Using Neem oil

I finally had a full day to myself so chose to do a serious rinse and re tighten my locs. I was due for a clarifying rinse and chose to go the baking soda route again. Ladies and Gents I cannot stress how important it is to do a clarifying rinse once a month on your locs. I have a preference for baking soda but ACV is excellent too. The gunk that came out of my locs amazes me! And my locs always feel amazing and light and soft and my scalp amazing. I followed the shampoo by simply rubbing an oil mixture through my locs and that seemed to do the trick. It's been two days since I washed my hair and my locs still feel really nice and soft. I was hoping that I would be washing my hair with my own shampoo creation but after the disaster of last week, I used my African Black Soap. I've been playing around with different oils and mixtures and this latest one is awesome!!! The recipe follows:

1. Fill an 8oz. plastic bottle with chunks of African black soap to the top (I suggest getting applicator bottles from Sally's or any other hair supply store. The bottles are great and have measurements on the side which come in very handy.)

2. Pour in some Aloe Vera juice, since I am using those applicator bottles, I usually fill it up to the 2oz. then pour in distilled water to the top.

3. Add about 1/4 tsp. of Neem oil. Be careful Neem oil is extremely pungent!!!! A little goes a long way and if you use too much the smell could put you off from using the shampoo and the smell lingers. Follow by adding 5 drops each of your favorite essential oils, you will need this to cover up the smell of the Neem (My current favorites are Sage, Rosemary, Lavender and Lemon

4. Cover the bottle, shake well and leave overnight and you have a great moisturizing shampoo that gently cleanses your hair.

I followed this up by rubbing my hair with my oil mixture. I mixed into an 8oz. bottle about 3oz. Shea Nut oil, 3oz. of Almond oil, about a teaspoon of vegetable glycerin (I didn't measure), 1oz . of Castor oil, 1oz. of Jojoba oil a few drops of Vitamin E oil and your favorite essential oils.

I didn't use this as a hot oil but you could too and as I said my locs still feel really nice without a hot oil treatment. I'll save a hot oil for when I do the henna when my hair will need some extra strength conditioning.

Neem Oil is very popular in Ayurvedic medicine and cosmetics. It is said to help with dandruff, dry scalp, prevention of lice, encourage hair growth (by keeping your scalp healthy I would guess), help with hair loss, thinning hair, retard greying, leaves hair soft and strong. It also makes a great non toxic pesticide which is what I spray to great success on my plants. As I said earlier a little goes a looooooong way!!!!! I made this mistake the first attempt using it and gave myself a headache! I am not even mildly exaggerating. You can also mix it with other oils and use it as a hot oil treatment or just rub on your scalp, I think this will be my next move with it but for now I'll keep it in my shampoo. For those suffering from dandruff, dry scalp, thinning hair, psoriasis try it out. One caution though for women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. I read somewhere that it might have abortive properties like juniper berries, wild ginger and myrrh. I ordered my Neem oil from Mountain Rose Herbs but you should be able to find it at any health food store or Ayurvedic store. I've added a great link that has a lot of information on Neem oil and its many uses. Enjoy Bellas!