I had high (↑) hopes – some realistic, others not so much – that were quickly dashed once the henna was washed out of my hair.

Dashed Hope #1:

The subtle but noticeable red gloss my hair was “supposed” to have was no where to be found. My hair is the same 1b that it’s always been. What’s saddest about this development is that both my husband and I saw the reddish tint in my hair when I first applied the henna. I am disappointed.

Dashed Hope #2:

Samsonesque hair of my dreams is a more distant reality after the henna treatment. One of the first “benefits” that initially drew me to henna was the promise of strengthened hair. How excited I was to decrease shedding and lessen hair loss. You do, of course, understand my utter SHOCK (and absolute DISMAY) at seeing a S-I-G-N-I-F-I-C-A-N-T increase in shedding and hair loss AS SOON as I started washing out the henna. I did indeed cry that river requested by Justin Timberlake. (Side Note: Just noticed his name is ‘-lake’ and he’s requesting a ‘river’. *CRICKETS* Umm…guess I’m the only one who cares about this observation. Okey dokey…moving on.) My hair continued its migration from my head well through the styling process.

Dashed Hope #3:

I was secretly hoping for an instant transformation into a melanin-rich Rapunzel. You can stop shaking your head now. Even I can admit that I sometimes have to throw myself out of and deadbolt the lock to the Land of Make Believe I spend too much time in.

Did I like anything about the results?:

You would expect me to scream NO without thought, but that’s not true. My curls usually shrink after washing, but that was not the case with the henna. I LOVED how it elongated them without erasing the pattern.

I’m nothing if not diplomatic, so I can admit there’s a poss slight possibility that I might have done some things that aided in the aspects that were ineffective.

Possible theories for what went wrong:

1. Unreasonably assumed this was the potion for all my hair needs.Talk about pressure on one little product.

2. I left it on for too long. I hennaed at 6 or 7 pm on Thursday and did not wash it out until almost 1pm on Friday. *Excuse me a minute while I use fingers to do the math* If I didn’t fail kindergarten math, my hair was marinating in the henna for 18 or 19 hours. My assumption was the longer I kept it on, the richer my new color. Assume = Ass + U + Me. Right. Got it.

3. Instead of a deep condition, I did a protein treatment. In my defense, the last time I did this Coconut Milk Protein Treatment it left my hair amazingly soft instead of fantastically strong. I assumed (there’s that word again) I could just add a dash of moisturizing conditioner (Tresemme Naturals with Aloe Vera and Avocado) to the mix to neutralize the effects of the protein in the coconut milk. One of these days I’m going to accept that I am not Madame Curie. Anyway, this might be a case of too much of a good thing (protein).

4. I don’t follow instructions very well. The CurlyNikki tutorial video clearly states “Smoosh the henna through. Try not to manipulate the hair too much.” Of course I took that to mean “Manhandle my hair to make sure each and every single strand is saturated with henna.” I once again made an a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. I figured it would work better if each individual strand was coated. Not the case.

Takeaways:

I said it in the post before last that what’s good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. Henna has been a transformative hair experience for an overwhelming number of women. However, there are those (raising my hand) whose hair remains the same; or, sadly, is made “worse” (raising hand again).

Next Steps:

I am:

a. the bravest woman on this planet

b. an idiot

c. an eternal optimist

d. all of the above

Why the quiz? Because I am actually considering giving henna another try. Please stop sucking your teeth and rolling your eyes. Thanks.

The two reasons I’m considering giving it a try again are:

1. so I can do it without the mistakes from the first application

2. because this process is cumulative. The more you do it, the better the results.

I still have half the box left. I might as well finish it off. The next time around I’ll be more methodical about following the recommended steps. Here’s hoping I don’t end up bald for giving henna another chance. *insert nervous laughter*

I’ll keep you posted when I decide what to do. I’m always interested in hearing your stories. What’s your experience with henna? If you have not tried it, what’s keeping you from buying a seat on the henna bus?

Here are some pics of the immediate wash out results. I was too embarrassed to take pics of all the hair I loss. Pay no attention to the greasy neck.

I used the following CurlyNikki tutorial video as my guide. Be sure to check it out for details. Side Note: I sent a tweet to CN to confirm that it’s okay to henna without first washing the hair. She said it’s fine.

Mix
50g Jamila Henna 2009 Summer Crop (I purchased the 100g and used half the box. You have to scroll down almost to the bottom of the page to find it.)
A little over 1 cup of warm green tea (I used 4 bags of tea). I actually prepared 2 cups of tea but didn’t need to use all of it to achieve the mashed potato consistency recommended in the video.
2 tablespoon raw honey that is added after the other ingredients are mixed. Right when you’re ready to add it to your hair. (You can use any honey but I love this stuff)

Once I mixed the tea with the henna I just about passed out from the smell. O.M.Wow! I’m so NOT a fan. From what I’ve read on the blogs, most people usually dislike the smell of the Ayurvedic treatment that I did last week. Not the henna. However, I was fine with the AT. The henna is what is assaulting my nostrils as I type this.

Other than the smell, so far things seem okay. I haven’t noticed the issue that most people worry about —that it eliminates your defined curl pattern. However, I haven’t washed my hair out yet so there’s still the possibility of this happening. We’ll see tomorrow, God willing.

What I did notice (and my husband mentioned it without my even pointing it out) is that my hair seemed highlighted with red as soon as I mixed the henna in. I’m excited to see what shade it ends up.

Here are some pics of my journey. Enjoy.

Have you tried henna? What was your experience? Feel free to post blog links of your journey if you’ve recorded it.

Part II coming soon…

Last night I Pre-Pooed overnight with Vatika oil and today I washed (Neem, Shikakai and Amla powders mix) and deep conditioned (avocado, coconut milk, evoo and raw honey) my hair. I felt a difference right away. My very fine hair had so much strength after the Ayurvedic treatment. You would have thought I was Samson the way I was going around pulling on it. I was so surprised to see how little my hair was shedding (something it was doing non-stop before the wash) that I’m almost hesitant to mention it aloud for fear of jinxing it. Not really. I don’t believe in curses.

Anyway,  I can’t thank blogger All Things O’Natural enough for introducing me to Ayurveda. Also a big shout out to blogger the Moptop Maven for her the kick a$$ recipe for the cleansing mixture.
Mix
2 Tablespoons Amla
2 Tablespoons Shikakai
1 Tablespoon Neem Powder

Combine with enough water to make a thick paste. Apply evenly on wet, freshly pre-conditioned hair, and massage gently massage mixture on to scalp. Allow to sit on hair for about 15 minutes (mine stayed on for almost 30), then rinse thoroughly with cool water. Follow up with a basic light ACV rinse to remove any additional oils/residue left behind. [1/2 cup of ACV + 2 cups water] (I followed up with the deep conditioner and finished off with the ACV rinse.)

The recipe for the DC came from Dr. Phoenyx Austin on CurlyNikki’s blog.

Mix
¼ cup of Coconut Milk (full fat)
¼ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small avocado
1 tablespoon raw honey (my addition because I love this stuff)

I left the DC on for over an hour (with 45 minutes – 1 hour of it under my not-so-hot heating cap). My hair is no where near as soft as it was when I did the Coconut Milk Protein Treatment, but it was soft. *SMH* Leave it to my hair to be super moisturized using a protein treatment rather than a deep conditioner. Your experience with any product or treatment is do dependent on your actual hair (texture, length, health, time of day, weather, etc…) that you can’t just agree to (or dismiss) something based on the experience of someone else.

This brings me to my next experiment – Henna. I am trying it for the first time next week, God willing. I’ve been hearing a chorus of pros and a solo of cons. I’m looking forward to seeing how it works for me. Of course I’ll be posting here to let you all know.

The third session of this series is entitled The Peak of Unbelief. It’s about the barrier that doubt places on prayer. Something that I’ve been struggling with. It was jarring to hear that doubt, like faith, is a choice. Although I hate saying it, I sometimes find myself thinking “I can’t help it” when I don’t trust God to do what I’ve prayed about. But the truth is I’m making that choice to doubt, and not fully trust in Him. Where is my faith?

Another great point that was brought up is that when you’re constantly in fellowship with God you gain a sensitivity to what He wants for your life. As such your prayers will align with His desires for you. To answer the question ‘Where is my faith?’ (at least as it relates to prayer), it was shaken a few years ago when I failed to received something that I prayed for and wholeheartedly believed that I would receive. What I’m learning (now that I’m trying to rebuild my faith in prayer) is the truth behind praying for the things God wants for your life.  It’s very easy to be upset about the prayers God doesn’t grant us without considering whether this would have been the best thing for us.

Here are some takeaways from last night’s session. Be motivated to walk in fellowship with God, pray and TRUST that He is listening and wants to grant your requests.

Would love to hear about your prayer journey, or your journey with doubt.

Takeaways

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) – It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

“It matters little what form of prayer we adopt or how many words we use, what matters is the faith which lays hold on God and touches the heart of the Father who knew us long before we came to Him.” ——-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Prayer projects faith on God, and God on the world. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer moves God.” ———- E.M. Bounds

Matthew 21:21-22 (NKJV) – So Jesus answered and said to them [disciples], “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree [cause it to whither because it did not produce fruit], but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

“Prayer is asking for rain. Faith is carrying the umbrella.” ———Robert C. Savage

Points to Ponder:

Why do you think doubt is so destructive to the prayer life of a believer? How can a believer build his or her faith in such a way as to diminish the impact of doubt when it comes to praying believing prayer?

Take the time in prayer to express to the Lord the things that you feel have created doubt in your walk with Jesus. Ask God to bless you with supernatural grace to pray “without fear or doubting.”

• 1 can of Organic Coconut Milk
• 4 TBSP of Raw Honey (remember, raw honey is the most beneficial because you get all of the raw nutrients.
• 4 TBSP of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

It was messy to pour on, but so worth it. I felt the difference the moment it touched my hair – soft without feeling greasy. I initially co-washed my hair afterwards rather than shampoo it, but the conditioner did not do a good job of rinsing it out. This would have been fine had I not been planning to do the Greenhouse Effect Treatment. It just seemed like too much oil for my hair. Thinking back, I think it would have been okay not to shampoo.

Anyway, after more than an hour this treatment left my hair feeling more moisturized than strengthened, but my hair texture is weird.

I recommend giving it a try. Let me know how it works for you.

My answer to her is that it’s difficult to go natural as a fad because “natural” is so much more than just what you do to your hair. Those who go into it thinking it’s a phase will learn quickly that it’s much too time consuming and intricately tied to other aspects of one’s life for it to be so. From my perspective, going “natural” forces you to reevaluate everything: what you eat, what types of bad habits you have, how you take care of your skin, how you maintain your health, and so forth.

Speaking of maintaining one’s overall health, I’ve started including Green Vibrance in my diet. I, thankfully, don’t know the true taste of butt water. However, this comes as close to it as I can possibly imagine. It tastes better when put into a smoothie, but mixing it with plain water is disgusting. Oh, the things we do for good health.

I just started taking it a week or so ago so I can’t confirm if it’s effective. I do know that I don’t feel as tired and worn-down as I usually do – a consequence of suffering from iron deficiency anemia all my life.

I’ll keep you posted on how it’s working. Eventually I’ll post the list of vitamins that it includes.

So, although I’m procrastinating with my writing, I haven’t been doing the same with my running. I’ve been really good about staying motivated. It’s nice that my hubby has decided to join me.

Anyway, now I’ve going to add core strength training to my routine by trying Kettlebell exercises. I recently learned about it from the lovely blogger Hairscapades.  She’s got some kick butt abs. I searched Kettlebell exercises for idiots (well, maybe not that exact search term) and found a beginner lesson on Youtube.

Now all I have to do is figure out where the heck to get the bells.

Anyway, have you ever tried it? What’s been your experience? Want to join me on my journey?

Natural beauty is time consuming, but lots of fun. I’m excited to embrace my inner natural chemist now that I have all these oils, gels, and butters. I just have to remember I promised hubby that I wouldn’t melt, set on fire, or blow up anything in the house. As if I don’t know what I’m doing. He’s such a worrywart.

Some random pics for your enjoyment.

While I can appreciate that your team is hard at work penalizing small business owners like me who have a hard time sticking to your quarterly tax deadlines, that still doesn’t excuse the 50-minute wait to speak to a human being.

Contrary to your automated message, my call is obviously NOT that important to you.

Yours,

One of the many peons trying to carve out a piece of the American Dream