Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner

My hair is extremely fine, and I torture it with heat products. Meanwhile, I am trying to grow out my hair very long, which are conflicting realities.

I am constantly in search of hair masks that strengthen and soften my hair. Like many people, I don't want to put harsh products in my hair. I have never died my hair or permed it, though I did get a Brazilian Blow Out once from a Groupon (truth, I probably will do this again simply because my hair required so much less heat on a daily basis that I think it balances out in favor of formaldehyde, but I'm still torn on this). I avoid products with alcohol (even hairspray) and sulfates. Simply, I know the heat damages my hair, and the products I use are intended to ease or even reverse the damage.

I have a tough time with finding the right mask/deep conditioner, but kept finding articles about the health benefits of a diet and beauty regimen full of raw, organic coconut oil. Luckily, I found this jar at Target for only a measly $7...much cheaper than most deep conditioners with half the quantity.

I read online the melting the Coconut Oil in the microwave for 15 seconds intervals with Olive Oil would make a nice hair oil. Some said to try mixing with avocado, honey, and even raw egg.

I started by washing my hair with shampoo. I only wash my hair every 3-4 days,

had just worked out, and my hair felt dirty. Looking back on it I think I probably could/should have left the shampoo step out.

Since the refrigerator was pretty empty, I combined 2 tbsp Coconut Oil with 1 tbsp Olive Oil and finger-combed it into my hair starting at the ends and working my way up to the roots. It smelled more that Olive Oil than anything else, and next time I will probably use less.

My hair looked nearly black with all of the oil in it. I twisted it up into a bun on the top of my head and went on to do something else for about 30 minutes. Some sources said to wait 2 hours or more, but I was short on time and had somewhere to be, plus I think 30 minutes is a more realistic time frame for a hair mask.

After that time, I rinsed out my hair and let it air dry. It never air dried, not even overnight. I looked like a total grease-ball, and knew I needed to shampoo my hair the next morning before showing up at work like that. This was why that first shampoo seemed redundant. I didn't recondition in the morning.

The whole idea was for soft, shiny and strong hair. After styling in the morning, I am reasonably happy with the results, but not blown away. I worry when my hair is too smooth because it can look extremely thin.

I'm going to try again with only Coconut Oil, Coconut Oil and avocado, and Coconut Oil and raw egg to decide which one is best for my hair. I'm also going to try these on a dry head of hair and see if that changes the results any. Hopefully, I'll be able to incorporate this into my beauty regimen every 2 weeks or so in place of an expensive and less natural product from the beauty store.

Post-treatment

I also tried the Coconut Oil treatment on the dog (sans Olive Oil). Human conditioner is not intended for dogs, but I wanted to keep her coat nice and shiny. I assumed organic, natural oil wouldn't be bad for her. It was a total disaster. 

Lucy hated having the oil on her, which was reason enough not to do it again, but it got much, much worse.

Not dandruff.

You know how oil and water don't mix? Well they didn't mix on the dog either, and she had little blobs of Coconut Oil on her as she dried that looked that dandruff (it was definitely oil). Twenty minutes later, it just kept getting worse.

The bathtub needed to be completely scrubbed (oil got everywhere and it was too slippery to safely shower), and Lucy need a second shampooing to get the oil off of her coat and skin.

I also was told not to experiment with the dog again (fair enough...)...

Had Enough With Too Much

A few weeks ago, I officially moved in with my boyfriend. I had been staying there most of the time since we got this little squishy face in January, and it definitely didn't make sense for one of our apartments to be uninhabited all of the time.

Most of my belongings are in storage for the time being while waiting for his lease to expire...9 weeks from today (not that I'm counting or anything). Basically, there was not enough room for the stuff that was currently here, let alone more stuff.

Since it will likely still be very hot when we move, I didn't have any need for winter clothes or anything like that. That being said, my clothes/shoes/bags are CRAMMED in the hall closet along with his extra shoes, a cooler, some random doo-dads, the toolbox, etc.

I am using a small dresser in the bedroom as a nightstand for some of camis, tees and unmentionables, but everything other essential I just cant live without is in the closet stuffed with care into bags. Heaven forbid I actually need a bag (like I did last weekend) or something at the bottom of the bag (like I do basically everyday).

10 dresses

8 dress slacks

4 pairs of jeans

6 long sleeve blouses

15 short sleeve blouses

10 sleeveless blouses

6 cardigans

2 blazers

Workout clothes and swimsuits stuffed in my workout bag

Scarves stuffed in a gift bag

Shoes stuffed in a weekender bag

4-5 clutches and wallets for going out

Well that's embarrassing.

The closet was simply too crammed, so I ventured to Wal-Mart (normally, the store is too chaotic for me to stand) and got this little treasure on Roll Back. It was $17, and I knew it would fit well in the small space. 

I first took everything out of the closet and made sure that the dresser would fit  through the door frame: PERFECT! 

Then I got to sorting:

Shoes went first. My clutches and belts fit, too!

Workout gear was second. I will probably move my running shoes into this drawer eventually (you know, so I don't have to work that hard to go workout).

Scarves and bathing suits went third.

I put the toolbox on top of the dresser. While it's a little taller than I had hoped and is brushing against the bottom of my clothes, I didn't even realize this happy mistake...

...I can roll the whole thing out when I need to get to the toolbox! Before, I had to take everything out of the closet to get to the toolbox, work on the project with stuff everywhere, then put it all back in reverse order. It was totally frustrating, and I usually just ended up throwing stuff in haphazardly.

I'm pretty happy with my little $17.00 project that really only took about 15 minutes to get the closet organized. While it may be a fix to a very short-term problem, the closet had been out of control for about 5-6 months and I'm sure we can find a use for the dresser in another closet at the next place!!