Final Reflections13th & 14thEnding this challenge on Valentine’s day is definitely a downside, as I wanted to dye my hair pink for it. However, my roots have honestly never felt better. Although I wish I had conditioner to take care of moisturizing the dry ends (which I’ll have to blame on the climate), I think I can say my hair has almost fully transitioned over to “no-poo”.
Dye: After this challenge was over I wondered what it’d be like to dye my new roots. I used the same black as before, and distributed it evenly. The dye sat for 45 minutes - 1 hour, and I washed/ scrubbed it out with hot water. When my dried the dye barely showed up, only coming out as a grey instead of the previous black/ dark purple. My scalp also appeared to be sensitive, since it had been so long since it interacted with chemicals. I now realize that I have to slowly bring back dye and my hair routine instead of just jumping straight into demi-permanent black. Conditioner: Finally, I’ve realized that I’m going to continue “no-poo” and just use conditioner. I used this on my 31st day, and it made my hair so soft and restored a bit of moisture. A definite need for this weather. |
Week Four
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Week 329th - 4th
I have realized that these past two weeks have been conducted wrong. Turns out, in order for your hair to transition from products to “no poo” you’re not supposed to be scrubbing your hair every night with hot water. So this week I’m challenging myself to not use any water. Tuesday: The grease is slowly accumulating, I just had a 7 hour dance practice with two performances. I think it’s safe to say my hair is not going to like this week. Wednesday: Today I decided it would be safest to hide my hair in a bun. Only the people who know about this challenge have actually commented on the texture. Thursday: Another 7 hour practice accompanied by two b-ball game performances. When I attempt a ponytail, it looks like a “slicked back”, overly-gelled look. I’m longing for shampoo. Friday: My hair has been put into four braids in attempts to hide the texture.Since my head is so wet it looks like I’ve just showered. Honestly I’m glad it rained out today so I can just blame the moisture on the weather. Last dance practice of the week tonight, working on brushing my hair every night so the grease travels downward to split ends. Saturday: Today consisted of an impromptu trip to open gym for tumbling and shopping for dance comp outfits. Going out into the actual public with locks looking like I soaked them in olive oil was not a good look. It’s hard for me to discern weird looks at my hair since it is dyed, and many overly-conservative elders already disapprove of that. Sunday: On the last day (8), of this week of no water in hair I finally allowed myself to scrub my head. The oil spreaded down to the ends of the hair and worked somewhat like a conditioner. The bottoms of my hair feel extremely nourished, which is very nice, but the roots make me wish death upon myself. |
Week 222nd - 28th
This is the week were regret sets in. My hair is constantly greasy, even dirtier than it was before I began. Every time I take a shower I stare longingly at my conditioner bottles. To combat the fact that I can’t re-dye my hair I gave myself bangs... Bangs. I have gotten so many comments on how greasy my hair is. I KnOw It’s dirty. Every night I wash my hair with hot water for 5 minutes and brush it till the oil spreads (which it isn’t, despite being lied to by many articles that it would). I’ve considered trying “no-poo” alternatives, however I think I’ll wait until later in the month to follow out on these. |
Week 115th - 21st
This week marks the beginning of my no-shampoo no-conditioner hair transformation. I feel like this is going to be an interesting experience with hopefully a positive outcome. After conducting preliminary research I found some interesting information. Firstly, I knew going and this project that there might be a “greasy era”. This is commonly labeled the “transition period”. Self-explanatory enough, your hair will most likely over-produce oils to combat the change from constantly stripping with shampoos and chemicals. This frightens me, however I also discovered that there were alternatives to washing hair. Baking soda is commonly used as shampoo, but has been found to make hair fragile and break. Moreover, apple cider vinegar is al alternative for conditioner. I might try these out after the first week to see if it changes. Lastly, I learned that shampoo has only be modernly commercialized since the 1930s, and before people would only use bars of soap. Another concern for me is my constant need to dye/ damage my hair. I have changed my hair look every 2 weeks for the past 7 months, so this is a pretty hard commandment to self-enforce. I do try to be as careful as possible with my hair, using only argan oil based dyes and bleaching minimally. Lastly, my hair cycles from being uncontrollably damaged to manageable. Since my hair grows so fast, everytime it becomes manageable I end up having to re-dye it. I have just dyed my hair black so I'm anxious to see how it changes during this month. As of right now my hair has been growing 1 inch every month. Throughout this challenge I will record what happens to my hair: level of greasiness, amount of growth, and how quick the dye fades. |
