My Hair Diaries - August + September 2012

that's my hair after the hair spa...totally loving my curls :)

So, another month gone and we are fast approaching 2013. How time flies, right? Anyways, you might have noticed the missing hair diary of August. That was because I had completely ignored my hair in August and my hair was all rough and dry.

What I did in August?

Honestly, I am not able to recall what I did with my hair in August. But, I am pretty sure, I had completely ignored my hair. Anyway, I did go for hair cut on 31st August. And, I did finish off some left over products like Biotique Flame of the Forest and Kama Brigandi Oil. Had been using the Kamini shampoo only and finished the Dove Color Rescue Conditioner. Yup, I am not doing any DIY on my hair right now :(

What about September?

• I had to start with the Kamini treatment I was doing again because my hair was all rough and dry and I wanted it to be a little better. I had been more or less consistent with it.
• Got TWO hair spas done this month. Second one was way better than the first but still I think it was too much. But, yup, I am up for at least once a month pampering for hair. In fact, already planned a hair spa (and, the real spa) for this month :)
• No DIY again!!! But, one of the girls told me to apply egg every week on at least the scalp. So, guess, will be starting with that. 
• Oh, totally forgot to write about my another hair cut on 30th September. Got almost two inches off. My mom would be shocked :-o Had to trim coz there were a lot of splits. 

Products Used

• Kamini Treatment Oil + Tonic
• Soul Tree Shampoo (not yet decided about the product!!)
• Dove Color Rescue Conditioner
• Aloevera Hair Growth Gel DIY

Related Posts:

My Hair Diaries - June 2012

My Hair Diaries - May 2012

My Hair Dairies - April 2012

My Hair Diaries - March 2012

My Hair Diaries - February 2012

My Hair Diaries - January 2012

My Hair Diaries - June 2012

that's my hair last month after the treatment

Verdict on the Kamini Hair Treatment

Well, the results are, as far as I can notice, positive. I have noticed my hair line on the crown become fuller and my hair is definitely more shiny and really soft which I am absolutely loving. But, I still need to work on the weighing down issues. Now, regarding the volume, I really wish my hair would grow overnight but since that doesn't happen except for Rapunzel, I need to wait and watch!!!

Current Routine

this is my hair after leaving the treatment this week

My mom said that we should check it out for 6 months before finalizing. But, now, I have temporarily stopped the treatment because I wanted to see if I follow the same routine with over-the-counter products, will I get the same results. So, I have started using the Aloe Veda Herbal Oil but continuing with the ginger tonic and the shampoo. Right now, I am using L'Oreal Total Repair 5 hair mask as a conditioner and Dove Nourishing Oil Serum as a leave-in serum. 

So far, I have been using the changed routine for the past one week and the one thing which I was afraid of was that sudden change from the treatment might result in hair fall. Thankfully, that did not happen. And, even now, my hair is extremely soft and shinier but the shine is lot less as compared to the treatment oil which was amazing!!! So, that was my hair this month. Let's hope I have positive things to say about the Aloe Veda oil as well.

Related Posts: 
My Hair Diaries - May 2012
My Hair Dairies - April 2012
My Hair Diaries - March 2012
My Hair Diaries - February 2012
My Hair Diaries - January 2012

My Hair Diaries - May 2012

that's without flash in normal tube light at night

Products Used

I have already talked about my hair treatment. And, I have since then received many queries regarding how well did it go and if its worth the expense. To answer that question, I need opinions of people I can rely on and I don't generally discuss such things with anyone else so you guys will have to wait till I go to Delhi next week :) I shall publish the results ASAP.

My Opinions on the Treatment

• I think I can definitely see some improvement. And, I have not even used the treatment as I was supposed to (oiling and washing hair on alternate days). That's way too much work. But, I shall confirm about the results in detail only after next week.

Now, there are some cons which I would better specify in case you decide to go for the treatment. 

• The oil has something sticky in it. If I keep the oil overnight, my clothes and the pillow get stained badly and they get really sticky which doesn't ever happen with any other oil. My mom said that it might have gond or edible gum resin in it. That makes it impossible for me to keep the oil more than 2-3 hours in my hair. Well, in a sense, its good as well but it, like, takes me around an hour for application of oil according to the instructions I shared here. So, it feels pretty bad to wash off the entire oil within another hour :( But, otherwise, keeping the oil overnight in this heat is not exactly feasible enough either so its fine!!!

Btw, I did check up on edible gum resin and found out that it is healthy for hair growth and also adds body to the hair. 

• The vinegar used in the ginger tonic is probably not that great an idea coz they ask you to apply half a cup of oil and then follow it with ginger tonic but I don't apply that much of oil so the vinegar can dry out the scalp as well. But, again, vinegar is amazing for dandruff so probably not that bad an idea if you strictly don't keep it above half hour. 

• I like the shampoo and conditioner. They both are chemicals free and the weird thing is that I have a hunch that probably the shampoo has gelatin in it. Because, I dilute my shampoos with water (its become a habit now) and whenever excess of shampoo is left, I leave it in the container only and in some hours, I find that shampoo dries off completely, somewhat like a gel or powdery. It smells nice as well. 

• The conditioner is amazing. It is not heavy and spreads easily on my hair and doesn't have any smell in particular but I would definitely like to know what it is made up of. I think it does have some hibiscus as it does lather a bit just like hibiscus lathers. But, I am in no way saying that my hunches are correct. 

• The hair mask is good but since, its made up of grains, its a pain to wash off if it dries off completely. 

• The only issue I have with the whole product range thing is that they do not have entire hair mask (the above hair mask is only for scalp). Because, it is very important to have a deep conditioning treatment for hair even if one does oil the hair very regularly. That's why, I am thinking of going for Biotique musk root again as it is entirely herbal and suited me perfectly. 

I shall be continuing this treatment till I am back from Delhi and then, I shall start on the part two of the treatment which I had discussed here. I shall follow the same routine with the normal hair products and see if they give me the same results. I guess I might keep the shampoo same as I don't have any other shampoo in my target (organic surge is pretty expensive otherwise I do have it in my list, lets hope I get it soon). And, instead of the ginger hair tonic, I shall be using my DIY Aloevera Gel I had shared little while back.

My Hair Texture

Leaving all the above pros and cons, I would like to say that my hair texture has improved a lot!! As you can see in the pics, my hair is amazingly soft and shiny. But, yes, my hair does get weighed down in a day which is pretty bad. But, I guess, I do use more conditioner. And, I am not even using any leave-in right now since the time I started the treatment and my hair doesn't get dry or rough any time. So, overall, I am happy with the treatment :) But, again, I would reiterate that whether its worth the cost or not, I shall confirm only after next week.

Related Posts:
My Hair Dairies - April 2012
My Hair Diaries - March 2012
My Hair Diaries - February 2012
My Hair Diaries - January 2012

My Experience with Kamini Aunty

Well, you would all be wondering who the hell is "Kamini aunty"??? I came to know about her from Mehak's blog and on my recent trip to Delhi, I went to this lady who is supposed to be a miracle for hair. She can cure any hair problem apparently. She runs her hair clinic from her house in Safdarjung enclave. And, the clinic is just like a home parlour.

Oil and Ginger Tonic

I went to her with my mommy. "Kamini aunty" looked at my hair and declared that its thin and she didn't really say much about my hair. I got her to check my mom's hair too and she declared that my mom has very dry scalp. And, she instructed the girl on what to use for our hairs and off we went in for the treatment. It consists of 3 things basically:

• Oiling - She has variety of oils of probably different grades. The girl attending me gave me instructions about how to go about my routine. And, she applied really a LOTTT of oil to my hair (around half a cup). It is supposed to have lots of herbs.

• Ginger Tonic - After the oiling was done, this was applied to my scalp only. Its basically ginger powder infused in vinegar. This is for aiding the hair growth since ginger stimulates hair follicles.Well, I do think other herbs might also have been there. It has to be left on for 30 minutes.  

• Hair Pack - After the ginger tonic, a hair pack is applied on the scalp and the ends of the hair and then, the hair is covered with a shower cap. This is made from many pulses and other ingredients and it smells strongly of dhania and it smells really warm. It also has to be left on for 30 minutes.

And, then, I am left for 30 minutes for the treatment to soak into the scalp. Meanwhile, I watch the whole procedure being followed on my mom and this is the first time she is getting any kind of a hair treatment so I was obviously enjoying it a lot :D And, then, I was taken for a hair wash which includes a shampoo and conditioner free of chemicals. Finally, my hair is blow-dried and my hair really felt so soft.

Shampoo and Conditioner

So, what's the treatment?
We are prescribed a shampoo, conditioner, hair oil and the ginger tonic. The treatment has to be done everyday for the first week in the same order as I have described above. And, after the first week, it has to be done on alternate days till you see the desired results. The hair pack has to be applied weekly once. I was told that I would see the new growth in two months.

How much does it cost?
Yes, it is expensive. Not overtly but still it is. Frankly, I wasn't prepared for the bill presented to me but my mom had already anticipated it. The shampoo and conditioner cost about 400, the tonic is around 800, hair pack is 600 and the hair oil is around 2500. To be just, even my dad said that the quantity given was good enough.

How am I liking it?
I went to her on 18th April. I have used the products around 5 times till now. Yes, I wasn't regular as I should have been in the first week and neither was I in the second but I hope I shall be from now on. But, strictly speaking, I would say that the treatment has brought out shine in my hair. And, it has definitely become more manageable with less flyaways.

Also, I love the shampoo a lot. Its free of chemicals and it smells nice and it seems to be a concoction of reetha and shikakai with orange fragrance. Its watery enough but not entirely watery and lathers well enough but not exactly generously but cleanses my hair nicely. And, I like the conditioner too. It lathers a lot and doesn't weigh down my hair.

Of course, none of the products ingredients are written as they are supposed to be a secret. And, whether I'll have a head full of hair, only time will tell. But, being a cynic, I do have a small doubt. If I follow the very same routine with regular products in the same time frame, will it yield results??? Of course, taking into consideration that I choose a SLS free shampoo and silicone free conditioner. What do you say??