Tag Archives: castor oil

Protective Style & Castor Oil Challenge (Sept – Nov)

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Hey Maicurlies,

Protective Style & Castor Oil ChallengeAs 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

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. Each week you will answer several questions about your progress or setbacks from the previous week and so forth.

Castor Oil Challenge

  1. 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)
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Maicurls

Tips for Longer and Stronger Nails and Lashes Video

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Hi Maicurlies!

I finally have my video up on YouTube of my tips for longer and stronger nails and lashes!

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I had a post up a little while back (I was slow with the video part) which you can read here. So starting officially today (19.4.2014) I will be using Virgin Coconut Oil with Vitamin E Oil for both my nails and lashes (and I decided I will also use it for my super thin brows). I plan on applying and leaving the oil on at night – 3x a week nails (without nail polish on) and every night (if I can remember) for my lashes and brows. 

I plan on monitoring my progress for 1 – 2 months to give it enough time to take effect. I have to say that having a healthy lifestyle would also have a stronger impact on the results. Eating healthy, drinking tons of water, getting enough sleep and doing exercise all play a role too! 

I will do a follow up to let you know if I noticed a difference or not after the 1 – 2 months.

If you do something similar, plan on doing the same or have already used coconut/castor or any other natural ingredient for your nails, lashes, brows please do let me know I would love to hear from you!

Have a lovely Ash Friday Maicurlies! 

Thanks

Maicurls

Maicurls

Tips & Tricks for Longer and Stronger Nails and Lashes

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Good Afternoon Maicurlies,

I am a little obsessed with researching, reading and learning more and if you are looking to grow stronger, longer and healthier nails and lashes then you want to keep reading.

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My nails seem to grow for a bit and then get a little weak on the sides so I end up having to cut them. Now, do not get me wrong I am not looking to grow claws I just want to have stronger nails. When it comes to my eyelashes I do not have the fullest or longest lashes and I am completely incapable of using fake lashes! So based on my research I found natural remedies that can be used for both and you probably already have the ingredients at home!

Vrigin Coconut Oil
Castor Oil
Vitamin E Oil

For Lashes

  • Virgin Coconut Oil or Castor Oil
  • Vitamin E Oil (optional)

Nails

  • Virgin Coconut Oil
  • Vitamin E Oil (optional)

You might have noticed that I am a little obsessed with containers and therefore I had to use my little containers for both my nails and my lashes.

Coconut Oil Nail Strengthening “Polish”

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I use an old nail polish bottle (it use to hold clear nail polish) that I first cleaned with a little nail polish remover, kept in the bottle for 2 days. After 2 days I poured the nail polish remover out and then cleaned and disinfected it. After the bottle is dry, all I do is pour a little bit of Virgin Coconut Oil and add 1 capsule of Vitamin E Oil for extra strengthening.

Note: You do not have to put the oil in a nail polish bottle you can just put a drop or two of Virgin Coconut Oil on your finger tip and rub it onto your nails.

The more frequently you use it the more effective it will be and it is best to apply the oil onto clean, dry and bare nails (no polish.) Leave the oil on for a minimum of an hour (without washing your hands) it would be best to leave it on overnight, applying before you go to sleep. If you plan on applying nail polish after you do the treatment make sure to remove any trace of oil BEFORE you apply your polish otherwise the oil will ruin the polish.

Coconut Oil or Castor Oil strengthening and moisturizing “mascara”

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I use an old mascara bottle (it use to hold clear mascara) that I first cleaned and disinfected. It is easier to clean the container of an old clear mascara as apposed to a black, blue, brown etc. After the bottle is dry, all I do is pour a little bit of Virgin Coconut Oil and add 1 capsule of Vitamin E Oil for extra strengthening. You can use castor oil which is said to be even more effective but I found it difficult to get the oil in the small opening of the container because the oil is thick.

Note: You do not have to put the oil in a mascara bottle, you can just put a drop or two on your fingertip and run it across your lashes. Regardless of what you use DO NOT GET OIL IN YOUR EYES! You also can use this for your eyebrows in case you have over plucked them over time or have really thin eyebrows like I do! 

The more frequently you use it the more effective it will be and it is best to apply the oil onto clean, dry and bare lashes (no mascara.) Leave the oil on for a minimum of an hour (without washing your face) it would be best to leave it on overnight, applying before you go to sleep. If you plan on applying mascara after you do the treatment make sure to remove any trace of oil BEFORE you apply your mascara otherwise the mascara will run and you know what that will look like! 

Thanks

Maicurls

Maicurls