Category Archives: Castor Oil Challenge

Final Thoughts & Results of 6 weeks of Protective Styles & Castor Oil Challenge

Hey Maicurlies,

As you (probably) know, I was doing weekly updates of how my hair was feeling, looking and styled over the last few weeks during my Protective Style & Castor Oil challenge. You can find the updates here: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6.

I just wanted to share a final summary of how I feel about the challenge as a whole, my results and future plans. I also have a video explaining how it all went on my YouTube Channel:

Castor Oil challenge results:

Hair remained moisturized throughout the week
My hair was super smooth, soft & shiny
I feel like my hair got a little thicker (I NEED every fiber I can get!)
My scalp was not itchy

Protective style challenge:

Less tangles
Less single strand knots
Less hand in hair syndrome
Less detangling time needed

Overall I am super happy with the results I got after 6 weeks.

Growth

I measured my hair before and after the challenge and while getting length was not my primary goal it was welcomed. I got some growth according to my rubbish measuring skills (I really suck at trying to measure my hair with a tape!)

Measurements

Hair Growth Measurements

On average I got 3/4 inches of growth overall, with my crown getting the least amount (1/2 an inch) and the back more growth (1 inch). So I wouldn’t say it was anything “major” but it is still growth nonetheless and I am happy.

Points for the next time:

I think I will do an 8 week challenge next time.
Will probably try doing just one style per week (hopefully I will not “get bored”)
Will use my Castor Oil Blend a little more on my hairline since it is so fragile and can do with a boost in thickness.

Future plans:

Do more protective styles during my normal routine to keep my ends protected and knots away.
Continue to use my castor oil blend on my scalp and hairline with a tiny bit on the ends of my hair. (Using it on my hairline every other day maybe everyday if I can get away with it.)
I will occasionally add some of my castor oil blend to my DIY Deep Conditioners
Add a little castor oil blend with other others as a pre-poo before cleansing with Shikakai.

If you are doing any sort of challenge for your hair be it a heat-free, colour-free, protective style challenge etc. let me know how it is going, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 6 Update

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Hey Maicurlies,

Week 6

So I have come to the end of my Protective Style and Castor Oil Challenge and have to admit I am a little sad. Figured B&W pictures would show “sadness” but to be honest I just love the look of B&W photos!

Anyways, I will have a separate overview of the challenge as a whole, along with a video shortly but I just wanted to share how my last week went in this post.

For a recap of my previous weeks check below:

How did my last week go?

Not to sound like a broken record but it went well. I did two protective styles over six days and of course also massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline and ends four times in the week. My two styles were as always super simple. For the first three days I did a really quick & loose pinned back up-do using only bobby pins. On the last three days I did a roll and tuck with 3 two-strand twists & accessorized the style with my DIY Floral hairband.

What Did I do?

I did my wash day routine on Sunday, moisturized and sealed before twisting my hair at night.

Day 1 – After taking down the twists in the morning I massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline, ends and did one of the simplest styles since starting the challenge for the next 3 days.

Literally all I did was very loosely take my hair back fold it over and pin it down. The style was so loose that you could see a little frizz I call this being “carefree” ( it doesn’t bother me but I could be done the style with a little of my DIY Flaxseed gel for a “neater” look.)

Day 3 – I reapplied the Castor Oil mix to my scalp, hairline and ends at night.
Day 4 – In the morning I moisturized my hair with my DIY Creamy Leave-In Conditioner and sealed with my whipped butter mix then put my hair into a rolled back up-do accessorized with a DIY floral headband. (I had my DIY shell earrings on that day and it get a beach feeling when I wear them) 😀

I left two sections on the sides and one at the front to make two-strand twists. The rest of my hair was pulled back and rolled up. I pinned my hair at the top instead of under (by my neck). I took the twists to the back to give my hair a little texture and pinned the twist at the top as well.

Day 5 – At night I took my hair down, massaged my scalp, hairline and ends with the Castor Oil Mix and pineappled to sleep.
Day 6 – Redid the style and at night I repeated the night method of day 5.
Day 7 – Was supposed to wash my hair but got caught up with house work

Castor Oil Challenge:

As mentioned, I used the castor blend 4 times during the week. My hair felt a little limp by day 7 because I might have used a little too much whipped butter after re-moisturizing but I was still left with smooth, moisturized, shiny and soft hair.

So that was my first attempt at 6 weeks of protective styling and castor oil massages. Like I mentioned I will have a recap post of my final results along with a video explaining my experiences and plans but I can tell you now I enjoyed the whole challenge and it shall be repeated!

Thanks

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 5 Update

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Hey Maicurlies,

First I want to apologize for being late with this post I once again got caught up with work and personal stuff but I am here with an update!

Protective Style Challenge Week 5

There is just one week left of my Protective Style and Castor Oil challenge and I can proudly say that I am glad I did it and look forward to incorporating more protective styles into my routine from now on.

For a recap of my previous weeks click below:

How did my fifth week go?

Similar to the previous weeks, everything followed together really well. I had my hair tucked away for 6 days of the week, used my Castor Oil Mix 4 times and then washed my hair. I noticed that I tend to do a really quick style at the start of the week and then try to do a little more for the second part (probably because I subconsciously want a little more “oomph” on the weekend). I will admit that when I took my twists down on the first day I really really wanted to rock a twist-out…the definition was AMAZING but I was strong.

The first style I did was a SUPER quick and simple tuck and pin and then finished with a big puff bun with a deep side-bang (I really liked this one)!

What Did I do?

I did my wash day routine on Sunday which included a new and improved Protein Deep Condition (DC) followed by my Moisturizing DC. (The Protein DC involved egg yolks, hibiscus tea, gelatin, coffee infused oil and a little conditioner. I will eventually have a write-up and how to video). I moisturized my hair with my creamy leave-in conditioner, lightly sealed with a tiny bit of oil and then added some of my whipped butter before putting my hair into 12 twists.
Day 1 – After taking the twists down I massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline, ends and randomly pinned my hair back. There was no real strategy to the method I lightly rolled my hair at the front, tucked it and used bobby pins to hold it in place. For the hair at the back I loosely rolled my hair under and then pinned it (repeating this every morning gave me slight variations in the look).

Loose pin and tuck

Loose pin and tuck right

Loose pin and tuck back

Loose pin and tuck left

Day 3 – I reapplied my Castor Oil mix to my scalp, hairline and ends.
Day 4 – I moisturized my hair with my DIY Creamy Leave-In Conditioner and sealed with Almond Oil. I then put my hair into a big puff bun with a side-bang.

Puff bun with deep side-bang front

Puff bun with deep side-bang right

Puff bun with deep side-bang left

Side-Bang of Puff bun

Puff bun with deep side-bang back

Day 5 – I took down my hair at night, massaged my scalp, hairline and ends with my Castor Oil Mix then pineappled for the night.
Day 6 – I repeated what I did the night before.
Day 7 – Wash day routine and then got my hair ready for the final week.

Castor Oil Challenge:

I still am amazed at the fact that although I have fine hair, I can still get away with using a thick oil like castor without ending up with greasy limp hair. Since I thoroughly enjoyed incorporating my whipped butter into my routine last week I used it again and yes this addition is a winner! I ended the week with hair that wasn’t thirsty, dull or knotty. I will say that I started the week with hair that felt different…stronger, I think my hair was in need of a really strong Protein DC. I will just end this with: I was working with hair that retained moisture, had less tangles and less frizz = happy Mai.

So digging this challenge experience and experiment!

On the last home stretch!

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 4 Update

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Another week done Maicurlies!

Protective Style Challenge Week 4

I am on the last 2 weeks of my Protective Style and Castor Oil challenge and haven’t given up yet! 😀

For a recap of my previous weeks click below:

How did my fourth week go?

It went by well. I was able to protect my hair for 6 days and used my Castor Oil Mix 4 times in the week. I did a REALLY simple updo at the start of the week (I don’t want to call it “boring”) – the “Gibson Tuck” and then finished with what I call the “Chameleon Twist” (I liked this one!)

What Did I do?

I did my wash day routine on Sunday, a Henna Gloss followed by a moisturizing Deep Condition, moisturized and sealed before twisting 9 chunky twists.
Day 1 – After taking down the twists I massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline, ends and put my hair in the Gibson Tuck with 2 two-strand twists on the side and a chunky two strand twist at the front – pinned as a “side bang”.

Gibson Tuck with two two strand twists on the side and a chunky two strand twist as a side bang.

Day 3 – I reapplied my Castor Oil mix to my scalp, hairline and ends.
Day 4 – I moisturized my hair with my DIY Creamy Leave-In Conditioner and sealed with my whipped butter mix. I then put my hair into my Chameleon Twist. To do the style I first did my “Twisted twist”.

Twisted Twist

– After making one big two strand twist from 7 medium twists held at then center of my head I tucked away the ends of my hair by wrapping it around the base.

Chameleon twist with pompadour

Day 5 – I took the Chameleon Twist down and massaged my scalp (as best I could), hairline and the ends of each of the 7 twists with my Castor Oil Mix then wrapped it back up.
Day 6 – At night took my hair down, massaged my scalp, hairline and ends with the Castor Oil Mix and pineappled to sleep.
Day 7 – Wash day routine and then got my hair ready to be set for week 5.

Castor Oil Challenge:

As mentioned, I used the blend 4 times during the week and my hair was suuuuuper smooth, moisturized, shiny and soft! I think my whipped butter sort of helped with that as well (particularly on my ends). I had been using my DIY Spray Leave-In Conditioner to remoisturize my hair mid week but decided to use the Creamy Leave-in and whipped butter for a change. My hair LOVED the combination of being moisturized and super sealed. I can’t say it enough, castor oil is the truth and when combined with other nourishing ingredients …bye bye dryness!

Looking forward to the last 2 weeks.

What do you think of the styles I did this week?

Maicurls

How 3 weeks of massaging my scalp and protecting my hair has gone

2 Replies

Hey Maicurlies,

This will just be a quick post as I already wrote about week 3 of my protective style and castor oil challenge but decided to make an update video for my YouTube Channel as well.

If you haven’t already subscribed to my channel please do! Sometimes it is easier to watch a video rather than go through all my writing 😀 and please always remember to give me feedback and suggestions…I appreciate every single comment!

Thanks

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 3 Update

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Good day Maicurlies,

I’ve reached the halfway mark of my Protective Style and Castor Oil challenge and I am still digging it!

You can read about my previous weeks here:

How did my third week go?

I must admit I sort of hit a little bump on the road in terms of how to style my hair but I figured something out in the end.

Protective Style challenge week 3

I did not plan properly, washed my hair late at night on Sunday and everything just got dragged out but I managed. Similar the my previous weeks I did 2 styles (kept the styles for 3 days each) and then washed my hair at the end of the week.

The styles I did were “flat twists” (I’ve mentioned before – flat twists and I are still trying to build a relationship) but I figured I would get to practice some more…

What Did I do?

To start the week I had washed, Deep Conditioned, moisturized and sealed before twisting my hair into 5 chunky twists.
Day 1 – After taking down the twists I massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline, ends and put my hair in my first hairstyle: 3 really loose flat twists (one on either side of my head and one in the middle). I accessorized with different ribbons over the 3 days…to distract people from my not to neat flat twists.

First style – 3 loose flat twists and accessories (this was the last day before I changed the style).

Day 3 – I reapplied my Castor Oil mix to my scalp, hairline and ends.
Day 4 – I moisturized my hair with my DIY Spray Leave-In Conditioner and sealed with Rose infused Grapeseed Oil. I then put my hair into my second hair style: one loose big flat twist on the right and a two strand twist at the front which I pinned back to the right.

Second style – One big flat twist (on the right) pinned down and a two strand twist pinned back.

Day 6 – I took down the flat twist at night, massaged my scalp, hairline and ends with the Castor Oil mix and pineappled my hair to sleep.
Day 7 – Wash day routine and then got my hair ready to be set for week 4.

Castor Oil Challenge:

I used the oil 4 times and think I might stick with just applying it 4 times. I do not think my hair will be happy with me if it is coated even though I have diluted the Castor Oil…I know my limits :D. I have my recipe and a video of the mixing process here.

Again my hair felt great throughout the week: moisturized, soft, smooth, less tangles and shine galore! While I am not really looking to “grow out” my hair, I will admit that I am interested to see how much length I retained/gained at the end of the challenge.

Week 4 here I come!

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 2 Update

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Good evening Maicurlies!

Protective style challenge week 2

It has been two weeks since I started my Protective Style & Castor Oil challenge and let me tell you, I am LOVING it!

Protective style update:

In all honesty I have always been a fan of wearing my hair out….”FREE” because it is so much easier for me to do a simple twist-out or braid-out, but I am appreciating this challenge. Is it a little difficult for me to come up with styles to wear? Yes. I have said this before and will continue to say this: I am NOT a styling guru and I am not “creative” in terms of unique styles however, I do what I know/can.

How did my second week go?

Similar to week 1, I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to “mess” with my hair too much, especially in the morning before work. I would lightly touch up my edges and be on my way. As always I slept with my scarf around my head at night and that sort of helped with the fly-aways. My hair felt really moisturized, soft and looked shiny (LOVE). I only moisturized and sealed my hair once during the week and felt that a light moisturizer (my DIY Spray Leave-In) was sufficient. I also noticed that I had less tangles than I normally would by the end of the week (winning!) I did two styles for the my Twist and Tuck Donut Bun (days 1 – 3) and my new Pinned up “Flat twist” AKA Seahorse (I shall explain below).

What Did I do?

To start the week I had washed, Deep Conditioned, moisturized and sealed before twisting my hair into 5 chunky twists.
Day 1 – After taking down the twists I massaged my Castor Oil Mix on my scalp, hairline and used a dab on my ends. I put my hair in my first hairstyle: Twist and Tuck Donut Bun.
Day 3 – I reapplied my Castor Oil mix to my scalp, hairline, ends and decided to accessorize the Bun with my DIY floral hairband.

Twist and Tuck Donut Bun (added accessory)

Day 4 – I moisturized my hair with my DIY Spray Leave-In Conditioner and sealed with Almond Oil. I then put my hair into my second hair style the (Pinned up “Flat twist”) that I kept for the remainder of the week. I don’t know if people would call it a flat twist because to me it looked like a seahorse before pinning. –Side note*: Flat twists and I do not get along at all! I suck at them but I did try and so far this is the best I have ever done!

Pinned up flat twist

This is the seahorse “flat twist” before I used one bobby pin to tuck away the ends

“Flat Twist” aka Seahorse

Day 6 – I took down the flat twist, massaged my scalp, hairline and ends with the Castor Oil mix and redid the flat twist again.
Day 7 – Wash day routine and then got my hair ready to be set for week 3 (this week).

Castor Oil Challenge:

I used the oil 3 times last week and actually want to increase it to 4 times. Eventually I might even increase it (but we shall see I don’t want to push it). I was always worried that my hair would be greasy and my scalp/pores clogged up but the mixed blend of Castor with Rose Infused Grapeseed Oil seems to be working out great. I have my recipe and a video of the mixing process here.

My hair did not feel dry at any point during the week. I did re-moisturize my hair mid week just because that has been my habit but I only used my light leave-in so there was no worry of product build up, plus moisturizing is always a good idea. My roots felt so super soft, the ends were smooth and I think the Castor oil blend helped to avoid extra tangles. My individual strands basically glided across each other instead of wrapping, trapping and clinging onto one another. Overall I am loving this challenge!

Here’s to week 3!

What do you think of my Protective challenge styles? Do you like my Castor oil blend? I would love to hear how you use castor oil.

Thanks

Maicurls

My Castor Oil Mix for the Castor Oil Challenge

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Hello Maicurlies,

Castor oil, Rose infused Grapeseed oil & Peppermint Essential Oil

I am starting on week 3 of my Castor Oil challenge and all is going well. I will make a proper separate post about how the last week went (you can read about my first week here) but I wanted to share my Castor Oil blend for now. I use it 3 times a week to:

Massage my scalp
Massage my hairline
Seal the ends of my hair

I am actually planning on increasing it to 4 times a week and who knows maybe even more as the challenge progresses. I was worried that my hair would feel greasy or that my scalp would feel icky and clogged but I can honestly say NO it does not! Even though I have fine hair, it seems to be taking quite well to the castor oil blend. I do think that the fact that I am blending my oil “diluting” it might be one reason why it is working out so well for me.

So without further ado here are the ingredients I use:

I use 70% Castor Oil

Increase hair growth
Promotes healthy hair due to omega-6 essential fatty acids
Thickens thinning hair
Reduces hair damage
Eliminates dry scalps and hair
Helps reduce scalp irritations due to anti-bacterial and fungal properties
Helps retain moisture in the hair and scalp
Excellent sealing oil
Promotes shiny hair
Boost your hair’s overall health

I use 30% Rose infused Grapeseed Oil

Helps retain moisture
Provides Shine
Strengthens hair at the root
Protects against frizz
Gives the hair a boost of luster
Helps stimulate growth (when massaged on the scalp)
Can help relieve psoriasis & dandruff – (consult your dermatologist)

I use 7 drops Peppermint Essential Oil

Soothing effect to the scalp
Helps combat dandruff and lice
Promotes healthy hair growth
Helps relive scalp irritations due to antiseptic properties

Castor Oil Blend

I pour my blend in a spray bottle that ends up working more like a pump because the consistency of the oil is still thick even with it being diluted a little but it works nonetheless. I use just about a coin size amount on either side of the scalp, half a coin size for my hairline and again a coin size dollop on the ends of my hair on either side (left & right).

I have a YouTube Video of how I make my oil as well (below):

If you use Castor oil I would love to hear how you use it. If you blend castor oil please let me know!

Thanks

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Week 1 Update

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Good Morning Maicurlies,

It has been a week since I started the Protective Style and Castor Oil Challenge setup in Napturally Curly.com’s forum.

How did my first week go?

It went really well! I enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to do too much with my hair in the morning. I literally just fixed the top of my hair (I slept with a satin scarf which sort of helped keep down fly-aways). “Fixing” didn’t take long and I was out the door. My roots felt super soft and I only moisturized my hair 2 times the whole week.

What Did I do?

I washed my hair the day before the challenge started (which was the 21st September), moisturized, sealed and then let it air dry in twists.
Day 1 – First hairstly: After taking down the twists I massaged a little of my mixed Castor/Rose Infused Grapeseed Oil with Peppermint on my scalp, hairline and a tiny bit to my ends. This is the style I did for the first 3 days.

I put my hair in a ponytail, made about 8 twists, wrapped them around to make a bun and held it in place with bobby pins.

Day 3 – I reapplied some castor oil mix to my scalp and hairline.
Day4 – I re-moisturized my hair with my leave-in conditioner, again massaged my scalp and hairline with the castor mix and also put a dab on my ends and changed my hair style to this:

I put my hair in a ponytail and then rolled my ends up and under towards my head. Using bobby pins I keep my ends tucked underneath.

I put my hair in a ponytail and rolled my ends up and under – towards my head. Using bobby pins I kept my ends tucked underneath and used a ribbon for a little added color.

Day 7 (yesterday) – Washed my hair and did a henna gloss;

I put my hair in twists to air dry, pinned them down for the night and will be styling my hair for the next 3 days!

Looking forward to the new week ahead!

Thanks

Maicurls

Protective Style & Castor Oil Challenge (Sept – Nov)

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Hey Maicurlies,

As I write this I am bouncing around in my seat! So as the title says, I am going to be doing a protective style and castor oil challenge from September 21st – November 2nd with a few lovely ladies on the Napturally Curly (forum). This is my first proper challenge and I am uber excited!

I have previously mentioned that I am a member on Napturally Curly which is run by the beautiful Naturallista Lisa (I have linked both her Site and YouTube Channel for your reference). After going through her site, following her on YouTube (of course), join the forum! Even if you are not interested in taking part in the challenge there are a lot of fantastic women on there to share ideas, learn from one another and just discuss EVERYTHING (none hair related too!)

If you do want to join the challenge it is never too late. You can also opt to just join one part of the challenge, all up to you!

So back to the challenge, we have a forum member who has always been on top of all the challenges agreed upon by the group. I am not sure if she would mind me mentioning her name here as she also reads my blog so I will just say Thank You hun (you know who you are :D) She deserves a shout-out for all the effort she puts into organizing the challenges, providing us with style inspiration and motivating words!

In case you are curious about the guidelines for the challenge here they are:

Protective Styling Challenge

You will wear your hair in a Protective Style for no less than 2 days of each week of the challenge. (Some of us are installing twists, braids using weaves, wigs etc).
Please post pics of your hair throughout the duration of the challenge, it would be great to see not just all of the styles you come up with but also any and all length that you gain, improvement to the health of your hair and even see how your styling progresses and your aesthetic changes.
Each week you will answer several questions about your progress or setbacks from the previous week and so forth.

Castor Oil Challenge

You will use choose how many days (between 3-7 days each week) and the way you will use your Castor Oil. You are free to choose the type of Castor Oil and how you will apply it to your scalp and or hair. (Some of us are diluting the castor oil a little with another oil)
Don’t beat yourself up if you forget to use your oil each of the days you originally set for yourself, if this isn’t something that you normally do then you are creating a new habit.
Just as we will check in on a weekly basis for the Protective Style Challenge we will do the same for this challenge.

My Challenge tactic:

First off I am going to trim my hair between today (19th) and the 21st September. I want to start off “fresh” so a trim is in order. I will be taking off more hair at the back since this is were I have the most uneven length difference to the rest of my hair and then lightly dusting the rest to get rid of SSK’s.

I will be doing low manipulation/protective styles but not in the sense of using extensions, additional hair, wigs or weaves. Things like twist and tucks, buns, jumbo twists, medium two strand twists with my hair tucked away will be the styles I’ll use.
I plan on trying to keep my hair in styles for at least 3 days (touch-up my roots when needed) and will take my hair down to re-moisturize and then put it away again.
I will wash my hair once a week (as normal) which will include DC’s.
I also plan to do henna glosses at least 3 times during the challenge.
I will be using a mix of castor oil and infused rose oil (in a couple of weeks my combination of Ayurvedic infused oil will be complete and I will be using that). Castor oil is just too heavy for me so I will dilute it 70% castor to 30% other oil.
I will apply the oil 3 times a week to my roots/scalp, hair line and a tiny bit on the ends of my hair.

The purpose of me taking part in the challenge is to help thicken up my hair and for overall healthy hair. I want to retain length (if I see growth that is of course a plus) but my goal is to help boost my hair line which is quite fragile and has always been thin, even as a child. (I will write a little more about my hair line in another post). I also need more practice at simple low manipulation styles so this will be a great opportunity.

I will be taking photos during the course of the challenge of my hair styles and will also do a measurement check after I have trimmed my hair to compare to the end results in November.

I am so excited to get started and hopefully see positive results!

Are you currently doing or planning to do a protective style or castor oil challenge? If so what are you doing, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks

Maicurls