water – mayah's site

rice water

so what are the benefits of using rice water? you may have heard that rice water defines your curls. it does! so i’ve started to incorporate rice water into my weekly routine. below i’ll go into why and how i use it

WHY-

i started using rice water because i was reading about the benefits of protein treatments and how the proper moisture protein balance really is what will define your curls. so i wanted to incorporate more protein. rice water is a low grade protein treatment- it’s not heavy like the ones you can purchase. i like that because i don’t have to worry about it making my hair super hard. since using it, i’ve had less frizz and more definition.

HOW-

so normally the day before i want to do my hair i put a mix of rice and water into my mason jar. i leave it sitting out on the counter til i use it- i make sure it sits for at least eight hours. OR i’ll boil rice and add extra water and pour it into a cup. from either method, i pour the water into a cup, making sure that there is little to no rice in it. then once it’s cool (if it was boiled). i shampoo my hair. then i pour it into my hair (like a rinse) and then tie it up with a pony and put a shower cap on. i leave it in for 15 minutes, then i rinse it out. I will either then rinse it out with water or shampoo it out (it depends- if feels like a residue is left, just shampoo it) and then i DEEP CONDITION. this is essential!!! it keeps your hair from getting hard. remember the goal is the moisture protein BALANCE.

I then style as normal- i’ll make an update post on my hair care regimen- it’s changed so much.

H2O and ready to go

So I’ve been meaning to share this with you all- water is essential to healthy living. As an avid water drinker, I believe that everyone should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces. I normally drink about 3/4 of my body weight and I will explain a little later why I do, but you should too!

how’d this happen

As a child, I would drink at least 8 ounces of V8 Splash every morning. I stopped doing that around the age of 13, around the time puberty started kicking in. I got a few pimples, and my aunt told me if I stopped drinking pop and juice, my skin would clear up. So I stopped. I never went back to drinking those drinks, except occasionally I do have a pop if I’m craving sugar. Other than that, I rarely drink anything besides water. I love it- it keeps me healthy and the benefits are endless. I drink about 100 ounces of water a day, which is a little short of a gallon (20 ounces off). It’s room temperature water- I stopped drinking cold water years ago (it’s too cold lol).

why so much water

So after I started drinking just water I drank a fairly normal 64 ounces a day. I didn’t start drinking 80 +ounces or so until I got to tenth grade. As you all know, I have eczema in my scalp and my hair was falling out. I read online if you increase your water intake it’ll help your hair grow and that’s all I needed to here. I would literally force myself to drink the water, knowing that it would be good for me. And ever since then I have drunk a lot of water. As I’ve gotten older I have started to drink more and more water, mostly because I’m used to drinking so much adding another glass doesn’t make a difference.

benefits

The benefits of drinking water are endless. It helps regulate your digestive system, grows your hair and nails out, clears your skin, flushes out toxins and most of all- it makes you healthy. Chapped lips are a sign of dehydration- so my lips are always moisturized. It’s easy to increase your water intake- just swap out a juice for a water. The process of getting used to drinking so much water is a little time consuming- you’ll have to use the bathroom often, but it’s so worth it. Drinking water helps everything get better. So just remember that drinking a little bit more will help!

regime

Having a steady hair care regime is essential. Especially during times of the year like this- I have a two weeks of classes left and lots to still get done. So I’ve been protective styling this past week so that life is a little bit easier. Ill take you all through my last week to explain what happened, how it happened and the great news I have to share!

Friday

Friday night I decided to wash my hair. It had been about a week since I co-washed, which considering I was styling my hair daily that’s really long for me. Normally if I’m braiding and unbraiding and styling my hair, I try to co-wash at least once in between my weekend washes, so that I don’t have too much product build up. I just didn’t have time that week, so I waited until Friday. I used Shea Moisture’s Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow and Restore shampoo (which removes build-up and balances hairs pH levels), OGX Biotin and Collagen Shampoo (it’s sulfate free and really makes my hair so moisturized) and Shea Moisture’s Coconut and Hibscicus Co-Wash. For the first time I used Shea Moisture’s Superfruit Complex 10 in 1 Renewal System as my deep conditioner (I did sit under the drier for like thirty minutes). I rinsed it out (with cold water), then did the LOC method (I’ll do an update LOC method post soon!), and braided my hair.

Monday

Monday morning I unbraided my hair, after making sure I oiled and spritzed my hair every day. I also used Shea Moisture’s Raw Shea Butter Complex Moisture Retention Conditioner (which can work as a leave in too) and Ecostyler Gel (Argan Oil). I use water, then the conditioner then the gel to slick my hair down. But on Monday I wore my hair up in two buns, so I undid my braids and sprayed the hair and added leave in before I combed it out.

this is how much hair came out. I was shocked and very happy.

Monday evening

One of my friends twisted my hair Monday night. So I co-washed, and used a deep conditioner as a regular conditioner (meaning I had the shower cap on while i was in the shower but I didn’t sit under my drier).

This is how much hair came out after washing. I was also very happy.

Everyday process from Tuesday until now

Every day I spray my twists down and use a little oil. Every couple days I do the LOC method, and make sure that I sleep with a bonnet and a satin pillow case (luckily with my hair like this, my bonnet actually stays on). Today I will be taking my twists down and probably getting it braided tonight.

My advice to all of you: when you’re busy protective style. It makes life so much easier when you don’t have to really worry about your hairs health. Yes you will still need to water your hair and add some oil and stuff but that’s not time consuming. Take care of your hair- especially when you’re busy!

tip #6

Natural hair thrives the more water you drink! So make sure you’re drinking at least HALF of your body weight in water. It’s important because it’s going to allow your hair to stay moisturized (plus drinking water does wonders for your skin). Remember that chapped lips are a sign of dehydration and that your urine should be clear (that’s really the biggest sign of enough water). Stay hydrated!

Length Check (finally)

So it’s about time for another hair update, mostly because I finally have a length check photo (it’s at the bottom, that was on February 3rd). After going to the dermatologist on Tuesday basically I was told I’m going to have to wash my hair in between appointments. So that means I’ll be curly more often (even though I was still just about curly every other week). This morning I washed my hair and braided it, so hopefully this braid out is successful. As far as oils I still use coconut and Castor Oil, along with Silk by Design Essentials. I made a mixture of about three Shea Moisture conditioners (Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner (the main one I used), Organic African Black Soap Balancing Conditioner, and Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Conditioner) along with coconut and castor oil. When I was braiding my hair it was super soft, which I liked. My suggestion for soft hair is to just experiment with oils and conditioners, because they are both really important. I also have a spray bottle full of water mixed with conditioner, just in case my curls get a little crazy. My biggest thing is really do something to your hair to protect it every night, even its just a pineapple. Don’t forget about protective styling! It’s super important. Happy styling!