Tag Archives: Coconut milk

May29

Treatment : : Bentonite Clay, Kelp Powder, Aloe Vera Gel & Coconut Milk

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Lauren

Treatment : : Bentonite Clay, Kelp Powder, Aloe Vera Gel & Coconut Milk

Hiiiii!!!! :o)) I wanted to share another DIY homemade treatment that I did awhile back ((I am SO behind on posts its not even funny. I am so sorry!! Graphic design business has seriously picked up by the grace of God!!))

Last year, I made a post about one of my secret weapons and all-time FAV treatments, bentonite clay, and I decided to remix it a little this last time I did it. I am not going to go into full detail on why I am in LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE with bentonite clay because you can refer back to my old post ((way up there with ayurvedic treatments, maybe even higher than them lol)) but I will say that I used to do a bentonite clay 2-4 times a month and my hair we THE healthiest it had ever been. I don’t do them as often because I love trying new things but I always circle back to bentonite when I feel my hair needs a little detox and that extra boost of vitality :o)

So this go round I decided to go a little crazy with my mixture lol. I never really measure the exact amounts of each ingredient for any of my DIY treatments but for the sake of creating a “recipe” in case any one wants to try, I put an estimate of how much by each ingredient below. My method is that the powders are always the base, the liquids to give it a smooth, NOT runny consistency and light on oils so its not too runny. I like my hair treatments to be somewhat thick so that it really packs on my hair and doesn’t start runnning down my face the longer I leave it on. I did make THIS particular recipe a bit thinner than I would normally like to but hey, it still worked. You can always add more powder if its too thin but I didn’t want to because I would have had too much unused/leftover. Remember, feel free to change this up to your liking and also keep in mind that since my hair is longer/thicker now I have to use more stuff :o(. Here’s what I used:

Bentonite clay- 3-4 large tbls
Organic sea kelp powder – 1.5 tbls
Coconut milk – 1/2 can
Aloe vera gel – 1/4 cup
Mixture of teas – 1/4 cup, I think this is where I went overboard and make the mixture too thin, I probably shouldn’t have even used these since I used coconut milk lol, so my recommendation on this is to use coconut milk OR teas. I feel that to get the benefits of the tea, you need to have it in a higher volume or it will just be diluted and not really effective. Also, I can’t remember exactly what teas I used but it was most likely a combination of nettle, burdock, lemongrass, catnip and/or peppermint
Grapeseed oil – 1/2 tbls or so :o)

So I mixed all the ingredients together to get a smooth creamy mixture like the pic below. Remember, this is bit thinner than I would like, I prefer it be pretty much caked on my hair lol You’ll see what I mean if you check out my old post on bentonite clay!!

I apply the mixture in sections, making sure I massage into my scalp a bit. I find that it works best to apply on hair that is some what damp. It can be clean or dirty, for me, it just depends on if I feel like/have time to wash before doing the treatment. Either way, the bentonite clay cleanses and clarifies!

Hmmm…I wonder if this is a sneak peak of what my hair will look like what I am all grey one day lol

So in the meantime, I let the clay sit in my hair for about 30 mins or so. This is one of those treatments that you don’t have to leave in for hours or anything. You really only need 20-30 mins but I tend to leave them in longer just because I end up jumping on my computer to do some work and time passes by before I even realize it lol

Oh and I LOVE using bentonite clay on my face. It is an AMAZING treatment that makes your skin sooooo smooth and clear. Again, there was a point in my life when I used this mask every week and my skin was flawless… don’t you hate when you KNOW the things that work the best but you just don’t do them for whatever unknown reason? *sigh* I usually just mix the clay with apple cider vinegar for facial masks but I had some left over with this hair treatment and said why not :o)

…and then you rinse!! Wah-lah!! Beautiful, bouncy, springy curls!! I love bentonite because it just revitalizes my hair and brings life back to it. My hair always, always feels soooo soft and supple after these treatments. I also feel it helps define my curls and it really conditions it. Sometimes I don’t even need to follow-up with conditioner because the clay and the coconut milk conditions. The coconut milk also strengthens, protects and detangles your hair. It also contains all those amazing benefits that are also found in the oil which I love. You can read about all the benefits of the sea kelp HERE, the teas HERE and the Aloe Vera HERE. ( <—sorry feeling kinda lazy at the moment lol) One thing I will add, depending on how much you use, but if you go a bit heavy on the sea kelp, you may want to follow-up with a conditioner that has a heavy scent. I will warn you lol the sea kelp smells bad!! (to me at least) and it is rather strong so I follow up with the Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle and a butter that also has a strong scent as well. Of course the smell fades but I just can’t bear it for too long lol

I really need to get my hands on some rhassoul clay so I can see what the hype is and if it is comparable to my beloved bentonite!

Mar29

Ayurveda : : Cassia & Coconut Milk

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Lauren

Ayurveda : : Cassia & Coconut Milk

My love for ayurveda continues yet again!

So a month or so ago I used henna for the first time after being afraid of it for so long lol and I LOVED how it made my hair feel and how SHINY and strong my hair felt. I think part of my self-imposed fear of henna was the color commitment because I have a dream of lightening my hair one day (like Beyonce light lol #dontjudgeme) so I have been trying to really nurture my hair to be able to do something to drastic (if I build up enough courage do something SO drastic like that) but anywho, I say that to say that I was introduced to an alternative to henna….cassia obovata!!

It’s basically henna without the color. It gives you all the conditioning benefits of henna and is sometimes referred to as neutral henna. It doesn’t give off any color but if you have blonde hair, it will accentuate your natural highlights. If you are grey, it will make your hair blonde. For dark hair, it just conditions and makes it shiny :o)

Since I was sent some packets of cassia by a very special dear friend of mine (thank you love!), I don’t have any information on where it came from, the brand, cost, etc. What I do know is the kind I used is USDA organic and of super high quality :o)

When I used henna, I mixed it with just water and a little bit of oil but THIS time, I mixed the cassia with COCONUT MILK!!! OMG!!! The moment I applied it to my hair I was like forget water! I’m using coconut milk for ALL my ayurvedic treatments from now on!! lol It makes the paste SO much creamier and easier to apply. It’s super smooth and just makes it better, for lack of better words lol. I think I also mixed in some oil (I think avacado oil or grapeseed, can’t remember which one)

I mixed the coconut oil and cassia and let it sit overnight. I guess I only did that because I did it for the henna BUT then again, I am not trying to get a dye release so I probably didn’t need to do it lol it just seemed like a nice gesture haha

Here’s the paste, I use the entire can of Foco brand coconut milk and it was thick and creamy :o) If you decide to use coconut milk, BE SURE to check the ingredients to ensure it doesn’t have sugars and added stuff in it (the ingredient listed as a preservative is fine though, you just don’t want the sweetened sugar kinds).

I applied the paste in sections and it was a BREEZE to apply. I didn’t have to tape newspaper all over my walls, floor and sink lol. It wasn’t messy to apply because of the texture, it stayed where I put it. It just felt so smooth and creamy. I know,I know, it’s weird that I’m really excited about the applying part lol Here’s how the paste looked in my hair. It’s green like henna is.

cassia_coconut_milk_lacocobella3 After I was done applying the paste, I sectioned my hair off, pinned the sections down and put on a plastic cap and then wrapped with with my Christmas edition saran wrap lol this time I didn’t wrap my head as tight as the last time lol I had a headache like a mug because I OD’d on the saran wrap! Good thing is that using the coconut prevented the paste from dripping, which I sometimes get when I use water/teas and oils with my ayurvedic treatments. I left the paste in for about 8 hours (applied in the afternoon and went about my day at home, rinsed out at night. I probably didn’t need to leave it in for that long but oh well).

Here’s me lookin crazy with my saran helmet!OK so here’s the thing, I didn’t take any pics of my hair after I rinsed out the cassia paste because, well, it just looked really, really bad. I now see why some naturals don’t like to use henna/cassia often because it really does loosen your curl pattern. I guess I was naive and was thinking looser curl pattern = elongated curls lol welp, I was wrong! Looser curl pattern (for me) means undefined curls that just look like a hot mess! I was sadly disappointed because I LOVE the conditioning results from the cassia and henna but after using henna 2x and cassia 1x, I really see a difference in the curl pattern.

Yes, I still use amla and I know amla kind of “reverses” henna by defining your curls but its almost like a cat and mouse situation where I feel the henna and amla just counter each other. So I need to figure out the frequency that I would continue to use cassia and henna because I don’t want to lose my curl pattern, I like when they are springy and bouncy! But then again I can’t get over the shine and cassia and henna gives me.

I haven’t really been one to mix different ayurvedic powders with eachother but I think I may start doing that, meaning, I can still use cassia/henna in small amounts AND mix it with amla, brahmi, neem, etc. and still get the conditioning benefits from the cassia/henna. I still have several boxes of the Reshma Femme henna in the different color variations which contain amla already mixed in so I plan to continue using them for the rest of the year and see if cassia/henna are something I want to continue for the long run! (Of course I will share the findings with you :o) )

What have been your experiences with cassia and henna?! What have you done about the curl loosening? TIPS PLEASE!

May11

Deep Condition Treatment : : Coconut Milk, Honey and EVOO

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Lauren

Deep Condition Treatment : : Coconut Milk, Honey and EVOO

So my obsession with coconuts naturally meant I’d try coconut milk in my hair some type of way. We know the many benefits of anything coconut so I figured the milk would be interesting to try. I went to my local Whole Foods and picked up some 100% pure organic coconut milk. I googled around the web to see what could be mixed with the milk and I decided to use honey as a humectant and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as a sealant.

Since coconut milk is a protein, it will help strengthen your hair and prevent breakage. Using it as a DC really helped soften my hair as well. I also found out that it helps with hair shed, hair loss and dandruff so I made sure I rubbed the treatment into my scalp when applying it.

I made my concoction by putting all the ingredients in a blender (the coconut milk separates) but clearly this was a genius mistake, that I won’t be doing again, because it made an extremely watery mixture… #dontjudgeme I think I’ll use a whisk next time! anwho, I still managed to be able to apply the mixture to my hair. I put a plastic cap over my hair and let it sit for about an hour. It was not a pleasant experience because that stuff dripped like no other!! It definitely had to do with the fact that I blended it and I also think I put a little bit too much EVOO. I had to wrap a towel around my head to catch the drips and also one on my shoulders. It wasn’t fun. Lesson learned… I mean, It is a milk so it was bound to be liquidy but I think I made it worse lol. I read that some people use cornstarch to thicken it up a bit. Regardless, I made it through and finally rinsed it out. Check out the results below.

The main thing I could definitely see was an improvement in the elasticity of my hair. My curls were shiny, soft and springy. I may add coconut milk rotation but I will most likely experiment using it in different ways. Not sure if I was feeling the EVOO. My hair doesn’t really take to EVOO very well :o( Lots of naturals just mix in the coconut milk with any of their other conditioners, so you don’t have to use it by itself. When I try this again I will be sure to post the results!