New Protein Treatment, Deep Conditioner and Face Mask Recipes!

I made a face mask last week and have applied it every other day since then. My pimples are almost *completely* gone even though I'm still working out and sweating hard. This is good.
I made a DC because I ran out of the amazing Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque about a month ago and have started DCing with coconut milk or cream recently. This time, though, inspired by my return to watching awesome hair gurus on YouTube, I tried making another DC and it worked so well my hair is still moisturized intensely two days later with tons of shine and significantly less breakage [nearly 1/5 of normal for the past two days, I might actually be able to use the Denman if this keeps up!]  and it stretches better: I can actually get my hair straight when I pull it taut to comb it [which is probably helping to stop breakage by making detangling easier.] The only problem is that overuse [I used it against yesterday. It was unnecessary, though.] makes hair sticky. I think that's related to the honey, so I'll have to use less next time.

Disclaimer: Every bit of information below is from my own memory so I apologize if it's bit off. In an effort to not lie, anything that I can't remember the validity of is not included. Feel free to tell me if something is wrong, especially if you have links to scientific articles.

Face Mask:

1:1 [3 TBs?] ratio of Turmeric powder and Bentonite clay, 1TBs of AVG, 1/4 TBS of honey, 1.5 TBs Castor Oil [this was an accident, actually...], 1 TBS Grapeseed oil [what I meant to use], ACV to desired consistency.

This makes...a lot...of this. For my skin stuff, I don't really know how many uses I get out of things. Several weeks, generally.

Turmeric is a thing that apparently tons of people already own [I didn't]. It's a curry powder and is delicious. It's also one of the most healing things in the world. It's actually higher on my list than Aloe Vera Gel! I use them both, though. It's great for healing spots, bumps, bruises, etc, but nothing open. It's amazing at fading closed scars, discolouration, and it leaves the skin so soft and smooth you might be surprised it's your skin, but it stains something fierce. Turmeric also stunts hair growth, so try not to use it on problematic areas where you want more hair. It is good if you're trying to slow some thing's growth, like legs or facial hair.

So, If you are white [not Caucasian necessarily, but if your skin is pigmented white] use this very sparingly. You will be yellow for a few hours if you use to much, perhaps even overnight! If you're darker, it'll make your skin look more golden. Some people don't like this but I actually think it's cool. Just make sure you use a yellow / red / black towel! Seriously! Mine is red. Do this every time you wash your face for the next like two days or so. Make sure you thoroughly clean your sink, and don't ever let little spots of clay sit on any surface. If you wait too long, you'll need to get some actual detergent or something, and do a hard cleaning. I get mine from Trader Joe's because that's where I saw it the first time. I haven't researched brands yet, but it works so...


Bentonite clay is another healing ingredient. Honestly, it's like a lower powered version of turmeric or aloe vera.  It's good at removing minerals and oils and other things you might have lodged in your skin.  It's not as good as Rhassoul clay, and the PH is different, so you must balance it out before applying it to your skin. Don't get me wrong, this stuff is amazing, it's just surrounded by other, slightly more amazing stuff :P. When I use this to make cleansing hair masks, it sometimes develops a weird, jelly-like texture. I'm not sure what causes it, but it's still usable, just strange.


Aloe Vera Gel you probably know about this already. It's incredibly healing, doesn't agitate even sensitive skins and is great at healing acne. This is better than turmeric for cuts, open wounds and burn type things. It's good at healing bumps and bruises as well, less so for spots and hyperpigmentation. It's amazing for itchy skin relief, it's the major reason my legs aren't causing me to scratch holes into my pants. This was a serious, costly issue for me.

Honey is a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to itself. It is rumoured that AVG is as well, and glycerin is probably the most humectant of all of them because if you leave it sitting out [open] you can see a great deal of water in the container. I would like glycerin to try, however, I do not have the money. Honey has multiple bodily uses: hair, skin and food / natural sugar. Glycerin would only be used for hair and possibly skin for me. Honey has a bunch of micronutrients and imparts shine, but in very high prolonged [probably more than a cup, and for several hours with heat] exposure, it can lighten hair. You might not want this, so make sure you always wash out the honey before it can work [it is the same process as lemon, just a lot healthier for your hair]. Generally, normal use will not create this issue. Now, heating honey [or anything] tends to destroy the nutrients. As a result, I do not heat my honey. I make a simple syrup with honey dissolved in water [takes a while] and I use that in all my products. I also use it on things I'd normally put syrup on.  This does means my concentration of honey is pretty low, unless I add a whole lot of syrup, but honestly you don't need that much honey unless you really want to lighten your hair.

Castor Oil is an amazing antibacterial oil that promotes hair growth, because of this, people apply it to their scalps weekly or so. I've done this, but it hasn't been a dramatic increase.  I mostly do it because my scalp needs more moisture [I have extremely dry, itchy, skin] and it's the only oil I trust to not break out my scalp [except maybe grapeseed.]  I tend to add a bit of it to skin products, but it is slightly drying when not balanced with other carrier oils.  Castor oil is a key ingredient in oil cleansing, which I do every other day alternating with this very mask!
There is debate between whether castor oil or Jamaican black castor oil is better. The difference is only that, at the end, they add the ash from the seeds back into the mix.  Honestly, it smells bad and I'm not sure I really need ash in my oil so I haven't bothered. I don't think the nutrients come from burned residue, for reasons stated above, but I'll probably end up trying it eventually.  I accidentally added way too much of this, but my skin seems to be okay.
This oil makes the most wonderful serum/sealant, because it's thick, smooths the cuticle and imparts a lot of shine. It's the reason I haven't bought Vitamin E oil yet, I don't need a serum any more, I just use straight Castor Oil instead..

Grapeseed Oil is an extremely light oil that is noncomedogenic. That means it can't clog your pores. A lot of oils claimed to not be able to clog my pores, yet they did. Grapeseed and castor are literally the only two oils that I can use on my skin without breaking out.  Coconut, while great for my hair and for food, breaks me out. Jojoba broke me out even though it's a wax esthor and not an oil, and even mimics the sebum [natural oil] in skin, apparently. So did every other oil I own, so grapeseed goes into my lotion, hair oil, face masks, etc. I even use it as a heat protectant [I used to use jojoba, but it didn't end up having enough different uses for me to keep it. I'm very picky on that matter.]
Grapeseed oil might contain ceramides, a protein-like chain that does wonders for people who don't need too much protein or who might have issues using normal proteins, but I need a much harder protein.  This doesn't make my hair stronger, but it does work well in my hair oil as the only nonpenetrating oil. [EVOO and Coconut oil are penetrating, and I've heard that Argan can as well.]
When oil penetrates the hair, it acts like a protein and holds onto moisture for you, it also prevents the hair from absorbing so much water that it swells and becomes weaker, which is called hydral fatigue.

Apple Cider Vinegar:  This is a highly acidic substance that is good for hair and as a supplement. I do not use it for such and will probably switch to either regular vinegar or aloe vera juice [which is more acidic than the gel].  It smells very harsh, but is the best way to make a basic solution more acidic to close the cuticle. It imparts shine and smoothes hair like no other substance I've ever used, but sometimes might give your hair a red tinge [at least, in my experience. It seems to have done the same to a few other people as well.]
I use this a lot, and have actually bought a second container in case the AVJ doesn't work as well, because PH balance can be the difference between frizz and curls. I like curls, so...

Extremely Hard Protein Treatment:

Black Tea [Try for less than 4oz]

Gelatin

Apple Cider Vinegar [1.5 tsp]

Good for one wash. Seriously, this stuff expires quickly and you can't really stick it in the fridge unless you want protein jello. Use it all / don't make too much!!!

First, make black tea as black as you want, preferably with less than 4oz water. After removing bags / straining, pour that into a pot and boil it. As it starts to boil, add the gelatin [I use a Knox packet] and stir so it mixes without clumping. I then took it off the heat and added about 1.5 tsps of ACV.

Make sure you wait for this to cool down! Also, the idea of using gelatin comes from the Sciency Hair Blog, which I love...so much. I mean...science? Yes plz.
 
Why?
Black Tea helps shine, the caffeine is a DHT blocker which halts shedding [if applied to scalp] and it darkens hair slightly. This is not permanent, but if you want blacker, shinier hair, you should use this at every wash! I have before/after pictures on this blog that might help give you an idea.  Every time I stop using this and then remember to do it again, I wonder how I forgot [probably because it's tea! Heh.]

Gelatin is a VERY hard, protein. This is serious, probably stronger than the loved incredibly hard Two Step Protein Treatment by ApHogee. I've never used it, so I can't say. So beware if you are even a LITTLE protein sensitive to not do this treatment. Only do this if, like me, all those store bought protein treatment never worked for you :(.

Apple Cider Vinegar [see above].

Extremely Moisturizing Deep Conditioner:

Raw Honey [2TBs]

    Random extra honey - not necessary

Coconut Milk 7-8 oz?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4oz?

Aloe  Vera Gel  2oz?

Enough for 2-3 conditioning sessions [4-5 if you have less hair/use less product]. Please refrigerate this unless you deep condition your hair like every day. I'm doing every third day for two weeks [it's a personal challenge] and even I stuck it in there. Things only last as long as the shortest expiration date, and coconut milk is pretty fast.

Once again, this is extremely concentrated. You might over condition your hair with it. You guys remember how I love that 'full' feeling? Coconut Milk is the only thing that's ever given me too much of that feeling and weighted my hair down to the point where it seemed like I must have flat ironed it or something.
I put the raw honey [Ys Eco Bee Farms, but this doesn't matter] into a container, but this was still hard so I let it sit for a little while. I took a can of Coconut Milk [Thai Kitchen. Honestly, the brand doesn't matter but this one seems to be the thickest I've tried.] and poured uhh, about...7oz of it into a different container, so I didn't use the whole can. I poured the rest onto the honey and mashed it a bit until most of the honey melted. Then, I randomly came upon more, non raw honey which was syrupy and just poured some in there...why not? After waiting for that to melt [I could have mixed it, food processors are awesome, btw.  You might not know all the amazing applications if you don't have one, but they're incredibly versatile!] I poured in EVOO. I'm not sure how much, I just kept pouring until it looked good. It created a layer over the top of the rest of the ingredients so I mixed it with a spoon. Much later, I squirted what was probably 2oz of AVG into the mix and stirred.

Raw Honey: [See Above]
Coconut Milk: As you probably know by now, Coconut Milk is the best conditioner that has ever touched my hair. End of discussion.  Why? It really sinks into my hair. So here are some facts about coconut: coconut oil is the most penetrating oil of all the ones that actually penetrate [well, of the tested ones...science may march on after this post, lol.] It is comprised of really healthy fats that are just incredibly tiny and can actually get into the strands and prevent hydral fatigue by making up that space for you.  Because it penetrates so well, it can act as a protein, helping fortify your hair from the inside without actually causing as much damage as a person with protein sensitivity may normally receive. Coconut milk, therefore is a super penetrating liquid AND oil combined into one amazing conditioning ingredient. I couldn't go without this stuff, it's my one true staple.  People use coconut milk as a 'natural relaxer' because it weighs down your hair due to how much of it actually penetrates. It makes my hair significantly more springy, shiny, conditioned, strong, healthy and defined than literally anything else.  When I do roller sets following a coconut milk DC, my hair comes out smooth and basically straight. When I apply it to my hair, my natural curls spring right back up [they tend to get droopy while I do my whole washing process] There's no tugging or pulling to get anything flat [which I can't really do with my tender head.] and my hair stays moisturized for longer than any other product as well. Seriously, try this. Trader Joe's sold some for like 1 or so last I was there, that might still be a thing.   I do have an article about coconut milk, so I won't say anything else :P.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil:  Tons of people use and love this without exactly knowing why. I didn't actually ever get any until this year because I had coconut oil, but this is cheaper and more readily available.  It's the second most penetrating oil, and it's incredibly useful in a DC that you're going to warm up. If you can't get extra/virgin coconut oil, get some EVOO, heat it up and do a hot oil treatment. The results are a win!
Aloe Vera Gel: [See Above]

So there you have it. I mostly posted this so I could remember the amazing ingredients in these super strong treatments. In the time of writing this, I actually DC'd again and my hair breakage is still so little that I used my denman in the front! Amazing~
I'll try to post pictures of the set in the morning!