Hair Myths , Old Wives Tales, Funny Cousins, & Saving Expensive Hair Masks

I abide by so many myths or old wives tales in my life, that at this point I find it comical, particularly when it comes to certain ones.  I would wait for rainy season in the desert just so I could catch pots and Tupperware full of rain water to rinse my hair with, as my Mom told me this is what she used to do to grow her hair really long....and my mother was and is stunning.  When she got engaged to my father she had hair longer than mine is now and it was just gorgeous.  One of her secrets was rinsing with fresh rain water whenever possible.  So, my family and I collected rain water and I wore my hair in the classic Beverly Hills 90210 Brenda fashion through most of high school. For all of my high school friends reading this...I am so glad you can't post pictures.  Perhaps I will soon. :)

When I was 16 or 17, one of my best friend's in high school had a woman from Pakistan who worked in her home as a mommy's helper.  She taught us a lot about different beauty treatments.  She was the first person to ever do my eyebrows, and she used the threading method.  I don't think I have ever had such a good brow.  They were thicker then, but still showcased my natural arch.  My BFF has this beautiful, strong, straight brow with an arch towards the end of the iris that perfectly suit her face.  The Mommy's helper (whose name I am not using for privacy) also used to use pure coconut oils in her hair and then braid it.  That was her version of a hair mask.  My best friend and I began to copy that ritual on weekends as well.

My cousin Danielle (yes, my cousin is also named Danielle and I love her so much....blog to come soon) convinced me if I wore a ponytail in a scrunchie every night and rinsed my hair with ice cold water in the shower, it would grow...I did it.

I did all of the things the women in my life told me to try to get my hair to grow and be long, and gorgeous.  What we do for beauty, right?

Now I have a routine of using a hair mask once a week on my hair.  I used to use WEN, and now I use Moroccan Oil's Hydrating Repair Mask (blue and orange tub) and have for almost two years.  I have found with these jars, that sometimes it is hard to get them closed as tightly as they need to be, particularly if you are rushing, simply due to the emollient formula that stays on your hands regardless of rinsing.  I thought I was alone, and I was just being careless, but I asked several friends today if their tub conditioners have this same problem.

What I found is that yes, many people leave the jar slightly open and the product begins to get a little bit drier than normal.  Sunday I found out that by using a little bit of water, and a coffee stirring utensil, I could easily bring back the consistency and my friend who is a hair dresser said that would be fine.  Another one of my friends told me she did the same thing with WEN, only the WEN had gotten severely dry and required more water.  The third friend I talked to said that when she forgot to screw the lid down on her Biolage conditioner, it didn't dry out at all.  I suppose because it is a conditioner, rather than a mask, that could explain the difference. A different chemical makeup and the fact that two of the three products contain more natural ingredients than the third could easily account for why some dried out and some didn't.

The hair dresser I spoke to said that as long as it wasn't open OPEN and the lid was still somewhat on, just not as tightly as normal, the product should be fine.  

In the future I think I will towel off and go back and check my shampoos, conditioners and hair masks to make sure everything is closed tightly.

xoxo

Dani