Self-Quest for Healthy Hair

In order to take a different approach to my typical Peyton/Family oriented posts, I thought I would share my latest self-study with those who follow our family. After witnessing one of our family friend’s gorgeous hair at a get together, I made it my personal goal to find tips and tricks to help my own hair grow healthier, faster and hopefully with any luck , a bit thicker. I found several great articles and blog posts with a variation of tips and tricks that any regular person (by regular I mean non-celebrity, millionaire money bags person who can actually afford all of the products) can follow. Below is a brief summary of my daily and/or weekly rituals. I intend on posting updates on my results in case anyone else wants to try this out. ;)

Products I Use:

Nature’s Gate Paraben Free, 100% Natural Shampoo/Conditioner
100% Natural Jojoba Oil (also fantastic for skin moisture)
Natural Boar Bristle Brush
Wide Tooth Detangling Comb
100% Organic, Un-Filtered Apple Cider Vinegar


Daily and/or Weekly Regime:

1. Daily shampoo/conditioning treatment. If your hair allows it and doesn’t look like a big grease ball like mine if you don’t shampoo daily, try using shampoo with the conditioner every other day and using just conditioner on the “day off”.

2. Clarification and moisturizing treatment with natural Jojoba oil twice weekly.

a. I usually smother my hair in the oil and then put my hair in a light braid before going to bed. The oil may make your hair look super greasy, but it actually absorbs quite quickly and won’t rub off on your pillow case or anything else for that matter when you sleep.

b. Another suggestion in one of the blog posts I read was to wear your hair in a swim cap or plastic hair net to seal in the oil. I tend to edge away from this method for self preservation of my pride. ;) Haha

3. Daily consumption of at least 96oz of water (that’s 3, 32oz Nalgene bottles full for ease of measuring).

a. I mix 2 tsp of 100% organic, un-filtered Apple Cider Vinegar into my first 32oz of water each morning. Apple Cider Vinegar is very affordable (about $3-$4 a bottle)and is wonderful for many things, such as a natural remedy for sinus infections, a natural detoxification tool for your body and water retention (great for our battle against mother nature ladies), a natural metabolism booster (BONUS) and many more.

b. To read more about the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar, click on my sidebar link for Earth.Clinic and search “Apple Cider Vinegar” or “ACV”.

c. Just as an advanced warning, your first go at the ACV mix will be a bit rough since your taste buds are most likely not used to the tangy taste of vinegar. Don’t worry, by my third day I didn’t notice it at all and have now developed a like for the taste, which I now compare more to the tang of lemonade.

4. Daily use of either a wide tooth detangler comb or a 100% boar bristle brush.

a. The wide tooth comb is the gentlest method of combing your hair out, wet or dry, in order to prevent breakage.

b. Boar is a material that actually promotes the development and absorption of your natural hair follicle oils. When you use a boar bristle brush, you are actually brushing your natural follicle oils through your hair and promoting more hair growth. Pretty cool! I would not recommend ever brushing your hair when its wet since that’s when your hair is at its most fragile state. I have noticed that when I brush my hair more than once a day with the boar brush I tend to have a bit of a frizzy look, so the frequency of use of this type of brush may depend solely on the texture of your hair.

Results thus far:

• After about a month of following the above regime, I have most definitely noticed that my hair is extremely soft and feels thicker when I gather it all in my hand.

• I have undoubtedly experienced fantastic results from my daily ACV and water consumption. My weight loss has moved from the plateau its been in for about 3 months now without changing anything else in my daily routine (i.e. exercise, diet, etc). I also feel much healthier and “lighter” if you will due to not retaining hardly any water. I also kicked Mother Nature’s pesky butt last month, which was amazing if you ask me.

• I normally have HORRIBLE breakage in the summer months due to the drier weather and all of the typical summer activities one participates in. Not so after following my lovely hair care regime. My breakage is minimal at best, which is great!

• My hair has grown about an inch in one month believe it or not! Now it may be that things are acting like the first month on the Atkins Diet and are in rapid result mode and then are going to die down in the third/fourth months, but I can still tell that my hair is growing, so I suppose this is up for debate in my coming month’s posts.
So there is my novel-esk summary of my self-quest for healthy hair. I would totally recommend trying this to anyone since I’ve had such great results thus far. For now, this is a study in progress. Future results to follow…