Split ends and thinning are not 'in'

I was afraid this might happen.

When I decided around Thanksgiving to make one more attempt at growing out my hair, I also decided not to trim the ends at all until it gets to my shoulders. Anyone who has ever tried to grow hair knows what that means -- the potential for thinning of the hair shafts and split ends. And that's the point at which I usually get frustrated and chop my hair off... followed, of course, by regret.

We're there again. I believe that part of the problem is the cut I got in November -- short layers. So, of course, it's still layered, which means the ends have not only lost their shape, but they are somewhat thin already, thanks to the style. No, I'm not going to cut it all to one length and start over.

I'm hoping the henna will start to make a difference. I've done two of the monthly applications now, and am due for another application sometime this week. The directions say to use henna every four to six weeks. Henna reportedly texturizes hair and nourishes it, so I'm considering applying it more frequently than every four weeks. I wonder if that would have a negative effect... Hmm. Hope not!

I also was watching a medical show on TV this week -- I believe it was Dr. Oz. I've never watched it before, but I think that's the name of the show. Anyway, he was talking about hair age. We've seen the real-age tests that tell us our "real" age based on health and lifestyle factors. Well, this test specifically tells people the age of their hair. He then recommended a couple of things to help hair -- eating protein and applying a banana mask. Well, I have been trying to increase my intake of protein for a few weeks, including the soy milk that I consume as if it's oxygen. Next time I get to the grocery store, I'm going to pick up a couple of extra bananas, and I'll try a mask. And of course... I'll report back with details of the experiment.

Henna and soy are fabulous

Well, something's working. I'm not sure if it's the henna, the Jello, the supplments and vitamins, the vinegar or something else, but something's working! I can definitely put my hair in a decent ponytail now -- without any hairspray!

I did my second application of henna last week. I tried mixing red, light brown and medium brown to see if I could get a richer hue to cover my roots. It worked; it looks really good! Later that day, my husband and I filed our tax return, and the CPA asked if I was a natural redhead. Although I was going for more of a reddish warm brown, hey, I'll take the compliment! That means the henna does look natural -- not fake or harsh like a box dye. Plus, the henna is actually good for hair and makes it soooo shiny. The directions say that with every application of henna, the hair gets more texturized. That's certainly happening, too. It seems almost twice as thick now.

I also switched from dairy to soy milk this week. First of all, I have never been able to sit down and drink a glass of plain white cow's milk. If it's in something, that's fine, but I really don't care for it and I don't like to think about where it came from. Second, cows are pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics. I really don't want to ingest those things. Third, I heard that soy milk contains a form of estrogen. I am a curious person, so I Googled estrogen. Guess what: It supposedly helps hair grow faster!! Woohoo! I know that soy milk can be a little pricey, so I visited my favorite low-cost grocery store -- Aldi. Sure enough, Aldi sells reasonably priced soy milk -- organic chocolate soy milk, to be exact. Yum. I love a tall glass of it, and it's also very good in coffee.