Hair regimen: Week 2

For week 2 of my hair regimen, I am currently using the following products:

Products

1. Castor oil, currently using Home Health Castor Oil
2. Moisturizing shampoo, currently using Hair One Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner
3. Moisturizing conditioner, currently using Motions at Home Moisture Plus After Shampoo Conditioner
4. Leave-in conditioner, currently using Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave-In Conditioner

Tools
I normally use the same tools that I used during week 1 so that I can do a stream treatment. Sometimes I cut corners and just cover my hair with a plastic cap.

Steps

1. The pre-shampoo is the same as week 1.
2. I shampoo with the shampoo listed above.
3. After rinsing out the shampoo, I get out of the shower and use the conditioner listed above. I deep condition for at least 20 minutes using the steam treatment again or just a plastic cap.
   
4. I rinse out the conditioner and comb my hair out under the running water to prevent breakage.
   
5. I squeeze out the access water from my hair, apply the leave-in conditioner and style.
   

Product review: Hair One Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner

A few months ago, my mom was ranting and raving about a product that she had discovered at Sally's called Hair One. It is supposed to be Sally's version of Wen. I had seen the infomercials for Wen, a glorious new product that combined shampooing and conditioning into one easy step and left hair silky and soft. I didn't want to cough up the $29.99 for Wen, so I was happy to hear that Sally's had a similar product for $10.99.

I headed straight over to Sally's and picked up a bottle of Hair One Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner (there are 4 types of Hair One-- the tea tree version is for dry scalp).

According to the directions, you work the product into wet hair, let it sit, then rinse it out. No conditioner is needed. It can also be used as a leave-in.

After the first use, my hair looked great. It was soft, shiny and bouncy. The product didn't do anything for my dry scalp. The next use, still soft, shiny and bouncy, but a little less so. I thought to myself that I must have done something wrong because I didn't get the same results. The third time, my hair was looking positively dull and lack-luster. I called my mom to see if she had the same results. She said that she stopped using it as leave-in and thought that could be what was making my hair look dull. The next time I used it, I used a regular leave-in. This time, my hair look completely dry. I panicked. Dried out hair is only one step away from the nasty b-word. Breakage!

I called my mom again. She suggested that I switch over to Hair One Olive Oil Cleansing Conditioner because it is for dry and damaged hair. She also said that she started using conditioner after using Hair One for added moisture.

I started using Hair One as a conditioning shampoo instead of as a standalone product and my hair finally started getting back to it's normal healthy state.

The Verdict: Hair One Tea Tree Cleansing Conditioner works well as a conditioning shampoo, but I strongly advise against using it as a standalone product, especially if your hair is color-treated and relaxed, like mine. This product is absolutely useless for dry scalp. If you have dry scalp and dry hair issue and want to try one of the Hair One products, skip this one. You'd be better off using a good dandruff shampoo on your scalp followed by the Hair One Olive Oil Cleansing Conditioner, then finishing with a good moisturizing conditioner. I have not tried Hair One Olive Oil Cleansing Conditioner, but I plan on giving it a try after the tea tree runs out.

Hair regimen: Week 1

As promised, here is week 1 of my hair regimen.

Week 1 starts the first time that I wash my hair after a relaxer. I am currently using the following products and tools:

Products

1. Castor oil, currently using Home Health Castor Oil
2. Clarifying shampoo, currently using Neutrogena Clean Replenishing Shampoo
3. Strengthening conditioner, currently using Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Breakage Defense Conditioner
4. Moisturizing conditioner, currently using Motions at Home Moisture Plus After Shampoo Conditioner
5. Leave-in conditioner, currently using Aphogee Pro-Vitamin Leave-In Conditioner
   

Tools

1. Plastic cap
2. Terry cloth turban
3. Rubber gloves
4. Microwaveable bowl
   

Pre-shampoo

1. To get started, I fill a medium-sized glass bowl with water and pop it in the microwave. My microwave is very very old, so I set the timer for 4 minutes to make sure the water gets nice and hot.
2. While the water is heating up, I work Castor oil into my hair (I started using Castor oil because my hair was looking very flat and it's supposed to make your hair thicker. FYI, the texture is a bit sticky. I wasn't expecting that when I first got it).
3. When the water's ready, I slip on a pair of rubber gloves and pour the hot water over the terry cloth turban and squeeze out the excess water. I use the thick rubber gloves used for cleaning so that I don't scald my hands with the hot water.
4. I put the turban put on my head then cover it with a plastic cap. This whole technique with the turban and plastic cap is a modified version of a steaming treatment that I found on the Long Hair Care Forum (LHCF).
5. I let that sit for at least 15 minutes before shampooing.
   

Shampoo, deep condition and leave-in

1. I shampoo my hair with the shampoo listed above. Nothing special there.
   
2. Next, I get out of the shower and mix a strengthening and moisturizing conditioner together in a bowl and make sure to slather it on super thick from root to tip.
   
3. Then I do the whole steam turban thing again and leave it for at least 15 minutes.
4. While rinsing out the conditioner, I comb my hair out under the running water with a wide tooth comb to help prevent breakage. This is another tip that I picked up on LHCF.
   
5. I finish up with a good leave-in and style.