You know how I like to use some words rather imprecisely?! Words such as “daily” (nope, no daily updates to be found on The Westmonster Daily) or “sane”. Another one of those words is “routine” when I tell you about my hair care “routine” today. The term “routine” implies a sort of regularity for most. In my case, it rather means “whenever I have time and my hair really really really requires some pampering”.
So, whenever I do have the time, which I usually make when my hair starts greasing up on the second day after having washed it and it feels like I’ll be going bald soon, here’s what I do to properly spoil it so my hair looks gorgeous and feels smooth and strong again.
1. Step: Castor Oil
Why I use it:
This is supposed to moisturize my scalp and coax my hair into growing faster. I do think it helps, even though I realize that it may seem like witchcraft, skullduggery, and mumbo-jumbo to some. I guess it’s just a matter of faith. If you have an ounce of faith in you I would recommend giving it a try. It’s not going to cause any adverse effects, castor oil is very inexpensive and can be bought at any pharmacy without having the pharmacist asking any weird questions (well, that’s not really true. I was asked what I needed it for, and quickly said “my hair” for fear that the pharmacist would give me a lengthy speech on how to use this potent laxative and what results to expect… upon hearing “my hair” she herself seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and went on to tell me that she had heard from many-a customer how they use it to remove mascara and have their eyelashes grow for miles and miles).
How I use it:
Castor oil is said to dry out the hair if used too often, so I don’t apply it before every wash. Usually just once a month although more frequent use is recommended.
I use about a teaspoon of the stuff per treatment and apply it simply with my finger tips, gently massaging it in, being careful not to break any hairs. In order to get as much of it as possible onto the scalp and as little as possible onto my hair, I make a part and apply the oil onto the scalp where the hair parts. Then I make a part a few centimeters over and apply some oil there. And so on. Sometims, I comb my hair through afterwards to distribute more evenly. I don’t comb the oil into the length of the hair, though.
I leave it in for about 20 minutes, a little less if I use Honey Egg Shampoo because that stays in for a good amount of time, too. I figure the castor oil keeps working its magic (not witchcraft, mind you!) for a bit even once the shampoo is applied.
2. Step: Honey Egg Shampoo
Why I use it:
Because my hair looks and feels amazing when I do! And because I have found the perfect recipe that doesn’t leave my hair smelling like I fell into a bucket of scrambled eggs!
How I use it:
Wet scalp/hair – apply Honey Egg Shampoo to the scalp only, hanging head over the (shower) tub – wrap head in a towel – leave in for ~20mins. – rinse out for one minute longer than probably necessary (~4mins.) with luke warm water (not too hot or the egg will scramble) – look and feel gorgeous!
3. Step: Argan Oil a.k.a. Moroccan Oil
Why I use it:
Well, I found it by accident one day at my local liquid delicatessen-store when I had just read about its wonderful hair pampering qualities on the Pioneer Woman’s blog, and even though it is exceedingly expensive (I paid 8€ for 200ml) I bought it because it smells nice (nutty) and I could even use it as a very healthy salad oil. 🙂
How I use it:
Since you only need a few drops per treatment, argan oil is not that expensive after all. I throw all of my hair over my right shoulder, to the front, and rub one drop of the oil between the fingertips of one hand before holding the whole tail of hair with the other hand and gently running the oiled hand (that sounds funny. Sorry.) over the length of hair, especially the tips.
That’s it.
4. Step: Hair-friendly Up-Do
Why I use it:
Why not?
I don’t want to ruin my tresses with a sharp hair clip after giving it all of this diligent care! Also, I won’t leave it open or in a simple braid because I want to give the tips time to absorb the oil without rubbing against my clothing. That ain’t good for my tips or my clothes. Yuck, greasy clothes.
How I do it up:
Some sort of bun that will stay up using just a smooth-edged chopstick/hairstick is usually my up-do of choice. Such as the simple Wrap-Bun shown above (I pinned that one, but it can also be done with a hairstick). Or, of course, something like this. 🙂
5. Step: Keep it up!
Huh? Keep what up? The hair or the pampering?
Yes.
Both.
Like I said, I don’t do this routine regularly, and between washes with Honey Egg Shampoo, I use heavily diluted regular shampoo. But in order to keep my hair healthy and shiny, here are the things I actually do do on a regular basis:
– I use Lush Veganese Conditioner* every time I wash my hair (once or twice a week)
– I try to leave my hair alone while it’s wet and brush it only once it has dried. This results in me untangling it with my fingers and putting it up in a messy braided something more often than not (see picture above). I hope I never have a job that requires me to be sleek and well-kempt all the time.
– I use Argan Oil for the tips about twice or three times a week.
– I do my hair up as often as I can so the tips don’t break.
– Don’t be like me and color your hair, though. I do like the way it looks now, but it was pitifully dry after I had washed it, applied the color and washed and rinsed and conditioned and deep conditioned and washed and rinsed it again. The whole process wasn’t good to my hair, but I do think I’m hooked now and will likely do it again once the color is faded.
Hey, whatever makes you happy, girl!
*Unfortunately, Lush is not paying me for this unsolicited advertisement. I wish they were. But since this product is absolutely worth it and lasts me a good while, I don’t mind paying its weight in gold.
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