I know I was suppose to do an update last Saturday, but I was out of town. Due to my own laziness, I did not use the potion as much as I should have, last week. I believe it was only 3 times, when I usually use it 4-5 times a week.
I my growth is at a standstill, the measurements are the same. 10 on the right, 11 on the left. My camera is still on the fritz, and my phone is acting weird, so I have to figure out another way to upload pictures.
I will continue to follow my regimen, and hopefully the growth will continue, because I see that this is something you have to be persistent with.
Hopefully I will have better results to report this Saturday.
I'm here to give you guys an update. I have been trying really hard to stay on my Potion regimen. Which I must say can be a bit tedious, especially because I use GHE (Green House Effect). Which leads me to have to cowash in the morning. So that means no Low Manipulation Styling, which I suppose is a good thing, being that Protective Styles help retain length.
(Green House Effect is a natural heating effect caused by using a plastic cap/saran wrap/ or even a plastic bag, and covering that with a bonnet or a scarf. It helps oils penetrate better, and also with moisture.)
Here is the picture comparison.
I want to stay consistent with using the same shirt, but it is in the dirty clothes (lol).
Since pictures can make your hair seem longer/shorter depending on the angle, I make sure to measure.
This week the left measured
10 1/2 inches
the right
11 inches
That's right ladies and gentleman, an inch! Which is unbelievable! So if I get an inch again next week, we will know for sure that this stuff is the truth!
It has also been helping a great deal with my bald areas.(Sorry if it is a bit blurry)
I just had to share! I will be posting next weeks results next Saturday, so look out for that post!
I am a bit late with this one, but I decided that I am going to document my growth weekly, it is a bit hard since my camera decided to break, but I am going to try to make it work for you all!
I will be using my iPhone in the mean time, but I am having a bit of a hard time getting the right angles, to see the length properly. Hopefully I figure it out.
I will be posting updates every Saturday, until I reach my goal of APL.
Here is last weeks progress
Week 1= June 4th- June 11th.
I flat iron the piece in the back to get "true" length, and also since camera's can play tricks on you, meaning in different angles your hair can look longer/shorter I will be measuring as well.
Not on all points of my head. Just in the back. I guess I should start, but I only do the back because that is the straight part.
The left side measured in at
9 1/2 in.
the right at
10 in.
So apparently my hair grows lopsided (lol), hopefully the Potion can fix that, I will also starting this Saturday start tracking the growth on my bald areas as well.
Oh, and I would like to add that the 2oz I had in the water bottle is finished, after following my Hairdrenaline/Potion Regimen.
I started on my 8oz today. So at this rate I am thinking I will have to make a new batch each month, but we will see!
I have an idea for my Regimen for my Homemade "Potion". I have only used it all of...twice (lol) but once leaving on overnight, and Tuesday night, leaving in for 3 hours or so, and cowashing it out.
I now know that my Homemade "Potion" is super thick, so it takes more than 1 cowash to get the oil and the scent off of my scalp. It smells like baked onion & garlic, not a smell you want to walk around people with!
Besides the scent, the "Potion" does tingle/itch, which I see as a good thing, but even if it does not, that does not exactly mean that it is not working. My batch just does.
I used one of my two favorite cowashing conditioners, VO5 Moisturizing Milks Strawberries & Cream, and it took 3 cowashes, and vigorous rubbing to get smell out. Only a faint amount remained, but with use of my leave in, which I like to call my Creamy Olive Aloe Mix ( Aloe Vera Gel, Olive Oil, Dilluted VO5 Moisturizing Milks Passion Fruit Smoothie), and my castor oil mix ( Home Health Castor Oil,Hollywood Beauty Tea Tree Oil, Olive Oil, Sunny Isle Rosemary JBCO) the scent was non existent.
So I think I will be using my "Potion" 3-4x a week
Overnight on Saturday's leaking into Sunday.
For a few hours on
Tuesday, Thursday, and maybe Friday's.
I hate restyling my hair though, especially since I am a lover of Low Manipulation Styling, but doing it this often will encourage me to bun more often, which is great for protecting my ends and will help with retention (gaining and keeping length).
I am also hoping that this will help speed up the growth on my bald area's so I can really start to experiment with styling!
I am sure most of you know that I am a member over on Hairlista, (which is a great hair forum, so check it out if you have not already. Also my beloved Black Hair Planet.) and the big buzz over there has been about this hair "Potion" that promises to help speed up hair growth, to as much as 3 inches in 7 weeks. Of course all cases, and hair is different, so you may not experience those exact results.
There is also a group dedicated for those who are using the potion on Hairlista, which I joined, and lurked (lol) for weeks, before deciding that I wanted to try this for myself, after seeing so many great progress pics, and updates. So she has a fan in me, I also subscribed to her page.
The creator of the "Potion", comes from a lovely woman on Youtube, who's name is Valerie, Her user is OhValeriMonCherie. She experienced growth from creating this potion and was generous enough to share how she makes it. She also sells her "potion".
Here are the how to's (it is a two part)
Here is the link on where to purchase the "Potion". http://www.hairdrenalin.com/ , once on the page, click on where it says, buy potion.
The "Potion" has ingredients that are know to help stimulate growth like
Castor Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Onion/Garlic Seed Oils
Biotin
Black Tea (to help soothe itch)
I figured that this could help put me over the edge to reaching my goal of APL, and possibly BSL by the end of the year. (For acronym definitions, check out this post ) As I just a bit past SL right now.
Using the exact ingredients she used, to make 16oz you will need
45 cut Black Tea bags
1/2 large bottle (1.75oz) of Cayenne Pepper
30 Biotin pills (blended or powder form)
2-4 drops onion seed oil
1-2 drop garlic seed oil
2:1 ratio of onion seed oil to garlic seed oil
I decided to make my own variation to the "Potion", as did not have all the ingredients on hand. I wanted to do a video, but my camera decided it did not want to read my memory card, so I also could not take pictures during either. Smh Thankfully dh was nice enough to let me take pics with his phone, so I have after pics.
I used
16oz of (Home Health) Castor Oil
15 cut (Bigelow) Black Tea Bags
1/2 large bottle of (McCormick) Cayenne Pepper
50 Biotin pills (300mcg) (Known for treating hair loss, and promoting growth)
30 MSM pills (500mcg) (A form of sulphur, that is also growth promoting, which is why I chose it to replace the Onion Seed Oil)
1/4 large bottle of Onion Powder (McCormick 2.65oz) (Also to help replace the use of Onion Seed Oil)
1/4 large bottle of Garlic Powder (McCormick 2.65oz) ( For growth, help replace the use of Garlic Seed Oil)
Like Valerie's "Potion" I infused mine in the oven ( you can use a crock pot on low, as well), and I set mine for 220 degrees, and left it in for 5 hours.
(In her videos she says your temperature should not exceed 225, or be any lower than 200, and you should keep it in the oven for a minimum of 5 hours, but to not exceed 5 1/2)
After it is done, you have to strain your oil, you can use Cheese Cloth, Coffee Filters, or a Knee Hi/Stocking. I used a Knee Hi.
You put whatever one of those over a cup, and pour your mixture into that cup, you can choose to let what's left strain or bottle it.
I strained mine for a extra few minutes, and I got about 10oz out of the batch.
She suggest that if you use a clear bottle, to keep it in the fridge to prevent direct light hitting the bottle, as that could ruin the potency of your "Potion". I used a regular plastic water bottle for my extra 2oz, and an old Africa's Best Ultimate Herbal Oil bottle, which is 8oz, so I am storing mine in the fridge. If you are storing in a dark bottle, or container, your "Potion" will not have to be refrigerated.
Here's how my variation of the "Potion" came out
A lot of ladies are using the GHE effect (Green House Effect, the act of applying an oil, and placing a plastic cap/or saran wrapping your hair, and then tying a scarf around the plastic cap or saran wrap. I also put a satin bonnet on top for added effect.
GHE is suppose to help the oil penetrate the scalp better.) for use of the oil, 7 days a week. I will not be using it that often, maybe 4 times a week.
Last night was my first time using it, did GHE, and I did get a nice itch/tingling feeling, and it smells like a everything bagel (lol), which I do not mind, too much.
I will be taking progress pics in between (June 30th- July 5th), probably the latter, since I started on the 4th of June.
Here is where I'm starting from.
Ignore the pieceyness of it, I only flat ironed a small section. (For those who do not know. I am natural, and have 4a texture hair)
I took this pic for the The Six Inch Challenge over on BHP, on June 1st, so it really came in hand.
So look out for my progress, updates! Hopefully my progress will encourage you all to jump on board!
I'm finally doing a review on this oil, as promised!
This oil is amazing! Coconut Oil is not exactly a protein, but it acts as one because of it's strengthening properties. So it may bother those who are protein sensitive.
This Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is light, and has a nice coconut scent, but what I really love about this oil is that it leaves my roots feeling so soft! So it is great for you (relaxer) stretchers out there!
If I can recall, I got similar results using Jarrows Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil. Though the scent of was really reminiscent of Gasoline, it was not as strong though.
Besides Nutiva having a better scent it also has a better consistency, and I am getting the full benefits of the Coconut Oil with it, as Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is extracted from fresh coconut, opposed to Expeller Pressed, which is extracted from dried coconut flesh.
Though whatever brand you are using, EVCO is a Jack-of-All trades! It can be used alone as Prepoo, Oiling your scalp, Sealing, and it's great for your skin too! I have also found that is a great addition to any deep conditioner or treatment.
Please keep in mind that this oil changes form. It can be white colored solid that melts to touch (as pictured) if in cooler climate, or turn into a clear liquid, in a warmer climate. So lets say it's summer and you do not have any air conditioning on, your EVCO will be a liquid and clear, but if you have air conditioning on, it while be a white colored solid. Get my drift? lol
You can find this oil from any Natural/Herbal shops, Whole Foods, Amazon, iHerb, Vitamin Shoppe, etc.
There are none of these kind of stores where I live, so I order mine online from Vitamin Shoppe. There are the 15oz size, which is what I tend to buy, for $8.99, the 29oz for $16.99, or the 54oz for $21.11. (All prices are in USD)
This oil lasts a long time, and I have used mine for all the things I have listed. Whether you are natural, texlaxed, or relaxed, EVCO is a MUST in your hair repertoire, but this brand in particular, gets a 5/5 from me!