Luscious Healthy Ends Challenge 2026

[Angel of the North]

Is there anything with Vitamin C, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid (vinegar), Ascorbic Acid?

Castor oil?

A DC I used 3weeks ago has mineral oil in it, this is a DC that I would have said was one of my old staples. It's one of the few products I have where the ingredients do not bother me because the benefits outweigh my avoidance of certain ingredients.

I have not used it in many years and repurchased last year to revisit. It is possible that they may have changed the formula, but I don't think they have from what I can remember. I don't think this DC caused any issues.

After some consideration, I think the main culprit of that excess frizz is that I didn't do anything to my between the wash day at the beginning of December till 3 weeks ago, I think I detangled once, at the beginning of February, and I left the two braids at the back in, and that's where I noticed the little breakage in the middle.

I've always had a little frizz, if I have cornrows, by day 2 - 3 I have a little afro of fuzz on top of my rows, my hair is fine, soft, cottony-like and low porosity. I'd always put that frizz down to the multiple textures in my hair. It doesn't make a difference how tight they are, or if I cover it at night, this is guaranteed to happen. The frizz I had 3 weeks ago was excessive by my normal rate, and was a concern. That frizz of 2 and 3 weeks ago has led me to a solution that appears to be combating my long term frizz issues as well as the frizz from 3 weeks ago.

Once I figure out what my hair needs to fully retain moisture between wash days, I will focus on perfecting my smoothing process and try to improve on that.

 

[Angel of the North]

I can't wait to get thst oil in my hair, I'm going to start my prepoo early It will also let me capture and document how my hair reacts to the oils with an extended prepoo. I also low key think this may take things up a notch.

This is what the 10 oils look like together, this bottle is a gift for my friend's daughter, my personal batch is in a bigger amber bottle, so you can't see the colour.

 

[Chicoro]

I can't wait to get thst oil in my hair, I'm going to start my prepoo early It will also let me capture and document how my hair reacts to the oils with an extended prepoo. I also low key think this may take things up a notch.

This is what the 10 oils look like together, this bottle is a gift for my friend's daughter, my personal batch is in a bigger amber bottle, so you can't see the colour.


View attachment 508064

Look at this oil looking like a Glamorous Movie Star in a Bottle!

The particles within the countertop look as if they are twinkling, powerful, lights whose brightness has been captured and harnessed and forever frozen in that photograph.

The gorgeous patterns on the counteract make the photograph pop even more beautifully to illuminate the beauty of the product and the photo!

It looks like Liquid Gold, an ancient Elixir!

The product inside, the props of the countertop, the quality of the photograph, the power of your passion about the oils, the particles on the countertop, all come together beautifully.

You may be starting up a business. That's talent, interest, love and beauty in that bottle and in that photograph.

 

[Angel of the North]

I've just taken down my braid, this is the total hair lost to the bands:



I detangled first just a little with my my fingers, then the rake and finally with the Unbrush plus.

Total hair loss:



Most of the hairs were short and I saw some splits among them. This is making me want to trim. I will wait a while before I do this as I'm studying the hair while the ends are in this condition.

Here is what my hair looked like when I took down the braid:



My hair was still very moisturised apart from the ends. I think the overall condition of my hair has improved since I've been back in the game, this is making my ends feel a little rougher in comparison. The ends are able to tangle together given the opportunity, I can manage things for a while and want to work on my ends a little longer, but I do intend to cut them in the near future because this is the biggest risk to my retention at the moment.

I braided my hair in 4 quarters as per usual, and my hair looked a lot more like what I'm used to seeing frizz wise but an improved version for sure:




My hair was so moisturised that I think the ends were sucking the moisture out and might be what caused the shrinkage of the braid. I don't feel compelled to spend extra time moisturising, I will focus on smoothing and add the mid week moisturising of the ends instead.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's wash day results.

 

[Angel of the North]

Look at this oil looking like a Glamorous Movie Star in a Bottle!

The particles within the countertop look as if they are twinkling, powerful, lights whose brightness has been captured and harnessed and forever frozen in that photograph.

The gorgeous patterns on the counteract make the photograph pop even more beautifully to illuminate the beauty of the product and the photo!

It looks like Liquid Gold, an ancient Elixir!

The product inside, the props of the countertop, the quality of the photograph, the power of your passion about the oils, the particles on the countertop, all come together beautifully.

You may be starting up a business. That's talent, interest, love and beauty in that bottle and in that photograph.

Thank you it smells good too, in that natural way

I've actually been thinking about that while mixing and infusing oils this week. We shall have to watch this space.

 

[Chicoro]

Thank you it smells good too, in that natural way

I've actually been thinking about that while mixing and infusing oils this week. We shall have to watch this space.

Do it! Just do it.

 

[Chicoro]

Half-way over the behind length. This is Simones Humes. I like har hair. She has nice healthy ends, too.

 

[Chicoro]

How you be feeling when you have a hair breakthrough you've been trying to solve for years!

 

[Angel of the North]

This week, leading up to wash day did a 24 hr prepoo with my latest oil blend which I finished off with a 15 min HOT.

I shampooed with TGIN Moisture Rich shampoo and DC'd with TGIN Triple Moisture conditioner. I sprayed S Curl on my wet hair, and applied TGIN green tea leave in over it, sealed with avocado oil and went over with avocado butter.

I checked my ends after rinsing DC, 2 of the braided ends looked much smoother, one was a little frizzy and one was very frizzy:

Left side:


Right side:


4 braid ends together:


The TGIN shampoo was very moisturising, I liked it a lot, I have shortlisted it as a contender for one of my staples. I didn't love the leave in, the Cantu does better for me. I braided my hair, but the bottom half of my braid was frizzy:



I undid the braid, brushed the 3 braid strands and braided a little tighter, smoothing each strand as I intertwined them, it took 3 attempts for me to be happy with it. The result:



I used the mini hair bands on the ends, it took a couple of attempts to get to grips with it as I'm not used to workingwith such small bands, then I tied the silk band around it.

What I did differently:

1. I remembered to add a butter to my ends
2. I double sealed in the moisture with butter
3. Used smaller bands to secure the braid
4. I forgot to apply oil over DC on my ends.
5. Tied a scarf under my bonnet.

The result of the scarf under the bonnet (right pic):


This is so much smoother and shinier than the left side.

This week my ends are feeling a little rough, my brushes and combs were getting caught in my ends, this is what needs to go (from the bottom of the band):



As I stated in a previous post, I want to work with these ends for at least the next couple of weeks to analyse and understand the hair in this state.

I remembered to apply the butter to my ends, I think missing this step last week was a huge contributing factor as to why my ends felt as dry as the did. I'm hoping to see an improvement, to be sure, I will omit the mid week refresh for this week, I want to check how my braid retains moisture this week in comparison to last week based on the couple of minor tweaks.

Next week, I'm planing on applying oil and butter to my ends on a daily basis to see how they respond. I will likely cut the ends off after that. I'm waiting on the WavyTalk 5 in 1 air styler/dryer to prep my hair for the trim. I will use the splitender first as I think that will eliminate most of the issues with my ends, so I won't need to take as much off with the scissors.

 

[Chicoro]

This week, leading up to wash day did a 24 hr prepoo with my latest oil blend which I finished off with a 15 min HOT.

I shampooed with TGIN Moisture Rich shampoo and DC'd with TGIN Triple Moisture conditioner. I sprayed S Curl on my wet hair, and applied TGIN green tea leave in over it, sealed with avocado oil and went over with avocado butter.

I checked my ends after rinsing DC, 2 of the braided ends looked much smoother, one was a little frizzy and one was very frizzy:

Left side:
View attachment 508090

Right side:
View attachment 508092

4 braid ends together:
View attachment 508094

The TGIN shampoo was very moisturising, I liked it a lot, I have shortlisted it as a contender for one of my staples. I didn't love the leave in, the Cantu does better for me. I braided my hair, but the bottom half of my braid was frizzy:

View attachment 508096

I undid the braid, brushed the 3 braid strands and braided a little tighter, smoothing each strand as I intertwined them, it took 3 attempts for me to be happy with it. The result:

View attachment 508098

I used the mini hair bands on the ends, it took a couple of attempts to get to grips with it as I'm not used to workingwith such small bands, then I tied the silk band around it.

What I did differently:

1. I remembered to add a butter to my ends
2. I double sealed in the moisture with butter
3. Used smaller bands to secure the braid
4. I forgot to apply oil over DC on my ends.
5. Tied a scarf under my bonnet.

The result of the scarf under the bonnet (right pic):

View attachment 508100
This is so much smoother and shinier than the left side.

This week my ends are feeling a little rough, my brushes and combs were getting caught in my ends, this is what needs to go (from the bottom of the band):

View attachment 508104

As I stated in a previous post, I want to work with these ends for at least the next couple of weeks to analyse and understand the hair in this state.

I remembered to apply the butter to my ends, I think missing this step last week was a huge contributing factor as to why my ends felt as dry as the did. I'm hoping to see an improvement, to be sure, I will omit the mid week refresh for this week, I want to check how my braid retains moisture this week in comparison to last week based on the couple of minor tweaks.

Next week, I'm planing on applying oil and butter to my ends on a daily basis to see how they respond. I will likely cut the ends off after that. I'm waiting on the WavyTalk 5 in 1 air styler/dryer to prep my hair for the trim. I will use the splitender first as I think that will eliminate most of the issues with my ends, so I won't need to take as much off with the scissors.

Another YUM YUM, finger-licking, delicious, detailed, photo heavy post!!!!

 

[Chicoro]

Today is the first day I started using my new batch of oil. It softens my hair and helps it to lay down nicely. I poured it in my dispenser bottle.

The batch in the bottle is already half! I think I am going to start another batch today. That way, it will have had time to macerate well.

 

[Chicoro]

@Angel of the North

When I look at your ends I don't see any damage. The ends are just uneven in length and that is how most hair grows. I know you said that they didn't feel the way you would have liked them to feel. There are no visible splits or knots in your sections. Although you have stated you will be trimming those ends, those ends demonstrate your great hair care practices and results.

For my braid, I section my hair into three parts. As I braid down the hair, I don't merge the sections and exchange hair. I keep those sections separated consistently, in the same three sections, from root to tip. When I get to the tip or ends, sometimes I don't have enough hair. But, most times, for the most part, if I keep those sections the same, my braid comes out tight and neat and with fewer fuzzies.

Tying the scarf under your bonnet made a huge difference in the smoothness and slickness of your ponytail. This will help to extend your style over longer periods of time, too. The shine is very nice!

The second braid photo after the re-do came out sleek and super neat. Great job! You are progressing exponentially. You are not necessarily learning new techniques, but you are identifying what works for your hair with razor sharp vision and focus. Then, you are quickly eliminating what is not getting the exact results you want. And lastly, you are repeating things with confidence knowing they are effective and work for you.

The proof is in the pudding, in this case, the proof is in your lovely, photographic results.

 

[Angel of the North]

@Angel of the North

When I look at your ends I don't see any damage. The ends are just uneven in length and that is how most hair grows. I know you said that they didn't feel the way you would have liked them to feel. There are no visible splits or knots in your sections. Although you have stated you will be trimming those ends, those ends demonstrate your great hair care practices and results.

For my braid, I section my hair into three parts. As I braid down the hair, I don't merge the sections and exchange hair. I keep those sections separated consistently, in the same three sections, from root to tip. When I get to the tip or ends, sometimes I don't have enough hair. But, most times, for the most part, if I keep those sections the same, my braid comes out tight and neat and with fewer fuzzies.

Tying the scarf under your bonnet made a huge difference in the smoothness and slickness of your ponytail. This will help to extend your style over longer periods of time, too. The shine is very nice!

The second braid photo after the re-do came out sleek and super neat. Great job! You are progressing exponentially. You are not necessarily learning new techniques, but you are identifying what works for your hair with razor sharp vision and focus. Then, you are quickly eliminating what is not getting the exact results you want. And lastly, you are repeating things with confidence knowing they are effective and work for you.

The proof is in the pudding, in this case, the proof is in your lovely, photographic results.

Thank you I checked some hairs and found splits, between them and the difference in lengths, that's why the ends feel rough and the brush doesn't flow straight through nicely. I'm going to blend some oils for just my ends tonight, ready for my little oil my ends every night challenge I'm starting next wash day.

 

[Angel of the North]

I finally blended my oils for my ends ready for tomorrow's wash day and next week. My silk durag arrived today, I'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow. I'm trying to mentally prepare for the heat I'll have to use for my splitender and trim session, it feels weird after such a long time of no direct heat.

 

[faithVA]

I have another update this week. I'm sorry but this is another long post.

Today I detangled my hair with the hercules rake, it was effortless and I hardly saw any hair. I section into 4 parts, braided and then applied genourous anounts of Alberto Balsam to roots and length and washed it out. I patted dry with one of the silk pieces of material I purchased last year to use as hair towels. When I took the braid down, there was 1 hair attached to the band.

I applied Miche Strengthen balancing DC in the same way described above., and then applied my infused oils to the last couple of inches of my ends. I put a disposable shower cap on, followed by my foil conditioning cap. I didn't use heat this week, as I had a few things to take care around the house. I ended up leaving the DC on for 2 hours because I had an important call which lasted a long time.

I got in the shower and rinsed off the DC first before completing my shower. When I got out of the shower, I sprayed S Curl to my roots and the length of my braids, then I squeezed the excess water out of my hair. I took down a braid, raked through with my fingers, and then went in with the OG Unbrush, there were hardly any hairs in the brush.

I applied Cantu hair lotion, worked it through with the Unbrush, applied some avocado oil and then worked the brush through again. Did this with the other 3 braids. I used the Denman to pull up my hair and secured with an oil drenched silk hair band. I braided my hair and applied oil to my ends, then I secured with another oil drenched band, and then went over that with a silk band. I forgot to add the butter to the ends before securing for the second time in a row on wash day, which is annoying but I know I will remember on Thursday because I did this week.

This was the result:

View attachment 508026


What I did differently:

1. Using the silk towels to absorb extra water after cowashing.

2. Applying the oil to the ends of my hair as part of my DC routine.

3. When I applied both the lotion and oil, I spent a little time smoothing them through my hair using praying hands.

4. Swapped my Hercules Sagemann rake comb for a new one.

5. Other than using the silk towel to pat away the excess water, I didn't dry my hair, and I didn't use any regular towels. Last week I completely forgot to pull out the silk towels, I'm glad I remembered.

My analysis:

Using the silk material may have helped reduce the frizz and my hair didn't endure any friction. Applying the oil to the ends of my hair as part of the DC won't have caused any harm and would have nourished my ends. Hopefully it will help with improving their overall condition.

I thought not drying my hair at all would help me with 2 things

1. Reduce friction
2. Retain all of that water and hydration that didn't get get absorbed by a cotton towel.

Last week I applied the S Curl in the shower, I didn't do that this week, instead I sprayed it after I got out. The hair was dripping wet, but after applying the products, and putting it in a braid, there wasn't a need use tissue paper to absorb any extra products and water out of it. I feel like the braid feels very moisturised, I will know on Thursday when I refresh my hair, any difference it may have made.

I think it has done what I thought it would and rather well. The little tweaks have made huge differences for the better, I intended to continue doing these things.

I think it was on Thursday, @Chicoro said I needed to get my hair to lay flatter to avoid the loose ends from causing caos. I had a think on what that means to me, and how I would go about it. This is why I used the silk towel, added the oil to my ends, and spent time smoothing the products through my hair. Doing this has definitely helped to get my hair to lay flatter. I also braided a little tighter to try to get the strands to stay in place.

I hadn't taken much notice but my detangling comb was well past it. I

I'm very pleased with the redults this week. I feel very confident about length retention and I can't wait for my hair to thicken up. Back to the video @Chicoro posted in which the ladies hair looked a lot less in quantity when wet opposed to dry, my braid would be at least double the thickness if I braid on dry hair.

I think I'm having a great season with my hair right now, I love how things are going so far, I've seen huge improvements over the last 3 weeks. I'm very thankful to @Chicoro for her encouragement and probing. I generally spend a lot of time reflecting on my hair, her observations and questions definitely helped me to streamline the thought process and identify the key steps that led to success. It would have taken longer for me to get to where I am at present.

I know I'm late to the party but that is a beautiful braid.

 

[Angel of the North]

I know I'm late to the party but that is a beautiful braid.

Thank you

 

[Chicoro]

I just had an aha! I use two different kinds of Shea butter mixes. I have a soft Shea butter mix and I have a hard Shea butter mix.

1. I use the soft Shea butter mix right after I wash my hair. It melts into my hair strands immediately. I do use it to seal in the moisture and as the last layer in my moisturizing routine.

2. I use the hard Shea butter mix in between my washes, during my re-moisturizing routine. This one coats my hair and sits on top of my hair longer, but eventually melting into my hair, too. Most importantly, it elongates my hair strands and makes my braids hang long. The cocoa butter in the mix helps to hold my hair in place. This is significant because it helps the hair in my braid to stay neat and minimizes the fuzzies.

I've done this for years but never really thought about it enough to amplify it and focus on it. It is something I just do. But, I see now that it is important, very significant. I've mentioned the Hard Shea mix in passing before. It's a huge part of why my braids stay neater longer. I too have a huge problem with my braids becoming fuzzy. In my case, fuzzy hair leads to breakage and adversely impacts my length retention.

Caveat: Although I've used this for years, I have gaps in the usage of it. For example, I think I stopped using it from April 2025 to February 2026 due to transitioning from France to the US.


Soft Shea Butter Mix: Shea butter, Olive Oil, Coconut oil: Melts into my hair immediately and is used right after I wash. It is the last product I place on my hair to seal in the moisture.

Hard Shea Butter Mix: Shea butter, Olive Oil, Cocoa Butter: This one sits on top of my hair but eventually melts into my hair strands. I use this butter for my re-moisturizing routine in between washes. This coats the hard and elongates my hair. This one helps my braids to stay neater, longer. Less hair escapes from my braids, over time. It really helps me to minimize fuzz on my braids which helps minimize breakage. As a result, it helps me with length retention.​

 

[Chicoro]

I finally blended my oils for my ends ready for tomorrow's wash day and next week. My silk durag arrived today, I'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow. I'm trying to mentally prepare for the heat I'll have to use for my splitender and trim session, it feels weird after such a long time of no direct heat.

View attachment 508136

Gorgeous presentation, as before!

 

[Angel of the North]

I just had an aha! I use two different kinds of Shea butter mixes. I have a soft Shea butter mix and I have a hard Shea butter mix.

1. I use the soft Shea butter mix right after I wash my hair. It melts into my hair strands immediately. I do use it to seal in the moisture and as the last layer in my moisturizing routine.

2. I use the hard Shea butter mix in between my washes, during my re-moisturizing routine. This one coats my hair and sits on top of my hair longer, but eventually melting into my hair, too. Most importantly, it elongates my hair strands and makes my braids hang long. The cocoa butter in the mix helps to hold my hair in place. This is significant because it helps the hair in my braid to stay neat and minimizes the fuzzies.

I've done this for years but never really thought about it enough to amplify it and focus on it. It is something I just do. But, I see now that it is important, very significant. I've mentioned the Hard Shea mix in passing before. It's a huge part of why my braids stay neater longer. I too have a huge problem with my braids becoming fuzzy. In my case, fuzzy hair leads to breakage and adversely impacts my length retention.

Caveat: Although I've used this for years, I have gaps in the usage of it. For example, I think I stopped using it from April 2025 to February 2026 due to transitioning from France to the US.


Soft Shea Butter Mix: Shea butter, Olive Oil, Coconut oil: Melts into my hair immediately and is used right after I wash. It is the last product I place on my hair to seal in the moisture.

Hard Shea Butter Mix: Shea butter, Olive Oil, Cocoa Butter: This one sits on top of my hair but eventually melts into my hair strands. I use this butter for my re-moisturizing routine in between washes. This coats the hard and elongates my hair. This one helps my braids to stay neater, longer. Less hair escapes from my braids, over time. It really helps me to minimize fuzz on my braids which helps minimize breakage. As a result, it helps me with length retention.​

I had a list of questions I was in the process of typing out, unfortunately it vanished, I will retype at some point.

 

[Angel of the North]

Those aha moments are truly golden, and so important for better understanding of our hair. The shea mixes both look great, I'm loving the pics but this post opened up a bag of questions not in any particular order, hopefully second time lucky

I've noticed that you only use two oils in your soft shea mix, a lot of recipes I've seen use multiple oils and butters what was it that made you select these particular ingredients for your soft shea mix?

The cocoa butter looks very small, is this similar to the shea butter or does it gave a completely different consistency?

Are you using different kinds of shea butter for the mixes? The butter in the first pic looks hard, the butter in the second pic looks soft. I love the soft shea butter but it's not often I come across it, I usually get it when I go to Ghana, but I haven't been in a long while. I need to give someone a job to bring me some or shipsome over to me lol.

What do think it is about your hard shea mix that helps to keep your braids in place?

Do you apply the hard mix while hair is damp or dry?

During the time you were not using your shea mixes, how did you get your braids smooth, or did you let the fuzzies do their thing?

My fuzzies don't cause me breakage, they're just there . In fact this is the first time I've had breakage like this, the odd hair may have snapped here or there but nothing like this, the worst I'd experienced before now was excessive shedding from protein overload and a little heat damage to my ends, both of which were an easy fix for me. My hair is about 4 inches long along the parting I did in the middle of my head (side to side). I'm just glad it's hidden and can take its time to catch up with the rest.

this actually reaffirms to me that leaving braids in for too long or having 2 strand twists would have me bald headed with the quickness I'm not ready for. Those two braids at the back of my head were in for 3 - 4 weeks, when people say they can leave braids/weaves in for months, my eyes start twitching and blinking very fast

You really got me wanting to whip up some moisturisers and butters with this one. Equipment wise, I'm pretty much there, I've written a few recipes that consist of the oils and butters I love, some with multiple oils and butters and a few simpler ones with less ingredients.

The PJ in me is not ready to be put to bed just yet, I really enjoy trying new products, but I fell off for about 10 years and now I'm playing catchup, the amount of new products that have been released in the last 5 - 10 years is crazy, thankfully I stay in my PJ lane and only jump on stuff with ingredients I know my hair likes or benefits from, this has kept my setbacks to a minimum over the years.

Understanding what your hair needs or responds to is the mist important part of a HHJ IMO, in actual fact, I have been the biggest setback to my hair over the years (right next to protein overload). She has however been extremely loyal through it all.

 

[Chicoro]

@Angel of the North

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate the attention you give it and the demonstration of your interest by the questions that you ask.




I've noticed that you only use two oils in your soft shea mix, a lot of recipes I've seen use multiple oils and butters what was it that made you select these particular ingredients for your soft shea mix?

• More is not better for me. Also, I was living abroad and I try to get just what I need. Shea Butter is proven and studied as it is a part of the multi-billion dollar chocolate industry. The other butters are not.
• Also, I have access to see its results on afro hair over years and decades.
• Coconut oil and olive oil work for my hair and are very easy and not too expensive to buy anywhere in the world.

The cocoa butter looks very small, is this similar to the shea butter or does it gave a completely different consistency?

• The cocoa butter is 28 grams or 1 ounce. A little goes a long way. I eyeball my mixture so I can't tell you exactly how much Shea butter I put in. I'll need to measure the next batch if I remember to do it.
• Yes, the cocoa butter gave a completely different consistency. The cocoa butter makes the Shea butter mix hard and firm. I also DO NOT add coconut oil to the mix to keep it as hard and firm as possible.

Are you using different kinds of shea butter for the mixes? The butter in the first pic looks hard, the butter in the second pic looks soft.
No, I am using the same butter from the store in my area. Same texture. Same color. Packaging may change a bit.


I LOVE THIS BUTTER: This is NOT a mix. This is pure Shea butter.
The quality of this butter is unmatched. It says alimentaire meaning it is
for food use, too.

• No, I am not using different kinds of Shea butter for the mixes. I use the least processed one I can find in my area. The Shea butter I bought is the same and I used it in both mixes. Sometimes the packaging may change slightly.
• The best Shea butter for me comes from Burkina Faso. That's my favorite. The next place I like is Mali. I used to get the food grade Shea butter when I was in France. I knew a lot of immigrant women from Africa and they would bring me buckets of Shea butter. I once got a batch of Shea butter that was made in my friend's village. Her mother brought it back. I use that butter as my 'standard' and try to get as close to them as possible.
• In Africa, Shea butter is first and foremost a FOOD for consumption. That is the best Shea butter to buy. Unfortunately, the quality of Shea butter can't be found where I live in the US.

What do think it is about your hard shea mix that helps to keep your braids in place?

It's hard! It's waxy-like and has great hold! It has a hold like Vaseline.


Do you apply the hard mix while hair is damp or dry?
Yes! I apply the hard mix when my hair is damp. Then, I braid up my hair tightly.


During the time you were not using your shea mixes, how did you get your braids smooth, or did you let the fuzzies do their thing?

I can get my braids smooth. But I can't HOLD them in place. The Shea butter mix makes my braids EXTRA smooth and the hold is great!

 

[Angel of the North]

@Angel of the North

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I appreciate the attention you give it and the demonstration of your interest by the questions that you ask.




I've noticed that you only use two oils in your soft shea mix, a lot of recipes I've seen use multiple oils and butters what was it that made you select these particular ingredients for your soft shea mix?

• More is not better for me. Also, I was living abroad and I try to get just what I need. Shea Butter is proven and studied as it is a part of the multi-billion dollar chocolate industry. The other butters are not.
• Also, I have access to see its results on afro hair over years and decades.
• Coconut oil and olive oil work for my hair and are very easy and not too expensive to buy anywhere in the world.

The cocoa butter looks very small, is this similar to the shea butter or does it gave a completely different consistency?

• The cocoa butter is 28 grams or 1 ounce. A little goes a long way. I eyeball my mixture so I can't tell you exactly how much Shea butter I put in. I'll need to measure the next batch if I remember to do it.
• Yes, the cocoa butter gave a completely different consistency. The cocoa butter makes the Shea butter mix hard and firm. I also DO NOT add coconut oil to the mix to keep it as hard and firm as possible.

Are you using different kinds of shea butter for the mixes? The butter in the first pic looks hard, the butter in the second pic looks soft.
No, I am using the same butter from the store in my area. Same texture. Same color. Packaging may change a bit.


I LOVE THIS BUTTER: This is NOT a mix. This is pure Shea butter.
The quality of this butter is unmatched. It says alimentaire meaning it is
for food use, too.

• No, I am not using different kinds of Shea butter for the mixes. I use the least processed one I can find in my area. The Shea butter I bought is the same and I used it in both mixes. Sometimes the packaging may change slightly.
• The best Shea butter for me comes from Burkina Faso. That's my favorite. The next place I like is Mali. I used to get the food grade Shea butter when I was in France. I knew a lot of immigrant women from Africa and they would bring me buckets of Shea butter. I once got a batch of Shea butter that was made in my friend's village. Her mother brought it back. I use that butter as my 'standard' and try to get as close to them as possible.
• In Africa, Shea butter is first and foremost a FOOD for consumption. That is the best Shea butter to buy. Unfortunately, the quality of Shea butter can't be found where I live in the US.

What do think it is about your hard shea mix that helps to keep your braids in place?

It's hard! It's waxy-like and has great hold! It has a hold like Vaseline.


Do you apply the hard mix while hair is damp or dry?
Yes! I apply the hard mix when my hair is damp. Then, I braid up my hair tightly.


During the time you were not using your shea mixes, how did you get your braids smooth, or did you let the fuzzies do their thing?

I can get my braids smooth. But I can't HOLD them in place. The Shea butter mix makes my braids EXTRA smooth and the hold is great!

Thank you for the detailed responses, I appreciate you taking the that time.

Ahh, that all makes perfect sense.The shea butter that you said you liked, that was melting into the back of your hand looks exactly like the one I'm referring to in colour and by the way it's melting into the back of your hand, it's not the typical ones I come across. So with the cocoa butter, is it liquid?

 

[Angel of the North]

So I decided against the mid week refresh again last week, as I wanted to confirm the difference the butter applied to my ends would make. When I took my bands out, again there was 1 short hair in the top band, nothing in the bottom ones. What I noticed, the last inch, which is exposed from the braid and flipped back, looked frizzy but, felt soft. The part of my ends that were banded with the mini bands and further protected with the larger silk band, was silky frizz free and still had a sheen. My hair was still very moisturised, unlike last week when I forgot to put oil on the ends for DC or seal the oil in with butter.



This is what my ends looked like, you can see the smooth bit in between the very end and the thicker section of the braid. I have used an additional mini band on the to try and protect the very ends of my hair that is flipped up. I kind of see how the way @Chicoro rolls her ends into balls, could potentially prevent this.

When I was reading @Chicoro post this morning, I noticed that she mentioned that she never merged the strands as she braids her hair. This is something I've always done, pretty much everyone I know does it, so I was intrigued. When prepping my sections earlier, I decided to try out not merging the braid sections. I found that at the front, I could braid further than the back, I haven't put any thoughts into the why yet, but at some point I will, but this is how my ends looked (After cowashing).



Wash day today, I detangled sectioned and braided, co washed with a moisture cheapie, DC with Aphogee 2 min for 20 mins under the hood. I remembered to add oil to my ends this week and it definitely made a difference as my ends are smoother, so this is definitely a step to continue.

I sprayed S Curl on wet hair, smoothing it through my braids and then to each section, applied Cantu creamy hair lotion, smoothed it through, applied avocado oil, smoothed it through, applied avocado butter through the length of my hair before I did the braid. I know I've hit a good level of moisture because of how defined my hair was getting as I was smoothing in the cream and oil.



I soaked my bands (another must for me now), used 2 of the mini bands to secure the braid in an attempt to better protect the very ends, I'm looking forward to seeing the braid's take down next week. Once I've seen the verdict, I'll go back to the midweek ends refresh because I know that gives me A game results.

This week's braid, still ever so slightly frizzier than 3 weeks ago but most definitely better than 2 weeks ago. I'm air drying under my new silk durag, I really smoothed down the top/front of my hair with backwards strokes and it was super smooth before I put the durag on, later I will cover with my bonnet.



Overall another successful wash day!

 

[Chicoro]

Thank you for the detailed responses, I appreciate you taking the that time.

Ahh, that all makes perfect sense.The shea butter that you said you liked, that was melting into the back of your hand look exactly like the one I'm referring to in colour and by the way it's melting into the back of your hand, it's not the typical ones I come across. So with the cocoa butter, is it liquid?

No.


Cocoa butter hardens the Shea butter mix.

The butter melting on my hand is a photo of my favorite butter. I cannot get that butter in the US.That butter pictured is NOT a mix. It is pure Shea butter.

Cocoa butter makes my Shea butter mixes firm and hard. My Shea butter mixes have never been liquid as an end/final product.

 

[Chicoro]

So I decided against the mid week refresh again last week, as I wanted to confirm the difference the butter applied to my ends would make. When I took my bands out, again there was 1 short hair in the top band, nothing in the bottom ones. What I noticed, the last inch, which is exposed from the braid and flipped back, looked frizzy but, felt soft. The part of my ends that were banded with the mini bands and further protected with the larger silk band, was silky frizz free and still had a sheen. My hair was still very moisturised, unlike last week when I forgot to put oil on the ends for DC or seal the oil in with butter.

View attachment 508168

This is what my ends looked like, you can see the smooth bit in between the very end and the thicker section of the braid. I have used an additional mini band on the to try and protect the very ends of my hair that is flipped up. I kind of see how the way @Chicoro rolls her ends into balls, could potentially prevent this.

When I was reading @Chicoro post this morning, I noticed that she mentioned that she never merged the strands as she braids her hair. This is something I've always done, pretty much everyone I know does it, so I was intrigued. When prepping my sections earlier, I decided to try out not merging the braid sections. I found that at the front, I could braid further than the back, I haven't put any thoughts into the why yet, but at some point I will, but this is how my ends looked (After cowashing).

View attachment 508164

Wash day today, I detangled sectioned and braided, co washed with a moisture cheapie, DC with Aphogee 2 min for 20 mins under the hood. I remembered to add oil to my ends this week and it definitely made a difference as my ends are smoother, so this is definitely a step to continue.

I sprayed S Curl on wet hair, smoothing it through my braids and then to each section, applied Cantu creamy hair lotion, smoothed it through, applied avocado oil, smoothed it through, applied avocado butter through the length of my hair before I did the braid. I know I've hit a good level of moisture because of how defined my hair was getting as I was smoothing in the cream and oil.

View attachment 508166

I soaked my bands (another must for me now), used 2 of the mini bands to secure the braid in an attempt to better protect the very ends, I'm looking forward to seeing the braid's take down next week. Once I've seen the verdict, I'll go back to the midweek ends refresh because I know that gives me A game results.

This week's braid, still ever so slightly frizzier than 3 weeks ago but most definitely better than 2 weeks ago. I'm air drying under my new silk durag, I really smoothed down the top/front of my hair with backwards strokes and it was super smooth before I put the durag on, later I will cover with my bonnet.

View attachment 508170

Overall another successful wash day!

I can see the difference. The hair is deeply, deeply moisturized as shown by the wavy loosened hair.

The braid looks great. The hair smoothed down is deeply moisturized. The flatter and smoother the hair is before putting on the scarf, the better. However the hair dries will be how it will look until the next wash session/ moisturizing session.

 

[Angel of the North]

No.


Cocoa butter hardens the Shea butter mix.

I understood that point, I was asking about the consistency of the cocoa butter as it's such a small bottle, is it liquid, concentrated somehow or just regular old cocoa butter in a very small container?

The butter melting on my hand is a photo of my favorite butter. I cannot get that butter in the US.That butter pictured is NOT a mix. It is pure Shea butter.

This is pretty much the same shea butter I was talking about that is my favourite. The colour is the same and how it looked on the back of your hand is how it would look if I put it on the back of mmine. I love the way it melts, I don't like the harder forms of shea butter, unless they are in the ingredients list of a product. I hated (regular) raw shea butter on my hair and wouldn't even think to attempt to use it on my skin. I've never tried to source it outside of Ghana the first time I requested shea butter and wanted to go buy some, my uncle told me to wait as his friend gets the best type.

My Uncle's friend would get it for me whenever I went over there, her dad had a shea business in the North of Ghana, it's really sad to say that a few days after I got back from my last trip, I called her to let her know I'd gotten home okay and to check in on her, and she informed me that her father had passed away.

Cocoa butter makes my Shea butter mixes firm and hard. My Shea butter mixes have never been liquid as an end/final product.

Do you mean that once you've cooled off the blend of melted butters it sets to a hard texture? There are so many types of shea butters out there, shea was the butter that I ordered 4 out of the 6 types that the retailer stocked when I was testing out all butters, none of them were like the one I like, they were all pretty solid but 1 was slightly softer than the others.

I'm now wondering if melting shea butter and resetting it makes it any softer. Although avocado, mango, aloe vera and hempseed are my favourite butters, shea is my favourite as an ingredient in my hair products, the only raw shea I'd put directly on my hair is the one I refer to as the softer one from Ghana, there's another type which is slightly more yellow in colour, firmer in texture but will melt after rubbing in hands a few times, but once you've had that lighter, softer one, it's very difficult to go back.

This conversation has got me thinking about which shea butter to purchase for my whips. Initially I didn't think it would matter which type I used as it was being melted, now I'm focusing on the quality. I'll have to look into it.

 

[Chicoro]

Get High-Quality African Shea Butter | 3CayG | Available Unrefined and Refined

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Looked hard for this supplier.Putting this here for me for future ordering possibilities! This is a US supplier.

 

[Chicoro]

@Angel of the North

I am sorry for the loss and passing of your friend's precious father.

The cocoa butter is a solid stick. See it to the left of the photo.








"Do you mean that once you've cooled off the blend of melted butters it sets to a hard texture? There are so many types of shea butters out there, shea was the butter that I ordered 4 out of the 6 types that the retailer stocked when I was testing out all butters, none of them were like the one I like, they were all pretty solid but 1 was slightly softer than the others."

No. I let my Shea mix with cocoa butter cool to a solid like ALL my other Shea butter mixes do. Then, I blend it with a hand mixer. After it sets, my Shea butter mix with cocoa butter is HARD. All my other butters without cocoa butter set soft.

 

[Chicoro]

Hey!

@Angel of the North

Another AHA!

The hard Shea butter mix elongates and stretches my hair.

So, I use the hard butter to stretch my hair instead of using HEAT (blow dryer) to stretch my hair.

I never made that connection before!


My hair coated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix with Cocoa Butter





Hard Shea Butter Mix Elongates and Stretches my Hair Section



Hair Braided and Coated with Hard Shea Butter Mix



Pulling Braid coated and saturated with the Hard Shea Butter Mix

 

[Chicoro]

I was thinking about the hair of women with those Brazilian Keratin treatments.

Their hair looks super thin and fine when wet. But when it’s dry, there hair looks extremely full, fluffy and thick.

I think it is because they strip off anything that is heavy or oily on the final blowdry.

I know this sounds like water is wet, but their technique is not intuitive or simple.

I’m going back to watch more of those videos in Brazilian Portugués with these women.

There is something there.