Dandruff? What Dandruff?

Hey, curly mamas! Do you guys suffer from dandruff? Your kids have it, too? It's not that hard to get rid of it... for good.
My kids and I haven't had dandruff issues in years. We all used to, probably back in about 2012... I believe that was the last time I had issues with it. My youngest child, who is 11 months, has NEVER had dandruff, or even cradle cap thus far. Even my hubby used to have excessive dandruff and doesn't have it any longer!

So, here is what I do to keep dandruff away.. for good,

1. DRINK WATER! I cannot stress that enough. If your body is not hydrated properly, it will manifest itself in your scalp and you'll see those annoying, itchy white flakes that won't go away.

2. WASH weekly! A CLEAN scalp is a happy, non itchy scalp. Bi-weekly may work depending on how your hair is already trained, but if you have lots of dandruff, it is recommended that you wash it weekly.

3. DITCH the sulfate shampoos! Sulfates make your scalp even dryer, which contributes to MORE flakes. No bueno. Want to cleanse completely? Use a mud/clay wash or ACV (apple cider vinegar).

4. OIL your scalp! After you wash and condition your hair, oil your scalp with a natural based oil (EVOO, castor oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, etc) before using a leave in. If you don't seal that moisture in, it'll quickly be zapped away by the elements.

5. DEEP CONDITION weekly! Now, I don't have time to do this for all my kids, but I definitely do it to myself. But the kids actually don't need deep conditioning to keep dandruff away, and that's because I have their hair TRAINED. We all guzzle water as our number one drink, and when I moisturize their hair, I use water, then oil, then cream and/or shea butter, otherwise known as the LOC method.
Occasionally, I'll do the opposite... the LCO method. Both ways work well for us!

6. PROTECTIVE STYLING works wonders! Now, I'm not talking about weave, Ya'll know I don't do weave... no shade to those who do; it's just not me, I am talking about doing styles that last for a week. For me, because I'm always in the house, my hair is in twists or braids 90% of the time. If it's not in twists, it's up in a high bun to stretch it and also keep the ends moisturized. I only wear it out when it's moist enough or I'm going somewhere... or I'm about to wash it anyway, so it doesn't matter. lol 

For the kids, their hair stays braided, twisted, or coiled up some kind of way, and washed every two weeks. I do moisturizing 'sessions' in between, but maybe only twice a week. Still no dandruff!

*So those are the six things that we've been doing to keep dandruff at bay. Symari and Jalani have never had dandruff at all, and that's because I learned from the two oldest. Woo hoo!

I hope you guys take my advice and apply it to yourself or your kids if you're having dandruff trouble. These things work! 

Peace out till next time!

~Epic Realist~

IG: Epic.realist

https://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence/videos

Bleached Hair Damage + SHEA MOISTURE Haul!

Hiya, guys! I made a quick video showing what happened to my hair after bleaching it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5l-0syfKwA

So, as you can see, my 3B pattern got more loose after using the dye, but I really don't mind it.  I knew what could possibly happen before it did.
But I wanted you guys to see what effects bleaching agents have on my hair.
My hair is also mega dry, and it breaks much easier now! The bleached areas are more fragile and weak, and I can't put too much stress on them. The LOC method, or even the LCO method (even using shea butter on top) does little to hold moisture in my hair now, which is no bueno lol! I have to add a little bit of protein to the moisture every once in a while, although because I am protein sensitive, it's often hard to govern how much of a balance is needed to keep my color from being damaged even more. I am still working to figure that out, but being natural is a journey... a long, exciting one! ;)

Ideas I may implement: I may start adding keratin products to my hair to protect the color... and also these Shea Moisture products that I bought the other day.

I went to Walgreens on a 50% off day. I didn't even know that was the case until I went in, and I bought these three Shea Moisture products. They are wonderful so far. I will have a video done about this soon, and also reviews. Oh, and I finally found that black lipstick that I'd been looking for for ages! Woo hoo! ;) #geekpower

More updates and blog posts coming soon.
In the meantime, check out the latest videos from my channel.
Peace out! https://www.youtube.com/user/curlsofinnocence/videos

~Epic Realist~

Clarifying Shampoo With LCO Method

Hola, guys! Last week, I got a new shampoo. Yes, I actually got something other than Shea Moisture. I didn't have the money to spend on getting their black soap shampoo, and I desperately needed something to clean my scalp raw because I hadn't done that in... over a year. -__-

I initially wanted to use apple cider vinegar for that, but I couldn't find any to save my life. So, instead of breaking the bank, I got something cheap from Dollar Tree. I haven't used any VO5 products in years, and I mean since I was a teenager. I got a shampoo and a cheap conditioner to go along with it. I didn't care. Hey, it was a dollar and it had sulfates. I just needed something to make my scalp and hair squeaky clean.

It worked, all right. My hair was smelling good, and it squeaked like mad. It felt so weird because I hadn't used a sulfate shampoo in over two years now, and my hair felt completely stripped. But that's how it needed to feel. I read  a lot of hair advice still, and products can get built up on your scalp and hair and nothing but sulfates will be able to remove them. I've known this for a long time, but I was never serious about implementing it.

So now I finally have something. My hair was as dry as ever afterwards, though! LOL! I was laughing and freaking out at the same time. I used both of them, and when I came out of the shower, I immediately threw some of my SM Deep Treatment Masque in my hair as a leave in and put castor oil on top of each section and de-tangled with my paddle brush. Then I braided them up.

I have been experimenting with the LCO (liquid, cream, oil) method rather than the LOC (liquid, oil, cream) method. Some people say that the LCO works better for them. I'm beginning to think that my hair likes the LCO method better as well, because with the oil on top, it really penetrates my hair better than it being put on before the cream. Still playing around with it so I can know for sure.

My hair still wasn't as soft as it used to be when I took the braids out two days later, so I did a deep condition with SM Anti Breakage Masque... for about six hours. Loved the results. My hair was back to normal softness and fluffiness. Panic attack was over. Haha!

I've decided that I'm going to use this shampoo once a month only just to clarify my hair from crap. It's an addition to my hair regimen. My hair is in a good place right now, and I'm super happy with it. Growing a lot, no more major shedding, very minimal breakage and split ends, no heat usage, no comb usage (except parting and wash day) protective styling, soft, fluffy, and... being grabbed by my almost one year old daughter. :-) My hair nowadays reminds me of Naptural85's hair. She's one of my favorite hair bloggers. Yay for hair health!

Here's some recent pics of my hair in a braid out. Yesterday was my anniversary, and that's the pic of me in the blue shirt. <3 

Check out what I've been homeschooling meh kids! uncagedlearning.blogspot.com

Personal blog http://epicrealist.blogspot.com/

Peace out, curly mamas!