Every 10 to 12 months, I give my natural hair a trim by snipping off about an inch off the ends.

I have discovered that the older part of my hair, the ends, gradually get split ends and thin ends approximately every 10-12 months.

I guess I was lucky because a lot of other curlies report getting damaged ends and requiring a trim every 6 months.   Sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t just luck – perhaps my hair care regime had something to do with it.

I started using my home-made spritz in my hair a few short months into my hair journey.  However, it was done with the sole aim of keeping my hair moisturised.  At the time, I wasn’t too concerned about things like regularising hair porosity, enhancing curl definition, stimulating growth or keeping my ends protected.

As I learned more on curly hair structure and the properties of hair in general, as well as the use of natural ingredients for hair, I began to realise that many hair problems can be eliminated or significantly reduced.

In the January of this year, I started to include protein in my hair care regime.  First, I had regular protein deep conditioners.  Nothing too special – just some eggs and yoghurt, whipped up with lots of honey and olive oil.  It did help a little.  As the year progressed, I used ingredients that contained a mild protein in my products.

As Summer 2011 arrived, I got more serious about my ends.  This was the period I realised that the key to healthy growth is a) encouraging growth from the scalp with nourishing and stimulating ingredients, and b) retaining THAT growth by keeping your ends protected.

From this came my mantra:  moisture for the scalp, oils/butters for the ends.

The use of butters and oils on the ends of the hair go a long way in helping to coat your strands with nourishing goodness and keep them protected from the ravages of the elements.  This reduces breakage and split ends. Penetrating oils/butters go even further, by protecting the hair shaft, penetrating and rebuilding it from within!

Certain oils and butters are fabulous for this – coconut oil being an example.  Coconut oil, however, in large amounts can be rather drying for the hair, and more often, works better when combined with certain other ingredients.

When I made my Oil blend and Butter mix, I didn’t just want to slap on a whole bunch of ingredients that sounded good.  I wanted the Oil Blend and Butter Mix to have very specific purposes and as such, every ingredient that went into those two products of mine, work to acheive those purposes.

No, It Isn’t Cake Frosting – It’s My Butter Blend, a slightly lighter recipe than the blend I am making for winter.

I began using the oils and the butters in my hair and specifically on my ends. I had hoped they would reduce split ends, cut down on breakage and generally just seal in moisture.  I NEVER expected them to actually start thickening up my hair and filling in my ends!!

Scooped Into A Jar!

So here I am, at the time of the year when I should be having a trim, and I have no thin ends, split ends, or damaged ends to trim. Plus, my hair and ends are much thicker than what they were last year!!

I am thrilled about this, of course, and so excited about what else I can learn about hair.  Last year, I was using pretty good products for my natural hair – aubrey organics and so on.  However, my hair seems to be flourishing even more since I started using my freshly made, natural and organic products.

I guess this proves what I have always suspected – hair, just like the body, thrives  and flourishes best, when fed freshly made products, that contain natural, organic ingredients.