Like bears hybernate during the winter, I feel the oncoming heat and warmth of summer gets me in a cleansing mode. Somehow it makes sense and feels right to increase consumption of vegetables and fruits, drink more water, even those are all things we should do on a daily basis (more on that to come).
However, I’ve found myself embracing natural things around me. In the past and still to some extent, I’ve always been leary of natural remedies to fix this or that ailment or situation, but recently, I tried one of the best natural concoctions on my hair and boy did it make a wallop of a difference. Okay. Let me rewind to the point when 2 years ago, we moved from New Jersey to North Carolina. In New Jersey, for the most part, my hair flourished. Then suddenly, after my move, my hair, which had always been thick, but manageable and flexible to anything I throw at it, suddenly became brittle, unmanageable, breakable and unloveable. I was devastated. The fact that I also wore my hair in its natural form (chemical free since 2009) made it even worse. The water had so badly damaged my hair that I had a couple of very short spots on either side of my head and had to resort to wearing wigs and weaves. I hated it.
Eventually, I had to cut off all my hair (that’s another long story for another blog) in January 2015. Starting afresh did not help either as I still battled with the water and my hair. We bought two different water softners for the shower and kitchen sink, and none of them worked. I was at wits end and on the verge of going back to getting a perm when, searching You Tube, I stumbled across the Maximum Hydration Method and the Cherry Lola Treatment. What did I have to lose? Gain another bald patch?
If you’ve never heard of the Cherry Lola Treatment or the Maximum Hydration Method, let me say this; if you’re going to embark on this journey, you need to be dedicated and committed. With work and family to balance, that was hard for me. But I tried it. I won’t go into details here about either of the methods, but would rather ask you to check up on it and find the best combination of products that work for you, experiment with it and stick with it. I guarantee you will see positive results.
The Cherry Lola Treatment is recommended to be done every two weeks. It calls for about 3-4 more additional ingredients than I’ve listed below, but this is what I do and what works for me. It leaves my hair feeling, soft, smooth and silky:
1-2 cups of Plain Greek Yogurt – I use just 1cup (doesn’t matter brand or generic. I’ve tried both and both work fine)
2 TBS baking soda (most be fresh and not sitting in your refrigerator for months) some people use Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) which I tried, but the baking soda works great for me
2TBS Molasses (or Honey) I like both and sometimes will put 1 TBS of each
2TBS Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
Apply the mixtuture in generous amount to clean hair. When done, cover hair with a plastic cap for 15-20 minutes or longer and then rinse off. The good thing is that these are all natural ingredients. If you double the amount or have leftovers, you can store it in the refrigerator.
The next steps following the Cherry Lola treatment is the Maximum Hydration Treatment and is recommended to be done every day for 7 days, especially if hair is badly damaged. As I mentioned earlier, I had too many commitments to follow such a strict regime. As badly damaged as my hair was, I only did the following steps 3 days out of the first week. This should be done till hair reaches maximum hydration and health and this is at your discretion. No one knows your hair like you do. I’m still working toward that, but I’m back to being very much in love with my hair, no thoughts of perming it, no bald or broken patches. This is what I do:
Maximum Hydration Treatment
1. ACV Cleanse: I truly love this and keep a bottle in the shower, especially for a quick wash and go. Apply to hair and leave in for 15 minutes. If its a wash and go, I just apply it in the shower leave for a couple minutes and then wash it out, then do steps 4 &5 below.
2TBS Baking Soda
2ozs Conditioner
6-8 ozs distilled water
2. Bentonite Clay Rinse (red clay or Rhassoul)
1 cup of bentonite clay powder
2-3 cups warm water
1 TBS Honey
1 TBBS Olive Oil
I truly love this part, although messy. Apply the warm clay mixture to your hair taking time to seperate hair strands. Use your finger to rake through the hair. Cover with a plastic cap for 20-30 minutes or sit under a dryer. Rinse thoroughly when done.
3. Apply your favorite conditioner and then rinse out.
4. Make your own leave in conditioner (or you can use your favorite leave in conditioner such as Trader Joe’s TeaTree Oil Leave In)
2-3ozs conditioner
6-8ozs of water
1TBS Olive Oil (optional)
5. Apply gel to hair. I spray sections of damp hair with the conditioner mix, and then apply my favorite gel to that section and keep working section by section until my entire hair is done. I may let it hair dry or use cool settings on a blow dryer to help speed up the hair drying process.
Well, hope this helps someone out there who has been struggling with dry, unmanageable hair.
Till then,
Stay Blessed,
~Arama Christiana
