When my friend Andrea decided to launch an apothecary component to her new lifestyle blog In Search of Our Gardens, I was most excited about trying her Hair Growth Oil. I’d watched Andrea both thicken and grow her hair out from a pixie cut to long, shoulder length waves while using recipes she’d made herself over the last 2 years so I knew she was on to something.
I ended my natural hair care journey a few months ago, but I knew that her products would still be good on my relaxed tresses because of previous experience. I am very much old-school when it comes to hair care, so even during my years of being natural I still used whatever products I wanted because truth be told, when you find products that work you can train your hair to do whatever you want. I did feel like my hair had thinned a little bit and I’d had more shedding than usual over the last year (which is one of the reasons I actually decided to relax my hair again; I felt like I was having to manipulate it too much because of our higher than normal humidity), and I had been using Jamaican Castor Oil but hadn’t really been seeing a difference. I decided to order both the Rosemary and Peppermint Hair Stimulating Growth Oil ($12/$20) and the Shea & Citrus Mint Hair Cream ($10) to see how things went.
The first time I used them, I was completely floored. For one, I thought that I had been experiencing product buildup because of extending the time in between washes (2 weeks instead of 1), but in reality, my scalp was just dry (yes, even though I had been using oils!). I also had almost no shedding AND very minimum frizz. Typically I have some frizz when I blow dry vs. sitting under a hooded dryer but I didn’t have it. After blow drying I flat ironed my hair and because my hair was so hydrated, I didn’t have to do as many passes as I usually had to do, and my hair was both shiny and still had movement. I called Andrea when I was done and asked if she’d put a spell or something in her products because I was SHOOK, lol.
This was a little over 6 weeks ago and I’m happy to say that my hair looks and feels healthier, I haven’t had dry scalp, and I haven’t had to use as much heat in my hair to keep it straight; as long as I don’t sleep like a wild, crazy person, I can just comb my hair down and maybe touch up one of 2 spots and then head out the door. I’ve also noticed more growth in a spot that had started to thin (where I always wear my part).
The key to maintaining this is to regularly add oil to the scalp 2-3 days a week (the bottle has a dropper and you only have to use 1-2) to help with growth, and to also use the cream at night before tying up your hair to make sure that it stays moisturized. On wash days, I apply leave in conditioner/setting lotion, a volume booster, and then seal with 3 droppers of oil and a nickel size amount of the hair cream BEFORE I blow dry-this is what will help keep frizz and shedding down. Once my hair is blown dry (I noticed since adding in her products that my blow drying time was cut significantly down and my hair doesn’t feel crispy), I’ll add a little more of the cream to the back of my head (this area is dryer for me) and then I flat iron. From start to finish, it takes about 40 minutes to do my hair unless I decide to do a roller set.
A little goes a long way, and while you can use the Hair Growth Oil on its own, I recommend using it with the cream because they equally have their own benefits. If you have short hair, a little goes a long way (I have the 20oz bottle and am a little under halfway done with it; I’ve only made a small dent in the cream), but don’t be scared to add it in. Even on days when I thought I may have used too much, my hair absorbed it within a day and never felt heavy or greasy. It’s still early in the haircare game, but I’m excited to see what happens with my hair over the next few months.
To shop her full apothecary, click here.
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