This wash day was not sponsored by Garnier

My wash day last week was pretty simple - no bells or whistles.

1) Pre-pooed overnight with Coconut Oil. 2) Shampooed with Garnier Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo. There are two reasons why I probably shouldn't have been using that shampoo. One,  It has SLS, which seems to be the ultimate RED BUTTON; DO NOT TOUCH on the curly, kinky interwebs and two It contains white willow bark, an excellent anti dandruff treatment, since it is a rich source of salicyclic acid. It is also an active ingredient found in aspirin (for dilating blood vessels or something) so as an asthmatic, I'm supposed to avoid it. But if I'm feeling halfway rebellious, may as well go all the way, no? I applied the shampoo in sections, to make sure I got to every inch of my scalp. Also meant I used, like, 10 times the recommended amount... 3) Rinsed like the Dickens. 4) Applied my Garnier Ultra Doux conditioner, with Vanilla milk and Papaya pulp. It's formulated for long hair, so I reckon it should help my fragile ends. Also, smells like heaven. Fruity, but not too much and mixed with that irresistible scent of Vanilla. Love it. I left it in for 5 minutes while I bemoaned the state of our shower, thanks to the hard water. 5) Rinsed out, but not intensely - I don't mind if a little bit of the product is left behind because then my hair smells gorgeous :) 6) Applied home made Rose Aloe Moisturiser. 7) Sealed with Hempseed oil and some whipped shea butter on my ends.


Happy, happy hair! Soft and fluffy. And my scalp was completely and utterly clear! Nothing else to report really with the shampoo, apart from a nagging,persistent headache the following day. I'm not sure if it was from the shampoo or not - I'll find out next time.

To stretch, I decided to indulge in some banding for a couple of days. 

 When I released it, it simply went up in a bun, to avoid my hair brushing on my scarf. The first picture is my hair after I decided to finger comb a little.

I love how big looking it turned out!

It's only now as I've written this up that I've realised both commercial products used are Garnier. 

I've never really paid attention to any brands (outside of Tresemmé) but my experience so far is definitely making me think I might try them out when I go back to England.

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Mixtress Mischief: Scalp Soother Serum

Sometimes, my scalp has its bad days - days where it's dry, or a little bit on the itchy side, or when it's been exposed to the sun a little bit too long for it. I love this mixture because it's light, non greasy and incredibly cooling on the scalp - especially if you've left it in the fridge for a bit. It absorbs quickly into the scalp

Preparation Time: 2 mins


Ingredients:                                                                                                                                          

1 tbsp (or 15ml) of aloe vera gel (45p)
1/4 tbsp (or 5ml) of grapeseed oil [or 4 drops of Japanese Camellia Oil or jojoba or any other light oil you have on hand] (3p)
3 drops of eucalyptus oil (35p)
3 drop of lavender oil (40p)
3 drops of Copaiba oil (so very optional) (26p)
Total cost: £1.49

Grapeseed Oil - This was the lightest oil I had on hand, since I didn't want to clog up my scalp.

Aloe Vera Gel - renowned for its healing and soothing properties

Lavender Essential Oil (Lavendula angustifolia) - Again, renowned for its calming and soothing properties. Also, I hate the smell of lavendula angustifolia by itself because I actually meant to buy lavendula officinalis. But augustifolia is what I've got, so that's what I'm putting down here.

Eucalyptus Essental Oil - Supposed anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. And something about encouraging ceramide production in the hair encouraging.
Copaiba Oil - read more here.

Method:                                                                                                                                                

Basically, I put all the ingredients in a small glass jar and shook it as hard as I could, until the aloe vera gel had gone from clear...

...to a slightly thicker, creamier and translucent cream.

And you're done! To use, simple use your fingertips to apply the serum to the area and gently massage it in.

I usually apply this a day after washing or whenever I think my scalp needs it. My mum likes it and I hope you will too!

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Mixtress Mischief: Bentonite Baby!

I bought 200g of bentonite clay from Neals Yard Remedies, around the time of the Royal Wedding, because they were doing free shipping over the bank holidays.

Man, I love me some free shipping.

Although you order it in how many quantities of 100g you want, it all just came in one all consuming plastic bag. Better for the environment I guess!

Attempt 1

I actually tried it a while ago, but I'm easily confused and was so used to doing my Cassia and other things with hot water that when I made my horsetail tisane, I simply just added it straight to the bentonite..

...and promptly cooked the clay.

Well, that's what I thought. It's far more likely that I was being extra stingy with the bentonite clay and ended up with a watery mistake. I remember thinking it felt like under cooked porridge.

Ew. I tried to use it but it seemed pretty useless.

The REAL Attempt 1
This time I made no mistake and added my water cold.

I took out 1/2 cup (100-120g) of bentonite clay.

Then I slowly added between 1 and 1.5 cup of water (between 250 - 375ml) of water, mixing slowly with my wooden spoon until a (reasonably) smooth paste was formed.

Mine had quite a few lumps but you know, I thought you either like it or lump it.

I'm sorry. I can't help myself!

When applying, I simple scooped up parts of the mixture, rubbed it gently between my hands to get rid of any lumps, and then added it directly to my hair.

After I finished generously applying the bentonite clay mix to my hair and scalp and bits of my ears, I noted that there was still quite a bit left over.

So I threw it into a plastic bag and stuck it into the freezer.

Then I took advantage of the temporary colour of my hair to dance around the house like a golden oldie.

I was jiving and shaking and being crochety, like a rhuematic James Brown all over the place for the 25 minutes this was in my hair.

Ow! I feel good!

I rinsed it out with warm /tepid water and it didn't take long at all to rinse it out. Halfway through rinsing, I realised that my hair felt a little bit dry, so I decided to nix the idea to see how it felt by itself with no conditioner afterwards. I made sure to condition well with my Tresemmé Naturals conditioner, leaving it on for the full 5 minutes before de-tangling and rinsing.

Then I moisturised with my Giovanni Direct Leave in and my hair butter and twisted my hair up immediately.

My hair felt clean, my scalp was singing and I was content with the results, but I still remembered the drying effect I'd felt in the shower. In my next bentonite experiment I decided to add some aloe vera gel and see how that worked out.

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Grunking on your Scalp

Before I start, I'd like to remind you that I am not a doctor, nor a nurse, nor Doogie Howser. This is stuff I've gleaned from some journals I shouldn't have been looking at, since I still have another 75 episodes of One Piece to catch up on. 
Thus, if you have any medical issues, pleaseplease PLEASE go and have a chat with your doctor, who is actually qualified to dispense with medical advice.


If you read my breakdown of my braids here, then you may have noticed me use the word 'grunk'.


As usual, I was flippant about it, because it was something I assumed everyone had experienced before.


Not so, mes chéries! It looks like the 'Grunk', as I like to call it, is something else entirely.


Ever since I started relaxing, I remember the Grunk - loyal companion to my constantly itchy head who particularly enjoyed making its presence excessively known after 2 or 3 months in braid extensions; I thought it was something that I would just have to accept as a part of life.


Like meany older cousins.


However, I've realised that this is not true. Well, the Grunk, not the mean older cousins.


Mean older cousins are definitely a certainty of life.


If you go on forums or facebook pages or any communal hair pages, and someone describes something that sounds like The Grunk - flaking, itchy scalp that is soothed briefly after a wash, but comes back with a vengeance as soon as you look the other way, most people advise them to clarify with ACV or use a scalp scrub.


Uh, noo....build up is usually waxy product build up that leaves your hair dull(er) and lank.


The Grunk (in the context of hair) only occurs on your scalp, because your hair is dead - it cannot produce flakes. 


Though with people with straighter hair, the Grunk can travel down the hair strand and settle on your shoulders.


Sound familiar?

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