly appreciate it. Thanks for helping me stay long and strong!  


I showered again tonight (two nights in a row - bad Cairn!) to get rid of the greasies from using too much oil stuff. I only used a vinegar rinse and Tresemme clarifying shampoo. I'm gonna use my oil stuff again in the morning to make it nice and shiny and smooth for my pictures. Oil Stuff - I think that's my official name for it now.   I'm actually looking forward to getting my senior pictures taken tomorrow. Which is weird, because I generally hate having photos taken in a studio. Too much bright lighting.  

So I tried an OWC process (oil-wash-condition), a modification of the CWC idea, and got mixed results. Here's what I did:

For the oiling:
-2 tbs. olive oil
-1 egg
I've used this mixture before and it's worked, though I've never had it on for more than half an hour.
-I also added in some super-strong coffee to darken it a little. Of course I wasn't thinking, and it wasn't until after I mixed it all together that I realized - duh, the water I used to make the coffee won't mix with the olive oil.  Someone was paying attention in chemistry class.
Once I rubbed it in my palms and got it into my hair it worked well enough, though. Then it wasn't until after I'd plastered my entire head & length that it occurred to me that perhaps egg isn't the best thing to leave sitting on your head overnight. But I'd heard of other people doing it, and there was nothing I could do about it at that point. So I stuck on a shower cap and wrapped a towel around my head to protect my pillowcase and went to bed around 11:30 pm.

Got up this morning at 8:00, meaning the oil mixture was in for about 9 hours. Much of it had dried, making my hair kind of stiff, but once I got into the shower it was alright. From there, I:

-Wet down the length and shampooed my scalp with tea tree oil/herbal shampoo, then rinsed with warm water
-Put conditioner on the length (mainly to ease the tangles and get rid of the egg smell - that latter part didn't succeed so well) and let it soak up under a shower cap while I finished my other showerly duties
-Rinsed out the conditioner and finished with a cold rinse

For the most part it worked great; my hair was very soft, smooth and manageable. The problem is that for some reason the length of my hair on only the right side of my head is still incredibly oily. It feels as though there's still olive oil in it. I don't understand how this happened, as I made sure to rinse very thoroughly and the left side feels great.

I didn't want to wash again though, so I just stuck it up in a bun and it looks good. The oiliness is starting to spread to the rest of my hair, though I can't tell yet if that's good or bad. I guess my body's trying to restore the pH balance, perhaps? I'll see if it looks any better in the morning. If not - hey, that's what hairsticks are for!   

Overall I think it's a great procedure, and I plan on trying it again in the future. I'm sure with more experimenting and perhaps modified ingredients I'll get great results. I wish we actually had some honey in this house...I'll have to go out and buy a big jar for my own use one of these days. Along with some rosemary, and some essential oils...I wonder what I could find at Trader Joe's. I love that store, but I've never looked for hair stuff there.

Just measured my hair. 33 inches on the nose! Almost back to where I was before my last trim.

Hi Cairn, hope you don't mind me writing in your journal!

- Chamomile tea helps lighten hair I think.
- Any other kind of tea should be okay...
- Plain yogurt is a great conditioner.
- Peanut butter - NO idea about this one!
- Molasses is supposed to be good to darken hair.

Thanks, bikerbraid. I figured that'd be the answer.

I did find a recipe with molasses, but it didn't do much for me...apparently it's supposed to help darken gray hairs, though, so I'll keep it in mind if I start going gray early.

I bought some rosemary essential oil while vacationing in Michigan last week, and after one failed attempt to partner it with olive oil, am in search of a more effective way to put it to use. I only have a small vial of it, so I'm trying to conserve it, especially since I can never seem to find essential oils around here. 


In other news, school started today. Ugh, how boring. Yay for being a senior, though! I'm taking some fun classes and like all of my teachers, except for my consumer ed. teacher who likes to repeat herself constantly and looks & dresses more like one of the "popular" girls than an adult, if you get the idea.

I went through a whole long hair routine yesterday, hoping to get it nice and soft so I could wear it down today and show it off. I had to go to sleep with it damp, and unfortunately this morning it was pretty greasy as well as frizzy (weird). I fussed with it for a while, but ran out of time and ended up throwing it into a French braid. I don't want to take the time to wash it again tonight, so I'll probably just do an ACV rinse or something. Or maybe chamomile?? We'll see how experimental I feel. 

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I think there is, but I've never been to it; my family usually goes to Meijers. Thanks for the tip, though; I'll keep it in mind.



So I tried plopping last night (left it wrapped up while I slept), hoping to get some nice waves today. It worked quite well, and gave a much more natural looking wave than braiding does. It started out nice and bouncy; unfortunately it rained all day, which means Flat & Frizzy.  Ah well, at least I know the process works. I'll have to try it again on a drier day.

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We need two years of high school PE, ugh! I'm so glad I'm a junior now - no more PE for me, ever again! Lucky you - only 20 minutes! We were in the pool for 90 minutes, 3 times a week, 6 weeks a year. 

No more PE, lalala, doing a happy dance 

[steps up on soapbox]

In this day and age of couch potatoes - I'm glad to hear some school districts recognize the importance of physical fitness.  I know you may not appreciate it now, but you are learning life long skills and hopefully developing good habits for later in life.  Take it from an "oldster" - you need to be physically active!

Your PE classes are good for you.  Be thankful for them.

[steps down from soapbox]