Soft hair and headaches

In the ongoing quest to find products that leave my hair soft and shiny, I decided to give glycerin another go.  When I was transitioning to natural hair, I read the stories and watched the videos about making your own glycerin leave-in and how it was a miracle worker for people with naturally curly hair.  Glycerin was a complete fail during transitioning, but I've learned that some products are worth another try.

Google Images

Google Images

So, a year and a half into my natural hair journey, I decided to try it again.  It worked beautifully.  My hair was soft and shiny, and I didn't have to re-moisturize my hair for at least three days.  Usually, I have to put something on my hair each night in order for it to look like something the next day.  Unfortunately, I learned that glycerin has side effects.  During my two week re-test of the product, I suffered from headaches every day.  Now I know most naturals say use a vegetable based product like the one on the left, but I chose to go with one like the one on the right.

I knew it had to be the glycerin, since it was the only change I had recently made to my regimen.  Research later revealed that glycerin may, in fact, cause headaches particularly when it is consumed.  Consumed???  Obviously, I wasn't drinking the stuff.  So, my next thought was that it was seeping through the pores in my scalp.  But guess what? I was eating the stuff...in a sense.

I'm often doing two or three things while doing my hair and realized that my glycerin laced fingers probably touched my face at some point.  It could have been a simple nose rub or scratching an itch on my face or touching things and forgetting to wipe them off after having products on my hands.  Oh well, lesson learned.

Hair Gardening Tip:  Always wash your hands after applying fertilizer to your garden.  Even though it is a natural product that will eventually lead to a stronger, healthier yield, it's not always meant for ingestion and may be toxic to the rest of the plant.  Think about it.  Just because manure is good for your plants doesn't mean you should eat it.